I’d been promising the kids their first motorcycle rides, so when I was set to leave the next day, there was no more delaying. I remember my first ride as a seventh-grader on the back of a friend’s dad’s motorcycle. He went so far as to pull a wheelie going up the hill. I didn’t get nearly as crazy with my own kids. We just whipped up and down the dead-end street a couple times, but it was enough for them to experience the thrill of open air and two wheels.
A nice surprise in Atlanta. Weird place to park, but if my 356 was this nice I’d want to keep it inside, too.
Welcome to Florida. This is what just two months away looks like. I can’t imagine leaving for any longer.
I had one week out of the water to jam out as many projects as possible before getting the boat back in the water and having the family join me.
There were piles of boxes waiting for me. A new exhaust elbow looking all shiny and pretty.
Here’s something I didn’t talk about last season. Right before we left Florida I was scrambling to find a solution to our problem of having no wind and no depth instruments on the boat. Going back to our last boat, the Spindrift, we had the same problem. The boat was already in the water and we didn’t have instruments. My solution back then was to try out a brand-new companies wireless/solar displays. This made setup super easy, and allowed me to hook up the depth finder without a thru-hull by attaching a Taco Bell cup with silicon to the hull, filling it with a couple inches of water, and dropping the transducer into it. As long as there are no air pockets, the transducer can read the depth right through the hull of the boat.
Problems arose with that system’s wind instrument, though. Almost immediately, the display stopped working, and the only solution was to go back up the mast, remove the windex, and mail everything back to Tack-Tick for a replacement. It took a lot of time, and because they were hyperaware of the problem, I was a bit miffed that they hadn’t solved it.
Fast forward ten years. Respected brand Raymarine bought out Tack-Tick, and presumably upgraded and repaired problems that had cropped up int he preceding decade.
This time I put the transducer in a Ziploc bag full of water and set it up in the bilge. Bingo, we had depth. Note: none of the existing transducer thru-hulls were the same size as the new one, which is why this became an issue in the first place. The wind instruments worked, and we set off.
Immediately upon arriving in the Bahamas the wind instrument was dead. I opened up the one yellow page “manual” that looked suspiciously the same as it had ten years earlier, and found, again, that the only solution to the problem was to mail it to Raymarine and wait for them to test/fix/replace and mail back to you. Which, of course, is fine and dandy for the weekend sailor in the States. For me, it meant cruising for six months with no wind instrument. We never once knew what the wind speed actually was out there. Which can actually be a blessing when there isn’t anything you can do about it anyway.
Anyway, to wrap up my long story, we’ve now got a functioning wind display again. And I put in a thru-hull so that we’ve actually got accurate depth, speed, and even water temperature. So, while I’ve now got all sorts of information I didn’t have throughout the last year of cruising, I still want to take a moment to tell Raymarine that they suck. Whatever the problem is with this wind instrument, it’s been known about for over a decade now, and from the sound of it, they’ve done nothing to try and fix it—they just keep selling the same junk at ridiculous prices.
More cool deliveries. We’re back in the world of Yuengling. Oh, and solar power is on the way this year, too.
Out with the old. This actually only started leaking (rusted through from the inside) a couple of weeks before we got back to Florida.
This cracked wood on the swim platform drives Ali nuts. We’d tried glue before, but it didn’t hold.
This time I took out the little screws holding on the trim, and thru-bolted the wood instead. Along with the glue, this problem appears to be solved.
The bottom is freshly painted, and the hulls are freshly polished. There was one glaring eyesore left.
I mean, it wasn’t as bad as this.
Or this.
Or even this. But seriously, a walk through the storage yard here in Indiantown is like a stroll through the land of broken dreams. You can almost hear the ghosts whispering, “We’ll just go home and work for a few months to refill the kitty—then we’ll be back. Six months, tops.”
Fair to say that this steel hull won’t be back in the water again—ever. The steel-hulled boats seem to be in especially bad shape. Not that the fiberglass sailboats look any better. It’s fair to say that at least half of the hundreds of boats in this storage yard are really in a graveyard. Honestly, the number is probably much higher.
In an effort to stave off our own death, I painted on Bumfuzzle’s lipstick. This was one of my favorite jobs. Fifty bucks in material and just a few hours of work, and from thirty feet away it looks perfect. I could have made it absolutely perfect, but that would have required a ton more sanding, and this isn’t a show boat, it’s a liveaboard.
So, even though it’s only September, and we’ve got two months of hurricane season left to survive, it’s starting to feel like the next season—our next chapter—is kicking off. Ali and the kids will join me in a few days. In the meantime, I’ll continue to work in the insane heat with nothing but a fan parked in front of me. When the boat is sitting in a parking lot there is no air conditioning, no refrigeration, no toilets, and no sink onboard. It’s not a lot of fun—it’s all about the promise of what the next cruising season holds.
15 Comments on “Florida Boat Yard”
Pat- Bob and I have enjoyed you not’s or letter a lot. So we will and the e-mails. Bot and your dad talk a lot on the phone, enjoy talk about the past and remembering old times when their dad still could hunt and fish. Bob ahd had a lot of trouble with back pain, now is going to rehab. Wish he would do them better at home. I have taken sewing to another level, making quilts for family menbers, as well as for great-grandchillldren, Then also a large lap road for people in our church that get cancer. Our e-mails are alike except the first letter his is a B and mine a G.
Been sailing for a few years and never had a wind instrument. For the first 10 years never had a depth sounder and yes did run aground plenty of times. The boat is lookin’ goooood.
The boat looks great! Wow two more months before the fun begins is along time, especially for a kid… Sad to see so many boats rotting away… Here we have marinas full of them, boats that seem to never go anywhere.
Damnnn inidian town. At least there’s grass in the boatyard and it’s cheap! Sounds like less of a meth den than green cove springs , and definitely cheaper than the yard I’m at currently in northern Florida !
Oh my goodness, Pat! That paint job is beautiful. You guys have always had excellent taste and style! Are you back to PB&J all day like when you guys owned the Cat?? No fridge no sink, yikes! I’m looking forward to following along on your next chapter <3
My three daughters all grew up in the back of a Honda Goldwing. My middle daughter would be asleep within 3 minutes of leaving the house. When I was contemplating a replacement, I asked the girls if they wanted me to get another Goldwing or a corvette. They all three said Goldwing. I got both.
I read your posts on your lifestyle with relish. My partner and I have had several conversations about if we can do the same when we FIRE, but then you seem to spout deep knowledge far outside of our depth that makes us doubtful we have the skillset. Would love to see a post on how and how much knowledge you need to live on the water for a few years like you have.
Read Pat’s book. He wasn’t born with the knowledge, he learned as he went. You can, too.
I agree with you about Raymarine’s sucky wind instruments.
Boat projects, they are never ending. Hubby tells me each fall that this winter’s projects will be “minimal”. I think he’s trying to tell me less costly than the previous year. But somehow, we always spend about the same amount. We do finally have the “big” projects done, canvas, seating, carpet. This winter’s project is all things entertainment. Stereo, DVD player and switching out the analog tv for digital. We don’t really watch much tv on the boat; but it’s nice to have the option. Weather, occasional news and maybe a movie when the weather is really bad. We’ve been three years without; we’ll probably forget to use it once it’s all spiffed up. We replaced a the mixer elbow this summer. Ours came in two pieces. Hopefully the one on the port engine is good for a few years.
Looking forward to your adventures this winter as we survive another Michigan winter…..
We wanted to get wind instruments for our powercat, but after reading reviews about the Ticktac/Raymarine ones we decided against it, and never got any. We still would have liked them for interest, when those storms are coming through and you can see how strong the wind is, instead of guessing. No Raymarine instruments were ever allowed on board and we went the Simrad/B & G/ Lowrance (all the same company) way and were very happy with them.
Hi Pat,
If you haven’t installed the exhaust elbow yet, dip the entire thing in epoxy paint, you’ll add years to its life……..
Nice boat & car.
Pete
Completely agree with the Raymarine sucking commments. I had the same experience and will never give them another dime.
Hi…your blog just popped up. I am experienced with boats and am looking for a Seawolf 40-45. There is one that pops up in Indiantown.
Is there more than one yard in Indiantown? Its offered by a broker but I think its been setting for a few years in Indiantown .
Any thoughts
Only one yard in Indiantown. It’s a huge dry storage yard, with a small marina and a haulout. If the boat has been sitting in that yard for a few years it is undoubtedly in rough shape. The weather there is a breeding ground for mold. Good luck.