Cheboygan

Day 1 on the boat revealed a major catastrophe. Tim grabbed his chest when he discovered that the ice maker was kaput. It would not get cold so no ice. Those who know my dear husband know that he would not last long without ice. A gin and tonic without ice would be devastating. Luckily he carries one in the RV and it immediately took residence on my countertop. A new ice maker was ordered and in a few days Tim was off to Petosky to pick it up.

Since getting here, we’ve replaced 3 faucets. As any overnight guests know, the faucet in the forward head was pitted and gross. Now a shiny, new one will greet them. While the ice maker was kaput, we replaced the faucet in the sink above it. While we were in plumbing mode, we went ahead and swapped out the faucet in the master bath for a new one as well. The important part of each of these exchanges was installing on/off valves on each water line. Tim wisely wanted to add the shut off valves so if we had any future issues,we could shut of water to one sink and not have to turn it off to the entire boat.

Tim had the opportunity to repair the master head. A couple days after being on the boat, we both started noticing a funky smell. Especially after flushing. Hmmmmm. Not a good sign. The smell was most pronounced in the engine room where we found a lot of water in the bilge. Tim initially thought the water was overflow from the shower sump, but that didn’t explain the smell. So my dear husband had the audacity to accuse ME of peeing in the shower! After closer inspection, he realized the vacuum generator bellows was dripping. He had me flush the head while he watched and unfortunately for him, that’s when the bellows chose to explode. EWWWWWWW! After a shower and then digging through our spares, Tim found parts needed and in no time had us back in business. Sorry, no pics pop this repair.

We were so excited to see friends from Clear Lake, John and Wendy Ellor aboard Knotugal, dock at the marina. They joined us for a grocery run to Walmart.

They also introduced us to Dale, a solo traveler aboard his 42’ Back Cove. After the Ellors left for Mackinaw Island, Dale offered to take us and another looper couple along with our bikes to the island for a day of play. It was a beautiful day on the water and the island.

As I end this post, we are finally of the dock and sitting in Mackinaw City. We are finally on the roll. After a rainy few days, the sun is out and we will be heading out to Beaver Island. The next time you hear from me, we will officially be cruising.