We'll be shoving off from Augusta in a few minutes, bound for Beaufort, SC, via the Savannah River and Thunderbolt, GA. The Savannah riverbanks between here and Savannah are largely uninhabited. No People. No convenience stores. No ice. No groceries. No repair parts. Should be fun.
We will be anchoring on the river two nights before transiting the Port of Savannah to the Wilmington River and thence to Thunderbolt Marina for another overnight before jumping off for Beaufort.
There may be cellphone coverage, in which case we will activate the wireless hotspot and post an update later today or tomorrow.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
"Vorsicht mit der Gelben Gefahr."
That statement, or something like it, has been attributed to Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm-I. It was taken to mean at the time that the West should be wary of oriental powers; that European nations should "...beware the yellow peril." Presumably, he was referring to the growing military power of Imperial Japan.
But we have a different kind of yellow peril here in Augusta, Ga.: Tree pollen. The stuff is everywhere. It has been wafting down like fine snow all week. And, though this is an annual event, no one can predict when the blizzard will end.
There are even pollen trails on the Savannah River. The photo at right shows a procession of yellow blobs drifting past our gazebo, headed toward Savannah. (Click on the picture for a closer look).
I have rinsed Ms. Bettencourt twice this week. The boat is still yellow as a gourd. Horizontal surfaces inside are also gritty, but accumulations have slowed since I shut down the solar ventilators.
Meanwhile, preparations continue for the Beaufort, SC, cruise which will commence next Friday. A systems check on the boat yesterday revealed a fault in the navigation lights. The problem turned out to be a double-pole, double-throw on-off-on toggle switch that I can't find locally.
West Marine's warehouse in California had one, which is now on its way to Augusta by (expensive) air freight. It is to arrive Wednesday.
Also, it is always a bad sign when you step onto your boat and the automatic bilge pump starts pumping. Such was the case this morning. A search revealed that water formerly in the fresh water tank was now in the bilge. I found and fixed a plumbing leak in the pressure water system and refilled the tank.
So, the plan now is to hose the pollen off Ms. Bettencourt one last time after the final loading Friday mid-morning, then head off down the river to make a noontime date with the lockmaster.
I fear we will find ourselves in a fog of the yellow stuff most of the 200-mile trip to the coast.
On the bright side: We shouldn't run out of water for coffee and the lights might be working.
But we have a different kind of yellow peril here in Augusta, Ga.: Tree pollen. The stuff is everywhere. It has been wafting down like fine snow all week. And, though this is an annual event, no one can predict when the blizzard will end.
There are even pollen trails on the Savannah River. The photo at right shows a procession of yellow blobs drifting past our gazebo, headed toward Savannah. (Click on the picture for a closer look).
I have rinsed Ms. Bettencourt twice this week. The boat is still yellow as a gourd. Horizontal surfaces inside are also gritty, but accumulations have slowed since I shut down the solar ventilators.
Meanwhile, preparations continue for the Beaufort, SC, cruise which will commence next Friday. A systems check on the boat yesterday revealed a fault in the navigation lights. The problem turned out to be a double-pole, double-throw on-off-on toggle switch that I can't find locally.
West Marine's warehouse in California had one, which is now on its way to Augusta by (expensive) air freight. It is to arrive Wednesday.
Also, it is always a bad sign when you step onto your boat and the automatic bilge pump starts pumping. Such was the case this morning. A search revealed that water formerly in the fresh water tank was now in the bilge. I found and fixed a plumbing leak in the pressure water system and refilled the tank.
So, the plan now is to hose the pollen off Ms. Bettencourt one last time after the final loading Friday mid-morning, then head off down the river to make a noontime date with the lockmaster.
I fear we will find ourselves in a fog of the yellow stuff most of the 200-mile trip to the coast.
On the bright side: We shouldn't run out of water for coffee and the lights might be working.
Friday, March 21, 2014
A Major Rigging Job
My friend Major is a rigger without peer. Ms. Bettencourt needed a canopy to shade her forward cabin top this week. The grab rails need refinishing and the varnish work cannot be done in direct sunlight.
Major came over yesterday and turned an 8 x 10 reflective tarp and 75 feet of light line into a very serviceable work space.
I think the man is part spider. Click on this photo to get a closer look at the web he wove on the forward end of this job.
A roller stand from my woodworking shop was used as the main tent pole.
A couple of sponges cushion sharp edges to preserve the tarp.
The whole rig is acceptably nautical from a distance.
And, restoration of the rails has begun--in the shade.
Loading for next month's cruise is proceeding on schedule. Ms. Bettencourt is fueled to capacity and all the safety gear has been double-checked and re-stowed.
The high today was 77F. A few days with highs in the 40s are expected next week, but we're optimistic springtime weather will return by the time we leave in a couple of weeks.
If not, we'll go anyway.
Major came over yesterday and turned an 8 x 10 reflective tarp and 75 feet of light line into a very serviceable work space.
I think the man is part spider. Click on this photo to get a closer look at the web he wove on the forward end of this job.
A roller stand from my woodworking shop was used as the main tent pole.
A couple of sponges cushion sharp edges to preserve the tarp.
The whole rig is acceptably nautical from a distance.
And, restoration of the rails has begun--in the shade.
Loading for next month's cruise is proceeding on schedule. Ms. Bettencourt is fueled to capacity and all the safety gear has been double-checked and re-stowed.
The high today was 77F. A few days with highs in the 40s are expected next week, but we're optimistic springtime weather will return by the time we leave in a couple of weeks.
If not, we'll go anyway.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Preparations begin
Winter has not entirely relaxed its grip on our town, but more than a few sunny days have stirred the lethargy lately and started us thinking about Ms. Bettencourt's next cruise.
The view from the end of my driveway, photo at right, was anything but tropical a couple of weeks ago.
(Click the picture to see ice everywhere).
But today's high will be in the 50s and we had two days in the 70s last week.
So we are setting plans in motion. My brother Paul, from Memphis, and I will leave here about the middle of next month, bound for Beaufort, SC, by way of the Savannah River. We'll spend two nights at anchorages on the river then overnight in a marina at Thunderbolt, GA, near Savannah. The next day we'll go to Beaufort and overnight there, then trailer the boat back to Augusta. It should be a good trip.
Ms. Bettencourt has been getting a lot of attention in mechanical areas. The oil, oil filter and fuel filters have been changed. I have also gone over the battery charging and starting circuits, and have removed, cleaned and tightened connections from the alternator through the starter motor to the batteries. Dielectric grease was applied at all connections. One failing battery post connection was discovered and replaced.
My friend Major and I hauled her out of the water on the trailer a few days ago, marking the first time the boat has been out of the river since June. A thorough check of the underwater gear showed the prop, shaft, cutless bearing, zincs and rudder bearings are OK. The hull looked pretty good after a scrub down. Unfortunately, the topside area is not so good.
The boat is sitting on its trailer at the Ports Authority now, awaiting its turn for a slot under the shed, where there is sufficient shade to allow more cleaning, paint touch-up and some tedious work masking, sanding and re-varnishing cabin top grab rails.
If we can't get a commitment from the Ports Authority for a covered work space by Saturday, I think we'll re-launch and try to rig a canopy over the boat at my dock.
That could be a spectacle.
The view from the end of my driveway, photo at right, was anything but tropical a couple of weeks ago.
(Click the picture to see ice everywhere).
But today's high will be in the 50s and we had two days in the 70s last week.
So we are setting plans in motion. My brother Paul, from Memphis, and I will leave here about the middle of next month, bound for Beaufort, SC, by way of the Savannah River. We'll spend two nights at anchorages on the river then overnight in a marina at Thunderbolt, GA, near Savannah. The next day we'll go to Beaufort and overnight there, then trailer the boat back to Augusta. It should be a good trip.
Ms. Bettencourt has been getting a lot of attention in mechanical areas. The oil, oil filter and fuel filters have been changed. I have also gone over the battery charging and starting circuits, and have removed, cleaned and tightened connections from the alternator through the starter motor to the batteries. Dielectric grease was applied at all connections. One failing battery post connection was discovered and replaced.
My friend Major and I hauled her out of the water on the trailer a few days ago, marking the first time the boat has been out of the river since June. A thorough check of the underwater gear showed the prop, shaft, cutless bearing, zincs and rudder bearings are OK. The hull looked pretty good after a scrub down. Unfortunately, the topside area is not so good.
The boat is sitting on its trailer at the Ports Authority now, awaiting its turn for a slot under the shed, where there is sufficient shade to allow more cleaning, paint touch-up and some tedious work masking, sanding and re-varnishing cabin top grab rails.
If we can't get a commitment from the Ports Authority for a covered work space by Saturday, I think we'll re-launch and try to rig a canopy over the boat at my dock.
That could be a spectacle.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Boat biscuits!
A major handicap faced by small boat chefs has to do with the lack of an oven. This means there can be no biscuits. This is a serious deficiency, particularly in Southern waters, where biscuits are required for proper breakfasts.
Miss Bettencourt's chef has found an answer to this persistent problem.
My Friend Ralph and I drove over to Columbia, SC, last week where we found a long-coveted implement--a three-legged camp Dutch oven. This thing is a wonderful tool.
A few accessories are needed, such as a charcoal starter chimney (left) an old pizza pan and some long tongs for coal handling.
This setup, on the gravel in our driveway, produced the above basket of perfect biscuits with about 18 minutes cooking time. Of course, there are many arcane, non-intuitive techniques involved in cooking with a Dutch oven. It helps to have a Dutch oven cookbook or access to a good website, such as this one: http://www.dutchovendude.com/dutch-oven-recipes.asp
WARNING: Don't try this on the boat. Burning charcoal aboard involves big time fire and carbon monoxide hazards -- dangers to be avoided at all costs.
Ms. Bettencourt's chef will be Dutch oven cooking and serving at shoreside picnic sites along our cruise routes, not on the boat.
Next week's creation from the Ms. Bettencourt Driveway Test Kitchen will be a dish entitled The Huge Dutch Oven Tamale.
The chef's daughter has prepared salsa. Ralph is bringing tortilla chips. Our friend Paul will provide dessert. Dia will be out of town.
Miss Bettencourt's chef has found an answer to this persistent problem.
My Friend Ralph and I drove over to Columbia, SC, last week where we found a long-coveted implement--a three-legged camp Dutch oven. This thing is a wonderful tool.
A few accessories are needed, such as a charcoal starter chimney (left) an old pizza pan and some long tongs for coal handling.
This setup, on the gravel in our driveway, produced the above basket of perfect biscuits with about 18 minutes cooking time. Of course, there are many arcane, non-intuitive techniques involved in cooking with a Dutch oven. It helps to have a Dutch oven cookbook or access to a good website, such as this one: http://www.dutchovendude.com/dutch-oven-recipes.asp
WARNING: Don't try this on the boat. Burning charcoal aboard involves big time fire and carbon monoxide hazards -- dangers to be avoided at all costs.
Ms. Bettencourt's chef will be Dutch oven cooking and serving at shoreside picnic sites along our cruise routes, not on the boat.
Next week's creation from the Ms. Bettencourt Driveway Test Kitchen will be a dish entitled The Huge Dutch Oven Tamale.
The chef's daughter has prepared salsa. Ralph is bringing tortilla chips. Our friend Paul will provide dessert. Dia will be out of town.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Watching the water go by
“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this - you haven't.”
― Thomas A. Edison
We're at the dock, waiting for the river to calm down and thinking, ever-thinking, about cruising some place where it's warmer.
Seeking to kindle some joy from past cruises, I start thumbing through Ms. Bettencourt's logbook. Instead of finding a pleasant tropical memory, I landed on this entry from November, 2013:
11/16/13Thus began a cascade of mechanical blind corners and dead ends spanning the next three months that will eventually explain the reason for the Thomas Edison quote at the head of this post.
Aborted cruise with Dia (Bettencourt) and Farleigh (Jack Russell terrier) due to low RPM. Returned to dock. Throttle linkage appears OK. Fuel?
Follow along for awhile. Find out why my friend Hira calls me a "sequential thinker."
11/18/13
Suspecting fuel starvation. Changed primary fuel filter. No joy!
11/19/13
Checked air intake. Could be part of the problem. Burning plastic smell?
11/20/13
Checked antifreeze. Checked transmission fluid. Bled secondary fuel filter. Bled injection pump and all three injectors.
11/21/13
Under way to test after fuel system air purge. All gauges in the green, but engine speed less than 50% normal at full power. Max RPM 1090. Max speed 3.8 knots. Shaft seal/stuffing box cool to touch. Docked uneventfully. Throttle linkage? Throttle cable? Injection pump?
(Later)This report triggered a lengthy worry spiral and saw the re-replacement of both fuel filters, the removal, testing and re-installation of all three fuel injectors and another trial run (also unsuccessful) with the engine fed from a jug of diesel fuel fresh from the pump at a nearby station.
John (next-door neighbor) calls to report the boat was making black smoke as it passed his dock. He says this is suggestive of a "dead cylinder," low compression or a bad injector.
Finally, I conclude I have exhausted all possibilities. Expecting the worst, I call in the Kubota engine people and, after two days, they prove that Thomas Edison was right.
12/3/13Now, with many repairs and varied tests completed, we're ready to go somewhere. But conditions are not promising.
Kubota techs find obstructed exhaust mixing elbow.
The Army Corps of Engineers has been dumping a torrent from its massive upstream reservoirs at an average rate past our dock of about 30,000 cubic feet per second.
Yesterday, Ms. Bettencourt went a few miles upstream. With her 24-horsepower diesel at full throttle, she made 5.5 knots over the ground as measured by the GPS. On the return trip she clocked 8.8 knots at the same throttle setting. This means the great volume of water moving downstream is generating about a 3 knot current.
Of course, this should not cancel a boat trip downstream. We could get far away in that direction relatively quickly. But coming home against a 3-knot current would be a v-e-r-y slow trip in a boat with a 6.5 knot hull speed.
So, we're sitting here in the cold, watching the water go by.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Probable sinkings
Sad things can happen on the water. And often sad incidents pass with little notice. Such was the case last week when persons unknown, said to be vandals, cut the docklines of a half-dozen boats tied up at Augusta's short-term parking dock on the Savannah River.
Six boats were set adrift. One, an old houseboat, was found hung up in overhanging tree branches and returned to the dock. The other five are still missing. And, here's the sad part: One of the five is the Avocet, a 40-foot 1950s era Matthews cruiser.
Avocet wasn't pretty, but she had nice lines.She was made of teak and mahogany, probably with cypress ribs. Someone had been working on her, off and on, for a long time. She needed a lot of work.
Avocet was a classic vessel; a survivor of a golden age of recreational boating.
She and the other inhabitants of her dock occupied neglected space on the waterfront. This is where one would often find boats in arrears on their marina rents. And, despite a purported 48-hour parking limit, many had been squatters there for months.
The upstream lakes are at flood pools and the Corps of Engineers is releasing water into the river at nearly 30,000 cubic feet per second.
The Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam is about 15 miles downstream from here. Ominously, a safety cable buoyed with big floats and stretched across the dam's spillway, was found to be breached the morning after the six boats were set adrift.
If wooden-hulled Avocet went over the dam, it is very unlikely she is still in one piece.
That's sad.
Six boats were set adrift. One, an old houseboat, was found hung up in overhanging tree branches and returned to the dock. The other five are still missing. And, here's the sad part: One of the five is the Avocet, a 40-foot 1950s era Matthews cruiser.
Avocet was a classic vessel; a survivor of a golden age of recreational boating.
She and the other inhabitants of her dock occupied neglected space on the waterfront. This is where one would often find boats in arrears on their marina rents. And, despite a purported 48-hour parking limit, many had been squatters there for months.
The upstream lakes are at flood pools and the Corps of Engineers is releasing water into the river at nearly 30,000 cubic feet per second.
The Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam is about 15 miles downstream from here. Ominously, a safety cable buoyed with big floats and stretched across the dam's spillway, was found to be breached the morning after the six boats were set adrift.
If wooden-hulled Avocet went over the dam, it is very unlikely she is still in one piece.
That's sad.
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