Prepping for Winter - Part 2

Winter has come early to Baltimore - Sunday's high temperature was 35 degrees with a low of 28. According to weather.com the high was 18 degrees below average and the low was 6 degrees below average. Add in 24 mph winds with 39 mph gusts and you've got a really cold November day for Maryland.

Quick science quiz -- what happens to water when it sinks below 32 degrees?

DING DING DING! That's right! It freezes! It gets hard as a rock. It is useful for little (other than keeping a martini cold).

Every slip in the marina has one of these handy towers for power, water, and cable TV.

Of course, the water to the tower only flows if the pipes aren't frozen. We had already received word that the water pipes on the piers would be winterized on Tuesday due to projected cold temperatures. I think Sunday took everyone by surprise. Honestly, I was really hoping to have unlimited water until mid-December.

Here is how things normally work for us -- we have a 130 gallon fresh water tank. We monitor the levels using the gauge on our control panel.

We have found that we typically have plenty of water for 3-4 days worth of showers, dishes, and bathroom flushes and we refill the tank when it drops to a quarter tank.

Filling the tank is easy as we have a hose permanently linked up when we are docked. It's lot like filling your car with gas.

We have a white garden hose that reaches from the dock tower to our water refill under the little starboard side door.

Many liveaboards attach a hose to their shore water inlet so that they don't have to go through the hassle of refilling their tank every few days. We choose to fill our tanks instead because we anchor our so much during the summer. Water that comes in through the inlet bypasses the fresh water storage tank and flows directly to the faucets. This is similar to the city water that flows into houses. When we are anchored out, we obviously do not have access to shore water so we use the fresh water tank. In order to keep that tank clean we use it year round so that the water is fresh and constantly being replaced.

Now, back to winter. Once freezing temperatures descend upon the area our fresh water will be limited. The water lines to the docks will be winterized until spring. But, wait - I said we could only go 3-4 days with the water in one full tank. Harborview Marina is very liveaboard friendly. The staff will run water out to the boats once a week in order to fill the tanks. We will also have self-serve access on Saturdays. The heat on the boat will keep the water in the fresh water tank from freezing.

Still doesn't sound like quite enough water? Don't fear - we won't stop showering during the winter months. The marina office has male and female locker rooms with two showers in each. There are also two clothes washers and two dryers. So while it will be a bit of a pain to walk up there for showers and laundry, the other fantastic 9 months of the year will make it all worth it (at least that's what I keep telling myself).

Prepping for Winter - Part 1

The days of resort living will soon be on hiatus as we enter a time period I call "elegant camping." This will be the first in a set of posts about the prep work required to protect the boat and our possessions during winter.

Part 1 - The External Water Systems

As temperatures start to approach the freezing mark, most home owners turn off the water to outside hose bibs and open those faucets to prevent damage from the expansion of frozen water. The same goes for a boat only we have a few more connections that need to be turned off.

Bow Wash Down Hose

Aft Wet Bar and Ice Maker

Transom Shower, Spigot, and Shore Water Inlet

 Luckily, our boat came with a handy Owner's Guide.

Remember the follow the line puzzles we did as kids?

Thanks to the St. John's International School for this image.

It's a good thing I liked those because the Guide contains an adult version of that puzzle for the water lines on the boat.

We followed the lines and located the three areas we needed to address. For example, the transom shower, spigot, and water intake are funneled underneath the sink in the master head.

The water from the fresh water tank comes in from the right. It then goes up to the sink in the master head and left to the external pipes. The blue is cold water; the red is hot.

We disconnected and blocked the hoses to the external water and left the hoses to the internal sink open.

Everything was moving along nicely and we thought we were done - until I tried to flush the toilet in the forward head and found we had no water. We looked at the map again and confirmed that we had followed the right lines. So why wasn't there any water?

Well, that map does not lead the way when a previous owner has made changes. After a little detective work (i.e., searching in other access panels and hatches), Doug found that there must have been an issue with the forward toilet in the past. When repairs were made (or possibly when/if the toilet was replaced) a new water line was run and spliced in further up the line than anticipated. No problem, we simply reconnected the original block and replicated the process further up.

Doug did his best to blow any remaining water out of the lines and poured in some marine antifreeze for added protection.

Step 1 complete. Stay tuned for more winterization fun.

A New Mattress!

Okay - so you may be wondering why you should read this post. "So what, people get new mattresses every day," you say. Yes, however, those people go to Mattress Discounters, pick out a mattress and box spring, precariously tie them to the roof of their vehicle, and drive off. I have a boat bed, therefore, it is an odd shape. There are no standard sizes or shapes. I go to a boat show, pay for half of my new mattress, and go home with a measuring kit.

Portland Boat Mattress has made the process simple and easy. First, remove the old mattress and lay the pattern sheet into the bed frame:

Next, trace the inside edge of the frame onto the template using a black marker:

It's a little hard to see the marker lines in this photo but they are there.

The top part of our mattress has a beveled edge, so we used the handy bevel tool to mark the angle:

We also requested a hinge down the middle of the mattress so we can easily get to access panels under the bed:

If you are really curious about the process, you can watch their video. The pattern is shipped back and a new mattress arrives few weeks later. They even called us and our marina office a couple days before the mattress arrived to let us know the expected delivery date -- very helpful!

After wrestling out the old mattress:

And maneuvering the new one:

We went from this old mattress (No offense against the old owners of this boat, I'm sure they were very nice people, but I was really tired of sleeping on their mattress):

To this comfortable new one:

It's the 9" Latex Supreme Firm and I can honestly say that I felt like I was sleeping on a plush hotel room mattress. It's that comfortable.

And the hinge works like it's supposed to work:

Good job! Portland Boat Mattress!

October Neighbors

I just signed us up for winter water which is a sure sign that the boating season is winding down. Nevertheless, we did have a couple new neighbors in October.

"Freestyle"

This neighbor was towed in. Haven't had a chance to talk to them yet so I don't know the circumstances.

It needs a little work but check out the cool detailing on the bow of the sailboat.

A New Boat and a New Toy!

No, we didn't get a new boat, but our friends did. James and Sandra traded in their trusty 320 Sundancer for this gorgeous 44 Ocean. There have been a lot of new boats this year -- who's next?

I know there are two boats in this picture. "Grand Passion" happens to be docked next to a Carver 466 so it's a cool way to see our models side-by-side.

The boat is docked in Baltimore for the winter and a few of us convened to see it on Saturday. The day was sunny and 60 degrees so Doug and I decided on an unconventional method of transportation across the city (at least for non-boating folk).

For anyone concerned with our safety -- don't worry, we took a bag with life jackets with us, I just took the picture before grabbing the bag.

We recently purchased this Lehr propane motor for our dinghy and just had to try it out. (Okay, fine, Doug just had to try it out and I gave in -- it's not exactly summer anymore in Baltimore.)

The propane motor burns a cleaner energy than gasoline, it's only 38 pounds, and it saves us from carrying a gas tank with us. The propane motor is a relatively new technology but we are happy with it so far and we had a smooth, lovely ride over.

Not long after we arrived the wind picked up; so much that we saw one sail on a sailboat get torn to shreds -- which is why I wanted to drive over -- but in the end I'll admit that it was a fun adventure (there, I said it) when we left for home around 3pm. We didn't have a long ride but any distance in waves can end up being a wet ride. Their boat is docked at BMC Lighthouse Point and we had to return to BMC Harborview. I snagged BMC's fireworks map and there is an image over the Harborview label so look for numbers 8 and 10 on the map to find our home. If the numbers are too small on your screen, look for the boat icon to the left of the words "Barge 2."

We put all electronics on our handy waterproof bag for the rodeo ride and got home mostly dry. Congrats again James and Sandra -- we love the new boat!

Unexpected Friends and Unplanned Guests

Fall is such a lovely time for a boating trip to Annapolis. The weather is cooler so we don't miss having access to a pool, yet it's warm enough to sit at the outdoor bar at Pussers watching football. We set off on Saturday for an overnight trip with 4 1/2 people (four adults and a 1 1/2 year old).

On our way out of the Inner Harbor we saw this Brazilian training ship coming in for a 3-night visit -- I love living in a port city.

I always think it's fun to see the decks filled with sailors as boats enter a port.

Once we were situated in a slip in Ego Alley we had our first surprise. Anyone recognize this boat from the June Neighbor list?

BackScratcher III, one of our permanent neighbors, was just one slip over from us in Annapolis.

While waiting for another couple that planned to spend the day with us in Annapolis, our friends from Sparrows Point showed up, as well as a friend from Parkside Marina. At this point we had six boats in Annapolis and friends driving down, things could only go downhill (or uphill depending on your perspective).

As usual, we started at Pussers where we had a great view of our boat.

And wondered aloud how cold this guy would be if he fell in.

As the day wore on and we started playing Catch Phrase -- the perfect boat "board game" -- it became obvious that we were having too much fun for an early night and would have 6 1/2 people sleeping on our boat. This was not the first time we have had unplanned overnight guests on board in Annapolis, however it was the first time everyone would be able to comfortably sleep inside the cabin. The more time I spend on this boat the more I love it. The guests that rode down with us and their child took the guest stateroom.

And our other friends slept in the salon with the large couch:

And loveseat that converts into a single bed:

And they all had access to the guest bathroom. (Which is really Doug's bathroom when we don't have guests. Admit it, you and your spouse use different bathrooms if you have the option.)

Looking forward to our next Annapolis trip....

The 2013 Clam Bake

The annual clam bake and raft-up (coordinated by the gracious folks on Almost Home) was held October 5-6 in Fairlee Creek. You would think each clam bake would be the same but there are always a few surprises.

First off, it was warm enough to swim. Yes folks, on October 5, 2013, I was wearing a bathing suit and I got in the water. I didn't stay in the water long but I did lay on the bow of the boat for a while. I'm so accustomed to bundling up for the clam bake that it felt strange to apply sun screen.

The warm weather brought other boats into the Creek for the weekend. We've had clam bakes where we are the only boats in the basin, not this year.

There was even a rare power/sail raft-up.

A fox visited the beach. He didn't seem very scared of humans so we steered clear of him. Perhaps people have been feeding him all summer? Perhaps he is sick? It was neat to see new wildlife but I worry about this little guy.

We had to set up a bit further down the beach than usual. Another raft-up beat us to the prime beach location (I guess they didn't get the memo that we had "reserved" the beach for our get together.)

 We're lucky everything cooked before the tide came in and washed out the coals.

Curious about the past clam bakes, check them out here: 2012 and 2011. (The 2011 post includes instructions so you can have your own clam bake.)

One last parting shot of the last raft-up for 2013.