Oct 2019: A Couple More Boat Projects

Updated Port Side Fly Bridge Seating

Chelle didn’t want to be left out of all the recent “boat business” fun so in parallel with the whole throttle replacement spend fest she embarked on a couple of new projects…as if we weren’t already spending enough B.O.A.T. units.  There is probably a cure for us out there somewhere, but for now at least we are slow learners in that particular area of fiscal responsibility.  The "Sea Notes" continue to flow.

The first of these projects involved updating the vinyl cushions for Ghost Rider's fly bridge seating areas.  We had the helm seat rebuilt and recovered two years ago, but now all the other seat cushions were looking pretty ratty, too. And lately they had been absorbing and retaining more rain water than their covers were repelling.  We bought the new foam filling and marine vinyl from our own sources – with the material and color matching what was used for the helm seat do-over (Sea Oyster vinyl) – and then engaged Cape Canvas & Cushion (LINK) in nearby Cape Coral for the handiwork.

The Updated Fly Bridge Cushions Now Match the Helm Chair

They aren’t particularly fancy, but they are functional, much more water resistant than the old ones, and no longer pockmarked by mildew stains.  We treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant which should help with long term survivability.

Four Sliding Shelves Make The Pantry
Area Much More Accessible

The next project was aimed at upgrading the galley pantry.  Ghost Rider has two tall, narrow and very deep cabinets just to the right of the fridge/freezer.  Each has multiple shelf levels and they can hold a lot of stuff, but they require you employ a ladder and a flashlight and have telescoping arms to reach all of the spaces.  It was a fine place to store food related things that you didn't care a great deal about ever seeing again.

The solution was to install some slide-out shelves.  Having seen Rick’s carpentry skills before – essentially he has none – Chelle hired Dave Purcell for the job, who is something of a maritime handyman with good credentials in this area (as well as a USCG 500 GT licensed delivery captain.) She ordered the shelving units from Slide-a-Shelf (LINK) who custom built them to our measurements.  (Note that discounts are sometimes available by ordering through Costco or Amazon.)  And then Dave went to work on fitment, finishing and installation.  He is a bit of a perfectionist so he even crafted a fascia for each sliding shelf and stained them to match the boat’s interior teak woodwork.  They look good and definitely improve accessibility.

With the Stainless Steel Button Latches
Added to Prevent Movement When Underway

To prevent them from sliding forward and banging against the cabinet doors during lumpy seas we used the same stainless steel "button latches" that we had employed on the fridge and freezer doors.  We just need to remember to engage the latches....which is not a given.

On the lowest shelf in the bottom cabinet we chose to forgo the sliding shelf option and instead went with a false bottom on furniture sliders; that preserved the deeper storage area at the base for larger items.

AND SOME ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

Amidst these boat projects we also had to tend to some routine maintenance activities.  The first of those was refreshing a few Racor fuel filters.  While we had not reached an engine hour trigger, there is always some concern about filter effectiveness with the passage of time.  Does a filter element not being used much but still soaking in diesel fuel eventually undergo a change in filtering properties?  At some point the answer is likely yes, but exactly when can really only be determined when the vacuum gauge rises above seven inches HG.  Rick would rather not deal with that while underway, so we change ours after a year if we haven’t yet hit the magic 500 hour mark. That’s overly conservative, but at $10 apiece it’s cheap insurance and peace of mind.  So both main engine Racor 900 filters got changed as did the Racor 500 for the genset.

The Dual Racor 900 Units for the Main Engine.  After Installing the New Filter Elements We Label Them with Both Date
and Engine Hours.  Same Goes for the Smaller Racor 500's on the Generator and Wing Engine.

Next up was the six month windlass service.  Our hydraulically powered Maxwell 3500 will probably outlive us, but the above-deck components still require periodic attention – basically dismantling down to the lower clutch cone and crank collar, liberally lubing all accessible parts with a good lithium grease, and then shooting a grease gun into the main bearing’s zerk fitting.  Upon disassembly we found the unit clean and still well lubricated, not too surprising given its limited use and exposure this year.  But we know its ready to go and hoping for some use in the next couple of months.  After reassembly and checking for leftover parts (none, yay!) we exercised the unit to confirm smooth operation.

Disassembling the Windlass Deck Components....Not a Difficult Task But It's a Messy, Greasy One When Rick Does It

Another rather mundane item that our Wheelhouse software reminds us of on an annual basis is checking the integrity of the DC and AC electrical panel connections.  While inspecting for chafing is a part of that, it's mainly verifying that all attachment points are still tight -- and there are a LOT of them.  But with a couple of different screw drivers and plenty of patience it only takes about an hour.  Before checking the AC power side it's highly recommended that you turn off the shore power 240V/50A circuit breaker first.  It doesn't take much of a slip to turn the rear of that panel into a rogue defibrillator; don't ask Rick how he knows this.

To wrap it all up we sortied Ghost Rider a short distance upriver to the Fort Myers Yacht Basin to take on 400 gallons of diesel fuel.  That brings our current tankage up to around 1100 gallons in total, which will get us through the foreseeable future and avoid the (much) higher rates down in the Keys.

Next up:  We'll be heading inland up to Missouri and Illinois for a much anticipated visit with family and friends, plus our favorite annual charity event.  Packing will be interesting as it much cooler there - it's still damned hot here in southern Florida.  But it will still be great fun in the Midwest.  When we return we hope to get Ghost Rider underway again and head down to the Keys for a spell.  More on that later.

Looking Behind the DC Electrical Panel....Lots of Wire Attachments
That Require Integrity Checks Once a Year.

Looking Inside the AC Electrical Panel....More Attachment Points to Check,
and Most of Them Pack Quite a Punch.  It's No Fun to Become a Human Fuse,
So Disconnecting Power is Highly Recommended.

When We Returned from Our Short Sortie to Take on Fuel, We Parked Ghost Rider Nose In at the Request of Our
Fiberglass Repair Tech.  That Gives Him Easier Access to Patch the Scratches on the Starboard Bow Section.

Apr - May 2019: Continuing in Fort Myers

Keeping Ghost Rider Clean & Shiny at Legacy Harbour in Fort Myers

Spring weather in southern Florida ends about midway through baseball’s spring training season – which is roughly mid-March.  By April we’re into early summer temps.  Early summer means it’s already quite warm but the occasional cool front will drop the humidity to something tolerable for about a day and a half.  And by May it’s just plain hot and humid here with daily afternoon TRWs, and it continues that way until roughly late October.  Which is why we are typically underway and heading elsewhere by this time.

The intensity of the south Florida sun presents a number of other challenges, most notably with its attempts to bleach the boat’s gelcoat into something resembling chalk.  While we’re stuck in port this year we’re doing our best to combat that with frequent fresh water rinses and chamois-wiping exposed surfaces so dirt and bug juice don’t dig in.  Where stains do form Rick is experimenting with a mild soap-with-wax formulation from Z-Tuff, and we also will occasionally follow that up with a quick application of Collonite liquid wax on some of the horizontal surfaces.  The whole goal is to see how long we can make that previous (January) paste wax and detailing job last.

Crew & Ghost Rider Posing with the Grandkids....Grace, Alice & Danny

Rick has also finally completed the boat’s “Projects Page” on our Ghost Rider web site, which can be viewed at this LINK.  We think it’s a fair representation of the more major changes and retrofits we’ve managed over the first two years of ownership.

April Update

Chelle made the first of a few trips to Oklahoma City, initially spending over a week there to assist her mum with move preparations – inventorying, downsizing, packing, plus coordinating some renovation projects.  Around mid-month we also made the move from the boat back to the condo.  But our April highlight was a visit from kids and grandkids during their Easter break.  Lots of pool time, some golf, a visit to the Edison & Ford Winter Estate, and a fishing charter were among the fun activities that kept the din and overall chaos to reasonable levels.

Nick & Danielle with Grace, Alice & Danny After the Easter Egg Hunt on the Beach....and Before the Sugar Highs Kicked In

May Update

Early in May Chelle made another trip to OKC, once again back in her project management mode, to manage the final renovations and move preparations for mum.  But upon return a healthy portion of the month was focused on Rick’s second surgery and subsequent recovery.  An old body is just like an old boat -- lots of maintenance and no warranty on parts or labor. As much as Rick hates hospitals, the intestinal plumbing schematic is now back to where it should be.  (And Rick is thoroughly convinced by now that the engineering behind our intestines is deeply flawed.) Anyway, let the healing begin....we've got the remainder of the summer reserved mostly for just that.

Boat Business Updates

The boat is an easy 12 mile drive from the condo, so outside of the surgical / recuperation window we’ve been making occasional trips to check on Ghost Rider and to tend to the routine (Wheelhouse-prompted) maintenance tasks.  But Rick has also enjoyed our leisurely dirt-dwelling days to tend to some long lingering, albeit minor, boat projects that have been on our “later list” for a long time.  For example:

➤ One of the requirements for joining the hurricane club at the River Forest Yachting Center (RFYC) was to have the boat’s optimum (safe) sling locations labeled, so that their travel lift operators don’t have to guess where to position the boat in the lifting straps.  Rick ordered and applied the 4 decals on the hull.  All boat projects should be this easy.

Two "Sling" Labels on Each Side of the Hull to Mark Where the Travel Lift Straps Go

➤ Another simple (but time consuming) job was placing “clamp jackets” on the exposed ends of the stainless steel worm gear hose clamps (what the Brits call “Jubilee Clips”).  There are a stunning number of them even on a fifty foot boat, and, speaking from painful experience, each tag end of those clamps is like a knife waiting to lacerate someone.  Just the engine room and lazarette so far have consumed fifty of these little rubber-tipped jackets.  Rick calls them clamp condoms.  

A Double Clamped Hose with a Jacket on One & Not the Other

➤ We had also been carrying a fairly hefty bench vise around with us since we purchased the boat, figuring some day we would find a good place to permanently mount that thing.  We never did.  So Rick thru-bolted it to a slab of plywood and attached non-skid rubber feet to the bottom of the base, making it sturdy yet portable.  Check off another one.

Making the Bench Vise Portable & More Usable

 ➤ A piece of kit that we found extremely useful on the previous boat is what we call an anchor shank wedge.  It’s a simple piece of black starboard cut to fit snugly between the stainless anchor chain guides on the bow pulpit, with a slot in the center that securely straddles the shank of the anchor.  Sometimes called a “doghouse” due to its frontal appearance, it allows us to keep a little slack on the chain between the windlass’s capstan and the anchor (reducing stress on the windlass) yet keeps the anchor from wobbling around on the bow roller in rough seas.  Rick also discovered sawing through starboard can be quite messy (especially when you use the wrong saw blade) but that bench vise sure came in handy.

The Simple but Effective Anchor Shank Wedge, AKA the Dog House

➤ A few months ago we noticed the two recliners in the salon were starting to show severe wear and chafing at the fabric seams; and long before that we had noticed they weren’t all that comfortable to begin with.  So while we were visiting friends Ron and Mercedes on N47 Moonrise in Fort Lauderdale a while back, we took a side trip to Pompano Beach to visit Glastop (LINK), on outfit that specializes in boat & RV furniture.  There we ordered up a pair of their “Island Lounger” recliners, along with a small table to fit between them.  Luckily our son, Nick, was in town when the shipment arrived and helped with the furniture moving….they’re heavier than they look.  

The New Recliners in the Salon.....Very Comfy & Durable UltraLeather

Another View of the Salon and Our Comfy New Lounge Chairs

Finally, we did have to add one rather significant problem to the boat’s “to-do” list.  When Rick went to clean out the strainer baskets for the main engine’s thru-hull strainers that filter the cooling seawater, we unfortunately discovered the thru-hull ball valves were not closing; one was only partially closing, the other not at all.  The manner in which one discovers this is unsettling to say the least – when the strainer basket screw top is removed you end up with one helluva gushing geyser of seawater….in the engine room.  Putting that lid back on with that kind of upward water pressure sounds a lot easier than it is in actual practice.  Rick got soaked and the bilge pump got a workout.

To make it more frustrating, those two thru-hull units were just replaced two years ago. Grrrr. Regardless, we’ll need to have the boat hauled out to effect removal and replacement, something we hope to schedule once Rick’s surgical recovery is complete.  It might make for a good test run up to our hurricane hole at the River Forest Yachting Center (RFYC).  In the meantime, should one of those thru-hulls experience a separation failure, the boat won’t sink far….we have at best only 2 feet under the keel at our marina slip.  Sometimes you have to look hard to find it, but there’s always a bright side.

What's Next
Once we’re done with summer projects and our administrative distractions we’re hoping to sortie the boat back over to the Bahamas for some fall/winter cruising, and we’re also not ruling out a stopover in the Dry Tortugas. But the specific timing will depend largely on how the tropical storm season plays out following Rick's surgical recovery.

As for the next boat project -- other than getting those two damned thru-hulls replaced -- Rick is intent on finding a decent remote monitoring solution for the vessel.  We've already got a geo-fencing solution in place, but the goal now is to also trigger email and/or SMS text notifications when battery voltage drops below a certain level, or when shore power is interrupted, or when the bilge water level rises to certain levels.  Those are health metrics that are sorely needed when we're away from the boat for extended periods. We would likely add a few other sensor devices and alert triggers once those basics are reliably satisfied.  Stay tuned for progress on that front in our next blog posting.

Feb - Mar 2019: Hanging in Fort Myers

We Had a Front Row Seat on the Bow of Ghost Rider for Viewing the
Pyrotechnics that Concluded This Year's Edison Festival of Lights

Two months have passed since our previous post, so here’s another catch up entry from the crew of Ghost Rider for the months of February and March.  Our days have been a good mix of recreation, social events, some travel, lots of reading, occasional boat business and even some actual boating.  Since we started our dirt-dwelling winter spell here in Fort Myers Chelle has turned her attention back to her golf game, playing an average of twice per week.  She even has taken some corrective lessons and spent time at the range, which used to be heresy for her.  Meanwhile, Rick has continued his recovery both in terms of energy level and weight gain, which of course means he’s gotten quite active once again with his main hobby – more boat projects.  (There’s always a list.)

February Update

With guests occupying the condo we moved back onto the boat in February, still moored at Legacy Harbour Marina in downtown Fort Myers.  That gave both of us the luxury of combining dirt-dwelling with live-aboard life.  That also meant we had a front row seat for the Edison Festival of Light fireworks finale right off the bow of Ghost Rider….it was a sustained and percussive pyrotechnic display that we thoroughly enjoyed, see the YouTube video link HERE.

Rick finally began construction on a new page for our web site, with the purpose of documenting the more significant boat projects that we’ve undertaken on Ghost Rider.  That page is still under construction, and while mostly of interest to boat geeks, a partially completed version/preview is available HERE for the curious.  It’s also worth noting that these blog page(s) now have a search capability, and you’ll find the search box towards the upper right hand corner of the current web page.

The Ships's Computer and a Bluetooth Laptop Feeding the Fusion Stereo
System with Either Internet Streaming or Our Own Music Library

As for February boat business, Rick completed configuration and testing of the boat’s revised sound system, using a full screen media player (MusicBee) with access to our fairly large music library, as well as Internet-streaming music (and Rick’s favorite podcasts) all now accessible via Bluetooth devices as well as the ship's computer, piped through our Fusion marine stereo system.  We’re also happy with the smartphone remote control capability.  And, as has become our custom when wintering here in Fort Myers, we had the U.S. Coast Guard aboard for Ghost Rider’s annual courtesy inspection.  Legacy Harbor sponsors these each winter and we find it comforting to have that third party evaluation of the boat’s safety readiness.

March Update

Ron & Mercedes with Daughter Stephanie Preparing Dinner Aboard Moonrise

The month of March brought spring training baseball to Florida; it was a treat to attend a Red Sox game on a perfect sunny afternoon, even if the Sox got trounced by the Pirates.  Immediately after the game we drove over to Fort Lauderdale on the other coast to visit with good friends Ron and Mercedes, who had just returned from months of cruising the Bahamas in their Nordhavn 47, Moonrise.  They were waiting on some water maker parts before resuming their journey north to their home in Charleston, so we were able to spend a couple of very pleasant evenings together.

Shortly after returning to Fort Myers we finally got the boat out of its slip for a three day period, heading down river and then up the ICW to an anchorage between Cabbage Key and Useppa Islands.  We got a good chance to fully sea trial some of the previous repairs: the stabilizers performed well with no more leaks, and the new wing engine throttle did its job admirably for both hydraulic power and as auxiliary propulsion.  We were met at the anchorage that Friday by friends Dan and Juli in their Grady-White Marlin, FloMotion, and we anchored together just west of Useppa.  We launched the dinghy and ferried them over to Ghost Rider for dinner, drinks and a fun social evening. 

The Water Taxi Going from Ghost Rider to Nearby FloMotion

The following morning (a Saturday) we were greeted by some spotty rain, so Rick tended to some boat chores.  On the sortie north the previous day we had noticed some rubber chunks of an alternator belt beneath the main engine, so Rick pulled off the engine and belt guards to take a look – sure enough both drive belts for the #2 alternator had begun shredding themselves.  We had spares on board and it didn’t take long for Rick to remove and replace those and reassemble the guard shrouds.

By noon the skies cleared and we had another pleasant afternoon hanging on the hook.  Dan and Juli departed later that day but by then we had been joined by yet another Grady club couple, good friends Dan and Cher.  They rafted their small Freedom (Lady GoDiver) to Ghost Rider and that evening we dinghied over to Cabbage Key for dinner.  We returned to the anchorage just after sunset and enjoyed more social time aboard, with Dan and Cher spending a comfortable night in our guest stateroom.

Two Grady-White's and a Nordhavn at Anchor...and the Dingy as Water Taxi

The next day the four of us enjoyed a lazy morning hanging out on Ghost Rider’s fly bridge while watching light traffic pass by out on the ICW.  By late morning we had gathered enough energy to begin departure preparations and by noon Dan and Cher had pushed off to head back to their home in Punta Gorda.  We retrieved the anchor and chugged back south to Legacy Harbour in Fort Myers, arriving just after 1600 in calm conditions for an uneventful docking exercise.  It had been good to be back out on the water.

A busy March was concluded with a long flight out to Tucson, Arizona where we were privileged to attend the wedding for our niece, Morgan.  She and her soulmate Claudio hosted a backyard affair under crystal clear desert skies and it all went perfectly.  Making it even better, we got to spend quality time with Rick’s lifelong wing man, Dick Schulte, at Dick and Cindy’s gorgeous home in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains.  It was a fabulous five days.

Rick and Dick Next to a B-52D (Tail Number 067 in Which Rick Had Many PIC Hours) at Tucson's Pima Air & Space Museum.  Two Buddies Who Went Through Grade School, High School, College and then Pilot Training Together.  Brothers.

March Boat Business Updates

New Fire Bottle in the Engine Room

As for the latest boat business:  First, an unfortunate modernization opportunity arose during our annual fire suppression system inspection; the big Fireboy bottle (900 cubic foot capability) in the engine room failed the weight test, indicating some propellant leakage had occurred.  These auto discharge bottles are not serviceable, so a new one was ordered to the tune of two “boat units”.  During the same inspection the smaller fire bottle (350 cubic foot capability) in the lazarette passed, but unfortunately experienced an accidental discharge during the remounting process.  The poor technician got a face full of FM200 propellant, but fortunately emerged without serious injury (apart from a temporary burning in the eyes and a numb tongue.)  Lesson:  wear eye protection when messing around with those things.  We’re not sure what that replacement cost since ABC Fire Equipment Corp footed the bill for that ‘oops’.  We also replaced the manual pull cable for the big engine room bottle while we were at it….it had some fraying and was difficult to operate at full travel.  Once all that was completed we re-tested the system’s auto-shutdown sequence and all was well once again.

Draining the Coolant from the Diesel Generator

Next up was the coolant service for the generator that comes at 600 hour intervals, a threshold we crossed while anchored at Useppa.  That’s a relatively simple routine maintenance operation since (unlike the wing engine) the drain spigot and hose is well-designed and easy to access.  Rick drained the old coolant, flushed the block twice with fresh water, then refilled with a 50/50 mix of Peak Fleet Charge, which meets all the SCA specs for these Lugger diesel engines.  Changing out the thermostat (a recommended precautionary measure) was a slightly different story since that damned thing was located on the “wrong” (outboard) side of the engine, thus requiring some boat yoga, and is mounted vertically with a rather beefy internal hold-down spring.  With four hands it would have been easy, but with only two it took Rick a while to get it done right.

New Caframo 12V Fan Added to the Pilot House Bridge

The final project on the list was to mount two more Caframo 12 volt fans that Chelle had purchased a while back; she liked the one we installed in the galley so much that she asked for one in the master stateroom and one in the pilot house.  Mounting the hardware was simple enough but figuring out where and how to tap into the boat’s 12V system is sometimes challenging….at least for Rick it is.  But we figured it out and these new fan additions help address some dead-air spots when not running the AC.

Morgan & Claudio as Wife & Husband...and Ready to Get Out of There and Over
to Europe for Their Honeymoon.

Dick & Rick Next to the F-16 Viper at Pima Air & Space Museum.  Dick Flew the Viper During
 the First Gulf War.  He Also Has Time in the F-4 Phantom and the OV-10.

Among the 300+ Aircraft at the Pima Museum was this F4D Skyray.  It's Obscure to Most, but Rick's Dad Flew This Carrier-Based Aircraft.  Note the Tail Number '4748'.  Our First Nordhavn was an N47....Hull Number 48.