Swing Set got a bath on Wednesday of last week, so Rosie and I were able to address some other chores on Saturday that we'd been putting off until the weather broke. But first, I need to back up to Friday. I picked up Rosie from work on Friday evening and we got to the boat around 6 P.M. after a pit stop at the IGA. Holly sat on Rosie's lap and barked at customers while I did a drive by shopping stint for enough food to get us through the weekend.
After bringing another carload of stuff aboard, I asked Rosie how she liked the job I did installing some hanging shelves in the main cedar locker in the master stateroom. "I don't like it." was the short response I received. I re-evaluated the installation and realized that Rosie was right. I had hung the shelves in the widest side of the locker which left no room to hang stuff on the other side. I got my screw gun out, and while dinner was warming up, I made the switch and we were all happy. I admitted that I didn't know what I was thinking at the time, except my mind has been on bigger fish.
After a dinner of beef stew over egg noodles, we did a few more chores and then we watched our first movie on the boat using our Roku box, streaming movies via the WiFi at the Duck Club. Nifty. We'll be able to view free movies wherever we find a WiFi hotspot, and we'll change our Netflix account from DVD rental to the instant movie program for about $8 per month.
We got to bed early and slept like logs until the late hour of 8 A.M. That's late for us without the help of our friend Bud Light. Rosie got the coffee going and thus started a filling breakfast while I tended to the job of giving Holly some early morning attention. Before I get too carried away, I have to show you this picture of Holly in her "stateroom". Our friends on facebook have seen this picture already, but some of my blog readers haven't.
Being part terrier, Holly has discovered the joys of burrowing and gets thus engaged at any opportunity. Those two pinpoints of light are her eyeballs peering out from under her bed.
I took this picture a week ago and was showing it to everyone and was charged with being obsessed with the dog. Yep, guilty.
Once my scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, bagel, and two cups of coffee were stowed away safely in my innards, I set to work on my mission for the day which was to install our water maker. The components of our Katadyn water maker have been setting patiently on the floor of the salon since December and it was time to get them put where they belonged.
Earlier in the week, I had been going over my installation plans mentally and I had a clear vision of how I wanted things to progress and I only encountered one misstep. My setback was minor once I became aware of the beauty of drilling proper pilot holes and it was smoooooth sailing all the way after that.
I did a vertical mount which is acceptable if the pump and the motor are side by side. On the far right is the pre-filter and the membrane is the long white cylinder. Most, but not all, of the plumbing is completed and the wiring is not done yet, but the unit is out of the salon and I'll finish the work shortly. The white board is plastic fence board and it's screwed and glued. The pump is thru bolted for a solid installation. I still have room in this compartment for our shore power cords and a water hose. It will make 3 gallons per hour at 8 amps, which shouldn't be too much of a drain on our battery bank, especially if I make water while underway. (Only clear ocean water is an acceptable source, other wise the pre-filter and membrane gets clogged up in a hurry.)
By 2 P.M. I had my mess cleaned up and our dock mates began to show up. Six of us were hiring a cab to take us to the wedding of a fellow Duck Club member and as far as I know, we all had a blast. When the cab dropped us off back at the harbor, the words to "Red Solo Cup" were ringing in our ears, courtesy of yours truly. I apologized for the singing the next day. I will not apologize to everyone I kissed the night before, including the men, some reluctant, some not so much so.
Things were a little fuzzy on Sunday morning and we got a late start on what promised to be another pretty day on the Mississippi. Relishing in my success on Saturday regarding my water maker installation, I decided to treat ourselves with a boat ride, it being the first for Holly, but the first item on the agenda was another lumberjack breakfast to help dust off the cobwebs.
We had no itinerary as we left the harbor but headed upriver where we knew we might be able to see some friends if they decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather.
As Rosie and I looked on like expectant parents to see Holly's reaction to the boat ride, she largely ignored the scenery and occupied herself in her normal activity of licking and gnawing whatever is in her path. As we neared one of our regular anchorages, we were delighted to find some friends already at anchor and catching rays. We wound up with seven boats rafted up and several just stopping by to say "Hi". Holly got plenty of attention from everyone and was well behaved. She even stayed quiet for a spell when I left her in her "room" to do her duty and give us a little rest.
Everyone started breaking up around the normal time of 5-5:30 and we enjoyed a slow ride back the harbor and made it home back to St. Louis just as the sun set.
It was back up to the river for me this morning to take Swing Set over to Bloch Marine for bottom paint.
The crew was right on time to haul out Swing Set and I met the new service manager and we discussed the plan and made sure we were on the same page. It's never too unusual to find a surprise or two when hauling the boat, but I'm happy to report that everything looked good initially. Props were flawless and everything was where it was supposed to be. The first order of business is the get her power washed and checked for blisters. Last time Swing Set got bottom paint, no blisters were found and we're hoping for the same result this time.
Once we get an idea when the work will be complete, I'll contact the surveyor to come take a look so we can have a fresh survey for insurance purposes.
All in all, a pretty good weekend. We got some things accomplished and had a few grins to boot. All we need now is a contract on our condo and we'll be beside ourselves with joy.
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