Ready

I forgot to mention that I re-positioned the inverter and 6 AGM batteries from under the starboard settee to under the port dinette seating.  This was not a small undertaking but it has resulted in the boat being balanced again.  I had to run 6 Gauge AC wiring through the engine room and was once again happy I invested in that hydraulic lug crimper!

Today we (mostly Jo) put away all the provisions we have bought.  I finished off the shelves I made for the utility room and Jo duly stocked them.

I ran the engines and generator for a while to make sure all was well.  I also updated all our charts from NOAA to the latest issue.  We had lunch at O'Bricks for the last time and are going over to Pier 22 later on and then supper with Jon while Janice worries the last hours of month end for MBUSA.  I think we are ready to launch into phase 2 of our great adventure.

Rest in peace washer/dryer

Long live new storage! Happy Birthday Brenda!

As you all know the washer /dryer has never worked and it's so old that replacement parts are no longer available.  We could have replaced it with a new one ($900) but that would require taking the frame off the door to get it into the utility room.  So, after a long and acrimonious debate regarding how many trips to the marina laundry a new machine covered, "we" decided to get rid of it.  As I mentioned the other day, Jon and I disassembled the old machine and removed it to the garbage.  Today I had Lowes cut me some melamine panel to convert the new space into storage.

Tomorrow I will install shelves and retainer fronts, iron on some melamine finish tape onto the raw wood until I figure out how to finish it with a door.

One more day and we set off for the east coast and the Bahamas.  I have made reservations all the way to Riviera Beach.  Twin Dolphin has been a amazing marina that we wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.  Thanks to Barbara, Jill, Natalie (MOM) and all the deckhands who looked after us.  Tomorrow we also say goodbye to our friends at O'Bricks and Pier 22.  We had a wonderful goodbye dinner with Matt and Karie (Lost Cat) whom we have very much appreciated as friends here.

Today, I received emails from some folks from Canada doing the same thing as us at the same time on the same boat in the same general area.  So here's a shout out to Sweet Escape and looking forward to meeting you guys in the Abacos!

Countdown

We are two weeks away from departure to the Abacos.  We are looking forward to a new adventure but will miss the company and generosity of Jon and Janice and the friends we have made in Twin Dolphin marina.

We drove over to Miami with Jon and Janice to enjoy the boat show.  We had lo leave Spooky alone but she was in good spirits when we left.

We left Wednesday afternoon to be there for Thursday VIP day.  We had been given tickets by the folks at Cruisers Yachts.  VIP day is free from massive crowds that are typical for Saturday and Sunday.  Thursday morning a rain squall came through Miami downtown.

By comparison, here is the view Friday morning:

We spent Thursday at the Convention Center and Friday at Sea Isle in-water show.  We saw some wonderful new boats and some very  poor offerings from our own manufacturer: Sea Ray.  We toured my dream boat the Marlow 62E ($2.5M) in detail and really liked the Cruisers Cantius 48 ($899K) as a more practical alternative.  In fact, if I had had a spare $900,000 around I would have bought that Cruisers on the spot.  Well designed from both a live-ability and maintainability point of view.  Sea Ray:  Take note - IMHO your new designs suck!

After a few hours of slogging around some beautiful pieces of marine hardware we retired to a local Cuban bar/restaurant...

and became instant fans of their Mojitos and the bar staff.

Then needed a Bloody Mary for Friday lunch at Garcia's on the way home.

Yesterday Jon and I dismantled the non working washer/dryer and removed it from the boat.  Much heavier than I expected.  Now I am going to have to move the inverter and battery banks to the port side to balance the boat!

Better Views

Yesterday was another maintenance day. The rains of last week showed me that I had a leaking aft deck hard top (roof).  I located the leaks and re-bedded the radar mounting bolts and re-caulked the mounting pad.

Then Jo and I took down the blinds from the forward windows in the main salon. In doing so we discovered that two of the three were broken and that we liked them better when they weren't there!  There is a sun screen on the outside of the windows to forward. 

Here's a picture of the boat when I first went to view it three years ago:

Since then we have cleaned, replaced the table, re-upholstered the sofas, replaced all our lighting and, today, removed the blinds.  We like it:

Our cruising companions Joe, Brandy and Grace now have their tickets booked to fly down for the next phase of the journey.  We will leave Bradenton for Florida's east coast in the last week of February and cross over to the Bahamas the first week of March weather permitting.  We have spots at Marsh Harbour Marina and Jib Room.