When we bought the boat, we met Deen Akmal, Penguin Yacht Service.  He had done much of the maintenance and improvements for the previous owner.  Right off the bat we had problems with the aft air conditioner and the forward electric head.  We could not move aboard without these working.  Also the Westerbeke needed a new water pump. I hired Deen to tackle these jobs. I liked his work, and his advice, and stuck with him for all of the subsequent repairs and upgrades. I got to be his helper, and in the process learned everything I know about the boat. He is a great teacher.

While we were on the trip to California I read Ron and Eva Stob's book "Honey, Let's Get a Boat". It's the story of their Great Loop cruise in 1994.  I recommend it for anyone interested in, or planning to do, the Great Loop Cruise.

In particular, their frequent anchoring on the trip pointed out the need for reliable and easy to handle ground tackle.  Remedy came with a "working" windlass, but it had  significant problems. The gypsy did not fit the chain.  The hawse pipe was too far away to accept a feed from the windlass.  The angle the chain went around the vertical windlass was barely ninety degrees before heading to the hawse pipe, so the chain slipped even when manually tailed.  I estimated we would need to set and weigh anchor about 300 times during the year we were cruising. We ordered the Lofrans Tigres horizontal rope and chain windlass for ground tackle handling. I was familiar with horizontal windlasses from my sail boating.

In the Big Push we installed the Robertson Autopilot, The Capt'n charting and planning system and a Garmin 126 GPS for the navigation and piloting system. Steve Bowden of SeaTech Systems in Kemah, was most helpful. He installed the Capt'n software on my PC, tuned the PC as he went, and gave a great tutorial on how to use the Capt'n. That is real value added compared to buying the package through the mail.

We added a Statpower 1750 Watt Inverter to run the refrigerator and icemaker while underway.  This will reduce the hours we need to run the Genset.

Other goodies, which we added, to make the boat comfortable were:

VHF Handheld Radio
Bimmini and Enclosure
Ice Maker
Sunfish Sailboat
TV antenna (broadcast)
Stereo Tuner, CD
Satellite TV dish and receiver.

While passing out Kudos to those who helped get us under way, I also recommend Q-Lube Marine services for their full service checkup.  They changed the oil, oil filters, and fuel filters on the twin Caterpillar 3208's and the Westerbeke Genset. They drained and changed oil in the transmissions. They checked and adjusted: alternator belts, shaft packing glands, cooling levels, batteries, and all five water strainers. Tony and Mac worked about five hours on a set of jobs it would have easily taken me a full week.  Show them you are a TMCA member and they will knock 10% off the bill.

At the time we bought the boat, I had budgeted for the new Autopilot, Navigation Electronics, and the Bimmini and Enclosure. Those expenses came in pretty much on target.  The need to replace an Air conditioner, Stereo Tuner, CD and the Anchor Windlass were unforeseen shocks. The rest of the "stuff" we just had to have. The total was twice our original fixup budget. From what I have heard, this is normal to fix up a boat.  Estimate what you know you must fix... then double it.

Double Bayou Cruise

We went on two TMCA Cruises during this period. This gave us an opportunity to shake down the new equipment, learn the boat and build up our confidence.

We went on the Double Bayou cruise Oct. 9-10.  Attending with us  were AnnTicipation, Shorty VI, Flying Dolphin, Sea Star, Silhouette, Alembic, and new members Ray and Trudy Crowder on Gatekeeper.  The highlight of this cruise was the Blackened Shrimp prepared by master chef Randy Russell. The cruise will also be remembered for the abundance of mosquitos. We got to checkout the new GPS, The Captain on the PC and the Autopilot. We also verified the Inverter would handle the refrigerator and the ice maker.  On the way back Marion reported a heavy vibration on the sundeck when I brought the boat briefly up on plane. "Something is wrong with the port engine", she called, "Please cut it back down... its really vibrating." I dropped back to 2100 and it was still bad so we returned to trawling speed.

After that trip we had Clarence Perkins, Perk's Diving Service, come to clean the bottom and check the zincs and the running gear. He reported that we hit something that bent one blade on the port screw. Turns out Marion had that one called already. He gave us permission to take the boat the next weekend for our planned trip to Offats Bayou.  He would remove the bad prop after we came back.

Octoberfest at Offats Bayou

Meanwhile the long awaited windlass arrived and Deen and I got it installed in time for the TMCA Octoberfest at Offats Bayou. We wanted to spend the night on the hook, so the windlass was needed.

The party would be held at the Landings clubhouse. We arrived in the early afternoon and passed the main fleet that was tied up at the Moody Gardens dock. We went on into the open harbor at the Landings. Marion was at the helm, and handled the engines masterfully.

"Where do you want me to put her?" she called from the fly bridge.

"About halfway toward that Sailboat with the red sail cover?" I came back.

She made a slow port turn and eased forward, following my hand signals. At the spot I indicated she brought the boat to a standstill.

"What's the depth?" I asked.

"Fifteen feet."

I decided to put out 120 feet of scope, dropped the Danforth and requested a pulse of reverse engine. The anchor slipped a little on the first attempt, so I got to retrieve it with the new windlass. The anchor came up showing a mixture of sand and mud. We moved to a new spot and this time the Danforth buried and set firmly. I was pleased, and said a little prayer that all anchoring would be a smooth as this had been.

Once anchored, we turned on the Generator and coaxed our cats,  Beauregard and Belle out of their hiding places. They are getting used to traveling, but they always hide somewhere. It's probably just as well, that they get out of the way, otherwise we would worry about them falling overboard. They are always trying to escape the boat.

Two  weeks ago Beauregard decided to leap from the top deck of the boat to the top of a nearby storage shed. Marion was leaving for tennis and saw what happened. He missed the jump and went into the drink. He swam toward Marion and ultimately found a piling to cling to. He was howling like a banshee as I unceremoniously fished him out with a landing net that we have on board for just that purpose. One week later his sister, Belle, sucessfuly made the leap, and I had to make the leap as well, to rescue her. I'm sure we will have more cat stories, so stay tuned in for "Travels with Beau and Belle".

While I got the dinghy down, Marion prepared the "dish to share" at the Octoberfest Party. She made an Austrian Ham and Noodle casserole. She said, "It is Shinkenfleckeren."

To which I replied, "Gesundheit....   You must do something for that allergy."

The last trip to Double Bayou had emptied the gas tank on the dinghy, so I called for help on VHF 16. "TMCA cruise leader, TMCA cruise leader, This is Remedy."

Dorothy Hearon came back, "Remedy, the Cruise leader is indisposed. Go to channel 68"

On 68 I admitted for the Whole World to hear, (and believe me they listen in), "I am out of gas for the dinghy, Please send help."

After a brief pause she said, "Bill Bagley will come in the Shorty VI dinghy, and give you a ride."

Bill was wearing a big smile as he came, "I have been wanting to drive Ed's (Hearon) dinghy for quite a while. Hop in."

The dinghy is a Livingston... all fiberglass... twin V hull... very stable. When we got out of the harbor, Bill opened up the 16 horse Evinrude and we were up on plane in no time. We both agreed that the dinghy was a real great performer.  I bought the gas, Bill bought the beers and we went back to Remedy.

The Octoberfest was a marvelous party. There were around fourty in attendance, twenty by land, twenty by sea. The hall was decorated in garlands of fall leaves. All were in a festive mood. The Boom-Box played OOM-PA-PA music in the background.

It started out with a beer judging. I was a member of the seven person panel. Almost all of the beers were heavy, dark, strong tasting brews. I found only two of the thirteen beers drinkable. They were both pilsners. After my judging duties were completed I got a Miller Lite.

The "dishes to share" were all very good. Many, myself included, went back for seconds. Amazingly all  the food was eaten except a portion of the desserts.

Juli Graham passed out a "Learn to dance sheet" and we all got to do the Duck Dance. Its a hoot...
Snap your fingers 4 times like a Quacking duck.... Hands in armpits, Flap your wings 4x.. Shake your Tail feathers 4x... Clap hands 4x ... then swing your partner 16x right... then 16x left.

Next morning we got an early start to beat a forecast cold front. We were home by noon Sunday. It was a bit dicey docking.  Just as I was making the final turn I went from neutral to reverse on the port engine. The effort was too much and the port engine quit, just when I need to slow down and turn. The engine would not restart. Reverse on the starboard stopped the boat but turned it the wrong way. Somewhat flustered, I nevertheless found a combination of rudder and starboard engine to get it into the slip. Don't ask me how.

When Deen came to finish up on the electronics, I described the engine stall problem. He found that the idle speed was so low ( < 500RPM) that the engine could be easily stalled by a shift to reverse. Idle speeds on both engines were reset to 700 RPM, where they should have been all along, and the tachometers were recalibrated. We also found that the inverter plus the other 12 volt systems were drawing the batteries down to 12V when the engines were at idle. Something else to watch. Keep the RPMs up.

That same day Clarence Perkins, our favorite diver,  returned and removed the port propeller. We took it up to Mike Hood's shop and in three hours it was ready to reinstall.

October 21 - The Day it all worked

I took the Radar to Mike, Deen's friend, and he fixed it one last time. He demonstrated that the Radar was finally fixed. I was elated. A very nice radar had been fixed at a modest price and now I was going to re-install it. I had watched Deen as he took it off, and as he had replaced it. Deen would be proud of me if I did the reinstallation.

I rushed home and got out my tools. "Don't rush," I told myself, "Practice Zen Mechanics. Enjoy the frustration of cracking your knuckles."  I took my time, and worked slowly, on my first ever radar repair.

In a half an hour it was all back together. I pressed the "Power On" switch but---  Nothing Happened. I removed the cable to the transmitter/antenna and the display would come on. I attached the cable and NOTHING. I detached the cable leads at the transmitter/antenna end ... still NOTHING.  Next I removed the cable and the display worked. Conclusion: I Broke the Cable.

I borrowed a car and drove over to Mike's place. Deen had just been there and knew of the earlier repair. He was headed to the boat. I confessed to Mike that I had busted the cable and got his assurances that he would come, if necessary, to fix it.

I then rushed back to the boat to find Deen. He was about to leave, but came to the boat when he heard of the problem I had created. It turns out that I had bent a pin on the cable connection and caused a short. Deen spotted it, fixed it, and we were back in business in as much time as it took you to read this account.

That afternoon was the final sea trial... We went out on the Bay and tried out the integrated GPS and Autopilot system. All of the calabrations worked. The GPS tracked the boat on a Route to Offats. With  "Hands off",  the autopilot took the commands and steered the course much better than we ever would.
We have decided to name the autopilot "Dobbs" in memory of our first autopilot. We would always say "Home Dobbs", and get safely home.

With today's Radar and Autopilot work complete, it's All Systems Go.

Our excitement levels are rising and we have set October 25 as our planned departure.