When we last posted, we were back on the boat and putting things away. After we finished putting things away, we went up the Tenn-Tom and anchored for a couple of nights to see what still worked and what didn't! All in all, it went pretty well ..... The generator was slow to start (loose and/or corroded cables and connections) , the anchor windlass was sluggish (again, I think that's also loose and/or corroded cables and connections), a couple of cabin fans need to be replaced (bearings going bad), the cooling fan on the inverter is beginning to make a lot of noise (like the cabin fans it's bearing are going bad) and the steering pedestal was making all kinds of noises when you turned the wheel. Apparently, bearings don't do too well when left unused for three or four years.
We then packed the truck to go to Texas for two or three weeks, but first we ordered a new ham/ssb radio and tuner from Dockside Radio, as well as a fan for the inverter, so they would be waiting for us when we returned. We also had Dale (a friend in the marina) install a front access to our refrigerator.
After three great weeks in Texas, visiting with friends and checking on our condo, we headed back to the boat. We made it back in one long tiring day! Dale did a great job on the refrigerator access, and the radio and inverter cooling fan were waiting for us at the marina office. We purchased a steering pedestal rebuild kit from West Marine in Corpus Christi.
Back to work on the boat, and it didn't take long to find more problems ....... The aft holding tank had developed a crack, so Bill began removing it, only to find all the hoses completely filled with calcium deposits. In removing the hoses, he managed to cut his thumb pretty badly with a box knife , resulting in a visit to the local ER and 10 stitches ....... he was lucky to some degree, because he did not cut it on a joint and did not cut any ligaments or nerves. Anyway, that's healing nicely and the stitches come out today.
Dale, the same friend who installed our refrigerator access, had a holding tank that would fit in our boat, so we bought it. However, the inlets were in the wrong place, so we still had to get an inlet relocation kit ........ we now have all the parts to install the new holding tank.
We needed one more road trip to take our stuff for storage in Atlanta, GA, at Pat's step-son's, but before we left, we find one more problem ......... our Force10 water heater is leaking. We will try to find one at West Marine in Atlanta while we are there.
We left Demopolis AL with a pickup truck loaded with stuff for storage, then went to Eufaula, AL (where we have been living with Bill's mother for the last three and one half years) to pick up more stuff. We rented a U-Haul trailer, loaded it up and headed for Atlanta (after a trip to the Dentist for regular checkups and cleanings).
We are now in Atlanta and things have been going pretty well. Curtis and Bill have built a storage closet in Curtis's basement and have all our stuff stored. Today we will visit with a cousin of Bill's on the other side of Atlanta and go by West Marine to shop before heading back to the boat tomorrow.
We plan to make a detour through Phoenix City, AL on the way back to Demopolis to visit with a friend who adopted Bill's mother's kitten after Bill's mother passed away. Should be fun to see if Sarah, the cat, remembers us.
Once back to the boat, we plan to get all the work done that is possible before heading out to Pensacola about September 8th, because the Corps of Engineers is closing the Coffeeville lock for three weeks starting at sunrise on September 11th.
Mobetah in St. Pete Beach Florida just prior to leaving for the Northwestern Caribbean
