May 25th: Time to move the boat

It was Saturday morning and I had several things I wanted to complete before taking the boat to Marathon Boat Yard where it would be hoisted out Wednesday morning and stored for the summer. I planned to take it over Tuesday at the latest, but was thinking Monday (Memorial Day) might be a safer plan, in case the weather didn't cooperate. I could stay on the boat at Marathon Boat yard while I finished getting it ready so either day was fine.



One item I had already checked off the list. Mychael, (with the parrots) does boat and car detailing. I had planned to wax the car before I left, to try to minimize the oxidation. Even covered, the sun is brutal in the summer. I thought, "Mychael could use the work, I can afford to pay him, win, win!" He did a fantastic job. He put some kind of clear coat on it and it looks much better than when we bought it. Linda loved that little car so I'm sure she is smiling!

Great little 2,000 Honda Generator

I needed to prepare our Honda generator for storage over the summer. Change the oil, empty the fuel out, drain the carburetor, remove the spark plug and spray the cylinder with fogging oil. Not really too bad a job. Finished it pretty quickly with no issues.








Next, get the 15 HP Suzuki outboard ready for storage. Pretty easy. Put fuel stabilizer in the gas, run the engine for 5 minutes, flush the engine with fresh water and it was good to go.






Last but not least, put fuel stabilizer and Bio Bor into the diesel fuel tank for the trawler. Diesel fuel can get bacteria growing in it over long periods of time and the Bio Bor prevents that. Put the additives in the yellow diesel jug and go to the gas station to fill it with diesel fuel. That assures the additives are well mixed in.


Finished all the projects before noon. Great. Started making some corn crab chowder to use up a can of crab that was in the refrigerator. While it was simmering, I thought I'd check the weather to see whether Monday or Tuesday was a better day to go.



Big change coming!Thunderstorms were forecast Saturday afternoon, then at 75% + Sunday, Monday and 50% Tuesday. Marathon Boat Yard is about 1&1/2 hours away on the ocean side.

One significant issue on my mind was storing the fly bridge top Bimini canvas. It's very large and cumbersome. I can't put it away wet and it was already starting to rain, just lightly, but too much. I checked the weather radar and it looked like the rain would pass by around 3:00 PM. Fortunately, Dennis and George were available to help me take the boat over after the rain quit. Not only did the rain quit, but the skies cleared and we had a very pleasant ride over. The boat ran beautifully. Great to be back in running condition!

Bimini Top down and stored

Fly bridge cover on 

The Bimini top dried on the way over. It was more sunny than the picture shows because the clouds were coming in again, but the top was down!

I covered the fly bridge with the cover Linda made..





So, I had the boat at Marathon Boat Yard two days ahead of schedule. I had power and water so everything was good. I still had three full days to get everything ready. More than enough time. And its only a 5 minute drive back to Banana Bay for docktails!  I finished making the corn chowder and delivered it to my wonderful helpers.

The rains came in as promised Saturday night. It was another continuous down pour. I had discovered two leaks during the last three-day rain and was able to seal them. I went to go to sleep in the aft cabin and discovered yet another leak. This one was over the bed. Just a small drip but not acceptable for sleeping. Put a pan under to catch the drip and slept in the v-berth.

Caulking repair

Not perfect cosmetically but works

The rain never quit Sunday. I went out to inspect and saw where the leak was coming from. The caulking had separated in a couple places. It appeared there might be some dry periods Monday. Fortunately, the rain did quit for most of the afternoon Monday and I was able to fix the leak. I'm actually thankful for all the rain because I was able to take care of the leaks. Otherwise they would have been leaking for the 6 months I was gone.

Everything is going well. Still have all day tomorrow to finish a few things and get packed up. One more box to the post office and I'll be ready to go.