Which explains the massive lack of blog posts lately. Trying to catch up as we speak! (And, let’s not lie, it’s a little harder than I thought — with no wifi for the laptop on the boat.)
After a crazy week chock full of (what felt like) 2 million errands and prepping the boat for departure, we finally set sail this past Friday morning from Naples to Marathon, with an overnight stop in Little Shark River Anchorage. It felt SO bizarre actually leaving that morning!
The total trip was about 100 nautical miles, although we didn’t start tracking our progress on our Active Captain/Skipper app until we hit Cape Romano (right off the coast of Marco Island).
 ^^SO excited to finally be cruising!^^  ^^the tip of Marco Island. See ya later!^^ Our good friend Chris was willing to come along to lend us a helping hand, and we couldn’t have been more excited to have him aboard for our first “official” cruising voyage. Thank you Chris for all your help!!! …We figured it was probably a good idea to have an extra set of hands on deck…particularly since we have never anchored, moored, or really sailed the boat like this before.
 ^^Chris, you rock! Our chief navigator on this leg.^^ We departed Naples around 6:40am on Friday, March 21st after waving goodbye to all our fishing boat friends at the Naples City Dock who were up just as early for another day on the water. (I wonder if they thought we’d ever really leave?)
The morning started off pretty foggy and overcast, and even a little chilly. We headed south along the coast of Naples/Marco Island and made our way towards Little Shark River Anchorage, on the western edge of Everglades National park.
We had to motorsail most of the way because the wind was rather nonexistent.
I made the three of us sandwiches for lunch and we all took turns napping most of the day. …It was a pretty stress-free sail to Little Shark River.
^^nap time for this guy! we got about 2.5 hours sleep the night before bc we were prepping so late.^^
^^frizzy hair. don’t care! …just excited to finally be sailing!^^
^^once the sun decided to pop out, the water looked like this!^^
^^seriously, this is the life.^^
The highlight of our sail on Day 1 was catching what we thought would be our first fish of the trip. Turns out, our first fish caught was actually a plastic garbage bag. 🙁 Figures! Haha!
^^getting all set to catch dinner.^^
^^or maybe just a trash bag?^^
We arrived at the anchorage at 5:40PM after an uneventful motorsailing kind of day. Little Shark River Anchorage is “off the beaten path” so to speak. At least in the sense that there are no facilities, moorings, or cell phone service there. And no real ability to dinghy to shore either as the shoreline is covered in dense mangroves. Oh, but there are LOTS of bugs! That’s for sure. 😉 I think we even transported a few pet mosquitos with us to Marathon!
We arrived at the anchorage with plenty of light left in the day for our first ever anchoring experience. There were surprisingly about 4 or 5 boats in the first part of the anchorage (I expected maybe 1 or 2), so we picked a spot to anchor that we thought was considerately and conservatively spaced away from the other boats. There was no wind, no current, and no tide, so we basically just dropped anchor and let the chain pile up. Probably not the best route to take, but it worked for us. This time.
It must’ve looked like total amateur hour because one of the other boats immediately pulled anchor and sailed up the river and out of sight. Sorry to whoever that couple was. Turns out, we must’ve done a halfway decent job because we definitely did not move an inch all night (and we got up a few times throughout the night just to double check).
We grilled some tasty filets and veggies, and enjoyed those with a rice mix I cooked up while watching a beautiful sunset over the Everglades.
Oh and for anyone wondering about Oliver…since we had no ability to dinghy to land, Jereme, Chris, and I all took turns trying to convince Oliver it was okay to go potty on deck using his new astroturf mat. Unfortunately, Oliver chose to hold out in hopes of a trip to land. 🙁 I was devastated (to say the least) and probably way more upset than Oliver. After a solid 25 hours of holding his little bladder, he finally gave up the next morning right before we sailed out of the anchorage. I was so relieved and we of course made sure to reward him like crazy!
^^gorgeous Everglades sunset on night 1!^^ We were first boat up the next morning to pull anchor and get going. Unfortunately, our bow roller had a few problems. It appears that our roller *wheel* is not sized correctly for the actual bow roller, so the chain kept popping off the roller, which required us to hand pull in all of the chain. Fun times. (We’re working on a fix for that while we’re still here in Marathon for the week.) Even though we were the first boat awake in the anchorage on Saturday morning, we were somehow the last to leave. Again, figures.
Day 2 of our sail to Marathon was a wee bit more eventful. More on that coming soon!!! 😉
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean. …Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Boat Dog, Boat Life, Sailing Blog, Sailing LoveTags: Bahamas, boot key harbor, Caribbean, Cruising, LahoWind, marathon, Sailing Blog, Young Couple
Phew! I was afraid we were going to have to run the motor non-stop to generate power on our sailing adventure, but lo and behold our long-awaited solar panels finally arrived (and are now successfully installed)! Hip hip hooray!
And it’s a good thing, because we are officially leaving tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!
^^one of our fresh new panels – still in the plastic wrap!^^ Technically, this was a multi-step, multi-faceted project (not simply ordering and adhering new panels to our boat), which is why I decided to break it down into separate posts. There is WAY too much info to squeeze into one measly post.
In a nutshell, the overall electrical project included:
- Replacing our battery bank with a brand new system (from 3 batteries to 5!).
- Wiring a charge controller.
- Wiring a battery monitor.
- Designing and building a new support structure to hold the panels.
- Mounting and wiring the panels.
- Wiring a new inverter.
- Generating loads and loads of glorious power!
Doesn’t sound SO bad on the surface (I suppose), but, let’s not lie, it was very intimidating for anyone who has never done this before and/or kinda sorta despises electrical work. 😉 The good news is that, in actuality, it wasn’t quite as bad as we had assumed.
Now, let me back up a hair and give you a little background on our fancy new panels.
We researched a few different solar panel companies, and opted to go with >>Aurinco<<. We definitely only wanted the newer, thin and light weight panels on our boat. (Just a little FYI…these panels are so wonderful that they are in SUPER HIGH demand. I believe Aurinco is currently on a three to four week backlog. If you are looking to order/install panels and are working with a timeline, order now!)
We ordered three of the Compact 100+W panels. They are less than 3/16 inch thick and weigh less than five pounds each. Pretty awesome, huh?
They can also be mounted on curved surfaces (including directly onto fabric). Which is another reason we selected this style panel. We originally planned to mount these *directly* onto our bimini canvas (and planned our layout of 3 panels to fit perfectly as such) . However, after the panels arrived and we dry fitted them on the bimini, we realized that the way our bimini is designed (with a high pitch in the center) it would make more sense to build a support structure to hold the panels just slightly above the bimini. Although the panels are flexible, we don’t want them *constantly* bending and flexing. Hence, the add-on step of building new supports and more on that later!
STEP 1. Replacing Our Battery Bank
The first part of this project involved replacing our battery bank. Before adding all new solar panels to charge our batteries, we figured, why not upgrade our battery bank at the same time? You know…why put all this time, money, and effort into charging three old batteries that aren’t going to support our power needs?
Our boat had 3 batteries when we bought it…one start and two house (installed around Sept. 2010). Although we didn’t have any issues with those pre-existing batteries, we didn’t want to simply add two new batteries to the current stash (it’s not usually a good idea to mix up the batteries like that).
We purchased four Trojan T105 batteries and one West Marine starting/deep cycle group 27 battery. The Trojan T105’s are 6-volt golf cart batteries, made for lots of wear and tear. But with 6-volt batteries, they must be wired in series to become 12-volt. With the new batteries on board, we went from about 192 amp hours to 450 (in the house bank). Major upgrade! 🙂
Another thing with our old set of batteries is that lead-acid batteries can leak and off-gas…basically releasing fumes and/or liquid (acid). And guess who’s batteries had been leaking??? Yup! Ours. 🙁 Turns out, our old set had basically rotted out the plywood structure they were sitting on. Jereme had to build a new (and much better) support structure…but the rotten wood made for a super easy demo/removal.
^^old batteries, major leakage, and our new support structure^^ The old setup also had WAY too much room between batteries (as Jereme says, “they could slide around like bumper cars in there.”) and you really should only allow no more than one inch in any direction. With our new structure (using 2×4’s since the hatch opening is pretty small), our batteries don’t move an inch!
We also added battery boxes to all 5 batteries so that if any of them leak, they will leak directly into the battery container and not the wood beneath (or, even worse, the structure of the boat).
As for wiring the batteries, before Jereme took all the cables off the old batteries, he labeled each wire according to terminals (so we’d be sure to get them rewired correctly). After installing the new batteries, he reconnected them in the same manner and then added all the new stuff…battery monitor, charge controller, and inverter (blog post coming soon on those!!!).
A few other things to note about the battery replacement…
Our marine survey said that we shouldn’t be using wing nuts on our batteries (which of course the old batteries had attaching the terminals). This is a major fire/safety concern. On the new setup, Jereme used all new nylock nuts and ratcheted them down to ensure good, solid connections. You definitely don’t want that much electricity flowing through loosey goosey connections, if you know what I mean.
Also, with any of the old wires that we used, Jereme made sure to add heat shrink on them to prevent corrosion. After everything was said and done, Jereme sprayed the terminals with Boshield T9 (also to prevent corrosion).
Our new battery bank is just what we need! We’re certainly not electricians on this boat, but after this project, Jereme sure as heck should be!
Lots more about the panel install, along with the new inverter, charge controller, and battery monitor. …Solar Panel Install Part 2 coming soon!
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean.
…Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Boat Life, Boat Projects, Sailing BlogTags: Aurinco, Bahamas, Boat Projects, Caribbean, Cruising, LahoWind, New Battery Bank, Sailing Blog, Solar Panels, Young Couple
Things are getting real around here.
^^the necessities…toilet paper, diet coke, and wine. lol! and yes, I have a slight diet coke addiction. don’t judge.^^ 1. And you know it’s getting real when the dog starts freaking out. Oliver seriously hates when we start carrying all the stuff we’ve been stockpiling by the front door out to the car. The poor little guy thinks we are moving and leaving him behind. Little does he know, he’s in for his own poodle-island-adventure starting in the next few days. 😉
2. It is super exciting that we are finally moving everything on the boat. Yay!!! Let’s not lie, this might be my favorite part thus far. Hello, decorating a cozy little sailboat? Yes, please!
3. Jer and I are also both working simultaneously on final to-do lists with items like… hitting up the bank for cash money for our cruise; putting through a “hold” on our snail mail; winterizing our ’86 jeep wrangler (since it’s staying put in the comfort of Jer’s parents’ garage while we’re gone); making a run to Total Wine to “provision” (plus we had a gift card that needs to be used); making a final grocery run for the fresh stuff (already provisioned everything else); and switching one cell phone to a small global plan (we’ll be using Google Voice and Skype for the most part).
4. What else are we missing/forgetting? Seriously, tell me.
5. Oh, yeah! Our Explorer charts. We might have kinda sorta waited until the last minute to order these. Don’t worry though, they should be here by the end of the day. 😉 Phew!
6. And our ditch bag. Just waiting on our very last Amazon.com order to arrive today with the final items needed for our emergency bag. Hopefully, we never have to use it.
^^a few more 12-packs. just in case.^^ By next Tuesday, we might be living it up in the Florida Keys, or the Bahamas even!!! Woot woot!
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean.
…Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Could we be any more excited to tell you that we are finally leaving?
Probably not.
I.cannot.even.believe.we.are.finally.to.this.point. It feels like it has taken forever, but we are finally (just about) ready to set sail on the adventure of a freaking lifetime.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes, I have to pinch myself. We are really doing this! Living on our boat. Traveling to exciting new places. Living more simply. Enjoying the now. This is totally happening.
We have pretty much wrapped up our exhausting list of boat projects, Oliver has his Bahamian doggie permit ready and waiting, we are currently moving everything onto the boat, and just finishing up other last minute pertinent details…you know, like buying our alcohol supply for the boat. Oh, and food too. That’s important.
We are prepping to leave later this week! And hoping the weather cooperates for a Thursday/Friday departure from Naples, where we will be sailing first to either Marathon OR Key West. We haven’t completely decided.
From the Keys, we will then cross the Gulf Stream and sail to Bimini in the Bahamas. Once we arrive in the Bahamas, we will be spending some quality time exploring LOTS of different islands as we sail toward the Turks & Caicos, and the Virgin Islands. But don’t worry, we are definitely taking our time. We don’t want to rush this experience at all!
Here are a few things on my personal bucket list to SEE and DO while we are in the Bahamas…
- Snorkeling (that’s a no brainer)
- Pink sand beaches
- Red starfish
- Swimming pigs (Big Major Cay)
- Fishing! (Lots of it, and hopefully just as much “catching”)
- Making our own sushi
- Spearing lobster
- Trying conch
- Visiting local markets
- Bahamian food
And that’s barely scratching the surface!!! Now, who wants to come visit us while we’re in the Bahamas? We would sure love to have you!
Bahamas, here we come! xoxo.
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean.
…Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Boat Life, Sailing Blog, Sailing Love, TravelTags: Bahamas, Boat Dog, Caribbean, Cruising, Cruising Couple, LahoWind, Sailboat, Sailing Blog, Young Couple
Not our sexiest post to date if you know what I mean, but still another boat project we recently crossed off our dwindling list. And one that might also help other sailboat owners having trouble locating just the right rigging hardware. And if we can save one person from a future headache, then that’s a good thing in our book!
On our boat, we have four sheaves that were in serious need of replacement. Two for the reefing line and two for the topping lift. For those of you (like me) who might not totally know what the heck a “sheave” is…well, let me tell ya. 🙂
A sheave (pronounced “shiv”) is simply a wheel with a groove for a rope to run on. Basically, so the rope doesn’t chafe whatever it is moving around. There are sheaves on the boom, at the top of the mast, and in any kind of block (pulley).
All four (of ours needing replacement) were made out of a white plastic, known as delrin. And our original sheaves were in pretty crappy shape. One was even totally disintegrated…
^^it’s crazy what the sun can do to plastic!^^ Jereme figured our sheaves were standard. Or generic, if you will. You know, ones that he could buy replacements for from basically any marine hardware store.
Not so much.
After buying *several* different sized sheaves from West Marine and a few other stores, we quickly realized that none of the replacements were really the perfect fit — they were never the exact inside/outside diameter or width.
So after further pondering, Jereme realized that our boom was made by a specific manufacturer, Kenyon. So, he searched “Kenyon sheaves” on the web and found >>Rig-Rite Inc.<< an online dealer of the exact sheaves we needed for our Kenyon boom! Needless to say, we immediately ordered the four replacements.
Back to the actual project…
To replace the sheaves, you need to remove the end cap fitting on the boom. There are three screws that secure that fitting on the boom. Unfortunately for us, those stainless steel screws were welded to aluminum and corroded (just like the problematic screws we had on the gooseneck fitting way back when). So, we found ourselves faced with the same duddy “welded screw” situation (again) that took forever to get out of the boom. 🙁
^^we somehow perfectly timed this project with our canvas beefing up. it was much easier to work on the end of the boom without the bimini in the way.^^ After a few days of work on these corroded/welded screws, and some help from our friend Todd, we had them out! Phew!
And once the newly ordered sheaves arrived in the mail, it was a super easy fix. I cannot believe finding the correct replacement sheaves took months, but replacing them took mere minutes. Typical.
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean.
…Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Boat Projects, Sailing BlogTags: Bahamas, Boat Projects, Caribbean, Cruising, Endeavour, Kenyon Boom, LahoWind, Reefing, Rig-Rite, Sailing Blog, Sheaves, Topping Lift
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Eeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!! So exciting and I love all of the pictures! Glad you had a safe first leg! Love the sunset pic! 🙂 Congrats!
So excited for you!!! Love the pictures. Praying for you, too!!
Congratulations!! I’m so excited that you’re finally out cruising! I can’t wait to meet up in the Bahamas, we have to have some sundowers, and maybe go fishing together since you guys actually seem to catch things. 😉
Enjoying reading about your trip. We too sail and belong to a local sailing club in swflorida. Last spring we sailed to Marco, then shark river and marathon. While in the keys we visited Bahai Honda and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Like reading about your projects. Interested in hearing about your crab pot engine fix. What actually happened to the engine and how you remedied it. Maneuvering through a field of pots can be unnerving.
I too enjoy taking “amateur ” pictures of our trips to tell a story of our adventures. Early in the morning usually gives me the best light ( oh the sunrises)!
Look forward to hearing more of your adventures
[…] LAHO. Well, technically our second visitors after our good friend Chris made the haul with us way back on day one as we sailed our way from Naples to Marathon in the Florida […]