Joe had been complaining about feeling like Walter Brennan who played the grandfatherly character Amos McCoy in the 1960's show The Real McCoy's. He'd do the "old man" groan when getting up from a crouched position. He was feeling stiff in the morning (without even having a beer). All of this compounded with the daily demands of deploying 70 feet of chain and anchor and retrieving the chain in the morning with a manual windlass that is not in proper working order. Now we have a "situation."
Joe suffered with the "situation" for a few weeks until it had become serious enough to call his doctor who immediately prescribed a course of prednisone and anti-inflammatories. This affliction of back problems seemed to be infiltrating the newly retired cruising population. Two cruiser friends had to visit Urgent care facilities this week for similar injuries.
Fortunately, we were all resting on a moorings in Vero Beach at the Municipal Marina. I'd heard all of the stories about Vero Beach. It's known as Velcro Beach because once you get there you find it hard to leave. It's true! The city offers so many extended amenities that cruisers have been known to grow roots and never leave.
A free bus run by the city of Vero Beach picks up cruisers at the Municipal Marina every hour from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM daily Monday through Friday with a limited schedule until 3:00 PM on Saturday. The bus ride is seven minutes from the beach, a Saturday farmer's market, grocery shopping, pharmacies, a West Marine and most importantly, for those of us who feel a bit shopping deprived...TJMAXX!
The respite in Vero gave Joe's back injury some time to recover from the strain of daily physical chores associated with anchoring and lifting the dinghy engine and dinghy onto the davits. I was able to shop daily and re-provision without Joe having to carry groceries. Yesterday, we took the bus to the beach for lunch and music appreciation.
Even though I was reluctant to leave this morning we dropped the mooring and headed south. Joe has recovered nicely since his time off from boating chores and I have gained an understanding of the draw of Vero Beach and how easy it would be to stay awhile or even perhaps all winter.
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Location:Florida
We replaced our windlass with a lofrans tigres 12volt it is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteDefender is cheaper, but this is the distributor.
www.imtra.com/c74efc9f-68d8-43ec-8804-70ca5658b874/anchoring-windlasses-detail.htm
Thanks for the link Hayden we're hoping Joe can inspect the Sea Tiger and find the problem so that I will be able to use it. If not...we'll dig into that wallet!
DeleteYep, X 2 on the Lofrans Tigres. It's on our I35 (SV Kestrel) and hauls our Bruce or CQR with ease. It also has manual capability to save fuel and batteries.
ReplyDeleteHeaters: We're berthed in Oriental at the moment and are using our reverse AC for heat. It's working great (at the moment) but requires shore power and will be less efficient as the water cools. We're very interested in mounting a propane heater. Reading your post about your new heater has us moving that direction. Questions: Do you like your choice? (probably not using it now) You mounted yours in the only place we could think of. Any changes or issues? Lastly, what is your average propane use (heater). We have the standard IP 10 lb x 2 tanks in the deck locker.
Enjoy Vero, It's a jewel. It gets crazy from West Palm south.
Clarence (SV Kestrel)
Hi Clarence, we really like the Dickinson Newport heater. We use it (in the north when cold) by turning it on in the morning during coffee. In the evening for an hour or two when chilly. Our tanks are the same. We usually get 5 weeks of fuel living aboard from each tank. When using the heater it cuts down to three weeks. We. Chose this heater because I can't stand the slightest whiff of diesel. Therefore, no chance for a diesel heater on our boat. I do know another boat that installed a diesel heater and they run it all day on a gallon of fuel! I guess it depends on your preference. The Dickenson is very nice and I have to say was cozy on cold mornings and cold nights. We also bought a 12 volt electric blanket that plugged in all night at anchor to augment. That was also a good choice and very warm. Got it on the Internet from a trucker site. Hope this is helpful.
DeleteThanks so much for your reply. Very helpful. We looked at a couple of other boats with diesel heaters. I agree on the odor and the cabin top soot mess. No issues next to the table? Thanks for the blanket tip. We use a small electric blanket that runs off the inverter. We also have an 85 lb German Shepherd that pretends to be a blanket at night. 35 degrees and a bit of a breeze tonight.
DeleteStay safe,
C
Ther were no issues at all other than drilling a hole into the cabin top.
DeleteIt looks very nice and even better when it's fired up. You have to decide what is the best fit for you. Right now I think it's best to get south as quick as you can!
oops, that's IP-35
ReplyDelete