We have arrived!

Finally we have arrived in Stuart, Florida for the winter. It has been a challenge with unexpected expenses and repairs added to what we planned on doing.  The new main, engine water pump, knotmeter/depth sounder were scheduled and budgeted, but the stuffing box/drive shaft were not. Credit has to be given to the guys at Indiantown Marina for catching a potentially dangerous mechanical problem. The stuffing box (where the drive shaft is attached the engine and goes thru the hull) was definitely not correctly installed and could have resulted in a major leak. This should have been caught during the initial survey, or at least when the engine mounts were put in while we were in Washington, NC. Suffice to say we will definitely not be going back to that marina for any work.

New Stuffing box correctly installed and clamped

 Finished fiberglass and realigned and treated drive shaft. With the realignment , our speed was increased at higher RPM's than we originally had on the trip down. Goes to show you what good mechanics can do!





On to better things, the new main with all the bells and whistles and the autopilot have been installed. Calmer winds are needed to test out the main and to finish calibrating the autopilot. We did the initial compass calibration successfully, but the auto-correct kept doing circles. Seems the wires to the wheel motor needed to be reversed!

We were able to finish the autopilot calibration and sail with the new main.  Winds were enough to sail at about 4 kts. but had to cut it short as it looked like a front was moving in.

We have had a great time reconnecting with boaters we met last season and meeting new friends this year.

More to follow as we get ready to head out to the Bahamas in March. Til then fair winds!