The marina manager "T" Caldwell and his mechanic son Alan arrived at our doorstep around 8:30 local time this morning ready to install my new battery. Remember that I had one installed when at Dog River Marina by "TJ" ...no relation to "T". My batteries are located in the engine compartment and are jammed between the engine and fuel tank in a box with walls that hardly leaves enough room to lift the batteries up and over the ledge... the engine compartment is only about two feet deep. Oh, and these are not your average car batteries, these are about three times as large and weigh around 150 pounds. After removing from the box the battery has to be lowered to the hull and snaked around the engine to a place with a large enough clearance to lift it up to the salon floor. The engine compartment is located beneath the salon and accessed via floor panels that are pulled up. Anyway, these two guys laid on their bellies working with that thing while mashing fingers and wedging themselves into very tight spaces. While going at it they discovered the other new battery, the one installed at Dog River, had loose terminal connections. "T" was not happy about their sloppy work and promised to call and tell them about it. This was definitely a two man job which I'll gladly pay someone to do.
Next they worked on the fuel line. In these older diesel engines, and maybe the newer ones too for all I know, fuel is supplied to the injectors through a supply line and any excess fuel is returned to the fuel tank via a return line. My metal tube supply line had been chafing against the oil pan for so long that it had worn a small hole. In addition, the fittings on either end are so corroded the mechanics were afraid to put a wrench to them. So, they made a parallel supply line from top grade very expensive federally approved fuel hose, disconnected the bad supply line and hooked up the new... works like a champ. They left the old line in case I ever want to replicate it, however we tagged each end so it would be obvious as to what we had done. We didn't want to confuse some mechanic down the road.
Next we attacked the control panel problem. Prior to Bobby's Fish Camp all my gauges worked, but as you may remember from an earlier post they were not working when I left Bobby's. The next day they all worked except the tachometer. In addition, when I pulled into this marina the engine would not stop when I turned the key off... even pulling it from the ignition. Finally did get it stopped by making several attempts and banging around on the switch.
For all our looking and crawling under the helm and head scratching we could not find an obvious problem. We poked and prodded until I pushed a button that's simply supposed to control the gauge lights. Guess what, all the gauges started working, including the buzzer which had also quit working.
However that didn't do anything to help the ignition problem so we just worked the hell outta the switch, even put a little W40 down the key hole. Eventually it we got it to where it would turn the engine off.... at least most of the time. "T" showed me a lever on the engine that would kill it if all else fails. It sounds like there's a lot of things breaking on this boat but they are all small things ...well the batteries and bottom job were expensive but those were known maintenance issues.
After T and Alan left Kim broke out the Murphy's Oil Soap again and started cleaning wood paneling, louver slats and drawers. She dug so deep into the grunge that she found some 1980 recipes cut from magazines.
Anyway, all work was completed by lunchtime but Kim and I decided to wait and shove off in the morning. We should be on Pickwick Lake by Wednesday evening then another 5 or 6 days to home. Kim has to be back at work Monday so I'm taking applications for a replacement.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Trouble in Columbus, Ms
First I would like to apologize for neglecting to post any updates for the past couple of days. I spent about an hour, a few nights ago, writing the best post ever written by mankind... it was informative, witty and dramatic with a slight overtone of comedy. It would have been an award winning post, however the morning after posting it I was cleaning up some files and apparently deleted it. I've been so P.O.'d about it I just couldn't bring myself to sit down at the keyboard again... until now.
While at the Demopolis marina we saw another Kadey-Krogen Manatee for sale, I had seen it on Yachtworld where it's advertised for $95,000. The exterior was in sad condition but the biggest problem was that the owner had not taken it out of the slip in years. The various systems on a boat need to be exercised much like the requirement of our bodies, otherwise they begin to deteriorate, much like our bodies.
The Demopolis Yacht Basin marina is actually two marinas, We were placed in a covered slip on one of the new docks complete with a new "clubhouse" containing showers, laundry and an area to just lounge around and read or watch TV. This new facility is called the Kingfisher Marina. Shawn and I decided to checkout the New Orleans Bar and Grill for supper, it's located way on the other side of the compound so we made use of the courtesy golf cart. We strolled into the eatery and were surprised by the appearance, it was a dive complete with the smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke and a crew of regulars lined up at the bar discussing the days events. Rather than turn around and leave we grabbed a beer and a pack of smokes... just kidding. We sat at a table and the bartender lady brought menus which had been printed on regular sheets of paper and apparently been in use for quiet some time. The prices were in line with restaurants of a much higher caliber so rather than be rude and leave we ordered some onion rings... they were greasy but good.
After loading up with 72 gallons of their finest diesel we pulled out of the Demopolis Yacht Basin marina Wednesday morning, within a mile or so we transitioned from the Black-Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway where we saw a deer swimming across the 150 yard divide between river banks. She started hauling ass when she saw us coming but we were good conservationists and keep our distance as much as possible.
We traveled for hours without seeing any other boats except the "Mr David" tug pushing about nine barges up the river, we were able to overtake him but also wanted to arrive at the next lock well ahead of him so as not to wait, the commercial traffic pays for this waterway therefore they receive top priority. Well, we made good time but when we arrived at Heflin Lock there was one tug in the chamber and another waiting, both headed upstream... crap. We had no option except to float around waiting and hoping we wouldn't have to wait on the tug behind us as well. I guess you could say we got lucky, after a two hour wait we were locked through, just barely ahead of Mr David.
About 7:00 we found a nice anchorage in the "Cooks Bend Cutoff" located at river mile 277.9. This is something called an "oxbow", it's where a shortcut is made by cutting a channel thereby lopping off one of the big curves that the river makes. The big curve is then no longer part of the main channel and looking at it on a chart it looks like an oxbow. The river was wide here so we put out both bow and aft anchors positioned to keep us as far from each bank as possible. This turned out to be one of the most beautiful nights I've ever spent outside. The skeeters never found us and we had a clear view of a clear sky and the stars were on fire, the view of our home galaxy was like a faint path of milk traversing across the darkness of space... the Milky Way, our home galaxy. There's no place like home.
Next morning, Thursday the 25th, we popped up the anchors and motored up river, all systems were looking good. Again we didn't see much traffic until we got to Bevill Lock, mile 306.8, again with the tugs and another two hour wait... ug. We made it through and again we didn't see much traffic but we did keep hearing airplanes, in fact we kept hearing them all day but never seeing them.
(These next couple of paragraphs were in a previous post which has now been removed)
As we were approaching Stennis Lock there was a tug perpendicular to several barges pushing them into the bank to hold them in place. In this position he was cross-ways in the river with the only way to pass consisting of going through his extremely strong prop-wash. We slowed our approach and hailed him on the radio several times to no avail. I brought my boat to a near standstill when I saw a fellow making his way from one of the barges to the tugs pilot house where he eased up on the thrust enough for us to proceed. Even with the reduced force we were pushed toward the bank, which wasn't all that far away, but I had angled the bow so that I could accelerate back toward the middle of the river as I entered his danger zone.
Eventually we made it to Stennis Lock where we had just a one hour wait... never did know why because there were no tugs around. When we pulled into the chamber rigged for the port side there were all these floating hyacinth plants bunched up right where I needed to go, rather than move all the fenders to starboard I just pushed my way in and we secured the boat.
Columbus Marina (mile 335) was to the immediate right when exiting the lock and that's where we planned to stay for the night. As we were pulling into the marina I saw another Kadey-Krogen Manatee tied at the transient dock, the owner came over and introduced himself... Russ Kilmner I think was his name. He and his wife appeared to be in their mid to late seventies. They had been all over the United States and even Europe in there Manatee. He has a trailer to haul it places in the states but it was shipped to Europe. They have just recently returned to the states and are making there way from Jacksonville Florida to Mobile Bay via the Great Loop route then heading west to Galveston, Texas
Shawn and I had a good night and hit the main channel around 8:30 (Friday the 26th) but I immediately noticed the engine temperature was approaching 200 degrees, not good. Since I was less than a mile from the marina I turned and headed back. With some guidance from "T" Caldwell, the marina manager, I was able to clear the problem, one of those hyacinth plants had plugged the engine cooling water intake, I was able to blow it out by opening the strainer and using a garden hose. T and his son the mechanic, Alan, suggested we replace the impeller so I asked Alan to do it since I'd never done it before. It seemed simple enough and next time I'll do it myself. The impeller appeared to be in good condition so Alan didn't pull it all the way out and simply shoved it back into place and replaced the cover. However, while down in the engine compartment he heard something dripping... nothing should have been dripping at this point so we tracked it down and discovered a small hole in the diesel supply line. Someone had placed a small catch pan under the hole so this was apparently a known problem... to someone other than me. I had never heard it drip during my morning engine checks so this may only occur when the engine is warm. To resolve the problem requires replacing the metal supply line of course but the connector to the next component is so rusty Alan and T were afraid to touch it. They came up with a work around which involves another more experienced mechanic making a line from some fuel hose and routing it to where ever it needs to be routed too. This is Friday and the other mechanic can't get to it till Monday, so here we sit.
When Shawn's wife, Cindy, heard we were staying put she got with Kim and headed this way (Saturday the 27th)... she missed her man and couldn't wait another day. After we all went to dinner the happy couple left and Kim and I settled in for the night. Shawn was a huge help and I owe him big time, thank you so much. It's now Sunday morning and I'll be showing Kim the ropes, so to speak.
I have another issue I want cleared up before we pull out, remember the brittle wires and my control panel issues? Well, I want that resolved before I leave. I'm lucky my temperature gauge started working again when I wiggled the wires to get the anchor light to work. Had it not been working Friday I would have ruined the engine. I learned my lesson, keep those gauges working and keep an eye on them.
While at the Demopolis marina we saw another Kadey-Krogen Manatee for sale, I had seen it on Yachtworld where it's advertised for $95,000. The exterior was in sad condition but the biggest problem was that the owner had not taken it out of the slip in years. The various systems on a boat need to be exercised much like the requirement of our bodies, otherwise they begin to deteriorate, much like our bodies.
The Demopolis Yacht Basin marina is actually two marinas, We were placed in a covered slip on one of the new docks complete with a new "clubhouse" containing showers, laundry and an area to just lounge around and read or watch TV. This new facility is called the Kingfisher Marina. Shawn and I decided to checkout the New Orleans Bar and Grill for supper, it's located way on the other side of the compound so we made use of the courtesy golf cart. We strolled into the eatery and were surprised by the appearance, it was a dive complete with the smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke and a crew of regulars lined up at the bar discussing the days events. Rather than turn around and leave we grabbed a beer and a pack of smokes... just kidding. We sat at a table and the bartender lady brought menus which had been printed on regular sheets of paper and apparently been in use for quiet some time. The prices were in line with restaurants of a much higher caliber so rather than be rude and leave we ordered some onion rings... they were greasy but good.
After loading up with 72 gallons of their finest diesel we pulled out of the Demopolis Yacht Basin marina Wednesday morning, within a mile or so we transitioned from the Black-Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway where we saw a deer swimming across the 150 yard divide between river banks. She started hauling ass when she saw us coming but we were good conservationists and keep our distance as much as possible.
We traveled for hours without seeing any other boats except the "Mr David" tug pushing about nine barges up the river, we were able to overtake him but also wanted to arrive at the next lock well ahead of him so as not to wait, the commercial traffic pays for this waterway therefore they receive top priority. Well, we made good time but when we arrived at Heflin Lock there was one tug in the chamber and another waiting, both headed upstream... crap. We had no option except to float around waiting and hoping we wouldn't have to wait on the tug behind us as well. I guess you could say we got lucky, after a two hour wait we were locked through, just barely ahead of Mr David.
About 7:00 we found a nice anchorage in the "Cooks Bend Cutoff" located at river mile 277.9. This is something called an "oxbow", it's where a shortcut is made by cutting a channel thereby lopping off one of the big curves that the river makes. The big curve is then no longer part of the main channel and looking at it on a chart it looks like an oxbow. The river was wide here so we put out both bow and aft anchors positioned to keep us as far from each bank as possible. This turned out to be one of the most beautiful nights I've ever spent outside. The skeeters never found us and we had a clear view of a clear sky and the stars were on fire, the view of our home galaxy was like a faint path of milk traversing across the darkness of space... the Milky Way, our home galaxy. There's no place like home.
Next morning, Thursday the 25th, we popped up the anchors and motored up river, all systems were looking good. Again we didn't see much traffic until we got to Bevill Lock, mile 306.8, again with the tugs and another two hour wait... ug. We made it through and again we didn't see much traffic but we did keep hearing airplanes, in fact we kept hearing them all day but never seeing them.
(These next couple of paragraphs were in a previous post which has now been removed)
As we were approaching Stennis Lock there was a tug perpendicular to several barges pushing them into the bank to hold them in place. In this position he was cross-ways in the river with the only way to pass consisting of going through his extremely strong prop-wash. We slowed our approach and hailed him on the radio several times to no avail. I brought my boat to a near standstill when I saw a fellow making his way from one of the barges to the tugs pilot house where he eased up on the thrust enough for us to proceed. Even with the reduced force we were pushed toward the bank, which wasn't all that far away, but I had angled the bow so that I could accelerate back toward the middle of the river as I entered his danger zone.
Eventually we made it to Stennis Lock where we had just a one hour wait... never did know why because there were no tugs around. When we pulled into the chamber rigged for the port side there were all these floating hyacinth plants bunched up right where I needed to go, rather than move all the fenders to starboard I just pushed my way in and we secured the boat.
Columbus Marina (mile 335) was to the immediate right when exiting the lock and that's where we planned to stay for the night. As we were pulling into the marina I saw another Kadey-Krogen Manatee tied at the transient dock, the owner came over and introduced himself... Russ Kilmner I think was his name. He and his wife appeared to be in their mid to late seventies. They had been all over the United States and even Europe in there Manatee. He has a trailer to haul it places in the states but it was shipped to Europe. They have just recently returned to the states and are making there way from Jacksonville Florida to Mobile Bay via the Great Loop route then heading west to Galveston, Texas
Shawn and I had a good night and hit the main channel around 8:30 (Friday the 26th) but I immediately noticed the engine temperature was approaching 200 degrees, not good. Since I was less than a mile from the marina I turned and headed back. With some guidance from "T" Caldwell, the marina manager, I was able to clear the problem, one of those hyacinth plants had plugged the engine cooling water intake, I was able to blow it out by opening the strainer and using a garden hose. T and his son the mechanic, Alan, suggested we replace the impeller so I asked Alan to do it since I'd never done it before. It seemed simple enough and next time I'll do it myself. The impeller appeared to be in good condition so Alan didn't pull it all the way out and simply shoved it back into place and replaced the cover. However, while down in the engine compartment he heard something dripping... nothing should have been dripping at this point so we tracked it down and discovered a small hole in the diesel supply line. Someone had placed a small catch pan under the hole so this was apparently a known problem... to someone other than me. I had never heard it drip during my morning engine checks so this may only occur when the engine is warm. To resolve the problem requires replacing the metal supply line of course but the connector to the next component is so rusty Alan and T were afraid to touch it. They came up with a work around which involves another more experienced mechanic making a line from some fuel hose and routing it to where ever it needs to be routed too. This is Friday and the other mechanic can't get to it till Monday, so here we sit.
When Shawn's wife, Cindy, heard we were staying put she got with Kim and headed this way (Saturday the 27th)... she missed her man and couldn't wait another day. After we all went to dinner the happy couple left and Kim and I settled in for the night. Shawn was a huge help and I owe him big time, thank you so much. It's now Sunday morning and I'll be showing Kim the ropes, so to speak.
I have another issue I want cleared up before we pull out, remember the brittle wires and my control panel issues? Well, I want that resolved before I leave. I'm lucky my temperature gauge started working again when I wiggled the wires to get the anchor light to work. Had it not been working Friday I would have ruined the engine. I learned my lesson, keep those gauges working and keep an eye on them.
 |
| Typical Barge |
 |
| Shawn |
 |
| White Cliffs at Epes ...river mile 248 |
 |
| Shawn |
 |
| Shawn |
 |
| Covered Slip at Columbus Marina |
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| Hyacinth Plants Choking the Lake |
 |
| Lilly Pads |
 |
| Columbus Fuel Dock |
 |
| The other Manatee at Columbus Marina |
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Demopolis... Finally!
Yeah baby, after being setback 5 weeks due to lock closures I have finally made it through two of the twelve between Mobile Bay and the Tennessee River.
The day started with a couple of scares, normally when I start the engine I first need to warm the ignitors in order for the engine to fire up. This consists of turning the ignition key to the ignitor position located just prior to the start position in the key rotation and normally a buzzer sounds. This morning the buzzer wasn't sounding, plus when I tried cranking nothing happened. The silence of the engine not cranking was sickening. I thought we were in for a long day of sitting on the side of the Tombigbee at mile 164.3 waiting on a tow or a miracle worker to solve my dilemma. Well I tried one last thing, I switched back to my good battery, which I had already tried the ignitor position but didn't hear the buzzer and I still didn't hear it but cranked the engine anyway... well guess what, it started. Plop-plop fizz-fizz, or in this case it's crank-crank rumble-rumble oh what a relief it is. Right away I noticed the control panel gauges were all working except for the rpms. All I can think of is that when I wiggled the brittle wires at the base of the mast last night it not only solved my anchor light problem, it solved part of my control panel problem but also created my no buzzer problem.
Another problem I had prior to starting the engine involves the transmission gear oil. During my morning check I noticed the oil level was very very low on the dip stick, I had failed to check it the previous day. The only oil I had on-board was for the engine, I had no idea what the previous owner had been using. I checked with Tim, via text message, (Tim was the mechanic I used back in Melbourne) and he said to use the engine oil even though it wasn't the correct oil for the job but since I was in the middle of nowhere it was better than nothing. I haven't heard back from the previous owner about what to use yet. Later in the day I remembered a couple of other people to check with and they said the quarter cup of oil I poured in would not hurt anything. Just change the oil when you get home.
So far so good, now we are ready to pull the anchors up so we fed some slack to the bow anchor and pulled on the aft anchor rode until we were directly over it, then I applied some reverse throttle and it broke free from the bottom and was pulled back on-board. Now we ease up until we are directly over the bow anchor and I applied forward throttle but it would not release. Tried again but it still held tight. Tried from different angles and still no luck. One last mother-of-all-anchor-break-loose attempts from a desperate new owner of a 30 year old boat sitting in the middle of nowhere and finally it broke free and we were on our way. Oh yeah, I'm feeling much better now.
We pulled away from our anchorage at 8:15 EDT and passed two tugs and three pleasure crafts and one herd of wild pigs.
We reached the dam at 2:38 EDT and the lock attendant said it'd be about 30 minutes due to maintenance. I held my breath hoping that they weren't having trouble again but about 20 minutes later the gates opened wide... almost as wide as my smile.
We are staying at the marina tonight, it's just three miles above the dam, Last night we were eaten up by skeeters and other biting and blood sucking bugs. Tonight we can keep the windows closed and run the air conditioner.
The day started with a couple of scares, normally when I start the engine I first need to warm the ignitors in order for the engine to fire up. This consists of turning the ignition key to the ignitor position located just prior to the start position in the key rotation and normally a buzzer sounds. This morning the buzzer wasn't sounding, plus when I tried cranking nothing happened. The silence of the engine not cranking was sickening. I thought we were in for a long day of sitting on the side of the Tombigbee at mile 164.3 waiting on a tow or a miracle worker to solve my dilemma. Well I tried one last thing, I switched back to my good battery, which I had already tried the ignitor position but didn't hear the buzzer and I still didn't hear it but cranked the engine anyway... well guess what, it started. Plop-plop fizz-fizz, or in this case it's crank-crank rumble-rumble oh what a relief it is. Right away I noticed the control panel gauges were all working except for the rpms. All I can think of is that when I wiggled the brittle wires at the base of the mast last night it not only solved my anchor light problem, it solved part of my control panel problem but also created my no buzzer problem.
Another problem I had prior to starting the engine involves the transmission gear oil. During my morning check I noticed the oil level was very very low on the dip stick, I had failed to check it the previous day. The only oil I had on-board was for the engine, I had no idea what the previous owner had been using. I checked with Tim, via text message, (Tim was the mechanic I used back in Melbourne) and he said to use the engine oil even though it wasn't the correct oil for the job but since I was in the middle of nowhere it was better than nothing. I haven't heard back from the previous owner about what to use yet. Later in the day I remembered a couple of other people to check with and they said the quarter cup of oil I poured in would not hurt anything. Just change the oil when you get home.
So far so good, now we are ready to pull the anchors up so we fed some slack to the bow anchor and pulled on the aft anchor rode until we were directly over it, then I applied some reverse throttle and it broke free from the bottom and was pulled back on-board. Now we ease up until we are directly over the bow anchor and I applied forward throttle but it would not release. Tried again but it still held tight. Tried from different angles and still no luck. One last mother-of-all-anchor-break-loose attempts from a desperate new owner of a 30 year old boat sitting in the middle of nowhere and finally it broke free and we were on our way. Oh yeah, I'm feeling much better now.
We pulled away from our anchorage at 8:15 EDT and passed two tugs and three pleasure crafts and one herd of wild pigs.
We reached the dam at 2:38 EDT and the lock attendant said it'd be about 30 minutes due to maintenance. I held my breath hoping that they weren't having trouble again but about 20 minutes later the gates opened wide... almost as wide as my smile.
We are staying at the marina tonight, it's just three miles above the dam, Last night we were eaten up by skeeters and other biting and blood sucking bugs. Tonight we can keep the windows closed and run the air conditioner.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Let's Try This Again
While I was home I bought a few things....
Honda 2000i inverter-generator, Yeti 110 Tundra cooler, aft anchor with chain and line.
My nephew, Shawn, is my partner for the week and my son, Dennis, has agreed to drive us to Bobby's Fish Camp, Daddy is riding along to keep Dennis company for the trip home.
We left Chattanooga around 5:00 am with the bed of Dennis' truck loaded with all my new toys plus the usual stuff such as food and clothes.
We arrived at the boat at 11:00 am and spent the next hour loading our stuff, getting fuel and paying my bill. The bill could have been much worse if Laura Jane of Bobby's Fish Camp hadn't had mercy on my soul. Her transient fee is $1.50 / foot / night, she more than cut that in half although it was still pretty dang high.
Shawn and I shoved off at noon... about noon:01 I noticed my rpm, oil pressure and temperature gauges were not working, I dove under the panel and poked and prodded for a while but never found the problem. That's something I'll deal with later, if I set my speed at just over 7 mph my rpms should be good and I checked the oil and coolant prior to starting the engine, I'll just have to trust that the oil pressure and engine temp will be good as well.
During the course of the day we passed one tug and two pleasure crafts. Shortly after dropping anchor at 7:00 pm another tug passed by. We anchored on the east side of the river just below a highway bridge at mile 164.6. I cranked up my new generator and plugged in my 30 amp shore-power-cable, the 1600 watts provided by the little generator allowed us to run everything except the a/c unit. I was even able to charge the dead battery. Oh, I forgot to tell you that my old battery was dead but my new battery still had a good charge on it. Guess I'll soon have two new batteries.
Speaking of things not working, well as darkness was approaching I turned on the anchor light... crap, it didn't come on. After fussing, cussing and flipping the breaker back and forth furiously I remembered some brittle wires at the base of the mast... that was the problem.
And the lord said "let there be anchor light" ...and there was.
Honda 2000i inverter-generator, Yeti 110 Tundra cooler, aft anchor with chain and line.
My nephew, Shawn, is my partner for the week and my son, Dennis, has agreed to drive us to Bobby's Fish Camp, Daddy is riding along to keep Dennis company for the trip home.
We left Chattanooga around 5:00 am with the bed of Dennis' truck loaded with all my new toys plus the usual stuff such as food and clothes.
We arrived at the boat at 11:00 am and spent the next hour loading our stuff, getting fuel and paying my bill. The bill could have been much worse if Laura Jane of Bobby's Fish Camp hadn't had mercy on my soul. Her transient fee is $1.50 / foot / night, she more than cut that in half although it was still pretty dang high.
Shawn and I shoved off at noon... about noon:01 I noticed my rpm, oil pressure and temperature gauges were not working, I dove under the panel and poked and prodded for a while but never found the problem. That's something I'll deal with later, if I set my speed at just over 7 mph my rpms should be good and I checked the oil and coolant prior to starting the engine, I'll just have to trust that the oil pressure and engine temp will be good as well.
During the course of the day we passed one tug and two pleasure crafts. Shortly after dropping anchor at 7:00 pm another tug passed by. We anchored on the east side of the river just below a highway bridge at mile 164.6. I cranked up my new generator and plugged in my 30 amp shore-power-cable, the 1600 watts provided by the little generator allowed us to run everything except the a/c unit. I was even able to charge the dead battery. Oh, I forgot to tell you that my old battery was dead but my new battery still had a good charge on it. Guess I'll soon have two new batteries.
Speaking of things not working, well as darkness was approaching I turned on the anchor light... crap, it didn't come on. After fussing, cussing and flipping the breaker back and forth furiously I remembered some brittle wires at the base of the mast... that was the problem.
And the lord said "let there be anchor light" ...and there was.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Demopolis Lock Update
9-11-14 10:20 AM ...The lock attendant said they are now scheduled to open at 7:00 PM tonight, that's 24 hours later than the original plan. He did not elaborate.
9-12-14 9:30 AM ...The attendant said they opened last night... he has locked through 11 barges so far and has that many still waiting, mostly northbound.
9-12-14 2;30 PM ...I heard radio traffic while locking through Coffeeville Lock (9/4) indicating the problem at Demopolis may be more severe than originally thought, so I'm leery about resuming my trip without giving them some time, plus I'm concerned about the amount of barge traffic that's been held up, plus I don't have a deckhand to go with me until 9/22. I checked with the owner at the Fish Camp and she's okay with my boat taking up some of her limited dock space until the 22nd... I am very grateful to her.
9-12-14 9:30 AM ...The attendant said they opened last night... he has locked through 11 barges so far and has that many still waiting, mostly northbound.
9-12-14 2;30 PM ...I heard radio traffic while locking through Coffeeville Lock (9/4) indicating the problem at Demopolis may be more severe than originally thought, so I'm leery about resuming my trip without giving them some time, plus I'm concerned about the amount of barge traffic that's been held up, plus I don't have a deckhand to go with me until 9/22. I checked with the owner at the Fish Camp and she's okay with my boat taking up some of her limited dock space until the 22nd... I am very grateful to her.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Bobby's Fish Camp
When we woke this morning we were still in the same spot where we dropped the anchors, that's a good thing. We did however have an issue with the rodes, they had twisted around each other during the night. We had the bright idea of bringing up one anchor and unwrapping it from the other, I won't do that again. We spent over 30 minutes fooling with the problem... next time I'll try unwrapping the lines by swinging the boat around however many times is necessary. I put out both anchors because my beloved Skipper Bob book said to to so.... "if you've got two anchors then use them." Well, Sea Owl has two anchors on the pulpit, so why not use them?
Rob has been a huge help, he was a Sea Scout in his younger days and has a lot of knowledge about boats, navigation, docking and locking. Plus he's a fun guy to hangout with, I've been lucky to have him along.
The water was calm most of the way, not even a ripple... looked as though you could walk on it. We saw numerous egrets but not much else as far as wild life goes. The river banks changed from the previous day, no banks in the delta gave way to small rises in elevation and sandy beaches at most every turn.
We passed several tugs today and finally made it to the Coffeeville Lock and Dam just in time to start an hour and a half wait on a southbound tug, ugh.
Finally made it to Bobby's Fish Camp and will hang around until someone comes to pick us up on Sunday.
I'll check with the Demopolis Lock-master next Thursday to see how things are going, it's my understanding that the problem they're having could require a much longer outage than is currently anticipated.
Rob has been a huge help, he was a Sea Scout in his younger days and has a lot of knowledge about boats, navigation, docking and locking. Plus he's a fun guy to hangout with, I've been lucky to have him along.
The water was calm most of the way, not even a ripple... looked as though you could walk on it. We saw numerous egrets but not much else as far as wild life goes. The river banks changed from the previous day, no banks in the delta gave way to small rises in elevation and sandy beaches at most every turn.
We passed several tugs today and finally made it to the Coffeeville Lock and Dam just in time to start an hour and a half wait on a southbound tug, ugh.
Finally made it to Bobby's Fish Camp and will hang around until someone comes to pick us up on Sunday.
I'll check with the Demopolis Lock-master next Thursday to see how things are going, it's my understanding that the problem they're having could require a much longer outage than is currently anticipated.
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| Calm Water |
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| Greenwave Tug |
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| Jackson Railroad Bridge |
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| Rob at the Helm |
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| Rocks look out of place on the bank |
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| Coffeeville Lock |
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| Bobby's Fish Camp |
Thursday, September 4, 2014
The Mobile River Is On My Mind
Woke up early this morning and had some breakfast, ran through the checklist and cranked her up... purred like a kitten. One of the service techs, Glenn, came by to help cast off the lines and about 8:00 est I eased out of the slip but had a very tight space to turn ...no problemo.
Dog River is about 14 miles from river mile zero of the Tombigbee Waterway so it took us a couple of hours to get there. The Mobile River is the lower leg of the aforementioned waterway and it runs right through the city of Mobile. Each side of the river was lined with ships or the massive equipment used to either build, load and/or unload ships. We also passed a passenger-ship debarkation facility and a city park with free dockage. There was a lot of debris in the river, almost like several trees up stream had exploded into small pieces, we were able to miss all but a few. Passed our first tug just north of Mobile and shortly thereafter we were in the outback... no one around, nothing but trees and water.
After a couple of hours we encountered another tug headed south but the river was wide and we waved as he went by. Later we rounded a corner and saw the Fourteen Mile Bridge, a train bridge that was in the lowered position with no way to get past. A quick call on VHF channel 13 and the kind gentleman said he'd have it raised in a few minutes. As we motored on through and beyond a southbound trawler hailed us on the radio... we couldn't hear him very well so we almost ignored the call not realizing it was for us. However, when I finally spoke with him he informed me that the Demopolis Lock closes tomorrow for maintenance. Now repeat after me... do not try and follow a schedule and remember to go with the flow. I made a call to the lock and the attendant confirmed that they will be closed until September the 10th ...today is the 4th. After talking it over with Rob, I decided to keep going and dock at Bobby's Fish Camp. So now our goal is the fish camp but we are only at mile 14, Bobby's is near mile 119... a short distance above the Coffeeville lock.
As the day wound down we found ourselves at a good little anchorage located at mile 63.8, we had passed 3 barges and overtaken two. Passing is no big deal but overtaking is a bit more stressful because you are trying to out run a 5 mph 100 yard long vessel while doing 7.5 mph on a winding waterway. Anyway, back at the anchorage we dropped two anchors off the bow at 45 degree angle then fixed supper and sat on the aft deck with a few drinks and practically no bugs... plus the temperature was extremely comfortable with low humidity. We left the doors and hatches open all night.
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| U.S. Coast Guard |
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| Mobile River in Mobile Alabama |
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| Mobile River in Mobile Alabama |
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| Mobile River in Mobile Alabama |
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| Mobile River in Mobile Alabama |
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| Fourteen Mile Bridge |
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| Fourteen Mile Bridge |
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| I-65 Bridge |
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| Paper Mill |
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| Calm Water |
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Back at Dog River
Fast forward to yesterday... My good friend Rob Cantrell volunteered to join me as a deckhand so my wonderful father drove us to Mobile. About an hour out from the marina I called and left a message that I would like to take a quick look at the bottom and then settle the bill, please be ready to put the boat in the water shortly thereafter. When we arrived I found that the message was never received and it would be about an hour to prepare the bill and put the boat in the water... oh well. The bottom looked good and I was told there were no blisters of any significance.... yeah. Daddy took us to the grocery store and when we got back they had her in the water... all is good. Rob and I planned on spending the night on the boat and heading out at first light. As the maintenance guys tried starting the engine in order to move her to a slip we found the batteries to be dead... after a short charge it cranked right up, so all is good, right? Well, I was concerned so first thing Wednesday morning I had them check the batteries... one was dead. No big deal, we'll just have the bad one replaced and be on our way a couple of hours later than planned. As the mechanic, T.J., was finishing up I asked him to check the oil for me before I cranked her up... he said the level was good but the oil was really dirty and in need of changing... not what I wanted to hear but I knew it would be on my mind if I didn't have it done. I believe I have quite a few hours on the engine since leaving Melbourne so it's probably due anyway... the problem is they didn't have anyone to do the job until 2:00. Oh well, we'll leave in the morning at first light. Like I've been told by experienced boaters, don't try and follow a schedule, just go with the flow.
It's been relatively cool most of the day due to overcast skies, but it got fairly hot this afternoon so Rob and I walked on down to a little store by the fuel dock where we landed in a couple chairs on the shady front porch and had a few cold beers. There was a breeze crossing the river which felt mighty good and we just kicked back and watched life for a while. If we had a guitar it would have been nice... even better if we knew how to play one.
Once again our plan is to shove off early in the morning and try to make about 60 miles... we'll see what tomorrow brings.
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