Ally Visits

Leslie’s Sister Ally came for a short visit and in preparation we tried to get all our work done before she arrived. In that vein of thought, Carl started to replace the starboard engine exhaust elbow as the port engine part had failed at the beginning of January so he figured the starboard couldn’t be far behind. It came off with little problem and he saw salt around the end of the heat exchanger so decided to replace the o ring there also. The top allen bolts came out hard and the bottom one broke the head off. Nooo, a broken bolt! That and many other colorful words escaped from the engine room. With Ally coming the next day he decided to spend 3 days spraying it with PB Blaster and tapping it before trying to extract it.

Ally arrives

Ally arrived early while Carl was still running around getting parts so we passed the time catching up with each other. We had a wonderful time! We rented a car and had dinner up at the Island View, Visited St. John to see their St. Patrick’s Day parade, and visited the taste of the Caribbean at UVI.

View of harbor from Island View

Humming Birds up at the Island View

It was raining as we drove up to Island View for dinner so we didn’t see the sunset with all the showers gusting through, but the view is still spectacular!

The ladies relax!

As Allie and Leslie relaxed in the water chairs, Carl wrestled with the broken bolt. After a while of vice grip mechanics he finally got it out. Hurrah! He cleaned the threads and successfully installed the new O-ring and exhaust elbow. Now he can swim too.

The parade is about to start

It looks like Mr and Mrs Ireland

We drove to Redhook and took the ferry to St John to watch the St. Patrick Day’s Parade. It is one block long, had about 4 floats and 2 “marching” units and took 22 minutes. However, the crowd was into it and the participants were energetic so it was a really fun time.

Sue was having a fun time

The parade begins

The middle aged Majorettes

It's Miss Ireland

The last of the parade

a fountain at Mongoose Junction

We also strolled around Cruz Bay before heading back to the boat.

They are restoring the fort at Charlotte Amelia

The food tents drew a large crowd

Kid in a ball looks like fun to me

The Taste of the Caribbean was fun. It not only had local food, but an old mustang parade, kids activities, dancing, and university information booths. You know senior people, us, can take classes for free!

The classic Mustang parade

The Jumbie here is different than BVI

We also had some time to just relax together and with other boaters with a beach cookout, and a beach sundowner get together. We also played her favorite dice game Farkel. She is the master of it, but Carl managed to win 3 of the 5 games.

Ahhh! The beauty Queens

Her visit ended way to fast and she was gone back to sunny Wyoming.

We watched our friends on Oceanwings and Alpha Crucis head off to St. Eustatius, then a couple days latter we headed to Culebra.

Projects and Friends

Cruising is supposed to be fun and relaxing. However, that being said boats are like houses. There is a list of improvements, maintenance, and repairs to do. As in a house, improvements can always be set aside, however maintenance and repairs must be attended to in a timely fashion because, unlike houses, boats can sink! So with old friends gone it was time to finish some boat projects. 

All that trouble for a little door latch!

One was to replace a door latch. It cost over $200 and I thought it was a direct replacement, it wasn’t! It took 5 days to install. First it had taper pins to hold the handles to the shaft instead of the normal way of set screws. I couldn’t drive the pins out with things at hand so I had to go to Home Depot to buy some pin punches to drive one pin out so I could remove one handle and install it in the latch. Then the latch was longer on the door edge then the older one, so I had to chisel out the door edge for the latch. Then there were no screws with the latch to hold it in the door, so I had to go buy wood screws to hold the latch in. Next the machine screws which go through the latch to hold on the handle plates were too long for the door. I tried to cut them, but ending up bending the screws so I bought some #8 by 32 machine screws. Well they didn’t thread into the posts on the other side of the plate. They were metric! So back to buy metric screws! Now I finally assemble the latch and handle plates and put in the handles, driving in the taper pins. Oh no! I put the handles in backward so I can’t close the door! Now I must drive a taper pin out and reverse the handles. First project is done!

The old hot water tank with all my
JB Weld trying to stop the leak

New Hot Water Tank!

Our Hot water tank has been shut off for over 2 years as it leaks and I couldn’t stop it, even after 2 tubes of JB Weld. Gene off Gewil told me Defenders was having a sale so I ordered a new tank and started to replace the old one. What a mess! It was full of water so it all had to be drained and the old fittings taken off and new fittings put on the new tank. It was an all day job and when I was done it leaked! So the next day was spent getting the system water tight. We now have hot water again! Of course we never use hot water, but it is now available.

The galley faucet leaks. We go to Home Depot and buy a new faucet that says it is for 3/8” connectors. I buy 3/8” NPT to barb connectors and go to screw them in at the boat and they don’t fit! I talk to Beagle Knot, who replaced his faucet, and find out what faucet he used. Off to Ace Hardware I go and buy the faucet. It still doesn’t screw in! Back we go to Ace and low and behold they have and adapter! We buy the adapter and the faucet is now replaced!

My new bypass system

Then it was time to put in the new hawse pipe for a second anchor on the bow. It went well. The replacement of the friction hinges for both the head hatches was an all day job. The booster pump for my water maker would always cut off with an overheating after 30 minutes of operation. My friend Gordon, on Ocean Wings, installed a water maker and when I looked at it he had a bypass valve on his booster pump to keep the pressure down. So off we went and got a valve, pressure gauge, hose and fittings. We put it together and tried it. Sure enough the booster pump was pumping at 50 psi and I could open the valve and get it down to 10 psi. However, one hose fitting was leaking. It was too small, so off we went to get another fitting! We replaced the fitting and all was well! Now the booster pump no longer cuts off.

Ready to work

Carl glasses  the keel

The dinghy was next! The dinghy always took in water in the lower hull, but when I put it up in the davits I could never see any water coming out! Also the air tubes were leaking somewhere as we have to pump it up every three days. So we took the dinghy to the beach and unloaded it and turned it upside down. We put a stripe of fiberglass down the keel, re-bed the upper drain plug, and replace and bedded the lower hull drain plug. We then soaped the bottom of the air tube looking for air leaks to no avail. When the fiberglass cured we turned the dinghy over and soaped all the top seams and could still  not find a leak. So we loaded up the dinghy to see if we did any good and the jury is still out as we kept getting rain so we can’t tell if the lower hull is still leaking or not. After 3 days the air tubes were leaking air slowly. Ugh!  Will have to readdress and see what is going on to cause the slow leaking.

All done with new drain plug

New fuel filter installed on dinghy

So as a preventative measure I went and bought a gas filter and water separator for the dinghy. Mounting the filter went well then my brain stopped working. I cut the hose and attached it to the filter without looking at the bulb pump and of course cut the hose on the wrong end of the pump. It was pumping gas from the engine to the tank! With much effort I removed the weird irremovable clamps from the bulb ends and reversed the bulb and attached it with hose clamps. I pumped up the gas and delightedly watched it fill the filter, but then it poured out of the connection between the engine and fuel hose! Back to the stores to find out Yanmar outboards must have OEM fuel fittings. So $30 poorer I go back and replace the fuel clip. Well the brain is still out to lunch and I replace the one for the tank not the engine! Arhhh! More hose clamps latter and now I replace the right one and all works. Until I put the dinghy in the davits. It sets bow up and fuel tank down and now fuel is coming out of the tank end fitting! Back down the dinghy goes and I replace it with the old engine fitting so life is good. Until I use the dinghy and realize I cut the hose from the filter to the engine too short and I can’t turn the engine all the way over! Back to the store for more hose and replace the filter to engine hose. Another job done.

Old metal clamp for stern drive

New $60 clamp!

For Maintenance every week we check the bilges and thru hulls, exercise the thru hulls, check the engine and stern drive oil levels, check the engine belts and wd40 all locks and surfaces that may rust. During that check I found the clamp for the starboard stern drive rubber seal was rusted through. So off I go to get a new one. It is a circle of thin metal that bends over itself to tighten into a seal. The cost, $60! Also to install it you must disconnect the engine from the stern drive, take out the engine mount bolts, push the engine forward to get the shaft out of the stern drive, disconnect all the transmission cables and water inlet! I bought a big hose clamp for $12 and put it around the flange.

I changed the filter to the water maker. Old is on the left

Part of the farmer's market

The market is huge!

Of course one can’t work on the boat all day every day, so during this time we went to the big farmers market and did a good deal of snorkeling.

A Flame Scallop and Arrow crab right off the beach

Bristle worm on the bottom

The Corwith Cramer an SEA ship
anchored in Brewers Bay she is
the sister ship to the Westward which
I sailed on in 1972!

It's a floating Bar!
It wasn't open as it is in the park

Peter owns the floating bar

We needed a break so we head to Maho for a week. It was a beautiful relaxing time. We were moored deep in Maho so the winds blew and we didn’t know it. The waves were high out in the ocean and we never saw them. At night the only light one could see was from other boats. We swam and snorkeled and had a very relaxing time. So while there Sue, off Oceanwings, said she would help Leslie make a template for dinghy chaps, and Gordon suggested we look for the air leak in the dinghy again. So into the beach we go and soap all the seams again to no avail. Then Gordon says, “Soap the whole boat.” So I do and low and behold we find a weeping leak and a solid leak in the fabric. I patch them that night and so far it has held.

We hike to Annenberg

Party Time!

While in Maho we did a hike to Annenberg plantation ruins and had a party on our boat with friends who were moored nearby.

After the nice time at Maho we returned to Water Island and Honeymoon beach. We saw a movie that night, but left the next morning for Brewers Bay as our anchor was not holding well. 

The little fish calls us home

I guess we haven't motored enough
These 2 goose neck barnacles call
our prop home

Now we are preparing the boat for a visit from Leslie’s sister Ally from Wyoming.

Stranded

 

The old winch

New winch and controls, hard to
see a difference!

We spend 5 days running wires and installing the electric winch for the main sheet and halyard. Then another day to replace the water maker high pressure pump, including a trip to the store to buy a stainless steel elbow that cost $85! 

Don and Debbie at Cruz Bay

We swim at Solomon Beach

Took a break, Thursday, to visit friends of ours, Debbie and Don, who are vacationing on St John, we hiked to Solomon and Honeymoon Beaches on St John, wandered around Mongoose Junction,  and had lunch at Woodys before we headed back to Redhook, and a Safari back to the boat.

Honeymoon Beach at St John

Looking out at Honeymoon

Wine and beer at Honeymoon Beach

Cruz Bay St John

Debbie and Don on our boat Frolic

Dinghys at Honeymoon Beach
Water Island, yes 2 Honeymoon
Beaches

We went to church on Sunday and just finished the normal weekly cleaning and maintenance when we got a call from Don and Debbie that their flight back to RI had been cancelled due to a big snow storm in the NE. They were stranded at the airport and could they come spend the night with us. We of course said, “Great, we will met you at the ferry!” Well after a lunch at Dinghys on Honeymoon Beach Water Island, they check their e-mail and discover their rebook for Monday was cancelled and a call resulted in them not being able to get a flight home until Wednesday!

On the lookout at Ft Segarra

One of the gun emplacements

Well we had a great time with them! We hiked Water Island to Fort Segarra, the lookout, and explored the tunnels finding old gun pits.

Heidi's on the other end of
Honeymoon Beach

Debbie and Don getting ready for
the movie

We went to Heidi’s Beach Movie and saw the movie Box Trolls. The movie wasn’t great, but the experience of sitting on a beach watching a movie through palm trees can’t be beat!

Movie on Honeymoon Beach Water Island

free rum at Bones in Charlotte Amelia

We also took The Safari to Charlotte Amelia and explored main street, after some rum at Bones, and when Wednesday came they relaxed on the beach until we had to bid them adu’.

A wrecked "dwelling" on the way up
to the caves

The caves we hiked to are on the
rock outcropping you see above about
2/3 the way up the hill

While they and Leslie relaxed on the beach I led Dan and Rose up the hill to the caves and rock look out. It was a 50 
minute hike up and 30 back. We ran into a couple of wasp nests and we all got a bite or two, but the view up there is spectacular!

Rose and Dan hiking up the trail

Dan and Rose at the top

Carl finishes the climb up the cliff

What a view from up there!

Wahoo!! we made it back!

Debbie and Don leave us

The Bay after the big rain!
It was brown as far as the eye could see

beach eroaded from the rain
It was nice and level!

Then Friday night we had the rain come in. A group of us went up to Island View for a pre Valentine dinner and it was drizzling rain, but when we returned it was pouring rain! It rained all night and all morning the next day. The airport reported 9” of rain, but a bucket left on deck was full of water and a friend who forgot to remove the plug from his dinghy had his divit bent leads us to believe we got more like 12” of rain. As a result the entire bay was brown and the beach had multiple gullies worn in it! No swimming or water making for a while. 

Sundowners on Exit Strategy

We did get together on Exit Strategy for sun downers though. You can’t stop a good party!

Rick and Nia arrive at Havensight
off the cruise ship

We took them to a restaurant on
St John, Skinny Legs

A few days later friends of ours, Rick and Nia, arrived on a cruise ship. So we met them and took them to St John and Coral Bay. We took the $1 bus to Coral Bay and checked out the bay. We then had lunch at Skinny Legs before heading back to Cruz Bay where we walked around before getting the ferry and taxi back to the ship where we, once again, had to say good bye to friends.

The Landings on St John

We stop at Woodys 

Ready to depart on the cruise ship

Time to continue with the repairs and projects on Frolic.