Chain...we have it!

200' of 3/8" G4 or G43 (not sure which) chain. It's heavy and West Marine said boats starting at 80' should be using this chain. I guess we want to feel safe, considering our boat is half that size.

Filled up our first diesel tank, in fact, over filled it. Had to take some out and burn some. Not sure how we know when these tanks are full.

The only thing left is a tooth, doctor and sell 2 cars.

Somehow we are still working on getting the boat ready.

Yes, it's hot! But it's getting cooler at night. That certainly helps with moral.

I patched some more holes in the dinghy. Maybe tomorrow it will float, the prop should be here tomorrow as well. We may actually go for a ride by tomorrow, maybe Thursday.

Marina is working on keeping us cool. Her latest job is extending the bimini so it covers us some more. The sun can be brutal and the shade certainly helps the situation.

Our planned departure is in about 2 weeks. I have to go to the dentist on Oct 7th for my implant, after that we are free to go. We should be ready by then.

Had an issue with the solar panels..seems the y connectors are junk and the connections came loose. Spent 2 days wondering why the solar controller was in Night mode. It had no juice from the panels. Got that fixed.

Had a plumbing issue. drains in the kitchen sink leaked. Had to rebuild that mess. It's better, still needs some work.

This helps with any uncertainty

Best 40 Cruising Sailboats

Guess who won. You have to flip through all 40 images to see. Nevertheless, it's worth the clicking.

The heat is gone and the rain set in and we look like Gypsies

We don't have the heat problem any more...now we have rain, and a lot of it.
It has been raining for about 24 hours and hopefully it will end soon.

The solar panels are up, and then the clouds came.


The condo is closed. woohoo!!!!!

2 Days as liveaboards.

It's not all its cracked up to be!

We spent the past 2 days unpacking and throwing stuff away. Not sure if the boat is actually going to move anymore, too much stuff. Marina managed to fit all our clothes into 2 small closets. She says I have more clothes than she does. I didn't count.

We have also been busy installing our second solar panel. We now have 450 Watts of solar and a wind turbine that works...when the wind blows. Where we are at, the wind rarely blows. So we chose to cover up.

Marina sewed a bimini for us, that helps a bunch and we put a big grey tarp over the rest of the boat. We now look like Gypsies. We thought we lost the bimini for a while, but she found it. Had a small melt down, but recovered rather quickly.

Showers are still the best part of the day. Hot and sweaty all day. That shower and a rum and coke is beyond wonderful. Actually the shower is better than the rum and coke. Imagine spending all day outside in 91 degree weather and 91% humidity. Now work!!!!! Work hard. Try to hide from the sun, good luck. It has a way of finding you. The windows open to let the breeze in, oh wait, no wind over here, instead the sun fills it's absence. Marina was lying on the floor with her legs on the mast trying to keep cool. There are 4 little fans that run constantly. All they do is push the hot air around.

We did rented a movie last night. That was nice. After a while you actually forget you are on a boat. The sweat behind your back and legs seems to feel quite nice when the fan blows on you. It's almost paradise.

we are sitting in Randalls using the wifi, but no power outlets. Time is limited, must type fast. Marina just bought ice cream and some food. How in the world do we plan to keep the ice cream frozen? I guess we have to eat it all....now!

I had iced coffee. Do you think we miss ice? We have bag of ice in the fridge, it melts and drains into the bildge. That's not bad, except in the middle of the night when the bildge pump kicks on and scares you to death thinking the boat is sinking, on top of that the window hatch slams shut for some reason. This is startling as well in the middle of the night. Speaking of sinking, I am on boat watch duty. The guy next too us has several problems he shared with me. He has a diesel leak into the bildge, the Shaft seal leaks salt water into the bildge and ...on top of that the bildge pump does not work. :-) He want's me to watch the boat...uh sink. He has a bigger bildge pump that kicks on when there is a foot of water in the bildge. I check on it daily and kick it on to keep the water level low. He's a good guy.

well, must eat the ice cream before marina finished it all.

Well...we have more time.

As it turns out, the condo is not going to close tomorrow like it was supposed to. Actually it was supposed to close 13 days ago, but that didn't happen either. So, we have until probably at least Monday to either be here or head to Clear Lake Shores. That is nice because it gives us more time to sort through our stuff and do other stuff that needs to be done. Like I have a fridge in Georgetown that is not working, just received that call a little bit ago.

Also managed to put the lower end of the outboard together today. I was waiting on the impeller and it showed up in the mail today. So that is done. Now I just need a propeller, gasket for the carb and a fuel quick disconnect, then she should be running like a champ. Hold your breath.

Thats all for now. I must finish my taxes as much as possible today

It's Wednesday and we sure have a lot of stuff. 2 Days left

We are out of the condo on Friday at 3pm. Wow...we really need to get rid of some more stuff.
Our friend Steve, whom we met through Ken and Tina, gave us a wealth of good supplies last night. THANK YOU!!!!!....

I handed over the reins to my dad for property management. I am sure he can do it, it's just hard letting go of the empire. There will be trying times, but we will make it through.

Marina is out with the girls tonight, our friends Joe and Gillian just returned from Belize so they have stories to share.

I worked on that damn Pfaff 130 again. I think it's in better shape this time. It needed some WD40. Now it shakes the whole condo complex when it runs.

Tomorrow we pack more and close on our remodel that both Marina and my dad helped with. It turned out great and sold fast. Just like it was supposed to. When I come back, I might flip houses some more. It's fun!!!

Well must pack some and look busy when Marina gets home.

5 days and counting

Well, it is getting closer.
We spent the weekend at the boat doing some more odd jobs that we think need to be completed before we move aboard on Saturday. What odd jobs you might ask...
1) fix leaky fuel injectors
2) Change Oil in the Iron Giant
3) Varnish the floors
4) Find the hole in the dinghy
5) hook up the radar
6) alphabetize the boat documents ( this was no small challenge)
7) Dodger has the bars put up, but no canvas yet
8) measure for the bimini, Marina is sewing it, I am not sure she is having fun
9) order pieces to put up the 2nd solar panel
10) put the leg on the table...now it stands on it's own.

Don't worry we have many more tasks that are still to be done.

The good news is we have a contract on both properties, and they both close this week. At least they are supposed to close this week, time will tell.

Friday night we are spending at Juan's and then driving to Houston to visit Anna and Taya to drop off more stuff.

I am working on the outboard today, should have it running today. I hope. Have new carburator and fuel pump. Oh...just realized..no prop. Guess that will have to wait.

More packing this week and going to a guy's house we met with ken and tina to look through his attic for more stuff we may or may not need.

House warming party at Lena and Rons House

Once again, the food was wonderful and the company was delicious