Sunday August 29

Short day on the boat but managed to get the generator pump assembly apart and it was the impeller that was the issue. I found all the pieces and cleaned it out. The replacement wasn't in stock at West Marine ( no real surprise there ) but they ordered it and it will be in on Tuesday. Ordered a spare for the trip. I serviced all the batteries with distilled water and they were thirsty. Over 1/2 gallon for 5 batteries, I guess the overly hot temps this summer took their toll. Hopefully they will charge back up and not be a problem. The battery charger for the mains seems to have just died. It has power going to it but no lights and no output so ordered a new one off of ebay. The next trip will be when all the parts are in.
None of these things were on the "list" but still have to be done.

J

Saturday August 28

Finally a great day for sailing on the lake. Wind was steady for the lake. It was about 4 to 17 knots so I left the dock around 1pm and went for a sail. It was very peaceful and the lake was filled with blow boats. Returned to the dock about 5 and Beth joined me for dinner. Dinner was great as Lucky brought a pork roast that Bill Waller was cooking all day. Beth stopped by the store on the way to the dock and brought cupcakes. After dinner, a game of pong ball got started and Beth played until about 10. It was a very good day on the dock.

A few maintenance items popped up but nothing major. The generator impeller needs servicing and I still have to work on the batteries and wiring which will be the project today.

J

Thursday August 26

Went out to the boat with the intention of setting sail today. Left the dock and everything was working perfectly. Out of the no wake zone and unfurled the genoa but kept motor-sailing as the wind was very light. A little research enlightened me to the issue with the Raymarine DSM and will probably be worked on this weekend. Overall, things went very well and the boat is ready for cruising full time.

J

Saturday - August 21

It continues to be be very hot in Atlanta. The only reprieve is the occasional rain.
Went out to the boat around noon and worked on a fix for the hole in the ceiling from the AIS installation and "gutters" for the windows. Need more material to finish the repair on the hole but got the starboard windows outfitted with my custom gutters.
They don't look bad and seem functional. I will test them for a few weeks before installing them on the port side.

The A1A concert was Saturday night at the Sunset Cove pavilion. Several of us took a car and others went by boat. It was a very good concert and I enjoyed dancing with my wife. The concert started at 8 and lasted till about 10:30 and other that it still being hot, it was a very good concert. Made it back home around midnight.

The decision to delay moving the boat to Savannah is final. I will wait until we have a contract on the house to move the boat. Unfortunately with the housing market the way it is, we could be in Atlanta for awhile.

J

Thursday - August 12 - Perseid Meteor Shower

I went out to the boat in the late afternoon to mount the new bait / fish cleaning table and get things ready to go out. The mounts stated they were the correct size for mounting to the rail but as with everything else, the mount needed to be modified.
Beth joined me about 6 pm with the dogs and subway sandwiches. After dinner we motored out to a nice cove away from the lights of the area in order what was promised to be a great sunset. The clouds rolled in and we were robbed of the sunset so we settled in to watch some TV. We suited up and took the dogs for a swim to shore which they enjoyed. On the way back to the boat, thunder could be heard in the background so we prepared for a shower. The wind picked up and the rains came but Second Chance sat securely on her anchor about 50 ft from shore in 12 ft of water. The rain stopped about 11 and the clouds began to break. By midnight the sky was pretty clear so we sat on deck watching the meteor shower. It wasn't as eventful as either of us had hoped and there was still a lot of light pollution from Gainesville. We headed back about 12:30, navigating in the dark with no problems. Back at home we once again looked skyward from the pool apron only to see a couple meteors before calling it a night.

J

Sunday - August 8 - Savannah

Went to Savannah today with Beth, Leon and Brenda. Very nice flight over but was really getting warm by the time we landed. We went out to Sail Harbor Marina to look things over and it was as it was before, pretty quiet. We went downtown to River Street and walked through the shops and looked at all the sights. It was another day over 90 degrees and by 4 pm it was getting pretty miserable to be outside. We left downtown about 6 and got back home around 9. Even with the heat, it was a very good day spent with the family.

The decision to move the boat to Savannah in mid September is being discussed as it could become quite the burden if the house doesn't sell. - - more to come.

J


Sail Harbor Marina, Savannah GA
Second Chances home in Savannah, eventually.

Saturday - August 7

Finally made it out to the boat, actually went early simply because I woke up early, about 6 am. The dock was quiet and the sky was overcast. I decided that before it got too hot I would fix the leak in the air conditioner filter. After that success, I changed a leaking hose on the starboard water tank and filled the tanks. Again success and no more leaks. I got the AIS connected and tested as well as hooking up the Raymarine C-70 to the autopilot so now everything talks to everything else. Electronically, Everything is connected. I just have to mount the two VHF antennas and the gps antenna for the AIS and it is done. That will not happen until I pull the boat out next month and can work on the arch. I also learned the correct lighting for the mast light and discovered that is was never correct. The next time I am on the boat at night, I will get the lights working correctly.
Off to Savannah tomorrow to visit Sail Harbor and enjoy the day with family as it is Leon's Birthday.

J

Weekend ! July 29~Aug 1

We went to the boat on Friday and spent the weekend on the boat with the dogs. We had a great weekend except it was soooo hot ! Friday evening we relaxed with the gang on the dock, Saturday I worked on the AIS, Saturday evening we had steaks after a leisurely swim then after cocktail hour, spent a little time playing "cornhole" with friends up on the Y. It was a late night but a very good night. Sunday I finally figured out the AIS which apparently is published in tiny print in an unrelated document from the AIS. BUT, the good news it that it has been installed and tested. Just have to run the final install wires and its all done. At least it has been tested and I know it works. We came home on Sunday and hit the pool as it was much more refreshing than the lake. After a visit from Pizza Hut, we relaxed watching a movie. The remaining projects are all little ones and I think that they may wait until its cooler or the boat is out of the water which is only 31 days away.

Each day is a day closer to departure.

j