Getting Ready

Our chillin and grillin time is coming to an end as now we have family and friends to visit with and work to be done before our departure.

On September 3rd we met my sister and brother-in-law at Harvest Thyme in Davidsonville.  The week before Pat and Mary Healy took us to Harvest Thyme and we enjoyed our dinner so much we thought Brenda and Florian would also like it. Both times we went we had the B.A.M Meatball for Two, very good.  It is always fun spending time with my sister and brother-in-law.

Rob, Sharon, Brenda, & Florian

As you know the marina did not do fireworks on the 4th of July and postponed them to Saturday, September 5th.  In addition to fireworks, Herrington provided lunch, catered by Smokehouse Grill.  Lunch included either a pulled pork or chicken sandwich along with coleslaw, chips, cookies, brownies, and a cold refreshing soft drink or water.  

Our group decided since lunch was being provided, we would do a light evening dinner prior to watching the fireworks.  Our light dinner was an amazing charcuterie board with cheeses, meats, whipped feta, fruit, marinated mushrooms, and so much more.  

We started our evening with a chocolate cake shooter, so yummy and tasted just like a piece of chocolate cake!

Lance, Sharon, Christopher, Nicole, Rob, & Christin

Recipe:

• 1 ounce hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico), ½ ounce vodka, 1 lemon, cut into wedges, and white sugar

In a shot glass, combine 1 part hazelnut liqueur and 1 part vodka. Coat a wedge of lemon with sugar. Suck the lemon wedge, and with the juice still in your mouth, drink the shot.

Our evening ended with Herrington Fireworks

Rob, Lance, and Nick went on a fishing trip on the Lucky Duck courtesy of Rob's friend, Bob, on the 8th of September.  The weather was absolutely perfect. They caught striped bass also known as rockfish, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. 

After the fishing trip I met the guys at Ketch 22 for a cocktail (they really did not need another one).  While at Ketch, Nick's friend Nicole came to visit.  

Nicole, Nick, & Sharon

A day spent at the pool with the crew.

The week of September 15th we began the project of lowering the mast.  Lowering the mast will allow us to go under more bridges without having to wait for an opening.  As some bridges open on the hour and 1/2 hour only.  In order to lower the mast we had to take down all the canvas including the bimini and fold the metal support structure.  

We took advantage of the canvas being down and applied a coat of varnish to the top side railing.  We took the bimini to Chesapeake Beach Laundromat to clean and then sprayed it down with a waterproofing solution and Rob cleaned each panel.

The temperature is starting to drop and we were missing the warm weather already (at least I am).  Our first time turning on the heat and guess what, it was not blowing hot air, not even warm air. This made me remember we had no air conditioning in July (not sure how I forgot about that) considering it was 90 degrees with 100% humidity.  Luckily, it was for a night and Rob was able to troubleshoot the issue and fix the problem.  We also were able to borrow a portable air conditioning unit from Bernie Cowger.  Back to the heat, the reverse valve is stuck. Thank God it is stuck in the air conditioning mode. We determined it was much cheaper to purchase an electric heater than replacing the air conditioning unit.

Next project, Rob re-torqued the head bolts and adjusted the valves on the generator while I sanded, taped, and varnished wood.

On September 18th we celebrated David's 30th birthday, Rob and I met him at Carson's Creekside Restaurant located in Middle River, MD.  It was a nice enough day and we were able to sit outside on the deck.  The cream of crab soup and crab cake was delicious.

David does not like me taking his picture

More projects, just little ones such as cleaning the strainers, changing the oil and filters, flushing heat exchangers with Barnacle Buster, replacing zincs, several coats of varnish, organizing the garage, inventorying, ordering supplies, etc. 

We ended the month enjoying Oktoberfest dinner with Florian and Brenda at The Old Stein Inn.  We sat in the Biergarten. It was a little different due to covid. They had no seats at the bar and the high top tables had been replaced by tables socially distanced. We shared the Bavarian soft pretzel and potato pancakes for an appetizer, the applesauce served with the pancakes had a little too much cinnamon. Brenda and I enjoyed the Jager schnitzel, while Florian and Rob had Schnitzel Cordon Bleu with a radish salad and an Oktoberfest salad.  Brenda and I could not leave without sampling dessert, she had hazelnut torte and I had the apple strudel.  

I have to say the summer spent at Herrington Harbour South has been a lot of fun.  We had our normal crew, which was Rob, Sharon, Lance, Nicole, Giovanna, Rosella, and Gemma but this year our crew expanded to include Bernie, Jackie, Marti Ann, Jamie, Holly and Reardyn for weeknight cookouts.  Our weekend crew included the normal crew plus John, Christopher, and Christin with special appearances by Billy, Madeline, Terry and Sheila. The meals we had were always very delicious, thanks to the amazing chefs in our group.  

Looking forward to the next adventure. Stay Tuned!

Call Me Stubby

Our 'air draft' (mast height) was 22' 9" but I wanted to get us under 21' in case we get to travel through the Erie Canal next year. As you can see from the picture below, taking down the mast would have made driving from the fly bridge a challenge.

To get the mast down, we had to take down ALL the canvas/bimini and fold up the metal structure that supports it.

The first thing I did was remove the 'Brill-O pad' lightning rod, anchor light and block at the top.

Since the bimini was down, we took it to the laundromat for a cleaning and then applied a fresh treatment of Star Brite Waterproofing. We use a garden pump sprayer to thoroughly wet the bimini. This stuff is bullet proof!

I used my trusty Fein multi-tool to carefully cut two feet off the mast just above the collar for the halyards. I had to be very careful NOT to cut the wires for the anchor light. I was originally going to fiberglass and reattach the block on top but saved another inch and a half by just tapering the top of the mast and painting it with Interlux Brightside -- a one-part application polyurethane topside finish. The anchor light was screwed to the top of the mast on top of a generous portion of caulk to help keep water out of the conduit. I did not reinstall the lightning rod. The 00 cable is still there and protrudes a little above the mast and below the light. Hopefully lightning will hit it and travel to ground.

The finished product! We are now just under 20 feet and can clear almost every drawbridge on the ICW. There is no better feeling than passing sailboats waiting for an opening and just cruising right on by with a friendly wave.

July and August @ Herrington Harbour South

Have you missed us? We've been busy chillin and a grillin this summer with family and friends.

P dock, for us, was way in the back of the marina compared to when we were on C dock.  We had to pack everything for the pool (including a change of clothes), lunch, cocktails, and dinner when we left the boat.  Took some getting used to but we managed. Sure did make us miss C Dock.

Hope you had a happy Fourth of July!  John, Christin, Nicole, and myself reserved our tables at 6 am (yes, I said 6 am). It was a beautiful morning to be up and see the sunrise. Our marina group all prepared dishes and we spent a delightful afternoon\evening together.  We had a very nice spread. The marina did not do fireworks this year, the same as everywhere else.  But, I was impressed with the personal fireworks that were being set off all around.

4th of July sunrise

Our spread

The Gang (social distancing)

We were able to visit with my brother, sister and brother-in-law.  Spent the day eating crabs and swimming.  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures.

The weekend of July 17th Nick and Shae came to visit, we decided it would be fun to take the boat over to Lowes Wharf.  Lowes Wharf is located on the Eastern Shore between St. Michael's and Tilghman Island.   It was a hot Friday afternoon and we had the place to ourselves.  Lowes normally has a 15 person dinghy that shuttles people from their boat to shore, we had our own dinghy with our very own dinghy captain.  We were not impressed with the service or the food that day. Considering no one was there the service should have been outstanding.  Overall, we had a nice afternoon and Shae got to go for her very first boat ride in our boat.  

Captain G

Remember the oil leak we were trying to get fixed in June, well we finally got it fixed -- that was an ordeal.  Wade the mechanic we spoke to and hired to perform the job just never showed up.  One day when we were on our walk around the marina Rob spotted an Off Shore Diesel vehicle, so he went looking for Wade.  Rob did not find Wade, but he found Richard, who happened to be Wade's father, he had also not heard from Wade but, our parts were ordered and he sent someone else over within an hour to assess what needed to be done.  Jude showed up the next morning and started taking the engine apart. He suggested replacing some parts and recommended a temporary fix on another leak. Two days later, Jude returned and finished fixing the leaks. He was able to fix all of them at a reasonable price.  We would use Off Shore Diesel in the future, but not deal with Wade.

We had a casualty, our dinghy deflated, the glue holding the seam together melted.  We took pictures of where the seam had come apart and went to West Marine, that is where we bought the dinghy, to see what our options were, as the boat was not very old.  Luckily, the dinghy was still under warranty, problem though, we had to take the dinghy to Annapolis Inflatables.  Since the issue is covered under warranty Annapolis Inflatables determines if repairable and provides an estimate to West Marine and then West Marine determines whether to pay for the repair or pay us the current value. 

Wishing my Mom a heavenly happy birthday on the 30th of July. Miss you!

Finally, it's all about me, it is my birthday month.  🎈🎈🎈

We seem to be in the path of tropical storms this year. Isaias came though Chesapeake Beach and North Beach on the 5th of August.  We were sound asleep when an alarm on the phone announced a tornado warning and to seek shelter immediately.  I turned on the tv and we were right in the path of the possible tornado.  Rob wanted to know if I wanted to get off the boat and go to the bathhouse, by the time we would have gotten there the timing for the tornado would have passed. We decided to stay in place and since we were on P dock, we were pretty tucked in, and Rob put out additional lines to keep us in place.  Well, we were perfectly fine but, our friends Mike and Sue, and residents near Breezy Point were hit by the tornado.

We've had a few Sunday Funday's with our friends Lance and Nicole.  

Champagne Brunch

Rum Runners

The Julian girls threw me a birthday party.  They went all out with decorations and my favorite snack foods.  Cream cheese and chips, M & M's, and strawberry cake.  It was a delightful surprise on a very hot day. 

My surprise birthday party was held the day before my actual birthday because we were heading to Ocean City, MD to celebrate Nick's 22 1/2 birthday.  While in Ocean City we stayed in Fenwick Island thanks to our friends Mike and Sue. Nick will be in Minnesota for training for his birthday in February so Shae planned a bonfire on the beach in Ocean City (I didn't even know that as allowed).   She did an excellent job, bonfire and dinner on the beach, it was a very nice way to spend my birthday even if I had to share with Nick.  

Bonfire regulations can be found on this website:  https://ocbonfires.com/regulations

While down the ocean, we spent an afternoon on Assateague Island so Nick could take us off roading in his truck.  It was a beautiful sunny day to be on the beach, only problem the flies, not just flies but man eating flies.  

I can't forget to mention the awesome bloody Mary;s from the Crabcake Factory.  Just ordered the one with the crabmeat, a meal and a drink all in one.

We received some exciting news, a slip had opened on C dock that we could move to. Yeah, we wasted no time moving Ka`Why Knot to her new home for the remainder of the summer.   We are now located C13.

So apparently I share my birthday month with several others, including my beautiful daughter who we were able to spend the day with on her birthday.  Heather, Chris, David were able to spend the afternoon with us and we were spared from the rain this time.  It seems to rain every time they come to visit. 

Below are a few pictures of the food we enjoyed from our chillin and a grillin:

Smith Island Cake (made by Giovanna)

Bernie's burger with an egg

Frog legs (taste like chicken)

Until next time.

Engine Oil Leak

Our boat came with a small oil leak on the front crankcase cover. It was more of a 'nuisance' leak and I had to add a quart of oil every 200-250 hours. I was tired of oil all over the engine and bilge especially with the amount of hours we were putting on the engine. So before we arrived in Maryland, I contacted Ian at Zimmerman Marine to arrange for a tech to determine what was leaking and where. I explained we were under a timeline and were planning on heading north in a week or two. Long story short, after spending thousands upon thousands of dollars with ZMI, he had his tech tell me, "They were too busy to fix the leak." As it turned out, we had two oil leaks!

Steven, my favorite diesel mechanics, was the one who gave me the frustrating news. But, he had someone who was a good mechanic, who could repair the leak(s) for us. So the next day, Wade Walton from Offshore Diesel showed up to inspect the problem. He seemed very promising, asked me all the right questions and assured me he could fix the problem the next week so I gave him a check for parts. That was pretty much the last time I ever heard from Wade. 

Fortunately, we decided to stay at Herrington Harbour South for the summer. Five weeks later, I ran into Richard Walton, Wade's father and owner of Offshore Diesel. Richard told us the parts had been in the shop for weeks, apologized profusely for his son's 'customer service' and had a tech start the project the very next day. Richard called me and texted periodically and even stopped by the boat after the project was completed.

Jude was the tech assigned to fix our leak. He recommended replacing the belt, belt tensioner, coolant pump and thermostat. Go for it! A wear seal was installed on the crankshaft and a new gasket on the cover. He also replaced our [fuel] lift pump (I had a spare one) and fixed another 'nuisance' leak along the bottom of the tappet cover. It is a temporary fix. A permanent fix is just not worth the cost.

After the project was complete and engine ran to check for leaks, Jude cleaned the bilge and put 'sorbs' (oil absorbent pads) in the bilge -- very professional!