We had the rental car until late afternoon. We decided to drive to Warren, the next town to the north, for breakfast. We found a fun little place and almost went back for lunch to have their specialty-hot dogs.
Before leaving the boat, Dave ordered doors for our companionway that will swing open instead of having to lift out 2 panels. There was an October special on the ones we have been looking at for some time-Zarcor. They will have 3 different inserts, solid white translucent, grey Lexan transparent, and No See ‘Um bug proof screens. They have to be custom made and will be shipped to our mailing address in Florida.
Dave dropped me off at the grocery store while he refilled our propane. He was using it for heat everyday while I was gone. We took all the groceries to the boat by dinghy. Then Dave returned the car. It took most of the evening to put things away. As usual, I break down the meat into 2 person portions, wrap it in cling wrap and then put them in vacuum bags. I wrap vegetables in foil. I take food out of boxes and bag them. Once everything is stowed, I document what I bought in my phone app and the quantity and where they are stowed. Can’t always just open a cupboard and put things on the shelf. PHEW!!
Happy Halloween! And Happy 44th Anniversary of our first date! We spent most of the day in the Maritime Center on shore. I did 3 loads of laundry while Dave did some updates on the computer. We both took showers on shore. It cost $1.75 for 5 minutes. When the facility closed at 4:00 (winter hours), we put our laundry in the dingy and took our computer backpack with us to Aiden’s Pub across the street. We had a nice dinner to celebrate our first date. We probably wouldn’t have ever remembered the actual day if it hadn’t been on Halloween.
Here is what Dave could remember for projects while I was gone.
Dave added a brass clip to the back stay to hold our US flag in place. The last flag was shredded by the wind this summer. We’re still looking for the new flag on the boat.
Dave used other brass clips to secure our jerry cans for fuel on the deck. This will make it easier to clip them to the life line rather than retying them each time.
He had a few things shipped to USPO General Delivery. With our general mail came our absentee ballots, which we returned, and our new passports. Dave also ordered a manual bilge pump to use under our engine compartment. This is where the water is collecting from our shaft tube leak. He has been using the shop vac to clean it out regularly. This will be left in place and easier to use on a daily basis. We’ll see how that goes as we move south. We would like to wait to do the actual repair until we are further south. He also cleaned the entire bilge of any water to have a clean bilge when we start south.
He also had a new Mantus gate clip for the snubber sent here. The existing one broke when we returned to Narraganset Bay. Over time, they get brittle and break. We've had to replace them periodically. Even when it is broken, it was functional using a zip tie until we received the replacement.
Dave had to put oil in the new outboard. He also sprayed anti-corrosion on every bolt, nut, and fuel line clip. Basically, anything that was metal. He had run across problems with that in our last motor. He actually mounted the motor by himself while I was gone. First he had to take the 20hp off the stern mount and lay it on the swim platform tethered to the boat. Then he used the davit lift system to take the 15 hp off of the dinghy and onto the stern mount. He used a winch in the cockpit (because his wench wasn’t there to help, according to Dave). He has a strap system to use on the motor/cowling that is adjustable and could be used for both motors. Next he had to move that strap system from the 15hp to the 20hp. Then the 20hp had to be lifted onto the dinghy and mounted there. Usually I am in the cockpit running the winch. So by himself, he had to move it a bit, position the motor, lift it some more, move the motor, etc. The only problem was one scratch in the teak swim platform. Sure glad we started this adventure when we did, because the old outboard quit running!!.
Dave experienced his first Nor’easter while I was gone. He was expecting gale force winds. He let out more rode, the anchor chain, to 200 feet in 20 feet of water. That will help keep him from dragging anchor. The last time we were at a rough anchorage, we took on water. So Dave cleaned the through hull for the shaft tube and closed it while he was at anchor in this storm. AND we didn’t take on water. So that further confirms that the leak is in the shaft tube.
We had two overhead port light/hatches leak while I was gone, in the V head and the port salon. Dave had placed new seals on both of these hatches. The cold weather shrunk the rubber gasket which pulled apart caulk seam. He resealed them, but the caulk was cold and come out slow. It turned into a messy job and will have to be cleaned up in warmer weather somewhere, who knows when. If it works, it goes to the bottom the list.
I always tell people that one of you has to be mechanical to actually live on a boat or have a lot of money.
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