I said I would never paint a boat bottom again (Ok, I fibbed!)

I know I said I would never paint a boat bottom again, but it seems this retirement has it out for me. We (Elden) decided to paint the bottom with an anti-fouling (anti-barnacle & slime) paint just to get us through this year. If I ever see blue paint again it is TOO SOON! At least we can launch Soteria tomorrow and really get her cleaned out.The photos below show before and after. The boat lift couldn't lift her as high as we needed to paint the centerboard, so Elden had to dig a ditch.

It has been challenging to say the least, with having to climb an 10 ft. ladder(see finished paint photo) every time we had to get rid of trash, take a shower or even go to the restroom. (Try doing dishes up and down that ladder) We have muscles that we didn't know we had.  There is still stuff in the car as we haven't been able to clean as we want to. No water and now we have a bad ground which drains the batteries, and we found out that we don't have a battery charger on board.  Can you say OUCH!$$$!  At least we found out now and not later. The marina guys are doing their best, but we are in the South and they take their good old time doing things. Maybe that's the Yankee in me, but we are on a schedule here. Hopefully we can get the electrical figured out and the boat cleaned out by the weekend. I am looking forward to at least one day of rest.

We meet the nicest couple at the waterfront. Dennis & Denise (s/v Polaris). They have been sailing since they were younger, and shared some great advice with us.

I almost forgot! We went to a place called Backwater Jack's Tiki Bar & Grill. Fantastic food, cool name and I found a pearl in my oyster sandwich! Ok. it looks like a mini-bb, but it still is a pearl. At least I didn't break a tooth on it. I'll try and take a photo later. Anyone got a good close up lens?

That's all for now. More hopefully by the weekend.  Have a great night.

Let the Cleaning Begin...

Today we started cleaning out and up Soteria. The dirt accumulated after one year on the hard is incredible. The amount of dirt is comparable to all the dirt we cleaned on our last two boats. The v-berth was tackled first today with good results. The photos below show before and after cleaning. The photo on top shows the port side before cleaning and the starboard after. the  next one shows the completed project. It is amazing what a can of Scott's Liquid Gold can do to teak. We also dedicated Soteria and performed "The Re-naming Ceremony" with some changes. God has blessed us tremendously and we give Him the credit for it all.  So we prayed over her and asked for His continued protection and guidance now and in the future.

Tomorrow we tackle the saloon and galley areas. The weather has been tricky with sporadic showers and downpours all day. When it rains here, there is nowhere for the water to go, so driving in 6-8 inches of water is common. It's almost like Iowa: 10 minutes and the weather changes, and hot! Tomorrow's forecast have some showers with clearing on Wednesday. Hopefully we can get the bottom painted on Wednesday and put the boat in the water the following day.

We'll have more as we continue outfitting and provisioning.

Arrived in Washington, NC or what to do in the rain?

We've arrived in Washington, NC tonight to find Soteria under steady showers of rain with more forecast for the next two or three days. Seems all that packing will stay in the car for now, and not a good chance to paint the bottom or move aboard. Good thing the hotel has lots of rooms!

So, the plan is to go to the marina and talk to our boat guy to find out what's finished and what else needs to be done. If we get a dry spell, we can at least clean out the interior and possibly get the bottom painted. If not, we can go into town and find out the particulars of moving here (drivers license, car plates, etc.)

Sorry no photos yet, as it was poring when we got here. Hopefully we can take a few tomorrow.

More later!

No turning back now!

It's done. The house has sold and all we have to do is remove the rest of our stuff and clean it out. It only took three(3)weeks. UNBELIEVABLE! Now I know what it feels like to be semi-homeless. We leave Saturday to outfit Soteria, and managed to fit almost everything in the trunk of our Camry. The solar cooker and clothing will go in the back seat. I am sooo psyched! It is really happening and I have to give God credit for all of it. No way could we have done any of this without His help, guidance and blessings.

So the next time we will post will be from Washington, NC aboard Soteria, and lots of photos!

Till then fair winds and following seas to all!

Final preparations, or" What in the world are we doing????"

It's down to 50 days and we are in the process of finishing cleaning out the house and packing all the stuff in the storage unit. Next weekend we will be in Washington, NC to clean out and provision "Soteria" for her shakedown cruise and getting use to the area waters. Recently I have had a few " whoa, what are we doing" moments, especially when we realized our house was sold. It didn't seem real until that moment. So, here we go on an adventure of a lifetime; cast off the lines and sail ho! No looking back for now.

After those brief moments, the excitement is beginning to get to us. It is hard to go into work and concentrate on the business of the day, but it can be done. Most of my coworkers are excited for us, but a few still don't think we are really going to do this(they should see how empty the house is!) One or two even think we have lost our sanity. I tell them we are regaining it.

If we have to get a job later, we will. But for now, just relaxing and enjoying "down" time are the doctor's orders!

More later from Washington and photos as promised.

60 days to go...(so who's counting?)

I guess when it gets this close, anyone would keep the countdown going. Seems a long time ago when we decided to go through with this plan. Now it's going so fast it's hard to imagine all the things we still have to do will get done.
The engine mounts, prop and tachometer have been installed as well as touching up the bottom paint. Soteria is almost ready to move aboard. The marina guys have double checked the moisture in the deck areas and found less moisture than expected, so that will take less time and $$$. This is a good thing. (Sorry Martha!)

So all is going well and God willing we will be able to start cleaning and moving aboard later this month. The plan is to go to Washington around May 22 and start the big move. We haven't seen her since we purchased her last June, and from what we remember, there is a lot of cleaning to do aboard. There were containers of electrical stuff and hardware as well as an antiquated grill to clean out. After the preliminaries, sailing her will be the next step. Not to mention docking in an area we are not quite familiar with, yet.

Finally we'll pull her out one last time to thoroughly wash and wax her hull. Oh, I almost forgot! Before anything will be done, we will officially christen her, otherwise known as the blessing of the fleet. Every vehicle, boat and residence has been christened or blessed before we embark on a new journey. We fully believe God has taken care of us so far, and we want to continue to have His blessing on the next great adventure.

More later as we draw ever closer to the big day!