Sunday - January 30

The boat is back at Sail Harbor and will be staying there.  The new marina was further up river and required the use of a power converter that I didn't have.  They were quite happy to sell me one for $165 which was
a ripoff since I could get one on the internet for $50.  The nicer docks would have been nice but where we are is fine for now.
We spent the day cleaning and organizing. I worked on the antenna connections for the GPS splitter which seems to be working fine.  I have to check on the wind generator connections as when I engaged it on our sail on Saturday, I didn't see the incoming charge.  I am sure it is a loose wire from the re-installation of the arch and generator.  One thing I am sure of is that water and power are precious and the idea of pulling into a marina every night will get really expensive.

The great news is that we put 25 gallons of actual regular gas on the boat, NO ETHANOL !!  It was $4.48 per gallon but I felt the engine running better and producing more power.
We headed back to Atlanta by 5 and its still a long boring ride ( Beth drove ).

J

Saturday - January 29 - OCEAN

The weather forecast has held true and we decided to make our first trek to the ocean.  We departed at 1:15pm motoring the entire way, through the channel, by all the no wake zones, finally into Wassau Sound at 2:45 and entered the ocean at 3:20.  There was a bit of chop where the Wilmington River met the ocean but after that it was quite smooth with a nice easterly 15 knot wind.  We put the genoa up and sailed for an hour while beginning out turn back. While sailing, Beth whipped up a nice hot dog lunch complete with fries. We didn't want to have to dock after dark so we headed back.  The wind was with us and so was the current so the trip back didn't take as long.  All the instruments worked flawlessly and the chart plotter ( Raymarine C70 ) was an invaluable tool to stay in the channel.
We went to Tubby's Tank House to celebrate our first foray into the ocean and then back to the boat for a quiet evening.

J

Friday January 28

The forecast weather for the weekend is for calm seas and highs in the high 60's so we headed for the boat just after noon.  Long boring drive!  Upon arrival, I checked the starboard bilge and it was as dry as a bone, it looks like I have finally solved that issue.  I worked on the bypass propane valve and after a bit of elbow grease, it now works without leaks.  Dinner grilled on the boat and relaxation.



J

Saturday January 14 - Atlanta Boat Show

One of the reasons for coming back was to attend the Atlanta Boat Show.  We already had tickets and headed over there about noon.  Traffic was light but parking was absurd as the Falcons were playing in the dome next door.  We finally managed to park and enjoyed walking around the boat show.  Didn't really see anything that was a need, and only a few wants crossed my mind.  It was an enjoyable afternoon followed by a late lunch at the Varsity.

J

Atlanta Snow January 8 - 14

It was forecast to snow pretty heavy in Atlanta so we decided to head to the boat.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and did the usual grocery shopping and settling in.  The major projects were to replace the "questionable" gas line going to the water heater and install the new valve on the head.  The gas line should have been a really easy job but required a trip to ACE hardware for an additional fitting.  The tools Leon lent me worked like a charm and by Saturday night, the new gas line was in place.

Sunday I installed a new joker valve and an electric valve on the output of the head.  Worked perfectly the first time and no more backflow into the toilet.  Whilst working on the head, I discovered a leak in the output line of the air conditioner water pump.  This is very important as the AC is also a heat pump and it was supposed to be really cold.  I made repairs and it appeared to be working and not leaking.

Monday Morning I checked the fixed leak and there was still water in the bilge so I tightened the fitting more and started working on installing the new toys I got for Christmas.  The LinkLite battery monitor would take some time but I got the face plate installed on the panel and installed the panel backlights while I had everything apart.

After working with that for awhile, I rechecked the "leak" issue and found that it was a lot worse.  The heat was turned off, the thru-hull closed and off we went to find the necessary parts.  Home Depot, Lowes, and West Marine were all necessary, not to mention that this trip took about 3 hours.  Upon returning to the boat, it was quite cool, about 60 degrees inside.  I started working on the new adapter configuration and maybe an hour later, it was back together and running with no visible signs of leaks.  I used the shop vac to get all the excess water out of the bilge and kept checking for leaks.


Tuesday, the bilge was dry, the toilet did not have excess water in it, the battery monitor was working perfectly but needed to be synchronized.  This meant that the 500AH main battery bank had to be fully charged so we left all the 12V stuff off and let it charge.  The battery monitor is a must have and I don't know
how I did without it before.  I finished neating up all the wiring to the batteries and accessories and started
closing up panels.

Wednesday and Thursday were kind of lazy days, a little shopping, cleaning around the boat. 
Returned to Atlanta on Friday and its still a long boring drive although the snow did make it more interesting.
We started seeing snow on the ground before we go to Macon and it got heavier the closer we got to Atlanta.
Traffic was bad so we avoided the bad roads and headed to the apartment.

It was a great week spent on the boat and I am looking forward to heading back soon.

J