Florida Fall is here! The time change has successfully confused the cats, the first cold front has forced us to locate our socks and sweatpants, and the snowbirds are slowly trickling in.
It’s been anything but quiet onboard the Snapper. Actually, each week seems to bring it’s own… excitement.
Engine Excitement
Let’s start with the biggest headache, aka the starboard engine. I mentioned we had a mechanic out to diagnose the issue. Well, two more mechanics later, we were told our spark plugs were bad and oil desperately needed changing – and that this MIGHT help our start issue, but wouldn’t help that awful knock it has.
So, guess what Will is doing this week with his two whole days off work? Engine update TBC…
Wiff Private Investigation Firm
Runner-up for headache of the year goes to our canvas. After five week’s without that shrunken, old, extremely heavy piece of cloth, we’ve become very appreciative of what we have. Five week’s is how long it took our canvas guy to restitch one of the three pieces we asked him to fix. Actually, there was a point we didn’t think we’d see the canvas again, as he was giving us the run-around, “I’ll call you tomorrow with an update.”
After reading a few online reviews about how this guy is a thief and a liar, we started googling “how to file small claims,” “how much is a private investigator,” and “legal ways to harass someone.” Just as I started conducting an official Facebook creeping investigation on his family, my phone rang and he was finally ready to meet up.
Since he only fixed 1/3 of the issue, I was faced with the dilemma of trusting another canvas man to finish the job or hand-stitch it myself…
Floating is Vital
One weekend I opened the back bilge to find a large amount of standing water. It seems the float switch that is supposed to trigger our bilge pump to start draining was not working. In turn, the bilge was slowly filling up with water, and if not addressed, could have sunk the boat.
A few days of manually draining the bilge, and a new float switch later, we learned that the wiring is all jacked up down there. Luckily Will has been using his spare time to become more proficient in marine electronics, so identified an issue that could’ve haunted us and cost thousands to have someone fix.
Head-Ache
But wait there’s more! We also took on the smelly job of disconnecting our second Purisan from the aft head, in an effort to allow better flow to the holding tank. It breaks down and legally allows you to discharge waste overboard in no discharge zones, but they went unused and unmaintained too long, and were now no good to us, and causing issues with the head.
We were tired of having to pinch the intake hose (to stop water flow) with a wrench in one hand, pressing the flush switch with the other, while holding your breath and hoping your fluids flush (because after all, we don’t poop on the boat). Ah, the joys of marine heads.
Heavy-Weight Champion SeaLift
Last but certainly not least, the SeaLift. That contraption of metal bars that adds about four more feet to our LOA (length over all), and hasn’t been attached since we arrived at Snook Bight and were told it had to come off.
The SeaLift competes with the canvas for the heavy-weight title champion. It’s too heavy to reattach with both of us on the swim platform, so Will had the bright idea of using our collapsible/portable dinghy to help.
One problem, we haven’t actually tested the dinghy, appropriately named “Dingus,” to see if she floats. Assembling Dingus on our narrow dock with noseeums eating us alive was a fun bonding experience. But it didn’t top the next scene, which looked like something out of the Titanic.
Will was bailing water out of the dinghy with a mixing bowl while keeping the lift balanced, as I struggled to maneuver the SeaLift so that the $25 bolts could be secured, without dropping them or myself into the water. We were successful! Except for Will’s socks and shoes.
Pirate Sessions
That’s about as many exciting boat projects we could tackle the first few weeks of Fall. However, we also managed to have some light-hearted Fall festivities, adding a coastal twist to yet another holiday with our jack-o-pineapples!
We’ve certainly channeled our inner #saltlife this Fall. This past weekend, we attended a live Pirate Session with singer-songwriter, Jesse Rice. He is brothers to country artist, Chase Rice, and co-wrote “Cruise” performed by Florida Georgia Line, the highest selling country song in history. He also performs songs about pirates, rum, Key West, boating, the Caribbean, and pretty much everything that speaks to our life, so we were happy to hear our favorite songs live.
We wanted to jet ski up to Punta Gorda for his show, but the weather, the time change, and the Irma-destructed docks at the restaurant venue made that a challenge. Still, Will and I enjoyed “getting down in a pirate town,” with 9:00pm hangovers to top off the good memory.
Leave some love