The Sorcerer's Apprentice

I have begun my apprenticeship in diesel mechanics and maintenance!  Now that all of the unexpected repairs are complete, we have turned our attention to making sure the motors are in good shape and functioning properly.  This has involved draining various fluids, adding more fluids, flushing those fluids through, draining some more, then rinse and repeat.

Michael is perfectly at home doing all of this, but he can't do it all on his own.  My job started out as run and fetch - tools, buckets, hoses, shop towels, shop vac, more buckets.  Things got a little more complicated though, when we needed hands at both ends of the engine - one pair controlling the hose that was putting water in, and the other controlling the hose that was draining the water out and into the buckets.  So, I was promoted to mechanic's assistant, and am learning about diesel engines, and the science of heating and cooling them.  I suppose this shouldn't be unexpected, as I have been pulling hoses from one end of this boat to the other while we installed the new toilets.  This should just be the next logical step.

These engines have not been used for years.  We have only had the boat out a couple of times since we bought it, and the previous owners hadn't used it for a while before that.  First thing we needed to do was drain the old coolant and put in a cleaning agent.  I was amazed at the crud that came out with that first drain.  But the upside was that we had to take the boat for a run on the river to make sure the detergent got through the entire engine.

So we have finally cast off the lines and hit the open water.  With our neighbours Kim and Theresa on board, we headed out for about half an hour.  Great fun to be out there in the big boat!  And yes - that is me at the controls!!

But then we had to come back and complete the job...drain the detergent, flush with water, run the engines, drain the water, and repeat until it ran clear.  One engine took 3 cycles until we could put the final glycol coolant in, but the other needed one or two more cycles - I lost track.  We were at it until very late last night, but finally got it done.

Poor Edee manages all of the noise and holes in the floor extremely well.  She delicately picks her way across the floors strewn with the necessary tools when she needs to eat or drink, and sits in her bed watching us or sleeping the rest of the time.  She truly is a boat cat!

We're good to go now, and planning our first overnight trip to Chattanooga soon!  The weather is unsettled right now, so we will look for a window without storms in the forecast.  It's pouring down as I write this, and we have had some damaging winds spring up a few times in the last week, so we all keep one eye on the sky.

Southern Cooking 101

One of the boaters here has been sharing his homemade spicy crackers with everyone on the dock -  and he and his wife dropped by the other evening to deliver a small sample with the recipe.  It's amazing what you can do with saltine crackers, canola oil and some spices.  Combined in the right quantities, the saltines turn into a snack cracker that is almost impossible to resist!!

While we were visiting, Rick was sharing other cooking hints with us.  He told us that one of his favourite recipes was to use whop biscuits, and mix some salsa and mozzarella cheese into them before you bake them.  Being Canadian, we had no idea what whop biscuits were, and asked (meanwhile Michael was thinking 'Italian's have biscuits?').  Rick replied "You know...whop biscuits.  They come in a roll, and you whop 'em on the counter to get it open!"

So there you have it - saltines and whop biscuits!

Happy Independence Day

These folks know how to celebrate!  For some, Independence Day is bigger than Christmas, and they decorate accordingly.  We began a tour of the dock this morning to check it all out, and the party was under way by about 10 AM.  Here is just a sampling of some of the decorations.

We spent the day visiting and chatting with folks up and down the dock, and had a BBQ lunch with   our friend Doris and a few others.  We then waited for the evening celebrations.  There's a park just down the road, with an amphitheater built into the side of a hill, where the city of Scottsboro puts on a big show.  They had a couple of bands keeping the crowd entertained with some southern rock and some country music, and a number of vendors selling more BBQ, home made ice cream, corn dogs, and hamburgers.  We wandered down to have some supper, and take in a little music, then came back to watch the fireworks with a number of neighbours.  It was timed to a selection of patriotic music - and I do mean patriotic!  Nevertheless, it was a pretty good show.

Happy Independence Day to all of our American friends!!

 

Happy Canada Day!

It's July 1st, and hard to believe that we have been in Alabama for 3 months now!

While the unexpected repairs to the boat have taken up more time than we would have liked, we are nearing the end of the major work.  I have 2 new commodes, a new holding tank (including all new hoses and fittings), waste treatment system, and a new water heater.

We have had the salon furniture reupholstered (love seat and 2 tub chairs), and have found a nice little wicker set for the aft deck.   When the air conditioner started giving trouble, we thought that was next on the list, but Michael found that the intake was just clogged with weeds.  He was able to clear it, and flush the system, so we're able to keep up with the oven-like conditions here in the south.

Now we can move on to getting the autopilot and water maker we want for our winter journey.  My sister reminded me about the movie 'Money Pit' - and yes, some of this has been unexpected.  But it's a boat, which really means Bet On Another Thousand!


The heat here is incredible, reaching 104F yesterday.  Walking from air conditioning into the outside is like walking through a physical wall as you hit the humidity and heat.  If you're outside, you're sweating.  Everyone is damp, all the time. The "cold" water temperature straight out of the tap at 2pm is 92F or 33C, no need to turn on the hot tap :).

With the heat comes an explosion of growth in the water.  In much the same way zebra mussels invaded our waters in Ontario, there are two kinds of weed growing here that are not native, and therefore get quickly out of control.  The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), who maintains the waterways here, does come around to spray these weeds - using an air boat so they can get up close and personal in the shallows.  It seems to have worked, at least within the marina, but there are huge areas of the river that are completely impassable due to the weeds.  They keep the channels clear, so you really need to watch where you are and make sure you stay in the channels.

Yesterday we went to Guntersville, about 30 miles away, for the Alabama Song Writers Festival - well, really we went to see Taylor Hicks perform!  It was all free, and right on the water.

We got there about 6pm, and it was still brutally hot.  So we ate ice cream, and drank lemonade while we wandered the craft tents, and met up with some boating friends.  As the sun went down, so did the temperature - a little.  As the crowd gathered for the headline act, the harbour filled with boats of all sizes, their lights twinkling in the fading light.  Hicks is an Alabama boy, so got a very good welcome from the crowd.




Today is Canada Day, although no one here knows anything about that.  The big party here, of course, will be on the 4th.  Boats are being decorated, and flags are everywhere.  Here's a snap of me with Doris (of shrimp & grits fame), her son Dan (former mayor of Scottsboro) and, of course, Uncle Sam!

There will be a big fireworks show put on by the city of Scottsboro at our marina, which is city owned.  We have been told to expect huge crowds that night, so need to decide if we will watch from the water or from shore.

Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian friends and family!!