We wanted a couple of weekends with just the two of us. With that being our goal, we headed up on Thursday evening, and planned a day of working from the boat on Friday.
It turned out that it was a weekend of thunderstorms. We saw them as we drove down to Rock Hall on Thursday night... we were marveling at the thunderstorm and lightning show in the distance. As we drove closer we realized it was heading right to Rock Hall just as we were. We arrived and got all the junk aboard with maybe 15 minutes to spare. As Vicky went to work and I headed to bed the wind arrived and we spent the next 30 to 40 minutes leaning as the boat pulled against the dock lines.
We traded places (me working and Vicky sleeping) on Friday morning. I had a series of conference calls in the morning with some training I needed to catch up on Friday afternoon. As evening approached I glanced out the salon window to see an incredible display of clouds surrounding Seas The Day. The storms arrived later Friday evening.
On Saturday morning we headed out for a walk before the heat really started cranking. (We're in the midst of a significant heatwave... temps are expected to be in the 90s for the foreseeable future.) We then headed out for a brief sail, but as you can see there was essentially no wind. (We did stop at Gratitude for a quick pump out.)
Then I used my new Navionics app to pick my way across the Swan Creek sandbar along the lines of a "shortcut" I had heard about. This could save us time by avoiding the need to go all the way down to the green #3 buoy before heading out in the bay. The iPhone app said the depths were fine, but my chart plotter and Navionics card said no go... so I trusted the app and progressed gingerly across at idle speed. We had tide of about 1.5 feet so I felt safe. We made it, but I will say I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with it. There was a spot where I would only have 6 to 8 inches clear if the tides were zero. I might have been in the wrong spot, so I'll have to keep looking.
Coming back to the dock was a hair-raising experience... we LOST OUR BOW THRUSTER! This is a little propeller mounted sideways at the bow that swings the bow to port or starboard. My controller suddenly had a mind of it's own - sometimes it would work and sometimes not. Worse sometimes it locked on, then decided to pulse continuously in one direction. I could turn it on and maybe get a thrust or two before turning it off, but clearly I had to dock Seas The Day without it.
Fortunately, a friend warned me about these going crazy and I had been practicing getting back to the dock using the thruster as little as possible. Still, I was not happy when I had to call Winter's Sailing about this problem. I hope there's a quick fix.
We docked right around lunch time. As soon as the AC was connected, I was ordered to head to Ford's Seafood so Vicky could have her crabs.
Vessel Safety Check (VSC)
After a quick nap, it was time for our yearly VSC. This is a free service of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary that visits your boat and checks for all the safety items that the USCG would do if they stopped you out on the water. The belief is that you do this voluntary safety check and get a sticker for your boat (at the top of this post) and the patrols know to look for it and tend to leave you alone and go after others.
Maryanne, a local Power Squadron member and a fellow B-Docker did my check. Since we're in the time of COVID, I decided to photograph the key points and mail them to her. This would allow a bit more social distancing during the meeting.
They check to make sure I have the required fire extinguishers.
She needed to see that my documentation plaque was permanently affixed.
She had to make sure I had the required life jackets and safety equipment.
She wanted to know that the required decals were in place.
She needed to verify that the head discharges were secured with wire ties.
Finally she needed to double check my Documentation Certificate and verify that I had a waste plan for the vessel.
Once I sent all that, she stopped by, and filled out all the paperwork.
We chatted briefly about the program, some safety topics in general and got to know each other a bit. Finally she had me turn on all the navigation lights for a final verification and I received the coveted sticker for my mast.
Checking the Batteries
After having Osprey Point Bread Pudding for dinner!! (I kid you not... I'm sure it was Vicky's way of bribing me to take the crab garbage out.) The final boat chore for the day was to check the batteries.
I've been getting a bit of a bad reputation on B-Dock because my CO detectors are constantly going off at weird moments. We live a bit more than an hour away and they always seem to go off when we can't immediately head down. (A few friends know the combo to get in - so does the marina.) People tell me they're not being bothered by them, but I know it would bother me if it were happening to my neighbor's boat... there's FOUR of them on Seas The Day for some reason. This has been going on for about a month now and it's getting tiring.
From my safety training back in my Exxon days, I know you don't ignore these detectors, but I also have a bit of chemistry knowledge and realize that there is no way there's CO on Seas The Day when it is sitting at the dock. The first time it happened we came back and double checked everything, but the engine wasn't running, the Generator wasn't on, and we were not cooking or throwing a birthday party. So no sources of combustion... and therefore no possible CO.
It took a bit of research, but I found out that CO detectors can alarm from H2 (sorry, hydrogen) from the batteries being charged. Seas The Day has a fancy charger that automatically switches from charging to maintenance charge and back as needed. This has fortunately led to me paying much more attention to the batteries on this ship - especially since we run 12 V appliances (fridge and freezer) all the time this season.
While monitoring the batteries, I've noticed that they are taking a lot more water than my last boat. Which is not necessarily bad, but I've also noticed that the battery closest to the companionway stairs (closest to the engine) seems to drink much much more than the other two.
So I finally spent the $12 for a battery tester (hydrometer). The battery tester is a plastic container with a suction bulb. You suck up the electrolyte and a black (of course it's black so it won't show up on the photos) needle reads out the specific gravity. The blue "good" section has readings of 1.300 and 1.275, the grey "fair" section is 1.250, 1.2225 and 1.210 and the red "recharge" section has readings of 1.150 and 1.100.
In a functioning battery, all the cells will have readings close to each other... generally within 0.030. If one cell is very different, the battery is damaged.
The batteries on the old 315 were located under the settee and I hated getting down to service them, but they drank water slowly and only required a few teaspoons maybe twice a year. On the 425, they're located below the floor. Clearly, Jerry Douglas has much better knees than I when he decided to put them down there. With a kneeling pad and a headlamp (so I can actually see down into the cells), I set about my task.
Here are the readings... clearly the top battery (the one closest to the companionway stairs) is damaged. The other two batteries could use equalization (a sort of overcharging done to keep the electrolyte dispersed properly).
I guess it's time to call the dealer again. I fear he's getting tired of hearing from me. I'm certainly getting tired of having to call him (but that's another post). I don't know if the battery is the cause of the CO detector issue (or if I also have bad detectors), but we can start with this.
After finishing with the batteries, I went out to fill the water tanks. As I was putting away the hose, I noticed that we evidently have "B-Dockhenge" this evening! (the setting sun aligned right with the dock).
I checked my Photographer's Ephemeris (an app that calculates where the sun will rise and set at a given place and time) and realized that "B-Dockhenge" will actually be next weekend... I'll have to try and remember to get a better photo.
Sunday
With no bow thruster, there was no way we were going out. Our dealer indicated they will get a replacement to the controller by next weekend.
With no trip possible (I'm just not comfortable docking without it), I spent the morning watching John Lewis cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the last time (he died a few days ago), defrosting the in-counter freezer and cleaning the AC raw water trap (again). We left right after lunch.
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