First and almost last trip to the Bahamas

Our first trip to the Bahamas. Not just that but our first big trip ever.  Sure we had done over nighters, even gone a couple of nights out.  Never though a long journey.  And not just that, but ocean sailing, Navigating, weather watching, coral dodging……. There were going to be a lot of firsts.  We were nervous to say the least.  I planned and planned as much as one can.  Read all I could, but my ocean sailing was very limited and we had never pushed our boat to any limits.  I felt as prepared as I could be and Ashley had full faith in me, so off we went.

I had done lots of reading about sailing offshore, watching weather and what to expect for the Gulf Stream.  I decided that for our first leg from Canaveral to Ft. Pierce, we were heading offshore.  Well…… that didn’t go as planned.  The seas ended up being more out of the South than expected and over the day, the wind and seas built.  The first hour or so offshore things were a bit rough. I told Ashley that we could turn around and head for the ICW, but it would mean a day delay due to the closing of the Lock in Canaveral.  She said No and that she would be fine so we pressed on.   That day ended up being a hellish day. We sailed as much as we could but we were not making the speed we wanted and we needed to get into port before nightfall.  We motored most of the way and the bow slammed the seas the whole way.  Ashley stayed tough and kept an eye on the pets and we pressed on hard.  Come evening, we warily approached the entrance to Ft. Pierce Channel.  Tired from the trip, we were excited to get into safe harbor.  I had called ahead to Ft. Pierce Municipal marina and reserved a slip.  They said to call upon approach and we would be directed.  We tried their phone, their working channel, everything, no answer. Being so tired, we just went straight in and picked a slip.  Well much to our surprise, the current in that marina is 3+ knots. Something I did not discover until we were making a slip and found ourselves being quickly pushed into a million dollar yacht. We both pushed with all of our might to keep from hitting this boat and almost comically, as I’m about to sacrifice a leg as a fender, a woman steps out from a door up above my head and calmly states “ Oh goodness, do you need some help?” With that, she and three other people rushed to the dock to help grab lines.  We got the bow over but the stern was a struggle. I pulled and pulled and pulled and then POW!!! I was down. Pain washed over me like a wave.  I took a few short breaths. Somehow we got the boat alongside. Not sure how, but we couldn’t have done it without the kind help from those on the big Yacht.  We thanked them profusely, and we truly meant it.  Come to find out there is exactly  a 30 minute period when there is nobody on shift at the marina. GREAT!! And that Pop, well that was a rib separating from my sternum.  It was a hellish ending to a hellish day, but in the end, we had a safe dock, cold drinks and we laughed it off before a good night’s sleep.   It was about that time It dawned on me, why didn’t I use the Jib sheet winch to bring the stern over??  Next time.

The next morning after being well rested, we decided it best to go find an anchorage and fix all the things that went wrong while offshore.   We quickly ran into town to a hardware store and headed south to find an anchorage.  With a 6 foot keel, finding a safe place to anchor outside the channel can be quite a challenge.  After running aground trying to head up the St. Lucie river, we turned around and anchored just North of the inlet outside the channel.  We ran the dinghy around and found a nice island for the dog to frolic. Back on the boat, we checked the weather and saw that we most likely would not be heading anywhere for quite a while. It was anchored here, in the alternating current of an inlet along with the High gusting winds of passing storms that I learned just how poorly a CQR anchor will rest itself. We spent two sleepless nights there waiting on weather and constantly resetting our anchor. A 45# CQR with 100 feet of chain just wasn’t cutting it. I put new anchor at the top of my list.

The rest of the Journey South down the ICW was mostly uneventful. It was a beautiful and scenic trip. I highly don’t recommend going through Jupiter on a Saturday. I find it hard to believe there aren’t daily boating deaths in that crazy area. We finally made it down to Palm Beach and anchored up in the Northern most end.  We spent two days there shopping final groceries and waiting on weather. We met an extremely nice Preacher and his wife who live aboard their Trimaran while there. We were struggling with our Honda 2000 and he came over and helped me repair it.  They were a truly interesting couple and it was nice to find such friendly help along the way.

On the day prior to our departure, we shifted down and anchored in the busy area South of the entrance channel.  I took the dinghy over to a few other boats and spoke with fellow sailors about the crossing. They all saw what I saw and all agreed that an early morning start was the best time to leave. I felt good knowing that seasoned sailors saw what I saw with the Weather.  The problem with this anchorage is there is no easy place to take a dog ashore. The best bet is peanut island which is almost a one mile dingy ride.  We planned to leave at 2am but we couldn’t store the dingy or outboard on deck until we took the dog ashore one last time.  This made for quite an early morning.  We were a bit nervous leaving a busy anchorage at night. On top of it all, they were dredging the harbor and there was dredge pipeline all around. It all went well and before we knew it, we were out to sea again watching a beautiful sunrise and bound for the Bahamas.

The crossing was smooth. The wind did not favor us and we found ourselves motoring once again.  It took a bit longer than we anticipated so therefore we arrived just after High Tide to Grand Bahama Island.  I had made a reservation at Sunrise Marina and I had carefully checked all charts and watched the tide tables. I called when we were outside the channel and the lady said we should wait for the next tide. Well it was late, the dog needed to go ashore and I naively felt confident that there was enough water given the tide height and the charts.   Ashley was on the bow and we slowly made our approach in the channel. It was apparent there was some shoaling, but we took it slow and felt our way along.  Inside the jettys we bumped the bottom. We backed up some and went to Stbd to go around the shoaling. Again we bumped. At this point I decided the charts were wrong and we would go back out and wait on the tide.  So we were backing and all was going fine.  I had to go back about 20 more feet and we would be clear to swing the bow around and head out. I gave the engine one more thrust astern to give plenty of room and that’s when it happened…. Well actually no, that’s when nothing happened.  I tried forward, nothing, I tried astern, nothing…….. Shit.  Panic started to set it.  There was a 2 foot following sea pushing on us and we were not yet in the clear. I yelled something incohearant to Ashley and ran down below.  My first thought was the shifting cable  had come off the transmission. I ripped the stairs off and flung myself over the hot engine. To my dismay, the cable was still connected.  So I manually shifted the transmission…. The shaft spun but nothing… Shit shit shit.  Where is my propeller???? How can this be?? It was all BRAND New!! New Shaft, new coupling, New everything!  I ran up to a panicked scene.  The Rock jetty was coming up fast and we had no way to stop it.  What do you do? We had no propulsion! I yelled for Ashley to put the pets in life jackets and I ran up to the Bow. I grabbed our 45# anchor, but it was Jammed!! The seas had jammed it in place. I then grabbed our 35# day anchor and threw it as far as I could.  I made the line fast and hoped for the best. I ran back to the cock pit and Ashley asked if she should call Mayday? YES!!! Great idea!!!  She called for Mayday and I grabbed the airhorn. There were fishing boats just a couple hundred yards off. I Blew and blew that horn.  Ashley got an answer on the radio, somebody was coming! But they were 5-10 minutes out! The anchor had slowed the bow from drifting but now our stern was on the rocks. With every passing wave we slammed higher and harder on the rocks.  We were panicked. Our house was on the rocks! I told Ashley we had to cut the dinghy loose. We keep emergency diving knives by the hatch for that exact reason She cut it loose while I pulled out anchor rode.  (Might I note here that later I learned Ashley thought we were abandoning ship which caused her more panic. In reality, I was going to go grab our anchor and row it out further in hopes of using the winch to pull us off the rocks) Just as we were about to shove our dingy overboard a 50 ft fishing boat pulled up.  More like a fishing yacht.  The only problem was we were so far into the rocks they couldn’t get very close without them hitting rocks.  They had to come back around for a better angle.  I knew we only had one chance at this. I grabbed two 40 ft lines and tied them together.  Here my professional life paid off. I know and have practiced the perfect way to throw a line and to throw it accurately.  I took my time in spite of the events around me and coiled the most perfect two coils.   I had to throw the line about 50ft to the guy on the bow.  When I threw that line, it was all in slow motion.  The first coil in my right hand paid out then the second coil in my left hand. The line flew and landed directly in the hands of the man on the bow!!! He made the line fast and so did I. That boat pulled us to safety and off the rocks.  Then we met Gary, the local salvage man. He took our lines and towed us to safe harbor in Lucuaya.  Shaken, scared, and confused we tied up to the dock and finally sat down to take it all in.  The boat was a disaster, we were a disaster. What just happened? I checked the bilges and we were not taking on water.  The steering cable was broke, but we were safe. Finally, 19 hours after leaving FL, our dog got to Pee.

The next morning we assessed the situation.  Much to my surprise, the propeller was still there, but apparently not spinning. I fixed the Steering cable and we put the boat back together as much as possible. We explored the area, paid customs and tried to figure out what the hell was next.  The marina said we had to leave since we couldn’t pay their going rate. They gave us a friendly rate for two nights since we were towed in, but we had to go. Ashley, somehow found us a Marina just around the way. I called and they said they had a slip available and we could come over any time. Gary showed up and towed us over to Flamingo Bay.  He promised to return and help us with the boat.  This place turned out to be amazing. It was part of Taino Resort and by staying at the marina, we had full access to the resort! It was fantastic! Upon Further discovery, we learned that the Prop shop had used a Nylon Bore Reducer so that the new shaft would work with our old propeller.  The nylon bore reducer had compressed which caused the propeller to hammer on the prop key. Finally The prop key sheared and it all came disconnected. Apparently that one last thrust astern to get away from the jetty was the final straw. What great timing, what luck. Geeeesh.  And even more maddening, they do sell brass bore reducers. As to why the prop shop didn’t use one I don’t know, but I now will never use the prop shop in Canaveral again.  We ordered a new reducer and had it shipped overnight to my parents in SC.  My father then fedexed it to us. We did not know you are supposed to attach your cruising permit to your package. So one Customs broker and two and a half weeks later, we finally got our parts in the Bahamas.

During those two and half weeks though we were stranded at a Resort on Grand Bahama Island and we had enough beer, gin and food to last us through!! It was a grand time. We spent our days at the beach and the pool. We explored the island. Went snorkeling and met lots of great people.  It started out poorly but our time there was amazing. We planned for our wedding and learned the place we were going to have it was a waste and ended up doing it all at Taino. We would never have found it if we hadn’t got shipwrecked. With the help of Gary we repaired the boat.  Some people told us of an anchorage on the West End we could use and soon we were on our way.  The trip home was nice and uneventful.  We caught the stream up to Ft Pierce and once again stayed at the Marina, only this time we planned for a slack water arrival!

We were glad to be home and glad that things worked out.  It was a scary start and truly a very trying first big trip.  A seasoned sailor told me later that I am lucky to have gotten that out of the way so early in my cruising story.  He said it happens to us all, and now that we had gone through it, we should be safe. I sure hope he is right. I don’t need that in my life again for sure and I know Ashley doesn’t either.  We learned a lot along the way and it made us better sailors. It hasn’t deterred us but it has made me a bit more nervous for some things.   Our next trip was much better but not without its own issues, but that’s for another time.

 

Heading down the ICW

Sunrise on our crossing to the Bahamas

Ashley enjoying a drink by the Beach

Well Deserved drinks 

Accepting the Costs

Having made the big move to Florida means that we have now entered the next stage of getting ready for cruising.  With the house rented out for the next few years we can now really focus on finishing the last of the big projects on the boat. As any boat owner well knows, especially one preparing for cruising, the costs can be quite great.  We love our boat, but when we bought it, it needed a lot of help.  I have made it a point to only buy the best I can for the boat which means I am quickly parted with my money (Does that make me a fool??). With the unexpected, but necessary purchase of the new air conditioner for the boat, the expenses are adding up.  I jokingly told Ashley that after adding up how much I thought we had left to spend on the boat that I was having a mild panic attack. It may not have been an all out attack, but it was sure eye opening! Goodness.....  The last of the big expenses is a new dinghy with outboard and an all new electronics package.

The Dinghy.  Any man that has ever owned a dinghy and any woman that has a man who has a dinghy (did you follow that?) knows just how freakin fun dinghies are! Maybe its the speed, maybe its the closeness to the water, maybe its the ability to explore small, tucked away areas or maybe all three, but there is just something about going out for a dinghy ride.  I have spent many days with just our dog and a cooler out exploring away in our dinghy. Not only are they fun, but absolutely essential to a cruiser.  We currently have an old (But stout) Seaworthy 8 foot dinghy with slat floors and a 3.5 outboard. For the past few years, this set up has served us well. Now that we are on the coast, with real weather, real seas and where reliability is essential, it just won't cut it. Having looked at the cost of new Dinghies, I have greatly considered buying used.  After much thought and reading many blogs, I feel used is too risky given the importance of reliability.  I knew we wanted Hypalon,  RIB hull, big enough for Ash, Me and the dog with groceries but small enough to be stored on deck, Light weight, stable in rough seas, dry and a big enough engine to get around quickly and against current. (I know, it's a lot)  After much research, I have settled on a Highfield CL290.  It's Aluminum hull, light weight, 9.5 feet long with large tubes and it only weighs 100 pounds. For an engine, a 9.8 Tohatsu or 9.9 Nissan (Same engine).  From what I have read and been told, these dinghies blow AB and Caribe out of the water and they are cheaper. They come out of Australia and are somewhat new to the US market. Now knowing this is what we need..... Accepting the 6K dollar price tag....Gulp.......  I have discovered a distributor in Cape Canaveral and I plan to pay them a visit in a week when I return home. Anyone need a Used Dingy??

Electronics..... A topic debated by all sailors. The hardcore say they are not needed, the nerdy like to have it all and somewhere there is a middle ground.  I feel that as a Professional Mariner I "Know too much".  For instance, I know how dangerous ships can be, that Asian Container ships will not alter course for any reason, that sailboats don't show up on ship's radars, Mates on ships are overwhelmed with paperwork and look at a computer more than out a window and that ships are fast and quiet and you won't see them or hear them until its too late.  I've also picked the brains of very experienced cruisers, learned the absolute importance of a high quality auto pilot and the dangers of losing it. I've seen the outcome of buying cheap or outdated chart plotters as well as the dangers of relying solely on one. Given all of this, I know we must have a Powerful and reliable autopilot, a modern and update-able chartplotter that can use multiple chart platforms,  Radar as well as Radar reflectors, depth sounder and at minimum a Class B AIS receiver but preferably transponder. Now that I have accepted this, I somehow need to find a way to afford it! I hear kidneys sell quite well these days.... At this moment, our boat has a mid '90s chartplotter, early 80's (and non functioning) autopilot and a broken depth sounder. .....I have a long ways to go...... I have done a great amount of research and all systems seem to have the good and the Bad. There is always those few that have had nothing but trouble as well as those that swear by the same system.  There is always the Factor of human error in either operation or installation and there are just some stupid people.... Ok, maybe lots of stupid people but I give anyone on a sailboat the benefit of a doubt.  Because Sailors are the best there are right?? At this moment I am looking at the Raymarine system with the Type 2 ram and their midline chart plotter. It's an expensive system, but overall gets good marks. I guess there is only one way to really find out.

The good news is that these "Should" be the last of the major purchases.  Down the road there will be a water maker, maybe a wind generator or more solar panels and the typical repairs that pop up. We have to upgrade our battery bank but all of these are minimal when compared to the last two.  I still have to remove our teak decks, but this is really more labor than costs and we plan to do it ourselves.   We plan to Haul out in October to do a lot of bottom work. We are planning our wedding in the Bahamas for July of 2016 so our goal is to have all of these projects (YES ALL) done by around January of 2016. It's a daunting task, but our boat will be ready for cruising at last and we will be able to cast our lines anywhere we please.  In the meantime, I plan to take a lot of dinghy rides with the dog....

-Adam

The smell of salt in in the air

As Ashley has mentioned, we did it, we finally freakin' did it!! The ol' girl is back in the Salt Water and life is good. It seemed not all that long ago when we said to ourselves, in two-three years, maybe, just maybe we will be able to move the boat to the coast, and now here it is.  I just hope the next few years go by just as fast to when we can finally cast off the lines and head South for good. Go explore all the islands, anchorages and sights that we read about so often in other blogs.  I suppose, that this is all just part of the Journey and as any sailor knows, it isn't about the destination, but the adventure getting to the destination.  The next few years will be exciting and we will be able to explore the coast of Florida and eventually the Bahamas.   I have slowly grown to really appreciate the fact that we have been able to do this so far at such a relatively young age.  At our new home, we are by far the youngest of the 120 some liveaboards and not just by a few years, but at least 20. Most all are retired and finally living out their dreams so for us to do so in our early thirties is truly a gift I appreciate.  It hasn't been easy, but we set our minds to it and never looked back

Getting prepared for our move took vast amounts of planning and the help of a lot of good friends.  I traded a car hauler trailer I had for an enclosed trailer.  The plan was to use the trailer to haul all of our goodies we stripped off the boat for shipping and then it could be used as a portable storage unit in Florida. It is packed full of tools and boat parts as well as our bicycles. So far it was worked out great and when needed, we will just sell it.

On Lake Murray, our sail club is the only place that has a Gin pole for raising / lowering masts.  This Gin pole consists of a telephone pole approximately 50 feet high with blocks on top to winch up or down a mast.  This works great as long as you have an army of very willing people to help lower the mast then carry it to a good resting spot. It's a very precarious operation and usually several cold beverages are needed to calm the boat owner's nerves and to bribe the people helping.  As many like to brag, hundreds of masts have been raised and lowered (Typically while drinking) and no limbs or boats have been lost yet.   The great People of Windward Point Yacht Club were very helpful in lowering our huge mast and I cannot thank them enough.  The kindness of fellow sailors never ceases to amaze me.

I took the time while the mast was down to do some work to it. I ran new wires for the lights, installed new spreader lights. Replaced the blocks and ran new halyards and did a few other small projects.  Our cockpit enclosure was finally finished the day before we left and we packed up the whole show into the trailer.  We spent the last week in town saying goodbye to many dear friends many of whom I've known for most of my life. All were glad to see us off on this adventure, but they will certainly be missed.

On Monday morning, Ashley and I cast off the lines for the last time at WPYC. It was a beautiful crisp morning as we motored our way an hour up the lake to the marina where the truck was meeting us.  A few of our friends and my father drove up to see the operation. It took about 3 hours to finally load the boat onto the trailer, but it went smooth and Paul from Tritan Yachts was fantastic as usual.  From there we had lunch with my father and we left to head south for 7 hours to our hotel in Cocoa Beach.  A flat tire at the very start slowed the show, but we quickly got it changed and got on the road.  It was  a hurried time and busy, but we were finally off, it was really happening.

The trailer loaded up and ready to go.

Mom and Dad coming to see us off.

Alex and Drew, friends from WPYC seeing the boat get loaded.

All ready to go.

The mast coming down. Scary.

Its the little things

Sometimes its the little things that can make a big difference when living on a boat.  Things like being able to drink out of the sink in the head because we now have a water filtration system instead of walking to the galley in the middle of the night to get a drink.  We have a TV at the foot of our bed so we can watch movies and we now have a 12 volt freezer for long term storage.  I am a firm believer that if there are things you can do to make life easier or more comfortable then it is something worth doing. 

Ashley and I are both outdoorsman.  We like camping, backpacking and spending time in nature.  I have spent weeks at a time backpacking through both the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. Ashley spent her summers as a youth driving cattle on horseback in South Dakota on her family's cattle ranch.  We each don't mind roughing it and living without basic comforts, but if given the option,  why not have some of those comforts? Especially since we plan to be on our boat for many years to come.

I have never quite understood this theory that living on a boat means you have to give up basic comforts.  I see those who preach that refrigeration is a waste,  stoves and ovens are needless, TVs have no place on boats and Air conditioning is a wasteful luxury.  Why?  So you can claim to be closer to nature? You're on a boat, likely anchored in paradise that you reached by harnessing the wind and few to no humans as far as the eye can see.  I think that even with luxuries, you're still close to nature.  Now I totally understand if you decide that there are things you don't want. There is added maintenance, larger battery banks and more systems to fail. Also there is the cost of extra things on board. Then there really are the people that want to keep things as simple as possible. Good for them I say. It just seems there is a large group who preach their superiority because they rough it.

Well off of my soap box.  We decided to cough up the money and have a custom mattress made.  I was shocked at how much the cost was even though it was done at a local mattress factory. Before we just had 5 inch foam cushions,  now we have a real mattress.  So long achy back! I also recently found a shower curtain rod at the RV store that is hinged so that it swings out to give more room.  I had to modify it to fit on the boat but the difference it makes is huge! If you feel cramped in your shower, I suggest you check one of these out.

We are now having a custom dodger,  bimini and full cockpit enclosure made. I cannot express my excitement at having this done. Right now we have no protection in the cockpit and we want to have a comfortable place to sit outside, protection from wind and seas and so the dog and cat can go out as well. The bimini will also allow us to mount our solar panels so we can work towards being energy independent.  I will be sure to update as this project moves along.

I hope I did not offend anyone on this post,  these are just my random thoughts written down. Everyone has their theory on living aboard and cruising and what is needed on board.  I just like to have comforts. 

A New Adventure Begins!!

So many big and exciting things happened the month of November!! Our wonderful boat was finally operational again and Ashley and I were able to take her out on a beautiful sail.  November also marks three years that we have been together and almost three years of owning "Wild Swan".   Ashley walked into a whole different world when she met me and the Sailing lifestyle and she has not missed a beat. Spending every last dollar we have on the boat and every spare minute as well. Dealing with furniture slowly disappearing from the house and countless surprises as we find major items needing repaired on the boat. She has been right there willing to help and changing her way of life to adjust and all so that we can be together and share our lives. 

Ashley has been a wonderful change in my life and I couldn't do any of it without her, So I wanted to make sure she stuck around! After our first sail in so long I proposed to her in the boat that has brought us so close and so now it's official! We're Engaged!! WOOO!!! Happy Dances all around!!  Not sure what she is thinking but I sure am glad she is thinking it!!  So November has been a good month for sure! 

After saying Yes!

Looks Pretty Good on her I'd Say!

In other news, we finally moved out of the house completely! So far so good with things on the boat. It was not a good week for moving aboard as a cold front moved through and it got down into the teens at night!! That just doesn't happen in SC! It made for a cold walk up to the shore to walk the dog every couple of hours, but we made it! It was a little chilly in the mornings on the boat, but the Propane heater warmed it up pretty quickly.

The last load of furniture out of the house! Only Lawn-chairs now!

We had a new custom mattress made at a local mattress factory that has greatly improved our comfort. I recently replaced the entire pressurized water system. The boat had all copper lines  and the original fixtures which I believe were designed to empty your water tanks as quickly as possible. The copper was replaced with all new PEX and shut off valves were installed at every fixture. With help from my brother who works in plumbing, we were able to get very nice high end fixtures that will greatly reduce our water consumption.  I also got tired of using a stupid little drinking water spigot and I installed a three stage water filtration system with UV light into the main water supply. Now we can drink the water right out of our tanks at all faucets!! It even gets rid of that funky boat tank taste! Definitely  a worthwhile investment. 

New Brass Fixture in Galley

Three Stage Filtration just after pressure tank. All New PEX Lines. 

New Bronze Fixture in the head.

We are now working on getting a new Dodger, Bimini, Stack Pack all made for the boat. All new frames and totally enclosing the cockpit if needed. We hope to have the boat ready for a trip back to the Florida Coast at the beginning of the year. Yikes!! I have some work to do!

Engine struggles and the march forward.

The ever ongoing troubles of preparing a boat for long term ocean cruising have continued as expected.  I like to think that the more love and attention I give to the boat the more love and respect she will have for us. Hopefully this relationship will allow her to provide for us and protect us on our journey. I buy her the best there is and I hope she will keep us safe in storms and far off lands. I tell myself that the more things I find broken or in poor condition is just a chance for me to better learn the inner workings of all the systems and allow me to have a greater understanding when things actually do go wrong. We will see years from now how true this holds!

It has a been a sad and long eleven months of "Wild Swan" sitting stationary in her slip not feeling the wind fill her beautiful dark sails. This period of rest is not due to a lack of love or attention from us but due to the lack of said things from previous care takers. Slowly she grew tentacles into the bottom below her and if given the chance, Mother Earth would have taken her back.

 Last January while doing an oil change on the engine I found myself standing on my head to look at things as we all typically do. It was to my great dismay I noticed an engine mount completely broken in half! Upon further inspection I found another one broken as well!! How could this be?! I paid a surveyor!! I'll wait while you finish chuckling...... So apparently those low idle vibrations were not due to it being a Yanmar, but being a Yanmar with no feet. At this point I tightened her lines and settled in for a long repair.

The initial discovery of the Broken Mount. YIKES!

Not completely broken in half, but delaminated! There was a second one that was broken in half.

With the help of my good friend Greg, I got a good deal on some R&D engine mounts. Friends at the Hans Christian Forum gave advice on how to change out the mounts in the boat and my friend Alex loaned his time and strength. Of course the "direct replacement" mounts did not fit and I found myself on the phone with tech help at R&D and ended up at a machine shop for the alterations to be made. Three removals of the engine later the mounts were in, but this was only the beginning.  I found the flex coupling was bad as well which required a fourth removal of the engine to get out. More help from Greg and a new coupling was bought and now for the alignment.

The lifting device from the boom to lift the engine up.

Engine alignment in  my mind is perfectly logical and I understand how to do it, but when my hands are on the wrench and the feeler gauges were out, I was at a lost. I finally caved and paid good money to have it professionally done. This was a costly decision but one I'm glad I made.  Now why did this take 11 months you ask? Well with me being gone at work every other month and with the numerous other problems we found with the engine, it took a while. A complete rebuild of the exhaust system was needed and so was a lot of money!! This I will probably discuss later.

Eleven months later after much patience, Ashely and I took her our for a beautiful sail on a cold windy day and what a great day it was. 

First Time Sailing in 11 Months!!! WoHoo!

From the beginning

I was thinking that maybe this blog could use a little back information. Ashley started this blog to document and share our journey of moving form our very comfortable house to life aboard a boat and eventually cruising on our boat in the Islands.  Why we didn't think to start this blog at the beginning I'm not sure, but better late than never! 

Ever since college, it has always been my dream to live on a sailboat and go sailing around the islands of the Caribbean.  I was planning on working on commercial ships for a few months a year and sailing on my own for the rest. Well, as life often goes, events happened, plans got altered and eight years after getting out of college I was nowhere closer to that dream than I was when I was in school.  I therefore made a decision to set in place a goal to be where I wanted to be, on a boat in the islands.  It was also at this time that I met Ashley. We met when a friend asked if she could come sailing with us, something she had never even thought of trying before. It was then that she found her love of sailing and we found the start of our lives together.  At the time, I had a great little lake boat, a Helms 24. It was a fantastic weekend boat. Comfortable and fun to sail, but by no means an offshore boat.  I told Ashley of my plans and she hopped right on board with them and our search started for the perfect boat. And we never looked back

One of our first times out sailing together! She was a natural.

Anyone that knows me or any of my immediate family knows and often makes fun of the extent we plan and research everything we do.   For 6 months I spent hours and hours reading blogs and boat listings about cruising sailboats looking for the perfect boat. Then a friend of mine told me about Hans Christians. I had never heard of them before, but I checked them out. The second I hit "Enter" on that Google search set in motion my long delayed plans. I fell in love with these boats immediately. From the double end design, the classic lines and the Old Ship feel from the beautiful teak joinery down below. I knew we needed one of these boats.  Unfortunately, they are hard to find and quite expensive. 

I was sure we needed a 38 to fit our needs and in fact looked at one. There was a 33T for sale not too far from us, but really, a 33 ft boat?? That surely is too small!  While on a camping trip down in Edisto, SC, we decided last minute to call up the broker and ask if we could look at the 33 anyways, just to see what it looked like. So we met the broker and went to look at the boat. Now up to this point we had looked at many, many boats. Most were all very nice, but we just didn't think they felt right for us. When we stepped aboard "Wild Swan" that day, we looked at each other and knew right there that this boat would soon become our home. Four months later, "Wild Swan" was loaded up on a truck and probably for the first time ever, moved from salt water to fresh water to our home on Lake Murray, in SC. Our plan was for the next two years, refit her for comfortable cruising and meanwhile, clearing out the house to prepare to move out. 

New Boat Owners! Just after signing the papers.

Loaded up to head to her new home on Lake Murray

Now we are two years in, our house is almost empty, the boat has undergone a major refit that is still ongoing and we are starting our lives living on a boat. Our plan is a four year plan. We hope to have her back in the Salt in a year and by 2016, be on our way to wherever the wind blows.  Hopefully, this blog will help document our experience and so we can share with family, friends and anyone else who might have similar aspirations.   We still have some catching up to do with the blog, so for a while, things might be out of order, like this post! 

Home in her new slip for the next two years. Let the Refit Begin!

I have learned that sometimes, the best things in life take time and you must have patience. Though I wanted to start this dream after college, I see now that I'm better off.  We have a boat we love, a steady foundation to start off from and we found each other along the way.  I am excited to see where this takes us. 

Stove and Propane System

When we bought the boat, it had a kerosene Stove and heater.  When we looked at the boat, we fired up one burner and it all worked fine, but once we got the boat in our possession, we learned that was about all that worked.  Only one burner worked and it smoked to high heaven, even with store bought clean kerosene. The heater we found worked well as in indoor campfire, but we figured that it wasn't the best option.  We therefore decided that it would all be replaced and propane was the way to go. The boat came with a built in Propane locker under the cockpit, though it is very oddly shaped and proved to be a hurdle.  After much research, we decided to go with the Mediterranean made by Dickinson out of Vancouver, Can.  Our heater was a Force 10 which is now owned by Sig marine. They no longer support the Kerosene model, but sell a Propane burner unit that can be attached to the old upper body. 

 Original Kerosene Stove and oven. Made a better smoker than a stove and pressurizing the pressure tank required gymnastic maneuvering under the cockpit. 

Original Kerosene Stove and oven. Made a better smoker than a stove and pressurizing the pressure tank required gymnastic maneuvering under the cockpit. 

Stove Gone!! 

Fitting the system together. Had to go with a 5lb tank as it is the only size that will fit in the locker. 

 Fit test of the tank, regulator, gauge, solenoid and shut off valves. 

New stove installed. The trickery involved in lowering this 100 lb unit down through the hatch and into place was a marvel of human maneuvering and lots of luck. Thanks to my friend Alex for risking his back and fingers to help. 

 Old kerosene heater. Made a great fire with lots of heat, but we were concerned for the wood panels surrounding it within 10 ft. 

New Cozy Cabin Propane attachment on old Force 10 heater. 

We also installed a propane detection system that monitors the bilges and the low point under the stove. We love the new set up and it was worth all the frustration and costs. 

Water systems and Travelers

Well, as Ashley has said, there have been some delays in our move from House life to boat life. As any boat owner knows, there it seems there is no way to do a project on a boat without eventually tearing apart the whole boat! The plumbing issue was resolved, though not exactly sure what the issue was.  Air was getting into the pump and causing it to lose prime, but I could not trace the air. I finally replaced every bit of plumbing from the water tanks to the pump and rebuilt the pump. I also added a pressure tanks which helps lessen the load on the pump. 

I built a new manifold for the fresh water system. Above is the old one and below is the new one. I'm sure there are better designs and ideas, but I went with this and I feel it helps. From what I can determine, the old one was original to the boat, so I am sure the brass was stressed and possibly cracked. The new valves most likely seal much better than the old as well. After replacing all the hose and fittings, water system works fine. The next step is to replace the pressure side which is all copper tubing. The faucets also are all original. Although very nice looking being all solid brass, they are not very functional and are also not low-flow. Hate to get rid of the brass, but the amount of water they put out is not acceptable for water conservation.

Old Faucet to be Replaced. 

                                                   Old Manifold and the new one. I went with the same design.

Water Pump with New Pressure Tank

I was able to fall upon some good luck for once in the refit of the boat. The Fico Traveler Cart was on it's last legs. The brass pin-block on top was paper thin from years of friction, the wheels were barely functional and there was a lot of corrosion. A search online showed that a re-built one cost upwards of 600 dollars! Garhauer would build me a new one for that much with new track!! I decided the new set up was the way to go.  Problem..... Aluminum track, Bronze Arch, stainless screws and 30 years of corrosion. The trio was inseparable.  To my luck I found out that Catalina 30's from the early 80s have the same traveler!! AND I just happened to come upon a guy parting out an old Catalina that had sunk! 50 dollars later I had a practically brand new condition cart for the boat! A 45 dollar bill from a friend's machine shop covered removal of the black at the end of the track allowing the old cart to be removed and the new once installed. Heck of a deal! 

Said arch with Fico cart and X-type track. Removal of track would prove expensive and possibly damaging. 

Boat Units

As usual, nothing goes quite how you would like it. Due to a traveler cart on it's last legs and multiple broken engine mounts Wild Swan is officially dockside for the extended future. Add to that preparing for a crazy month of May, it appears our move out of the house project will be extended. The traveler cart makes sailing dangerous and soon to be impossible and the broken engine mounts make motoring not possible. We also can't really live on the boat AND repair the engine. So in the house we stay, for now. Those are top priority to get fixed. Only a few boat units, right?
We also have had a trip planned for about 6 months to charter a boat in the BVI . We weren't sure if we would even be able to go, but went ahead and reserved the boat. Now it's looking like we will be able to go! So begin the mad dash to be sure we have everything planned! How do you put together a grocery list for 10 days?? I'm not a meal planner by any means. I've looked over what other people have stocked for their charters and gotten a few ideas, but still overwhelming. In addition I am a vegetarian, so the hot dogs and hamburgers every night doesn't work. Need to buy a floppy hat, sun shirt and oodles of sunscreen. How many bathing suits do you need? Some say 4-5 others say 2. I am picturing us living in bathing suits mostly every day.
That is half of our travel plans for May. My brother's wedding in NYC is another. Well 2 weddings! His fiance is Chinese so one Americanized version and one Chinese version. Which means I need two dresses. And neither can have black of white on them (bad luck). Let the shopping begin! I hate shopping and I hate spending money on clothes, but I am determined to do my best, for my brothers sake!
Boat Unit= $1,000
We have been saving for all of these things (well not the cart and engine mounts), knowing that they were coming. Now that small chunk sitting in savings seems pretty well drained.