FORT LAUDERDALE, FL USA
I got up Tuesday and just like any other day in Ft. Lauderdale (or anywhere else for that matter) and was ready for another hectic day. I feel like my journal entries are starting to get a bit repetitive. "Today I got up and got to work." "Another busy day." Well I guess I am working a full time, and then some, job. The owner and I both got up on the wrong side of the bed and there was a bit of tension all day. I had one worker after another coming on board and all I wanted to do was to keep everyone organized and on task. The day went by so slow and by the end of it, I needed time off of the boat. I had to get away for awhile. All of you Monday through Friday workers get the weekend to get away from your boss...I don't. Not at five o'clock, not at seven o'clock, not for breakfast, not even for lunch or dinner, not on Saturday and not on Sunday. Seven days a week 24 hours a day I am assumed to be ready to work. My "on-call" schedule for all you doctors out there...24/7 regardless. Am I complaining? No. Maybe a little but not really. I have seen so much and get to do so many cool things it is worth it at the end of the day. Even more so when people text me and say it is one degree in Chicago and its 70 here...and thats cold for us!
All in all we got a ton of stuff done on the boat Tuesday, everyone needed to go take a breather and relax.
Wednesday I got up ready for a sea trial for our auto pilot. The owner and I were the first ones up and both knew that the day before couldn't happen again. We both sat down and had a great conversation. Its not that there was any bickering at all the day before, we both just knew that there was tension in the air. The conversation lasted five minutes and that was it...everyone was happy again. In the end nothing was wrong. There was a little bit of miscommunication on motives from the day before and it felt so good to sit down, spit everything out on the table to each other, hold nothing back, shake hands and get right back to work. The rest of the day ran so smoothly...well almost.
Our sea trial was as good as a sea trial can get. The auto pilot is so spot on now that I think it may even be able to dock the boat on its own. (I'm only kidding). We came back to the dock and as we were spinning the boat in the fairway to line up the slip WHACK!!!! Something hit, and it hit hard. We got the boat in the slip and talked about it. The water was plenty deep and being that there are much bigger yachts in the slips all around us we ruled out a grounding. I grabbed my mask and fins and jumped in to the nasty brown water. Everything looked kind of O.K. but not perfect. A bracket that holds our spurs in place around the shaft busted and sheared a decent sized bolt right off. We still don't know what we hit.
Go figure...fix one thing and bam another thing breaks. Welcome to yachting.
The rest of the day went great. We are on schedule to receive our new fly bridge hatch from the machine shop, one of the pilot house wing doors is in the machine shop for the new hardware and the other right behind it. I used a dremel and some sandpaper to make our sliding tracks perfect. We replaced all of the rollers for the doors and put in new felt weather tracks. I even got around to giving the bow a freshwater rinse down.
I'm hoping to go visit my grandparents here for a few days, and I think it is going to be possible. It will be the time away from the boat that I needed on Tuesday, but after that talk I don't need the time off so much as it will simply be nice to see my grandparents.
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Day 115: Bring on the Day Work
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL USA
I got up at 0730. It was tough to get up but after a few cups of coffee I was ready to go. I talked to a lot of people late last week with the motivation to get a lot of work done. The owner doesn't want to leave Lauderdale until this boat is perfect. Well, being that it is a boat there is not a chance in hell that "perfect" is ever going to happen, but we are hoping to get some projects done anyway. I had about five or six people lined up to be on board sometime this week. I decided to draft up individual project management folders for each individual day worker as well as a general Lauderdale project management folder for the big picture. I've always kept time logs for day workers but I upped the ante and made a huge excel file for each worker. I was ready for the storm.
About 0830 our diesel guy showed up. He just wanted to stop by and talk about our projects before going out on sea trial with another vessel. We have always had a lot of smoke with this boat, at all speeds, and we are currently having problems with our starboard fuel pick up. After discussion in the engine room we decided that it would be best to re build the turbo chargers and decrease the tolerances. We are going to remove them and bore them out and then insert a sleeve. This will hopefully clean up our soot problem as well as increase our fuel efficiency. We are also going to rebuild the starboard racor housing. We suspect that the flow check valve in the separation stage may be stuck in the up position which is allowing the fuel to drain when not underway. Our new fuel lift pump that I installed is also struggling to keep a prime. I don't think that the old one was bad, and I don't think that the old one before that was bad but I was told to switch them out so I did. Now we are clearly having problems with it. If it ain't broke don't fix it ...right?
We also had audio visual guys on board as well as some "do it all" guys. We are replacing the amplifier in the salon and replacing all of the speakers with bose speakers. All of the doors are off their track right now as we are replacing the roller bearings and installing new hardware on the pilot house wing doors. We still need approval from the machine shop to install the new hardware, but if we are going to get it done anywhere we will be getting it done here.
...P.S. I need a vacation....
Sound Waves Out
I got up at 0730. It was tough to get up but after a few cups of coffee I was ready to go. I talked to a lot of people late last week with the motivation to get a lot of work done. The owner doesn't want to leave Lauderdale until this boat is perfect. Well, being that it is a boat there is not a chance in hell that "perfect" is ever going to happen, but we are hoping to get some projects done anyway. I had about five or six people lined up to be on board sometime this week. I decided to draft up individual project management folders for each individual day worker as well as a general Lauderdale project management folder for the big picture. I've always kept time logs for day workers but I upped the ante and made a huge excel file for each worker. I was ready for the storm.
About 0830 our diesel guy showed up. He just wanted to stop by and talk about our projects before going out on sea trial with another vessel. We have always had a lot of smoke with this boat, at all speeds, and we are currently having problems with our starboard fuel pick up. After discussion in the engine room we decided that it would be best to re build the turbo chargers and decrease the tolerances. We are going to remove them and bore them out and then insert a sleeve. This will hopefully clean up our soot problem as well as increase our fuel efficiency. We are also going to rebuild the starboard racor housing. We suspect that the flow check valve in the separation stage may be stuck in the up position which is allowing the fuel to drain when not underway. Our new fuel lift pump that I installed is also struggling to keep a prime. I don't think that the old one was bad, and I don't think that the old one before that was bad but I was told to switch them out so I did. Now we are clearly having problems with it. If it ain't broke don't fix it ...right?
We also had audio visual guys on board as well as some "do it all" guys. We are replacing the amplifier in the salon and replacing all of the speakers with bose speakers. All of the doors are off their track right now as we are replacing the roller bearings and installing new hardware on the pilot house wing doors. We still need approval from the machine shop to install the new hardware, but if we are going to get it done anywhere we will be getting it done here.
...P.S. I need a vacation....
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Day 113 & 114: ICW
FT LAUDERDALE, FL USA
Dinner was good on Friday with Bruce. We checked out some of town and I finally made it to Waxy's, the famous yacht crew bar here in Lauderdale. It was an early night but the quick tour around Lauderdale was great, I've always wanted to see more of Lauderdale.
Saturday was really nasty and it was a bit cold. The owner and I went to West Marine to pick up some random items and we moved the boat later in the day to wash to port hull side. The boat was in the best condition it has been in since we left Chicago. The owners friends who we saw in Key West came back for more and they showed up sometime in the afternoon. We all went to dinner at 15th Street Fishery on the west side of the 17th street bridge. It was alright, but I wasn't wild about it. We went to Los Olas and Riverfront to check out some of the nightly activities. It was crazy. It was like spring break. One bar after another, and people everywhere.
Today has been somewhat lazy and I even got to sleep in! We took the boat up the Intercoastal waterway to catch the Chicago Bears game at a bar called Shooters. Its too bad the bears lost! We are still sitting just outside of Shooters but will be heading back to Bahia Mar sometime soon. I am excited to bring people on board tomorrow to hopefully get a lot of work done.
Sound Waves Out
Dinner was good on Friday with Bruce. We checked out some of town and I finally made it to Waxy's, the famous yacht crew bar here in Lauderdale. It was an early night but the quick tour around Lauderdale was great, I've always wanted to see more of Lauderdale.
Saturday was really nasty and it was a bit cold. The owner and I went to West Marine to pick up some random items and we moved the boat later in the day to wash to port hull side. The boat was in the best condition it has been in since we left Chicago. The owners friends who we saw in Key West came back for more and they showed up sometime in the afternoon. We all went to dinner at 15th Street Fishery on the west side of the 17th street bridge. It was alright, but I wasn't wild about it. We went to Los Olas and Riverfront to check out some of the nightly activities. It was crazy. It was like spring break. One bar after another, and people everywhere.
Today has been somewhat lazy and I even got to sleep in! We took the boat up the Intercoastal waterway to catch the Chicago Bears game at a bar called Shooters. Its too bad the bears lost! We are still sitting just outside of Shooters but will be heading back to Bahia Mar sometime soon. I am excited to bring people on board tomorrow to hopefully get a lot of work done.
Sound Waves Out
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 111 & 112: Happy Birthday to ME!!!!
MIAMI, FL USA
I woke up and opened the door, preparing to leave Marathon. The humidity and morning heat was already warm to the skin and it didn't take much to get a little sweat on the forehead. There was no wind and the smell of fish was in the air. A lobster boat was working its way out of the harbor, eager for a good catch being that they are selling to China for $13 a pound right now. The smell of a diesel engine replaced the fish odor temporarily as they cruised by. It was time to get off the dock. A foggy channel had me checking the weather forecast one last time. Dense fog advisories to the north had me thinking twice, but it looked like it was already starting to lift. We were off the dock before 0800. The water was glass. Not kind of calm...glass calm. No swell, not even a ripple. The boat sliced through the water effortlessly. The visibility was fine but the horizon of the ocean blended seamlessly with the sky. The water was a turquoise blue and you could see to the bottom just fine. Cruising through 20 feet of water looked more like 2 feet of water. Lobster pots scattered the bottom with patches of seagrass and white sand everywhere. The fog gave way to a perfect blue sky and mother nature cranked up the heat. I couldn't ask for a better start to my 25th birthday. We cruised slow up the coast to Miami.
Miami was alright, but being that I was only there for one day I guess I shouldn't form an opinion. We did meet up with one of the captains that we know from Chicago and went out to dinner with him to one of his spots. He took us to some other bars that I didn't really like but whatever it was fun. We did see Bill Clinton having dinner at one of the places we went to. Secret Service was everywhere. The bar was full of pin stripped suits and everyone was dialed up...everybody must have been somebody. I think my t-shirt and jeans was a little under dressed. Paul took us to another place that was exactly the opposite...a dump. We called it an early night and that was it...happy birthday!
FT LAUDERDALE, FL USA
We woke up this morning and decided to stay in Miami. We had some good contacts here and were hopeful that we could get some things done. After making 100 phone calls I figured that most of our contacts were in Lauderdale anyway. The wind was picking up and there was a front coming through sometime in the next day or so. Being that we couldn't start work until Monday I still decided that it would be better to get in front of the weather and get to Lauderdale. We left Miami and found that the seas were already building. Our stabilizers went out twice and made things very rough being that we had a quartering sea. We got to Lauderdale in about an hour just as the sky was turning black. Thunder and wind greeted us at the docks and it was good to be secure again. I guess I called that one a little too close for comfort, but we are here and safe. We are staying at Bahia Mar which is a good spot I guess. I haven't been off the boat yet. I spent the rest of the day washing the boat and still have to do the port windows tomorrow. It rained a little while I was washing but the important thing was to get the salt and soot off.
Bruce, my first mate for the river delivery, is in town completing his 200 Ton upgrade and I think that we may go out and grab dinner tonight. It will be great to see him again and catch up. Its funny because there are so many yacht crew in the world but once you start to meet them it seems like you keep running in to them over and over again. Of course, Ft. Lauderdale is a good spot to run in to yacht crew. If you sat at the docks long enough here you would see every registered vessel in the world go by.
Click this link to watch a video from the Marathon to Miami cruise:
The owner enjoying the water out on the bow
The horizon is invisible
Sound Waves shot with the calm water
Another sailboat
Twenty feet of water....crystal clear
Coming in to Miami, FL
Next stop....BAHAMAS!!
My birthday cake in Miami
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day 110: Bye Bye Key West
MARATHON, FL USA
Well we were supposed to stay in Key West for a few days over New Years Eve and it turned in to three weeks. We really had a great time and while I was ready to leave I was glad we stayed for more than a few days. We left the dock today at around noon. With only a 40 nautical mile run we knew that we didn't have to hurry out of Key West. There wasn't a cloud in the sky it was nearly 80 degrees and there was no wind. We almost got ran over by the sailboats heading back in from their attempt at a race this morning. The trip was uneventful. We came in to Marathon at low tide and it was a little hairy but with a bit of visual piloting and a slow approach we made it to the dock just fine. We took on fuel and I organized the aft laz. We caught one of the better sunsets of the trip and went off to dinner. The owner stumbled in to a restaurant called Castaways last year when he was here and insisted that we go back. It was really good sushi and that place was really neat. It is a fishing town and there isn't much here. We walked down a dark road with lobster cages stacked high on one side and water on the other. Semi-truck trailers were acting as freezers and the smell of fish was strong on the nose. It was a humid still night as not an ounce of wind was in the air. We rounded a trailer freezer and there it was, Castaways. It turned out to be an awesome place despite its less than prime location.
Tomorrows plan is OTD at 0800 en route for Ocean Reef, Key Largo Florida. Another day!
Marathon, FL sunset at Pancho's Fuel Dock
Sunset at Marathon
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Day 109: Another B-E-A-UTIFUL DAY!
KEY WEST, FL USA
We woke up this morning and it was beautiful outside. We got the boat ready to go and went out to try our luck at fishing again. We tried a spot where we saw a lot of charter boats but all we saw were tons of green turtles. We went back to our spot from yesterday which was about six miles to the west. Our first pass through our secret line and we got a hit! Another King Mackerel. I flipped the boat around and headed for the sweet spot again. We had three shelves that we were trolling over and no one else was there. The first shelf went from 120 feet to 59 feet the second back down to 100 feet and the third back up to 30 feet. We hit something almost every time. Sure enough FISH ON!!! FISH ON!!! Two Mahi Mahi hit both of our lines. On of the owners guests is knowledgable about fishing and advised us to leave them in the water for a little bit. Sure enough the whole school of Mahi Mahi came right up to the back of the boat! It was kind of cool. We kept the two Mahi. I got out the filet knife and went right to work. Meanwhile the owner ducked behind a reef and dropped anchor. We fired the grill and had the freshest blackened mahi sandwiches you can get. What a day it was. The water had a greenish tint to it with shades of dark as the patches of seagrass below reached for the sun. The wind was calm and bringing a warm southeasterly breeze to the face. The high today was 77 and it was every bit of that. Margaritaville played away on the XM radio and we could not have asked for a better lunch.
The boat is washed, the tender is up, the scooters are washed, and we are locked and loaded to departure tomorrow for Ocean Reef. Probably an 0800-0900 departure. The forecast? Flat Calm.
Sound Waves Out
We woke up this morning and it was beautiful outside. We got the boat ready to go and went out to try our luck at fishing again. We tried a spot where we saw a lot of charter boats but all we saw were tons of green turtles. We went back to our spot from yesterday which was about six miles to the west. Our first pass through our secret line and we got a hit! Another King Mackerel. I flipped the boat around and headed for the sweet spot again. We had three shelves that we were trolling over and no one else was there. The first shelf went from 120 feet to 59 feet the second back down to 100 feet and the third back up to 30 feet. We hit something almost every time. Sure enough FISH ON!!! FISH ON!!! Two Mahi Mahi hit both of our lines. On of the owners guests is knowledgable about fishing and advised us to leave them in the water for a little bit. Sure enough the whole school of Mahi Mahi came right up to the back of the boat! It was kind of cool. We kept the two Mahi. I got out the filet knife and went right to work. Meanwhile the owner ducked behind a reef and dropped anchor. We fired the grill and had the freshest blackened mahi sandwiches you can get. What a day it was. The water had a greenish tint to it with shades of dark as the patches of seagrass below reached for the sun. The wind was calm and bringing a warm southeasterly breeze to the face. The high today was 77 and it was every bit of that. Margaritaville played away on the XM radio and we could not have asked for a better lunch.
The boat is washed, the tender is up, the scooters are washed, and we are locked and loaded to departure tomorrow for Ocean Reef. Probably an 0800-0900 departure. The forecast? Flat Calm.
The owner with his King Mackerel. What an awesome day!!!
Sound Waves Out
Monday, January 17, 2011
Day 108: Fish ON!!!!!
KEY WEST, FL USA
We woke up this morning to rain but it cleared by around 0830. The owner and I went to the Key West Bait and Tackle shop and spent about $600 on tackle. They lost the other tackle box to Poseidon a few weeks ago. Now we were ready to catch a whale. We cleared the dock with the big boat at about 0945 and headed out. One of the owners guests and I worked hard to get the tackle box put together and got a few rigs ready to go. We hit the reefs and idled out to the shelf where we were told that the fishing was good. We put a line in the water and it wasn't two minutes before we had a huge hit. FISH ON!!!! The owners guest was up first and we put him on the stairs which was the best fighting chair we had as there was a wall directly in front of him to put his feet on. He fought for about 30 minutes before we finally saw the fish. It was a hard fight. I got the gaff hook out and we landed our first fish. It was a 20-30 lb. Greater Amber Jack!!! Pictures below. How awesome!! We got the lines right back in the water. It was fairly rough outside of the reef but we managed. About a half an hour later another hit. I landed a small Mahi Mahi but as we brought it up on to the boat he got free and we let him flop back in to the water. Some time went by before we got another hit. I was holding a smaller reel in my hand with an artificial wahoo rig at the other end. Suddenly a fish jumped three feet out of the water and I did the same from my chair. No dice though as the fish missed the lure. Five more minutes and the pole just about got ripped out of my hand. FISH ON!! I set the hook and started reeling. I only got a few cranks in before I lost the fish. No sooner than losing the fish I looked over and saw our heavy rig rod and reel bend into a U-shape. FISH ON!!! The same fish that hit our artificial lure twice had now finally grabbed hard on to our ballyhoo rig. I got to the stairs and starting cranking. It didn't fight hard until it saw the boat and then it took off. I just about got pulled out of the boat... no joke. The huge tackle we were using bent over like a twig. The last few minutes were the hardest I have ever fought a fish. I landed a great King Mackerel and boy did he have some teeth!!!
Some time passed by before our next hit. It was my turn to drive and all of the sudden I heard the cry from the aft deck...FISH ON!!! I pulled back in to neutral and ran back to watch. As the owner was fighting the other rod hit...FISH ON!!! I ran back to adjust the heading of the boat and got back to the aft deck. The owner was fighting a shark! Not only was the owner fighting a shark but the other rod had a shark on as well. The best part about it was that it was the same shark. The shark hit the first line and as we pulled it by it hit the second line. Crazy! I didn't want to kill the shark knowing that we wouldn't keep it so I called off the hook and said that I would take my chances getting the hooks out. I put the gloves on and jumped on to the shark, trying to pin him down fast. Don't worry mom it was only about 2-3 feet long. (razor sharp teeth though...raaarrrrrr) I finally got two hands on the shark and honestly it was the strongest thing pound for pound that I have ever fought with. With all of my weight and might I could barely hold the shark down on the deck. The owner grabbed the long nosed pliers and managed to get all three hooks that he swallowed out. We let him go.
What an amazing day we were having. I knew the weather might turn and I kept an eye to the sky. A strong line of approaching storms had me raising attention to the owner and we brought our lines in and headed for shore. We got in, got the lines set and started washing the boat. In a matter of 30 seconds the skies went black the wind picked up and it started to rain, and rain it did. We couldn't see the dock across the fairway it was raining so hard. We clocked 35 knot winds and some thunder and lightning. Thank God we kept an eye to the sky!
The guys across the dock from us are fishermen and helped filet up our Mackerel and Jack. He is a great guy and it was good to make conversation with a knowledgable person. I think we are going to go out tomorrow. Calm seas, high of 77 and SSW winds 5 knots....woooo!!
As the rain continues we just put in The Perfect Storm...a little respect.
Here are some pictures:
Sound Waves Out!!
We woke up this morning to rain but it cleared by around 0830. The owner and I went to the Key West Bait and Tackle shop and spent about $600 on tackle. They lost the other tackle box to Poseidon a few weeks ago. Now we were ready to catch a whale. We cleared the dock with the big boat at about 0945 and headed out. One of the owners guests and I worked hard to get the tackle box put together and got a few rigs ready to go. We hit the reefs and idled out to the shelf where we were told that the fishing was good. We put a line in the water and it wasn't two minutes before we had a huge hit. FISH ON!!!! The owners guest was up first and we put him on the stairs which was the best fighting chair we had as there was a wall directly in front of him to put his feet on. He fought for about 30 minutes before we finally saw the fish. It was a hard fight. I got the gaff hook out and we landed our first fish. It was a 20-30 lb. Greater Amber Jack!!! Pictures below. How awesome!! We got the lines right back in the water. It was fairly rough outside of the reef but we managed. About a half an hour later another hit. I landed a small Mahi Mahi but as we brought it up on to the boat he got free and we let him flop back in to the water. Some time went by before we got another hit. I was holding a smaller reel in my hand with an artificial wahoo rig at the other end. Suddenly a fish jumped three feet out of the water and I did the same from my chair. No dice though as the fish missed the lure. Five more minutes and the pole just about got ripped out of my hand. FISH ON!! I set the hook and started reeling. I only got a few cranks in before I lost the fish. No sooner than losing the fish I looked over and saw our heavy rig rod and reel bend into a U-shape. FISH ON!!! The same fish that hit our artificial lure twice had now finally grabbed hard on to our ballyhoo rig. I got to the stairs and starting cranking. It didn't fight hard until it saw the boat and then it took off. I just about got pulled out of the boat... no joke. The huge tackle we were using bent over like a twig. The last few minutes were the hardest I have ever fought a fish. I landed a great King Mackerel and boy did he have some teeth!!!
Some time passed by before our next hit. It was my turn to drive and all of the sudden I heard the cry from the aft deck...FISH ON!!! I pulled back in to neutral and ran back to watch. As the owner was fighting the other rod hit...FISH ON!!! I ran back to adjust the heading of the boat and got back to the aft deck. The owner was fighting a shark! Not only was the owner fighting a shark but the other rod had a shark on as well. The best part about it was that it was the same shark. The shark hit the first line and as we pulled it by it hit the second line. Crazy! I didn't want to kill the shark knowing that we wouldn't keep it so I called off the hook and said that I would take my chances getting the hooks out. I put the gloves on and jumped on to the shark, trying to pin him down fast. Don't worry mom it was only about 2-3 feet long. (razor sharp teeth though...raaarrrrrr) I finally got two hands on the shark and honestly it was the strongest thing pound for pound that I have ever fought with. With all of my weight and might I could barely hold the shark down on the deck. The owner grabbed the long nosed pliers and managed to get all three hooks that he swallowed out. We let him go.
What an amazing day we were having. I knew the weather might turn and I kept an eye to the sky. A strong line of approaching storms had me raising attention to the owner and we brought our lines in and headed for shore. We got in, got the lines set and started washing the boat. In a matter of 30 seconds the skies went black the wind picked up and it started to rain, and rain it did. We couldn't see the dock across the fairway it was raining so hard. We clocked 35 knot winds and some thunder and lightning. Thank God we kept an eye to the sky!
The guys across the dock from us are fishermen and helped filet up our Mackerel and Jack. He is a great guy and it was good to make conversation with a knowledgable person. I think we are going to go out tomorrow. Calm seas, high of 77 and SSW winds 5 knots....woooo!!
As the rain continues we just put in The Perfect Storm...a little respect.
Here are some pictures:
One of the owners friends and his Greater Amber Jack!
My King Mackerel back at the dock during the rain. What a fight!!
The owners guest fighting his Greater Amber Jack on the fightin' stairs
Sound Waves Out!!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Day 106 & 107: Relax
KEY WEST, FL USA
The weather is finally starting to come around and while it was still a little cool on Saturday it was sunny and beautiful otherwise. I worked in the morning and then was told to take it easy the rest of the afternoon. We cooked some burgers on the grill with the owner and his two guests that are here. It was great to kick back and relax and enjoy the afternoon. The race boats are all in town for Key West Race week and I knew one of the boats that was in from Macatawa, MI. Mark, who was Brady's mate for the river delivery, is down here helping out on the Melges 32, Heart Attack. I saw them come in from practice and went over to say hello. They were all pretty busy and I stayed out of their way. Mark called me later and we went and got a burger at a place downtown. We roamed the streets for a bit and checked out some places off of the beaten path. It was good to catch up. He had to get back to the condo early as he had to dive on the sailboat early in the morning the following day. I met up with the owner and his guests and we had a ball. The night ended with just me and one of the owners guests and I think we hit every place in Key West. It was so great to let loose for a night and relax a little bit. I feel like we have been going a million miles an hour for the past few months so it was nice to go out and get away from the boat.
I slept in a little bit on Sunday but was still the first awake. The Chicago Bears were playing today and because of contracts and laws we weren't going to be able to pick up the game on the boat, because we don't get local chicago channels. We don't get local channels for Key West either. Well we started brainstorming and decided to run the CATV cable to the dock, which we haven't done in years because we have had satellite. Well the switch boxes were a little old and the picture wasn't very good. Well we bypassed that whole system, ran a cord right in to the salon, ripped out some cabinets and plugged the CATV directly in to the tv. I think the quality is better than satellite now, and the bears won!
The owner made an amazing spaghetti dinner for everyone tonight. He put onions, hot italian sausage, some spices and meatballs in to the sauce. It was very good and I am stuffed!
I will probably watch the rest of the Jets, Patriots football game and then head to bed. We are going to go out and go fishing tomorrow and I need to get up early and go get some chum and bait. I am really excited and I am saying forget the mahi and the wahoo I want to catch a marlin!!!
Sound Waves Out
The weather is finally starting to come around and while it was still a little cool on Saturday it was sunny and beautiful otherwise. I worked in the morning and then was told to take it easy the rest of the afternoon. We cooked some burgers on the grill with the owner and his two guests that are here. It was great to kick back and relax and enjoy the afternoon. The race boats are all in town for Key West Race week and I knew one of the boats that was in from Macatawa, MI. Mark, who was Brady's mate for the river delivery, is down here helping out on the Melges 32, Heart Attack. I saw them come in from practice and went over to say hello. They were all pretty busy and I stayed out of their way. Mark called me later and we went and got a burger at a place downtown. We roamed the streets for a bit and checked out some places off of the beaten path. It was good to catch up. He had to get back to the condo early as he had to dive on the sailboat early in the morning the following day. I met up with the owner and his guests and we had a ball. The night ended with just me and one of the owners guests and I think we hit every place in Key West. It was so great to let loose for a night and relax a little bit. I feel like we have been going a million miles an hour for the past few months so it was nice to go out and get away from the boat.
I slept in a little bit on Sunday but was still the first awake. The Chicago Bears were playing today and because of contracts and laws we weren't going to be able to pick up the game on the boat, because we don't get local chicago channels. We don't get local channels for Key West either. Well we started brainstorming and decided to run the CATV cable to the dock, which we haven't done in years because we have had satellite. Well the switch boxes were a little old and the picture wasn't very good. Well we bypassed that whole system, ran a cord right in to the salon, ripped out some cabinets and plugged the CATV directly in to the tv. I think the quality is better than satellite now, and the bears won!
The owner made an amazing spaghetti dinner for everyone tonight. He put onions, hot italian sausage, some spices and meatballs in to the sauce. It was very good and I am stuffed!
I will probably watch the rest of the Jets, Patriots football game and then head to bed. We are going to go out and go fishing tomorrow and I need to get up early and go get some chum and bait. I am really excited and I am saying forget the mahi and the wahoo I want to catch a marlin!!!
Sound Waves Out
Friday, January 14, 2011
Day 105: Why is it so cold?!
KEY WEST, FL USA
I slept in a little bit today...opps. I got up and made some coffee for our guests on board and started the day just like any other. It was a bit of a slow start though. The owner and his guests went out for a dingy ride and I did some tasks here and there. I organized a cabinet by the engine room, cleaned out my closet and re-organized everything and did some laundry. Before I knew it the sun was getting low in the sky. Racing boats were out testing their sails and their rigs, practicing up for the big race week next week. There is still a good breeze, but not like the past few days. It was a decent day today but still colder.
I grabbed my guitar and went up to the bow to play some songs. I've been trying to get back in to it and use my free time to play here and there. The biggest thing is committing to one song and memorizing it before I move on to the next. The guys on Jasmine, the sailboat next to us, came out on the bow with their guitar and we played boat to boat for awhile. It was a lot of fun and more of that may be on the agenda for later tonight after they get back from their race awards ceremony.
I have a business call tonight with one of the guru's from Raymarine and I am very excited about that. I have been working on a few ideas for the marine industry and tracked him down online. He is the most positive guy in the world and I am so excited to speak with him more about my project. The project and the ideas are being kept to myself and those who have signed a confidentiality agreement with me however so I am not going to go in to much detail on my blogs. Maybe down the road if/when we get a patent?! I am very excited and have a lot of motivation to keep this project moving, despite my very busy schedule.
Sound Waves Out
I slept in a little bit today...opps. I got up and made some coffee for our guests on board and started the day just like any other. It was a bit of a slow start though. The owner and his guests went out for a dingy ride and I did some tasks here and there. I organized a cabinet by the engine room, cleaned out my closet and re-organized everything and did some laundry. Before I knew it the sun was getting low in the sky. Racing boats were out testing their sails and their rigs, practicing up for the big race week next week. There is still a good breeze, but not like the past few days. It was a decent day today but still colder.
I grabbed my guitar and went up to the bow to play some songs. I've been trying to get back in to it and use my free time to play here and there. The biggest thing is committing to one song and memorizing it before I move on to the next. The guys on Jasmine, the sailboat next to us, came out on the bow with their guitar and we played boat to boat for awhile. It was a lot of fun and more of that may be on the agenda for later tonight after they get back from their race awards ceremony.
I have a business call tonight with one of the guru's from Raymarine and I am very excited about that. I have been working on a few ideas for the marine industry and tracked him down online. He is the most positive guy in the world and I am so excited to speak with him more about my project. The project and the ideas are being kept to myself and those who have signed a confidentiality agreement with me however so I am not going to go in to much detail on my blogs. Maybe down the road if/when we get a patent?! I am very excited and have a lot of motivation to keep this project moving, despite my very busy schedule.
Sound Waves Out
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Day 104: Surprise Guests
KEY WEST, FL USA
Another day. Another....cold...day. I am not sure if it even got in to the 60's today. That cold front that came through was a mean one and it is still blowing and is going to continue to blow above 15 knots until next week. Today was just another day on the boat and it was little projects here and there.
The owner got a phone call and had some old friends that wanted to drive in and visit for a couple of days. The boat was ready for guests but I did one last walk around.
All of the sailboats from the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West race are in and more sailboats are coming in for Key West Race week which starts on Monday. The guys next to us were hanging out last night playing guitar and carrying on...you know the usual. I snuck on board and hung out with them for the night. What a crazy night. The guy from New Zealand, whose name is slipping my memory, never stopped playing guitar and was ....wasted. haha. I'm writing this blog on Friday morning, and as I look over he is out washing the deck and drinking a beer (1100). Good times though meeting new people, and even better to sit my butt down in a sailboat again. I am keeping my ears open to maybe get on a boat or two for the races next week.
Sound Waves Out
Another day. Another....cold...day. I am not sure if it even got in to the 60's today. That cold front that came through was a mean one and it is still blowing and is going to continue to blow above 15 knots until next week. Today was just another day on the boat and it was little projects here and there.
The owner got a phone call and had some old friends that wanted to drive in and visit for a couple of days. The boat was ready for guests but I did one last walk around.
All of the sailboats from the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West race are in and more sailboats are coming in for Key West Race week which starts on Monday. The guys next to us were hanging out last night playing guitar and carrying on...you know the usual. I snuck on board and hung out with them for the night. What a crazy night. The guy from New Zealand, whose name is slipping my memory, never stopped playing guitar and was ....wasted. haha. I'm writing this blog on Friday morning, and as I look over he is out washing the deck and drinking a beer (1100). Good times though meeting new people, and even better to sit my butt down in a sailboat again. I am keeping my ears open to maybe get on a boat or two for the races next week.
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Day 103: WINDDD!!!!
KEY WEST, FL USA
I woke up on today to a very wild gulf of mexico to the north. The wind was a steady 20-25 knots out of the northeast. I was glad that the dock master found room for us, as it would be stupid to go out today. I organized the dvd cabinet and put everything in alphabetical order and typed up a sheet of all of the movies we had on board. It was my stay quiet because people are still sleeping but stay busy project for the morning. We took the owners girlfriend back to the airport around 1130. The whole deal was a mess. She was supposed to fly out on Monday but was delayed because of all the winter storms north of us in the Atlanta area. Well when they talked to the guy at the ticket counter on Monday he said that they were all set to go on Wednesday. Well thank God the owner called and checked before we left, because AirTran had no records of her being on today's flight. They had to re-book something and it is unfortunate because she will be taking off at 1300 EST, stopping in Orlando then Atlanta (we later found out she got delayed a few more hours in Atlanta), and finally landing in Chicago at 0020 EST. What a day. I am not sure when she actually landed.
The owner and I took a cab to the grocery store after our little airport trip so that we could stock the boat up a little bit. Note to consider, do not take cabs on Key West. If I remember right it cost a total of $65 to go to the airport the grocery store and then back to the boat. This all took place on the island and the cab did not wait for us at the grocery store. I think just for sitting down in the cab was $5-$6. I just looked at the route on google maps and it was exactly 10 miles.
The rest of the day was pretty low key and other than dealing with the circus of getting the carpet cleaned on the boat the day was pretty much over. The owner and I went and had a light dinner in town and came back to the boat and called it a night. I have been watching the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West race online for most of the night and it looks like the 69' mini maxi, Bella Mente, is going to cross the finish line at around 0100 in the morning. We thought about taking the tender out there to watch her come in, but it is way too rough. While it will be a very fast race, she is not going to break the monohull record. Winds have been recorded at 33 knots, and apparently it is cold out there tonight.
You can check out all of the action at: www.keywestrace.org
Sound Waves Out
I woke up on today to a very wild gulf of mexico to the north. The wind was a steady 20-25 knots out of the northeast. I was glad that the dock master found room for us, as it would be stupid to go out today. I organized the dvd cabinet and put everything in alphabetical order and typed up a sheet of all of the movies we had on board. It was my stay quiet because people are still sleeping but stay busy project for the morning. We took the owners girlfriend back to the airport around 1130. The whole deal was a mess. She was supposed to fly out on Monday but was delayed because of all the winter storms north of us in the Atlanta area. Well when they talked to the guy at the ticket counter on Monday he said that they were all set to go on Wednesday. Well thank God the owner called and checked before we left, because AirTran had no records of her being on today's flight. They had to re-book something and it is unfortunate because she will be taking off at 1300 EST, stopping in Orlando then Atlanta (we later found out she got delayed a few more hours in Atlanta), and finally landing in Chicago at 0020 EST. What a day. I am not sure when she actually landed.
The owner and I took a cab to the grocery store after our little airport trip so that we could stock the boat up a little bit. Note to consider, do not take cabs on Key West. If I remember right it cost a total of $65 to go to the airport the grocery store and then back to the boat. This all took place on the island and the cab did not wait for us at the grocery store. I think just for sitting down in the cab was $5-$6. I just looked at the route on google maps and it was exactly 10 miles.
The rest of the day was pretty low key and other than dealing with the circus of getting the carpet cleaned on the boat the day was pretty much over. The owner and I went and had a light dinner in town and came back to the boat and called it a night. I have been watching the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West race online for most of the night and it looks like the 69' mini maxi, Bella Mente, is going to cross the finish line at around 0100 in the morning. We thought about taking the tender out there to watch her come in, but it is way too rough. While it will be a very fast race, she is not going to break the monohull record. Winds have been recorded at 33 knots, and apparently it is cold out there tonight.
You can check out all of the action at: www.keywestrace.org
Sound Waves Out
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Day 102: Crazy Weather!
KEY WEST, FL USA
I woke up this morning and got right to work. My goal was to finish cleaning the inside of the boat before the owner woke up. No distractions...perfect. A few other small projects were on the agenda, and for the most part it was another day at the office. We did catch a break. The dock master called and asked if I was still planning on leaving tomorrow. I told him that these were our plans but we were a little worried about the weather. He told me he would call me back. An hour later my phone rang and the dock master let me know that we could stay for another week and a half if we wished to. Being that there was an approaching cold front and some strong winds I decided that it would be better if we waited for the weather.
The owner and his girlfriend went out for a dinghy ride and I advised them to keep a weather eye to the north. After reviewing the weather systems on three different websites I was waiting for the cold front to hit sometime in the mid afternoon. I was up on the fly bridge working on some things when I spotted what looked like a cloud bank on the northern horizon. An hour later the cloud bank had worked its way right up to the marina. The temperature dropped from 85 to 70 in a matter of a few minutes and the wind started to pick up...out of the northeast of course. The cloud bank that I was watching wasn't just a cloud bank, it was a fog bank. The fog rolled in hard, which is very rare here so I've heard (we have had fog twice now). Now after a great dinner at the A&B Lobster house the wind is picking up more and more and the fog is still here. The owner was glad that I kept an eye on the weather and it was good to watch the forecast and the radar maps and be spot on. Of course weather forecasting is pretty accurate 12 hours out.
We are going to sit tight until the weather breaks, and I am actually excited because Key West race week is starting to show up to town. I heard it gets pretty crazy.
Sound Waves Out
I woke up this morning and got right to work. My goal was to finish cleaning the inside of the boat before the owner woke up. No distractions...perfect. A few other small projects were on the agenda, and for the most part it was another day at the office. We did catch a break. The dock master called and asked if I was still planning on leaving tomorrow. I told him that these were our plans but we were a little worried about the weather. He told me he would call me back. An hour later my phone rang and the dock master let me know that we could stay for another week and a half if we wished to. Being that there was an approaching cold front and some strong winds I decided that it would be better if we waited for the weather.
The owner and his girlfriend went out for a dinghy ride and I advised them to keep a weather eye to the north. After reviewing the weather systems on three different websites I was waiting for the cold front to hit sometime in the mid afternoon. I was up on the fly bridge working on some things when I spotted what looked like a cloud bank on the northern horizon. An hour later the cloud bank had worked its way right up to the marina. The temperature dropped from 85 to 70 in a matter of a few minutes and the wind started to pick up...out of the northeast of course. The cloud bank that I was watching wasn't just a cloud bank, it was a fog bank. The fog rolled in hard, which is very rare here so I've heard (we have had fog twice now). Now after a great dinner at the A&B Lobster house the wind is picking up more and more and the fog is still here. The owner was glad that I kept an eye on the weather and it was good to watch the forecast and the radar maps and be spot on. Of course weather forecasting is pretty accurate 12 hours out.
We are going to sit tight until the weather breaks, and I am actually excited because Key West race week is starting to show up to town. I heard it gets pretty crazy.
Sound Waves Out
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day 100 & 101: Crazy Work
KEY WEST, FL USA
For the first time in awhile I woke up on Sunday and had to construct a normal to-do list. The past week has simply been get up, go to the aft laz, crawl in to the rudder room, and work on the under water lights all day. Now that the project was finished it was time to establish a normal schedule again. It was a long day but I got a lot accomplished.
Today I woke up and my main goal was to clean the inside of the boat. I wanted to try and stay focused on that and finish it start to finish. Who am I kidding. I don't think I've completed one project on this boat from start to finish without getting interrupted in to another project. The three berths in the bow are done and the pilot house is clean...thats as far as I got before I was asked to shift gears. I went down to the engine room to install a new fuel lift pump for the starboard engine. It was a pretty simple procedure but didn't seem to fix the problem of our secondary fuel filters draining after a few days. I tracked down some fuel residue near the filters themselves and I believe that the selector valve for the racors may have developed a leak and it is effecting suction. The engines ran fine today however but hopefully I can get this problem fixed. I also finally snapped and cleaned out the entire engine room tool drawers and work bench. There has always been a lot of clutter and it has been hard to keep it organized. Well, that all ended today and it is perfect down there. No more miscellaneous screws hiding in the back corner of the drawer. No more rolling around the tangled mess of screw drivers to get the drawer to shut. Nope, its all clean down there now...super clean :-)
I made myself a spaghetti dinner and sat down and enjoyed the BCS College National Championship game. I found myself cheering for Oregon towards the end of the game, but when I don't care about either team I usually pull for a come back for the under dogs. It makes the game more fun! I have a lot to do tomorrow and my mind is racing. I generate enough tasks in my head alone, it never helps the to-do list when the owners mind is racing just as fast as mine. Hopefully between these two crazy minds we can get this boat just where we want it before crossing the gulf stream to the Bahamas. We plan to leave Key West on Wednesday but an approaching front may make things interesting. Due to the weather north of here the owners girlfriend could not fly out today as planned. She will not be able to fly out until Wednesday now. We also are being forced to leave Wednesday and there are no slips anywhere else in Key West. So all in all I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is going to be flat calm Tuesday and would make for a perfect ride to Marathon, but we can't go because the owners girlfriend can't get a flight out until Wednesday. We can't wait the 20 knot winds out because they are kicking us out of the marina and all of Key West is full. I would hope for a cancellation due to weather at the marina, but it is a sailboat race that is coming in, and they love it when it blows. They will be here quicker if anything.
All in all I am going to keep a close eye on the weather. The front is there however, and it is coming....Now what?
Here are some project pictures:
Sound Waves Out
For the first time in awhile I woke up on Sunday and had to construct a normal to-do list. The past week has simply been get up, go to the aft laz, crawl in to the rudder room, and work on the under water lights all day. Now that the project was finished it was time to establish a normal schedule again. It was a long day but I got a lot accomplished.
Today I woke up and my main goal was to clean the inside of the boat. I wanted to try and stay focused on that and finish it start to finish. Who am I kidding. I don't think I've completed one project on this boat from start to finish without getting interrupted in to another project. The three berths in the bow are done and the pilot house is clean...thats as far as I got before I was asked to shift gears. I went down to the engine room to install a new fuel lift pump for the starboard engine. It was a pretty simple procedure but didn't seem to fix the problem of our secondary fuel filters draining after a few days. I tracked down some fuel residue near the filters themselves and I believe that the selector valve for the racors may have developed a leak and it is effecting suction. The engines ran fine today however but hopefully I can get this problem fixed. I also finally snapped and cleaned out the entire engine room tool drawers and work bench. There has always been a lot of clutter and it has been hard to keep it organized. Well, that all ended today and it is perfect down there. No more miscellaneous screws hiding in the back corner of the drawer. No more rolling around the tangled mess of screw drivers to get the drawer to shut. Nope, its all clean down there now...super clean :-)
I made myself a spaghetti dinner and sat down and enjoyed the BCS College National Championship game. I found myself cheering for Oregon towards the end of the game, but when I don't care about either team I usually pull for a come back for the under dogs. It makes the game more fun! I have a lot to do tomorrow and my mind is racing. I generate enough tasks in my head alone, it never helps the to-do list when the owners mind is racing just as fast as mine. Hopefully between these two crazy minds we can get this boat just where we want it before crossing the gulf stream to the Bahamas. We plan to leave Key West on Wednesday but an approaching front may make things interesting. Due to the weather north of here the owners girlfriend could not fly out today as planned. She will not be able to fly out until Wednesday now. We also are being forced to leave Wednesday and there are no slips anywhere else in Key West. So all in all I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is going to be flat calm Tuesday and would make for a perfect ride to Marathon, but we can't go because the owners girlfriend can't get a flight out until Wednesday. We can't wait the 20 knot winds out because they are kicking us out of the marina and all of Key West is full. I would hope for a cancellation due to weather at the marina, but it is a sailboat race that is coming in, and they love it when it blows. They will be here quicker if anything.
All in all I am going to keep a close eye on the weather. The front is there however, and it is coming....Now what?
Here are some project pictures:
Old fuel lift pump in white and new fuel lift pump in the grips in blue
I believe I am adjusting a set screw here?
New pump on the motor with a fuel bi pass for when the engine is on and generating its own fuel pressure
Clean Drawers!
Sound Waves Out
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Day 100: One-Hundred Days! GREAT SUCCESS!!!!
KEY WEST, FL USA
Yayyyy!!!! We did it. More on that later. One of the owners guests and a captain from another boat talked me in to going out as it was the guests last night in Key West. We went to this crazy bar. Some lady was playing a guitar with a little too much distortion and the music quite frankly wasn't that good. What was great about it was that she got the whole crowd involved. It was a little dirty but good fun. She followed guys in to the bathroom while playing on her wireless guitar and microphone. Then she made the guy come out and dress up in girls underwear and dance around the bar for tips. Quite hilarious. We all got a good laugh and she even made me sing at one point haha.
I got up as usual this morning and cleared out the aft laz. The electrician was busy with another job so I got to work by myself. It was lonely down in that hole. Todays task was to run all of the wire, establish a ground connection, re-bond the system, and pray to God it worked. My working platform was just high enough for me to squirm around on but not enough to roll over. There was no room to sit up straight and now that I lay in bed I am pretty sure that I will have bruises on my chest tomorrow from laying on the top of the water tank all day. I ran fish tape, pulled wires, cut, crimped, heat shrank, and repeated. All in all I ran 100 feet of red wire, 100 feet of black wire and 100 feet of green wire, for six different units. Finally the electrician showed up after a long day on another project and at 1830 we got to work. It wasn't until 2200 that we were ready to test the lights. Everything was hooked up and we double checked our work and checked it again. The moment of truth. We turned on the breakers, turned on the stereo and flipped the switch for the underwater lights...................................no buzz.....................trim tabs indicators stable...............all ten lights on..................holy shit guys I think we did it!!!!!!!! The owner has been dealing with this issue for years and I have been involved personally for a little over a month now and have been through a few electricians that gave up. We flipped the switch for the underwater lights; off, on, off, on. We knew that this wasn't "good" for the lights but we wanted to test the system to the max. Not even a hiccup.
I have to say that this is probably a bigger accomplishment than the bow thruster project. The bow thrusters just took so much time waiting for parts and waiting for mechanics. This project took a mental and physical effort, and every bit of it. The electrician and I spent hours on the phone with anyone who we thought could help. We ran through possible causes, tested them and went back to the drawing board. It truly took a full effort from everyone on the project. The owner was so happy with us he gave us both a little token of appreciation and made sure that we both knew that he was proud of the work and the effort that we put in to this project. It made me feel good. As a one man crew I am always working as fast as I can to keep up and keep up to standards. When the owner tells me that I went way above and beyond expectations it will always put a smile on my face, and motivate me to continue to work hard.
I was granted a day to sleep in tomorrow and I think I may just take it. My body is exhausted and even the noise of bands and fun coming out of every live bar in Key West wasn't enough to stop me from finishing this project. I have no intentions of doing anything but getting a good nights rest, and I don't think it will be hard to do. Tomorrow will be tough as the soreness of the crazy positions I forced myself in to over the past week set in. I will sleep sound and wake up happy.
Here are some pictures of the project:
Sound Waves Out
Yayyyy!!!! We did it. More on that later. One of the owners guests and a captain from another boat talked me in to going out as it was the guests last night in Key West. We went to this crazy bar. Some lady was playing a guitar with a little too much distortion and the music quite frankly wasn't that good. What was great about it was that she got the whole crowd involved. It was a little dirty but good fun. She followed guys in to the bathroom while playing on her wireless guitar and microphone. Then she made the guy come out and dress up in girls underwear and dance around the bar for tips. Quite hilarious. We all got a good laugh and she even made me sing at one point haha.
I got up as usual this morning and cleared out the aft laz. The electrician was busy with another job so I got to work by myself. It was lonely down in that hole. Todays task was to run all of the wire, establish a ground connection, re-bond the system, and pray to God it worked. My working platform was just high enough for me to squirm around on but not enough to roll over. There was no room to sit up straight and now that I lay in bed I am pretty sure that I will have bruises on my chest tomorrow from laying on the top of the water tank all day. I ran fish tape, pulled wires, cut, crimped, heat shrank, and repeated. All in all I ran 100 feet of red wire, 100 feet of black wire and 100 feet of green wire, for six different units. Finally the electrician showed up after a long day on another project and at 1830 we got to work. It wasn't until 2200 that we were ready to test the lights. Everything was hooked up and we double checked our work and checked it again. The moment of truth. We turned on the breakers, turned on the stereo and flipped the switch for the underwater lights...................................no buzz.....................trim tabs indicators stable...............all ten lights on..................holy shit guys I think we did it!!!!!!!! The owner has been dealing with this issue for years and I have been involved personally for a little over a month now and have been through a few electricians that gave up. We flipped the switch for the underwater lights; off, on, off, on. We knew that this wasn't "good" for the lights but we wanted to test the system to the max. Not even a hiccup.
I have to say that this is probably a bigger accomplishment than the bow thruster project. The bow thrusters just took so much time waiting for parts and waiting for mechanics. This project took a mental and physical effort, and every bit of it. The electrician and I spent hours on the phone with anyone who we thought could help. We ran through possible causes, tested them and went back to the drawing board. It truly took a full effort from everyone on the project. The owner was so happy with us he gave us both a little token of appreciation and made sure that we both knew that he was proud of the work and the effort that we put in to this project. It made me feel good. As a one man crew I am always working as fast as I can to keep up and keep up to standards. When the owner tells me that I went way above and beyond expectations it will always put a smile on my face, and motivate me to continue to work hard.
I was granted a day to sleep in tomorrow and I think I may just take it. My body is exhausted and even the noise of bands and fun coming out of every live bar in Key West wasn't enough to stop me from finishing this project. I have no intentions of doing anything but getting a good nights rest, and I don't think it will be hard to do. Tomorrow will be tough as the soreness of the crazy positions I forced myself in to over the past week set in. I will sleep sound and wake up happy.
Here are some pictures of the project:
Jason working on the conduit
Jason up on the water tank
Squirming back to the underwater lights. Careful to not hit any of the Hynautic or davit pump hardware on your way up. (lower right hand of the picture)
The tight squeeze on top of the water tank where we spent literally 4-6 hours at a time on top of. (30+ total hours of labor down there)
The underwater lights behind the water tank. The space from right to left in the photo (water tank wall to transom wall) is roughly one foot wide and top to bottom is roughly an arms length.
Sound Waves Out
Friday, January 7, 2011
Day 99: Underwater Lights
KEY WEST, FL USA
I woke up this morning at 0715 feeling much better. I was in bed for 12 hours last night and probably slept for about 8. I needed the down time. I immediately went to the aft laz and started pulling stuff out so we could get access to the rudder room. The electrician got here at around 0800 and we got right to work. We ran conduit and new wires for four of the ten underwater lights. We separated the grounds for each one. Being that we got noise on the speakers up on the fly bridge with three underwater lights connected before, we knew that if we hooked up four the new way that we would get a good indication. After a few hours we were ready to test. Neither Jason, the electrician, nor myself wanted to flip the switch. This was our last hope. If this didn't work it was over, and we had nothing else to try. We flipped the switch and the music upstairs kept playing uninterrupted, the trim tab lights didn't dance on the indicator board. We couldn't believe it. We ran to the back of the boat and sure enough all four underwater lights were on. This seemed to work! We tried not to get to excited knowing we still have to hook up six more. We went back to the hardware store and picked up the necessary material. Now as I right to you at 1900 I am absolutely filthy and ready for a good hot shower as I was cramped in the smallest spaces on the boat. I will post some pictures tomorrow. We have run all of the conduit for all 10 lights and now we just need to run wire for 6 more lights and establish a ground connection. If this works this will be one of my top projects...right up there with the bow thruster.
I heard from a little birdie that Jimmy Buffet was in town. I may go wander around and see if I can't get the inside scoop on places he may be. It would be pretty cool to run in to him in Key West. First on tonights list however is a shower, dinner, and then ...well I just might not make it past that.
The town is alive yet again as it is Friday night in Key West. There is a dock party going on about six slips away and every now and then a group would walk past, drinks in hand, as I was cutting conduit, filthy dirty. The man leading the tour claimed he knew everyone on the dock, and even went as far as making something up for Sound Waves as he and his tour guests walked by. I thought about setting the record straight with him but I didn't want to embarrass him while he was showing off to friends. I got a good kick out of it though. Key West has been fun but I am tired. Between New Years Eve and 12 hour days in the sun and a good couple days of being sick, I need a vacation :-)
Sound Waves Out
I woke up this morning at 0715 feeling much better. I was in bed for 12 hours last night and probably slept for about 8. I needed the down time. I immediately went to the aft laz and started pulling stuff out so we could get access to the rudder room. The electrician got here at around 0800 and we got right to work. We ran conduit and new wires for four of the ten underwater lights. We separated the grounds for each one. Being that we got noise on the speakers up on the fly bridge with three underwater lights connected before, we knew that if we hooked up four the new way that we would get a good indication. After a few hours we were ready to test. Neither Jason, the electrician, nor myself wanted to flip the switch. This was our last hope. If this didn't work it was over, and we had nothing else to try. We flipped the switch and the music upstairs kept playing uninterrupted, the trim tab lights didn't dance on the indicator board. We couldn't believe it. We ran to the back of the boat and sure enough all four underwater lights were on. This seemed to work! We tried not to get to excited knowing we still have to hook up six more. We went back to the hardware store and picked up the necessary material. Now as I right to you at 1900 I am absolutely filthy and ready for a good hot shower as I was cramped in the smallest spaces on the boat. I will post some pictures tomorrow. We have run all of the conduit for all 10 lights and now we just need to run wire for 6 more lights and establish a ground connection. If this works this will be one of my top projects...right up there with the bow thruster.
I heard from a little birdie that Jimmy Buffet was in town. I may go wander around and see if I can't get the inside scoop on places he may be. It would be pretty cool to run in to him in Key West. First on tonights list however is a shower, dinner, and then ...well I just might not make it past that.
The town is alive yet again as it is Friday night in Key West. There is a dock party going on about six slips away and every now and then a group would walk past, drinks in hand, as I was cutting conduit, filthy dirty. The man leading the tour claimed he knew everyone on the dock, and even went as far as making something up for Sound Waves as he and his tour guests walked by. I thought about setting the record straight with him but I didn't want to embarrass him while he was showing off to friends. I got a good kick out of it though. Key West has been fun but I am tired. Between New Years Eve and 12 hour days in the sun and a good couple days of being sick, I need a vacation :-)
Sound Waves Out
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day 98: Sick...er
KEY WEST, FL USA
I had the access to the rudder room cleared out and ready to go at 0745 this morning. I felt like s#!t but knew the electrician would be showing up at 0800. I wanted to hit the ground running this morning and tried to ignore my head getting ready to explode, possibly the runniest nose I've ever had, my sinuses clogged to the max, and it hurt to move all over. I laid down until 0830 when the electrician showed up. 30 minutes late for work down here....not bad. We got right to work and I tried to focus but couldn't. I had to blow my nose every minute and a half otherwise it just started flowing out. We worked all day on the project and after a trip to the hardware store and west marine we are down to our last option. We are getting a voltage spike when we turn the under water lights on. We are going to replace all of the wiring that runs from the light's ballasts to the lights themselves as well as run the pos/neg wires through conduit and separate the ground leads and re-run those to ground elsewhere. If this option does not work then we are just going to have to deal with the buzzing noise for the 5-10 seconds that comes out of the stereo. After all of the phone calls we have made, this is our last option.
It is now 1815 and I can't even think straight...I'm in bed and this is probably where I will be until 0700 tomorrow morning. Why can't I just feel better.....
Sound Waves Out
I had the access to the rudder room cleared out and ready to go at 0745 this morning. I felt like s#!t but knew the electrician would be showing up at 0800. I wanted to hit the ground running this morning and tried to ignore my head getting ready to explode, possibly the runniest nose I've ever had, my sinuses clogged to the max, and it hurt to move all over. I laid down until 0830 when the electrician showed up. 30 minutes late for work down here....not bad. We got right to work and I tried to focus but couldn't. I had to blow my nose every minute and a half otherwise it just started flowing out. We worked all day on the project and after a trip to the hardware store and west marine we are down to our last option. We are getting a voltage spike when we turn the under water lights on. We are going to replace all of the wiring that runs from the light's ballasts to the lights themselves as well as run the pos/neg wires through conduit and separate the ground leads and re-run those to ground elsewhere. If this option does not work then we are just going to have to deal with the buzzing noise for the 5-10 seconds that comes out of the stereo. After all of the phone calls we have made, this is our last option.
It is now 1815 and I can't even think straight...I'm in bed and this is probably where I will be until 0700 tomorrow morning. Why can't I just feel better.....
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Day 96 & 97: Crazy
KEY WEST, FL USA
Tuesday was looking like it was going to be a good day. I had two people coming to look at some things on the boat and I was hopeful to get a lot done. The A/V guy showed up and without hardly looking at anything in the salon let me know that we needed a new receiver in the salon. And while this was the reason I had him on board, he didn't even fully listen to the problem. We have been asking him questions ever since but aren't sure that we will hire him for a full job because he really just seems hungry for money and a quick sale.
The electrician also showed up today. We are still trying to track down this issue between the underwater lights and the stereo on the fly bridge. We diagnosed the problem, spoke with previous electricians who have tried to solve this problem in previous ports and got a game plan of things to try tomorrow. Jason, the electrician, seems like a really great guy and I am hopeful to make progress.
The owner and his guest went out fishing in the tender. We bought some gear and I loaded them up and sent them on their way. Well they came back with two poles, a filet knife, and a fish that they didn't know what it was. Turns out the whole tackle box got dumped in the water and they lost the chum net. The important part was that they seemed like they had a great time. I'm just mad because I had just cleaned and organized the entire tackle box!!! :-) (just kidding I wasn't mad haha). At least it will be clean for the fish, and we all had a good laugh about it.
Today started just like any other day... except I went for a run! I ran all the way to the south side of the island wooo hooo. It felt good when I got back and I even did some push ups and sit ups. I made sure to stretch really good before and after as I know I am anything but in shape right now. Hopefully I can keep a good schedule and run as much as possible. I got right to work and started with the main engine sea strainers. We blew out a gasket on the port side and there was a lot of water in the bilge because of it. I had some new cork gaskets shipped in from Ft. Lauderdale after failing to locate what I needed here on the island. I had to take apart the entire housing for the strainers in order to get to all of the gaskets that needed replacing. It was a pretty simple procedure and other than having to use a Dremel tool to get the cork gaskets off of the top ring of the reservoir. The sight glasses are now crystal clear clean and it appears that the leak issue has been solved. The electrician also showed up again today to work on the underwater lights. We ran a 10 gauge wire from the power source in the engine room back to the ballast board in the rudder room. There is currently a 12 gauge wire in place so we thought with the amount of power being transferred the cable was undersized. It proved to not be the case. After speaking with the facility that installed the lights as well as the light company and the ballast company we came up with a few options that we are going to try first thing tomorrow. And while I am ready to get this problem solved it has really been fun to discuss each option and decided whether or not to spend hours trying it out. It makes me really happy that I actually paid attention in my college engineering classes. I actually do understand a little bit of electronics I guess. We have a few other big projects running right now, but everything seems to be running very smoothly. I have three people working for me right now and everyone has showed up on time and given me answers. I guess what I learned in Sarasota is helping :-)
The owner has been talking about taking a 70 mile water plane flight over to the Dry Tortuga's, and he even mentioned me going with them!!! I hope that I can get some projects moving and be free enough to go along with them. I have read a little about them in our guide books and they look like a fun place to visit for a day. I am pretty sure that I will still be busy here on the boat and won't be able to join them....put it on the list for next time.
For the record and for my mom.... I have taken three showers in the past 26 hours....last night before bed, this morning after my run, and again this evening before dinner....I'm clean!!!
Sound Waves Out
Tuesday was looking like it was going to be a good day. I had two people coming to look at some things on the boat and I was hopeful to get a lot done. The A/V guy showed up and without hardly looking at anything in the salon let me know that we needed a new receiver in the salon. And while this was the reason I had him on board, he didn't even fully listen to the problem. We have been asking him questions ever since but aren't sure that we will hire him for a full job because he really just seems hungry for money and a quick sale.
The electrician also showed up today. We are still trying to track down this issue between the underwater lights and the stereo on the fly bridge. We diagnosed the problem, spoke with previous electricians who have tried to solve this problem in previous ports and got a game plan of things to try tomorrow. Jason, the electrician, seems like a really great guy and I am hopeful to make progress.
The owner and his guest went out fishing in the tender. We bought some gear and I loaded them up and sent them on their way. Well they came back with two poles, a filet knife, and a fish that they didn't know what it was. Turns out the whole tackle box got dumped in the water and they lost the chum net. The important part was that they seemed like they had a great time. I'm just mad because I had just cleaned and organized the entire tackle box!!! :-) (just kidding I wasn't mad haha). At least it will be clean for the fish, and we all had a good laugh about it.
Today started just like any other day... except I went for a run! I ran all the way to the south side of the island wooo hooo. It felt good when I got back and I even did some push ups and sit ups. I made sure to stretch really good before and after as I know I am anything but in shape right now. Hopefully I can keep a good schedule and run as much as possible. I got right to work and started with the main engine sea strainers. We blew out a gasket on the port side and there was a lot of water in the bilge because of it. I had some new cork gaskets shipped in from Ft. Lauderdale after failing to locate what I needed here on the island. I had to take apart the entire housing for the strainers in order to get to all of the gaskets that needed replacing. It was a pretty simple procedure and other than having to use a Dremel tool to get the cork gaskets off of the top ring of the reservoir. The sight glasses are now crystal clear clean and it appears that the leak issue has been solved. The electrician also showed up again today to work on the underwater lights. We ran a 10 gauge wire from the power source in the engine room back to the ballast board in the rudder room. There is currently a 12 gauge wire in place so we thought with the amount of power being transferred the cable was undersized. It proved to not be the case. After speaking with the facility that installed the lights as well as the light company and the ballast company we came up with a few options that we are going to try first thing tomorrow. And while I am ready to get this problem solved it has really been fun to discuss each option and decided whether or not to spend hours trying it out. It makes me really happy that I actually paid attention in my college engineering classes. I actually do understand a little bit of electronics I guess. We have a few other big projects running right now, but everything seems to be running very smoothly. I have three people working for me right now and everyone has showed up on time and given me answers. I guess what I learned in Sarasota is helping :-)
The owner has been talking about taking a 70 mile water plane flight over to the Dry Tortuga's, and he even mentioned me going with them!!! I hope that I can get some projects moving and be free enough to go along with them. I have read a little about them in our guide books and they look like a fun place to visit for a day. I am pretty sure that I will still be busy here on the boat and won't be able to join them....put it on the list for next time.
For the record and for my mom.... I have taken three showers in the past 26 hours....last night before bed, this morning after my run, and again this evening before dinner....I'm clean!!!
Sound Waves Out
Monday, January 3, 2011
Day 95: Progress
KEY WEST, FL USA
Today was originally the day that we were supposed to leave Key West. We have gotten in touch with what seems to be some good and reliable people to do some work for us. Jason from "Salt" has came over and looked at a few different things including our autopilot and underwater lights. Hopefully he will be back today to continue work. I also just got in touch with Key West Sound. We are having some problems with our stereo system in the salon, they said they will be over sometime today and really sounded like they were very knowledgable. It was a pretty standard day and other than my 30 minute long wait at the post office things ran pretty smooth.
As I was ending the day I sat down with the owner and one of our guests on the aft deck. Just as I did so I could hear the band starting to play over at the Schooner Wharf Bar. The muffled harmonica filled the marina and the guitar followed. We had to go check it out. Not to mention we hadn't had dinner yet, so that was our other excuse. The three man band was amazing. I have never heard someone play guitar like he did. They had a sound similar to something you might expect to hear down in the backcountry while running the Mississippi River or something, wow were they amazing.
It isn't looking like the owner is going to go back to Chicago anymore. He wanted to go snowmobiling up in northern Wisconsin but apparently they lost all of their snow. I think as soon as we can get some projects done here we will move on.
Sound Waves Out
Today was originally the day that we were supposed to leave Key West. We have gotten in touch with what seems to be some good and reliable people to do some work for us. Jason from "Salt" has came over and looked at a few different things including our autopilot and underwater lights. Hopefully he will be back today to continue work. I also just got in touch with Key West Sound. We are having some problems with our stereo system in the salon, they said they will be over sometime today and really sounded like they were very knowledgable. It was a pretty standard day and other than my 30 minute long wait at the post office things ran pretty smooth.
As I was ending the day I sat down with the owner and one of our guests on the aft deck. Just as I did so I could hear the band starting to play over at the Schooner Wharf Bar. The muffled harmonica filled the marina and the guitar followed. We had to go check it out. Not to mention we hadn't had dinner yet, so that was our other excuse. The three man band was amazing. I have never heard someone play guitar like he did. They had a sound similar to something you might expect to hear down in the backcountry while running the Mississippi River or something, wow were they amazing.
It isn't looking like the owner is going to go back to Chicago anymore. He wanted to go snowmobiling up in northern Wisconsin but apparently they lost all of their snow. I think as soon as we can get some projects done here we will move on.
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Day 94: Sick
KEY WEST, FL USA
Well the owner has decided that he would like to stay here for possibly two more weeks and get some projects done on the boat. He may leave for awhile and head back to Chicago before we leave for the Bahamas. The dockage in Miami was much more and Ft. Lauderdale is always expensive to get work done, and you have to be careful because they will take you to the cleaners. Unfortunately there is a sailboat regatta coming in on the 12th and there may not be any room here. I have to work out the details tomorrow with the dock master.
On another note I am sick...awesome. I woke up today with one of those headaches that is there just enough to make your day miserable. There was pressure on all sides and any quick movements were not comfortable. I am achy all over my body and this morning had a pretty bad stomach ache. I still managed to get some things done today however which was nice. I washed most of the boat and the dinghy and did some research for our next step down the road. As I sit down to a nice macaroni dinner I am starting to feel better, I took some medication so hopefully that will help. It feels like one of those 24 hour deals, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I am a little nervous for the projects ahead because it requires me to bring more people in to work for me. In Sarasota I had a nightmare experience trying to get other people to commit to a schedule and am afraid the same thing, if not worse, is going to happen here. I did learn some things in Sarasota however so hopefully I can use those lessons to approach projects a little differently here in Key West.
The town was still alive today as different bands came and left at the schooner bar across the marina. The tour boats were in and out all day, and biplane rides were constantly buzzing over head. I could just see the radar arch over A&B Lobster House for the cruise ship that was docked over at the city dock, and heard her bellow as she left the docks this evening, full of tourists claiming they have now experienced the true Key West (half of them probably didn't even leave the ship). I find myself already getting bunchy to leave the docks and head for the next place. It was such a relief to leave Sarasota and now I feel like I am just going to be sitting here again. At least the water is a nice blue and it is in the upper 70's now...so I should probably stop complaining :-)
This is a place I will never forget. A stiff breeze keeps the air fresh with a salty smell as the flag whips gently on the aft deck. For the second time the guitar player across the bight at the schooner bar sings his signature song about how he is sick of playing in tourist bars, hoping for a tip or two. It is a slow song, and his voice sounds so depressed. There is a bit of a humor to it at the same time however. A horn sounds as the "pirate ship" pulls out of her slip full of tourists looking to catch some wind and maybe a good sunset. The "Party Cat" is filling up with people looking to have a good time as some guy comes over the loudspeaker trying to get everyone pumped up for a good booze cruise. Another parasail boat comes flying in to the fuel dock that is right next to our slip. His prop wash is so strong that it puts a strain on our lines. I've never seen boats dock so fast. Pelicans buzz through just under our bow pulpit inches off of the bright blue water. There is nothing quiet about Key West but at the same time there is something so tranquil about sitting on the bow and watching the frenzy unfold. There is so much to take in but at the same time nothing to look at. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something special about Key West, and I hope that before I leave I can figure it all out.
As I finish this journal entry my mind wonders what is on HBO tonight, and while I hope it is something good I know that I probably won't make it through half of it. My belly is full after a whole box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese, some left over chicken and a finger full of fruit. Nothing better than a relaxing movie with a full stomach. This sick boy needs a good nights rest and with the owner and guests out on the town it should give me plenty of time to get in to a deep sleep before they come barging back. I know they will have a good time! As for tomorrow I hope that I am feeling up to a nice run through town. I have been wanting to get in to a rhythm, today just wasn't a day to start that rhythm.
Sound Waves Out.
Well the owner has decided that he would like to stay here for possibly two more weeks and get some projects done on the boat. He may leave for awhile and head back to Chicago before we leave for the Bahamas. The dockage in Miami was much more and Ft. Lauderdale is always expensive to get work done, and you have to be careful because they will take you to the cleaners. Unfortunately there is a sailboat regatta coming in on the 12th and there may not be any room here. I have to work out the details tomorrow with the dock master.
On another note I am sick...awesome. I woke up today with one of those headaches that is there just enough to make your day miserable. There was pressure on all sides and any quick movements were not comfortable. I am achy all over my body and this morning had a pretty bad stomach ache. I still managed to get some things done today however which was nice. I washed most of the boat and the dinghy and did some research for our next step down the road. As I sit down to a nice macaroni dinner I am starting to feel better, I took some medication so hopefully that will help. It feels like one of those 24 hour deals, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I am a little nervous for the projects ahead because it requires me to bring more people in to work for me. In Sarasota I had a nightmare experience trying to get other people to commit to a schedule and am afraid the same thing, if not worse, is going to happen here. I did learn some things in Sarasota however so hopefully I can use those lessons to approach projects a little differently here in Key West.
The town was still alive today as different bands came and left at the schooner bar across the marina. The tour boats were in and out all day, and biplane rides were constantly buzzing over head. I could just see the radar arch over A&B Lobster House for the cruise ship that was docked over at the city dock, and heard her bellow as she left the docks this evening, full of tourists claiming they have now experienced the true Key West (half of them probably didn't even leave the ship). I find myself already getting bunchy to leave the docks and head for the next place. It was such a relief to leave Sarasota and now I feel like I am just going to be sitting here again. At least the water is a nice blue and it is in the upper 70's now...so I should probably stop complaining :-)
This is a place I will never forget. A stiff breeze keeps the air fresh with a salty smell as the flag whips gently on the aft deck. For the second time the guitar player across the bight at the schooner bar sings his signature song about how he is sick of playing in tourist bars, hoping for a tip or two. It is a slow song, and his voice sounds so depressed. There is a bit of a humor to it at the same time however. A horn sounds as the "pirate ship" pulls out of her slip full of tourists looking to catch some wind and maybe a good sunset. The "Party Cat" is filling up with people looking to have a good time as some guy comes over the loudspeaker trying to get everyone pumped up for a good booze cruise. Another parasail boat comes flying in to the fuel dock that is right next to our slip. His prop wash is so strong that it puts a strain on our lines. I've never seen boats dock so fast. Pelicans buzz through just under our bow pulpit inches off of the bright blue water. There is nothing quiet about Key West but at the same time there is something so tranquil about sitting on the bow and watching the frenzy unfold. There is so much to take in but at the same time nothing to look at. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something special about Key West, and I hope that before I leave I can figure it all out.
As I finish this journal entry my mind wonders what is on HBO tonight, and while I hope it is something good I know that I probably won't make it through half of it. My belly is full after a whole box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese, some left over chicken and a finger full of fruit. Nothing better than a relaxing movie with a full stomach. This sick boy needs a good nights rest and with the owner and guests out on the town it should give me plenty of time to get in to a deep sleep before they come barging back. I know they will have a good time! As for tomorrow I hope that I am feeling up to a nice run through town. I have been wanting to get in to a rhythm, today just wasn't a day to start that rhythm.
Sound Waves Out.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Day 92 & 93: Happy New Year!!
KEY WEST, FL USA
New Years Eve I was up early and motivated to knock out a bunch of items on the to-do list. It was a very productive day with two trips to West Marine and a haircut. For dinner we planned to cook on the boat and then head down to Duval St. where all of the action would be. I was pretty excited. Other than not having any of my friends or family with me I was still looking forward to having a fun night. We got to Duval St. around 1100 and it was packed. You couldn't get through the crowd and were stuck standing wherever a small space opened up. They did a conch shell drop from the top of one of the bars which was pretty cool. The streets were packed for the rest of the night and every bar was alive. I wandered from place to place soaking up each atmosphere and then moving on. DJ's at one bar, live bands at another, and people were everywhere. The owner gave me today off and it was good to hang around and relax. I watched some football and really didn't move all day. There is discussion that we may be staying in Key West for a couple of weeks, but with the dockage going for $3.00 a foot that may not happen.
I plan to wash the boat tomorrow and hopefully start working on my tan :-)
Conch Shell Drop above Sloppy Joes
Duval St. Key West, FL New Years Eve
Happy New Year! Conch Shell 2011
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