Leaving Sturgeon Bay then… Big problems

We left Sturgeon Bay at dawn on Thursday September 13, 2018. It was a beautiful morning. Quiet but a bit foggy because the air was cooler than the water. We figured correctly that the fog will burn off as the sun went up. So we did all the morning chores.

Leaving Quarterdeck

We started the generator and the engines. Tom Houser will be thrilled to have seen the diesel fog cloud we let loose! We turned off the electric, stowing the power cord on the bow of the boat then removing the water and stowing that cord on the bow too. We look like a trawler with all that stuff on the bow! It is a darned obstacle course!

Kermit stayed on the dock while I was on the boat. He removed the two clips that secured the ladder then carefully handed me the stairs. I balanced the stairs on a towel covered railing while Kermit used a side vent to climb on the boat. Together we laid the metal stairs on the front of the boat, enhancing that trawler look.

Kermit scampered down the side of the boat to the dock and we took off the lines. There was little wind so the boat didn’t move much. I stowed lines while Kermit climbed back on the boat to the helm and we started backing out. I ran from corner to corner with advice on distance while Kermit made that backward turn then we drove straight of the beautiful Quarterdeck Marina to begin our adventure! 

Don Gulseth will be proud because we turned right then right again to head in the correct direction! We took a big of teasing about that over docktails!

Coast Guard station at mouth of Lake Michigan

We threaded our way through a gazillion little fishing boats on the channel, passed the Coast Guard Station and the lighthouse. The fog cleared as we made the right turn into Lake Michigan to begin our journey south.

Lake Michigan was just lovely, pretty flat and sunny. Kermit set the auto pilot then we resumed our regular normal programming. We could hardly feel the boat moving. If the engines didn’t make noise it would be like being in a house that moved. I cooked breakfast and lunch. I used the power cords for my computer. I talked to clients and did regular work. It was AWESOME!!

It felt amazing to be back on the water. Occasionally the one not running the boat would wander up to the bow to experience that wind-in-the-face feeling that comes with boating. This is why we boat, right?

Our original target was Manitowoc to meet up with Don and Anita Gulseth. Manitowoc is about 60 miles south of Sturgeon Bay. When we got to Manitowoc we decided to keep going, remembering Don and Anita’s advice to never turn down a good day on the lake because bad days are really bad. So we kept going.

Who can identify this marker? We couldn't!

At one point Kermit took a 90 minute nap. I put on my iPod and danced away the time at the helm, adjusting the auto pilot occasionally and marveling at being back on the water. We heard the radio transmission from the Badger car ferry talking to Manitowoc about arriving 45 minutes later. The transmission was clear as a bell, as if the ship was nearby. I did look around because the last thing you want is to have a big ship like the Badger sneak up on you! No sign of her anywhere.

We traveled at about 1900 rpm which translated into about 15 mph. This is the boat’s optimal speed. We won’t travel at that speed all the time but for our first outing the mechanics recommended we travel at this speed to break in the engines.

Entrance marker / lighthouse
at Port Washington WI

Around 3pm we pulled into Port Washington Municipal Marina. We are still not sure how much fuel we burn so we decided to stop at the fuel dock before finding our slip.

My sister Martha says it is so much more interesting to hear about the adventures (problems) than the boring stuff like what we had for dinner so stay tuned. Adventure is about to ensue.

I couldn't resist!

There was another boat, a 40-something foot fancy boat, tied up to the dock. The owners were very nice and caught our lines while the dock hand was fueling their boat. This is the adventure part. The floating dock was low and short and this beast is high and long. We tied up with three lines – bow and the two mid cleats – but the boat kept swinging around. Every few minutes I pushed the boat off from hitting the roof of the gas hut! I was looking down on that room, pushing off from about waist height! Yikes!

We traveled around a corner
behind the gas dock to a channel

Finally Kermit said we would fuel up in the morning. Could we get our dock assignment? We untied and followed the instructions. Go around the gas dock, you will see a channel. Follow that channel around to take a right, following the wall all the way around to a wall on the opposite side of this very large marina. We could literally see over almost everything!

The dock hands scooted around and met us at the wall where we tied off, following the exact same process in reverse that we followed to leave. Kermit docked smoothly, like he had been doing it forever! In a final diesel cloud, we turned off the engines. Finally quiet. The big boat from the gas dock finally tied up on the wall around the corner. The delay was due to mechanical problems. This was a new-to-them boat too and they couldn’t turn it back on! How embarrassing! At least we didn’t have that problem. We were about to have other problems but we didn’t know that yet!

Port Washington is a cute town filled with buildings constructed in the 1850s and remodeled in the 2000s to new uses. There is nice development going on at the waterfront. We walked all over trying to find the ice cream shop (we missed a turn) then had dinner at a cute waterfront restaurant filled with locals watching the Brewers game.

Next morning we left the dock at dawn to try the gas dock again. Off the dock without incident and over to the gas dock where we tied up all by ourselves without dock hands!! Aren’t you proud of us?

The boat took on 115 gallons in one tank and 90 gallons in the other tank before sputtering indicated we were full. We traveled 105 miles on 205 gallons of fuel in about 8 hours. Kermit figures that is a little better than ½ mile per gallon. Not bad.

The dock master untied our lines and bid up farewell at around 7:30am. We wove our way through another gazillion fishing boats to the lake where we turned south. Our target today was Chicago.

The water was unbelievable, completely flat with nary a ripple as far as the eye could see. I could image our wake traveling all the way to Michigan! 

This fisherman has an interesting set up dragging
behind his boat

Pulling into McKinley Marina in Milwaukee

About 9am, about 20 miles south of Port Washington, Kermit started hearing some funny banging in one of the engines. He shut it down to check out the problem, as if we could figure it out. There was a little oil on the floor of the starboard engine room. He wiped it up then tried to get under way again but the starboard engine wouldn’t start again. At all. We were in trouble! We thought about the many things it might or might not be. We weren’t out of fuel. The oil seemed fine in the morning.

Kermit got Steve, the diesel mechanic, on the phone. He recommended Interstate Diesel in Milwaukee. Thank goodness the water was perfect. We limped into Milwaukee McKinley Municipal Marina on the port engine.

Such a gorgeous view!

The view from our boat

Kermit floated into a t-head dock on the far side of this huge marina as if he had done this a million times, even though he only had one engine!! We tied up and waited for the mechanic. Kermit plugged in every fan we have to cool down the engine room because those old diesels get really hot.

Paul from Interstate arrived around 2pm to check things out. He banged and poked. Finally he stuck his head out and gave the dreaded news.

TECH UPDATE: The starboard injector mysteriously came lose (not sure why). A rod caught it and pushed the injector up which broke the fuel lines which then dumped diesel into the crank case. The engine was not getting any fuel. The oil on the floor because the diesel fuel was dumping into the crank case so instead of having 6 gallons of oil in the crankcase we probably have 10 gallons of combo oil and fuel.

So we have to replace the 2 fuel lines that go into that injector, the injector itself and 1 rod. Kermit has to change the oil. Paul has to check the engine to figure out why it happened in the first place.

We are stuck in Milwaukee for a while. So much for visiting Chicago. Not going to happen this weekend.

Paul ordered the parts on Friday. This morning (Monday 9/17) Paul just called. The parts will arrive today. He will install them on Tuesday. We could potentially be back on the road by Wednesday. The new plan is to go directly to Port Hammond and skip Chicago completely. DARN!!

Friday afternoon after Paul left we walked over to the marina office. This is not a small task. We are at least 2/3 miles from the marina office because the marina is so large. Like most boaters, while walking in a marina we point out interesting boats. We always look for Cruisers because they are our favorites, having owned 2 of them before. We saw 2 or 3 Cruiser 4450 aft cabins just like old Good Karma and a few Cruiser 3650s like the boat we took on the Great Loop.

About halfway around the basin we saw a Cruiser 3650 with our old turquoise canvas. And look, it even has one of Kermit’s All American Power Cord Covers in turquoise! Wait! That is our old boat!! It really is! Kermit remembered that the fellow who purchased the boat took it to Wisconsin. We hovered a bit but never saw the folks who own in now. Just as well. It still feels warm to know it is here. I guess you never lose that feeling with an old boat that contains so many memories.

Next: Weekend in Chicago but not with the boat.

Can we drive this thing? Baby’s first drive

Lower helm

Getting a new-to-you boat is always an adventure. We were so used to the old Good Karma. This boat is completely different. Not only is it bigger at 53’, it is a completely different style. It is heavier for one thing, and laid out totally differently.  It is like a little house. In fact, it is not that much smaller than our current house.

There are two stations to drive the boat, one in the salon and one up a ladder on the fly bridge. You start the engine in the salon at the lower station then if you want to drive upstairs, you just go upstairs and start driving. Nothing special has to happen to make that happen. That is nice.  

3rd door to salon with stairs to upper helm

The salon has three doors. One door on each side of the helm opens on to the walkways around the boat (called gunnels). We have heard that these are called Portuguese doors. 

The back door from sunroom -
both doors are open

The door at the back of the salon leads to the sun room. The sun room has three access doors. The one at the back has a ladder that leads to the swim platform. It is in a Dutch-style with two parts. The lower part stays closed for the most part and the upper part is a window that swings open handle lines. There are doors on either side of the sun room that lead to the walkways along the sides.

Notice the wide walkways? 

This boat has wide gunnels, the walkways that lead from the back to the front on the boat. These gunnels are probably 18 inches wide. I do not have to turn sideways to walk along the gunnel like I did on Good Karma. The railings along each side are at least 3’ high so there is always something to hang on to with a strong feeling of protection. On each side of the gunnel at the site of the salon side doors is an opening in the railing. A folding stairway can be attached to pins located below the deck level. This is how you get on the boat!

I tell you this to lay the groundwork for what we do to drive this tank.

First we start the engines and generator at the lower station. Keep those doors and windows shut because this is a diesel and we know what that means – smoke billows out when the engines start. It is not a big deal but it is stinky.

Then we unplug the electric and water and pull those hoses on to the boat. Then we pull up the stairs. This is an adventure in itself.

The stairs are pretty heavy aluminum with wheels on one end and a latching mechanism on the other end. It has a handle that fits into two holes, one on the top and one on the bottom of the steps. Ideally the railing handle pulls out and is stowed then the stairs are hoisted on to the gunnel to be stowed. Both are supposed to be stowed on the side next to the wall of the boat. Unfortunately someone really jammed one side of the railing into the hole. It won’t budge. That means we lift the entire stairway with handle attached onto the boat – an awkward exercise!! At some point Kermit will loosen that handle to lighten our load but until then if that is the worst thing that happens then fine.

When the engines are warmed up, we pull up lines and we are off! We had our first practice on Tuesday. We did all that then very, very carefully inched our way out of the marina. It was exhilarating! We went out of the marina, turned east and went all the way down the canal to Lake Michigan. It was not a nice day so we did not edge out into the lake. Instead we turned around and headed back.

On the way back we got a pump out. Not sure when that had been done but we are all clean now. Kermit docked her just fine.

On Wednesday we tried again. Again an uneventful excursion. This time we topped off the fuel.  The two tanks took on an additional 70 gallons of diesel fuel before spurting through the five vents at the dock line. Note to self: Must have absorbent pads at the vent lines when we fuel up. Two tanks are full so now we hold 700 gallons of fuel. We are not sure how to check the fuel levels or how quickly this thing burns fuel. We will learn that on the road.

We plan to leave on Thursday Sept 13, 2018 because the weather is beautiful. More later.

Turning a boat into a home

We left Akron with a truckload of stuff: bikes, at least 15 bins, boxes filled with boat stuff, and 2 cases of wine. 

The stuff had been staged in our Akron house but it still took a few hours to load that U-Haul! 

We overnighted in Waukegan IL then arrived in Sturgeon Bay around 10:30am Central time. .

I have to admit it was a little weird to climb onto this boat we’d only seen a few times and imagine this could be our home. 

The previous owner, Steve, decorated it beautifully then left everything to us. 

All the furniture, bedspreads and sheets, the lamps and furnishings. It was quite a generous gesture. I wouldn’t change a thing. 

 

However, when we loaded all our crap on it one bin at a time, this beautiful boat became a disaster, at least momentarily.

My sister Martha said we should unload the entire truck then take a picture of all the carts lined up on the dock. It would have been a great photo op but unfortunately we didn’t have the stamina for that and the marina doesn’t have that many dock carts!

From Friday mid-day to Tuesday mid-day we unloaded at least 4 carts or more per day. It seemed to never stop. Finally on Tuesday we just bit the bullet and finished. We had a logic to our process (of course we did!).

We piled the clothes bags in the guest bedroom, positioning them for the day when we could put the clothes away. That didn’t happen until Sunday when I got tired of wearing the same clothes because I couldn’t find anything in that big mess! Frustration is a wonderful motivator!

Then I put the sheets in the washer so I could make our bed. I figured correctly that we would be exhausted.

While I did that, Kermit met with the diesel guy, Steve, to do one more run through on the engines and generator. Everything is in tip top shape! He watched while we started the engines and the generator just to be sure we could do it ourselves when the time came.

Then we started on the kitchen, finding homes in little cubbies for all the non-perishables, dishes and equipment we brought with us and making a list of all the things we needed to buy.

On Saturday we made a huge purchase at the local grocery story of fresh and frozen foods as well as liquor. Crown Royal sells for $40 for the big bottle, quite a savings over the price at home, so Kermit bought a bunch. All that had to be put away.

This boat has a gazillion cubbies all over the place so everything has a home. The only thing on the countertop is the knife block, the cutting board and bins for potatoes and onions. These things can be tucked away so they won’t move around.

In the past I used my trusty label maker to note what was in cubbies, drawers and cabinets. The wood interior on this boat doesn’t lend itself to labels. I tried. The label left a mark. So we have to remember where everything is! All day long we say to each other, “Where is the toothpaste?” or “Where is the bread?” and rely on each other to remember. This might get complicated or at least tiring as time goes on.

Bathrooms were next. It was important to find a permanent place for medicine, toothbrushes and deodorant. The first few days were heck without that! We divided up the stuff and stocked up the guest and master bath with our supplies and towels. The forward head is now the preferred spot for daytime potty breaks. Someday we will personalize the bathrooms but for now they are utilitarian.

On Sunday we put the clothes away. The master cabin has 10 big drawers plus a nice sized closet. Kermit took an entire drawer for his hairdryer and nose clippers!! This is more space than we have at home! We keep finding bins brought from home that hold the stuff that makes the place look messy like power cords. The Good Luck Chicken from the first Good Karma makes its home in one of these baskets on the helm, watching the driver carefully.

On Wednesday I set up my office in the master cabin and set up the printer. I put my files in a bin on the closet floor. Every time I turned around I found another place to stow stuff. I put out decorative items with museum putty on the bottom so they won’t fall over. This makes it feel a bit more like home.

Kermit staged all his crap stuff in the sunroom. Imagine piles of cleaning equipment, dinghy supplies, life jackets and other boat detritus piled everywhere. We could hardly move. Kermit went through all that crap stuff, keeping what he wanted and creating a big pile of stuff for anyone to take that he put on a bench on the dock. For two days folks scavenged through that box until it was all gone!!

That was the last room to clean. We really need one of those resin boxes like we had on the 1^st Good Karma but until then Kermit stowed the stuff somewhere, don’t ask me where! The sun room is now cleaned up.

We had some boat maintenance to perform before leaving

One of the big antennas had a strange let down clamp that put the antenna down perpendicular to the boat. That meant the antenna would stick straight out away from the boat to the side. That wouldn’t do. So a nice fellow from the service department came out to climb over the side of the boat and undo the clamp so we could lay the antenna on the side of the boat for the trip down the rivers.

We had to figure out how to operate the water system. This boat has a really odd looking connection, one on each side of the boat. We knew that had to be the water system but we needed a special connection to make it work. We opened every drawer until we found a funny looking thingy. That one did the trick!! We shoved that thingy onto the water connection and finally we had water!

On Wednesday, a gang of guys from the service department came over to unhinge the radar arch. This boat is about 22’ tall. We need to slip under a 19’ bridge outside of Chicago. The math does not work. One of the many reasons why this boat is perfect is that the radar arch is hinged. Imagine being able to lay the radar arch on the back of the boat! That is what these fellows did. They took out the screw, loosened the electronics wires that are slung through the radar arch connecting the radar at the top of the arch to the radar display down below. Then they laid the radar arch down with the tall light laying on the bench in the back. They propped the arch on two sticks of wood to protect the light while we are driving.

We measured last night and the boat is now about 19’. We figure we can remove the sticks of wood to get a few more inches. Then we go slow and pray! We will report back on that when we go under the bridge in a few weeks.

Kermit removed the name, Knot a Fanta Sea, from the back of the boat using a heat gun. We installed the name boards that Jessica Bates made for us on each side of the boat but covered them with paper until we do the official naming ceremony when we get to Chicago.

Throughout all this unloading and putting away, we had a wonderful time chatting with Anita and Don Gulseth and their friends. We did the loop with Anita and Don in 2012/2013 until Anita got hurt and had to take a rehab sabbatical. It was great to see them again!!

We also took time to enjoy this beautiful marina, Quarterdeck Marina. There are trees (now changing color BTW), beautiful plantings and a covered patio with a wood burning fireplace and four fancy Weber gas grills. We grilled out twice, both times enjoying a fire to relax after a long day of packing. 

After six days on the boat, we have fallen in love. Everything is wonderful. The bed is great. The bathrooms are functional. The kitchen is a dream. The steps give us exercise. The fly bridge is a wonderful place for docktails. The living room is comfortable. And best of all it is fun to drive. More on that in the next post!