Work, Work, Work

That seems to be all we do but we are boat owners. The boat was neglected for about a week while I did some work for another cruiser on their travel trailer. But as soon as that was done it was right back to it. The electrical system will be an ongoing project for a long time. The battery bank is getting expanded so that has been a priority. The batteries were just sitting on a shelf when we bought the boat so a bit more secure system is needed. Building a box to hold them has been on my list for a while. It is now finished and I took the opportunity to clean up and paint a bit more of the bilge area and the adjoining engine area. Eventually the entire engine room will get a fresh coat of paint. The first photo here is the area in front of the engine and where the bilge pumps are as it looked when we took possession of the boat. the second picture is the progress made so far. Not finished, but much better. The additional photos are the process of re-installing the start battery box and a new starting battery. We went from a small 24 to a heavy duty truck starting battery. The engine should like this much better.




The Follow-Me-TV unit we have used for the satellite dish is a holdover from our sailboat. This system, now called Track-IT-TV, has performed very well for us on the sailboat so we brought it over to the trawler. As always, the mounting location needs to be open no matter what direction the dish is pointed. We needed to get it up and over the bimini top for a good view of the sky. After some thought I settled on mounting it on a 4 inch PVC pipe attached to the flybridge rail with hose clamps. If this works out then a more permanent attachment will be done. The coax had to be run from the dish to the entertainment center. This was accomplished by running the coax through the bulkhead over the aft window in the main cabin where the TV is mounted. A thru-deck cable cover was used to finish it off on the outside and make it watertight. The coax is then run up through the inside of the 4 inch PVC and out the top to the LNB on the dish. The Track-It seems pretty secure and puts the dish just above the bimini top. The only issue might be the mast at some points while anchored but we will have to see how that goes. On the sailboat we had 2 masts and it was only very rarely that it interfered with reception. If this works as we hope, additional supports will be added from the hand rails to the PVC pipe just under the Track-It. A lot of extra coax is bundled loosely inside the PVC pipe to allow for the dish to turn without stressing the coax. The power wire and adjustment cable still needs to be run to the inside of the boat later in the week.

I have found that the amp gauges at the lower helm and upper station are not working. I really have found no benefit to an amp gauge on the engine so since the previous owner put a voltage gauge at the lower station, I will replace the gauge at the upper station with a volt meter also. Another item added to the list. During all of this we actually got the boat out of the slip for a short period on Saturday. A front was coming through so as soon as we got under way the winds came up and the rain started so we made it a short run. As soon as we returned to the slip, secured the boat and plugged the power back in, the wind dropped and the rain stopped. Very typical.

And of course the work on the teak continues. The lower hand rails are done and look great as does the side door. The cap rail is now under construction as is some of the trim from the flybridge. My next 3 big projects will be to complete the shower in the forward head, install an oil changer system and also a fuel polishing pump. The electrical for the windlass still needs to be finished but we are waiting for the rest of the parts to finish that. We are hoping to make a big dent in these projects in the next few weeks. We will keep you posted.

Anchoring Regulations

Cities, towns, counties and communities all along the Eastern Seaboard are getting on the anti- anchoring bandwagon. The reasoning for these restriction fall into several categories. First is pollution, citing sewage discharge, contaminates from bilge water, leaking fuel tanks and spills, careless disposal of trash ashore and the associated problems of abandoned vessels. Next comes damage to the seabeds and surrounding shorelines. These generally are from anchors and rode scouring the bottom, damaging seagrass and vessels breaking loose from their anchors and damaging other boats, docks, etc. A biggy is the nuisance factor and here is where pressure from landowners play a large part. Generators running on deck at night, loud music and parties, intoxication, trespassers trying to gain access to shore facilities and crime to name a few. There is also the navigational hazard from boats with no anchor lights, anchored or dragging into channels and blocking access to docks and facilities. I doubt that even the staunchest opponents to anchoring restrictions can argue these points.



Florida has become the most restrictive and regulated state in the US for anchoring of vessels in their waters.  Many towns and municipalities are attempting to pass regulations to restrict or prohibit anchoring and we the boating public will have little to say. The amazing thing here is that Florida already has a state wide anchoring regulation signed by then Governor, Jeb Bush on July 1, 2006. These regulations essentially say that other than in a mooring field, municipalities have no authority to regulate where a typical cruising vessel anchors, unless they can prove the vessel is not used for anything other than a residence or place of business. Here the wording get tricky. If you are a live-aboard you can be regulated. Here is how the terms are defined under the Florida law,

(a) Any vessel used solely as a residence; OR
(b) Any vessel represented as a place of business, a professional or other commercial
enterprise, or a legal residence.
A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term "live-aboard vessel”.

If you consider your self a "full time cruiser" you can not be regulated under the law. However, many municipalities have chosen to ignore the state regulations. In two well known cases, one in Marco Island, which went to court and the city lost, and the other in Stuart, Florida, where it did not make it to court but the city issued a public apology, a small monetary consideration and withdrawal of their regulations, the cities were clearly in violation of State laws. Yet the regulations put forth by the City of Sarasota clearly show that the law is being ignored. If allowed to continue unchecked, this will certainly spread to other states and soon we will have no place to practice free navigation. Much of the pressure to pass these regulations comes from wealthy landowners with deep pockets and political connections.

But the problems of derelict boats and unruly live-aboards need not be dealt with using heavy handed regulations. Navigating our waterways falls under the control of the United States Government, i.e. the US Coast Guard, Corps of Engineers, National Parks, NOAA, etc. Next comes the State and then finally the local entities. There already exist a myriad of federal and state regulations for boats that cover, safety, seaworthiness, sewage and waste disposal and more. If these existing regulations are applied to those problem boats, they would soon go away and there would be no need for additional regulations. But that would remove the financial incentives from the equation.

The city of Key Biscayne had such issues in Hurricane Harbor. The city discussed at length the need to regulate these boats out of that harbor. Many homeowners also were boat owners and quickly realized they would also regulate themselves out. Cooler heads prevailed and the city took the "use the current regulations" approach. Soon all of the anchored boats were inspected for safety and sewage disposal compliance and were cited to either fix the problems or face fines. They all packed up, left and never came back. It may be a simplistic approach but it has and does work. The state of Florida is giving us all the impression that if you don't have a mega-yacht and tie up to a marina that you are not wanted. But that is not in all places in that state. There are still many unregulated areas that boaters are welcome. But they are becoming fewer and farther between. The state is in fact studying new regulations to again be implemented state wide to attempt to standardize regulations. But that was what I understood that last regulations were intended to do.

Be it Florida or Rhode Island the boating landscape is changing. If you would prefer to not have it regulate you out of your favorite pass time I would urge you to get involved as best you can and help keep the process fair and open. We should all be weary of too much government and urge our waterfront communities to try existing regulations before enacting more. As boaters we should all be part of the process, lest the process overrun us all.

A Welcome To The New Year

2009 has arrived and we look forward to what will be a new year and new beginning for us in our boating adventures. With the change over from sail to trawler we are anxious to get the boat ready and get started on a new cruising agenda. 2008 was an interesting year for us and the presidential race that lasted a lifetime was based on change so it was only fitting we made as many changes as possible. We left Houston, Texas and cruised on our sailboat and home for 17 years along the Gulf coast and East coast to Beaufort, South Carolina. A not too small move but one we are glad we made. The trip was not without some excitement that we could have really done without. For anyone interested in that trip you can find all the details and a whole lot more at our other site, http://sea-trek.blogspot.com/ with info on several of our cruises. Almost as soon as we arrived in South Carolina a buyer for our sailboat presented himself. Almost immediately after we sold Sea Trek, we found our current boat also right here in South Carolina. During the selling and buying process we did a one week boat delivery that took over a month. These in and of themselves were some really big changes for us. Our plan was to head out for the Bahamas by early December on the new boat, but once again life had different plans for us. We don't get too upset about these kinds of things because they always prove to be the best for us in the long run.



We continue to complete projects on the boat. Everything we do is designed to make the boat safer, more comfortable for us and more suitable for the type of cruising we plan to do with her in the future. Just when that will begin we are not quite certain yet. We went through the same process with the last boat until we had her to the point that she was to us, the perfect cruiser. In the last week or so we have continued to refinish the exterior teak which will be a slow and ongoing process. The boats electrical systems are also going to be an ongoing process of upgrading and correcting things that are not quite right. We have just completed installing a ProMariner Galvanic Isolator. This unit is capable of handling two 30 amp services and is one of the only units I could find that is actually tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratories. A cable TV and phone inlet has been installed and cable run through the boat so phones and the cable TV service on the dock can be used. We are currently staying with cell phones instead of a land line.

The engine is getting a paint job with any rust areas treated with Ospho prior to painting. We have also installed a high water alarm for advance warning if we spring a large leak. A new battery box for the house banks is under construction and once completed a second bank will be added. The engine room is also getting a fresh coat of paint as things progress. The projects on the list that we already have the components for are, an oil changer for the engine, a fuel polishing system and completion of the anchor windlass installation. The shower floor still needs to be rebuilt and the shower drains and sump installed. We wish that was it but there are several more on top of that. we will continue to post here as things progress. Wish us luck