Anything worth doing once is worth doing; twice,... three times...?

Here we are, a few months since our last major haul out; and we're doing it again. This time at Lauderdale Marine Center, where we'll be getting a new prop shaft, and cutlass bearing. At least that was the plan... 

As we hauled the boat so that we could set her down on her keel, and verify the torque as well as fair the keel with a flexible epoxy barrier, we found a TERRIBLE bottom. Full of more barnakles than I've ever seen, we found that we needed to do the bottom as well. This turned a one week $1000 job into a two week $2,000 job. 

In the end, it was basically worth it even though we had some issues with the rear portion of the keel "again!"... We're definitely going to become expert at this repair, eventually. The next time we do this, I am deffinitely going to enlist the help of a machinist to fabricate an impressive keel plate; to hell with what Beneteau says, we're going big and we're going thick. Once we torque this puppy down, it will not move!

Overhauling!

The Joy of a Thirty Year Old Boat

Lasata was purchased nearly 14 years ago, and has been a great boat for me. I've done numerous upgrades and have tried my best at keeping her in the best shape possible. The new Genoa 150 and new standing rigging last year are the simplest examples of what seems to be a regular upgrade routine. After all she is a thirty year old boat, and things are bound to need attention (even on newer boats). 

Lasata presented us with a pesky leak shortly after leaving from the SSCA Gam in Maryland this year. I was unsure of where exactly this leak was, however by the time we were two days into an offshore run south of Beaufort, NC I knew we had to address the situation. Thoughts of an episode where the anchor came loose and banged it's way down the boat, and possible leaking exhaust hoses came to mind. However it would need to wait until we were in Fort Lauderdale before any more attention would be given. After all the bilge pump was easily keeping up... mostly. 

Best of Intentions, maintenance wise... 

After making our way to Loggerhead Marina in Hollywood, we were settled in and began taking stock of what would be needed for the trip to the Bahamas. First on the list; the leak! Followed by other items like "re-Power" , "rebuild" or "nothing", and provisioning ofcourse. So, we promptly set off on pulling the boat into a DIY Yard "Playboy Marine". This is a yard I will not be using anytime in the future; a topic for another time.

Pulling the boat it became instantly obvious the issue was the rear portion of the keel, as it hung 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the hull. This is not good, and is very likely the cause of the leak. Once on jack stands, I went to work to check the torque on the aft set of bolts. As disappointed as I was to find the bolt rotted away below the hull, I was happy that it appeared to be the only bolt affected. Mind you, every one of the fourteen bolts were replaced by a yard in Maryland five years ago. Just goes to show, you need to keep an eye on everything.

I went off to get some expert advice, and very quickly found plenty to go around. Everyone seems to have extravagant ideas on how to fix something as simple as a rotted bolt. The most outrageous idea was to use a plasma torch and cut a section from the aft edge of the keel and run bolts through the cut off section. Beneteau insisted the only way to do it was to drop the keel. The ideas were totally out of the question for me. One was too extreme and the other too time consuming, we needed to get to the Bahamas.

Temporary repair and repaint the bottom. 
Sometimes a quick and easy fix is just what is needed to get the job done, while allowing one the time to evaluate possible long-term solutions. Thankfully I was able to get the broken bolt out of the keel without removing it, saving lots of time and heartache. Much to the surprise of the local boatyard contractors, all it took was a steady hand, patience, and a little know how.

The first thing was to clean the jagged remains of the bolt. Using a Dremel and a small cylindrical grinding head, I smoothed the top of the bolt flat. This left a small ring where the outline of the bolt was visible against the outline of the threads cut into the keel. Next I simply drilled a hole, starting from the smallest diameter working my way to a hole large enough to set an "EZ-Out" screw extractor. Lucky for me, the yard I paid to do this job did use a generous amount of Anti-Seize compound and the bolt came out without incident.

The fix lasted
With a new bolt and flexible epoxy patch along the exterior of the keel joint, the fix lasted allowing us to take three months to cruise the Bahamas. It wasn't without incident, and we did have a small leak because the aft section of the keel seems to want to drop away from the hull, no matter how tightly we torque the bolt. But the leak was not so bad that we stopped our trip.

We dropped the keel
Arriving back in Miami, the nuisance of the leaking keel bolt was to be attended to once and for all. We took a quick break, and began looking for a DIY Yard to handle our keel issue. First up was to find a place where asking for a "Keel Cradle" wasn't met with blank stares. We found one a hundred miles north of Miami. Cracker Boy was a much improved DIY experience over Playboy, and we'll make sure everyone we hear talking about Playboy knows the difference going forward.

Unnerving as it were, dropping the keel was an experience worthy of note. There is nothing so reassuring as knowing every inch of your boat, and I'd bet there are not many boat owners who have pulled their boat so far apart as to separate the boat from the keel, the mast from the boat, and the engine from the engine compartment; simultaneously.

Our Facebook page has a set of pictures we took of this experience here.

We are re-powered
Lasata was built in 1984, and was most likely delivered equipped with a 20 HP Volvo Penta diesel engine. At some point the previous owner replaced that beast with a 13 HP 2GM Yanmar; a more civilized looking engine in my opinion. Lasata was mostly under-powered in my opinion. So with a Yanmar showing age, and the evident lack of power, it was time to put a new freshwater cooled 20 HP engine back in the boat.  Enter; the Yanmar 3YM20, a nice quiet smooth three cylinder diesel which is sure to provide many years of reliable service.



With all this new stuff, and major maintenance, we have a new Boat Survey! Great news, the boat is worth a couple thousand more than I paid for it fifteen years ago. The only hits on the survey were very minor; one was to install a high-water alarm, and the other was to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Not bad...

Boat Improvements:

Living and working aboard on a small, older sailboat.

The 1984 Beneteau First 345 is classified as a cruiser/racer and even with the shoal draft of 5 1/2 feet performs well to windward. Though 30 years old, this boat performs very well, is well built, and continues to serve us well. Most recent upgrades, specifically the new 21 HP Yanmar diesel, ensures that we'll very likely keep the boat for years to come.

On a recent sail with some new friends who are potentially interested in "getting into sailing and buying a boat of their own" I was asked how much work is it, really? I tried my best to convey that boat projects are endless, and for those who don't mind working on boats and value craftsmanship, the 1984 Beneteau will not disappoint, as will many older boats.

I've owned Lasata for nearly 15 years and have meticulously maintained, and done many upgrades.Though I haven't always done a good job of chronicling the meriad projects, I do have some online history of the projects. Here are the projects as I remember them;

Keel (2014)
Repower (2014)
Standing Rigging (2013)
Running Rigging (2007)
Air Conditioning (2009)
Interior Overhead (2008)
V-Berth Bulkhead (2008)
New Genoa 150% (2013)
New / Used Main (2012)
New Curtains (2014)
New Cultass (2011)
New Electronics (2011)

At some point, I'll try to find the photographs taken along the way showing some detail of my past projects. I only wish I hadn't done so many projects completely alone so that I might have been able to better provide a photographic accounting.

Regatta & Round Trip between Biscayne & Key West

Coconut Grove Sailing Club Commodores Cup

New Spinnaker, new'ish crew & a windward-leeward race on Biscayne Bay netted Lasata 6th place. This simple fun club race was a great time on the water and a good learning experience. The crew; John Stein, Kristin Parsons, Stacie, and me handled a fouled Spinnaker and two late starts with a minimum of stress.

Before the race, I had some time to put together our crew shirts,

Awards Ceremony
After the day of racing, we were treated to a keg and some awards back at the club. Tying Lasata to the dock, starting the Air Conditioner, and resting for the evening before we embark on our round trip to Key West. Though sixth place didn't warrant a prize of any kind, we had a good night of meeting some new friends.

Key West Trip
Day one of our trip to Key west, we were able to do some practice Spinnaker sets and had two interesting events. The first event was that a small private Cessna crashed into the water just a few miles behind us. The second was a crazy lightning storm near Duck Key.

At approximately 11pm we were heading to a rush anchor job near Duck Key to batten down and hang on through a fast passing, very exciting lightning storm. Though we dragged anchor a little more than a 100 feet, we dragged in the correct direction. Simply a matter of luck; giving us the opportunity to learn something about weather positioning. We are now well aware that we need a weather eye and constantly updated contingency planning for weather.

Wake up & run to Key West
Waking up at 2:45 am and making the final run to Key West was a joy and though we motor sailed most of the way, John and I were able to spend a few hours sailing at a good speed. Arriving into Key West 12 hours later, we were at Margaritaville having a couple of Loaded Land Shark beers. At one time this was a favorite and traditional way to start the Key West experience. ...Not feeling it so much anymore.

Sleepy Key West evening
As John went out for a walk into town, Stacie and I couldn't help but lying down for a long nap. I'm sure it made for a very atypical Key West visit, but it's how we seem to be doing it this way everywhere we go lately. Sailing just takes it out of us, boaters midnight has become a normal way we spend our evenings.

Oil Change, refuel, and ready to go
After a good breakfast, we headed off to get supplies for our oil change and prep the boat for the 24 hour return to Coconut Grove. I guess I should have drained the Fuel/Oil separator, it would have helped the engine 14 hours later in the trip. It seemed we were starving the engine, and a quick drain-off of the resivouir had the engine running well enough, but I was a little too late for us to regain full power.

Looks like I'll be changing the fuel filters in Coconut Grove.

Can't wait for our next Key's adventure. Maybe we'll have more than a weekend?

Upgrades, Overhauling, & What Next?

Years of enjoyment and ownership requirements

After many years of ownership and enjoyment, Lasata has undergone what I'd consider a series of major improvements, and as of a month or two ago a major refit. Not withstanding the sad news of the "newer" Cheeki Rafiki, the decision to do the upgrades and maintenance on Lasata was borne of my very own paranoia. Basically, a concerning indicator of a 1/4 inch gap at the rear 5 or 6 inches of the keel joint, and a consistent under-powered performance on the ICW and many inlets has forced my hand at the following upgrades.

As of June first Lasata has had her mast un-stepped and stepped twice, hauled and inspected three times, a new Yanmar 3YM20, and what I call a "Keel-Job". Last year Lasata received a set of new standing rigging and for my piece of mind that was enough then. This year before going to the Bahamas, Lasata received a new DSC registration, a new EPIRB, and a minor keel repair. Returning from the Bahamas we finished the Keel Repair and decided after worry at inlets (many of them) causing us trouble entering without full sail, a new engine was also in order.

Here are a few shots of our re-fit and near complete rebuild:

These are a little out of order, but it should give a slight idea of the amount of work done on Lasata over the past few months. Don't forget we also have a complete electronics upgrade, interior upgrade, and Standing Rigging upgrade. Our new survey shows just how much we've done; the surveyor found only that I don't have a fire extinguisher label on one of my cabinets, no high-water alarm, and finally no smoke detectors...
Not bad for a 30 year old boat. Oh, and it is valued for at least as much, if not more than I paid for her more than 12 years ago!

Two months in the Bahamas
We're home; back in Florida, after just over two months in the Bahamas. Any more time would be too much and any less would not have made the trials of the trip worth the effort. We now have a little different perspective on what a clear-water anchorage looks like, and what bad customer service is. Never mind the conveniences we take for granted here in the states; like great internet and phone service, inexpensive and readily available groceries and incidentals. It sure is good to be home!

That said, overall the Bahamas is a real gem. Getting away from places like Nassau and larger cities catering to wholesale tourism like Cruise Ships, Fishing excursions, and Gambling, can take you to a largely untouched wilderness. Finding smaller villages along the way, like Black Point, Staniel Cay, and Bimini were a reminder of simpler times and how we have it so good in the US. We will certainly remember these places fondly.

It's our hope that we will not need to remember for too long, as we are looking forward to our trip back next year. With plethora anchorages and islands, we're sure to find new places as we revisit familiar places. Our new found knowledge will certainly make the trip next year even more memorable in a more distant future.

Beyond Nassau

Stopping to see the Iguana's at Allens Cay
Leaving Nassau our intentions were to head directly to Normans Cay. This place was home to a ruthless Drug Lord in the 80's and has an Air Strip. Considering it is mostly privately owned, I wasn't hopeful to get into shore, but I thought it'd be interesting to wonder about the planes and their passengers as they landed on the secluded island.

It wasn't to be, mostly because I didn't want to make it a long day, and want to finally "enjoy" a little Island Time. Allens Cay was the answer. Again having absolutely no services on the island, this was going to be a sightseeing mission only. With it's resident Iguanas on Leaf Island, and the two notable very large yachts on the horizon, this was a nice respite for the evening.

While taking some pics of the Iguanas, we met the crew and charter from, I believe was the Lady S motor yacht (http://lady-s.rentabo.com/). Based on what I see, that means these people paid nearly a half million dollars to go to the same place we just motor sailed to for a few dollars. Well, at least they were served champagne and Heineken on the beach.

Just before this shot was taken Dan Snyder Heineken in hand, owner of the mega yacht, and the Washington Redskins walked by with barely a glance. Little did he know, I wouldn't have known who he was any way. Eventually, Bruce Allen walks by and stops for a chat, before being ordered away by Dan. Again, not knowing a thing about these people, I noticed the Redskins Polo Shirt and wasted no time in mentioning Stacie's friendly dislike of the Redskins.

After getting back to the boat, I decided to look the Lady-S up, and a quick Google search revealed who these guys we were experiencing the Iguanas with were. I guess I should have mentioned one of their 80 year old fans too.

Emergency Relay
The following morning we got ourselves underway for Staniel Cay.

Along the route just south of Normans Cay, or original first day destination, we heard a frantic call to the local park ranger office. The poor woman probably not knowing that her handheld VHF just wouldn't cut it. She attempted many times to locate a Doctor and requested emergency medical attention. "Pokey Hokey" a trawler, while anchoring or possibly pulling anchor we're not sure, snatched the owners thumb with it's anchor windlass (most likely).  We were a ways away and couldn't render direct assistance, but there were boats on the way. It seems the injured was dinghy lifted off the boat and taken to the nearby airfield on Normans Cay for a flight to the Hospital in Nassau.

Anyway, good deed accomplished, and off we continued to Staniel Cay. .

Shallow Staniel Cay
Entering Staniel Cay was challenging with it's shallow approach. I guess we should have looked at the tides? Albeit I think it's better to arrive on a rising tide versus a lowering tide. After running aground more times than I care to admit, we were snug in a narrow anchorage near the SCYC. Ready to make the best of a couple days here to do some of the typical sightseeing and tourist things. Like feeding swimming pigs and diving Thunderball Grotto.

Feeding pigs and Thunderball Grotto
So after a quick visit to look around:
Little did we know (yet again) we'd run across "Seven Seas" the Steven Speilberg yacht, as we made our way around to see the swimming pigs. Ahhh, what a life, hobknobbing (or at least being in the same breathing space) as the big-wigs

Black Point Settlement
<more to come>

Busy times, but now in Nassau 

So it's been just a little more than three months since the last posting. I guess time flies when you're having fun! 

So, the short of it; we've made our way down the ICW from St. Augustine, finding our way to Hollywood Loggerhead Marina. Staying here for a couple months, for repairs and to visit friends and family, we left for the Bahamas from Biscayne Bay at No Name Key on January 27th. The crossing was made to Bimini in a long daysail with a few boats in the group taking advantage of the weather window. 

Having met with some friends who we left back in St Simons Island, GA and getting into the groove of the Bahamas, overall our time in Bimini wasn't without challenges. For example, we lost our brand new GoPro camera when we tried to do some snorkeling with a new friend. We felt a little ripped off by the local computer supply shop owner. We snapped our dinghy sheer-pin in the middle of the night crashing our dinghy into the beach (ocean side). 

Needless to say we were completely ready to leave Bimini and put this behind us. Trouble is, we had 15+ knots of wind and steep waves on the nose for the first 80 miles of our trip to Nassau. As such, we continued to have little mishaps along the way. For example, we left the forward hatch open in steep waves allowing for a large amount of water to enter the v-berth soaking our bed, and some clothes. Adding to that, I hadn't changed the Fuel Separator filter and Fuel Filter for more than a year, and just when we needed it most, the engine lost power forcing us to sail in large tacks before anchoring for the night. 

Luckily, we are seeing the brighter side and I feel like the trip is going to start shaping up famously soon. We spent a nice evening at anchor in West Bay, where I checked out the keel and did some swimming around the boat. Everything looks good, and the small crack in the aft end of the keel looks completely manageable.

I'll be adding some pics to this post, so check back. 

In Turquoise Water (mostly)

Intermediate Destination In Sight
It's been a while since leaving St. Augustine and we've covered a good amount of ground. We've stopped at a variety of Loggerhead Marinas along the way including; The Loggerhead Marina at Vero Beach and Loggerhead Marina at Lantana. We've made our "home base" at Loggerhead Marina Hollywood, FL for the past month. As luck would have it, I have a Contract to Hire offer at a local software company (within 3.5 miles of the marina) so I'll be keeping up with work. If things go well, I'll be staying on provided they are okay with my remote work requirements.


Preparations!
Stacie now has a new passport, the boat is registered in Florida, we are registered with the CBP through SVRS and DTOPS. So, from an official perspective we're ready. Additionally we've added a new 250 Watt Keyocera Solar Panel, a 200 Amp Hour Lithium Ion house battery, a new 1000 watt true sine inverter, an AC transfer switch, and a cool battery monitor system. Possibly a bit of overkill, but I'd really like to anchor out more than staying in marinas while in the Bahamas.

Next, we will be installing the new foot blocks which were disintegrating rapidly on our way down the coast this trip. Finally we'll be doing the normal Maintenance on the Engine; thankfully we will not be guessing as much with our new Engine Hour meter!