April 10th: We're not bored yet!

Linda has had a recurring nightmare since we've been on the boat. She wakes up, steps out of bed and her feet are under water. I kept telling her, "We have two bilge pumps, I think we're covered." I was wrong. I stepped out of bed in the morning and the carpet was wet. I knew Linda had gotten up during the night and I thought, "What did she spill?" I looked down and realized the floor was covered with water.

The boat drains to the front and our bed is in the back, so that meant the bilge was filled with water. I checked outside and neither of the two pumps were pumping water out.  Yikes! Looked in the engine compartment and the water was above the oil dip stick. That meant water had run into the oil pan.

First, find where the water is coming from. I tasted the water and quickly determined it was fresh water, not salt. At least that was a good thing. That meant a fresh water hose came loose inside the boat. Ran outside and turned off the water. Fortunately,there is a manual switch to turn on the biggest bilge pump. It kicked on and it was wonderful to see water being pumped out.

I found the leak was from a supply hose under the forward head sink. The plastic hose had popped off. Next we waited for the water to get pumped out. It took almost an hour but it was finally all gone.

Next concern was the engine and transmission. Both had surely gotten water in through the dip sticks. It was Sunday morning and I hopefully sent a text message to Billie, our wonderful young diesel mechanic. Thankfully, he called me and told us what to do. The water would sink to the bottom of the engine oil pan and transmission oil pan. Drain the oil and transmission fluid and because oil is lighter than water, the water will come out first. That meant no water in the engine itself nor the transmission. Change both oils and that should do it. Then said to run the engine to make sure all the water was mixed up and drain it again. Told us to make sure we ran the engine as soon as possible. The starter, which was under water, would probably work for a day or two. It did start and I completed all the cleanup. Two days later, sure enough the starter died!

Next I checked the pumps to find out why they were not working. The high water float switch on the big pump was no longer working. It was pretty old but we never had trouble with it before. The bilge pump in the bow was blocked with an oil absorbing material that I use to make sure we're not pumping any oil into the ocean. That never happened before either.

Reconnected the plastic hose and put two hose clamps on it this time and everything was back to normal.

I still needed to use the wet vacuum to get water out that was trapped in various places in the bilge. I completed that chore the next day because it took until 5 PM to do all the engine and transmission work. I finally deemed the project complete except for replacing the starter which is on order.


And that's why we're not bored yet!





We've had some very calm days. Great for kayaking. I went for a long kayak ride past Crane Point which is where I usually go. There is an island out there that always has a lot of birds on it.








I approached slowly trying to get some good pictures of birds. If you look closely you will sort of see a white Snowy Egret at the back of this large flock of cormorants.

Cormorants take flight

As you can see they decided I was too close.

I went all the way around the island and got plenty of exercise. The current was against me going around but I knew once I made it around, the current would carry me home. :)

Crane Point Bridge

I paddled under the fun little bridge on Crane Point. Crane Point is a wonderful nature preserve designed to keep the point completely natural. A couple from New England, (named Crane) bought the property in the 1940's and kept it a nature preserve. Now it is maintained by volunteers through a nonprofit organization. There is a tram tour and a docent explains the history and environment of the area. Unfortunately, it's closed due to COVID-19, but I can still kayak along the shoreline and in the small bay on the other side of the bridge.

Old Cuban boat

Next to the bridge there is an old wooden boat that I believe was used by people escaping Cuba to come to the U.S. Cuba is actually closer to Key West than Key West is to the mainland of Florida. Still, you really have to want to go to try it in a boat that size! Very brave people!





The water was crystal clear and I spotted a lot of fish. A nurse shark, about 4-5 feet long, swam right under my kayak. Too bad I couldn't get the camera out fast enough. You can see some pictures and get more info here





It was such a calm day I decided to splurge on our saturated fat intake and make barbecued chicken thighs. The grill, which is attached to the railing on the side of the boat, is hard to use on the back of the boat when it is windy. They turned out great!

 Linda's brother, Tom, lives in Flagstaff, AZ. He has two ponds and has anywhere from 100 - 150 ducks fly in through the Fall, Winter and Spring. He loves seeing the ducks which he feeds grain every day. Small wonder they keep coming! As Linda was enjoying the evening in front of our boat, two ducks came walking through. We don't even need to feed ours but they did make us think of Tom.




And then of course, another beautiful sunset. This one had spectacular colors reflected on the calm water.