Thursday - 10/8

Got things tidied up a little and then Don showed up to work on the mast wiring. We got the radar mount mounted and I had to leave for my appointment in Atlanta.
Went by the new apartment and dropped off a few things. It wasn't the most productive day but little things got done.

J

Wednesday 10/7 - Mast Step

Arrived late at the boat yard to take the arch off and prepare for taking the mast down. Phone calls and emails kept me at the computer until about 11 am so I didn't make it out to the boatyard until about noon. I had to go by the office to pay for the mast step and then got started on removing the arch. The plan was simple, undo the 16 bolts that hold the arch on and place it in the cockpit and secure it for transport. I called Emilio to give me a hand as he helped me put it on over a year ago. I remember the installation being difficult but never imagined how difficult taking it off would be. I had 4 of the bolts off when Emilio arrived and he began working on the other side. The mast step was scheduled for 2 but Stumpy worked with us and was at the boat about 4, less than 5 min after Emilio and I finished getting the arch in the cockpit. The mast step went well and Don Taylor, with Somebody Else Marine, showed up as the mast was coming down to assist with running the new radar cable and VHF Antennas. By the time I left, it was after 6pm and I was exhausted.
Emilio was an immense help and I can not thank him enough as there was no way to have gotten it done, and done in time without him.
Today, Thursday will be spent further securing the arch in the cockpit, assisting Don with running the wires and cleaning the interior. It will be a short day as I have to head into Atlanta by 1 for an appointment. In the middle of all of this, We are moving out of the house and into a midtown apartment. Hectic doesn't begin to describe things.

J

Tuesday 10/5 - Preparations

Busy day at the boatyard. I started about 10 am and got all the accessories off the arch, cleaned out the lockers and the starboard side of the boat. Beth joined me around 3 and we got the anchor chain marked in 10ft increments with fluorescent paint, got the main sail and boom off as well as getting the genoa down and stowed. The mast comes down tomorrow and then the cleanup of the boat begins ( again ). If there is time, I want to get the hull really cleaned and polished as well as touching up the bottom paint. The list is almost down to stuff to do in Savannah and it will be by the time it leaves on Tuesday morning.

J

Work Day, Saturday 10/2

An early start made working on the boat nice as the temperatures were in the high 50's and only got up to the mid 70's. I got the oil changed on both the outboard and the generator as well as draining the carbs and greasing the Honda. I noticed the Honda wasn't quite plumb so after loosening everything, I managed to get it within 1/8 inch of plumb. I don't know if this will have any effect on overall performance but it looks better and couldn't hurt. I removed all the external gas tanks and the propane tanks in preparations for trucking the boat. I managed to get several things done on the list and Sunday will be an off day as we travel to Ellijay for Daniel's birthday.
There is still alot to be done but I think it could be ready to truck by next weekend.
Unfortunately a few details have popped up at the house that must be taken care of so hopefully they can be accomplished early on Monday and I can get back to the boat.

J

Boat out of the lake.

Leaving Holiday Marina for the Last Time.


Second Chance is sitting on stands in the Aqualand boatyard. The last trip across the lake was peaceful and a little sad. Second Chance has been on Lanier for over 9 years and I feel like it is ready to play in the blue water. The haul out was uneventful and Stumpy, the Aqualand Yard Master, handled her with kid gloves. The pressure wash almost wasn't needed but was nice to get the lake scum off the bottom. The bottom was in excellent shape and didn't have the array of blisters it did the last time I hauled it out. We just need to touch up a few places and it will be ready for salt water.

I managed to get temporary power on so I could run the fans and the tv ( at least until the arch gets taken down ). I got the batteries rewired and installed a new 12V bus on the starboard side for all the added equipment like the AIS, Radar, and SSB. I also go the new tempering valve installed on the shower. Thanks for the GREAT idea Stu. Finally a shower that you don't have to jump in and out of because of the temperature fluctuations. I hope to get all the little jobs that remain this week and decommission it next week, hopefully on to Savannah by the 15th.

J

Friday - Boat Leaving 6 dock

Well the day has come for Second Chance to leave 6 dock on the first step to our cruising plans. I am a bit excited and apprehensive. I will head out shortly and make the final preparations and head over to Aqualand for my 1pm appointment.
I will post later today with pictures and a report.

J

Wednesday 9/29 - Preperations

Went out to the dock today to meet with Bud of Bud's Canvas who is making my raincatcher for the boat. He needed to fit it to the boat and get a better visual on what my drawing represented. He had made an oversize version of my drawing to allow for errors but it looked really good on a test fit. He will trim it and finish it so it will be ready to travel with the boat. He is the best canvas guy I have ever known.
I took the opportunity to unpack the dock box which won't be making the trip with us. Apparently I had been using it to store a lot of crap most of which wound up in the big dumpster. With the dock box empty, it was quickly taken by one of the dock residents. I still have the battery issue to solve but steps are being made toward the goal.

J

Time to move

Decisions have been made ! Second Chance leaves 6 dock forever on October 1, 2010.
Most of the weekend will be spent removing the arch and preparing for departure.
The mast will be stepped sometime early next week and all hopes are to have it moving by 10/15. This is a huge step toward our goal. Our sail date remains at 12/1 but we still have a few hurdles to cross.

Will keep you posted.

J

Saturday 9/18

A quick trip out to the boat to get a measurement for Bud from Bud's Canvas was all I could manage this week. We have been busy packing, organizing and looking for a new place to live. We will make the final decision next week on when and where we move in the interim before we move on the boat full time in Savannah.

Projects still need to be done before it is pulled out of the lake, several projects to get it ready to be trucked to Savannah and then the reinstallation of everything once in Savannah. At the current rate, we will be lucky to make a 12/1 sail date.

But, we are working toward that.

J

Saturday, 9/11 Friends from Sweden

Another record setting day for heat in Atlanta. The high was 96 degrees but also a great day to be on the lake. My friend from Sweden, Jan Sjosten and his children came to visit this week and we all spent the day on the boat. Beth had volunteered earlier to ride along on a charity poker run so we took the boat out to meet her at the finish line. We left the dock around noon and met up with her at Sunset Cove about 2. Beached the boat and the kids had a great time swimming around. We returned around 6.
As usual, the winds were very light so we motored the entire day.

J

Saturday Sept 4 - PARTY with drag queens

What a great weekend. The weather was so nice this weekend it was amazing. I went out to the boat on Sat afternoon to get the new battery charger installed. My intentions were to get things cleaned up but that didn't happen. The new battery charger is installed and working well, just need to clean up all the wiring and start on the new 12V bus for the starboard side.


Beth was scheduled to be in the Peaches Christ show Saturday night and everyone on the dock was talking about it and excited to be going. Since Beth had to be in the show, she didn't get to ride and party with everyone and met us there. Our friends on 6 dock arranged for a limo to take us to the show and it was the best mobile party I have experienced. We left the marina about 10, with everyone already about 1/2 drunk and continued the party until we got to the theatre in downtown Atlanta. What a show, fantastic drag queens and "movie" stars. Beth was one of the twins and was such a dead ringer for the actual cast member in the movie, a lot of people thought it was actually her. We all got to meet Peaches, Mink Stole, and everyone involved with the event. After the show we piled back into the limo and hit the Waffle House back on Friendship road. We got back to the marina about 5:30 am. Long night but was such a great time with the greatest people. 6 dock rocks !

J

September 1 - House Deal !

Wow, things change quickly. While the house has been for sale for the past couple of months, there had been little activity. Last night we met with a couple that were interested and by the end of the evening, we had a deal. Mutually beneficial to all parties. We will start getting things in order and get all the t's crossed and the i's dotted but it looks like a done deal. The reality of going cruising full time just got a lot more real. Things are going to be busy for the next month as I want to get the boat hauled and moved to Savannah by the middle of Oct.

Lots of things to do, have to get a whole new list !

J

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