This is a blog of our projects and journeys leading up to and after our departure from the idea of living the dream to actually living the dream. Dirk and Nancy along with Butters will soon go in search of beautiful beaches,& sunsets in the Bahamas then into the Caribbean.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Is the cool weather leaving anytime soon
Well the three day weekend we were looking forward to brought with it rain, rain, and more rain with cool damp temps. I keep telling Dirk that I can't wait until the weather gets nicer and we can begin enjoying our time on board. I'm so ready to be able to put the cockpit cushions out, make up a nice appetizer, sip on a nice sun downer and just sit back and relax. One day.....Well the wind generator came in and was transported this past weekend with us. We managed to at least decide where was the best place to mount it and got the holes drilled and the bracket in place. We then had to decide where the support brackets would be located so as not to block the entry from the transom and someplace that would not cause us to have to cut the bimini top. We measured and marked the locations, and the poles came back home with us to be cut to size. Here is a picture of Dirk down in the cockpit locker working. As you can see we have a nice big deep locker that makes working in it not so bad. It's amazing how much crap we put in there and need to put more of said crap into it. In other news we decided to dig a little deeper into the cruising kitty and purchase a new dinghy. The one that came with the boat is about 8 years old and has a couple worn spots on the bottom. It also has a minor air leak that we have never gotten around to fixing. Knowing how important a good dinghy is when cruising helped us make this decision easier. I mean it is our one and only means of getting from boat to land. So if you compare it to the cost of a new car I think we faired very nicely. Of course now with the new larger dinghy we will be purchasing a new larger outboard motor. Above is a photo of the Genesis RIB that we purchased. It has a few nice additions such as a dry storage area up front under the floor, and also a flip up seat that has a dry storage area. It is a Vee hull but has a flat floor inside which I think I will like. Our current one has the vee hull but also has a vee floor which always makes for a nice drop off as you are entering it. This one also has a bilge to help keep the floor from pooling with water. Still haven't ordered the solar panel yet as we are still trying to decide how it will be mounted to the davits. At this point we have enough projects to keep us busy for a couple weeks.
Wow. So much to think about. How does your head not explode with all these plans and lists. It is going to feel so good once it is all done and you are on your way!!!
It is fun watching other people get buried in their projects. The kind of stuff we like to complain about but wouldn't trade for anything :) I'm anxious for the first blogs after your retirement showing you both getting on with some serious sailing. What a hoot. Toby
O'Day 40 Year 1988 LOA 39'7" LWL 33'6" Beam 12' 71/2" Draft 4' 11" Displacement 18,500 lbs Water 107 gallons Fuel 42 gallons Engine Westerbeke 46 HP
About Us
Dirk was born and raised in Hamburg Germany. He moved to the states when he was seventeen and a couple years later joined the Army. His 23 years in the military took him all over the world to many a location. In January of 2007 he retired and is now an instructor of blackhawk systems at Fort Rucker Alabama. As for myself, I was born in Philadelphia, PA and raised in the small town of Natchitoches Louisiana. I spent most of my time in and around photography. Starting off in small 1 hour labs printing, working as an assistant for photographers, and finally found myself as a photographic retouch artist. In June we moved aboard and began prepping Tybee Time for our eventual departure. November 2, 2009 we will began our travels down the west coast of Florida. From there we plan to head to the Bahamas, eventually finding our way heading down south to the Caribbean. We will be bringing Butters our cat with us on the journey as crew.
As you can see we have a nice big deep locker that makes working in it not so bad. It's amazing how much crap we put in there and need to put more of said crap into it. In other news we decided to dig a little deeper into the cruising kitty and purchase a new dinghy. The one that came with the boat is about 8 years old and has a couple worn spots on the bottom. It also has a minor air leak that we have never gotten around to fixing. Knowing how important a good dinghy is when cruising helped us make this decision easier. I mean it is our one and only means of getting from boat to land. So if you compare it to the cost of a new car I think we faired very nicely. Of course now with the new larger dinghy we will be purchasing a new larger outboard motor. 
Above is a photo of the Genesis RIB that we purchased. It has a few nice additions such as a dry storage area up front under the floor, and also a flip up seat that has a dry storage area. It is a Vee hull but has a flat floor inside which I think I will like. Our current one has the vee hull but also has a vee floor which always makes for a nice drop off as you are entering it. This one also has a bilge to help keep the floor from pooling with water. Still haven't ordered the solar panel yet as we are still trying to decide how it will be mounted to the davits. At this point we have enough projects to keep us busy for a couple weeks.
Wow. So much to think about. How does your head not explode with all these plans and lists. It is going to feel so good once it is all done and you are on your way!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is fun watching other people get buried in their projects. The kind of stuff we like to complain about but wouldn't trade for anything :) I'm anxious for the first blogs after your retirement showing you both getting on with some serious sailing. What a hoot.
ReplyDeleteToby