Where are we Now?

Actually. . .

We're still in Grenada. The black hole of sailboats.

Let's see. . .we were ready to sail to Carriacou on Tuesday but we awoke to thunder and lightning. We decided to put it off a day when about 1-2 hours later it was fine. So Tuesday was a non-day of laying around, napping, and wishing we had pulled the trigger.

Tuesday had the added bonus of Sue going over to Prickly Bay Marina (motto: We hate you and the boat you rode in on!) to get ice and 4 jerry cans of water. Why not? When she returns the dinghy is freaking flat! What happened? Prickly Bay Marina dock is made of concrete with shards of glass, shark's teeth, rebar, sewing needles, razor wire, and other things embedded in the concrete. "Sure come on in and buy some water".

Bastards.

Well we had planned to tow the dinghy but we don't want to tow a flat one so we take off the motor and haul dinghy on deck. This is a process that is not pretty and does not lead to wedded bliss. OK?

PULL THE F***ING THING.

I'M PULLING!

Like that.

So we plan to sail to Carriacou with dinghy on board and spend the day there and maybe the next doing more dinghy repair. Maybe paint the bottom too because since I neglected the bottom for maybe 3 days and there are now 4 inch green beards around the water line. FINE!

We're up at 5. I check the engine, tighten the belt, we lash some final things to the deck and we are ready.

BOOM!

Thunder.

We re-check the weather. OK, there are various huge blobs coming toward Grenada. Nothing we couldn't handle if it came on us at sea but why leave in that?

So we stay. Again. And what a day it turned into...

We spent most of the morning looking for the dinghy leak while scrubbing and shaving green growth off the bottom. Oh but it would be good to have the wash down pump going now to clean off deck and dinghy. We turn on the breaker (it has it's own as it used to be married to the electric anchor windlass).

Nothing.

OK, I switch to my electrician's hat. I figure it must be the tiny switch in the anchor locker. This has been basically outdoors for 2 years. So, I cut it out and wire direct to the pump. It works! Well, it spins but no water comes out but, hey, that's progress, right?

Probably needs to be primed. Switch to plumber's hat. Now let me explain that the pump is under our bed in the V-berth so that bed and all the charts under the mattress have to be blown apart while I work, once again, standing on my head. I swear I'm just going to get up in the morning and put on my head lamp!

I disconnected the outflow line and put in a short hunk of hose. Then, well, I suck. Mightily! Who didn't know that!? Once I get water out the other side of the pump Sue turns on the breaker and Whooo HOOOOO, we got water squirting all over our bedroom! But, that means the pump works and we can use the hose topsides. This is just another example of working on something that was on NO list when I got up.

Now for the dinghy. Strangely while all this was going on the dinghy has not lost an atom of air! What the hell? Well, it ain't leaking now so we put it down to a mysterious leakage. We don't want to leave our sparkling clean dinghy in the water and we hate our dinghy davitts as they are too short and cause the dinghy to be drug up the transom which we just had repaired for a few thousand dollars. Well we have some ideas so let's get her in the water. OK.

The launching of the dinghy off the deck is similar to getting it on deck.

"What's wrong"
"It's stuck".
"Raise it or lower it"
[cricket noise]
"RAISE IT OR NOT?"
"WHAT"
"Oh for Christ's sake would you just pull the THING!
"Wait"
"Wait. . .What was that?"
"Oh good sweet baby Jesus. . ."

We had somehow hooked the rub rail from the dingy under the stainless rub rail on the boat and BOING shot about 30 wood screws into the sea while the stainless is sticking out like crazy bamboo shoots.

Do you see? Now I have another project that was on NO list when all I intended to do was go freaking SAILING!

We take out the remaining screws and stow the stainless on board. I then mix a batch of epoxy with some filler stuff and patch all the screw holes (well only missed three). Tomorrow we'll move the stainless 1 inch forward and drill and screw anew (!). (That's about 45 anew's!).

We've pulled dinghy out of the water and protected the transom with seat cushions. Could be the start of a bigger solution. A swim. A rum. Some backgammon and it's sunset. Weather dictates that we might as well hold tight, wait for our auto pilot parts (Friday or Monday. . . yeah, right!) and keep working on Enee. All plans chipped in Jell-O.

Where are we Now?

Actually. . .

We're still in Grenada. The black hole of sailboats.

Let's see. . .we were ready to sail to Carriacou on Tuesday but we awoke to thunder and lightning. We decided to put it off a day when about 1-2 hours later it was fine. So Tuesday was a non-day of laying around, napping, and wishing we had pulled the trigger.

Tuesday had the added bonus of Sue going over to Prickly Bay Marina (motto: We hate you and the boat you rode in on!) to get ice and 4 jerry cans of water. Why not? When she returns the dinghy is freaking flat! What happened? Prickly Bay Marina dock is made of concrete with shards of glass, shark's teeth, rebar, sewing needles, razor wire, and other things embedded in the concrete. "Sure come on in and buy some water".

Bastards.

Well we had planned to tow the dinghy but we don't want to tow a flat one so we take off the motor and haul dinghy on deck. This is a process that is not pretty and does not lead to wedded bliss. OK?

PULL THE F***ING THING.

I'M PULLING!

Like that.

So we plan to sail to Carriacou with dinghy on board and spend the day there and maybe the next doing more dinghy repair. Maybe paint the bottom too because since I neglected the bottom for maybe 3 days and there are now 4 inch green beards around the water line. FINE!

We're up at 5. I check the engine, tighten the belt, we lash some final things to the deck and we are ready.

BOOM!

Thunder.

We re-check the weather. OK, there are various huge blobs coming toward Grenada. Nothing we couldn't handle if it came on us at sea but why leave in that?

So we stay. Again. And what a day it turned into...

We spent most of the morning looking for the dinghy leak while scrubbing and shaving green growth off the bottom. Oh but it would be good to have the wash down pump going now to clean off deck and dinghy. We turn on the breaker (it has it's own as it used to be married to the electric anchor windlass).

Nothing.

OK, I switch to my electrician's hat. I figure it must be the tiny switch in the anchor locker. This has been basically outdoors for 2 years. So, I cut it out and wire direct to the pump. It works! Well, it spins but no water comes out but, hey, that's progress, right?

Probably needs to be primed. Switch to plumber's hat. Now let me explain that the pump is under our bed in the V-berth so that bed and all the charts under the mattress have to be blown apart while I work, once again, standing on my head. I swear I'm just going to get up in the morning and put on my head lamp!

I disconnected the outflow line and put in a short hunk of hose. Then, well, I suck. Mightily! Who didn't know that!? Once I get water out the other side of the pump Sue turns on the breaker and Whooo HOOOOO, we got water squirting all over our bedroom! But, that means the pump works and we can use the hose topsides. This is just another example of working on something that was on NO list when I got up.

Now for the dinghy. Strangely while all this was going on the dinghy has not lost an atom of air! What the hell? Well, it ain't leaking now so we put it down to a mysterious leakage. We don't want to leave our sparkling clean dinghy in the water and we hate our dinghy davitts as they are too short and cause the dinghy to be drug up the transom which we just had repaired for a few thousand dollars. Well we have some ideas so let's get her in the water. OK.

The launching of the dinghy off the deck is similar to getting it on deck.

"What's wrong"
"It's stuck".
"Raise it or lower it"
""
"RAISE IT OR NOT?"
"WHAT"
"Oh for Christ's sake would you just pull the THING!
"Wait"
"Wait. . .What was that?"
"Oh good sweet baby Jesus. . ."

We had somehow hooked the rub rail from the dingy under the stainless rub rail on the boat and BOING shot about 30 wood screws into the sea while the stainless is sticking out like crazy bamboo shoots.

Do you see? Now I have another project that was on NO list when all I intended to do was go freaking SAILING!

We take out the remaining screws and stow the stainless on board. I then mix a batch of epoxy with some filler stuff and patch all the screw holes (well only missed three). Tomorrow we'll move the stainless 1 inch forward and drill and screw anew (!). (That's about 45 anew's!).

We've pulled dinghy out of the water and protected the transom with seat cushions. Could be the start of a bigger solution. A swim. A rum. Some backgammon and it's sunset. Weather dictates that we might as well hold tight, wait for our auto pilot parts (Friday or Monday. . . yeah, right!) and keep working on Enee. All plans chipped in Jell-O.

Let's Go to Carriacou!

Why not!
The auto pilot isn't quite working yet. Scott found out that there is a part or two still missing and those are now on order. They say they'll be here in a week. We figure probably two.
So why sit still when you can sail? That's what we say.
All other systems are good - finally - so we decided to head up the road about 30 miles to the next island north. It's still part of the Grenada government so we don't need to check out and in. And we're ready for a little sailing. Weather should be good and hopefully the wind will stay east and not turn north too soon.

It's been 3 weeks since we landed back in Grenada. It's been quite a transition from the Chicago way of life. First of all, there is no Lucy here and she and her parents are sorely missed by us. We had gotten into a groove in Chicago and really liked it. Well - Scott was ready to re-retire from teaching high school, but besides that Chicago is a great place to live.

Now we're back in the Caribbean and indeed it takes a little while to get used to island time and island weather again - not to mention getting used to living on the boat. You're always in motion and in fact I felt myself swaying back and forth while standing at the bar at da big Fish today waiting for our groceries to be delivered. After all our work (mostly Scott's) putting the auto helm together and fixing the fuel tank among other things, the boat is actually looking like ours again.



We needed to get more food on board. So today I went to the Food Land for cans of chicken and ham then to CK's for cases of juice, then to IGA for fresh fruit and produce. Our lockers are now full of goodies that should last a month. Well -- maybe not the rum but the rest should last.

We're still not sure what the future holds. Depending on when these auto pilot parts arrive we may or may not be heading north to Puerto Rican waters. Time will tell.
In the meantime we plan to have a lovely sail to Carriacou and try to remember how to make the pointy end go forward!


More later--------

We SAIL!

We spent all morning re-rigging Enee for sailing. Sue has patched the sail cover as best she can and we put that up. We got two prices for repairing it that were both more than we originally paid for it. Keep patching! We made a yoke for dinghy towing. Scott experimented with hauling the 85 pound outboard on deck by himself in preparation for some sailing alone that will happen once Sue returns to Chicago in August. That went. . .not so well. The brute force method (usually my favorite) is not so good. Have to think about a better, safer way. Re-riggin the lazy jacks and reefing lines was truly a test of our memories. We passed (with C's) So everything lashed down as best we remember we're ready to go. The BIG question of course is would the engine drink fuel from the actual fuel tank? It would and it did. Engine is running fine.

Out we go!

We raised the main within Prickly Bay and the jib a little later. Our new jib looks great! It's probably about 110% and the clew comes to just a little past the mast. Our old sail was huge with the clew coming nearly back to the cockpit. This sail is much easier to tack, better shape, easier to roll up, and we expect not much loss in speed due to it's better shape. We'll see. We didn't try to trim sails very hard today. We just tacked a couple of times, looked around and made sure everything was working as we remembered. See, it's bee nearly 2 years since we sailed this boat!

Today was a mild day in the Caribbean with winds probably around 15 knots and seas 4 - 5 feet. And yet, THAT will take some getting used to again when those conditions and more are the norm for a day or two to make a passage.

I'm working with my good friend Kerry on Bellagio as to the wiring for the auto helm. I can't believe that Raymarine is making it as complicated as it seems. All of their instructions are for a boat with multiple Raymarine gadgets that need to 'talk to each other'. I just want their stinking auto pilot to steer the damn boat! We'll see.

So, we're back on our mooring and taking it easy. Our bodies are still getting used to the crawling, climbing, crab-walking that one does on a boat instead of plain old walking. If we're willing to leave without the autopilot, Tuesday could be the day.

Stay tuned!

Pictures!

Well, just another day in paradise! If paradise had horizontal rain and 40 knot winds! But, our mooring held and only one boat drug in Prickly bay and no big deal. A good day for indoor projects, napping, and reading.









But yesterday it was sunny and Sailor Sue re-bedded that leaky deck prism. Deck prisms are really old school. Old sailing ships used them to bring some light down below in the days before electricity. As stingy as I am about electricity. . .I LOVE deck prisms!








Hey! Who's that? That's capt. me with new sail rolled up on the forestay. Can't wait to try it out. It's got shiny new jib sheets in case you didn't notice! Enee is looking more and more like a sailboat ready to go cruising.

And . .NO, I DO NOT look like my father!












But here's a nice shot of our new cushions and they're not Vinyl! AND their good for napping - the entire crew agrees.


OK, It takes about 15 minutes per picture so I'm quitting now.

Everything on the island is closed tomorrow for some crazy-ass holiday so looks like we'll stay aboard and do some of the many little projects that await. BUT we could be sailing by the end of the weekend.

Really!

Real Progress

Good News: The fuel tank is sealed! Tested it this morning and no bubbles. Wheeeeeee HOOO!

The autohelm is totally in but not the final wiring which I am having trouble deciphering from Raymarine.

We were going to hoist our new jib this morning but Grenada has a big tropical wave sitting on it with lots of wind and storms. We'll wait a day on that one.

Got the SSB radio up and running and listened to the off shore report today from the National Weather Service. I like starting my day that way and I keep a log of the weather report day by day. Helps in planning.

Speaking of planning: We will take Enee out for a day sail just to try the new jib and see if we remember how to sail. We'll probably anchor then and not take the mooring ball back to practice anchoring again. We've had a hole cut in the bottom of the anchor locker so in theory I can get at the chain from topsides when it castles up. We'll see. If all goes well with that trial run we'll pick a good sailing day to make a 60 mile run to Bequia. From there about the same length run to St. Lucia. Now we have a great angle to St. John/St Thomas or we can even fall off more and sail to Puerto Rico. OR, if a hurricane is coming we are only 2 days away from running to hide back in Grenada. The run to those northern waters is about 300 miles or 2.5 - 3 days. I think I'd like the auto helm for that.

Other small jobs keep getting done. Sue re-bedded one of the deck prisms over the aft cabin as it was leaking during heavy rain. We're about to put the mattress back in the aft cabin so we won't be working around that any longer. Hurray.

Looks like something heavy broke the knob on the forward head so, ugh, we've been flushing with a bucket. Can't find that part here either of course. But, I have the same toilet in the aft head so I'm hope to rob from that one to fix the forward head.

I'd put up pictures but the coconut wifi is not up to that this morning.

Out and Over!

Breaking Faster than we can Work?

We've completed the mechanical installation of the auto pilot. You know, we really just cut some 2x4's and bolted them together but upside down by the rudder post using a mirror in one hand and a cordless drill in the other, well, it just takes a little longer.

Today we had to take the compute in for repair. Still, it's not right and it probably needs a new battery and that's a quest for tomorrow.

We tested the fuel tank for leaks after our excellent re-bedding and patching. . .there were several.

:(

So, today I took out all 12 screws and re-bedded the rubber gasket with some gasket goo. We'll see tomorrow if this makes a difference.

We bought new sheets for our new foresail (no, Andrea, these kind of sheets don't go on a bed). Tomorrow morning when the wind is down we'll hoist our new jib and see if we like the cut of it!

I keep talking to more and more sailors that have had things stolen off of their yachts at Spice Island Marine. Means nothing to Spice Island Marine because they put a line in their contract that says, "We're not responsible". I'd say! Truth in advertising there. I wonder if some sharp lawyer could make a case that a joint with a fence and security guard at the entrance is somehow giving a false sense of security for those who don't read the fine print. Suffice it to say that there are a number of us who will not be back when it's time to haul out. Any cruisers out there, read your Doyle book. There are a LOT of yards in the Caribbean.

On the upside: This is our view from on deck.











On the downside. . .this has been my view lately!

LET'S GO SAILING!

Another Day, another $2.67 EC

More good progress today. It may seem to you that I'm working slowly. Well, I am. Crammed upside down on a rolling boat in a stinky engine room tends to slow me down. But. . .

I did finally screw down the inspection plate. Yesterday only 9 of 12 screws would go in so today I took all the screws back out and had to re-tap two of the holes. The other was just being shy about being screwed. All went down very nicely then. We'll see how well it seals!

I did find a right angle drill to borrow on the morning VHF cruisers net. There's no other way to drill and tap the holes necessary for the fuel gauge. Had to walk over to the next bay, Mt. Hartman, to pick it up and, yes, I got miserably lost in the heat of the day. I turned a 10 minute walk into a 45 minute Bataan death march. But I found it and I got the drill and I sold my refrigeration gauges in the bargain.

Back on board I decided to put the drilling and tapping in the engine room off to tomorrow morning when it's a little cooler and busied myself with fishing the wires from the hydraulic ram down by the steering quadrant up to the galley where I've mounted the brain box for the auto pilot. No big challenges there and it sure is nice to have a fish tape on board. I wonder where I got it?

Sue, being the wonderful 1st (or 2nd) mate trudged to a lumber yard and brought back a 6' piece of 2x4. Yay! I'm going to marry (sue?) that board to a cross member down by the rudder post and bolt the hydraulic ram to those 2x4's. that should be solid and that should WORK.

I wrote to Raymarine today as it seemed none of the wires that came with my auto pilot system actually connect the control head to the brain box. Well, no, they don't because there are about 6 other items I'm supposed to have for that! Really? I wrote back and told them I don't have any other Raymarine products, no chart plotter, no radar, no gps, etc. I just want the damn thing to steer the boat on a set compass course! Now we'll see how long it takes to get THESE parts if in fact they are essential (of course they will be and they'll be damn expensive I'm guessing).

Our new jib is done and on board. Tomorrow we're going to buy new jib halyard and probably new sheets as well. Anxious to see what this new sail looks like unfurled!

Looks like we might just get Enee back together before we run out of money. Could we sail away from here in a week? We'll see. . . Stay tuned!

Progress

Oh boy. . .Sue and I spent the morning and some afternoon with our heads stuck into the engine room with and open diesel tank, other solvents and a rolling boat.

Pass the bucket!

Sue had gone to the Ace and got a rag mop and she used that to absorb the last of the bad fuel. Less than a gallon so we've done well to get old liquids out. There are still some deposits and chunky type stuff in there but no good way to get to it. The bottom of the tank is about 4 feet down.

I then laid down a layer of Marine Tex to level the area around the inspection plate and around where the fuel gauge goes. I plan to sand this tomorrow to make nice and level. I found through some internet research that the ONLY thing to use to make a seal on a diesel tank is Buna-N rubber. So, that's where our quest begins tomorrow. I have neoprene and used that before and it has turned into a rotten sponge. That's not a gasket! 3M 5200 is NOT compatible with diesel so it's the Buna-N or nothing I guess. We're both very anxious to get that tank capped to start to exhaust the diesel smell from the boat.

So if we find a source for the rubber, Sue will head out to buy that and I'll drill and tap new holes for the plate and fuel gauge. (Sue prefers to be away from the boat when Scott is drilling and tapping new holes. Sue is then less likely to be blamed for a mistake.)

And yes. . .we ARE in the Caribbean so as lousy as all this work is, it still ends with a swim and a cocktail and enjoying the gentle rocking of Enee Marie. Hope to finish the diesel tank tomorrow and then. . . ON TO THE AUTO PILOT!











Finally a sad picture! See our GPS? See our Radar? No? See the cut wires? 'Nuff said!

Bastards!

Tanks a LOT!

We took Enee back to Spice Island Marine today. She actually runs great out of a 5 gallon jerry can. (I wonder how far we could travel with a few of those on board. . .) Anyway, we tied to their pier and their most clever mechanic, Desmond, a helper, and myself proceeded to remove the inspection plate from the fuel tank and pump out ALL the nastiness inside into 55 gallon drums. The inspection plate came off without too much trouble and the fuel/water mix was right to the top. After a lot of sucking and hollering to prime the pump we pumped nearly all of the gunk out of the tank. The first several gallons were pure water.

The tank itself is more interesting than I would have thought. It's 75 gallons but not just one big 75 gallon box. Inside there are 3 or 4 baffles dividing up the space. This to keep the 75 gallons from violently sloshing fore and aft. This is an ugly and nasty job and it's far from done. We're now back on our mooring ball and tomorrow we face sponging up the remaining fuel/gunk that the pump didn't get, cleaning off the top of the tank, making it FLAT where the fuel gauge goes and where the inspection plate goes, and plugging some holes that are there for god knows why. Speaking of the inspection plate, it was held down with about 12 screws - some machine screws, some sheet metal screws. some long some short. So, I plan to drill out all the holes and go up one size in machine screw and re-tap them all.

I'm researching now as to the best way to re-bed those things to the tank. I like 5200 because it is for ever and I can build that up some to make the seal a little dam-like. There are a number of things out there called gasket ________ (fill in the blank). Anyone with a point of view on this feel free to jump in.

By the way . . .when you're sweating your butt off and you have your head stuck in an engine room reeking of diesel do you really want to hear that the water pump to the faucets isn't working?

You don't. But that got fixed later.

To work backwards we started our day by putting on the main sail. She looks more like a sailboat now. We are waiting to put on the Mack Pack sail cover as after inspection, it is in need of serious repair.

Our day ended with Sue retrieving some beers while I fixed the water system (for the 457th time). That led to a swim with our noodles and all is good for a bit before we get back after it tomorrow.

(I have pictures to upload but not with the coconut telegraph wifi system we are on. Maybe tomorrow or if I get up at 3 AM.

Sunday in the Islands

Truly Sunday is a day off in the islands. Nobody works. Stores are closed. Bars and restuarants are closed. Kind of nice. We're waiting to solve our fuel tank problems but nothing can happen with that until Tuesday as Monday is a holiday making it just like Sunday. So . . .

What did we do today? I worked on the installation of the auto pilot. I have questions for Raymarine and Edson before I can proceed. Wiring could be done but I have to buy wire. But I have an idea of how it might be installed. I cleaned up my workbench and worked on making the drawers not slide out when on a starboard tack. No perfect solution yet. We have a tiny oozing at the fitting for the depth sounder. Sue has tried packing that goo around it that comes in a tube and then you slice off a hunk and mix the outer layer with the inner layer. Like trying to seal your basement from the inside (I've tried this as well) it didn't work so hot. But, I thought I read that this same stuff would work under the water line. So I dove on the boat and packed that goo around the fitting underwater. Seemed to work at first but then oozed a little later. I'm not worried about this because. . .

I'm an idiot!

No really, the fitting is secure but apparently the packing has become a little brittle. I'm sure we won't sink.

Soon.

I found the door to the under the sink locker and the slats that had been made for it. I got those in to fix the hole there and sanded the whole thing down. Now it's ready for some varnish to match the rest of the boat which, by the way, is looking pretty spiffy with new cushions. Pictures later.

Sue was busy cleaning our very dirty hatches and soaking our equally dirty lines in a soapy bucket. Clothes were put away and little by little we're figuring out how to live aboard again. We both think it's important to not feel stuck just because we have a BIG UGLY job ahead of us that is the fuel tank but still try to make Enee pretty and more comfortable for living.

We also took time or naps and a couple of swims.

Oh, and the weather has be splendid with a nice breeze 24 hours a day. So the boat needs more money poured into it but life could be a lot worse.

Fuel Tank

After making measurements of other places to put a fuel tank I find that there is no place to get more than maybe 50 gallons. We bought this boat based on the 75 gallons of fuel for the range that would give us. So my current plan is to get the existing tank cleaned out. The yard can do that for me on Tuesday probably. Then I'm going to remove all the connections on the top, clean the whole top, seal up any tiny holes and then re-bed all of the connections and re-bed the inspection plate. Hey! I might even put in a working fuel gauge! 20th century here I come! Right there the tank would be WAY better than it is now. With 75 gallons of fresh fuel in then (ka ching!) we wold have to be ahead of where we were. I think that's the best I can do at this point. Any comments as to details I'm overlooking with this plan are more than welcome as long as you agree with me!

So, not much can happen in the very near future. Monday is some sort of holiday here so we'll use the intervening time to continue to put things away and clean this old tub, and buy some groceries.

News: Some bad but some good too!

Enee was successfully launched yesterday. Amazing maneourving in tight quarters in the yard but the guys who work the big machinery are really good. Engine started as it did back in March as we waited for the guys from Budget Marine (right next door) to bring my 3 shiny new Trojan batteries. While waiting the engine slowed and stopped and was not to start again.

make sad face here. ..

With Diesel engines you wonder what is wrong but not for long. It almost has to be the fuel and it was. The fuel tank in the Endeavour is actually lower than the bilge or if you like it IS the bilge. If water were to come up too high because bilge pump is not operating on the hard. So on one hand, big deal. Certainly the tank is sealed on top. Unfortunately no. There are voids and small holes etc. So what has happened is that while we were away and not able to monitor the bilge rain water gets in, water and oil and what not eased its way in to the tank. Add to that what was able to grow in there while we were away and the bottom line is that the diesel fuel in the tank looked like dark brown s***.

The guys at Spice Island were very helpful. Frankie sent Desmond to our boat after lunch and he worked for 3 hours cleaning out the Racor and jury rigging the fuel system to work out of the 5 gal jerry can just to get us the hell out of the yard.

While waiting for this operation to be completed we contacted the lady who took care of Enee the last couple of months as we knew that she had a mooring ball available in the bay. While we are adept at anchoring we didn't need any more adventures for the day.

Meanwhile Desmond is bleeding the injectors during which time you just crank the engine and wait for fuel to appear at each injector. It's a crummy job. I've done it and I hate it. So while the engine was cranking suddenly Desmond starts screaming, "SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN. . . He had become entangled in the belt/alternator business. Sue sprung into action and tried to shut the engine down by turning off the key (Diesels don't work that way). Finally she got to the shut off plunger and shut her down. Luckily, Desmond only got his shirt in the alternator and the blades of that scraped his arm a little. But no blood so no foul.

So, with our 5 gallons of diesel we motor out to the mooring ball, pick it up (only took 2 passes) and got attached. We're in. Boat is rocking nicely and for the time being we can not worry about fuel systems. Tomorrow is the other big question: Can we find more holes in the dinghy (it's still leaking) and will the outboard start? But today we're up for a swim and some rum punch (we think of everything if it doesn't have to do with engine maintenance). Holy crap. . .the caribbean water was even more wonderful than I remembered. We bobbed around for a bit and rinsed off on deck. Sleep was pretty good too with Enee gently rocking back and forth.

So, Friday starts with a bit of good news. The re-build I did on the propane system all works so that means COFFEE and that's important. Now to the dingy. We discover that Sue is the better finder of leaks. She finds 3 more! We patch those and it looks like we're finally holding our air! While doing this we discuss how we might best turn the dinghy right side up on deck and get her into the water. This is eventually accomplished with almost no swearing! Now for the outboard.

Our 18 horse Tohatsu 2 stroke has been hanging on the stern rail of the boat outdoors for about 18 months. I looked inside of it when I was here in March and declared it startable. Now for the test. Of course all things moveable are not corroded and immoveable but are easily loosed with some elbo grease and corrosion block. We have to sort of re-train ourselves as to the procedure for getting the engine from deck to dingy but we manage.

Fuel is ready, hose connected, oh yeah, squeeze the bulb to bring fuel in to the motor. The bulb was about as flexible as a major league baseball! I managed to squeeze it a little using both hands and squeezing has hard as I could.

One pull, two , three. . . VROOOOOOM! Holy crap! It started! Amazing. After all that time. Now both boats can move and projects can begin in earnest. AND, it's not even noon yet!

Now as you can see we've arranged internet. Timely updates and pics while we do our work.

We had hoped to come down get a couple of jobs done and sail north. Now it looks like we're going to be in boat repair/upgrade mode for a while. So be it. If you need to work on your boat there is just about no better place than Grenada. It's all here.

Thanks

Thanks for kind thoughts from commenters. We've spent a productive half day on the boat. We've hopefully found the LAST leak in the dinghy but time will tell. Bottom job is done and looks good. Replaced the zinc and scraped and sanded the propeller. I plugged the old feed hole in the forward water tank. We filled the aft tank. We'll fill the forward tank before leaving the boat today. Bought a hand held GPS from a fellow cruiser today. I only use lat long from any gps anyway so we're good for now. I may still try to replace the nice little Furuno unit we had at the helm though as it is handy and doesn't use batteries. The one I bought today can be back-up then.

I'll not replace the radar unit. I never really used it. Thought it was too bright at the helm at night anyway. With charts and gps you KNOW where you are. Other ships should be well lit at night and if they are running dark you have other problems!

Our new cushions will arrive tomorrow and should be a big improvement from the green vinyl. Right, vinyl was not so good in the tropics. Checked in with the french sail maker and shockingly the fore sail that we ordered at the end of March is not quite done. Waiting for UV cover and that should happen before the end of next week. Seems stupid but I don't really care. I'll have enough to keep me busy until then anyway.

Our three new Trojan batteries will be delivered to the boat later today. I need to make up pig tails to connect them together and get another battery strap to tie the thrid one down.

That's about it for now. We're back at the apartment for a cool down and lunch and will return to Enee soon.

A Dark Day in Grenada

Just was on board Enee Marie and noticed something looked different at the helm. Oh yeah, The GPS and the radar unit are both gone. Wires cut. Units gone. This is bad. Those are very expensive units and we've sunk our money into a new sail, bottom paint, new batteries, and $5000 for auto pilot yet to be installed. Of course the yard can do nothing and it clearly states that in the agreement. I've had the boat in the yard for 16 months at $450 a month plus have hired them to do various work on the boat. I know they can't be responsible or THEY'D go broke but it sure pisses me off. I can sail without radar but not GPS. Maybe just buy a hand held and go with that.

Anybody want to buy a boat?

Cheap!

PASS THE RUM!

Wrapping up Chicago

What a great 1.75 years it has been. During this extended stay in Chicago we have helped to raise little Lucy our grand daughter which is absolutely the best job ever! She is action packed and learning stuff at a very scary pace and, yes, being forced into the dark side of baseball - The Cubs.

Sue has been teaching full time at Columbia College and that will actually continue in the fall

I also taught a class or two at Columbia and most recently taught full time high school again (gasp) at North Shore Country Day School. All together we enjoyed both teaching and playing with Lucy AND got to feed the sailing kitty.

Just talked to Spice Island Marine in Grenada and Enee is getting her bottom painted as we speak and our launch is scheduled for the 9th. Hey. . .That's next week!

We hope to sail north to Puerto Rico/St. Johns waters this summer. Sue will head back to Chicago to continue teaching while I stay with the boat, make frequent trips back to Chicago, and dodge hurricanes.

So, stay tuned for regular updates as we figure out how to sail again. . .GRAB THE THING!