It is a year and a half later and the boat still has not gotten in the water.  A few of the projects were indeed daunting but time to get them done was scarce. Thus far the engines have both been removed, rebuilt, tuned and reinstalled. Both outdrives replaced. All new batteries. The generator was removed, tuned up and tested, and reinstalled. New deck flooring. TV's were added, Stereo was wired correctly and tons of LEDs were installed.  The interior is ready to go, the exterior still has a few things to do.  I had planned to splash it for my birthday this weekend but the power steering actuator was leaking and that took a week to get the part.  As usual, Life is busy and we are headed to Florida for the holiday weekend.  I am thinking 2 weeks and the big splash !

Had to get the trailer first.  18k tri-axle

I drove the boat from the marina to the boat ramp.

It was about 56' long coming down the road.

 She is in her new home for the winter.  Beth and I will work on things and get them the way we want them.  It is a classic 1985 SeaRay Sundancer.  Twin Chevy 350 (520 horsepower) short block stern drives, with generator, air conditioning, fridge, microwave, 2 burner stove, full head and two berths. I will be working on all the mechanical systems and getting them like brand new while Beth works on the comfort factor.

 August 27, 2020

A new adventure has begun.  We found a great deal on a new boat and while its an older model and not a sailboat, we are really excited.  We purchased a Sea Ray Sundancer 300.  It is a twin 350 cabin cruiser.  Has two berths and full amenities.  Amenities include a full head, galley, saloon, windlass and many others.  The plan is to bring it down to Buford as it is currently in Chattanooga TN which should take place over Labor Day since we can't attend DragonCon as it was cancelled because of Covid.  Once back here, We will spend some of the down winter time to get it up to my standards, install new toys, clean up everything and by spring, drop it in Lake Lanier. I will post some pictures when we pick it up.

One Year Update

Well it has been one year today since we landed back in Georgia from our Caribbean cruise.  Neither of us anticipated staying in one place this long but apparently the powers of the universe thought it necessary.  Ellijay is a very nice small town, the people are friendly and welcoming.  I have spent a good part of the past year working on various projects with Leon, Beth's father and pursuing other varied interests. None of the varied interests generated any income and since Norm has well and truly screwed TicketPro, Willie and me, I find myself seeking gainful employment.  I must say the job market is really tough as an over qualified, almost 50 person seeks work.  With the re-election of Obama, it seems that it will only be getting worse. One of the exciting things we did this fall was working with Leon and Brenda in their concession trailer.  We worked 5 festivals including the annual Ellijay Apple Festival.  It was alot of fun and I learned quite a bit, mainly things not to do with hot oil.  I kept up the Casey "farm" over the summer and grew pumpkins that I sold around town and at the festivals.  The good part of that was that I made about a 2000% return on my investment on the pumpkins, the bad part was that I rolled the tractor into a ditch which cost several hundred dollars to put back together and get running again.  Luckily I was just bruised from the rollover and the biggest injury was to my pride.

Yep, I was under that.  Went down with the ship so to speak.

Beth took some additional classes pertaining to her accounting degree specializing in taxes and already has a job lined up after Christmas preparing taxes for Liberty Tax Services in Blue Ridge and Ellijay.  She had surgery to fix an "female issue" on Dec 6 and is currently resting and recuperating at home.

The RV remains parked but well maintained.  I visit it regularly and keep adding little things that will make it better for when we do get to actually use it.

We miss our sailing friends in Mexico and Guatemala and hope to head that way one day soon but that will have to wait until I can sort out the mess that Norm has gotten me into as well as take some time to refill the kitty so we can travel again.

I also wanted to update everyone before 12/21/12 just in case.  While we were in Mexico I attempted to do my own research and found this doomsday prophecy to be nothing more than the end of a cycle, I figured it couldn't hurt to go ahead and post now.  The blog will be updated from time to time, at least quarterly, until we do start adventuring again.  To make sure you do know when we are on the move, or there is a new post, be sure to become a follower by clicking the link at the top right of the blog.

As always we wish the best for everyone and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all !!!

August Update

Most of July was spent job hunting.  Not exactly what you would expect of a couple about to go traversing across the country in a RV.  Unfortunately, my previous business partner ( Norm Bumbieris ) has managed to screw up TicketPro Systems to the point of failure and because I was a nice guy and took my payout on a time basis, I don't get paid because he put the company into the toilet and there is no money.  While I pursue legal retribution, I feel that I will only get a judgement against him which is essentially useless.  You can't get something from someone who has nothing.  The bad thing is that he also managed to royally screw over Willie and the customer base that was built over 20 years. 

While this is extremely depressing news and major disappointment in someone who was considered a friend, all is not as hopeless as it seems.  I have a few irons in the fire and hopefully one will pan out.

Feel free to harass Norm on my behalf since he won't answer my emails or phone calls.

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July 4, 2012 - Status Update

First let me start by wishing everyone a Happy and Safe 4th of July !!

We spent much of June working on little projects with the RV, Leon and Brenda's projects and planning on getting going on our next adventure.

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by taking a cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival Cruise lines.  We drove down to Port Canaveral and departed on the 28th for our four day cruise.  Upon boarding, we were greeted with "Happy Anniversary" decorations and a great fruit/cheese/wine basket sent by my sister and family.  The cruise was enjoyable but so far removed from actual sailing the fact that we were on water wasn't even a factor.  The "veteran" cruisers have no idea what actual cruising is.  The food was good, plentiful and always available and there were always servers running around ready to take your drink order.  The ship entertainment crew always has something going on so there was always something going on.  The two comics that were aboard were Lewis Nixon and Mark Simmons and they were great !  We visited Nassau and took a great tour by one of the locals, Felton, who gave us an excellent tour of the island along with a through history.  If you ever find yourself in Nassau, don't book your tour through the cruise line, walk outside where the deals are better and if you really luck out and find Felton, you will be in for a treat.

Each day our room steward would make us a towel animal

We missed taking the picture of the walrus :(

Cabin Decorations

Gift Basket for our Anniversary

Heading to the megaresort - Atlantis

Waterfall at Atlantis

Statue at Atlantis

Atlantis, Mega resort and Casino on Nassua

at Atlantis

The Queen's Staircase

 

We were allowed to walk down and thankfully, we didn't have to walk back up

Nassau Watertower, the highest point on the island

Our tour guide, Felton

In the surf at Nassau

Dock at Nassau

Aboard ship, Beth and I took advantage of all the amenities and spent time in the pool, hot tub and even went down the funship slide and followed it up with a round of mini golf.  The crew aboard does a great job to take care of all the guests and our trip was very enjoyable.  I can recommend a cruise for a good escape vacation but not as a lifestyle.  We learned a few valuable lessons about "commercial" cruising especially about getting alcohol onboard, other than that, it was a nice vacation.

Back at home, we helped Leon and Brenda with the Sparks in the Park festival which was fun until it started pouring effectively killing the festival and drowning out the fireworks.  For the 4th, Beth and I relaxed and did lots of nothing.
Tomorrow, work gets started on the RV finishing touches and if Norm Bumbieris doesn't completely screw me on the payments he owes me, We may head out this month.

Check-in/OK message from John & Beth's RV SPOT Messenger

John & Beth's RV
Latitude:34.66425
Longitude:-84.50082
GPS location Date/Time:06/05/2012 10:20:39 EDT

Message:Living the dream !
All is well.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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June 1, 2012 - Status Update

Things continue to be busy with different projects.  I am slowly getting the RV outfitted the way I want to and need about 3 full days of concentrated effort for it to be ready to go.  Beth's car is almost ready to be attached and officially become a TOAD.  I have been robbing parts off her old X-90 to make her new X-90 better and fully equipped.  Leon and I worked on his pontoon boat last week and got most things done, at least done enough to take the family out to Blue Ridge Lake for Memorial Day and celebrate my birthday.

Beth continues to organize and plan for our first RV outing but without a departure date, its kind of tough to plan.  My ex business partner has been causing some stress so I am unsure of additional funding for the RV trip so it may be delayed. 

My sister and family are coming to Blue Ridge for their getaway vacation next week so we will try to spend time with them and enjoy this area.  The Sisson family reunion ( Brenda's side of the family ) is next Sunday so that should be fun.

We have planned one last "vacation" for our 3rd wedding anniversary and depending on the situation, we may depart for points north sometime after the 4th of July.  Hopefully I can complete the highest priority projects before we leave for our vacation/celebration.    Next update, July 1.

Check-in/OK message from John & Beth's RV SPOT Messenger

John & Beth's RV
Latitude:34.66418
Longitude:-84.50082
GPS location Date/Time:05/09/2012 12:14:27 EDT

Message:Living the dream !
All is well.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/7qpjx/34.66418N/84.50082W

If the above link does not work, try this link:
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John & Beth's RV

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Thursday - End of the trip

We departed very early, basically as the sun was coming up we untied from the mooring ball and headed south.  Thomas was debating parking the boat in Ft. Pierce and going to pick up his car, take care of his business then continue his trip down to the keys.  It was another motoring day with the wind still on the bow.
We tried fishing but didn't catch anything.  The weather was beautiful and we were making good time.  Thomas had spent part of the afternoon calling marina's to see who had the best deal to dock the boat.
He had decided to park as our days had been long and tiring and to make it to Ft. Myers, we still had several 12 hour days to go.  He was feeling good about his decision and it was about that time that the motor had a very disturbing squeal and stopped.  We drifted a bit and were being pushed into shallow water by the wind.  We quickly dropped anchor to give us time to figure out the issue.  Upon investigation, the cam pulley had separated from the motor and upon further investigation, it was found that the actual camshaft had sheared and this engine was not going to be running anytime soon.  Thomas, surprisingly, wasn't surprised.  He had researched Honda's and they did have a reputation for having a flywheel issue which I had repaired under a Honda recall back in 2006 or 2007 so I was the one truly surprised.  Apparently this wasn't a flywheel issue but another issue that has plagued Honda's and is pretty well documented.  The camshaft had sheared where the cam pulley attached and would require a complete engine breakdown, new parts and rebuild to get it going again.  A 1995 engine wouldn't be worth the repairs.  This is the engine that took Beth and I from Savannah to Mexico and back safe and sound and without much of a hitch.  I trusted this engine with our very lives and it did not let us down, Thank God for that.
So, we were dead in the water, the wind against us and anchored in shallow water.  BoatUS to the rescue !  If you own a boat and use it in US waters, A BoatUS membership is a necessity!  They were most courteous on the radio and followed up on the cell phone.  The Captain arrived in about 1/2 hour and we were already rigged to be towed.  He towed us to the marina that Thomas had picked which was only about a mile away from our position.  The slip they had assigned was a bit tight to get in to but the BoatUS Captain skillfully guided us in and we tied up.  Thomas went to the office to take care of the paperwork while I secured the boat and got us hooked up to shore power and water. 

After resting for a bit, Thomas checked online for a replacement engine while I made arrangements for a rental car.  Thomas is partial to Yamaha so that was his priority and was very sure he would never own another Honda.  It had been a long day and did not go as we had planned.  Thomas took it in stride, while disappointed he was in decent spirits.  The plan was to head out in the morning with the rental car with me taking Thomas to Jacksonville to pick up his truck and me continuing back to Ellijay. 

Friday 04/27/2012

I said goodbye to "Second Chance" and we headed north in the rental car.  Thomas and I had a good road trip north and we parted in Jacksonville.  I wish him all the best in his journeys.

Over the next month or so Beth and I will be readying the RV so stay tuned or follow us by email by filling in your email address in the box below.