Washington Overnight Trip

Finally!  All essentials are done and we are cruising!  Friday we motored to Washington Public Docks 8 miles up river. With the prop treatment we increased our speed from 4.5 mph to 6.5 mph. Quite an improvement. Took us 1 h 20 minutes to motor there.




The evening was spent at dinner with friends and then a quiet evening watching the sun set.  The next day was cool with winds from the S & SSW at 8-10 with gusts up to 15 mph with a full moon setting.

We raised the sails after the bridge and had a fantastic time. Managed to get Soteria's speed up to 7.8 mph! Honest, the GPS had it logged. It was great to be able to finally sail. We spelled each other 30 minutes at the helm and it took 90 minutes to get back to the marina. Elden had to take a few photos to share our experience.

Plans are in the works for the next sail, either Bath or Belhaven. Taking it one step at a time stretching out our horizons.


Till then, fair winds and following seas to all.

Photos as promised

The photos below show the strut before, during and after with the prop treated against barnacles. That took less time and effort than we thought and are happy with the results so far. We'll see in a year just how well it works.
Enjoy and more photos to follow.






 Before  and  after epoxy added

 After sanding and bottom paint, and prop with anti-barnacle treatment.

Big difference, huh?

Long time no post...

It has been a long time since we posted anything. The good excuse is that we were visiting family in Georgia for two weeks. Sort of a vacation from our retirement. Now we are back and at work again since Soteria is on the hard from hurricane Earl.
We've replaced the 110 light fixtures, replaced the two sacrificial zincs on the prop shaft, a new compass has been purchased and is ready to be installed, the strut has been epoxied and will soon be finished, cleaned and waxed the hull and the portlights are finally finished. We also discovered an electrical problem with the 12v system. The batteries that were on the #2 switch were not holding a charge. We only used a .4 amp fan on the12v system and it was drained overnight and couldn't figure out what was going on. Found out that the #2 switch had the engine starting battery on it and not the 12v systems batteries. We were using the smaller battery and not the two larger ones that we were supposed to be using.  So 24 hours later with a recharged starting battery and the right ones hooked up to the correct switch, we now have lights. (was not our fault, but the tech's).
I should have photos of the completed strut later this week. We also plan on putting a product called PropSpeed. It is a three part system to keep barnacles off the prop and shaft. It should be here Wednesday or Thursday so we can hopefully get back in the water and sail!

The weather has been great: sun, cool temps and mild breezes with no rain for days. A group from the marina are heading out tomorrow for Okracoke. They have been trying for several years and hopefully they will make it this time.

Til later with more from the coast.

Photos of prop

 

Don't you just love nature?

The aftermath of Earl, or the storm that didn't happen.

OK, now that the storm has passed, we have the time to update y'all on the effects, or lack of, from Earl. The lessened ferocity of the hurricane proves that you cannot predict the weather with absolute certainty. Earl was a category 4 on Wednesday and was predicted to hit the Outer Banks and the NC coast hard. When Earl finally did hit, it was a category 2. In layman's term, it was just another storm. Sorry for no photos. Nothing was harmed. Thank God for that and all your prayers.

There was a wind tide in the Pamlico River, but it was only a foot or so higher than normal. So, we really didn't have to take the boat out. But we are glad we did, as we found massive amounts of barnacles on the prop and drive shaft. They were so numerous you couldn't see the bronze at all. This explains why we weren't moving so fast under power. Now we ordered a preventative to put on the prop. This is the perfect time to touch up the bottom paint and take care of that too.

We plan on doing some maintenance on the hard and take a vacation from our retirement. It seems we are working harder now than when we worked. I will be posting photos of the barnacled prop and other interesting stuff from Atlanta.  Have a great holiday weekend!

And then there's Earl...

If you haven't heard about Earl by now, your TV or radio are broken or you are a hermit. Earl is a category 4 hurricane moseying along the eastern seaboard headed for North Carolina. As of this posting, Soteria is out of the water on land, and battened down as best as can be done. We are staying with friends inland a few miles as Earl isn't projected to be a direct hit, but a glancing blow, unless you live on the Outer Banks. There they have mandatory evacuations for the isolated islands and for the tourists. Locals have been dealing with this for years, and the authorities haven't issued evacuations for them; yet. Being our first time in a hurricane, we over prepared: taking all exterior stuff off the boat and having her pulled out. An extra expense, but one the insurance company will partially reimburse. (Thank God!)

We'll have photos later this weekend and will keep you updated as Earl comes around tonight.
Till then, hold on to your hats!