New Bern - Our very first hurricane

Thursday October 25, 2012
35 06.171 N
77 02.290 W

Out of the boat yard and into the storm. We have headed inland away from the coast and taken a slip in New Bern, NC. New Bern is as far west as you can get on the Neuse River, and is maybe 25 miles ATCF from the nearest Atlantic coast line. We have some friends already here, and they twisted some arms and got us the last spot in the marina. Which is good, but our slip seems a bit exposed. We arrived about 1:30 PM and Tide Hiker is now trussed up better than Dolly Parton. The forecast track keeps on being revised and it seems to be getting closer each update.

This morning was calm and misty and we were underway by about 8:30 AM. The sun eventually broke through and settled into a perfectly calm and sunny day. It was great to be moving again. I spent more time than usual in the engine room checking that the work in the boat yard had not caused any problems. The only issue was a voltage drop on the starboard engine but I found a lose wire on the alternator, and once that was back in place the voltage climbed back to normal.  We only had about 30 NM to go, and arrived at the New Bern bridge at 1:00 PM.

Bock Marine - Tuesday & Wednesday October 23 & 24

 We are back in the water! We are expecting the mechanic first thing in the morning tomorrow to install the new battery and work on the Glendenning, and then we will be done. The boat needs a thorough clean and that will occupy the rest of the day. Plan is to leave Bock and go to an anchorage later tomorrow afternoon.

Our "new" muffler

The day started off well enough when the "new and improved muffler" arrived and was installed. The paint guy arrived soon thereafter and completed the work with a bit of wet sanding. I then reattached the stainless rub rail cap and we were all done. EXCEPT that I needed to straighten the cap a bit and hit it a few times with a hammer - but missed and hit the paint and knocked out a chunk.Oops.

After that happy moment we had to stooge for a couple of ours till the travel-lift came and got us.

Wednesday October 24

The mechanic arrived first thing and installed the new battery and tuned up the Glendenning and was gone. We spent the rest of the day shopping and cleaning up the boat. And paying the bill ...

Newly painted ER deck

After two weeks of perfect weather sitting "on the hard" we now have a hurricane in the forecast. Hurricane "Sandy" is currently crossing Jamaica and is forecast to track North up the East Coast. In NC we will feel the first effects Thursday night and have decided to play it safe and head "inland" to New Bern tomorrow to wait it out.

Bock Marine (Saturday October 20 to Monday October 22)

Please note I have put an end date in the title to our happy stay at Bock. Today (Monday) I gave Kenny Bock a "suggested" schedule to get us out of here Wednesday.

The weekend was totally uneventful. We went to a Movie Saturday night. We went out for breakfast Sunday.

Today the new valve for the Avon and the new site gauge for the stabilizer tank both arrived and I installed them. At present neither appear to be leaking. The paint man sprayed the finish coat on his repairs and has promised to return to buff it tomorrow (Tuesday). The vented loop was installed.

The starboard muffler is rebuilt and I expect it to be installed tomorrow. That means we can be relaunched by lunchtime and Deidre and I can start cleaning the boat. I have requested the mechanic for Tuesday afternoon to install the new battery and work on the Glendenning. Then we will be DONE

Bock Marine (Tuesday 10/16/2012 thru Friday 10/19/2012)

I am combining 4 days because bugger-all is happening. Deidre and I are really getting a bit fed up with the yard. Seems very unlikely that we will get out of here this week. Progress is very slow and communication virtually non existent.

New bottom treatment

The bottom job is now complete and looks good. However I was unimpressed that I had to ask the crew to remove the thru-hull covers and clean inside the piping. Seems to me that this is one of the most basic components of a haul-out and bottom job. Turns out the majority of the 6 thru hulls were choked with growth and needed to be dealt with. But it is all done now and looks nice.

Thru hull strainers removed, cleaned & painted

Since I have started to complain I will continue in the same vien. After the underside part of the hull had been sanded the crew "washed" the dust of the painted side of the boat. They used a concoction that appeared quite potent. Next morning I observed that the paint was badly stained with rust streaks. Seemed like their boat wash had reacted with stainless fittings on the side of the boat (rub rains, fender rails, window frames, haws-holes etc) and the resulting chemical reactions had dribbled down our beautiful paint job leaving brown streaks. I tried to wash off the stains with boat wash - no effect. I tried a rust stain remover - no result. I tried a 3M polish - no result.The lady in the boat next door suggested another product and that worked with only about 80% effectiveness. So I lodged an official complaint and this AM a crew was assigned to polishing the stains off with some sort of "grinding compound". This seems to be working (by grinding off half the paint, no doubt.)

The good news is that the paint man has turned up today and has started patching some of my parking scrapes. There are really only a couple, but when one bounces 35 ton of boat off an immovable bulkhead, something has to give, and the paint cracked in a couple of places on the rub rail. He is also the muffler repair man, and he just promised me he would work on that over the weekend. We need the muffler to get back into the water - the other repairs can be done in the water.

More good news. The extended davit crane arrived and was re-installed this afternoon. I will re-install the motor and cable tomorrow. This will make it much easier for us the deploy the dinghy. Meanwhile, one of the valves on the dinghy has completely failed and the side tubes have totally deflated. A replacement has been ordered, to arrive Tuesday. And on it goes!

There are a dozen or so couples living on their boats as they are being worked on. This causes several inconveniences (such as the sinks and shower drain out onto the dirt) but the biggest is that you have to climb a ladder to get on and off the boat. This looked quite dangerous to Deidre and I so we requested the addition of a hand rail to our ladder and we tied it to the swim platform so it could not slide. Yesterday we were started to see an ambulance arrive and dismayed when we heard that a lady had fallen off her ladder near the top and had a badly broken arm and banged her head. It was a compound fracture with the bone poking thru the skin. A warning for all.

We went out for Mexican with new friends. They own a boat the same as ours - theirs is hull #58 and ours is #61. They are renovating theirs at another yard in the area.

Bock Marine (Monday 10/15/2012)

Our view

I think I can say I have had enough of the boat yard and am looking forward to getting out of here. Being here is like living in a tree house in a junk yard. We are surrounded by boats in various stages of disrepair. We cannot use our toilets or shower. There is dirt everywhere. Its noisy. We are bored. It is Monday and I doubt if we will be out by Friday.

The yard people are making progress, but its all quite slow. The hull now has two coats of anti-fouling paint. One more to go, but just at the water line.

Working on the running gear

The running gear has received a couple of coats of barrier paint, with anti-fouling to follow. The thru hull strainers have been removed and cleaned and painted and are ready to replace.

The mechanic comes back Wednesday to change out the starboard engine water pump, work on the Glendenning engine synchronizing system and the stabilizer hydraulic oil leak and the suspect starter battery.

The fiber glass guy brings back the repaired muffler Wednesday.

I met the paint guy today and he promised he would be back Wednesday.

I dismantled the davit (the little crane that launches the dinghy) this morning and the mobile came and took it to the sjhop where they will add 12" to the lifting arm.

Removing the davit.

So "its all happening" but it is slow to live through.

Bock Marine (10/13/2012 and 12/14/2012)

Saturday
The boat yard does not work on the weekend so we were looking forward to a couple of "days off". After a leisurely breakfast Deidre headed of in the car to do some shopping and I cleaned up in the engine room. After a quick lunch we headed of to explore New Bern, about 40 miles away.

Floating Art Museum

New Bern was settled by Swiss immigrants in the 1700's. It is located at the head of the Neuse River and was once a busy port. Deidre and I looked at New Bern back in 1996 when we were planning our move from Valparaiso. We decided against New Bern when we discovered that the river water was polluted by effluent originating from all the pig farms up state! Since we were looking for a place on the water, this nixed the deal. We have been told the situation has been reversed, but I am not going for a swim.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that this weekend in New Bern was "Mum Fest" (as in chrysanthemums) and the whole town was decorated with mums and set up as a street fair.There was also a "floating art gallery" visiting the port. It was really fun, I think it was the biggest street fair we have ever seen.  I bought Deidre a fishing rod, cleaning knife and hook remover. Deidre bought stuff for Kylie and her Mum. We stayed in town for dinner. Was a good day.

Street Scene

Sunday
Banana pancakes for breakfast. After cleaning up we drove to Willmington for the day. It was a fun but not inspirational day.

Deidre made tuna patties and salad for dinner. After dinner we watched "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "The Midwives" and "Wallender". Definitely the best part of the day.

Pumpkin Fair

Bock Marine (10/10/12 thru 10/12/12)

Wednesday October 10, 2012
34 49.430 N
76 41.376 W

We are officially "on the hard" and tide Hiker is ready for her "spa treatment".

We arrived at Bock Marine early after lunch. To our surprise they did not have a pump-out and we did not want to take 40 gallons of "you know what" ashore, so we backed out and headed 3 miles back to another marina. It was a very tight fit for us but we eventually got in and out and back to Bock. The staff were waiting dockside and very shortly Tide Hiker had "her ass in a sling" and was out of the water. Deidre and I were a bit nervous, but it seems they have done this before and all was well.

Running gear

I thought there was a lot of growth on the hull but the consensus was just "average". The crew scraped off 90% of the barnacles and power washed the whole underwater skin. To my eye the zincs look a bit worse for wear, so I will get those off tomorrow and order replacements. The hull will also be inspected tomorrow and the scope of work decided.

Bow thruster tunnel

The boat has been "parked" in the yard and hooked up to water and electricity. We have a ladder to get on and off the boat. We are allowed to let shower and washing up water just spill onto the ground. It all sounds a bit grotty, but there are about 15 occupied boats in the yard at present. It feels a bit like living in a tree house.

Thursday October 11, 2012

The guys were back at it first thing this AM sanding the hull and the running gear. The hull is now looking a bit pock marked but the running gear is starting to look shiny. I removed all the zincs and have purchased replacements. Tomorrow I think we will see paint!

Deidre and I hitched a ride to town and picked up our rental car and did some shopping and touring. Tonight we are driving into town for dinner.

Friday October 12, 21012

The first coat of paint went on the hull today. Second coat goes on Monday. The running gear is as shiny as a new penny. There are several other jobs now under way:

1. The port muffler has some pin-hole leaks. It was removed today and taken to the shop.
2. The mechanic installed the two raw water "upgrade kits"
3. The mechanic decided the starboard fresh water circulating pump was leaking and needs to be replaced. We ordered the replacement and will have it next week.
4. We found a small diesel leak emanating from the site gauge tap on the Starboard-Aft fuel tank. Not too sure how we will handle that yet.
5. The stabilizer control has a leak - not sure what happens next
6. We are planning to replace the Starboard starter battery