The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Hey Jim,
Those Catalina's , they must be one of those new fangled jobs with a steering wheel and all. Real sailors use a stick!

But it looks like you had some good water the day you were out. I now have two ...count them...2 sailboats and neither of them are seaworthy at the moment....but my old trusty C-Dory is in the water and ready to go. She is looking forward to getting new power in a few weeks for a few days I will be "boatless"...ol' what a sad word.
 
Pat Anderson":10zxvj7u said:
Jim, you kind of need to be from here to know about "socks and sandles guy," "roadside chainsaw wood carver" and "blue tarp camper"! Kind of a NW inside joke, not really a Tropical Tip kind of deal!


JamesTXSD":10zxvj7u said:
Remember the song from Sesame Street: "One of these things is not like the others; one of these things doesn't belong"? :mrgreen:
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Hey, Pat, when we were up your way, we saw plenty of socks and sandal wearing, sprout-eatin', fancy coffee drinkin' folks. If you see someone wearing socks and sandals in our part of the world, it's a guarantee that they are a tourist. Feel free to fill me in on the other stuff.

For Mike - we've had sailboats with a wheel and plenty with a tiller. I prefer a tiller on a smaller boat for the feel, but after about 27' on one of those "lead mines", a wheel just makes sense for space and cockpit comfort. So, are you gonna tell us what the second sailboat might be? Is this the "over the horizon" boat or one of those "it called my name" boats? Do tell.

We're back at the campground on the river near my dear ol' Mother. It's sunny, temp into the 80s, and boats are blasting up and down the muddy Missouri, rocking in each others' wakes.

Doing some "son time" and counting the days 'till we're back in the Tropical Tip.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Grumpy":3tjxgnyh said:
Jim,

My theory is that true PNWesterners have green, mossy, webbed feet :mrgreen: and they are too polite to shock people from "elsewhere".

Merv
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Well, that would explain the socks and sandals... how do you explain the desire for $5 coffee? :wink: Oh, and we use blue tarps to cover our roofs after a whirlygirl.
 
Jim,
The new boat is a 1987 "Luger" Fairwinds 27. It was sold as a kit boat to be finished by the owner...hec it even came with blueprints. It was a project for the PO that he never put his whole heart into. So after 5 years in the front driveway, his wife laid down the law. Judy is only giving me 2 years and I have it in the backyard...go figure.

There are photos in my album:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

What sold me was the fact that I have a clean slate to work with and I can build it out to suit my needs. It also was designed with the motor well that will only need a 15-20 hp engine, and it has a swing keel that is attached on the outside of the hull meaning no trunk to cut down on interior movement and design.

The PO had the idea to turn it into a pilot house motor sailer but I thought it was a bit top heavy so I started off cutting off the pilothouse. Between heat and rain I have not made to much headway as yet. Cleaning and Planning.

If your in the mood, drop by and pitch in...lots of glass work to be done...and Joan could help out on the interor design. Picking out colors and fabrics , etc. [/url]
 
Hi Mike,

Well, that's quite a project. I have to say I haven't seen a Luger 27 built out as a pilothouse. That's a lot of windage, but it would have provided some protection... um, prior to you taking a sawzall to it! :shock: So, am I to assume that you'll have the Mac for sailing, the C-Dory for powering about (till she goes to a new home), and then the Luger to keep you off the streets and out of the bars for the next two years? :wink: I'll be anxious to see what you do with her (the Luger, not Judy).

Keep us posted.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Congratuations Jim & Joan on acheiving 100 pages of posts on this really fun thread. Keep on truckin' boatin' or RV'in and share'in all the fun with us. Hope to see you sometime soon.
 
Hi Roger,

I didn't realize this had run up to 100 pages... and some of it even pertains to C-Dorys. :wink: Time certainly flies when you don't know what you're doing. :mrgreen: Joan and I have enjoyed the comments and participation of our C-Brat friends... because of this great forum that Mike and Bill created, we have made friends from all over. Hopefully, we've encouraged some folks to join in the fun.

Also, allow me to point out the obvious: these boats seem to attract people who enjoy being out and about. I'm not so sure that what we do qualifies as "grand", but we have a grand time. Our thanks to nice folks like you and Janet who have made our time with Wild Blue so special. We're anxious to get back to some water fun.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
Pat Anderson":3uyrwvru said:
More impressive than replies is the number of views - 140,369!
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You know what they say about people not being able to look away from a train wreck? :wink:

------------

We're on the downward side of our trip back to the water. Last night we stopped for the night at a "free" campground in Kansas (the 1st 48 hours are no charge for water and elec.) Here's the story...

Looking at destinations just over half way between Sioux City, Iowa, and Dallas, Texas... up pops Chanute, Kansas. So, here we are in the birthplace of the "Love Shack" (my name for our 5th wheel, an LS model)... again. The drive was uneventful, but (as you'd expect) the park is thick with people. The temp is around 90 degrees, it's sunny and breezy. Lots of baseball games going on. The RV section by the main drag is nearly full... several bunkhouse units with a carnival name on the side (is this becoming an on-going theme?). Hoping for some quiet, we went to the side by the golf course. One site left!

Ah, we must be living right. We unhooked the cargo trailer, positioning it so we could easily move it; backed the LS into the site, dropped the gear and stabilizers, and hooked up. Within seconds after we pulled out the awning, the old Class C next to us erupted with sound and smoke. No, it's not on fire... it was two teenage girls driving an electric kiddie car... with the kid and the parents screaming at them ("Mine! Mine!"). The smoke? Apparently the family is sacrificing some sort of animal to the smoke gods... huge billowing clouds of smoke and the smell of burning grease. Nice. The kid got the kiddie car back and nearly ran us over while we were standing right next to the LS. Izzy freaked and left a cloud of her own smoke as she ran for the door. "Let me in!" I don't speak cat, but the message was clear. The dad grabbed the kid by the arm and asked him the age old question, "Do you want an ass whooping?" I didn't hear an answer, but I was about to vote in favor of it when Joan stopped me.

We put our chairs under the awning and took in the ambiance of the only RV site filled with the smoke of the next door neighbors. On the bright side, the peace and quiet was interrupted by the Mother screaching at the kid: "Don't drive that thing on the gravel! I mean it - don't! Do you hear me? Don't drive that thing on the gravel!" Fortunately, that only went on for 20 minutes or so while the kid stared blankly at her and drove the kiddie car on the gravel. Finally, the Mom drug the kid back to their site and went back to get the kiddie car. She removed the battery. "You will sit for 5 minutes and not make a sound, young man!" That lasted for almost 12 seconds and then the kid got out his little bicycle with training wheels and circled their Class C. Repeatedly. It wasn't long before whatever they were incinerating was deemed cooked and the kid was told to come eat with the family... 20 or 30 times. On the really bright side, the billowing smoke finally quit.

So, as near as I can tell, there are 5 of them in that Class C...

Neighbors1e.jpg

Interesting job of parking - they had to drive OVER that parking stop...

Neighbors2e.jpg

Not so long ago, I posted something about the summer "amateurs" and RVing (we prefer to RV in the winter).

Mother Nature must have felt we deserved a pleasant end to the day...

SunsetE.jpg

Tonight, we are just outside of Dallas, about to spend a couple days with Joan's Mom. The drive across Oklahoma on two lane roads in an abysmal state of disrepair today... an adult beverage, a nice discussion of motorcycles with the neighbor... yeah, I'm almost ready for the next couple days. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Almost home! We left McKinney, TX, this morning, planning to make it a two day trip to the Tropical Tip. Plenty of traffic much of the way (Texas is the second most populated state), but the roads were WONDERFUL! (Oklahoma roads leave a LOT to be desired.) We decided to keep rolling, made it through San Antonio before their rush hour, and have settled in for the evening just outside of Corpus Christi. It was 92 degrees when we rolled in, and plenty humid. Since we have had cool weather the past month or so, I was concerned... would we remember how to sweat? Not to worry - while setting up, I was sweating like a farm animal. And, in the words of the philosopher Martha Stewart: and that's a good thing! Assuming the potential severe weather tonight doesn't cause us any problems, we will be home tomorrow. Over three months out on this trip, Izzy the travel cat has grown into a big girl, the HitchHiker is a great cruising condo, and Big Red does an admirable job hauling her around. We'll take our time getting the "Love Shack" unloaded and cleaned... there are beaches to be walked, surf to be played in, pools to be lounged around, and a boat and motorcycle to be run about.

We're having fun planning the next trip out with Wild Blue.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Jim, hope you stay around for a few days. Wilma and I are leaving early Thursday, tomorrow, for Houston. Wilma found a problem that we only feel comfortable at MD Anderson. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing to worry about, but we need to have it checked out. We were looking forward to having you two over for dinner. Maybe when we return with good news.
 
Walldog":tuud8vqb said:
Jim, hope you stay around for a few days. Wilma and I are leaving early Thursday, tomorrow, for Houston. Wilma found a problem that we only feel comfortable at MD Anderson. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing to worry about, but we need to have it checked out. We were looking forward to having you two over for dinner. Maybe when we return with good news.
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We'll be around for a few weeks, Herb. Hope all goes well in Houston. Give me a call when you get back.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
So, you can go home again...

An easy run from Corpus to the Tropical Tip. By early afternoon, it was home, sweet home. We have the HitchHiker on a lot kiddie-corner from our house, making the unloading process easy. We'll put "the Love Shack" into storage on Monday, so there's no rush. We opened up the house, turned on water, opened the hurricane shutters... apparently, there was a sand/dust storm in the last few weeks, 'cause the outside of the house was grubby. I went to work with the power-washer while Joan started packing up the stuff that needed to be moved in. Inside, the house was sparkling clean (the way we left it), and comfortable. Up north, folks leave heat on in the winter while they're gone; down here, we leave the air conditioning on while we're gone. With the house all closed up, it doesn't have to run much.

We love our little house on the water here... I asked Joan what she missed most - the big freezer. And for me - the jacuzzi tub. Yes, we can get a bigger fridge with a different floorplan in the HitchHiker but I haven't seen one (yet) with a two person jacuzzi. :wink: No way to make either of those fit in Wild Blue.

It's warm, the palm trees are swaying in the breeze, I have definitely gotten up to speed on sweating.

Izzy is tentatively getting used to the house... she spent a couple months here before we moved her into the HitchHiker in February. No stairs? She's adaptable. Sometime next week, we'll get Wild Blue launched and start getting her used to the boat before we head out again.

The 5th wheel made for some very comfortable land cruising the past few months; we're looking forward to more of the same on Wild Blue.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Paying it forward.

We heard from some sailing buddies of ours that they would be participating in the Texas 200 (a raid, not a race). They were planning to launch in our town and then sail 35 miles up to where the T200 starts. We are still getting the 5th wheel unloaded, but planned to see our friends this morning. About 7:30 I got a call from them... the front wheel bearing on their truck was seized. I took some tools and headed out. When I got there, my buddy Charlie had the front wheel off, but the bearing was "welded" to the spindle. I brought a sledge hammer, so he was able to get it off. We ran the 15 miles into town to get a set of bearings and the other necessary stuff, then back to their truck. He is a resourceful guy and had it functional in an hour or so.

CJLTruckE.jpg

We came back to our ramp and got their boat rigged. It's a neat little trimaran that Charlie built (based on a sharpie design)...

LaunchedE.jpg

They will be running 235+ miles in this event, camping on shore at night. No motor. It really is a lot more fun than it sounds.

They were planning to catch a ride at Port Mansfield 35 nm north to come back and get their truck and trailer. Joan and I volunteered to run it up there for them so it would be one less thing to deal with (since they were already running behind schedule).

While at the ramp, waiting their turn to launch, a guy with a 26' powerboat backed down, then pulled back up the ramp... his boat wouldn't start. Joan went home to get our jumper battery pack, and they were quickly on their way.

On the way to deliver the truck and trailer, two women were trying to push a car; I stopped and gave them a hand. Their English was worse than my Spanish, but we got it figured out.

So, that should be 3 additions to the "pay it forward" bucket. :wink: Charlie said I'd do anything to get out of the work of unloading... yeah, the work is still there. :roll: Got to get that done so we can get Wild Blue out of storage and off to get some service work. The weather is warm, the water is warm (bay temp 85º), and I can't wait.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim

Thanks for taking us along on all these 100 pages and that definately includes the last 3 months with the RV. That bit with the family and the class C would fit into a top comedy routine.

There's no doubt in my mind your life shared here is an adventure and how could it be called anything else but grand. All those 140,000+ hits I think are mostly from very envious fellow appreciative C-Brats.

Wishing nothing but more of the best for Joan and you and hope you keep sharing it with all of us here.

Jay
 
I got onboard Wild Blue today! Wish I could say the water was perfect and the dolphins were dancing all around us... but, I hauled her from storage to service. More on the service in a moment, but first this word from our towing sponsors: it was interesting switching from the 35 foot 5th wheel to the 25' C-Dory (closer to 30' on the trailer)... the C-Dory seems really small by comparison. While the width is the same, I can actually see beyond the bow of the boat in my rear view mirror. The 5th wheel weighs considerably more, but with the "tongue weight" (pin weight, actually) right over the rear axle, the ride is smoother. Love the electric over hydraulic brakes on the boat trailer, though! I do think I'll add one of those adapter bars so I can hook up a weight distribution hitch to the boat trailer.

Now for the service... our neighbors across the street own a boat building company that also does service. They are an OEM Honda dealer, and we've been taking Wild Blue to them whenever we are here and service is due. I called ahead and scheduled for today, and they went to work on the boat right after lunch. We needed an oil change, filters, impeller, general lube, and bearings on the trailer. The best part of this situation is the mechanic lets me work with him. We almost had it wrapped up this afternoon before they closed, but the motor seemed to have a weak pee stream. The mechanic pulled the thermostats and they were pretty cruddy with salt build up. So, I left the boat and will go back tomorrow... the plan is to do a muriatic flush and replace the thermostats. and finish the rest of the work. Hopefully, it should be done by noon, then an hour back home and we can get Wild Blue back in the water! I'm like a little kid at Christmas.

Wild Blue withstood the storage well. She needs a good bath and some sprucing up on her brightwork. She looked and smelled good inside. We need to get her cruising gear put back onboard.

Another day, and we should be rejoining the ranks of the water folks!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Wild Blue is back where she belongs...

WBbackInE.jpg

The service took a bit longer than anticipated, but all went well. Here's a look at Wild Blue sitting next to what fishing boats look like around here...

WBinShopE.jpg

WorkInProgressE.jpg

The only snag we ran into was a weak pee stream after installing a new impeller. Mike the mechanic pulled the thermostats out and said we'd need to flush the cooling system... with muriatic acid! :shock: He's taken good care of me since we first brought Wild Blue to him, so I had to trust him. You should have seen the gunk that came out... it looked like something the cat yakked up. Then it looked like black worms. Then just grubby black/gray water. Mike said, "It's good that you are here to see this; most people don't believe us when we tell them what came out of their cooling system." I believe. Afterwards, she ran cooler and had a good strong, steady stream. (insert your favorite "old guy" joke here :mrgreen: ).

I still have some cleaning to do, but Wild Blue is ready to find some dolphins and poke around in the warm waters of the Tropical Tip. :thup

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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