December 04, 2011 - Similk Bay

We took a close-to-home overnight trip.  Friday night we took the kids to the Elemetary School x-mas party where they made crafts, decorated cookies, and then watched the movie "Rio" in the school auditorium.  So, we couldn't leave Friday night.  Saturday morning my sister took the kids to the Santa breakfast in town, so we couldnt' leave early Saturday morning.  Sunday Kathy and my sister Pat are taking Cindy and her friend Natalie to see the play "The Nutcracker" at a local theater.  So, we couldn't stay out on Sunday either.  This was definitely a short trip.. 



Zappa watching for logs as we leave Shelter Bay.

We left Shelter Bay after the kids got back from the Santa breakfast.  It was overcast and cold; about 37 degrees.  We motored over to Similk bay and it was nice and calm.  During the ride over the furnace stopped heating, or perhaps it stopped circulating hot water.  I tried several restarts of the system while underway but couldn't get it to work.  Once anchored I was able to get it running again and it was fine for the rest of the trip.  Our new anchor seemed to get a good bite.  This is the first time using it.

We have new appliances in the galley; a new propane cooktop, a new refer, and a new convection microwave oven.  We got to try them all and so far so good.  Kathy loves the propane cooktop.  The refer is quiet and uses virtually no electrictiy compared to the old home unit that was in the boat.  The convection microwave is something we need to learn how to use.  It is supposed to function as an oven and we did cook potatoes in it for dinner and they turned out good.  But, we really don't know how to use this thing yet.  The furnace performed perfectly overnight and easily kept the salon at 68 degrees despite the low 30's temp outside.  I installed setback timers on both the pilothouse "loop" and the salon "loop".  This let me turn off the pilothouse and salon heat overnight and set it to come on an hour or so before we woke up so both areas were warm for us when we woke up.  It was very nice not to have to heat it all night (a total waste of diesel and electricity) or wake to a 30 something degree room.  Luxury!


 We wanted to take a dinghy ride Saturday afternoon but it was cold with a slight breeze (making it even colder!) and it was drizzling.  So we decided to stay inside and hang out.  The kids played with some Legos while Kathy and I did some reading and puttering on the boat.  The drizzle stopped so I put the dinghy down only to find out that the motor starting battery was too weak to get the motor running.  Bummer.  Maybe I better install a bigger battery?  So I put the dinghy back up and went back inside.

Trying to get the Yamaha outboard started.  No luck.

Playing with legos.  We are enjoying the furnace (short sleeves!).

Kathy and the kids play "Risk" for a while before dinner.  It's a somewhat challenging game but they are getting the hang of it.  After dinner the kids (and me too) watch a DVD.  Then off to bed for the kids.  We got them new adult-sized sleeping bags and they like 'em.  Both Kevin and Cindy said they were very warm.  They went to sleep easily. 

Kathy and I turned in at about 11:00 after watching a DVD.  We never get to do this at home.  Being on the boat is definitely a nice change of pace, and it's very relaxing for us all.  It is raining from time to time during our DVD and we can hear the raindrops dancing on the boat deck above us. 

In the morning we wake to a beautiful sunny day with no wind.  It is cold outside.  The foredeck is a sheet of ice when I go to pull the anchor at around 9:15AM.  Brrr!

Playing "UNO" on our way back to Shetler Bay.

We have to be back so Kathy and Cindy can leave the house in time to pick up Pat and Natalie, go have lunch, and make it to the Nutcracker on-time.  On our return trip I notice the water temp as indicated by our depth sounder.  That's some COLD water.  I wouldn't want to slip off the boat into this water!!!

Now that's some COLD water!

It was great to finally be on the boat again; it's been way to long for us.  We have been missing it.  The new systems in the boat performed well and have defintely transformed the boat into a much better cruiser for our style of boating.  I came home with a short list of new projects, but overall I'm very happy with all the work that I've done during the past two month on "Adagio".  She's slowly transforming into our boat, setup for the way we use her.  It is starting to feel like our home on the water.