FORTNIGHT has been sitting on the hard for a year and three months in Solomons Is. MD. During that time it was broken into and vandalized by releasing a fire extinguisher inside. The only other damage done was an attempt to get a car radio out. This involved a knife being used to cut about a dozen wires. Linda and I came down to clean the boat earlier this summer but on retuning the nauseating smell of the extinguisher was still there. A major cleaning was undertaken and we found the extinguisher dust in nooks and crannies all over the boat. When cleaning was done it was time to put the boat in the water.
The engine wouldn’t start! It turned over but would not catch. The dock boy pulled me to a slip with a small outboard. Half way there it struck me! I had winterized the engine by hand turning and to do this I released the compression. With the movement of three levers the engine started.
We were caught in some unexpected fog in Georgia in the ICW the last time through. Tension followed as we picked our way past other boats and markers. Therefore radar installation was next on my to do list. Ironically the radar was still in the box right under the radio that was vandalized. Go figure. Anyway two days later all wires were run and the dome was firmly fixed to the mast. It appears to work but I will need to practice with it on the Bay to learn how to interpret the image.
Since my computer crashed earlier this year, I purchased a small notebook to dedicate to ham radio email. After downloading appropriate software and drivers and several days of trouble shooting I got it working. Now we can get email anywhere.
Refrigeration is very important to our lifestyle on board. Last year it never really worked properly. It would keep things cool but would not freeze anything. I replaced the cold plate with a cold box for the freezer. A new better sealed lid was made for the fridge was constructed by a local marina. After some frustrations and a few loose connections identified the fridge turned on. We can now actually freeze food and have plenty of cold drinks.
With all systems now working we can leave the Solomons and slowly head south for our new adventure. Our plan now is to explore some of the Chesapeake Bay and get to Norfolk and the beginning of the ICW by the first week in Oct. If you are interested in seeing our progress go to
www.winlink.org//userpositions
and enter my call sign va3vdw at the bottom of the map that appears.
No comments:
Post a Comment