Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday

Did you get any great bargains today? We had great weather and a great brunch with the ten relatives who joined us this morning. Matt made an egg bake with Ortega chiles. We also had lots of bacon plus scrambled eggs and waffles for the kids. We also had fruit, shrimp, Danish, bagels and of course mimosas. Everyone had lots to eat and at least pretended to have a good time. :)

It's about five pm now and we have a turkey breast in the oven. Everyone has gone home except us and Mark and his wife on their boat (her parents took their kids home). So they are coming over later to join us for turkey and fixins. Gotta love this yachting stuff.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We are underway from Willow Berm to Marin Yacht Club in San Rafael. Matt's brother is also bringing his boat there today (from Coyote Point) and other relatives are coming by car and staying at a nearby hotel. We are going to enjoy a fine Thanksgiving feast of Basque food at a nearby restaurant that is a favorite of Matt's brother's in laws.

So far we are having a beautiful journey. The sun is shining and the water is smooth. Lots of water hyacinth in the water though. Hopefully that will die off as the weather gets colder over the winter.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Lubin' up the Girls

Oil change day. Got the boat back last Saturday with her new port cutlass bearing and recommendation for a new port shaft in 12-18 months. Today we're changing the oil. We're a little late on the year / 100 hour interval but taking her to the mechanic and boat yard took precedence.

Friday, November 2, 2012

What's Next?

I wish I was referring to what's our next cruising destination. But no, "what's next" to be repaired!! Sigh.
So when we picked the boat up from the mechanic the other day, the person who'd done the work wasn't there (it WAS a Saturday so no complaints) so his son went over the invoice and notes with us. At the bottom of the notes was a paragraph that started with "very important" and seemed to suggest that the port prop shaft could come out of the boat (this would be very, very bad) while the boat is in reverse. The son was not very clear what the note meant so we decided Matt would call his dad on a weekday to find out.
Matt called earlier this week and found out... That the coupling that holds the shaft to the transmission was worn and not holding well. The mechanic kind of rigged it up for now but we need to get it properly fixed before it breaks, the shaft pulls out and our boat sinks. Ok that's a LITTLE dramatic but not very. It's more likely to happen in reverse as the prop is pulling the shaft away from the boat in reverse.
And how does one fix such a thing, you ask? Well wouldn't you know it, the boat has to be hauled out as the whole shaft has to be pulled out of the boat. Conveniently, we also need a new cutlass bearing (under water thing the shaft goes through as it exits the boat) which also requires removing the shaft so, oh joy, we can get both done at one time.
So guess what we're doing tomorrow? Why taking the boat to the yard to be hauled out, of course!! When you start talking boats sinking, procrastinating seems a poor option.
So how do we get our boat out of the slip without putting the port motor in reverse? (Rather not risk it coming apart!!!) Should be entertaining. At least the current will be in our favor when we leave the slip tomorrow morning.
Gotta love this yachting stuff.