How to have fun on a boat

Homeschooling on a warm day in December

Sunset over Charleston, SC

By Anne

When we were in Masonboro marina, there wasn't a lot to do. So we asked the dock master what a fun activity would be and he said we should motor to the islands in our dinghy. So, we did. At first, my mom and I went. I thought it was going to be boring but then I found a whelk. I picked it up and found a small animal inside. We thought it was a clam but then, we looked at it more closely and realized a mollusk was inside. I wanted to keep it but the mollusk would die so I left it there.

After ten minutes passed, my mom and I motored back to the boat and picked Alex up. Then, we went to the other island. When we got there I jumped into the cold water and pulled the dinghy to shore. Once five minutes past a small dog came running over. Then, two people came. My mom talked to them for a while and then the owner found a stick and showed us how high the dog could jump. The dog was able to jump at least four feet high.

While my mom was talking to the same people, Alex and I walked around. Alex also found a whelk but it had a mollusk in it too. The mollusk was angry when we picked him up so it spat water at us. After Alex put the shell down, we raced to the end of the beach. Alex won. I almost stepped on a HUGE jelly fish. I was disgusted but Alex didn't care. We kept on walking and then turned around. My feet were sore from walking on the sharp shells. Even though I thought it was going to be boring I had a lot of fun looking for shells.

Thanksgivikkah?

See the two blade prop?

Happy Thanksgivikkah... The melting of Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah. Look it up, it's even a trademarked term now.
We've been holding at Carolina beach for a few weeks to have...wait for it...boat work done. Yes, better to get it done now before it got worse or we were in a remote place.
Seem the point where the propeller enters the boat, the stuffing box, was becoming more and more leaky. We knew this from the last survey but it was on the "eventually" list. Which is now. The mechanic we are using is excellent, and noted other areas that could be done that would save headaches later, such as a prop shaft( the original is pitted and worn), coupling and 3 bladed prop. Seems we weren't getting good use of our current two bladed prop and it was not the proper size for our engine output and transmission. Which could do harm down the road and uses extra fuel. Plus, we've noticed that we never had a lot of get up and go, which is more important now with getting through bridge openings, battling currents and tides.
We have not been suffering, as the off season rates are very reasonable for the beach condos. And after being on a boat, even a one bedroom condo is huge. And it has hot water. And laundry. A a 40 inch flat screen. I could go on. We've gotten soft, but are launching the boat tomorrow we hope, to check rpm's and alignment and get on the road.
South Carolina is next! Sounds good, it has the word south in it and the promise of warmer temps. The trip from Beaufort to here was good, with 3 bridge openings on the second day that was a bit of a mad dash but worked well. We saw first hand our get up and go prop issue as we tried to keep up with other boats and not get run over by ones behind us. Loads of dolphins as we moved south, a few playing in our wake and others coming near the boat to see what we were up to. We did hunker down in a marina the last day we got here for a few days with a strong cold front blowing up to 40 knots. Again we met great folks and had a good time. Big thanks to David at Masonboro marina for all the help, and to Charlie and Barbara for loaning us a spare heater during the cold spell which they insisted we keep! We are hooked on the heater now and any cold front will soon see its appearance. Thanks all!

Beaufort, NC

A short trip to Beaufort with nice weather started our weekend. We're adjusting to tides and currents now that we're next to the ocean. We visited a kite festival last week while work was being done on the engine, and there were some really cool kites that were huge (a full size whale!). This weekend we did the local scene in Beaufort, including a visit to the island that has wild horses, a visit to the maritime museum to view Blackbeard's pirate artifacts, and the usual window shopping. Tomorrow it's off south, with a cold front coming mid-week that will,test our entire wardrobe to stay warm.

Engine for dinner?

The work is done. The folks at Sailcraft Service in Oriental get an A+ in my book. New aluminum stringers, clean painted bilge, lots of side projects done while the engine was out. Oh, did I mention the engine that lived in our main salon for a day or so. We vacated the boat while they did the initial work of removing the engine and old stringers, but still had about a day of overlap till the engine went back in. So we are all in top physical shape after the advanced gymnastics of climbing over, around and by the engine.
We did the bilge cleaning and painting as well as hooking up the engine once it was back in which saved a fair amount of dough. That's one great thing about this boatyard is they let you do as much as you feel able, will loan you tools, provide solid advice and lend a hand when you need it. The bilge cleaning was especially a treat. 30 years of crud in the bilge, and we found another area beneath the water tank that had 15 gallons of water and diesel mixture from who knows where and when that had to be hand pumped out. Nobody said this was a pleasure cruise and I've yet to have a fruity drink with an umbrella in it.
We're waiting on a part for the engine which is an easy fix and we'll be off to Beaufort in a day or so. Ready to on the road (water) again!
The photos show old and new (can you guess which is which) as well as our attempt to cook the engine in the oven which failed.

Oriental NC

We're settled in Oriental to have our last bit of engine work done at Sailcraft Service. They are an excellent yard and we'd like to have had all our work done here. In the pic below you can (barely) see the slippage the engine has done as it settled. The lower left arrow points to the temporary fix I did by placing a stainless steel pole beneath the wood block that the engine mounts rest on. The mount is the red circle, and you can see the washers underneath that are a temporary support. The whole thing has sunk the engine down about a half inch on the left side. This is bad, as it throws the engine out of alignment with the prop. Anyway, it all comes out and gets new supports, engine room painted pretty white and secured like Fort Knox.
In more fun news, we've really enjoyed Oriental. A nice town that is definitely a sailing town, and the Halloween party last Sat was a lot of fun. We'll be off to Beaufort next week, and ready to blast south.

Elizabeth City

We departed the dismal swamp canal in good spirits (pun intended) and went through the south lock to continue on in North Carolina. Our next stop would be Elizabeth City, where we really got into the full swing of the cruising community headed south. We've met interesting people (in many ways) during our stay, including resume guy who continues to tell you his past experiences and how you need to do everything. We enjoyed hot showers at the local fitness center (thanks fitness warehouse!) and a birthday dinner with our French Canadian friends. The kids all had a blast running around after being cooped up on a boat all day, and the language barrier wasn't even noticed as they played frisbee.
We departed and made our longest day yet across the albemarle sound and down the alligator river (none sited) to a remote anchorage at the south end of the river. It was so quiet and just a few lights to remind us of civilization. We managed to sail for almost half of the trip, making very good time.
We continue to move south, spurred on by cold fronts biting at our heels. It may be one more trip to the engine doctor for our boat to resolve engine mount issues once and for all in the near future at Beaufort NC, so that is our destination with a few stops on the way.

On the move

We finally got the boat fixed well enough to move on. We spent two weeks at big sisters house waiting for the work to be done and had a great time. Thanks big sis for the hospitality!
We left the boatyard this morning and made it out of the industrial zone and to the quieter waters of the Dismal Swamp. We went through the locks and motored about 20 miles to the visitors center for the nite. Strange and interesting motoring down the canal, with one water pump failure to add some spice to the trip. It took longer to find the spare pump than it did to replace.
We are now rafted next to a French Canadian family enjoying the company and scenery. Onward tomorrow further south.