Bike Rides, Key West and Heat Exchanger Flushing

We've had a good first week or so at Harbour Cay Club in Marathon.  The weather was pretty good, sun was mostly out, wind was manageable and it wasn't too hot or too cold. Nice! We've met lots of new friends, shared a few happy hours at the Tiki Hut and participated in a potluck dinner, and watched the movie Martian with a group of fellow sailors in the clubhouse.

We rented big people bicycles and rode 20 miles up to Grassy Key (just North of Vaca Key where Marathon is) a of couple times We've sampled "Burdine's" (touted as the best burger and fries in the area), took the bus to Key West for a day, lunched at Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville", toured Hemingway's House, and did a good bit of work-work (the work we get paid for).

Hemingway's House in Key West

This really cool sculpture garden dedicated to those who had a large influence in Key West over the years

"The Wreckers" a bronze sculpture of the men who salvaged the wrecks on the reefs surrounding Key West

We have no idea why this is "done up" as it is, but pretty wild! 

The last couple days have been dedicated to boat projects.

The canvas that enwraps the mainsail when it is not in use has been wearing thin in one or two places. So, Sharon bought some really nice Sunbrella with a vinyl backing from a local canvas shop and set to work on the cabin top with her trusty sewing machine. She was able to add patches to the mainsail cover in two heavy wear areas with great results.

Here is Sharon hard at work (disregard the sunny day, blue water and palm trees in the background!)

We need to add a picture of the finished product! She did a beautiful job! And it was warm and sunny on deck all afternoon! A happy day.

Greg's project was to clean the diesel's heat exchanger (this is like the radiator on your car engine). What fun! The boat next door just had it's generator heat exchanger cleaned, and Greg thought it was a great idea to do the same for our main engine as it's been over ten years since it has been tended to. In order to do this he had to build a small pump system that would circulate water and an acid mixture through the heat exchanger into a bucket. He happened to have an extra water pump and added extra wire and a cigrette lighter plug so that it could be operated anywhere there was a cigrette lighter receptacle (that would be like your 12-volt plug in your car where you plug in your phone or other devices). He bought clear hose from the hardware store for the pump. And he happened to have another run of larger hose that fit the heat exchanger to pump assembly perfectly. Often the most difficult part of boat projects is the planning and gathering of parts. This turned out easier than most!

Pump assembly

First task, test the pump in the sink to make sure it worked.  Then he found two five gallon buckets to use for the acid mixture and later the clean water final flush. Denny Mills, across the dock on the IP420 True North, helped out. Denny's boat was the one that had the generator aboard that was cleaned...and the inspiration for this project. So, once Dream Catcher was done the boys moved to True North to clean that heat exchanger.

Running the system - black water!

Denny caught off guard!

Disregard those running sox!

The solution is brown as a result of organics being killed and flushed

After the initial acid flush a soda flush neutralizes the acid

Here are all the details modified for our current and future use.

Heat Exchanger cleaning using an HCL acid bath:

Hydrochloric (HCL) and Muriatic Acid are the same. But the concentrations available in stores differ. Most are 20 – 50% concentrations. All are OK to use, but it’s worth knowing what you’re using as you add HCL to the water mix so that you can add at a more or less aggressive rate. My bottle is 39% HCL. Rydlyme (sold by Mack Boring marine diesel distributor) is essentially a 5-9% HCL solution. See their technical specs: http://www.rydlymemarine.com/assets/1/7/RYDLYME_MARINE_SDS_0301151.PDF

Wear eye protection.

Open all hatches and ports so that the area is well ventilated. The process temporarily generates strong gases.

Have extra rags, paper towels and plastic bags handy to keep the area as dry as possible.

Prepare your motor:

Close engine seacock valve.

Cover starter, alternator and any other electrical devices with plastic, paper and towels to keep them dry.

Open heat exchanger raw water drain, if equipped, and release as much raw water as possible.

Disconnect both raw water hoses from heat exchanger.

Connect pump hose and exit water hose to heat exchanger.

Flush system:

Add three to four gallons of clean water to each of two buckets.

Circulate clean water through the system and check for leaks. If none, proceed.

Add a small amount of HCL to bucket, perhaps 2 cups. It will fizz when in contact with water, which means it is interacting with the base/organic material in the water. The organic material is algae, barnacles, and other plant or parasitic marine life growing in the heat exchanger.

The water will change color to dark brown as organic material is converted and exits the system.

Monitor solution in circulation bucket for fizzing and bubbling. When it no longer reacts add more HCL. The water should continue to turn dark brown or black as a result of flushing the organic material out.

When adding new HCL has no more fizzing effect in the bucket run the pump for another few minutes and then stop the process. 

This means there is no more organic material in the system.

Flush the system with clean water for a few minutes while adding backing soda to the mixture to neutralize the HCL. Do this very slowly, as this will cause more bubbling and fizzing as the water in the heat exchanger enters the bucket. Continue adding soda until there is no more bubbling or fizzing, then run the pump another minute or two.

Remove the soda bath bucket and add another fresh water bucket, insert the hoses into this bucket and flush again with fresh water for a few minutes. This should eliminate most traces of acid or soda and fill the heat exchanger with clean water.

Carefully empty the water from the hoses into the bucket, disconnect them from the heat exchanger, reconnect engine hoses and remove the pump and equipment from the engine area.

Clean and dry engine and engine room. Open seacock. Run the engine. Make sure you have good water flow. You’re done!

From E.B White

OK, who among you has or has not been commanded to use the infalible "Elements of Style" as a young high schooler? Face up! If you have, you are most certainly better of it. What is curious about this basic English language text is that the author was E. B. White, who also wrote famously about boats. 

I thought this piece would be fine to read....E. B. White's famous treatise on boats! I hope you enjoy it!

"WAKING OR SLEEPING, I dream of boats - usually of rather small boats under a slight press of sail. When I think how great a part of my life has been spent dreaming the hours away and how much of this total dream life has concerned small craft, I wonder about the state of my health, for I am told that it is not a good sign to be always voyaging into unreality, driven by imaginary breezes.

I have noticed that most men, when they enter a barber shop and must wait their turn, drop into a chair and pick up a magazine. I simply sit down and pick up the thread of my sea wandering, which began more than fifty years ago and is not quite ended. There is hardly a waiting room in the East that has not served as my cockpit, whether I was waiting to board a train or to see a dentist. And I am usually still trimming sheets when the train starts or the drill begins to whine. If a man must be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble. If it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is without question the most compact and ingenious arrangement for living ever devised by the restless mind of man - a home that is stable without being stationary, shaped less like a box than like a fish or a bird or a girl, and in which the homeowner can remove his daily affairs as far from shore as he has the nerve to take them, close-hauled or running free -parlor, bedroom, and bath, suspended and alive.

Men who ache allover for tidiness and compactness in their lives often find relief for their pain in the cabin of a thirty-foot sailboat at anchor in a sheltered cove. Here the sprawling panoply of The Home is compressed in orderly miniature and liquid delirium, suspended between the bottom of the sea and the top of the sky, ready to move on in the morning by the miracle of canvas and the witchcraft of rope. It is small wonder that men hold boats in the secret place of their mind, almost from the cradle to the grave.

Along with my dream of boats has gone the ownership of boats, a long succession of them upon the surface of the sea, many of them makeshift and crank. Since childhood I have managed to have some sort of sailing craft and to raise a sail in fear. Now, in my sixties, I still own a boat, still raise my sail in fear in answer to the summons of the unforgiving sea. Why does the sea attract me in the way it does: Whence comes this compulsion to hoist a sail, actually or in dream? My first encounter with the sea was a case of hate at first sight. I was taken, at the age of four, to a bathing beach in New Rochelle. Everything about the experience frightened and repelled me: the taste of salt in my mouth, the foul chill of the wooden bathhouse, the littered sand, the stench of the tide flats. I came away hating and fearing the sea. Later, I found that what I had feared and hated, I now feared and loved.

I returned to the sea of necessity, because it would support a boat; and although I knew little of boats, I could not get them out of my thoughts. I became a pelagic boy. The sea became my unspoken challenge: the wind, the tide, the fog, the ledge, the bell, the gull that cried help, the never-ending threat and bluff of weather. Once having permitted the wind to enter the belly of my sail, I was not able to quit the helm; it was as though I had seized hold of a high-tension wire and could not let go.

I liked to sail alone. The sea was the same as a girl to me I did not want anyone else along. Lacking instruction, I invented ways of getting things done, and usually ended by doing them in a rather queer fashion, and so did not learn to sail properly, and still cannot sail well, although I have been at it all my life. I was twenty before I discovered that charts existed; all my navigating up to that time was done with the wariness and the ignorance of the early explorers. I was thirty before I learned to hang a coiled halyard on its cleat as it should be done. Until then I simply coiled it down on deck and dumped the coil. I was always in trouble and always returned, seeking more trouble. Sailing became a compulsion: there lay the boat, swinging to her mooring, there blew the wind; I had no choice hut to go. My earliest boats were so small that when the wind failed, or when I failed, I could switch to manual control-I could paddle or row home. But then I graduated to boats that only the wind was strong enough to move. When I first dropped off my mooring in such a boat, I was an hour getting up the nerve to cast off the pennant. Even now, with a thousand little voyages notched in my belt, I still I feel a memorial chill on casting off, as the gulls jeer and the empty mainsail claps.

Of late years, I have noticed that my sailing has increasingly become a compulsive activity rather than a source of pleasure. There lies the boat, there blows the morning breeze-it is a point of honor, now, to go. I am like an alcoholic who cannot put his bottle out of his life. With me, I cannot not sail. Yet I know well enough that I have lost touch with the wind and, in fact, do not like the wind any more. It jiggles me up, the wind does, and what I really love are windless days, when all is peace. There is a great question in my mind whether a man who is against wind should longer try to sail a boat. But this is an intellectual response-the old yearning is still in me, belonging to the past, to youth, and so I am torn between past and present, a common disease of later life.

When does a man quit the sea? How dizzy, how bumbling must he be? Does he quit while he's ahead, or wait till he makes some major mistake, like falling overboard or being flattened by an accidental jibe? This past winter I spent hours arguing the question with myself. Finally, deciding that I had come to the end of the road, I wrote a note to the boatyard, putting my boat up for sale. I said I was "coming off the water." But as I typed the sentence, I doubted that I meant a word of it.

If no buyer turns up, I know what will happen: I will instruct the yard to put her in again-"just till somebody comes along." And then there will be the old uneasiness, the old uncertainty, as the mild southeast breeze ruffles the cove, a gentle, steady, morning breeze, bringing the taint of the distant wet world, the smell that takes a man back to the very beginning of time, linking him to all that has gone before. There will lie the sloop, there will blow the wind, once more I will get under way. And as I reach across to the black can off the Point, dodging the trap buoys and toggles, the shags gathered on the ledge will note my passage. "There goes the old boy again," they will say. "One more rounding of his little Horn, one more conquest of his Roaring Forties." And with the tiller in my hand, I'll feel again the wind imparting life to a boat, will smell again the old menace, the one that imparts life to me: the cruel beauty of the salt world, the barnacle's tiny knives, the sharp spine of the urchin, the stinger of the sun jelly, the claw of the crab."

And there you are!

:)

Hawk Channel and arriving in Marathon

After leaving Matheson Marina in Coral Gables we had a delightful time hanging around Biscayne Bay and it's surrounding bays and islands.  After enjoying a quiet anchorage on the western side of Card Sound on our first evening we looked for a spot to protect us against a Northeast wind coming the next evening.  Traveling only 6 miles south, we nosed our way into shallow Barnes Sound and tucked up into the northeastern corner where we were the only ones around for miles and quite comfy.  Each day warmed a bit more and we enjoyed some bright sunshine by Friday.  

With the prediction of light and variable winds Friday night, we headed back north to Card Sound, east through Angelfish Creek (off the northern tip of Key Largo) and out into Hawk Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.  Hawk Channel is a deep-draft boat (that would be us) cruisers' highway along the eastern side of the Keys.  The barrier reef of coral protects the waters of Hawk Channel from the large sea swells and allows a lovely sail either north or south along the Keys in most weather.  We had two gorgeous days with bright blue skies, sunshine and light winds.  The first night we found a spot to anchor behind Rodriguez Key (just East of the southern tip of Key Largo) with protection from the northerlies and eastern sea swell.  It was delightful.  

Greg took the opportunity to replace the zinc.  For you non-boaters, the zinc is a hunk of sacrificial zinc that fastens around the propeller shaft. The metal is less noble than any other metal in the boat's drive train, including the prop, shaft, transmission and engine. So, when the sea water creates electrolysis (rust and corrosion) the least noble metal goes first. In this case it's the zinc, which saves all the other components from rust and corrosion.  A very important item on every boat! But, you have to change them about every six months....under water with mask, fins and snorkel. Greg actually likes this job as long as the water is clean and warm. Ahhh, Florida!

Transiting Angelfish Creek - just north of Key Largo

Look at the base of the mark's pole to see the current against us

The second day gave us 12 knots of wind on our starboard quarter (that's the back right hand side of the boat) We were able to unfurl the big genoa and the staysail and sail quietly down the channel.  Twice we were visited by dolphins. They were happy to see us and played around our little bow wake for awhile.  Because we were going so slowly, they just lazed about with us.  It was really fun!

Sailing Hawk Channel

Crossing under Channel Five bridge just north of Long Key, we headed West into Florida Bay, hoping to get some protection from the north and east winds that were coming that evening.  We found a small cove and tucked in among the hundreds of crab and lobster pots.  The nights have still been cool, so we hunker down inside while the cabin is still warm from cooking dinner.  This night, we didn't get tucked into the cove far enough and felt the waves and wind overnight quite a bit.  Plus, we dragged anchor a bit as well, awakening at 4 in the morning to a crab pot buoy banging against the side of the hull. Dragging anchor is a very big no-no. And we are very careful. But, in this case we dragged some distance and were able to see the scope of our error in the morning when we fired up the chart plotter with our track recorded from the previous day. The only good thing to say about this is that we anchored about a mile from land in any direction!

After messing with the anchor and the nearby annoying crab pots, we headed southeast down Florida Bay.  Once clear of the shallow channel and surrounding banks, we again pulled out the genoa and sailed downwind with a brisk 20 knots.  It was another sunny day and just beautiful.  Two loggerhead turtle sitings and lots of dolphin visits later, we dropped the hook just west of East Bahia Honda Key It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.  With a very distant view of the "Seven Mile Bridge" we looked south and west and saw only tiny islands and water.  We were probably about seven miles from the bridge and the larger Keys. We positioned our boat SW of the little island to protect us from the evenings predicted NE 18 knot winds. It was a perfect spot to be away and a beautiful night.

A Loggerhead Turtle - once they see you, they dive deep - this was a lucky shot!

Note the water color change from Hawk Channel (above) to Florida Bay here.  Florida Bay is mostly grassy bottom, not sure if that is the reason for the color? 

The interesting thing about the Keys is that the water is mostly 2 to 10 feet deep.  Often it is not possible to snug up to the islands to anchor due to very shallow water surrounding them.  This last anchored night we were still 100 yards from the island. We brought the anchor up in the morning for what was to be the last time for awhile, hauled up the mainsail and let out half the genoa and headed Southeast, close-hauled (that's all sails pulled in tightly so you can sail as close to the wind as possible), toward the "Seven Mile Bridge".  It was a "brisk and windy" sail with lots of spray over the deck. Our sail plan was set for wind up to about 18 knots. But, we saw 22 and 23 knots often enough and the boat flew. After tacking a few times we finally dropped the sails and headed into Harbor Cay Club, our home for a few weeks in Marathon.

A party of several dock mates were there to assist us in docking maneuvers.  It was a friendly bunch, willing to have lines tossed over their shoulders and use their muscle to help us first dock bow in, then slowly turn us around so that our stern is now in - making it more comfortable to ride out the northerlies that will soon arrive.  After settling in, a much-needed two hour boat wash, three loads of laundry and a delightful land shower, we headed off on foot to "Porky's Bayside" right around the corner for some yummy barbecue!  This area is what we term "old Florida" and reminds us a lot of the Caribbean.  Low, flat buildings, lots of palm trees, orchids growing in Live Oak trees, and Tiki Huts and beach bars all around.  Should be fun to explore.

'Til next time -

Departed Vero, Miami Bound

Well, it's been awhile since our last blog entry! We reluctantly prepared to leaveVero Beach near the end of January. We love Vero so much! At the same time, we were ready to move on and see new sights and enjoy some sailing!

During the last week in Vero, our nephew, Mark Page, stopped by for lunch on his way to Puerto Rico! He and his wife, Jen, had planned six weeks this winter on the northwestern shore where the surfing is apparently stellar. Mark drove his two dogs to Miami to ship them to PR! Pet love! He had to drive past Vero, so we were happy to get together.

We also enjoyed Boston friends Kevin and Kitty's invitation to join them for a couple of New Engand Patriots games. Thanks guys! Lots of fun!

We had a couple of lovely get togethers with John and Grace, and Carey and Julie. More enjoyable times...thanks!

We had the pleasure of having John and Grace for dinner aboard Dream Catcher before we left Vero. Cocktails and lots of discussion led to dinner, then dinner led to after-dinner aperitifs. Do you know about Nassau Royale? This little vanilla-and-spice-based sipping rum is hard to find. But, it is the perfect finish to a wonderful evening with friends. We found Vero Beach as a result of a suggestion from John and Grace, who spent a winter here on their beautiful boat, Frances, a few years ago. They also introduced us to Nassau Royale, and we have shared it with them several times since. We now have a bottle secured in our larder to bring north in the spring for them! More fun times!

Pulling out of the slip on Friday, January 29, Greg quickly discovered the boat was not moving very fast, even though he was revving the engine to 2800rpm, our cruising speed.  Our dock mates who helped us disembark could see water boiling under the keel.  That meant there was a prop issue.  Into the fairway we went,  immediately dropping the hook, to assure we stayed put.  Then, Greg donned swimsuit, fins and mask and headed into the water, even with the chilly air temp of 60 degrees.  With chisel and putty knife in hand, he scraped away at two months of barnacle growth.  This was the first year he did not paint the prop with anti-fouling paint - as an experiement! OK, next haulout the prop gets paint! Reappearing with bloody fingers and blue lips, we were good to go.  So off we went, heading south.

Lake Worth anchorage

First night was a quiet one in the north end of Lake Worth.  Next day, after 12 opening bridges, we dropped the hook in Lake Boca, just off the resort where we stayed last year. Our daughter, Courtney, and her boy friend, Paolo, just bought their first home in Boca. We were thrilled to stop here for a couple of days to see their house again (after the home inspection visit) and enjoy dinner and good times with them. They are a very special couple with a wonderful life ahead of them.

We then motored from Boca to Miami, where we stayed for a week enjoying a five day visit from Sharon's friend, Pat. We had the good fortune to have nice sailing weather for two days. So, we sailed across Biscayne Bay to the western shore of Elliott Key for a night, then back to Coral Gables the next day.

Miami Skyline from the South

Sailing Biscayne Bay

We wanted to find a spot protected from the blustery north and west winds and were happy to locate the Matheson Hammock Marina and Park.  Another Florida municipal park and marina, this is mostly occupied by many varieties of fishing vessels, but there were a few masts sticking above the decks.  It was light on the amenities, but also light on the wallet.  Plus, it was a quick Uber ride to downtown Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and not far to Miami Beach. We took great advantage of Uber and hit  Miami Beach twice, Coconut Grove and walked a total of 52,000 steps in three days (thanks to Sharon's Fitbit)! We saw beautiful Miami art deco buildings, modern hotels, sandy beaches and lots of people (especially Lincoln Ave). And we had great meals at the Naked Taco in SoBe, LuLu's in Coconut Grove, the exquisite Setai Hotel (well, we only had a coffee drink there to warm up), the renowned Fontainebleau, and great pizza at the NYC Pizza place in the Grove. We're now officially spoiled - except for those 52,000 steps!

Pat and Sharon and margaritas at Naked Taco


Pat and Sharon at Loew's Miami Beach 

We also had the good fortune to be near the Fairchild Botanical Garden, a two mile walk from the boat. The orchid garden and butterfly house were standouts here.  Just amazing!  And Greg is still enamored with bamboo, so here are many photos of the day.

Click any photo to enlarge

Butterflies feasting on grapefruit

Salaca Magnifica!  Click any photo to enlarge

Can you see those little plantains at the top?

Palms and Bamboo

Lipstick Palm!

Puntingpole Bamboo

Borassus Madagascareinsis

Bottle Palm

Bambusa Textilis

Bambusa Oldhamii

Bambusa Malengensis

Dendrocalumus Minor

Copericia Derterdana

Sable Palm

Both are Eukanuba Palm, like your car wax!

After saying a fond farewell to Pat on Monday night, we finally left the marina in Coral Gables  Tuesday morning the 9th, with the promise of northwest winds, clear skies, and temps in the high 60s. We sailed a very fast 30 miles south to Key Largo as the wind was 20-25 kts the entire day. The boat was averaging 8+ knots - fast for us! We intended to anchor behind a small island at the northern tip of Key Largo, but the wind was so strong that this anchorage was untenable. Instead, we sailed across Card Sound (jut south of Biscayne Bay) to the western shore and dropped anchor there in eight feet of water in the lee of the shore, protecting us against the strong NW winds.  We have a reservation at Harbor Cay Club in Marathon, but not until Monday the 15th. We were hoping to take advantage of some of the fabulous snorkeling in the Keys, but so far it is too cold and we do not have wetsuits.  The forecast, however, is for air temps in the mid 70s and water temps in the high 60s. So...

 'Til next time -