On Monday, May 16th, Todd had “Life’s2Short” hauled out of the water after lunch to try to determine why water was leaking into the bilge. We hit a waterlogged tree a few hours south of Demopolis Friday morning but everything continued to sound good and run fine so we didn’t think too much about it. Then over the weekend Todd discovered water in the bilge, and even though he kept vacuuming it out, it continued to slowly accumulate. After searching the bottom of the boat, we finally found small chunk of fiberglass missing from the bottom of the keel and decided that must be the cause. But it wasn’t.
Tuesday morning water was still leaking into the bilge – and we were on the hard so it couldn’t be seeping in from the keel! Todd began exploring other possibilities and finally found a drip coming from the bottom of one of the water tanks under the aft stateroom bed. We drained the tank, lifted it out and found a tiny gash in the stainless steel. We’re guessing it must have been an imperfection in the stainless steel. But whatever the cause, Todd repaired the gash, got the tank put back in and had the aft stateroom put back together before 5:00 p.m., which made the Admiral happy!
All that trouble for a tiny little gash!
By Wednesday the fiberglass on the keel was repaired and it was time to start applying coats of barrier and bottom paint. Thursday was Mike’s (“Dual Dreams”) birthday so nine of us from the Yacht Basin went to a Mexican restaurant called Las Fuentes for a celebratory lunch.
Cheers, Mike & Harriet!
The birthday boy got hit in the mouth with a mound of whipped cream!
And Maria was the culprit.
Happy birthday, Mike!
That evening we met at The Wall and continued the celebration by playing the dice game Left Center Right for several hours, starting with quarters and graduating to dollars. Todd & I did not fare well and ended up indebted to both “Blue Heron” and “Dual Dreams!”
Our I.O.U. sheet detailing our indebtedness.
The final coats of bottom paint were applied Friday morning and “Life’s2Short” was put back in the water Friday afternoon just as Hank & Nancy on “Last Laugh” pulled in to the Yacht Basin. You may recall our last encounter with “Last Laugh” was in Apalachicola eating oysters after the Gulf crossing. At any rate, after a stop at the fuel dock to pump out the holding tanks and take on $1,200 of fuel – ouch! – we went out for a short test run to make sure everything was operating properly, and it was. We then returned to our slip on B dock where Mike was again waiting to catch a line. A trip to The Wall was in order to celebrate being back in the water!
Saturday we had plans to show the boat to a couple from nearby Prattville, AL. Guy & Vickie arrived shortly after 11:00 a.m. and we spent several hours showing them “Life’s2Short” and talking about the live-aboard lifestyle in general. Guy & Vickie plan to become full-time cruisers soon and they had a lot of questions, which we were more than happy to answer. Then they treated us to lunch at the New Orleans Bar & Grill. Thanks, Guy & Vickie, and good luck with your upcoming adventure! Let us know if you decide you want “Life’s2Short” to be your home on the water. She will make you a good one!
We made a quick run to town to get steaks, potatoes, salad, etc., for a cookout at Rick & Peggy’s Sunday evening and then met up with Hank & Nancy who had invited us to celebrate Nancy’s birthday over dinner Saturday evening. Nancy had her heart set on margaritas so we went back to Las Fuentes where we celebrated Mike’s birthday on Thursday.
Happy birthday, Nancy!
Early Sunday morning Todd went over to help Rick cut wood for a campfire by the river that evening and also to do some bass fishing. Hank & Nancy had expressed an interest in having some fresh bass so Todd told them he would catch them some, and he did.
We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat before going over to Rick & Peggy’s to grill steaks Sunday evening. We had picked up ribeye for the guys and filet mignon for the girls at the meat market in town which is known for its quality beef. And Rick grilled it to perfection! Most people have seen the Ruth Chris posters and billboards featuring the thick, perfectly cooked filet mignon. Well, that’s how our steaks looked and they practically melted in our mouths. Truly excellent, Rick! Or is it Mr. Chris?
What a beautiful view!
After dinner Rick lit the campfire and we sat down by the river. Once our meal had settled a bit, Peggy brought out all the fixings for s’mores. Thanks for a great evening, guys, we really enjoyed it!
Todd and Rick went fishing again early Monday morning. Can you tell that the Captain has missed bass fishing? But he hasn’t lost his touch. He caught a limit of keepers and sent them home with Rick.
The rest of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much the same. The Captain went fishing each morning while I did various things around the boat. Then he would tackle a few boat projects before kicking back to enjoy the air conditioning. With temperatures consistently in the 90’s, we haven’t been spending much time outdoors in the afternoons.
Wednesday afternoon Fred took us on a tour of the soon-to-be-open Kingfisher Bay Marina. Fred manages the Demopolis Yacht Basin for the Marengo County Port Authority and is in charge of designing and building the new marina, which he will own and run. He has been a very busy man, but soon his efforts will begin to pay off.
The view of the new marina from the back of the dry storage lot.
Boating over to the docks with Dale & Joy (left) and Fred & Kim (right).
Fred shows off his state of the art dockside pump-out system.
Nice docks!
This will be the marina entrance from the Tenn-Tom.
Thursday morning we borrowed Mike & Harriet’s van to do some shopping and run other errands. That afternoon a line of storms passed through and we finally got some rain. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to wash Wednesday night’s mayfly hatch off the boat! Thursday evening we joined Mike & Harriet at the New Orleans Bar & Grill for happy hour and dinner. And we got to see several of our favorite locals.
Look at all the mayflies on the New Orleans Bar & Grill!
Hanging at the bar.
The Admiral with Ed (left) and Cliff (right).
Friday afternoon we had a fish fry at the Boater’s Lounge for a group of us on B dock. Several bags of crappie were contributed and the Captain volunteered to fry the fish. Since we appeared to have plenty of fish, Todd also invited Jimmy and John, a couple of fishermen from Hattiesburg, MS, who were in town for a bass tournament on Saturday. Todd did a great job cooking the fish and everyone really enjoyed it.
Saturday was our final day at the Yacht Basin and it was time to do laundry again. Oddly enough, we dirtied more clothes in the past two weeks than we did in the previous four weeks between St. Petersburg and Demopolis!
That afternoon Todd went to the weigh-in to see how Jimmy and John did in the bass tournament but they went home empty-handed.
Jimmy loaded up and ready to head back to Mississippi.
We then wrapped up our day at The Wall with the crew from B dock. Have a great summer, guys, we’ll probably see you again this fall!
Jess with his cute little sidekick, Shark Bait.
Today is Sunday, May 29th, and we are getting ready to pull away from the dock. Our destination this evening is Sumter Landing, just above the Gainesville/Heflin Lock, a 55-mile day. And it’s going to be another hot one with temperatures in the mid-90’s. Goodbye, air conditioning, we’re gonna miss you!
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