Final Day in the Bahamas

Well, we are off the boat-mostly. We built in today to take care of pesky last minute boat issues. Mike is currently researching o rings. We may not be the space shuttle, but even LUX can suffer from o ring issues.

We are staying at lovely villas across the way from the marina. It's close enough to walk back and forth. The Pelican Beach Villas are quite nice inside.

But what makes it really special is the view outside.

It has its own beach and area for snorkeling. The best thing, though, is that it gives us plenty of space to reorganize and pack for the trip home.

Vic's DC Electric Service: Alternator or Starter Repair

We were on our way down the ICW, just a few days from jumping off from Ft. Pierce to go to Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas, when the alternator on the port engine died. (Its death is another story...) I ordered a replacement from Marine Parts Express, a reputable Volvo Penta dealer that we've used before. I requested express shipping, which they said they could do directly from Volvo Penta, to be delivered to Ft. Pierce, where we were to arrive in 3 days.

When we arrive at HarborTown Marina in Ft. Pierce, there was no package there. A quick call to MPE and they found that the alternator was still sitting at Volvo. Not even a shipping label on it. We've heard that this is a common occurrence. Someone at Volvo Penta should pay attention to customer service.

Time for Plan B. I called one of the local marine service companies and asked about alternator service companies. I was given the name of Vic's DC Electric Service in Stuart, FL, south of Ft. Pierce. I called Vic and talked with him a bit. He had a Volvo alternator on the shelf, left over from another customer's repair. It was possible that we could buy it and he would be open til 5pm. Off to the car rental place, then to Vic's.

Vic's place is a single bay in an industrial building. There are hundreds of old alternators and starters throughout the space. A small space is reserved for "current projects". Vic was very helpful. The owner of the Volvo 60A alternator hadn't returned Vic's call, so he couldn't sell it to us. Parts were no longer available for the 90A Leece Neville alternator we had. After rummaging around in his stock, he came up with all the new parts needed to make a new 90A alternator. It would be ready about noon the next day. And the price was less than half of what MPE wanted for the 60A Volvo alternator. Yea! I had to pick up Tom & Linda at West Palm Beach, just south of Stuart, so it worked out. I cancelled the order with MPE.

Tom, Linda, and I arrive at Vic's about 1pm the next day and there is the new alternator, complete with the pulley removed from the old alternator, which means that the tachometer will indicate the correct RPM. Vic goes over the connections, we pay him for the work, and we head back to LUX. The installation goes smoothly and the new alternator works great.

If you're in Florida and need an alternator or starter serviced, Vic is the person to see. He also does work for racing cars and boats. He is friendly, knowledgeable, and prompt. He doesn't take credit cards, so be prepared to pay cash for his service.

http://vicsdc.com/   772-220-8952 Stuart, FL

  -Terry

Waterproof Flashlight

Gee wrote about using a flashlight off the stern to attract fish, including two interesting squid. Last year, I decided that it made sense to have at least one good waterproof flashlight on board. A number of uses have come to my mind:
1. Spotting day marks or checking on the anchor bridle in heavy rain.
2. Checking the anchor set in water where we can see the bottom near or after dusk from the dinghy.
3. Checking the props at night, perhaps due to wrapping a crab pot line around one.
4. Inspecting the rigging at night, perhaps also in heavy rain or spray conditions that would affect a non-waterproof flashlight.
5. Shining into the water off the stern to attract marine life after dark.
I'm sure you can come up with some other uses.
I took a look around and finally found the Stanley Fat Max flashlight. It is an LED flashlight that puts out a powerful, concentrated beam of light. It was mentioned on a number of dive sites, so it is intended for depths beyond just a few feet. It is rechargeable, so you'll need to keep track of the charger and charge it from time to time. The on/off switch is a bit strange, but works reliably. It also features a dimming function in case you don't need the full strength beam. It ran for a couple of hours as our underwater light for attracting the squid.  I bought it from Amazon.
It worked really well as an underwater light off our stern, attracting small, fast-moving sea critters, which in turn attracted minnows, which in turn attracted the squid.

  -Terry

Anchor bridle chafe guards

I noticed a few weeks ago that the bridle rode was chafing against the bolts that connect the forward beam to the hulls. In my ditty bag I found a short length of leather left over from covering a helm wheel on a prior boat. There was just enough material, combined with a short time with needle, thread, and a sewing palm to produce a nicely secured guard on each thimble. When doing it, I needed to make sure that each guard is located to protect the line. I had to move one after discovering that the bolt head had worked its way under the edge of the guard. I also used the holes along the edge of the leather (the holes that were used for threading on a helm) to attach the leather to the rode so that it will stay in place. At least that's the intent. We'll see after some more miles under the keel.

  -Terry

Another HOB

We've spent the morning doing last minute repairs to LUX and packing up our cabins. In need of a last minute fix, Terry took off in the dingy. Meanwhile, Mike continued to work on little projects. Just then, a gust of wind took off his brand new hat! It went into the water. It sailed just beyond the reach of the boat hook. We thought it was gone forever. But no! It's Carol to the rescue. She came up from below. She took off her jewelry and watch. She jumped into the water and saved the hat!

And she was successful. One hat, rescued. And Carol got her swim for this trip.

She reported back that the water was just fine!

I Know It's Morning Because The Rooster Said So

At Hope Town Marina, Peggy complained about the local rooster. He did not know how to tell time. He just liked to crow morning, noon, and night. Last night, we were commenting on the lack of birds here at Dickie's Cay.We didn't see any birds- not even a seagull. And, we didn't hear any birds. It's now 7:30 AM, and I can testify to the fact that there are roosters here. And they know the difference between morning and night. That rooster's been crowing since 5:30 AM.

Once again, the sky is just spectacular here.

I must admit, though, the warning about red skies at morning is in my head right now. As you can see in the bottom two photos, there is a definite red tinge to the skies right now.

I would also like to add that the sailing people's idea of not rocking and rolling is really not the same as mine. It seems our acceptable minimum thresholds are VERY far apart. If you were to ask me, we did lots of bouncing last night. Mr. Cheerful (AKA Terry) started with, "Didn't you feel like rock-a-bye baby in the treetops?" He then went on to share that it was so rocky that water kept bouncing into the starboard engine compartment via the rudder shaft. As a result, the bilge pump kept going off. Mike asked if that wasn't really noisy because the bilge pump is right under their heads. "Oh yes," said Peggy. "It was sorta noisy." Hmmm... That would be today's understatement, I think.

As a side note, the SunSail boat that also anchored here last night is already up and on the move. I think someone said that they had better be finding somewhere with calmer waters NOW.

So, we are headed off on our last day of adventure on LUX somewhat tired from not enough sleep and too much bouncing on the waves. This afternoon we will be in Marsh Harbour to begin the process of packing up to go home.

Evening at Dickie's Cay

Our last anchorage for this year is drawing to a close. The evening skies are just beautiful.

For dinner, we worked on cleaning out our supplies. We had a stir fry using canned chicken and frozen veggies.  It was served over Carolina gold rice. 

Now, some of the crew are out trying for a second squid sighting. The flashlight is out and shining down off the back of the boat. But, they are now talking about the water not being as clear tonight. The wind and wave action has been working to try to hinder the squid viewing activities. So, they are busy enjoying the view.they're watching the Hope Town lighthouse light.

Meanwhile, poor Peggy soldiers on. She's doing the dishes.

She's the best when it comes to supporting the crew!

I Know What I Mean When I Say Not So Rolly

But, what do you mean by that? Yes, that would be today's question. After lunch, the sailors started talking about how we might want to move so that we would be in a place that was not so bouncy. They decided to move on to Man-O-War cay because it was. More protected anchorage. 

Up went the anchor. On went the motors. Off we went to the new anchorage. When we arrived, I asked the question, "So, what gauge do you measure this less bouncy by?" I was assured that the anchorage was so much better. Hmmmm. If you ask me, we are still rolling. We are still bouncing. All I can think is that if this is better, it's a good thing we moved!

Ad we won't be moving because we already celebrated our last night on the boat. All the leftover snacks came out. We made frozen drinks with the rest of the dark rum. We opened the last pack of party napkins. Unfortunately, the party is almost over....until the next time!

Morning in Baker's Bay...What's the beep, beep, beep?

It's a beautiful morning here in Baker's Bay.

Too bad it sounds like Ocean City! Yes, Dear Readers, the lovely high end planned resort over there has a truck out cleaning the sand this morning. It's the continual rumble of the truck with the occasional beeps from the back up alarm. But, the view is still spectacular.

From Hope Town to Baker's Bay

Monday, October 28

This morning, we took the shuttle ferry over to Hope Town proper for a walkabout. Surprisingly, several shops were open. Vernon's Grocery and Bakery was open, but no key lime pies until after 2 PM! Huh! He had freshly baked bread, but we really didn't need any bread on board. So, we left it all behind. I am still curious about the coconut bread. Next time.....

We had lunch at Captain Jack's. Not only do they have a lovely view, but they make a habit of throwing some of the kitchen scraps into the water.  As a result, it was like an aquarium when you looked over the side of the deck. We saw parrot fish, blue tangs, and other fish we didn't know- black fish, gray fish, and one with a black top and a yellow bottom. It was worth the price of admission- especially since the food was good as well. I tried the fried plantains for my Bahamas food of the day. They were very tasty!

When we got back to LUX, the decision was made to move on and try somewhere else for the evening. So, we are anchored off Great Guana Cay in Baker's Bay. Unfortunately, we had forgotten to get ice before we left. So Mike and Terry took off in the dingy to the upscale marina. When they returned, they had ice....in a large, black garbage bag! Seemed the only way to get ice was from the restaurant. So, we did have frozen drinks this evening. After all, we have to use up that rum! Oh well.... It's a hard life here in the islands.

For dinner, we had a favorite boat dish- stovetop lasagna. For an interesting twist, we used vegetarian Italian sausages. Yes, we had planned to use them when the vegetarian was on board, but Linda got away before we ate them. They turned out to be surprisingly good.

For dessert, we tried out a microwave recipe for blueberry cobbler-like dish. I read several recipes, and came up with this:

1 can blueberry pie filling

4 T almond butter

2 T butter, melted

2 T honey

1 cup granola

Put the blueberry pie filling in a microwave safe dish. Mix together the almond butter, honey, and melted butter. Add your favorite granola. Spread this mixture over the blueberry pie filling. Cook in the microwave until hot. The time is dependent on your microwave. Ours is a low powered microwave. We cooked it for 4 1/2 minutes. It was just barely hot. 

We served it with our almost melted ice cream. Terry tries to claim that it was twice frozen ice cream. But, it was more like soft serve...very soft serve. The crew of LUX is always willing to be self sacrificing. They ate the mostly melted ice cream on the blueberry stuff, and they actually said it was good.

In the meantime, Terry has lashed a flashlight to the back of the boat. And, he has attracted a squid. Most of the crew are out back watching squid antics. We haven't seen a squid before, so it's a new listing of cool things seen while sailing around. It's great that we are always seeing something new on these trips.

Morning in Hope Town

It's another beautiful day in the Bahamas! And, it's Monday. How do I know this? It's 7:55 AM, and there are worker bees already out and about! Sunday in the Bahamas is mostly like a ghost town. Even the tourist trap shops are closed when we are here. Since we are always here on the shoulders of the season, it makes us wonder what it's like at the height. Terry has mentioned coming down during the real season several times this trip. I guess we are all wondering what the places are like when they are really hopping.

Last night, the light house came on. Doesn't seem like a big deal until you realize that the light house here is a kerosene fired light house. And, they hand carry the kerosene all the way up to one floor below the light. They use 5 gallon jerry jugs. Amazing! It is the only one left in the world that is lit that way. We could see the lights come on in the windows on the way up. Then, the light at the top began to glow. Finally, the fresnel lens at the top began to rotate. The light house was in operation for the night.

You probably can't see it in this picture, but it also has another cool feature. There's a wind vane on top!

In other news-- we still haven't decided what to do today. It's great to be on vacation where the biggest decision for the day is what beautiful spot you'll see later in the day! Stay tuned, Dear Readers. There's bound to be more beautiful pictures!

Dinner Was Just Yummy

Tonight we ate at the Hope Town Marina. The food was just so yummy. Take a look.

Yes, that is a Dark and Stormy in the left hand corner. We enjoyed everything. No leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

We're in Hope Town

Yes, indeed. We are at a lovely marina at a resort here in Hope Town. It offers two pools- one with a swim up bar. In keeping with our tradition of traveling during the off season, the swim up bar is closed. But we did sit in the lovely cabana overlooking the harbor. Some of the crew indulged in a Dark and Stormy. Yum! All of the crew took the afternoon off- reading, taking walks, playing with computers... We just lazed about. It is, as always, a great day here in the Bahamas.

Water In The Bulkhead, Part 2

After a lot of online research and some phone calls, we've decided to continue with the epoxy and microballoons approach. Here's the reasoning behind our choice, not in any particular order.

1. Microballoons are relatively easy to replace, so if a different repair is required, it isn't too difficult to attack the filler with a grinder to remove them. Yes, it is messy. However, it is a doable job.

2. I talked with the Gougeon tech support staff about our proposed approach and they didn't see any problem with it. That's not to say that they are the definitive source of good advice. I was particularly interested in any studies and testing that they may have done regarding the strength of panels in which the balsa core was replaced with epoxy/microballoons. The person I talked with wasn't aware of any specific tests. So while this isn't really a reason to use epoxy/microballoons; it is more like disclosure of what we found in our research.

3. If the repair were made with anything but more balsa, it would result in butt splices at the edges. I don't think that it is possible to do a good scarf joint to the exiting balsa core as the repair approaches the center vertical support beam without affecting the integrity of the structural connection of the bulkhead to the main the support beam. I'm an electrical engineer, not a structural engineer, so this is my impression based on my past experience and is not based on specific technical knowledge of the materials and structure.

4. There was some discussion about the use of  different core materials that have different tensile, sheer, and compression characteristics than that of balsa. CoreCell foam could be used (5lb/cu-ft density) as the core, but would have butt-joint problems as well as getting it to adhere to the existing panels. The existing fiberglass panel on the locker side of the bulkhead could be cut out and re-used by a tapered fiberglass joint around the edge. Or the panel could be cut out and replaced with new layup of fiberglass and unidirectional glass. I can't comment on which might be better.

5. We were told that polyester won't adhere well to epoxy, suggesting that gelcoat (a polyester) won't adhere to epoxy. Gougeon has done some testing that indicates that gelcoat adheres well to epoxy when compared with gelcoat adhesion to polyester fiberglass panels.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/polyester-over-epoxy/

The contrary argument appears here:

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/fiberglass-composite-boat-building/west-system-epoxy-incompatible-gel-coat-27544.html

For our purposes, in the forward locker, we can do the necessary preparation to assure a good bond. It doesn't have to be the same kind of finish as if the repair would be on the exterior.

6. Epoxy has great adhesive properties, about 10x that of polyester resin, according to the WEST epoxy site. Now I can't find the reference I read. I'll edit this if I find it.

7. Epoxy will elongate up to 4% (polyester is about 1%), allowing the core material to flex somewhat in use without collapsing.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/understanding-flexible-properties-2/

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/Product-Data-PDFs/TDS%20105_206.pdf

Finally, LUX is about to start the winter charter season and we need to do something now. Since we can change it in the future (see #1), it makes sense to use epoxy and microballoons while we collect more information.

A useful reference is Fiberglass Boat Repair and Maintenance:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

I find their testing reports more useful though, because they tend to have more pure test results.

The repair went well, taking all afternoon. We mixed about 6 oz of epoxy at a time and applied it with a caulk gun and an empty caulk tube. We cut the caulk tube down to just hold 6 oz, making it easier (less distance) to force the plunger back out of the tube. The small amount also reduced the exothermic reaction, preventing overheating. We waited 20 minutes between applications to allow the heat to dissipate. One of our portable fans (see Ceiling Fans!) was used to blow air onto the panel, which helped remove the heat. It was a messy job, but we eventually finished it just after dinner. We were able to drill the holes for the fresh water feed-through fitting and get water running again before retiring for the night. Gee and Peggy did a great job of fixing and cleaning up dinner with water from several pitchers. 

  -Terry

We Say Goodbye to Tom and Linda

Today is a sad day on LUX. Tom and Linda leave us today. Their bags are packed. They're ready to go. It seems that their clothes don't want to leave, though. Linda keeps yelling up from the cabin that she has found yet something else. Now Peggy has gone down to check, and she found 2 more shirts. Those pieces of luggage may actually explode just like the cartoons! It seems that all the stuff they packed to bring to LUX didn't fit back into the bags. And, they actually only bought 2 t-shirts. How is it that your luggage always shrinks when you get ready to pack to go home?

And so they are on their way home.

Several of our crew went up to help them to the car. They may need a porter or two at the airport, though. Terry wanted to know if Linda had gold bricks in her case!

Today, we'll be heading off to Hope Town. It's another beautiful day...all the prettier since Tomand Linda's departure reminds us that ours is imminent as well.