Author: Jody - Where The Coconuts Grow

Jody lives compactly aboard a 47' sailboat with her husband Peter, little boy Brig, and a baby girl on the way! She traded in the corporate conundrum for a life less ordinary and is now island-hopping around the Caribbean. Between a quirky obsession with organizing, capturing pretty pictures, diving with turtles and burying her toes in the sand, she feeds a passion for writing by blogging about their adventures in search of surf, sun, sand and serenity Where The Coconuts Grow.

November 23, 2013

Juice It Up!

Our batteries were about three years old and started to get noticeably HOT. Two of the 4D batteries reside underneath the nav station seat and my toosh was getting too toasty!! The third is in the engine room. When we first arrived at the boat in September the water level inside the battery cells was very low. About 16oz of distilled water per cell were needed to bring them up to the proper level, but even after that they were still bubbling over, seeping out of the vents on the top of the batteries. While it’s not straight battery acid that’s coming out, it’s still very corrosive and dangerous. You can see the spillage in the picture above (disregard the terrible quality!)

This was a high priority boat project and we couldn’t put it off any longer. We would have liked to put in 8D batteries to yield more amperage for a longer duration but the housing just wasn’t big enough and it’s not critical enough to rebuild the existing box or expand elsewhere. Our research discouraged us from the higher priced AGM batteries or gel batteries. The increased life just wasn’t enough justification for the higher price, and we’ve also heard from many salty dogs that they don’t always have a longer life either. We don’t mind the additional maintenance of refilling the distilled water every couple of months, especially if it means saving a few hundred dollars on these bad boys. We went with some Deka Lead Acid batteries for $220 each. Plus, we were able to get them from the yard right here at our Marina. The guys even said they would come pick up the old batteries at our slip. What a deal! The first step was to shut off all the power. No big deal, it’s just in the high 80’s outside and muggy as all hell. No power means no air conditioning…

Peter put on his safety glasses and gloves, then used a little T-9 to loosen up the terminals and the first one was ready to come out. A whopping 80lbs of battery and seeping lead acid had to be lifted out of that hole without dripping anywhere. Peter and I got it onto a black trash bag, but there was NO WAY I could help him lift it up the vertical 5′ ladder and through our companionway into the cockpit or over the lifelines onto the dock. Our super nice neighbor Karl donated some sweat equity and came to the rescue. It’s not a real boat project unless you get sidetracked and start a new one before finishing the first one, right?? Don’t forget, we still have NO POWER and NO A/C since we are only 1/3 done with the batteries. In order for the wood platform to screw back in properly over the top of the new battery, we got the chance to use our handy-dandy vice that was left by the previous owner on the back side of our engine room door. There was a small piece of wood that was beginning to split so we used some liquid nails and a screw to fix’er back up.

The clock ticks on and we finally get the board back in place. My red toolbox fits perfectly where the previous owner had his toolbox. He laid non-skid strips down with screwed on wood blocking to hold the toolbox in place while underway. There’s also a strap that goes over the top for double measure. The snap that holds the strap also busted off but that’s a little less critical so we’ll add that one to the “list” for another day. On to finishing the batteries…

The last two sit more than snuggly inside the nav station seat and there is a grip of wires in the way making it extra difficult to remove the old leaking batteries. We are running out of daylight. It’s not getting any cooler and we are both sweating all over the place. I am able to lift the first one out of the box with Peter, but not the second one. Karl comes back over to help us out again. Two men are stronger than one! Now we just have to get them hooked back up properly and quickly. The headlamp came out long ago. Good thing we have little batteries to help us shine light on the big ones!!

Before lifting the new batteries in, we need to clean out the box with baking soda and water to neutralize all the spillage. We’re not sure how long it had been like this, but there was an awful lot of corrosion and that’s never a good thing on a boat. Luckily the structural integrity of the box wasn’t affected and we won’t need to rebuild anything… yet. Now totally dark, and still sweating, we tried to air out the fumes from the neutralization as best we could. We were determined to get this finished in one night so I mustered up all the strength and gumby-like leverage I had to help Peter drop them into place one at a time. After all the wires were put back together the right way and the terminals got a fresh coating of T-9, it was time to see if we had juice. Whew!! Everything seemed to be okay.

We were both so tired and on the verge of dehydration that when we plugged the shore power back in to get some air conditioning, we plugged them in the opposite locations. The fault warning was going off and it took us a few minutes to realize it had nothing to do with the connections for the new batteries, but that it could be the shore power cables. Peter went out to switch them and the beeping stopped. Finally! Light and cool air!!! The poor puppies had been waiting so patiently for dinner and potty time. We got the pups outside first, then back for their dinner and then we were finally able to head to the showers to get cleaned up.

The work wasn’t done yet… we still had to neutralize the acid that had leaked out and down onto the carpet. We sprinkled some more baking soda and let it do its work. There was more reaction than we were expecting, but its all cleaned up now. We’ll be tossing that piece of carpet for sure and replacing it very soon. Another thing to add to the list!

All in all, our first major boat project took longer than we anticipated but it was successful in the end. Next time we replace the batteries, it will hopefully take us half the time and we will be sure to start the process on a cool day and early in the morning :)

November 19, 2013

Maiden Voyage

By definition, a maiden voyage is the first journey made after the shakedown. We definitely plan to do a few serious shakedown cruises before leaving Florida to make sure all systems are GO but Peter and I like to consider the sea trial we did in July to be our first shakedown. So, we would excitedly like to announce that our MAIDEN VOYAGE was on Sunday 11.17.2013 aboard S/V Mary Christine!!

We were so lucky to have our friends David and Jan from S/V Winterlude (commutercruiser.com) come out with us and “show us the ropes”, err should I say lines, for our first official cruise in Charlotte Harbor, FL. Thanks to Jan we got some great photos of our first family outing on our boat! The weather was perfect. It was sunny but not too hot. We waited until the afternoon when the winds died down to about 10 knots, then threw off the bow lines while Peter took the helm and guided us out of the slip. It seemed like only a two-point turn and we were on our way out! Easy. The engine purred and we motored out through the quiet marina towards the opening to the harbor. We got past the markers, pointed into the wind, set the autopilot and hoisted up the sails. The conditions were just right for us to get all three sails up without any trouble. We cut the engine and that was it… we were sailing!!!! It’s the most amazing feeling, we were free as the wind. Everything was so peaceful. We knew in our hearts that Christine was with us dancing up on the bow smiling back at us. All was perfect in our world :)

Betsy thought it was the coolest thing ever that our house was moving! We knew she would do great but this day just confirmed that she’s a natural boat dog, cruising around the decks like the little monkey that she is. Betsy was more than comfortable as we were underway and had no problem exploring on her own as we sailed along. She has excellent balance and we didn’t worry about her at all. The whole afternoon she made sure to stay alert where all the action was while scanning the water for birds and dolphins. Gunner did surprisingly well for his first time out on the water too! He was very curious about what was going on, but loved to be outside in the sunshine and he’s always happy as long as he’s with us. We tethered him up to the binacle in the center of the cockpit so he wouldn’t decide to go exploring like Betsy. His balance isn’t great in his old age and we don’t have the lifeline netting up yet so it would be easy for him to accidentally tumble overboard with the rocking from a wave if he were on deck. Once we turned off the engine he curled up in his bed and was rocked to sleep for his afternoon nap in the sunshine.

A few hours went by in the blink of an eye and it was time to head back while we still had some daylight. We neared the entrance to Burnt Store Marina and brought the sails down. Peter motored us back to the slip and did a fantastic job docking bow-in. We decided however that there was just no practical way to get the dogs on and off the dock in that position so we had to reverse out, spin around and re-dock stern-in. It took a few tries but we had a lot of neighbors standing by to grab a line and eventually we got it, damage free! We did learn which way this boat tends to walk in reverse, which is to the right. Now we know for next time, and hopefully it will be a little easier when trying to back in a 42′ drifing tank into a tiny little slip.

After we were all secured back at the dock, the puppies were anxious to get back on land to go potty and then hurry back onboard for their dinner. While the dogs ate, we grilled up some steaks, corn, potatoes and garlic bread and enjoyed a wonderful meal in the cockpit with Jan and David. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!!

November 16, 2013

Betsy Turns 7

Betsy Jo turned 7 yesterday!!

She normally sleeps in a cozy little space that is above some drawers and level with our bed, but little Sue got to sleep under the covers snuggled between us the eve of her birthday! She didn’t move an inch all night to make sure we wouldn’t remember she was there in the middle of the night. (See our CREW page to read more about Betsy and to see all of her different names).

We woke up yesterday and began with our normal routine:

First set up the ramp to get the dogs from the cabin to the cockpit, then help the dogs jump from the boat to the dock.

Then, we hurry up to the grassy areas along the sidewalks so the kids can go potty. Gunner always finishes first because he is so anxious to get back inside for breakfast. For her birthday Betsy got to hunt for lizards a little longer than normal, but if we let her she would chase them all day! Gunner didn’t mind so much because there were so many good smells outside.

Back on the boat for breakfast while mommy and daddy have coffee, then Betsy got to wash out the cereal bowl that we shared. Minimizing dirty dishes and conserving water by letting Sue do the pre-rinse gets us a jump on the daily chores :)

It’s nap time for the dogs while we do some work on the boat outside, then they make another potty trip before we run some errands.

Jose’s birthday dinner was served on a special birthday plate given to us by Jody’s grandmother who we all call Bean, and was given a healthy portion of barbecued New York steak with her own spot at the table!! We said our prayers holding hands and paws, and enjoyed another fantastic home cooked meal aboard our cozy humble aboa-t. Betsy is such a good little girl that she wanted to help us clean up too :)

After dinner we finished watching The Bucket List so Betsy would be even more excited about all the fun and amazing adventures we are about to go on while I baked a cake on our boat for the first time. Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting AND filling!! Mmm it smelled so good!!

We of course sang happy birthday and gave Betsy a high-five. Even though doggies shouldn’t have sugar, we had to let Betsy Jo have a taste of her own birthday cake. She is pretty good at eating from a fork!

Betsy is a very special dog and anyone that meets her will understand. She loves everyone she meets and is the happiest dog we know. It was a blessing that Peter found this little girl 7 years ago and took her home so she could be here with us today.

November 11, 2013

New Vehicle

Our new secondary means of transportation is finally ready to rock n roll!!

We shopped for a few weeks for a dinghy and motor on Craigslist. I just LOVE Craigslist!! We have sold a combined $6000 worth of stuff back in San Diego not including motorcycles and vehicles. When looking for something specific, it’s the first place we look, and usually someone has just what we need!

When we’re out cruising on a sailboat we need something reliable to get to and from shore. When you live on a boat, a dinghy becomes your “car”. We didn’t need anything real fancy or new, but we did want it to be reliable. As with everything, that’s hard to come by for a reasonable price, let alone finding a steal of a deal.

A couple of important factors were considered: length, material, matched rating for dinghy vs motor, weight, floor type and functionality.

Peter wanted a dink that could hold four people (when we have visitors), two dogs, fishing gear, and/or provisions from a local market. This of course means we need a dinghy that is rated for an engine capable of hauling a load like that.

We wanted to try the aluminum floor since we will have LOTS of fish hooks, plus dogs aboard and need something that will be the least likely to be damaged from hooks or 32 sharp protruding puppy toenails.

PVC material is easier to come by, but Hypalon material is what everyone buys if you are going to be in the tropics. The sun doesn’t warp it or melt the glue as fast and it holds up to the salt better too. This of course would mean spending more money.

We originally wanted a 4-stroke motor but the lighter 2-strokes started looking better and better when we considered having to lift it off to lock it up on our stern every night in the islands. There are indeed thieves who will come swipe off anything that’s easy to grab, especially outboard motors.

We settled on an Advanced Inflatable PVC 12′ (6 person) dinghy with a
Mercury 15hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Anything less than 10′ typically isn’t rated for a 15hp motor and we for sure wanted the extra power of a 15hp. The motor is almost 15 years old but the previous owner kept it meticulously maintained, it looked brand new inside! It’s not too noisy and it’s less than 75lbs which means even I can lift it up or down to Peter when we take it on or off.

12′ of dinghy isn’t exactly ideal for us since we don’t have davits off the stern, and that means it gets hauled onto the bow with a halyard. Once we get it up there, our huge foredeck is reduced to zilch :( Less room for the puppies when they are on guard and less room for us to move about. The good news is that it’s a roll-up with three chambers so we can let some air out of the bow and partially roll it up when we are underway. The aluminum floor is awesome, super sturdy and the inflatable keel seems to help keep us very steady. Did I mention its a nice pretty white color?

The real reason we closed the deal is because of the price. We basically paid for the motor and got the inflatable for free. Turns out the dinghy was defective and was made with a bad batch of glue. It was only put in the water three times before we purchased it and it looked okay, but within a couple days of having it in the marina all the handles, rub rail and transom came off. We kind of had a feeling it would be easier to exchange it than repair the rub rail that had already started coming off the day we bought it, but this just confirmed it. Under warranty, we just had to drive to Ft Lauderdale to get an even newer one. Lucky for us, we were going there anyway to go to the Boat Show!! Now we have a brand new 2013 model, right out of the box and still under warranty, which retails for $1200. Just the motor is worth what we paid for the whole package so we’re pretty stoked. It’s not Hypalon, but we figure we can just beat this one up for the first year or so until we need to buy a new one, then upgrade to a more durable material. The tropics will surely do a number on it but we don’t care so much since it was basically free :)

New toys are always fun and this one seems to be treating us pretty well. The dogs haven’t been for a ride yet but we hope they will like it too!!

November 8, 2013

What’s that SMELL??

Our marina is beautiful, but there is no denying that the water here in western Florida is just an icky shade of murky brown. There is a ridiculous amount of sea life and barnacles and when you combine that with the warmth you get a frequent need to inspect and clean everything that is exposed to the water. We left our dinghy in the water for just two days and it had a healthy coating of algae started on the bottom!

When sea life is left stagnant (for example in the plumbing lines to the heads before we arrived at the boat in late September) it can create an awful stink. We thought we did a pretty thorough job cleaning out the lines but the stink just never quite left all the way. Remembering the seastainers hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, they quickly became our prime suspects.

First step, close the thruhulls!! This was a no brainer but could have easily been forgotten as neither of us have much experience with maintenance on a boat. We were kind of prepared and had a huge wad of paper towels underneath each strainer before unscrewing the wingnuts on the strainer but neither of us were prepared for how gross the inside of it was going to smell.

Sure enough, they were totally gross!! After cleaning up the overflowing seawater mess in the bilge, we pulled the first strainer out and it was coated black. This one was for the main engine intake. We pulled out the second one, which filters water for the generator, air conditioning and aft head, and it wasn’t as black but it smelled 10 times worse!! We used a small hand pump from Wal-Mart to suck out the rest of the nasty stinky seawater from the glass cylinder and got it outside in a hurry.

Upon closer inspection on the dock, our two seastrainers had tiny little clusters of shells and barnacles growing inside them. Maybe a common occurrence for seasoned cruisers but it sure was fascinating to us!! A little scrubbing with a metal brush and some pressurized hose water did the trick. All shiny and new again! Well, not really new, they are starting to get holes in them so next time we clean them we will put in new ones. But for today, it’s good enough :)

Another first for us in learning how to keep our Mary Christine in ship-shape!!