As you saw from the first part of today’s blog, I was anchored next to a beautiful, and what appeared to be deserted beach across from Fort Mantanzas. After I got done with few chores, and was ready for some yoga, I thought it would be a great idea to do it on the deserted beach instead of on my boat. I could take the paddleboard across and have plenty of open, private space with a beautiful view….It would be lovely.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I finally poked my head out of the cabin to prep the paddleboard and saw this:
Who would have guessed that this was the spot for everyone to hang out on a Tuesday morning! Ah, well. I decided to go ashore anyway to explore a bit and do yoga later on the boat. If nothing else, I could get some photos of the boat at anchor.
The prep of the paddleboard took longer than the actual 250′ paddle to shore, but I felt the current was too strong to just swim across. (Getting to shore wouldn’t have been a problem, but getting back to the boat might have been!)
I did get some photos. It’s always good to see my boat from a distance–to appreciate her classic lines. I’ve joked (because of the poor cosmetic state of Serendipity) that I should have named her “Pretty from Afar”!
I wandered down the beach and met a couple who’s brother sails in the Caribbean. They told me of a nearby store if I needed one.
As I strolled down toward the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center/Ferry Terminal, I noticed a bunch of people on top of the fort and the ferry there. What the heck, it’s Tuesday and they’re supposed to be closed!? Maybe the website hasn’t been updated and they are operating today. That would mean I could catch the next ferry and see the fort after all. I walked to the office only to be told that Tuesdays were reserved for special events–not the general public; what I was seeing was a school field trip. Ah, well.
I took advantage of being there to go on their nature walk
and was able to almost get an interestingly-framed photo of Serendipity at anchor by standing on the railing of the beach lookout.
When at anchor, I have to manage my mizzen boom to keep it from blocking my solar panels as much as possible. I try to keep it as far as possible on the side away from the sun. I find that it can make a huge difference in how much power the panels will provide.
I use a “preventer”1 type line to hold the boom over. The problem is that when the sun moves from the east to the west, I have to move the boom over to the other side, which involved disconnecting the preventer than walking it around the rear of the boat, careful to not get it or the mizzen sheet (the line that controls the boom normally) caught on the solar panels, the grill, or the outboard engine. It only takes five minutes, but is just a pain. Today, just as I was getting ready to move it before I went ashore around noon, I noticed the boat starting to shift because of the mid-day tide change. Without my having to do anything, the entire boat turned 180 degrees, “moving” the boom out of the way for me for the sun being out of the west. Nice timing tide!
I did move the prime pump on/off switch to outside the engine compartment. The whole process took about an hour and went rather smoothly. It looks rather McGiver-ed, as more and more things are on this boat.2
I also thought that I’d change the oil today, but that process was anything but smooth. In fact, it was sort of a three-hour disaster! First of all, when I was using my suction pump thing to suck out the oil, it was coming out ridiculously slow. I couldn’t seem to speed it up. It literally took an hour to suck the four quarts out of the engine. Then I realized that I hadn’t run and warmed up the engine (and oil)! This is important because the sediment sits at the bottom of the oil pan and it needs to be mixed with the warm oil before draining it so that it all gets removed with the oil. It also makes the oil easier to drain. So now I would be putting fresh oil in without removing all the contaminants first. But, it was too late by the time I remembered. I’m now going to have to change this oil in another 50 engine hours rather than 100 as is the norm. đ
The second thing that went wrong was when I was pulling the suction hose out of the dip stick tube after all the oil was gone, I was having to hold the pump in one hand and try to disconnect the suction hose with the other, but it was stuck and the more I struggled to separate them, the more the tube flopped around, sprinking oil over everything! It was a complete mess! I quickly cleaned up all the biggest splotches, but then decided to wait until I changed the oil filter before cleaning up everything.
That was going well. I put a plastic bag around the filter and reached in with a gloved hand to loosen then remove it. It came off with oil pouring all over it, but I had the bag in place. Then for some reason, as the filter dropped into the bag, I moved the bag out from under the bracket while there was still oil dripping from it! I have no idea why I was in such a hurry, but about 1/2 cup of oil dropped into my engine compartment before I could do anything about it, and then it started running down into my bilge.
Right at this moment, it decided to start pouring rain. I had everything open, including one of the cockpit lockers, and all its contents spread out over the cockpit because the suction tubes for the oil suction pump had been in the bottom of it. The main hatch over my table was wide open, with my computer and iPad underneath getting wet, the settees were getting wet, and I, elbows deep inside the engine compartment trying to find and stop the oil from getting into my bilge, was getting wet. Bad timing, rain!
Eventually I added the new oil, cleaned up all the old oil, and wiped down all the wet spots, but the entire oil change process took three hours! Oy yoy yoy! (And no, I do not have any photos of any of that!)
On the other hand, I do feel a sense of accomplishment. I can now quickly start my engine since I just have to hit the prime pump switch on my way to the cockpit. My biggest worry, honestly, was if I were to drag anchor in the middle of the night. I’m pretty close to a shore, and I didn’t relish the idea of having to take down my companionway stairs to open the engine compartment to hit the priming switch before I could start the engine in a situation where seconds might determine whether I go aground or not. So that’s done. And I won’t have to change the oil in tomorrow night’s anchorage, but will be able to just relax.
I didn’t catch up on any missing blog entries, but I did make a big salad today, so that will be first dinner, and I’ll have leftovers for about another 6 or 8 salads (if I don’t wait to long). I also only did half of my yoga (while ashore), planning to do the other half (and my exercises) on deck this evening. But, it hasn’t stopped raining and blowing and doesn’t look like it’s going to before dark, so probably won’t get that done. Second dinner is still up in the air. đ
Tomorrow’s plan is to weigh anchor around 9:30 am then motor about two and a half hours to St. Augustine to refuel and retrieve my packages, then motor another couple of hours further north to an anchorage off a little island in the ICW called Pine Island. Nicholay and I stopped there when moving his boat down from North Carolina in December.
Later!
- A preventer is a line that is used to keep a boom from swinging the wrong way unexpectedly. It is typically used on the mainsail when sailing directly downwind so if there is a wind shift (or an inattentive helmsman) the wind doesn’t get behind the sail driving the boom dangerously and powerfully completely across to the other side. This has killed people and damaged rigging. Here I’m using it the same way, but for a different reason.
âŠī¸ - It’s funny, but the first year or so that I was working on the boat, I was so concerned that nothing I did would reduce the value of the boat–that it all had to look good. That was mainly because a Shannon is supposed to be a top-of-the-line boat, and all the other ones I’ve seen have all been in Bristol (mint) condition. So I was very hesitant to do a lot of things.
But about a year ago something shifted, and I realized that this was my boat, and I was going to arrange it and install things the way I wanted and not care what anyone else thought, or about resale value. That change in attitude really sped things up and has given me the courage to screw things into walls or cut holes places without much hesitation. It isn’t getting prettier, but is getting more and more functional! âŠī¸