Wednesday, October 29, 2014

BACK ON THE WATER

Hello Everybody,

High Spirits is back on the water and we are off and heading south again. Our plans are to be on High Spirits from now until the middle of May 2015.  Then head up to New Hampshire for Summer 2015

A lot has happened over the last year.  High Spirits was on the hard for a year. We thought we were going to be able to tour the Chesapeake in the Spring of 2014 but some medical issues for Joy made it necessary to cancel.

So we are back on the water after some major repairs:

1)  new steering system
2) replaced two broken motor mounts and an alignment of the prop shaft
3) new solar panel frame
4)grind out on the keel and repaint the bottom
5) recut the main sail as it was getting hard to pull out
6) redo the front head door and some woodwork in the cockpit.
7) wax the hull and the deck
8) minor engine issues like leaky heat exchanger

So now that our wallet is a little lighter we are off and travelling.  Right now we are in Elizabeth City, NC staying at the FREE  town docks.  However Joy chipped a tooth, has a temp cap and we have to go back to Deale , MD sometime in the future to get the permanent cap that has been ordered

Here are some pictures

 
 
Rafting boats at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center the other day, 9 boats tied up.
 
 
Cleaning out the propane locker as we had to replace both rusty 11 pound cans.  They are expensive but aluminum cans cost over $200 a piece, so we went with steel and repainted them lime green Rustoleum paint
 
 
We were escorting Warship 33 as we both entered Hampton Roads harbor the other day.

By for now

Joe and Joy