We have been blessed with being able to now have a boat that allows us to share it with family and friends. This year alone, we have had 2 family members for extended stays and several friends come for visits! When we moved aboard we worried that our time with friends and family would be limited…..how wrong were we!
I’ll post some pictures we’ve taken from our visits for everyone to enjoy. And for all our other friends and family that have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the “Boat Life”, please know you always have an open invitation!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Floating Science Theatre Episode 2 - Flowers ~Dolphin Dani and Jurassic Jake
Have you ever wanted to make beautiful flowers that you could keep forever? Have you ever been bored on a rainy day and wanted to make something nice for your Mom? Watch our latest video posted below from Youtube for an AWESOME idea!!
Floating Science Theatre Episode 2 - Flowers
~Dolphin Dani and Jurassic Jake
Floating Science Theatre Episode 2 - Flowers
~Dolphin Dani and Jurassic Jake
Anchor Light Replacement ~Captain
In an ideal world, all cruising vessels are Coast Guard compliant when it comes to equipment and documentation. We have gotten by with our compliance to some of the regulations, lots of new life jackets, plenty of new flares, air horn, holding tanks, no warrants out for anyone’s arrest, etc. Our masthead anchor light, not even close. Warning tickets are a great way to inspire us to make permanent, professional-type repairs.
The main problem was our anchor light, or our lack thereof. Flipping the switch and hot wiring the circuit resulted in no illumination. Located forty some feet above deck level, it is not an easily serviced item. We have gotten by using solar garden lights that were attached to a fiberglass rod and affixed to our main halyard. Visible at about one half mile away, it falls far short of the USCG requirement of three nautical miles for a vessel our size. Coleman propane lanterns, while bright, do not have the 360 degree visibility also required in the regulation. Looks like the Captain is going up the mast!
Our friends aboard S/V Red Letters had a similar problem develop recently, so we decided to help each other with these repairs. Rigging our bosun’s chairs and safety harnesses, we took turns hoisting each other to the mastheads, examining and removing the parts needing replacement. Red Letters’ light suffered from strange and expensive looking bulb burnout, while ours had no lens, no bulb and was filled with evidence of bird occupancy. They don’t call it the crow’s nest for nothing!
After removing the organic materials from the aluminum and plastic housing, cleaning electrical contacts and installing new power wires. This cost one cardboard-backed nail file from the Admiral’s manicure kit and some spare wire removed from the boat’s previous fluorescent light fixtures. Testing with a voltmeter showed good connections throughout the fixture, so we installed one of our galley light bulbs in the socket. These were purchased at West Marine for 75% off while they were having a moving sale.
Next, we had to address the lens issue. There wasn’t one! Noticing there was a twist-off lens base to access the bulb, we sized it to a cylindrical, closed on one end, transparent and weather-resistant item in the galley. (A plastic juice cup.) Knowing the plastic would
oxidize and get cloudy in the tropical sun, we elected to use a glass lens, and ventured ashore. The first practical place to locate a lens of this quality turned out to be the Goodwill store on Sanibel Island. Locating a whiskey glass after five minutes of searching and trial fitting. We enjoyed discovering the non-marine application price of two dollars.
Returning aboard with our repurposed treasure, we set about installing and weatherproofing our new lens. Sanding the plastic housing and putting a bead of silicone in the base, the glass fit snugly and was allowed to dry overnight. Final test lighting to ensure nothing had come loose during the assembly. Success!
Repeating the mast climbing procedure, this time to install our rebuilt
light, took a little longer than expected. I had to remove, reroute wiring and then reassemble the fixture, while suspended 60 feet above the waterline. While aloft, I addressed the broken strands of an upper shroud, which were noisy in any winds. This shroud will be replaced before any heavy weather sailing, and described in a future blog entry. Test lighting was successful, we now are Coast Guard legal, visible 360 degrees and from three nautical miles away. Captain Scott of S/V Red Letters said our light is the tallest and brightest in our anchorage. A fitting description of our humble but mighty No Más.
~The Captain
The main problem was our anchor light, or our lack thereof. Flipping the switch and hot wiring the circuit resulted in no illumination. Located forty some feet above deck level, it is not an easily serviced item. We have gotten by using solar garden lights that were attached to a fiberglass rod and affixed to our main halyard. Visible at about one half mile away, it falls far short of the USCG requirement of three nautical miles for a vessel our size. Coleman propane lanterns, while bright, do not have the 360 degree visibility also required in the regulation. Looks like the Captain is going up the mast!
 |
| After cleaning |
After removing the organic materials from the aluminum and plastic housing, cleaning electrical contacts and installing new power wires. This cost one cardboard-backed nail file from the Admiral’s manicure kit and some spare wire removed from the boat’s previous fluorescent light fixtures. Testing with a voltmeter showed good connections throughout the fixture, so we installed one of our galley light bulbs in the socket. These were purchased at West Marine for 75% off while they were having a moving sale.
Next, we had to address the lens issue. There wasn’t one! Noticing there was a twist-off lens base to access the bulb, we sized it to a cylindrical, closed on one end, transparent and weather-resistant item in the galley. (A plastic juice cup.) Knowing the plastic would
oxidize and get cloudy in the tropical sun, we elected to use a glass lens, and ventured ashore. The first practical place to locate a lens of this quality turned out to be the Goodwill store on Sanibel Island. Locating a whiskey glass after five minutes of searching and trial fitting. We enjoyed discovering the non-marine application price of two dollars. Returning aboard with our repurposed treasure, we set about installing and weatherproofing our new lens. Sanding the plastic housing and putting a bead of silicone in the base, the glass fit snugly and was allowed to dry overnight. Final test lighting to ensure nothing had come loose during the assembly. Success!
Repeating the mast climbing procedure, this time to install our rebuilt
light, took a little longer than expected. I had to remove, reroute wiring and then reassemble the fixture, while suspended 60 feet above the waterline. While aloft, I addressed the broken strands of an upper shroud, which were noisy in any winds. This shroud will be replaced before any heavy weather sailing, and described in a future blog entry. Test lighting was successful, we now are Coast Guard legal, visible 360 degrees and from three nautical miles away. Captain Scott of S/V Red Letters said our light is the tallest and brightest in our anchorage. A fitting description of our humble but mighty No Más.~The Captain
Monday, April 2, 2012
It’s Manatee season! ~Dolphin Dani
It’s the beginning of Manatee Season! Manatee season is from April 1 – Nov 15. No, that is NOT when you can hunt manatees! It is when manatees are more likely to be out in the waters. They need warmer waters and by April, most of the water is warmed up enough for them to start spreading out. From our anchor spot, just south of Redfish Pass, we see them every day. We also see boaters flying through the same water, not caring about what they might be running over. Starting yesterday, April 1, the idle zone around our boat was extended a lot thanks to the Manatee Protection Zone established by Florida Fish and Wildlife. For more information about area zones, check out this FWC link. FWC Manatee Protection Zones
My mom helped me put this video together (since I’m still learning how to use the video software
). We took some video of some manatees that were at the yacht marina where my dad works. I recognized one of the manatees by her scars. Last year, there was a mother and her baby that were hit by a boat in our area. They were rehabilitated at Miami Seaquarium and released in that same marina. So check out my video and let me know what you think. I know the water is pretty dirty but the manatee’s where having so much fun that they stirred up all the sediment! And if you’re a boater and live around manatee areas, please take the extra time to slow down. You just might save a manatee’s life!
~Dolphin Dani
My mom helped me put this video together (since I’m still learning how to use the video software
). We took some video of some manatees that were at the yacht marina where my dad works. I recognized one of the manatees by her scars. Last year, there was a mother and her baby that were hit by a boat in our area. They were rehabilitated at Miami Seaquarium and released in that same marina. So check out my video and let me know what you think. I know the water is pretty dirty but the manatee’s where having so much fun that they stirred up all the sediment! And if you’re a boater and live around manatee areas, please take the extra time to slow down. You just might save a manatee’s life!
Manatees ~by Dolphin Dani
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Spring Break ~ B
Having to spend my week off school on a 41’ yacht, at the beach, jet skiing, parasa
iling, boating, biking, swimming and fishing was rough, let me tell you. Getting out of Missouri and hanging with my family on No Más was awesome. We crammed in so much in a short time. Mom had to bring Gma’s car back from Arkansas so she flew in to get it and picked me up. We drove all the way from Missouri to Florida. Mom made me listen to her audio books but I’ll admit, one wasn’t bad. It was about an ex-Duke bball player turned detective kinda guy. Lots of sports and fighting….pretty cool. When we finally got to the boat, we left the marina and motored to Captiva. The sails and some of the rigging still need to be fixed so we just motored, which was cool because No Más has a turbo engine and if you get it going fast enough, will actually plane! A 41’ 14 ton boat, with the nose rising out of the water…….sweeeeet!
Captiva is a really cool island. It has the "No shirt, no shoes, no problem" vibe. Everyone is laid back, almost everyone there is on vacation, and there is a lot to do (and a lot of bikinis). Since Dad runs the bikes, I got to bike around a lot. We took a golf cart out one day and went down to see the big marina. There was a 101’ yacht down there that was amazing! It was called To’Kalon and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live on that thing. They had their own crew in matching shirts and their own jet skis.
My sister wants to work on super yacht like that when she’s older. Can you imagine Dani captain of a 100’ ship?!?! She’d probably need a stepstool! lol
We went parasailing too. I think that was the most awesome thing I have ever done. It was surprisingly quiet once you got up there. We saw a sea turtle swimming and mom saw a shark. You can see almost the whole island and we even saw our boat. The driver lowered us down twice to dip us in the water only to speed up so we would go up again. It was amazing and not at all scary. If you ever have the chance to go parasailing – I really recommend it!! It didn’t hurt that we had some cute girls along with us taking our pictures for us.
I took a bike up to the North end one day and rode jet skis. It is so much fun jumping the big waves from the Gulf and from the big boats. I could have stayed out there all day. I think if I ever live on a boat, I’d have a jet ski as my dinghy. Then I could ride it all day just for fun.
So all in all, my trip was really great. I like No Más much better than The Dreamer. Mainly because it’s huge compared to Dreamer but also because it feels more like home. I really liked getting to spend time with Grandma too. I don’t get to see her much and she’s a lot of fun. I think she might be getting more crazy the older she gets. lol
It was good to see everyone else too. Ralph, Sophie, Mom and Dad - Dani never grows and Jake is still Jake.
Oh yeah and we had some really pretty sunsets too. Now back to school and basketball – till next time
~B
iling, boating, biking, swimming and fishing was rough, let me tell you. Getting out of Missouri and hanging with my family on No Más was awesome. We crammed in so much in a short time. Mom had to bring Gma’s car back from Arkansas so she flew in to get it and picked me up. We drove all the way from Missouri to Florida. Mom made me listen to her audio books but I’ll admit, one wasn’t bad. It was about an ex-Duke bball player turned detective kinda guy. Lots of sports and fighting….pretty cool. When we finally got to the boat, we left the marina and motored to Captiva. The sails and some of the rigging still need to be fixed so we just motored, which was cool because No Más has a turbo engine and if you get it going fast enough, will actually plane! A 41’ 14 ton boat, with the nose rising out of the water…….sweeeeet!
Captiva is a really cool island. It has the "No shirt, no shoes, no problem" vibe. Everyone is laid back, almost everyone there is on vacation, and there is a lot to do (and a lot of bikinis). Since Dad runs the bikes, I got to bike around a lot. We took a golf cart out one day and went down to see the big marina. There was a 101’ yacht down there that was amazing! It was called To’Kalon and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live on that thing. They had their own crew in matching shirts and their own jet skis.
My sister wants to work on super yacht like that when she’s older. Can you imagine Dani captain of a 100’ ship?!?! She’d probably need a stepstool! lol
We went parasailing too. I think that was the most awesome thing I have ever done. It was surprisingly quiet once you got up there. We saw a sea turtle swimming and mom saw a shark. You can see almost the whole island and we even saw our boat. The driver lowered us down twice to dip us in the water only to speed up so we would go up again. It was amazing and not at all scary. If you ever have the chance to go parasailing – I really recommend it!! It didn’t hurt that we had some cute girls along with us taking our pictures for us. |
| The girls that went with us |
I took a bike up to the North end one day and rode jet skis. It is so much fun jumping the big waves from the Gulf and from the big boats. I could have stayed out there all day. I think if I ever live on a boat, I’d have a jet ski as my dinghy. Then I could ride it all day just for fun.
So all in all, my trip was really great. I like No Más much better than The Dreamer. Mainly because it’s huge compared to Dreamer but also because it feels more like home. I really liked getting to spend time with Grandma too. I don’t get to see her much and she’s a lot of fun. I think she might be getting more crazy the older she gets. lol
It was good to see everyone else too. Ralph, Sophie, Mom and Dad - Dani never grows and Jake is still Jake.
Oh yeah and we had some really pretty sunsets too. Now back to school and basketball – till next time
~B
Thursday, March 22, 2012
March Madness ~ The Admiral
We’ve had such a busy month, this is the first time I’ve had to sit down and write. The big news of late is that we have our full crew on board! Welcoming Mate Brandon and Commodore Peggy, who will be staying for a couple months. Brandon was only able to squeeze in his week of spring break from school but any time he can visit is a blessing. So needless to say, we’re pushing the limits on this old 41’ but she’s working just fine with all of us here.
We decided to leave the safety and expense of the marina and anchor off Captain’s resort job for awhile. His commute just went from 90 minutes to a 2 minute dingy ride! Not too shabby. Our trip down river was great, No Más ran beautifully and we didn’t run into any trouble. Mate Brandon was even able to take the helm and Dolphin Dani was able to make full use of the hammock turned swing!
Once securely anchored off Captiva in Roosevelt Channel, the manatees were quick to welcome us! We had about 6 all swimming around our boat, checking out the new guy. Here's some footage B managed to get of them.
We have been busing playing all week and instead of writing about it, I’ll just post some pictures we took.
Safe seas and God Bless.
~The Admiral
 |
| B at the helm |
Dolphin Dani in the hammock swing
Manatees greeting us at anchor spot
We have been busing playing all week and instead of writing about it, I’ll just post some pictures we took.
Safe seas and God Bless.
~The Admiral
 |
| Commodore Gram with the grandkids |
Friday, February 24, 2012
What my friends think I do
We've recently discovered something the rest of the world has known about for awhile. That is, these funny little pictures depicting a job and what different people see them as AKA "What my friends think I do". I found a funny one for homeschooling and none for liveaboards so I made one. I will share them both. I updated the homeschooling one with a picture of the kids doing school.
Enjoy,
~Admiral
Enjoy,
~Admiral
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