End of Season Haulout, Remembering Friends

  The end of our boating season always seems to come too quickly and this year was no different, made poignant with the loss of old friends.

 As most of you know, it was a bit of a whirlwind for us when we searched for, purchased and ultimately brought our new-to-us Sea Ray 370 Sundancer back at the beginning of this year. Given all the literal running around - sometimes between two countries - plus all the upgrades I worked on throughout May and June and it's no wonder time flew by so quickly.

 All that aside, it was an adventure and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to do it, but it's still hard to put the boat away for the winter. But as the old saying goes "There's always next year". Hopefully so.

 Irrespective of my ever growing list of small(ish) projects I am looking at for the Spring, we're going to make sure to spend as much time aboard in 2023. Having very recently lost a couple of good friends from our earlier boating days, it once again brings home how incredibly precious our days on the water are. Going forward, I'll do my best to dedicate new memories to our old friends who sadly will only be with us in spirit.

 Don't worry, I'll be sure to hoist a drink in their honour. Making the most of our time. . .

 As for myself, it was been a long three months of pondering my next moves on various social media platforms. This past summer brought an incredible number of folks who were eager to approach us during our extended cruise as they "Just wanted say Hi". There's no problem with that and I've always appreciated the positive feedback and well wishes, but this year it became was somewhat overwhelming at times, with sometimes three, four, five or more (!!) folks approaching us at a marina or at a lock on any given day. Again, I always appreciate hearing how much the videos and boating tips are enjoyed, and I am grateful that so many continue to be inspired by my ramblings.

 Keeping in mind that if you see us out on the water, we are there on OUR days off. Despite the perception that some have that we are on the boat 24/7, non stop, I actually do have a job and work full time, making OUR time aboard and relaxing very precious. Hopefully in the future we can look forward to just a simple smile and wave when out on OUR cruising days. . .?

 With that in mind, I've decided to stay off of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the foreseeable future with my efforts mostly concentrated to YouTube. This Blog will be more of filling in the blanks kind of affair, so to speak. Each time I review the video clips I captured, I get to thinking that I wish I had included more boring details ;-) With lots on my mind when it comes to boating, this Blog should help me to share more fun, projects as well as other insights from our boating life. 

 That all said, let's get to the latest - and long awaited - video, taken during our end-of-season haul out;

:-)

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Boat Safety Grab Handles - Easy Install

 One of the features we were looking for when up-sizing to our 1998 Sea Ray 370 Sundancer was the higher radar arch so that I could stand up comfortably at the helm. This model ticked that box nicely and I'm very happy with how it feels, but that extra height presented an issue that we hadn't considered - safely climbing onto the side decks when underway.

 As this first photo shows, there were a couple of factory installed grab rails on both port and starboard sides of the boat. The one mounted to the side glass adds security when walking alongside, and the larger one on the radar arch is very handy. However, as we travel through many locks each season - we did that 100 times in the 2022 boating season - we felt that climbing in and out of the boat when it is moving would be made much more comfortable by adding another grab rail to the inside of the radar arch. 

Factory installed grab rail on radar arch.

 A somewhat of an easy fix, as we ordered a pair of 16" stainless steel grab rails (*paid link) off of Amazon. They came with studs already installed, as well as nuts for fastening.

New 16" grab rail.

 First step to install was to mark where I wanted them mounted. The two important considerations here were having it placed where it would be most comfortable to reach, as well as access to the inside of the arch so that I could put the nuts on the studs.

Using tape to mark the mounting holes.

  Once I had that figured out, it was time to once gain drill holes in my boat ;-) Note the speaker has been removed to access the hollow part of the radar arch.

Just start drilling!

 

 When drilling into the boat's gelcoat, it's always a good idea to countersink the hole to avoid surface cracks. This is especially true when installing wood screws into the fibreglass.

Countersink the holes in the gelcoat.

 

  Tada! Looks good. The most difficult part of this job was reaching the underside through the radar arch. Ours is only about 2-3" wide on the inside and working in a contorted way was a bit of a struggle.

Looking good!

  Testing out the systems ;-) As this project was done prior to our summer cruise, we had lots of time to test it while underway and I'm happy to say that it worked out perfectly.

Safety first. . .

 An extra benefit of this location was that we could coil up the aft dock line while it wasn't in use. Perfect! 

Dock line storage.

 As this kit came as a pair, I had intended to install the second grab rail on the starboard side of the radar arch. However, the hollow part of the arch on that side is considerably tighter, with virtually no access to where the uppermost stud/nut would be located, so I didn't install that one yet. 

 My current workaround idea might be to epoxy that top one in place, only using the lower stud with the provided nut. I'm thinking that the lower one would take most of the stress anyway, so the epoxy on the top stud should work fine . . .? I'll let you know how that works out when the time comes.

* Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Emergency Engine Hatch Opening - Sea Ray Sundancer

  A number of years ago, a friend/fellow boater had to do some quick repairs in his boat's engine room that required him to be down there with the engine hatch closed. His First Mate stayed above decks, waiting for him to call her to have the hatch opened again. While waiting, she asked herself what would have happened if the electrically operated hatch lift failed while hubby was down there?

 Fortunately for them, there was no issue when it came time to operate the lift, with a simple push of a button at the helm once again magically lifting the hatch. All good.

 Of course, that conversation led to the realization that a back-up plan would be prudent. In case the electrical system failed, or if there wasn't enough power in the batteries to allow the system to function, some sort of manual operation would have to suffice. Happily, most (if not all) boat manufacturers have figured out a workaround for just such a scenario.

 When we originally got our 1998 Sea Ray 330 Sundancer, I investigated to see how I - or potentially one of my rescuers - would perform this function in case of a loss of power.

 On that model, there was a screw out inspection plate (*paid link) on the engine hatch that simply unscrewed if needed. That allows one to both look into the engine room, and more importantly, reach below to access a manual release.

Open-able plate to access the engine room.

 Here's a closer look at the plate, removed for access.

 So, how does one open the hatch? Pictured below is a look at the ram that operates the power lift. The green arrow is pointing at a removable clevis pin (*paid link). By reaching through the removable plate, that pin can be easily pulled out of the ram. Once that has been removed, the entire hatch can be lifted up (on its hinges).

Removable Clevis Pin 

 The only word of caution I'd mention is that the hatch on this boat was quite heavy, so an extra pair of hands might come in handy when lifting. Of course, be very careful if you have to perform this function, as dropping that thing on hands or feet would definitely result in injuries - and that's the last thing any of us wants when enjoying time on the boat...

 * Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Holding Tank Vent Filter

  This being the first year of owning our new-to-us 370 Sundancer, I had spent the majority of my 'Repairs and Upgrades' time working on the pressing matters that I wanted to complete before our summer cruise, but hadn't even thought about the holding tank vent filter. For the first little while, we didn't notice any smells coming from the tank, but about halfway through our 5 week cruise, the telltale smell was starting to be apparent. Luckily for us - and surrounding boaters - this only occurred a few times, but I was eager to replace the vent filter as soon as we got back to our home port marina.

 Looking online to compare prices and options, I discovered a listing on Amazon for a replacement filter (*paid link), but was concerned about the low price more than anything! Having purchased the OEM units for our previous boats, I was a little skeptical as to how well an inexpensive unit might perform, but figured that with Amazon's great return policy, I'd give it a try. 

Comparing unit size before installation.

 The original 'SeaLand' (now part of the Dometic company) brand was what most Sea Rays - as well as many other boat manufacturers - of this vintage came factory equipped with and they have been widely available through aftermarket vendors and marinas. A decent product, but considering that these things are not much more than a plastic tube with charcoal filter, I was hoping that another manufacturer might have been able offer a more reasonably priced solution.

 What I was able to find was this filter (*paid link) offered through Amazon at a very attractive price, so decided to give it a try. Although I'm not familiar with the manufacturer - yachtZmarine - the unit was delivered quickly and swapping it out was simple and straightforward. The old unit was removed by merely unscrewing the two ends from the filter lines, unsnapping it from the plastic mounting brackets and putting the new one in by reversing the process. No more than a few minutes of work and it was all done!

New filter installed in just a few minutes.

  How has it performed? I installed this at the end of August and we've had no more smell after six weeks of regular use. Most manufacturers will recommend replacing these filters annually, but I have found that, in our case, we usually get at least 2 seasons before having to change them. Bear in mind that our boating season generally lasts from beginning of May to middle of October, so keep that in mind for your own situation. That said, we use the facilities on the boat exclusively, never going to the public marina washroom, so our onboard toilet system gets a good workout every year ;-)

* Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Goodbye to Summer '22 🥺

Hard to believe that this gorgeous summer is coming to an end already. But just like every year, it comes too quickly.

 The good news is that we still have a couple more weekends before the dreaded haulout happens, so we hope for decent weather to close out this season.

Boating To Florida?

 A question came to me the other day about whether we have ever considered taking our current boat - or any boat for that matter - south to Florida for the winters. Given the fact that live aboard our boat for the summer months, it seemed logical to this person that we just fired up the engines when it got cold and pointed it south towards the palm trees and sandy beaches. . . Here is my reply.


Yes, we currently call 'Boogaboo IV' home from May to October and love the lifestyle. It's a bit of effort to make happen, as I still work full time in my own contracting business and have to commute daily to and from the boat. The good part of that is I get to travel mostly through country roads, so it's quite scenic. As for taking her to Florida, we have discussed that possibility, but not any time soon. Again, I have a business to run for now and being away toooooooo long, or having to commute back and forth to Ontario throughout the process is not something I would entertain at this point.

That said, we are unsure as to which way the fickle winds of fate may send us as we travel through this plane of existence. Ultimately, we would love to be able to step off the boat at the end of the season and head south for the ensuing six months until the boating season resumes the following spring and that is something I am working towards. To that end, I have just released my first, feature length travel video 'Cruising The Trent Severn Waterway'.

 One other option we toyed with was to buy a second boat to keep in Florida, but the overall costs currently make that prohibitive, but something we may revisit down the road. Despite the life of Riley that many folks may perceive from my endless postings, we are like most of the rest of the working world; car payments, a mortgage and all the rest that comes with every day living. The one major difference is that we have made a solid decision to live more on our own terms and take advantage of the good days as much as we can. With my MS diagnosis a few years ago, we learned quickly that good health is precious and not to be taken for granted. We have worked contentiously to reverse my condition and a huge part of that has been stress reduction and, like I said, living life on our terms - even if it does mean maxing out the old credit card once in awhile ;-)

 Laughing at ones' self is also paramount to a healthy life, so thanks you for recognizing that. I stopped taking myself too seriously awhile back and that helps to lighten the load, so to speak. As for the lovely deck hands you mentioned you've spotted some of in my videos, I'm not sure on their availability, apart from my own Anchor Girl. She's got her hands full with taking care of me and the MAJOR reason I am working at making our lives more fun. And that, is the funnest part for me . . .

:-)

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 ;-)

:-)

Summer 2013 Boat Cruise - Young's Point, Clear Lake and More!

Wow, I really gotta start doing these Blog posts sooner to the actual events ;-) It's hard to believe that this set of holiday pics are from last summer and we are going to be re-launched for the 2014 season in less than two weeks!! Oh well, it's always fun to look back on memorable times, and this is no less.

  This voyage takes us back to Young's Point and a nice evening with the owner of Islandview Resort. Despite the fact we were heading back towards home, there was still lots of fun and memories to be made :-)


Waiting to go up through the lock at Young's Point;

Up-bound through Young;s Point Lock - Lock #27 of the Trent Severn Waterway.

 Across from the lock stands this old bridge, built in 1884-1885 and is the only known surviving bridge that employed both wrought iron and steel in it's construction. It's also one of the oldest bridges along the Trent Severn Waterway. Once used for road traffic, it was long ago replaced by the Regional Road 28 bridge, a little to the west highway.

Young's Point bridge.

Our host for our stay, one Mr. Kieth. Um, as a side note, he has a good connection with a guy that does a great job of fashioning drinking glasses out of empty beer bottles. How we got all those empty beer bottles between the two of us is another story ;-)

Hey Kieth, have you seen my empties? ;-)

Another great spot to tie up for a night or two.

The docks at Islandview Resort and Marina.

Leaving Young's Point and heading northbound across Lake on a clear, sunny day;

A clear day on Clear Lake.

 Lots of pretty scenery as we approach Hell's Gate that separates Clear & Stony Lakes;

Hell's Gate on Stony Lake.

Anchor Girl still trying to get that perfect shot of St. Peter's Church - an incident that got us into trouble the first time passing through here, years before! Watch the upcoming video for all the details;

Perry The Penguin sure enjoyed his time travelling through here. Warm & sunny is right up his ally!

Perry The Penguin having fun on his first boating vacation.

St. Peter's Church - on the rock.

St. Peter's Church on Stony Lake.

VIDEO: Our cruise from Young's Point and through the very picturesque Hell's Gate on Stony Lake;


The aptly named Stony Lake offers similar cruising grounds to that of Georgian Bay, albeit only for a short distance of just a few miles.

At the far western end of Stony Lake is the bottom side of Burleigh Falls Lock (Lock #28), and our stop for the next two nights

Approaching Burleigh Falls Lock.

Next time, we are at Burleigh Falls Lock for a very stormy night!

:-)

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 :-)

:-)

Summer Boat Cruise 2013 - Glorious Stay at Lakefield Lock

For the 2013 boating vacation voyage, this would be the farthest 'away' we were to go, Lakefield Lock - Lock #26 of the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW). I was hoping to travel to Peterborough, but with the shorter hours of operation and the fact that our usual time off work was cut back back by almost a third this year, so we decided this was it.

 Not that I am sad that we didn't get any farther, on the contrary, despite have ventured to all of the areas we saw on prior trips, this was like seeing much of it for the first time. That was as a result of our ability to stay at a number of the locks for days at a time. Having the built in generator on the boat sure gives us so much more freedom to go where we wish, while maintaining most of the comforts we would enjoy tied to our dock at home.

Like most of the other locks, this one provides a peaceful and secure setting to tie up for a night or two. As you can see in this shot, I turned Boogaboo to have the bow facing 'back home', right at the end of the wall. This allowed us easy egress when we decided to leave, as well as a good view downstream to all the comings and goings while the lock was operating.

Tie up wall at the Lakefield Lock.

Video: A really nice clip of our short run over to the Lock. Another peaceful, sunny day on the water - complete with a notable docking manoeuvre at the end ;-)


Our view from the back of the boat, looking towards the lock;

Pretty view.

Sunshine, and lots of green;

Lock #26 of the Trent Severn Waterway, at Lakefield, Ontario.

The lock chamber, looking downstream, of course. There are rumours (reported to us more than once) that this lock has the BIGGEST spiders of any along the TSW. Anchor Girl was thrilled to hear that the first time we passed through here ;-)

Be wary of the Spiders . . ..

Video: One of the few dinghy rides we took on this trip saw us heading back into the village to grab more food (natch) and BEER :-)


After the big workout from our dinghy ride, it was getting to be cocktail time. A favourite spot for us to enjoy a cool drink is sitting on our folding lounge chairs, propped on the swim platform, feet up on the floating dingy;

Watching the world go by . . .

Evening of the second day and the joint had filled up. It was nice to wander and talk to the other boaters, discussing the TSW issues;

A full house.

Our spot on the wall. Nice;

Looking forward to going back here.

Cool shot across the port side deck, complete with funky lens flare;

Shine a little sunshine on me :-)

Video: Before heading off, we walked over to the local grocery store for MORE food & I took this clip of the local walking trail, which passed right beside our mooring;


The ending shot form the video was taken overlooking the control dam, just ahead of the lock. I was able to also snap a neat still photo of the big Chris Craft riding by;

A view of top and bottom.

The next segment sees us heading back to Young's Point and some time with our host to catch up and swap stories.

:-)

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!

:-)

Spring Thaw - Finally!

 After the worst winter in recent memory, Mother Nature has finally looked at the calendar and started the warming part of Spring. Ahhhh, that's nice :-)

 We took a drive up to the boat twice in the past week to check on things and it's so nice to see open water again! Nothing much on Lake Simcoe right now, but many rivers have begun to open up and flow again. Here's a pic I took where the Trent Severn Waterway enters Lake Simcoe, at Gamebridge;

Open water again :-)

 Not only is the snow and ice fading fast, but it was so nice to see the wild critters out again as well. On Sunday alone, we spotted deer, wild turkeys, lots of little creatures and tons of geese - although they aren't that pleasant to have around the marina. . . The most encouraging to see once again flying around and claiming their nests was the Osprey, returned from their southern wintering grounds.


 All of the above says that once again we are moving inexorably towards another great season on the water. Soon be time to head onto the Trent Severn Waterway and take it all in :-)

Swing bridge on the Trent Severn Waterway.

:-)

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.

:-)