More maintenance excitement

After the successful oil change – as it happens, I did not spill a drop when I added the fresh oil to the engine, that good fortune was primarily due to my careful funnel management and newly-learned patience – I addressed two other engine maintenance items.

The first was the engine pencil zinc. Sacrificial zincs are used in the engine for the same reason they are used on the propeller shaft. The idea is that the combination of saltwater, electrical current, and dissimilar metals will result in corrosion. Because we would rather not have the prop shaft or engine block rust away to nothing, the zinc is inserted into the system and replaced periodically. (Side note: the brand zinc we use is “Martyr.”)

The pencil zinc in the engine was just about gone, so my timing was pretty good. Then I changed the paper fuel filter, figuring it’s better to change the filter prophylactically than because of a crisis.

When we were in the St. Augustine mooring field we saw a guy cleaning the hull of his big Nordic Tug. The difference between the yellow ICW staining on his hull and the parts he had cleaned was dramatic. So we told him how great the boat looked and he told us which magic potion he was using. We picked up a bottle and man, is it fantastic.

The product is called “On & Off” and it is made by Marykate. Cupcake was sporting a nasty yellow-brown stain at her waterline. It’s derisively called the Intracoastal Waterway Mustache. I had just resigned myself to wearing our mustache as a badge of honor. (After all, we have sailed a very long way over the past few months…we earned that mustache.)

Anyway, it is truly a wipe on, let sit, then rinse kind of a cleaner. So this afternoon I spent a very enjoyable 90 minutes cleaning Cupcake’s waterline. From 10’ away, the boat looks spectacular. Any closer than that and her various and sundry battle scars are evident. More badges of honor. Next step: scrub the nasty growth off her bottom. We need clean water before I’m tackling that task. (Moss just said, “Hey! Can I help?” Absolutely.)

The past two nights we’ve anchored in some more crowded anchorages than has been typical for most of the trip. (Really, most of the way down the coast we were the only boat in sight, much less the only boat in the anchorage.) Last night there was a 40’ abandoned Morgan Out Island about 75’ behind us. Ellen was nervous all night.

Tonight we are in a tiny little anchorage in a little town called Eau Gallie. It’s near Melbourne, Florida. The anchorage has 360 degree protection and the cruising guide says there is room for two boats. There are about six anchored here. Some are derelict, some are not, some are in-between. (We are decidedly not derelict, just check out our gleaming white waterline.) So once again it is pretty tight quarters.

We thought there would be decent shore access so we could land the dinghy at a town dock and walk to town for dinner. Alas, Florida is proving to be a difficult state for the cheap transient sailor. Aside from marinas (no thanks) and municipal mooring fields, there do not seem to be a surfeit of ways for us to get to shore to check out towns. Even New Smyrna involved a decent dinghy ride to the town dock and then a long walk to the beach.

Anyway, we drove Mr. Flowerpot to the nearby boat ramp and found there was nowhere to tie up. The ramp was busy with trucks and boats, nowhere to actually leave the dinghy. So we dragged her up on shore and walked over to the playground for a little run-around time.

Ellen wants to point out that although I make a mess of my maintenance tasks, she is a patient girl and spills not a plop when she empties the composting toilet solids bin.

One more thing: Moss has asked repeatedly if we can extend the trip permanently. She claims to love living on a boat. We all do.