Journeys of Soteria: To the Bahamas again...of course after MORE REPAIRS!!!

It has been a looonnngggg two years since my last post. A lot has happened and I will try to describe the events. My last post described the issues with the fuel goobers. Suffice to say, a through clenaing of the tank and the addition of a fuel gauge solved that problem.

Then there was the medical issue I had. A minor operation, but no insurance, caused the credit card to blossom a bit. So, a part time job was obtained to pay the piper, so to speak. And then the drama continued as Loggerhead Marina in Stuart was forced by the city to evict those of us who lived onboard. So a car was purchased, and we moved to Harbortown Marina in Ft. Pierce. A much friendlier place that loves full time cruisers.

That put us off from the Bahamas two years, paying off the bills of the credit card and car. I was able to get better hours to expedite and pay off all early. It was a happy sad day when I "retired" a second time from The Salvation Army. I miss those friends but do not miss the 45 minute drive one way!

We set out to get what we thought was a minor things for Soteria, stripping off the old bottom paint and applying new. And more surprises awaited us after we got to the gel coat: Bondo putty covering a crack in the keel, under the barrier coat, the prop strut was improperly secured, two cracks in the rudder and a stuffing boz that would not come undone! So we had Cracker Boy Boat Works repair the cracks properly with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, then they started the bottom painting. Whitacar took care of the stuffing box and strut, but had to get a new prop shaft made because ours was damaged by the improperly installed stuffing box. Instead of 6-7 days in the yard, we spent 3 weeks. Sheesh! At least they let us stay on the boat while the work was being done.

We kept busy installing an anchor windlass on the bow and doing what we could to help the process along.

Here are some photos of what went on: