The job is more of a wrestling match than anything resembling technical work. And wrestle I did. However the most annoying part of the job was removing one of the stainless hose clamps that was stripped. In the end I won the battle and the new hose is in place.
Exterior of the hose with crack.
Interior of hose with more cracks waiting to cause trouble.
In other maintenance news I still haven't heard back from the local Sea Ray dealer about our portlight trim ring. I did however check with West Marine and they supposedly have ordered it for me but it will take 4 to 5 weeks for it to arrive. Time will tell if it's the correct piece.
Other than that we've been enjoying the warm weather while at Legacy but docktail time has gotten pretty quiet with most of the boaters having fled back north. Usually now it's just myself and die hard Donnie sipping on the rum.
Wednesday we decided to head out for a final fling on Tourist before we store her for the summer hurricane season. It was sad leaving knowing that we won't see Donnie, Marilyn, & Chloe till next season since they're headed home before we return. The U.S. government will only allow them to stay in the states for 6 months before they have to get out. I keep telling them they are crossing the wrong border!
Our destination for the next few days was Cayo Costa State Park anchorage. We had a nice ride for the 41 miles we covered from Legacy to the anchorage. The anchor was set and we settled in for our stay.
The next day the dinghy was launched and we headed over a little cove where we have seen manatee's on previous visits. We weren't disappointed. As we entered it looked like a bust until we were well into the cove. We shut down the motor and drifted and out they came. They seemed to be playing totaly unaware of our presence. As we floated one inquisitive cow popped up right behind the dinghy.
Once they tired of us we turned out of the cove and took a ride around the island. Our path took us past these two enforcers of the slow speed zone.
The rest of the day was spent on Tourist soaking up the scenery and watching the moon rise through the clouds.
Friday we headed over to the park to check out the beach on the gulf side.
Feeling energetic we decided to walk the beach to Boca Grande Pass. We succeeded but not without a few stops. One to explore Pam's fascination with driftwood.
Of course we had to retrace our steps to the tram stop only to find no tram! Drats! We had to walk the mile back across the island to the docks and the dinghy in the heat. Good for us, I know, but I'd rather ride!
Once back on the boat I put Pam to work cleaning and I took a nap! (Yeah. Right!)
Next planned stop is Punta Gorda.
Going down a different road, you remember last fall the news headlines describing the low water on our inland rivers? What a difference a few months makes as evidenced by the picture below of a lock & dam on the Illinois River that was struck by several barges when a tow broke apart because of high water.
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