On our way after sad farewells at about 9 AM. The drive seemed a lot longer going south. We will miss the little guy. Traffic was very heavy in Florida, to the extent that we suffered thru a few miles of "stop and go" on the I-75 in a couple of places. Back on Tide Hiker by about 10 PM and very happy to sleep in our own bed. The rental car has now done over 3,000 miles, and is undamaged.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The mechanic who was scheduled to have a look at our generator last week never turned up and after a few phone calls we discovered he was now on vacation. So started hunting for a replacement and after a couple of tries have a guy coming in the AM
On a happier note, the company that had the outboard called and said the motor was ready for pick-up. They had not been able to solve the problem so had requested and obtained a new carburetor from the factory that had solved the idle problem. We drove over and picked it up.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Mechanic arrived as promised and removed the heat-exchanger/exhaust manifold from the gen and took it to his shop for pressure testing. It passed the test, so now we have to look even deeper Because of the NY Holiday we will not see him again till Monday or Tuesday.
This afternoon we lowered the dink onto the dock and with some help from the neighbors attached the outboard motor
We were invited to dinner at Dawn and Ricks place, very pleasant. Returned to the boat and watched a movie till midnight. Late for us oldies.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
The marina is home to many manatees. Most of them seem to wallow around at the head of the marina and head out to the bay eat late in the afternoon, often passing Tide Hiker. The fully grown manatees are about 10' long and fat but sleek (just like me). They do not have a breathing hole like a whale or a porpoise, and need to stick they ugly mouth out of the water to take a breath. I often stand on the dock with my camera to get a decent photo but the following is the best I have managed so far.
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| Manatee |
Friday, January 2, 2015
Not much seemed to happen today.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
The last two times we have rented cars they have been damaged. The first time was in Charleston where some truck backed into our car while we were away and left a ding in the lift gate (it was a minivan). We do not take insurance when we rent (we have liability insurance) and the rental companies really rip you if you damage their cars (including "loss of use") so we found a "paint-less" repair place and paid them $150 to fix the ding.
The next time we rented a car was in Jacksonville and one day when we were shopping (we only rented it for two days) the door was dinged.It was just small enough to avoid a claim.
So we are super careful with the cars, especially when we park for shopping. This time we had rented the car for 30 days and driven 3,500 miles and it was damage free. Today we needed to take the car back to get the contract "renewed" and on the way I stopped at West Marine for a quick bit of shopping. While the car was in the parking lot a pick up backed into it and did a lot of damage! Now we are in the middle of a full blown damage claim.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Farewell dinner for Ricky and Dawn, the crew of "Independence" and our hosts in Burnt Store. Dawn drank a lot of red wine and seemed to have a great time.
Monday, January 5, 2015
The mechanic turned up as promised and "we" removed the "head". In the process discovered a bent push rod and a bent valve, but still no specific answer to the coolant leak issue. The "head" has now been sent to a "head specialist". Deidre thinks I should go too.
I can see what I think is a crack in the #1 cylinder wall, but the mechanic thinks it is a watermark.We will die test it later this week.
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| Rust on top of the engine "head" |
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Our Canadian neighbors left this morning at low tide, ran aground in the marina and did not actually exit the marina channel until about 2 PM. So much for sailing boats with 6' draft.
This afternoon I installed my Xmas present - a new anemometer.
Out for Mexican dinner
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| From L to R: WiFi, Anemometer, GPS, VHF antennas |
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Another perfect day. The weather has been really nice since we returned from Charleston, although a change is expected tonight. Decided to take advantage of the day and launch the dink so we could explore the marina and surrounds from the water and enjoy a picnic on the water.The outboard started and ran well - thank goodness.
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| Family of soldier crab skelatons |
Deidre got a hair cut
Friday January 9, 2014
Andy the mechanic did not turn up
Went to the movies "Imitation Game"
Saturday January 10, 2014
Met Barb and Jim Pesnachek for dinner in Venice.
Sunday, January 11, 2014
Drove to tarpon Springs for the day
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| Sponge Boat |
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| Sponge Bike |
Monday January 12, 2012
Andy turn up this morning with the "crack test" stuff. First the red die, then the cleaner and then the developer. Any crack is meant to show up as a red gash. The test was inconclusive, so we tray again. Same result.
Andy is stumted. he suggests I try and talk with the local NL agent again. I have tried this before without success, but agree to try again. Tw or three calls later the guy calls back. We discuss the situation, he has no idea, he cannot make a house call for three bloody weeks.
I decide that we are at a dead end and could stay here another 6 weeks and be no closer to a solution. Set departure day for Wednesday.I ask the mechanic to return all our parts and give me a bill.
Tuesday January 13, 2015
Supermarket in the AM to top up the larder. I pack all the generator parts in oily rags and stow in plastic boxes in the lazarette, and generally clean up engine room. Finish the installation of the anemometer. The new TV aerial arrives via UPS. Farewell drinks on the dock with our neighbors John and Kathy.
