As of March 17, 2002  |
 Drew Thompson
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Read an e-mail that we sent...When I think about it, so many things have gone wrong (since we arrived in Marathon) that one can only laugh about it and say "It's a boat!" As you can imagine, repairs are one thing, dealing with the delays are yet another.
We are still in Marathon. Unfortunately, Dakare has gotten quite sick here. Fortunately, she is on the road to recovery.
During our stay to get other problems fixed (water maker and navigation electronics), I climbed our mast to do a rig inspection and found a very serious and dangerous crack in a swage that holds up our mast. No doubt the mast would have come down in a blow if this had not been found. The mast is getting first class treatment from Hylas and Selden who make the mast. Can't be happier about the treatment we are getting.
 The line down the middle of the image is a 1/8" crack in
our swage fitting on our starboard shroud
We originally came to Marathon to get our water maker repaired. We never had planned to come here in the first place. We have been here for about one week now and that job (water maker) is just about finished. We should have "un-pickled" the water maker while we were at Useppa but didn't because we believed all was OK with it. When we finally did turn on the water maker in Key West, we found it in need of repair. Since then, the water maker company has all but totally given us a new water maker. Their service support has been great.
We also had discovered a problem with our navigational electronics. This was one of those nasty things that are so difficult to trouble shoot because it took us about 8 months to even realize that we had a problem. I had spent a solid 4 days in Key West tracking things down and finally "discovered" the issue - which turned out to be 2 separate things: a conflict in the signal prioritization scheme that my integrated electronics uses to pass around information and secondly, a 12 Volt current overdrive situation that was causing my instruments to sometimes turn off and on again. This latter issue only occurred at night. Turns out, it was because I would turn on the instrument lights at night and the current drain from the instrument lights caused the problem. ... Now you try and solve that problem during the day, not knowing that the lights were the cause the problem and therefore not turning on the lights because it is daytime.. phew! To make a long story short, Raytheon provided us with a new GPS unit, which they installed here in Marathon. That didn't solve any particular problem, but I was happy to get the new GPS. By trial and error I was able to "Discover" how to make the system obey "Dan's Laws" and not the laws that they were programmed to have by Raytheon. One issue down! The service tech and I spent another day finding a temporary solution to the current overdraw problem which I found "ugly" because it eliminated some of the brain dead end user functionality (meaning me) from the electronics panel. So I then spent another day drawing diagrams of the offending circuitry and sent them to the original installers, who helped to work out a solution that will keep the "elegance" and ease of use of my electronics panel. We are now waiting for the new electronic parts to be ship here.
... And one solution turns into another problem. Remember that nice new GPS unit I mention in the last paragraph? Well, that baby worked just fine and it gave me an opportunity to do one thing that my one year old unit couldn't do, and that was to upload way points from my computer. This is a real nice safety feature to have for the kind of cruising we are doing. Once we create our route on the computer, we can upload the route to the GPS. If our computer goes down for any reason, we still have access to our planned way point positions in the GPS. The only hitch to using it was that I needed to get the new version of the computer navigation software. So I ordered it and had it expressed mailed here to Marathon thinking we were going to be out of here shortly (what a waste of money the express mailing proved to be!) When I got the software - of course, it didn't work. So another day gets shot trying to figure out why and "Discussing" the problem with the Raytheon software techies who manufacturer the product. Turns out, I was the first to discover the problem that they didn't know they had - thanks much. So they have now issued a change order request to have the software modified to fix the problem. I will get the first copy when it becomes available. With a knowing grin on my face, I didn't even bother to ask when that would happen.
We found that we had some corrosion problems too because of a shorted wire touching the mast. I was fortunate in finding it quickly and the solution was simple even though the potential for further damage was high. Caught in time, this was a "no brainer." But to be sure, we have made arrangements for a full corrosion inspection.
The biggest "goof" came yesterday when I turned on our dive compressor to "bleed" it. This must be done every 3-4 weeks if the dive compressor is not used to get rid of condensation in the compressor, otherwise, it will eventually pit and freeze up. While running the dive compressor, the long plastic tube (which we use as an extension for the air intake to keep the genset fumes from being sucked into the compressor while filling a dive tank) fell into the water and salt water was sucked up into the compressor (I was told that this was the worst thing that could happen to a dive compressor by the manufacturer - great!). So, yesterday I frantically tore apart our stern lazarette to extract the dive compressor and then Karen drove it up to Ft. Lauderdale with a friends car (A big thanks to the Bill and Sara Marsh.) That was a 4 hour one way trip. I had to stay with the boat since the riggers were coming to do the mast inspection discussed above. So now our compressor is in the hospital and we are waiting for a report. Preliminary feedback was not good.
To top it all off, when I went up the mast to do the initial rig inspection, my Rolex watch hit a cowl and the bezel fell off. I called Rolex and they told me it would take 3 weeks to repair it once they got it. Can you believe that - 3 weeks! I found out that it takes so long because Rolex is paranoid about letting their dealers hold inventory parts. So, I looked to see if I could repair it myself. I found that the bezel could be reattached but a tiny circular clamp - it turned out to be a little sapphire, about 1/32 - 1/64 of an inch in diameter, had fallen out. It fell on the deck somewhere and disappeared from sight. Old eagle eyes Karen went looking for it and found it. Were we lucky! I tried installing it myself but because it was so small and because I didn't have the tools, I couldn't do it. Then we came to find out that there was a Rolex dealer here in Marathon who "maybe" had a spare part and the tools. Wow! Marathon does not strike me as a place where a Rolex dealer would be located. He had the tools to fix it and did so the next day.
So, all in all, it has been an interesting time here. Although one never wants to have problems, we were and are quite fortunate that the problems were discovered here where we cold deal with them with a minimum of pain.
But now we are anxious to leave and hope that the final repairs will not take too long. They must ship the rigging parts over from England. We were told that they are going to express air ship and that they should get here in about 2-3 days. I hope the compressor is OK by then. I think all else will be ship shape by then, so hopefully we can think about leaving here soon.
Many people have wished us good luck with our "adventure." Little do they realize that the adventure is not sailing the seven seas, but just keeping your boat alive.
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The saga continues as my computer crapped out. I replaced the power supply, the CD R/W and the DVD player, all of which were acting up. They may all be good, but I didn't want to individually diagnose each part so I replaced them all (Had spares on board.) Everything worked fine except my removable, cold swappable back-up disk drive (that had been working fine) when I booted up. For some reason, upon boot-up, my stem did not see the D drive. So now I am in the middle of replacing that too. Have an appointment today with some local kid to help me with the swap. Turned out that the swappable casing holding the D: drive had suffered a short and had fried my D: drive. So after about 2.5 hours of billable work, I had my computer back. Of course, this did not include the time to take the computer out of the navigation station, nor the time to put it back in.
As mentioned in our previous e-mail, we had a corrosion test (second time) done on the boat because of the rigging problem. Dakare came out with a clean bill of health. In fact, the SALT guys who did the test said that they were impressed with how well the boat was wired to deal with complicated ground issues between the AC ground, DC Ground, inverter and genset. That was a relief. Boat read 27 millivolts consistently wherever we tested. The only negative thing found was what I found 2 weeks ago, ...that the mast was being shorted to boat ground because of the way the workmen from Summerfields (the commissioning yard) had connected the lightening protection. I was able to fix that right away but wanted to make sure that there were no other problems since we seemed to be having problems with our turn buckles loosing their chrome. Everyone now thinks that the chrome job was bad on the turn buckles and that there are no corrosion issues involved. Because we have an isolator transformer on the boat, their are a few peculiarities that you see on this boat that you do not on other, e.g., that the neutral on the boat is shorted to the ground. On boats without a transformer this is verbotten, but is standard practice on boats with transformers... but you have to know that.
We are waiting for our replacement shroud. It should have cleared customs by now. We are also looking to get 4 new turnbuckle screws (Barrels) that have dechromed.
Water maker looks good.
South West air marine is supposedly shipping us a new wind generator (just put it on since we got to Marathon.) Am considering swapping it out for a KISS system, but that is an expensive proposition - estimate is an additional $1K so not sure if we will do that.
I just finished installing a voltage regulator for the solar panels so that the panels would not negatively affect the wind generator.
Karen took her Ham exam (tech) and passed. She will be taking her code test this weekend and her General as well. I took advantage of the Marshes being here to upgrade to Extra.
Got a circuit fix for the Raytheon system from installers in Ft. Lauderdale - so now I have to install that wiring. Just a few diodes and fuses to protect the system but then I will be able to use the Autopilot selector switch the way I originally intended. (That took about 1/2 a day to do and some creative wiring on my part to fully implement.)
Got dive compressor back fixed. Expensive ($340 lesson!) Will put that in tomorrow. (That was a full days effort but also including making several refinements to the original installation to "improve" it. We installed a fan to help ventilate the aft locker where the compressor is located, but after installing the fan, I didn't like the volume of air it delivered not the actual mounting of the fan, so I headed out to West Marine to get a different fan with a higher air capacity. Will install that in the next few days.
So it has been a busy time but productive. Hopefully this is the last of the issues. At least I cannot find anymore and am not sure that I have the energy to deal with anymore either.
Will be going to Marathon Waterway Net luncheon tomorrow.
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Water Way Net Luncheon
 Gordo Gray (KI4SL)
Chuck Grey (ND7K)
Bill Marsh (K9SGH)
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We have also attended the local chapter Seven Seas luncheons. This provided a nice opportunity to meet locals and other like minded cruisers. The luncheons are held at the Marathon Yacht Club. It made for a very enjoyable break from the daily routine. We met Herman (N1LAN) and his wife Fran at the Luncheon. We spent quite a few hours reminiscing about old friends we knew in common who are still cruising or who have made that "turn." Grendel became Dan's daily rest stop when he kayaked around the harbor in Marathon. "'Twas a nice midway rest stop to be sure." Herman and Fran also introduced us to Eileen Quinn, who is a cruiser and who has put together her own music albums that provide a hilarious (and sometimes somber) look at the cruising lifestyle from the perspective of a woman. We recommend her album to any cruiser who has spent anytime voyaging and living the lifestyle.
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 Fran and
Herman (N1LAN)
on Grendel
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The Island held a great party for our good friends who live here on Useppa - Ron and Cindy Castellanos. The party was to say "Thanks" for all the great help, caring and kindness that Ron has shown people on this island over the many years he and Cindy have lived here.
Many people were confused as to why we didn't leave Useppa after our Bon Voyage party (See Below.) We delayed leaving because we wanted to attend the surprise party for Ron and Cindy. Ron would ask us almost on a daily basis as to when we were leaving. We were getting close to running out of excuses.
It was a wonderful celebration for a great couple. Trouble is, there are many deserving people on the island. We could be having such parties every weekend for years. I guess that is a great tribute to the people on Useppa.
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 "My Four Favorite Men of Useppa"
On Saturday, February 9, Barbara Sumwalt, the curator of the Useppa Museum, gave a lecture on her "Four Favorite Men of Useppa." The lecture covered a span of 10,000 years, starting with the Useppa Man, a Calussa Indian proudly documented in our museum, continuing with Captain Casey who championed the cause of the Calussa Indians at a time when it was "unfashionable" to do so, Snow - a self-made multimillionaire who looked at Useppa as a failed business but also looked at it as his personal paradise, and finally, Jorge Garcia Rubio, who was an intelligence officer during the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion and who trained on Useppa. Jorge was Barbara's mystery man, but through perseverance, Barbara was able to identify his name. It was a great lecture and it was well attended by just about everyone on the island - to the point where there was standing room only. The event was followed by a museum sponsored cocktail party. It was a lovely evening. Many thanks to Barbara.
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As of January 30, 2002  |
We spent a wonderful holiday season visiting with friends on Useppa Island and having cruising friends visit with us. There were so many happenings and activities on Useppa that they would be too extensive to list. Needless to say, Xmas and New Years were big events with plenty of parties and get togethers. There was also the biannual National Cat Boat Championships held on Useppa and again, the winner was our own Charlie Chapin. The Cat Boat regatta was the biggest ever held here at Useppa.
Some scenes from the regatta. The national champion boat, Buttercup with Charlie, Kay and Gini is pictured in the bottom right hand block.
Friends and other happenings over the holidays
 Topcat's Dolores and Rudy Rieneke with Karen in Maine
We got together with Rudy and Dolores Rienke from Top Cat, at their place just North of us in Placida. It was about a 20 minute ride in Shark Bait, our Mako 19. Rudy and Dolores are building a new home overlooking one of the bays in Placida. They decided to become the new owners of our Shark Bait. We will miss our runabout. Only if we could take her on our voyage...
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