PARTY AT CHASE PARK

Adorable friends of Darl...

just an other cutie

little movie

And here she comes....

THE BIG TALK

Yeah, everything is clearer and nothing is set in stone. Darl"s new dog is a cutie and it is so strange that she is just like Sammie in many ways....

Chase Park lunch was very comfy and the harbor cruise was just dandie ... comments were made about it ... stupid ones. Comparing it to going across the Pacific... apples and oranges.

great hike

No glasspar, no seadoo, no diving... but this horrific hike 750 feet from sea level and boy what a view. Also lots of swimming... just great, outdoor swimming pool galore.

first day of May

How is it, that every time we are at Emerald Bay it is so special and very unique? This is for sure before the Bay gets very exciting and very busy. Only a few boats and the weather.... well it was blowing very hard all night and made it very hard to sleep. All and all it was awesome.
Also before leaving, had Kirsty and his folks stop by for a drink. Parked next to this very interesting vessel... their website is: www.mikehorn.com. These guys go all over... just heading up north in about a month. Talked to Kirsten from France who is keeping an eye on her until the rest of the crew gets there. Notice how small we seem next to her?

Wally Boats

Great design all around Wally Power is out sister in real life.

USS Independence (Littoral Combat Ship) LCS-2

Keep pushing that envelope... great work, great design... just like the Huckins...

Paradise Cove

Weather was well, not bad considering that there was a huge earthquake in Japan. 7th largest since recording began. Swells yes but other than that very peaceful. First time pulling the Seadoo and yes keeping speed under 15 m/h. Kind of strange but when I go out to the bow really get to see how we move. Coming back the wind and the swells were helping us. Nobody except for a few hard-core boaters were out. Surprising because IMHO it was a perfect day for sailing... Paradise Cove is truly extraordinary ... great spot. So many out in their paddle board...















Came home and the complete opposite was waiting for us... Paul's brother had a Heart Attack and he was hospitalized. He is OK but the mood went from very content to just scared.

B-day cruise

Unbelievable conditions great sun... little cold at night but just perfect... dolphins following us all over...

ONE MORE FOR THE PARADE

HAVE NO IDEA WHO WON but boy these peeps spent some serious money....

PARADE

One Year we have to go all out like these guys did....

Still being the "catcher" of them all

Just look at the very end between the CIA buildings.... if you look close you might even be able to see all the dirt and oil we catch with Bagarre. And not mentioning all the stupid boats and their captains who do not consider the wind (which blows towards the dock, very easy when it comes to tie ups but not as pleasant when we try pulling out, usually in the afternoons) and current. Thank God she is built like a brick s..t house... Thank you Huckins!

remembering the sailing days

I do not remember such a cold summer... on the fourth the sun came out only one day the rest was rather cloudy. So last time out my fresh water pump decided to take a dump on us while boating around Catalina Island... here is the impeller from the starboard pump...









We ended up coming back a day early with one engine, cruising about 7 - 7.5 knots. It was very calm so we had an interesting time. We were remembering our sailing days when that would be our speed across the Pacific. It was rather nice and I also had to think about how nice it would have been to have an "emergency sail" set up. I always wanted to make a rig for the crane we have because a rightly designed sail could be used for situations like this. I estimate that it would add about 1/2 knot to the cruising speed. It is rather just a feeling and not a mathematical statement.
Fun all around

Memorial

Dealt with the oil leak from the starter and had a great weekend on the island. We moored for the weekend because where I like to anchor wasn't available. Having a "wet" starter is not an easy thing to deal with most shops do not know how to address the seals and all the facts about oil. They will take care of the electrical part of things... I never had a starter failing on me.... it always was the leakage.

Starter on an Allison tranny

So dealt with the oil leak on the starter for now... but the real test will be if we make it to the island without loosing oil. So much shit is happening and I am just keeping it together as best as I can. Pictures will follow.... looking forward to this... will be a nice weekend. Can not wait to go diving... oh and I almost forgot the new batteries are a GEM. TESTS... TESTS AND MORE TESTS... but hey that is what you do when you install new things... right?

FRAME

Have to make a frame and the cold weather did not help... many many layers of wood and cut outs so the swim step will be what it needs to be... than all the shims to get the right angle...

TEAK... TEAK... TEAK

I got this quite some time ago and just getting to it... it'd help if temps. were a little higher... the step will make a huge difference for getting in and out of the water and the dinghy...

no real achorage

Since there is no real anchorage right around here we ended up picking up a mooring and stayed for the whole time before coming back. It was rather special and beautiful and peaceful. Very cold and even rained one day but just a little... the only bad thing is that I dropped my G10 in the ocean... can you imagine? I am just trying to put it away so it is safe and sound and slips out of my hands bounces right off the dock into the water. Had to get all suited up and recover it. Soaked it in fresh water but it did not help.

Avalon

I still feel that Avalon is the best in the winter, spring, and fall... Hardly ever go to the "city" in the summer. Not for any other reason as to that I do not like it while being so jammed with people from all over. Plus the dogs can really enjoy it more in the off season and not at all in the season because it is not as dog friendly as you would think. Still Avalon is very special and we love it.

First trip since the shaft replace and new props

Well it was the first real trip... yeah I had taken it out for little trips but not for channel crossing which is what I need to do in order to know that everything is nice and dandy...
first stop Emerald and than onto Avalon...

finally here it is

Of course Darl wanted to decorate...

The funny thing is that I was thinking about the same thing...

And of course the dinner after the Harbor Cruise.

sickness... sickness... sickness

Everyone is doing their share of fighting the flu bug... mostly with chicken soups and the likes... no sirrie Bob no pharmacutical winnings around here...

Insurance

Here we go... don't really know how this works? You pay and you pay and you pay... they make millions, billions over and over and over, than if things go bad because of mismanagement Uncle Sam is there to bail you out... I want that security... wouldn't you? Let's just see how Hackworth deals with this.

slowly

Every day something gets done and every day I have to remind myself that when things do not come apart I just have to walk away and come back to it but do not get mad. I have to talk to Bob with Underwater Pros. he is getting ripped off by the company who sells him the cutlass bearings.

still more yardwork

Well both of the props had to be replaced. They were not able to fix them and replacement had to be done in order to get everything just lined up and balanced perfectly. Boy, the new shaft went in just like butter... it will make a huge difference when the boat is in the water and running at higher speeds. Wilmington Iron Works has been doing this since 1920 so they should be doing something right. I really did not want to put my perfectly balanced shafts on a tweaked shaft. I tried very hard to save money by spending 6 hours labor to take one nut off the port shaft. Had I known that it can not be straightened I would have just cut the shaft, like I had to on the other side because of galling. Also the other side (starboard) is the side where the damage was visible.

shaft

Well we have to go to the boatyard because the rudder has to come off. In order to remove the shaft we have to take the boat out of the water. We tried and tried but will not happen without the rudder removal... too bad. I wanted to do in the water... anyway this will work out as well... Hoping that I will not need a new shaft and the good old Monel will be able to bend back....
The haul out went as usual, thank God Victor, Roberto ans Juanito... they know this boat like the palms of their hands.

Wilmington Prop

OK, so I took off both the props for the first time(!). Mike from Underwater Pros got so busy that he could not help me so I just borrowed the prop puller and went at it... Couldn't really tell right away, only later the day, that the starboard prop was indeed bent. No wonder the woodruff key broke in half. After taking the prop to Wilmington, Sal (one of the owners) told me that he is not sure that he can save the prop it is so deformed. We really hit something very hard... do not know what but there it is. It sure sounded like hell when it happened. The shaft has to be bent... tomorrow I am going under again and going to check it out... Hope that we can pull the shaft without going to the yard. Also Darlene's very big client is in town and we were suppose to take them for a ride but without props that is not going to happen... plus if we have to straighten the shaft... that'll take some time. Anyway there you go...the journey continues. So the prop is cracked so it can not be saved... both shafts are bent one is visible the other you have to see it with the dial indicator... we did not know this at first... stupidly I assumed that we only have to deal with one side... anyway replacing the monel shafts just in material ... let's not even talk about the price, plus finding the person who can work with it. Thank God for having spare props... if I didn't than ... don't even ask me... becoming a very pricey repair.

AFTER LABOR

So we still do not know what is wrong but we hit something for sure because we are taking on water... little but nevertheless water... Mike is coming over and taking off the prop... I am getting all suited up and want to check things out... Everyone I talk to says that we are lucky that it only happened right now... Santa Monica Bay being the worst and things floating all over... Barges loose things all the time from their boats and this shit ends up right where we come back from the island.
I think that the shaft is bent and do not know how the prop looks just yet.