And so we begin again ….. well, almost – May 2019

The hope was that by today, May 24 we’d be on the boat, fully stocked, chores completed and anxiously awaiting a weather window to cross Lake Ontario. Instead, I’m writing from a Days Inn in Brewerton, with no provisioning done, chores in progress and not even bothering to look at our weather apps. Last year we had plans change due to low water levels, this year is the opposite. Predictions are for record high waters on Lake Ontario and the 1000 Islands, surpassing 2017’s record. Levels are still rising and as a result the Oswego Canal and parts of the Erie Canal are closed until ?????

So for now the boat is on the hard in the middle of the boat yard. We are permitted to climb a ladder to get on her and do some chores, but we cannot stay on her. There is no power or water available for us while on the boat. The NY Canal authorities say that next Tuesday, May 28 is the earliest the canal will open, but there are no guarantees it will happen then. The waters in Lake Ontario are still rising and the canals will need to be cleared of debris so the locks can function without blockages.

OK, that’s the boo hoo part. There’s also a shiny side. First, this gives us plenty of time to get little chores done. Also, we’ll get to play at the Davis camp over the Memorial Day Weekend. Hobie Cat sailing buddies, Alan and Lisa Davis, came up for a Hobie Regatta on Lake Oneida last weekend and have stayed to open up the Davis family camp in White’s Bay (we anchored there last year for a visit) by Henderson and to wait for us. Lisa has been accepted as our first mate on our leg from Brewerton to Quebec City. Wisely, Lisa retired earlier this year and has perfected the “Subject to Change” philosophy.

The Chores list is slowly dwindling. There are some items that require electricity or will be much easier if we had power. Others we can work on now. Tim has fussed with updating our Raymarine Chart Plotter. He bought a chip that includes Canadian waters and but was unable to upload the new data into our old chart plotter. After some research, we found that our old model E120 may not be able to read the new 16GB chip. He was instructed by Navionics on how to delete data from the chip so it can be read by our E120. So far, no luck. We’ll give it another shot today.

Some of the items on on our Chores list came from ideas we got from the DeFever Rendezvous we attended in Solomons, MD on our drive north to the boat. We saw a few boats with a latch to hold the forward head door open. The forward head can get stuffy if the door stays closed, but if left open, the door swings too freely. The latch will hold it in place allowing for air circulation.

Also involving the head, we learned that many boats do not have a charcoal filter in the vent hose. The thought is that the filter actually restricts air flow to the holding tank. Air is needed in the holding tank to feed the aerobic bacteria that help digest the poop 💩. We want to keep those little guys happy. So on the list is to replace the hoses going from the holding tank to the vent. Yes, that will require skinny arms- mine 😆.

I want to find some bug screens like these for our side doors that can be cut to size and self installed

To close out this post, I have to include some pics from when my Dad visited just before we left home. Check out the 86 year old riding his new to him recumbent trike.

Having a cold one at Okie’s.

Check out the link below to a video of the 86 ear old riding his “new to him” recumbent trike.