Not ready for Summer to go yet!

It always seems to me the best days of the Summer come at the end.  With the kids only getting 8 weeks in total it seems to take us at least 5 weeks just to get into a good groove.  I will miss the warm weather and the water this year more than ever. 

I am beginning to really notice how the kids are growing so much from 1 season to the next.  Although this is somewhat tragic I thank boating for my oppotunity to notice at all.  I have been guilty in the past of putting my focus on the business while all other things zoom by, but now thanks to our 340 I would not miss an opportunity to load all the kids up and their friends and take them out on the lake.  This is what non-boaters miss out on most.

Fireworks Raft Up 8/13

We have always been a little timid to raft up simply because we usually bring along a "herd" of children and friends, but for the Full Moon party we did and it was so nice.  Great food and new friends, topped off with excellent fireworks thanks to Lanier Islands.  This could really become a habit!

Full Moon Party 8/13-8/14

What a great time we had a chance to meet some new folks on our dock.  This is certainly the way to enjoy a cruiser the right way!  Thank you everyone for a great time!

Busted knuckles....but I got it!!

Ok,  I am well aware of the fact this pic is sideways.  But after huffing and fussing over this braid I seem to be a bit sideways myself!  We had some frayed sections of rope on our anchor chain and they were constantly getting hung up in the windlass.  So I wanted to change the rope and chain out. 

OF COURSE the kit has to come from West Marine with the wrong size chain on the right sized rope!!!  So off to YouTube I go to find a presentation about making this braided line.  This will be a skill I will never forget (Although I think I already forgot it from Boy Scouts once :)!

Friday Night April NO Fools!

Another nice calm night out.  If I felt comfortable and had good charts and gps I think nights would be my favorite.  The water is so calm and no traffic to speak of.  It really turned out to be a calm night Friday.  We docked out by Sunset Cove and listened to the 80's music while we sat on the back lounge and talked.  The kids all mustered up down below with the generator on and watched a movie.  Nice and cool and quiet for the most part......this is what I enjoy about my cruiser!

Trying to make some raft up buddies!!

The not-so spectacular moon!

Well for all the hype the Moon being the closest in 20 years,  it did not seem any larger than a normal full or harvest moon here in the South.  The camera was not agreeing with me this night,  but I will look for any excuse to go boating!!

A wonderful day out with some Sun!

It was packed and I am glad we got to the Club early.  We backed right in and it was actually hot!  All the nice Cruisers and Yachts were out and everyone was on the dock enjoying some Spring like weather.  The bar was open so I could not resist grabbing my first Pina Colada of the year. 

We had a really nice time out people watching and spending time with the kids.  They in turn enjoyed their IPods and ignored us as much as possible.  The kids always get a kick out of the 50+ year olds blasting the Eminem from their boats anyway!

I always wonder when we tie up at Sunset why everyone feels they need to BLAST their radios as loud as they can and then walk off from their boat???  The last time we were here there was a pontoon directly across from us that was blasting us so bad even closing the cabin doors made no difference.  I must have missed the memo that the more loud, ear piercing ability of your radio is in direct relation to your manliness?...

I would rather buy a sports car and be able to hear......or a bigger boat! Haha

Finally a loaded dock at Sunset Cove........

Wahoooo.......it is really warm!

What a wonderful day Saturday was. Finally a day close to 70 degrees and a chance to cut the water back on and spray off the boat!  I know that seems weird to some but to me it is nice to get the grime off.  The few times we went out over the winter the dirt and grime would hit you in the face up on plane when you got going.  My daughter helped me scrub everything down for a quick wash and then we had to seize the day and get out on that smooth lake!

A Saturday night............

This entry is a bit out of order as the pictures lagged when downloading,  but the image says it all.  After some washing down and some time out on the lake the sun starts to set and at THAT MOMENT.........there lies my favorite time in my boat.  Now dont get me wrong,  I love to see my kids splash around and have fun.  Or sit back and try to talk to my wife while she has her face buried in the People magazine, to no avail.

Simply the calm, cool, smoothness of the evening on the lake is the best by far.  I can set out the grill and sit back with a cool one,  all the kids are down in the cabin banging around some teen movie I could care less about, and I can breathe it all in.  To me this will be the selling point of boating when I get older if I am so lucky to be able to afford it. 

We are very lucky and I am a thankful man.

As my hands curl up into painful fists................

Finally, finally, finally I have got the balance of the canvas up.  I stretched and pulled and crimped snaps until my hands literally stopped cooperating!  The guys who do this stuff for a living MUST have a better way than dumb ole me or they have forearms like Popeye.  I do still have some middle snaps to install across the windshield and side curtains but the temp dropped and was not getting any stretch out of the material anymore.  But thank God it is up!  I worked from the edges and corners to pull the canvas nice and tight, then installed snaps at these points and filled in between these "tension points".  This system seemed to work really well and I did leave some off because I think with some warm weather and sunshine I can get the eisenglass just right....nice and smooth.

BUT,  as any good boat owner will tell you once we seem to ascend to the top of one mountain just over the horizon there is another peak to climb.  My new one is my generator is not cooperating.  She runs and purrs like a kitten but I am not getting power at the panel.  I have looked to see if I have a breaker tripped but did not see one so I am off to the internet for answers and ideas! Anyone? Anyone?

Well,  at least I do not have to have as good of hand control or feeling in my fingers to solve this problem! :)

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The Spring itch is almost too much for me to handle, so I decided I would start prepping for the season and do a walk through of all the systems on the boat today.  It was a pretty nice day and only a little cool which was fine because I was in the cabin mostly.  I did some cabinet door adjusting,  had some burnt out bulbs, and needed to change the DampRid in the closets and in the galley.  I love that stuff becuase even though our boat is a 2002 she still smells new and nice and dry.  When we were looking at boats we looked at a few that smelled like an old shower in the cabin,  which is very unpleasant in my opinion.

I didnt take her out though.  I decided I would go wander around in West Marine and just see if I could find some stuff I could not live without.  I am always amazed at how expensive things are for the boat.  These tiny little 10 watt light bulbs for the reading lights in the cabin were $7 each!  They got us though.

I suspect I will venture back out to the boat tomorrow.  Come on SPRING!

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Patiently Waiting.......

I pulled the trigger and ordered the balance of my canvas. The full front valance and the 2 side curtains to complete our canvas in the dark captains blue. I had the front valance already but in black new and I could not make it work out with the wife. She kept saying we would look like we had the "Beverly Hillbillies" boat if I used it!

I loved the Beverly Hillbillies.......:)

I could not resist getting a mat for the swim platform with "Knot too Shabby" embroidered on it too. I am constantly cleaning off the swim platform of all the dirt just from embarking and unhooking shore power etc. The wife would not let me put "NO SHOES" on it, but I tried!

Ugh, I wish Spring would get here.......I am getting tired of thie cold rain and temps!!!

Catchin Up!

Well what a year to NOT put in the record books! Business has been very hard and all the medical issues with the Mrs. leaves me to proudly say "Goodbye 2010"!!

Late Summer and Fall and Winter flew by and I neglected my blog, but I did get in some good boat time. So far I am still short the 2 side curtains for a full dark blue canvas and a few snaps to boot. I must admit many of the guys on CSR mention the poor quality of the zippers and snaps that come from Great Lakes Boat Tops and it seems true. I need to just buckle down and make the trip and the time available to stay on the boat for a few days and wrap up the mattress upgrade and the canvas completion.

We did make a trip out for a very cool outing on the boat this past Saturday. It certainly was cold but so nice to be out with only the few fishermen around. I wanted to stop out and check everything over and get the engines and fluids up to temperature. It has always been my experience with old cars that when they sit they seem to have more problems. So hey, twist my arm and make me go boating right?!?