March 16 - 30, 2016 Everglades City

Yes, this is me, 1st Mate Diane guiding the Arc as the Captain took Radar for shore leave while we were leaving...heading out toward the Gulf.

Following the dolphins.

Radar having a chat with a friendly dolphin.

It's usually cooler  and the water is a little rougher out on the open water so Radar hangs out in his tent in the cockpit.  It keeps him warm, feeling safe and keeps him out from under our feet.

 We arrived in Everglades City.

Nice waterside restaurant for dinner and back outside the limits to anchor for the night.

March 1 - 16, 2016 Ft. Myers, Naples, Marco Island

It's been quite a while since we have posted a blog so thought it was time for an update.  With the Cruiseaid for a Sustainable Florida complete, with the Archimedes cruising over 1,500 miles on nothing but sunshine, it was time for maintenance and upgrades.  So, to make it easier on myself, I'm going to go through my monthly log of pictures to backtrack.  Whoa!!!  February 2016 was my last blog post!!!!

With our list of chores complete in LaBelle, it was time to depart and have a little fun before the season ends.  Finally!  We threw off the dock lines and headed down the Caloosahatchie River.

First stop, Ft. Myers, FL where we roamed through the riverfront art festival.  It's great to be a tourist!

Onward through the 'Miserable Mile" past our favorite bait shop and then turn south!

We cruised to Key West during an earlier season but we were in so much of a hurry to arrive by Christmas that we didn't get to take our time and enjoy the ride.  This time we had plans to make stops in the 10,000 islands area.

10,000 Islands turned out to be a photographers dream!  I won't bore you with a bunch of pictures but this one is my all time favorite.  I got up on the sundeck enabling me to get a close up of this baby Osprey.

Radar is certainly a happy camper being 'on the road' again.   He loves being able to explore spoils islands with no leash such as this one in Naples, just before going off shore for a couple days.

 Ready to come back aboard please!

This is what we call putting on the parking breaks.  We sleep well when the tide rolls out putting us hard aground on our twin keels, keeping us safe from dragging into the channel.  The tide comes back in and we are on our way.

Next stop:  Marco Island

Old Marco Lodge for dinner and then anchored right around the corner for the night.  The town was advertising an art show the next day so we decided to stick around and enjoy a couple of beautiful days in Marco Island.

Sometimes finding a good place for Radar's shore leave turns out to be an adventure!  What looked like a beach turned out to be quicksand!

We have had a new chart plotter/depth sounder on our list for a while and decided to go ahead and make the purchase before heading deeper into the 10,000 Islands.  The Captain installed this while we rested here for a couple days. Good move Captain!

But...before we go, let's check out Stan's Idle Hour bar.  Good times!

Captain Carter got out the fishing pole and cast the line that afternoon.  Radar was happy and ready to chow down!  You catfish eating dog!

We had a good time in Marco Island but it's time to raise anchor and head south.

New AC Unit in the Stateroom!

With the installation of the new Willis high efficiency AC we sleep sooo good at night.

Running all the lines.

The condensate line runs through the wall to drain into the sump directly on the back side of the wall in the head.

Charging up the condenser installed up on the sundeck.

The lineset running from the condenser down to the unit.

The end result is a super COOL stateroom!

Major Power System Upgrade, Jan 16 - Feb 15th, 2016

Next, Carter began the monumental task of rewiring the solar panels.  With the addition of a 2nd Flexmax Controler...

The beginning of the wiring inside the mechanical room.

New wiring installed and wall in the mechanical room freshly painted.

Now to connect the wiring from the panels.

Carter wanted to rewire the panels to make the fore, aft, port and starboard sides are controlled separate from each other.  He now has total control of how the flap tracker works.

Completing the finishing touches to the work above deck at the end of the day.

Next was to bring the wiring below deck and run back to the mechanical room.  The aft array comes down through the engine room.

The newly installed aft panel up on the sundeck.

This is what I call "controlled chaos."  Wiring can be messy.

And the completed project!  Toggle switches for each set of panel arrays.

Nice Job Captain Carter!

December 12, 2015 - January 15, 2016

Happy Holidays From the Archimedes!

December got crazy after the last post.  We took two days off from work to go explore Punta Gorda with the Whaler.  It was a nice break in the middle of all the work.  Then it was time to head back to Tennessee for the holidays with both of our families.  It was a great time!

Before we left, we participated in the LaBelle Christmas Boat Parade.  That was a lot of fun!

And now, with the holidays over, we are back to work.

After putting a new coat of bottom paint on the Whaler, Carter then put a fresh coat of bright white on the top.

Getting ready to add some teak hand rails to the Whaler.

Next up will be to put the bimini back on and launch!

Carter spiffed up the steering wheel at the helm.
A couple layers of UV resistant epoxy and it's good to go for several more years.
It looks GREAT!

Carter had to rearrange his engine room to make room to store the Christmas lights.

I've had these bamboo blinds on the boat for several years and finally came up with an idea of how to use them.
Our windows are Hershoff design so I am unable to sew curtains for them.  The window design requires a panel to be slid into place so... Carter and I came up with this idea.  Using the old blinds as patterns, I cut out new panels using bubble insulation, then glued them to the bamboo.  I like the outcome!  We'll just have to see how well they hold up.

Talk about room darkening.  We're not used to total blackout but these blinds are working.
Also, I found several additional vintage Tupperware and have replaced all of the glass canisters with them.

We wanted separation between the bed and the galley so I cut a curtain panel to fit and hung it with tension rods.
We are getting used to the new look.

That's all for this post!