Spring Boat Canvas Cleaning

We took advantage of a sunny and dry day yesterday to remove and thoroughly clean the canvas over our cockpit area. Late last season, we noticed that mold was starting to grow on the underside, but the year ended up being rainy most weekends so we were unable to tackle the cleaning job at that time.

Mold on underside of boat canvas.

It took us three hours to remove, scrub, dry and waterproof all of the cockpit canvas. A mild solution of bleach and Tide laundry soap does the trick on the Sunbrella canvas material.

Washing canvas.

'Boogaboo' looked partially naked with it's top off. Last summer we were able to perform the same task on the flybridge canvas and it has been mould free ever since.

Cockpit canvas removed.

 I took a bunch video during this project and hope to have something posted to my YouTube Channel in the near future, so keep an eye out for that.

 Our plan is to do each section on rotating years - flybridge again next summer, and so forth. Hopefully that will keep the disgusting mould at bay - but not on any of the bays we visit ;-)

:-)

Writing a Book, One Brick at a Time

For those of you who have been following this Blog or my YouTube channel for the past few years, you will have already seen the posts from our grand adventure when we purchased 'Boogaboo IV', back in 2010. Well, after retelling many highlights of that experience over the ensuing years, I have been inspired to put it all together in the form of a book. Yup, you heard right - I'm writing a book.

(Actually, I'm in the midst of writing two books, but the other one has a much deeper, personal resonance to it which I'll delve into more in a future post.)

Referring to that event as a grand adventure isn't mere hype. It was truly a milestones that would mark a turning point in our lives - not only in terms of our boating travels, but in our whole outlook on life and what we CAN do as a couple - and survive it intact!!

In Michigan with our soon-to-be 'Boogaboo IV'.

  Survival was the key to the whole story. And the whole story is a whole lot more than can be properly conveyed through mere Blog posts, hence the book. Survival, as you will learn, has many connotations and will be used in the context of this story to relate to not only surviving a voyage of nearly 700 miles, but also that of mental, emotional and yes, marriage survival! Perhaps 'ordeal' might have been a more descriptive term ;-)

Applying the name on the transom before leaving Michigan, making it 'Ours' :-)

 So, what the heck do bricks have to do with it all, you surely must be asking yourself? Read on . . .

 As I am going on about my day, especially when I am involved in physical labour (which is most work days, in my contracting businesses) I feel that my mind is somehow released and that more far reaching thoughts and inspirations come to me, most especially when I am working alone. Take this weekend, for example. As part of our preparations to move onto the boat full time, we had to make some changes to the house and I was basically pushing a paint brush and roller for hours at a time. Put on some good music & it gives me time to think.

 And think, I do. Lots of it! As I continually point out to my lovely Anchor Girl, I could fill five more lifetimes with all the thoughts, aspirations and inspirations that come to me. But that's OK, because I firmly know that when this current plain of existence ends, I (we) will continue on with a much higher propose, so ultimately, I got lots of time :-)

 But I digress. Back to the bricks!

 I find it amazing how thoughts seem to come to me out of the blue, then only to be reinforced, or revisited a short time later by that same 'spark' being presented to me in another context. Almost like it's trying to show me something. . .

 Case in point (and finally getting to the darned bricks!); As part of my free thinking moments yesterday, I was reflecting on one of the 14,286.419 pieces of seemingly useless information floating around my head, that being a fact I recalled that Winston Churchill (former Prime Minister of England & 20th Century icon) would spend a great deal of time working at his estate, Chartwell, doing - you guessed it - bricklaying!

 From many accounts, Sir Winston derived a similar mental escape through building walls, fences and other brick structures that seemed to clear the way for inspirations to flow freely. His bricks, my paint brush. Or drywall trowel, or whatever the tool du jour happens to be. Perhaps it was through this release that Mr. Churchill found the abundant inspiration to write more than 50 volumes in his time.

 Do I have 50 books in me? Dunno. Two years ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of me writing ONE book, let alone two! But here I am, knee deep into it and finding that writing and me seem to have a long suppressed destiny.  I hope that you will look forward to reading about our boating adventure - and more. I will promise you that I'm going to do my best to keep you entertained, and more importantly - inspired!

 Quickly getting back to the connections between these thoughts that seem to come out of nowhere. Yesterday I was thinking and jotting my notes to share with you about our Mr. Churchill and his bricklaying release. Today, I was looking at a web site (boating related, no less) published by someone we know but haven't haven't talked to in too many years and what pops up? A photo of a boat with the name 'Chartwell', along with a caricature of Winston Churchill on the transom, produced by this very person!

 Was this a coincidence? No sir. Just one more sign that our new path, book, rekindled relationships and so much more yet to be discovered destinies are meant all to be. And I'm grateful for that & the forces that are moving us along this path :-)

:-)

Boat Holding Tank Replacement - Measuring For New One

Ask yourself this; How can a day crawling around in a cold boat bilge to measure for a poop tank put a smile on anyone's face? Easy - it brings us that much closer to having 'Boogaboo' ready for relaunch and moving aboard full time :-)

 Although this photo may suggest that we are far from being back in the water, the snow and ice are melting quickly now. With any luck, we should be ready to be splashed in a couple of weeks.

Shrink wrap to be coming off soon :-) Boogaboo on the left in this shot.

 This past Sunday saw me down in that very bilge, removing three heavy batteries, measuring, doing a lot of crawling around and talking to myself - out loud. The end result was that I was very happy to figure out that we will be able to accommodate a much larger tank than was installed from the factory. That's gonna translate into longer times between pump outs, not to mention one happy Anchor Girl. She has been somewhat paranoid ever since we got the boat that we will have another overflow, something that happened during the first week we had the boat. As far as we can determine, the gas dock attendant didn't pump out our tank completely and only three days later - at anchor on Georgian Bay - a flush of the toilet chugged some unpleasantness out through the vent. Needless to say, we made a quick exit and over to the closest marina for a complete pump out.

 A look at my template for the new tank. Nothing more than a cardboard box, but it was very close to the dimensions I needed to check.

Our temporary cardboard tank.

 Ever since that incident, and despite a new gauge on the old tank, Anchor Girl was FOREVER asking me if I thought we needed a pump out. Argh!! Bottom line is that we should be able to enjoy an extra 4 - 5 days between trips to the gas dock, for a new total of 10 - 12 days capacity. That's gonna be relieving - for a couple of reasons ;-)

VIDEO - Yours truley doing the aforementioned measuring and smiling in the engine room;


 A shot of the marina, looking out from the launch ramp. As you can see, the ice is opening up and revealing the beauty of open water once again!

Open water again at the marina!

:-)

Summer 2013 Boat Cruise - Islandview Resort, Young's Point

After a seven hour run from Fenelon Falls (including five locks), we find ourselves at another favourite place to stay for a couple of days, that being the Islandview Resort in Young's Point. Even though we were travelling for most of the day, it a great one to be on the water and we drove at an easy, relaxed pace for the most part.


We have spent a number of our getaways here and over the years the owner, Kieth has become a friend that we look forward to seeing each time we return.

Islandview Resort and Marina in Young's Point.

Located right along the main Small Craft Route, all the boats going through here have to pass right in front of the docks, making for some prime boat watching. Unfortunately, with the reduced hours in the navigation season, traffic was down quite a bit when we visited.

The gas dock at Islandview Resort.

The resort also has a good restaurant, complete with outside patio that overlooks the waterway.

Old Mill Restaurant patio.

Video: A look around at Islandview


Video: A quick mop down of Boogaboo before heading off to our next destination


As you saw in the video, we arrived to sunshine at Lakefield Marina, but by late afternoon the skies turned stormy.

Passing thunder clouds at Lakefield Marina.

Here me with the BBQ set up on the dock, hoping that the rain will stay off until dinner.

BBQ on the dock at Lakefield.

The very lovely Anchor Girl relaxes while waiting for dinner.

My beautiful First Mate.

Walking back from yet another food shopping trip ;-)

 The next morning we were off again, this time to the farthest east we would get on this trip - and another new place to stay. But first, one quick look at the marina on a sunny morning;

A sunny morning at Lakefield Marina.

:-)

Spring Thaw - Finally!!

 After a very long (!!) and bitter (!!!) winter, Anchor Girl and I took a drive up to visit our beloved 'Boogaboo' to check on how it fared the cold, wind and snow. The good news is that it appeared to have survived nicely :-)

 The sorta down side was that there had been lots of settling under the wood pile supports, making it somewhat unsafe being aboard. Good or bad, I did get a chance to climb up to have a look around in the engine room - before I discovered the settling issue. Unfortunately, I was unable to do my final measuring for the replacement waste-water replacement holding tank. Next weekend I will do that, for sure, as the marina contacted me today to confirm that they have shimmed the blocking to make in once again safe to board the boat.

:-)

Ice Buildup on Great Lakes Causing Shipping Delays

We have been dealing with a very long stretch of extremely cold temperatures for the past four weeks, as have many in the northern US and eastern Canada. Currently, we are suffering through what is being described as a 'Polar Vortex'. As I write this, the current windchill temperature is -30 Celsius.

 I just call it all more reason to spend next winter in Florida!

 This far reaching and long term weather is resulting in excessive ice along the Great Lakes shipping routes, with some areas not seeing conditions this bad since the 1930's. At the Soo Locks in Sault St. Marie, there are four US Coast Guard Ice Breakers working around the clock to keep the shipping lanes open, according to an article on the Up North Live web site.

A bit farther south, CBC News has reported a number of ships stranded on the Detroit River at Windsor. The Canadian Coast Guard dispatched one of their breakers to get the traffic moving again. The story quotes US Coast Guard Petty Officer Ross Flowers as saying "It's potentially something that's only going to get worse in the next couple of days," He also adds that ice that forms a little further up on the St. Clair River is harder to break up, referring to it as a giant frozen snowbank.

 We purchased our current #boat on Lake St. Clair in 2010, where it was berthed at MacRay Harbor marina. The seller recounted that a few years prior, winter ice upstream on the river clogged the water flow so much that the level of Lake St. Clair briefly dropped significantly. Some of the boats stored there are housed in funky, covered and heated wet slips and when the water went down, so did these boats. Some of the big ones were actually sitting on bottom before the water levels returned.

 Here's a shot of our newly adopted 'Boogaboo IV' in one of those covered slips. They offer in-water storage, complete with overhead, natural gas fired radiant heating. Some folks actually live on their boats there for the winter. Cost? About $10 G's (USD).

MacRay Harbor Marina slips, Lake St. Clair, Michigan.

 So let's bundle up folks. Good news is that we're more than half way through the off season!

:-)

Oh The Humanity!

Has it come to this? Yes, I spend a lot of time on the Interweb. That is because we are working towards expanding our online presence to one day soon providing us with a full time level of income. That is something that doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happen all by itself. This goal requires a great deal of effort and that's why Anchor Girl & I find our days being filled by a full time commitment to this ever expanding enterprise.

 As such, we are interacting more and more with signing in, logging on and applying for various elements in the online world. Most are innocuous and straightforward in nature; email address, password, etc.. Last night, I had to stop, chuckle and share this one with AG - a new line on a sign up page that I had never seen before; 'You must be a human. Accounts registered by "bots" or other automated methods are not permitted'.

 I must be a human to sign up?!?!? The nerve of those non-human servers to make such an outrageous demand. Next thing I know, these same, cold hearted machines will expect us to actually enjoy the fruits of our labours like real humans; taste the food, take in the sunsets and reflect on all the beauty that this human life affords us mere mortals

 Yes, I am a human. And yes, I will continue to take it in with all the glory and wonder that this flesh and blood existence provides. And throw in a dash of spirituality, just to keep it all in perspective :-)

A glorious sunset over Georgian Bay. One more human enjoyment :-)

 

 

 

Rebound For Florida Based Boat Builders

 I recently read a very positive article from the Miami Herald regarding a significant rebound for the 172 boat builders that call Florida home. So, why is that important to the rest of us, you ask? What does Florida have to do with us located well outside of that area of the world? Well, read on. . .

Our visit to the Sea Ray plant in Palm Coast Florida, in 2011.

 

 Firstly, it marks a continuing turnaround from the ugly depths of 2008/9 when boat sales dropped off by 30% and put many builders at risk of going out of business, some of which sadly did. Both attendance, as well as the number of boats shown at the Miami & Fort Lauderdale shows are up by 6% (the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, held every year at the end of October, and is the largest boat show in THE WORLD, so that 6% says a lot!).

The Bahia Mar Marina, home of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS)

 

 This is great and welcome news to everyone associated with boating. Whether one is in the market for big or small, new and even used, the increased capacity and breadth of choices can only be a good thing for the market in whole. Even for those boaters who might be looking to trade up in the years to come, but wouldn't necessarily have the resources to go new, the increased number of these currently sold boats will trickle down to the used market in the future and offer more options for this type of buyer.

The top deck of a new Sea Ray Sundancer is readied for mating with the hull. At Palm Coast Sea Ray plant.

 

 In the meantime, those employed in the industry can take advantage of this hard won turnaround. Bravo to all those who stuck it out, stayed the course and continue to provide the boats and lifestyle we all love :-)

An assortment of brand new Sea Rays and Meridians, almost ready for delivery to their new owners.

Weather, Man!

I just came across a report talking about the predictions of Florida sea levels rising as much as 60cm over the next 50 years. This prediction is being taken seriously. So serious in fact, that a local fire department currently under construction in the Florida Keys is being built well above grade to alleviate the possibility of it's being flooded in the future.

 That's some serious considerations for those living coastal areas. But what does that have to do with those of us living well inland and many hundreds of feet above sea level, you ask? Much, actually. I recall learning that, as a result of global warming, our weather will become more erratic, and rather than enjoying the normal summertime patterns of days of sun and warm being gradually replaced with rain or periodic, fast moving thunderstorms, we should expect much more rapid changes. These changes would be more severe as well, with more dramatic changes and more prolonged stormy days and nights.

Perry the Penguin enjoys a windy, albeit beautiful, sunset at Fenelon Falls

  Well, it looks like we are there. So far this summer, I have heard of 4 severe storms being forecast while boating, three of them being tornado watches or warnings! Only last night, enjoying the final hour of light aboard the boat, sitting on the flybridge, we heard squall warnings for both Georgian Bay & Lake Simcoe. Thankfully we never got the squalls on Simcoe, but there was lightning, gusts and LOTS of rain on and off for most the night.

 As I have said to Anchor Girl many times over the past couple of seasons, if we are going to keep boating, we have to get used to travelling, docking and going through the locks in the wind - something she doesn't like. Looks like we don't have a choice anymore :-(

For The Birds

What a great weekend at the boat! The summer weather has finally arrived and all the birdies are happy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's nice to be surrounded by so much of nature when we are at our marina. I've noticed that the older I get (have gotten), the more I enjoy and appreciate nature. It has been our habit for the past three years to go to the boat on Thursday evenings to make a long weekend out of them all through the summer. Even if I have to run back to my work on Friday mornings, it's such a break to get to the boat & the sight and sounds of the birds are truly heartwarming.

 Makes me feel good and I wanted to share a few photos of these pretty birds with you :-)

 There are a large number of Ospreys in the area, with a nesting pair very close to the boat. I'm always fascinated by these majestic animals and stop to watch them in flight. Here's one circling overhead in search of a meal;

I was able to capture some video of this guy capturing his meal - a big fish;

We also have a few Great Blue Herons fishing and flying around. Interesting to watch these guys move along so   s l o w l e y   in search of their prey;

This one looks like the male, as he/it is larger than the one in the previous photo. Either that, or just older? Note the big goose in the distance. I think these guys have some sort of territory thing going on, with the Herons keeping to themselves;

Yet another batch of young gooses. Sure, they look cute when they're little, but grow up to be continuous poop machines :-(

 And they tend to show up in numbers, so their poop droppings can really 'pile' up ;-) Hey! That's not even funny. . .

Sailboat Crashed Into Overhead Power Lines :-(

A bit of excitement at our marina this past weekend with hydro lines tore down and the marina left without electrical power for a few hours.

 All this was thanks to an overexcited sail boater who was taking his boat from the storage compound over to the launch ramp. I'm guessing he was more concerned with trying to remember if the drain plug was in, or the batteries charged that he forgot to look up at the lines he was about to hit!

 With live wires draped across (what's left of) his boat, it's a good thing that he had the presence of mind to stay in his truck until the Hydro One crews showed up. Ya, he had that and a bit of whiplash too ;-)

The good news is that the boys from Hydro One were able to get a new pole installed and the power back in in just over two hours. Good thing too, as my beer was precariously close to start getting warm ;-)

 Here's an 'One Scene' video report ;

A Mother Of A Day ;-) Snow At The Marina!

Mother's Day at the boat (and probably everywhere else, too) was an interesting experience. After coming through our never ending winter this year, we had all thought that the newly discovered Spring-like conditions were here to stay. Well, no such luck. . .

 On Mother's Day, we woke up to cool, cloudy and windy conditions. No problem, as we were snugly tied to the dock at the marina, and snugly warm inside the boat, with the heat keeping is comfy & cozy. The interesting part came around 11:00 in the morning when the first bit of snow hit. By around 2:00, it was a full on snow storm! With the wind howling in from the west, there were times it was difficult to see many of the other boats in the marina!

 The snow was actually starting to accumulate on the side curtains.

 Thankfully, those conditions have passed and we went on to a beauty week, with the long term weather looking a lot more like, well - SPRING!

 Happy voyages!!

We're Floating Again! Boating Season Has Begun :-)

I am very pleased to say that at long last, Boogaboo IV is once again floating! Here's to another great season on the water! It couldn't have come at a better time, my friends. . . .

 Before it was time to float, it was time to polish. Here, Anchor Girl & I enjoy our first dinner of the year - a little dry, but just nice;

I couldn't have done it without Anchor Girl's hard work and help. So much so, that we were able to get more than I was hoping for polished in only a few days;

Thumbs up to the guys  for coming in on a Saturday morning to get us launched!

Wevvy took advantage of the weather on Sunday getting a super shine on Docked Wages

 

At last! Our beautiful floating home is welcoming us once more :-)

Our Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge

Relaunch 2013 Has Begun :-)

We took a drive up to the boat yesterday for the first time this year (!!) to discover that the marina has already put the first two boats in for the season. Despite the brutally cold weather we've had over the past couple of weeks, they were able to start bubbling the ice to get things moving along.

 The plan is for the staff to start dropping the boats from the covered slips on Pier Two this week and then moving on from there. With any luck, Boogaboo should be floating in two weeks :-)

 Here's a look down the channels, close to our slip. Although there is still about 50/50 ice coverage, things should be cleared out by weeks' end - if the warm weather that is promised materializes. Fingers crossed!

Thanksgiving Getaway

Well, look at this. A real, complete update. What a pleasant surprise :-)

 I'm taking advantage of this cool day on the boat to share some pics and stories from our Thanksgiving 2012 weekend at the marina. Ya, and the 'Getaway' part of the title refers to the fact that Steve & Diane have upgraded to a new boat! More on that later . . .

 As mentioned, we are currently aboard Boogaboo on this c-c-c-old Saturday in October. In fact, today marks six months to the day that the boat was launched for the 2012 season, as well as being our last weekend on board the boat for the season :-( Oh well, like all good things, summer has come to pass, but we have a few things to look forward during the off season, including two trips down south and, more importantly, our first grandchild! Yup, our daughter is expecting and we are looking forward to a March/13 arrival for the little one. Things are looking very positive this time around, with mother and child in good health. Ya :-) Actually, we (Anchor Girl & I) got the news of this on the first day of our summer holiday this year, so it was a double bonus!

 Back to today's business. Thanksgiving 2012.

Boogaboo looks kinda naked without the dingy on back. We took it home on the Friday in preparation of the end of season thing. Besides, it was forecast to be not the greatest weather, so we wasn't gonna be driving it anyway;

Anchor Girl online doing the final booking details for the aforementioned first winter (Christmas time) trip south. It has been suggested to me by a certain grandmother-to-be (Anchor Granny??) that this might be the last Christmas trip away for a few years :-|

Jimmy & Marg bring their boat over to our pier, so that they can be more in 'stagger range' for the evening;

 Saturday saw rain off and on all day & into the evening, along with strong winds. This quick break from the rain brought a short lived rainbow. Good thing that I just happened to have my camera;

Wevvy & Jimmy situated their cars to try and block the wind from the deep fryer;

At least we had Jimmy's sunshiny personality to warm us up;

Diner is served! A big thanks to the 'Docked Wages' crew for hosting the event & providing a warm refuge to enjoy our third annual deep fried turkey dinner.

Day two of the weekend and this time there was potatoes and lightly seasoned turkey drumsticks dipped in the hot oil to go along with the leftovers. Good thing too, as that entire second turkey we cooked the day before and leftover ham, potatoes, turnips, breads, salad, stuffing and all that cake (!!!) would have been barely enough to sustain us for a second diner ;-)

Outboard engines, gas cans and fresh potatoes. Perfect redneck boaters combo!

Mmmmmm, deep fried drumsticks . . . .

Sunday evening was clear and quite cool;

The 'On A Roll' crew brought their vessel over to our side for the festivities as well;

Neat shot of Boogaboo reflecting in the water;

The fall colours were really coming out in the trees. I think that's Mother Nature's way of apologizing for summer coming to a close;

I'm already looking forward to the next deep fryer event in November . . . Stay tuned :-)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As mentioned, Steve & Diane have sold their Chris Craft and jumped up to a 36' Regal Commodore! Congrats to you both - you know a lot of us figured your boating days were mostly behind ya :-) Hopefully this bodes well for some serious on the water fun next year!!

 

The folks at Crates (Keswick) appropriately positioned them right next to not one, but TWO of the York Regional Police boats;

Diane telling us about their harrowing journey through the locks bringing Getaway home. Yes folks, they brought that thing all the way from Lower Buckhorn Lake. Good job!

A nice view from their slip of another beautiful sunset over Cooks Bay. Now, do us a favour and try and spend some time there. . .  What is it up to now? Marina #5?? Geez, we are only on marina #3 - and I was actually kicked out of the last one! HA!!

     Coming up, lots of summertime fun on the water!!