Projects

One thing about a boat is that you never run out of projects. The past week has been about knocking off a few of those items on our list. 

First up was tackling the rough running outboard motor on the dinghy. I dropped the dink into the water and began my untrained diagnosis. It wasn't long before I started getting helpful suggestions from the passersby. At any rate after about an hour of unsuccessfully trying to remedy the problem I decided to take it off and into a nearby Yamaha dealer. Only one problem stood in my way. Some years back I had locked the motor so that it would be hard for someone to steal while unattended. I haven't had that lock off in at least 4 years. Needless to say it was rusted pretty good. My first victory came when I actually found the key to the lock. A little WD40 and presto......the key went into the lock. Of course it wouldn't turn to unlock it. A bit more WD40 and I thought it wiggled just a little. More WD40 and a little soaking time. Now for good measure I brought out the hammer to tap it, thinking that some slight jarring of the lock would loosen up the rust. 

The result was better than I anticipated. One clunk with the hammer and the whole lock fell apart and into the bottom of the dinghy! Problem solved!

Picture of what the outboard lock should look like before time and rust set in.

Something's missing. But notice how clean the dink looks. Another project checked off the list!

With the help of Donnie from Kasey's Choice we were able to get the 25hp motor off without dropping it into the water and delivered to the shop. The verdict was water in the fuel and a dirty carburetor. Of course we didn't stop there. I also had them change the impeller and gearcase oil while they had it. Three days later it's back on the dinghy waiting to be tested once I get new fuel.

Skilled laborer's re-installing the outboard.

Another checked item was the replacing of one of the bilge blowers in the engine room which required a trip to West Marine. While there I also picked up enough shock cord to replace the stretched out cord on our cockpit seat. Check!

Unattached blower wires.

New blower in place.

Wednesday the 13th was son Ryan's birthday.

Happy Birthday Bink!

Next up of course was Valentine's Day. I couldn't control the weather which brought us rain for the first time in many days.

I did score points however for the roses!

Friday night we strolled downtown for dinner and Music Walk. Dinner came from a window in the side of a building that serves some pretty good Mexican food which we ate while listening to a Rockabilly band. After dinner we continued down the street to the Art Center where the group Juice was playing on the front steps. We've been wanting to see this group for a few years since the dockmaster's (Eric) wife is the lead singer for them. They play a lot of blues covers along with some original music. Let's just say they kick butt! All of the musicians were very talented and Lynn was exceptional with a raspy voice somewhere between Bonnie Rait and Janis Joplin. There are a lot of singers out there. This girl feels it from head to toe.

The Juice rockin' the night.

We finished the night off with a stop at the Cigar Bar before wandering back to Tourist.