December 1-6, 2015 - Let the projects begin.

The weather was very hot the first 2 weeks we were here in LaBelle but Carter powered through some major projects.

Carter wanted to beef up the structure for the solar arrays this year. Although the system has woked very well and has survived 6-8 ft seas in the gulf and some 70 mph winds at anchor on the ICW, Carter wanted to stiffen it up a little more. This additional horizontal support will allow us to raise and lower the the main array now with one actuator instead of three. This could come in handy if one of them fails while we are cruising.

Our friend the 8' alligator comes by every afternoon looking for handouts.
We DO NOT feed the alligators. But someone around here does.

Carter focused attention to the motor of the Boston Whaler which we plan to use as our dinghy this year.

It was in desperate need of a new water pump impeller not to mention he took apart and cleaned the carburetor about 3 times before finally getting it to run right. Now it's running better than ever and the only thing left is new bottom and topside paint. 

Another item that has been on Carter's list of chores for a while now was to replace one of the universal joints in the original drive line. This is original to the boat and over 30 years old and what a nightmare of a job!  After about 3 days of pushing, pulling, beating, banging and a lot of cussing, Carter persevered and won that battle.  Engine room Pilates in progress in this pic!

Next, Carter went back and "fine tuned" the installation of the new loo. After we installed it originally we noticed a very slight wobble because the hole in the boat floor was just a little smaller than the opening from the head. Unfortunately the hole was thru 5/8" steel reinforced, 10,000 psi concrete. But about a half hour of angle grinding cured that problem, (hole making a monumental mess of dust), and now the the new loo is steady a rock! Or maybe as steady a toilet ON A Rock.

We resumed our sunset Whaler rides just like in the early days back in the Oxbow.
Radar LOVES to hang 10...15...20 on the bow!

Watch out Radar!  That gator is looking for you!
Mmmm Dinner!

{Groan}  This is every Captain's nightmare.  This boat sunk in the 2nd basin of this marina.  

We moved on to some upgrades in the stateroom and removed the old wall paper as it was beginning to peel off.
I scrubbed off all of the glue and prepped the wall for paint, then it was Carter's turn.

Carter doesn't let me paint much any more.  Maybe because I "whoops" too much?

Continuing with our new color scheme, light blue in this room. This is also the wall the new super high eff. heat pump is going to be mounted on so this moved that project up on the priority list. 

I like this A LOT!

Caught this guy hanging out at the entrance to the marina one evening during our sunset Whaler ride.

Radar and I hanging out on the bow of the Whaler enjoying the sunset.

Painting has begun.  The forward hatch has been removed and set up in the work area
so that extensive repair can be made.

Carter worked on this project for several days adding layers of epoxy to replace some rotting wood.

We have never painted the shower floor and sump so this was a good time to get that done.

Another lengthy project layering epoxy rebuilding the bollard.

Almost completed repair to the bollard. Just a little sanding and painting left.

The paint over the stove was peeling so we scraped and painted that area and continued the paint on the wall behind the spice rack.

Project complete.

Painting the dorade boxes and the engine room hatch.

Project complete.

Onward to the walkway.

Carter replaced the fluorescent  light in the galley.

Taking time out to visit with an old friend Garrett with drinks and a delicious meal.

Preparations for Winter Season 2015-2016 Begins

We arrived at Port LaBelle in early November which is late by our normal routine but Carter's work lasted longer than usual.  As always, the first order of business is to prepare easy access to the boat and clear out a good work space for Carter.  There are a couple of pretty big projects that need to be completed before moving the Arc.  After Carter weed wacked some space for the vehicles and working tables, he proceeded to put the ramp together. 

Carter is covered in sandspurs after weed wacking the parking/work area.

Beginning to construct the ramp to the newly cleared area.

A job well done.

This will be the 6th season that we have used the ramp for easy access to the Arc.  Usually we position the Arc next to shore somewhere so Carter can get back and forth to the truck easily while working on the boat. This year we used it as a short cut so we didn't have to all all the way around to the existing parking area at the far end of the dock  We didn't realize just how popular this ramp would be.  Turns out several other boaters like to use the shortcut!

Radar found his happy place while all the work was happening!

 A snake had located himself on the deck box right at the main companion way.  He had to be evicted from the boat immediately!  Then an 8' alligator drifted by to see what all the commotion was about.

Carter next set about clearing the deck to pressure wash in preparation for painting.  It's been 4 years since the superstructure has been painted so the time has come.

Everything is off the deck and on to the dock for the time being.

September - A Visit From Electric Blue

Several months ago we caught wind of another boat planning to convert to 100% solar electric power with the goal of making the Guinness Book of Records by completing the Great Loop on solar power.  We reached out and made contact with Captain Lee Wheelbarger on the Electric Blue Motor Yacht.  ( electricbluemotoryacht.com )

After months of keeping in touch, we were excited to hear that the 'Crew of Blue' was preparing to move the boat down to the west coast of Florida to continue the refit in warmer weather during the winter.  We made plans to meet up with them in LaBelle as they passed by crossing the Okeechobee Waterway.  Figuring they were probably weary from the hard cruise they had been on for weeks we decided to put on a dinner for them when they arrived. We prepared a tasty steak and potato supper with key lime pie for desert and then set about helping them with a few chores.  Electric Blue had a guest on board, Robert Brown, who video recorded a portion of the trip, across the Okeechobee Waterway.  Our meeting was included in one of the segments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAzm_KoPjh0

Electric Blue coming into the basin with 1st Mate Steven and guest videographer Robert Brown on deck.

Captain Lee and Robert Brown taking a break while waiting for the steaks to come off the grill.  

Electric Blue with the Archimedes behind it at Port La Belle. 

September Visit - Whoo Hoo! A New Loo!!!

We normally always head south once or twice during the summer for a 'boat check'.  Watching the weather closely, we decided to head down to babysit the Arc in the event that Tropical Storm Erica actually made it to Florida.  As it turned out, she fizzled out before getting close so we took advantage of the trip to take a car load of equipment down and complete a couple projects as well.

The amaizorolla (the Corolla) does it again!  The Captain loaded it completely inside and on top with equipment, supplies and tools and the aging Toyota ran like a champ.

The weather in south Florida at this time of year was unbearably hot forcing us to focus on projects below deck.  The central air conditioning system we installed last season works great and we were very comfortable while below.

We went on a shopping trip to Camping World in search of a new loo.  The ball seal had blown out at some point in time during the last season so this is the first project needing to be completed.  At the same time, the Captain replaced the water pump giving us maximum water pressure. We're in business now.  A new crapper AND plenty of water pressure to move things along!  Woo Hoo!  Pure luxury on a boat.

To be honest, I seriously expected to have another tale to add to our "Adventures in Marine Sanitation" chronicles but fortunately for the Captain, the installation went smoothly.  I had settled myself safely out of the way for the barrage of verbal abuse that would most undoubtedly be directed toward the project but it never happened.  Nice!

This would be the perfect time to refresh the paint behind the toilet but we didn't have the paint on hand and our time for this project was running short.  Not to worry, we have another project planned in the near future that will necessitate moving the toilet out of the way so we'll paint it at that time.

That's what I'm talking about!

Camping World had their doggie life jackets on sale so Radar is ready for the next season to begin.  Poor guy, he thought that we were going cruising since I put his life jacket on.  He was disappointed when we only went over to the fuel dock for a potty dump.  Sorry Radar.....soon buddy, soon.

We finished these project just in time for a visit from the Crew of Blue!  See next post.......

April - Getting to the End!

March 29th - We arrived in Clewiston late in the evening, tied up to a couple of bollards around 8:30 pm and went to bed exhausted.  In the morning, realizing that we were running short on provisions, the Captain suggested we check out Roland Martin's Fish Camp for breakfast.  As I am always willing to go out to eat instead of cooking....we untied the Arc and went in search of breakfast.  I can't believe that I didn't take a picture of the Fish Camp but...oh well.

March 30th - We ate and then departed heading toward LaBelle, our old stomping grounds.   Along the way we saw advertising for the Glades Marina restaurant and that transients were welcome so we decided to check it out for dinner.  To our disappointment the restaurant had closed years ago and the Marina...well it was a basin completely lined up with livaboards.  No food and no room at the inn. As we were turning around to leave we were hailed by the captain of a Jefferson 60 who invited us to raft up for the night.  We happily obliged and threw some chicken on the grill.

  

April 1st - We departed early the next morning arriving in Port LaBelle at 10:30 am.  We stayed long enough to shop for provisions, fill the water tanks, wash the laundry and take care of the all important stuff, (potty dump).  

The sunsets at Port LaBelle are always spectacular!

April 2nd - Having all our housekeeping items checked off the list we departed Port LaBelle heading for Fort Myers at around noon, after the batteries were completely charged.  

Our friend Pat and Radars new friend Cracker Jack.

Carter used to have so much fun with these alligators in the Oxbow.  LOL

After a short visit with our friend Pat, we found a nice oxbow to drop anchor just past the Alva Bridge.  We anchored behind this private island owned by a boating club who happened to be on site having a great time.

We departed this oxbow early the next morning cruising west hoping to find a spot for Radar to take his much needed morning shore leave. 

Fortunately we quickly came to the Caloosahatchie State Park with a super nice dock.  We stopped to walk Radar, got a chance to empty the trash, and decided to stay for a little while and let the batteries charge while Carter worked on a few things around the Arc.  

We moved on heading toward Fort Myers arriving at 3:30 pm where we met up with some other old friends, Mike and Smokey. Smokey was the guy that helped Carter get the diesel running a few years ago in Stienhatchie.  It's always good to meet up with old friends!  We stayed here for a couple days visiting and re-provisioning a few things we didn't get in La Belle.

April 6th - We departed the Fort Myers city anchorage with the morning tide.  

It was kind of cloudy so we pulled over for lunch and to charge up the batteries a little before transiting the dreaded miserable mile. We continued on to the Sanibel Island Causeway and dropped the hook at 6:30 pm.

This is a convenience store along the miserable mile!  Now this is guy that needs some solar panels. I shudder to think of how much fuel they have to burn to keep the power on 24/7 with the generator we could hear running in the distance. 

We were told that this building was used in the Hulk Hogan TV series Thunder in Paradise.  Interesting place.

Just before we crossed our wake in San Carlos sound we ran into this guy from Tow Boat US. Since our batteries where almost dead and the sun wasn't shining much, we were practically drifting with the tide when he came along. He was aching to give us a tow but we had to disappoint him. We had just enough power to reach our destination at the Sanibel Causeway which is where we crossed our wake and competed our transit of the entire intracoastal waterway of Florida powered exclusively by solar energy. Woo Hoo!  

The map on our wall is done!

Captain Carter, 1st Mate Diane and 2nd Mate Radar

I think the sun setting on the solar panels is suitable to finish to our saga.

Congratulations Captain!