Boat Chores Before Haulout

Saturday, July 12, was one of those days we’re glad don’t happen very often. TOM-KAT is scheduled to be hauled out on Monday at Essex Boat Works (our first time since starting on the Loop), so we have several “To Do” lists. About the only item that we crossed off our lists was picking up a rental car, which we did at 9:30am……it was downhill from there!

We made one stop at the Essex Hardware Co. to pick up parts to replace the Flo-Scan, which is being sent back to the company to be rebuilt. When we returned to the boat, Bob noticed that the flow of water from the air conditioner was less than usual. We unloaded the bilge and checked the strainer and it was clogged with grass. We emptied out all the grass, but the flow was still restricted. Bob removed the air conditioner pump and it looked fine, but we replaced it with a new one….yes, Bob had a spare A/C motor and pump onboard. Unfortunately, the new pump produced no better results. Bob was in the bilge and I was running back and forth checking the water flow from the outlets. It was hot (no time to check the thermometer-high 80’s??) and we had no A/C, so it was very frustrating.

The wash down pump is plumbed to prime the A/C pump and it’s also plugged with grass. Bob pulled out 17” of grass. We’re starting to wonder where we’ve picked up all this grass. Up until this morning everything had been running smoothly. We had no early warning signs of any water restrictions. There is lots of grass around us, so we wonder if we’ve picked it up just sitting in our slip.

We cleaned the washdown strainer and resealed it, so we figured that we had solved the problem, but the flow was still diminished. ARRRRGH! What next? It’s 2pm, so I run up to Olive Oyl’s, a take-out Deli on Main St. (the galley and refrigerator are blocked by containers from the bilge) and get us some lunch. Sitting in the cockpit, eating our tuna sandwiches, we try to decide what our next step will be.

The A/C motor and pump work, the strainers are all clean, so we decide to run some water backwards through the outlets to backflush. Bob hooked up a stiff piece of tubing to the end of the garden hose and that fit perfectly into the outlet fitting. I went up to watch the front outlet. As soon as Bob starting pumping water through, this great gush of dirt and brown water came out the front outlet with good flow. SUCCESS?? Afraid not! The flow was still diminished when using the A/C pump, so we do the same thing in reverse. Bob climbs into the dinghy, the hose goes to the front outlet and dirtier, brown water comes out the stern outlet, but again no difference in flow, when using the A/C pump.

The diagnosis, at this point, is that the inlet to the A/C pump at the external end of the thruhull is restricted and we’ll have to wait until the boat is hauled to check. Backflushing the inlet hose and thruhull did not free it up. These centrifugal type A/C pumps are very sensitive to inlet restriction. We’ve exhausted all other options and ourselves!!

Before putting the containers back in the bilge, Bob tops off the 4 golf cart batteries with distilled water. The first set of two batteries look fine, but the second set have corrosion on one negative terminal. We cleaned off the terminals, which is much like cleaning tartar off teeth. Bob used a small screwdriver to scrape away the corrosion. Once the terminals were clean and tight, we put Corrosion Block on all the terminals.

We didn’t sit down to dinner until 8:30pm. We’re trying to use up food in the refrigerator and freezer before hauling the boat, so I used some frozen meatballs and made spaghetti, plus we finished off some fruit salad from Olive Oyl’s.

Friday’s blog went up before I went to bed about 10am. Hopefully tomorrow we can get to the “To Do” lists!

Keep Your fingers Crossed.

Cruising the Connecticut River to Essex

Thursday, July 10, we cruised from Milford, CT to Cedar Island Marina in Clinton, CT. The marina was very nice with a large outdoor pool, laundry, and a free pump-out. We were able to wash and dry 2 loads of laundry before my sister & brother-in-law came to pick us up for dinner. Doris Jean and Bill are Florida residents and live in Palmetto six months during our northeast winters and then spend the other six months enjoying the summer months on Griswold Island, near Niantic, CT. Life is Good!

We went to Lenny & Joe’s Fishtale Restaurant. Bob and I had the lobster dinners for $17.99/each….what a deal! The lobsters were steamed while we waited and came with salt potatoes and “native” corn on the cob. After dinner we toured around Clinton & Westbrook, CT, both charming New England towns. We spotted an Advanced Auto Parts store in a small plaza, so Bob and Bill ran in and bought 8 gallons of engine oil, so we’re all set for our next oil change on TOM-KAT.

The first two pictures show different ways of mooring boats when space is at a premium and there’s no room to swing. The first picture is in Milford on the Wepawaug River with the boats moored to single floating docks. The second picture is in Clinton Harbor with the boats moored out of the channel between pilings. In both instances, you’ll need a dinghy to reach your vessel.

Yesterday morning, July 11, we headed east and at the Old Saybrook Breakwater we turned and headed up the Connecticut River. We had been told that there is a fair amount of commercial traffic on the river, but we saw no tows, etc. We came to the Old Lyme Railroad Bridge in the open position, so we cruised right on through. If the bridge is closed the sign flashes the minutes left until the next opening. What a marvelous idea!

We passed a small marina on the eastern shore. Hopefully you can see the house and the yard behind the marina (double click for a larger image). The two horses on the lawn are not real, but the helicopter is…..we saw it land!

We continued to cruise about 7 miles up river until we came to Essex, CT and the Essex Boat Works. We plan on having this facility fix our dripless shaft, as well as sodablasting the paint off the bottom (we have accumulated too many layers of bottom paint and they are starting to flake off). We’ll have several coats of barrier paint applied to the bottom and then a layer of bottom paint.

One block from the marina is the Main Street of Essex and the Griswold Inn. The inn has been opened since 1776 and is one of the oldest continuously operated inns in the country. The Inn was built by Sala Griswold and was in the same family until 1972. Farther down Main St. back toward the water is the Connecticut River Museum. Wooden boats were on display both on land and in the water for an Antique Boat Show this weekend. Bob recognized this Gale Motor (early 60's vintage) as one made by OMC and sold by Montgomery Ward.

Right across the street from the museum was this cute birdhouse that matches the house on the property .

We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the “Black Seal Restaurant” before heading back to TOM-KAT at the boatyard.

Thanks for Visiting with Us

Greenwich, CT to Milford, CT

Today we left the IHYC mooring at 6:05am, because thunderstorms were predicted for this afternoon. We traveled 30 miles east along the CT shore and docked at 11:15am at Milford Landing, a municipal marina in Milford CT. The marina is very nice with floating docks and is close to downtown, so we took a walk in search of lunch and a few groceries. On the path to town we spotted this old submarine in a town park. The sub was built in 1936 by Simon Lake, who is considered a pioneer in submarine building, as well as “The Father of the Modern Day Submarine”.

The town of Milford sits at the headwaters of the Wepawaug River. The walkway over the river and the falls in the background make for a pretty entrance to the downtown streets. The town’s motto is: “a small city…with a big heart”.

We found lunch at Archie Moore’s, a restaurant started in New Haven, CT. Their claim to fame is that they introduced CT to Buffalo chicken wings. After lunch we trekked on to the Post Office and a convenience store before stopping at Scooby Doo’s for ice cream cones. The temperature is a sticky 87 degrees this afternoon!

The town also has the second longest village green in New England. Boston Commons is # 1. I was only able to show half of the village green in the picture.

Milford has six public beaches and the longest coastline in Connecticut.

The rain never came this afternoon….so much for the weather forecasts!!

Our Best to All.

NYC to Greenwich, CT

Our journey yesterday (7/8/08) was timed to catch a rising tide, so we hauled the anchor and left Liberty State Park anchorage at 8:45am. As we passed behind Governor’s Island, we caught sight of the Queen Mary 2 docked on the Brooklyn side of the harbor.

We arrived near Battery Park two hours after low tide and rode the incoming tide all the way up the East River through Hell Gate. We gained a 2 knot push through this turbulent area and cruised along at 12mph!

Impressive sights we spotted along the river included the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations.

We passed several tows in this congested area. When Bob called a tow coming under the Williamsburg Bridge to discuss which side to meet, the tow’s response was, “Stay Out Of The Way! Bob’s response back was, “that’s what we’re trying to do!”

At 10:45am we motored under the Throg’s Neck Bridge and out into Long Island Sound. We cruised along the north shore of the Sound past City Island, New Rochelle, Larchmont and Mamaroneck before entering Greenwich Harbor. We had a reservation at Indian Harbor Yacht Club, one of the oldest and most famous yacht clubs on the Sound. The club was founded in 1889.

We picked up a guest mooring ball. TOM-KAT is way out in the upper right of the picture. You can double click on any of the pictures to see a larger view. We called the club launch at 5pm and rode into the club for dinner on the outdoor patio with Bob’s cousin, Jane, who is a member of IHYC. The food was delicious and the view of the harbor and all the moored boats was delightful. It was almost dark by the time we hailed the launch for a ride back to TOM-KAT.

Thanks for Visiting with Us!

TOM-KAT Completes America's Great Loop!

At 9:15am on July 7, 2008 TOM-KAT completed America's Great Loop at the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. We traveled 6,051 statue miles in 378 days. It has been an awesome journey!

Our journey today started at 7:05am in the fog as we left Great Kills Yacht Club. 6499 and the harbor mooring field. The fog continued up to the Ambrose Channel, which is the main shipping channel into New York Harbor. Thanks to AIS, GPS and Radar, we were able to easily spot freighters and tows in the channel long before we could see them visually.

By 8:30am, we were cruising under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into New York Harbor. This bridge was opened in 1964 and is a double decked bridge connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island. It is the longest suspension bridge in the United States and 8^th in the world. Due to weather related expansion and contractions of the structure, the bridge is 12’ lower in the summer months than the winter months!

In the far distance in the next picture you might be able to make out the shape on the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier docked on Staten Island. The ship is normally docked in NYC as a museum ship at Chelsea Pier. In the summer of 2007 it was moved to Bayonne, NJ for repairs and then to Staten Island for renovations and temporary docking. It is due back at Chelsea Pier in November of 2008.

We worked our way along the Brooklyn side of the harbor trying to avoid the ferries, tows, freighters and water taxis! We crossed over to the Statue of Liberty and passed on her south side to drop the hook behind Liberty Island. From the anchorage we can see the top of the Statue and the torch through the tree tops….it’s a pretty amazing sight!!

Our Best to Everyone and Thanks for Sharing This Journey With Us!

Touring New York City

The first picture shows the clubhouse at Great Kills Yacht Club (GKYC) on Staten Island, NY. The club members have all been very friendly and helpful. John, our host, even offered us his car, if we needed. We spotted this pretty jellyfish under the stern of a boat on our dock.

On Thursday, July 3, we walked to the Staten Island RR station at Great Kills (@ 1.5 miles from the boat) and rode up to St. George on the tip of Staten Island. Here we picked up the Staten Island Ferry for a ride over to Battery Park in the financial district of Manhattan.

Passing another Ferry

Lower Manhattan

Battery Park

Glad we don’t have to dock this behemoth!

Brooklyn Bridge over the East River with Waterfalls underneath

Another waterfall on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

These manmade waterfalls are a public art project by artist, Olafur Elliasson. The artist constructed 4 of these waterfalls in the New York Harbor area. The third one is on Lower Manhattan at Pier 35 and the last one is on the northern shore of Governor’s Island. The structures are 90-125 feet high and will be on display until October 13. For more information on the waterfalls check www.nycwaterfalls.org.

The Staten Island Ferry ride is free and the train cost us $2/person each way, so a whole day of sightseeing around NY Harbor cost us $8.00. That is a true bargain for the City!

Friday, July 4 turned out to be a rainy day, so we relaxed on the boat and plotted our course on our paper charts up the East River and out into Long Island Sound. We also consulted our Waterway Guides and Skipper Bob books. Friday night we watched the Macy’s fireworks over the East River on TV, along with real time fireworks visible around Great Kills Harbor.

Saturday, July 5, we headed for a bus stop on Hylan Blvd., not far from GKYC. We boarded the x1 express bus at 10:20am and rode across the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn and then entered the toll booths at the Brooklyn/Battery Tunnel to Manhattan, where we immediately stopped, the bus driver left the bus and a police car pulled up beside the bus! A policeman came aboard and questioned the passenger in the first seat. The passenger had been videotaping the bridge and tunnel— ABSOLUTE “NO-NO’s” in New York City! With the help of another passenger who spoke Russian, the policeman told the passenger that he had to erase the video that he had taken or tape over the video. It was great to see how quickly this whole episode was handled!

We rode the bus all the way uptown to 57^th Street and looked for a lunch stop, mainly to get out of the rain. We found a small café on 6^th Avenue and dried out.

St Patrick’s Cathedral

Rockefeller Plaza

The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Plaza

Trump Tower

Tiffany & Company, where we shopped a little over 40 years ago for our wedding rings. 40^th anniversary coming up in August!!

Bob walking in the rain in Central Park

Beautiful Planter in Bryant Park

Here’s Bob at Fox News, his favorite network!!!

Here’s Sue in Times Square

A Quiet Zone in front of the NYC Public Library

The race of the Taxis on Fifth Avenue

Other forms of transportation

Damaged Globe in Battery Park that use to stand near the World Trade Center

We returned back to Hylan Blvd. about 5pm and stopped at a Papa John’s Pizza near the bus stop and bought take-out pizza for dinner. I wore my pedometer and we had walked almost 18,000 steps today (approx. 6 miles). Doctors say we should be walking 10,000 steps daily, so we earned this pizza!!

This PileMate contraption is on the piling at our dock. It floats up and down with the 6’ tide and protects the boat’s surface from nicks and scratches if they hit the pilings, which is easy to do if there’s any wind. The owner of the sailboat next to us installed the PileMate to protect his boat called “Silent Woman”. Don’t you just love that name!! TOM-KAT makes good use of the pile protector too.

The last picture was taken this morning aboard “Silent Woman”. The fellows offered advice on our upcoming cruise on Long Island Sound up to Boston Harbor. It’s been a delightful, relaxing time at GKYC and we thank John and all the members of the club for their hospitality and all their helpful information regarding the city, the buses and trains and tips on our trip further north. Thanks everyone!

We hope y’all had a Happy Fourth of July Weekend!