Back to Sarasota! Is Bubista II still seaworthy?
Mid Winter Check-up
The time for double-checking on Bubista II is upon us! She has been quietly waiting in the sunny Sarasota Harbor for 2 months now. Carlos is excited to go back and check on her status. Arrangements were made, the family in St. Pete prepared for his visit and he was off!
Issues to consider and hopefully solve!
If you remember, our battery situation was improved by repairing the autopilot chain failure and its operating mode. We also were sure to turn off all the power drawing appliances. Carlos also checked all the float switches before we left Florida to be sure the bilge pumps engaged whenever necessary. List of tasks to complete: putting a cover on the helm to protect the new instruments from sun/water; ensuring that the mooring lines are secure, bringing easier to handle roping to achieve that; downloading more complete maps to the chart plotter; activating a new tablet for Navionics to the Bubista II network.
What am I going to do, you may ask? Stay here in RI...I am still a little un-nerved by the escalating COVID situation in the country and have actually turned down a couple of warm vacations to stay put. Don't worry, I am carefully planning kitchen modifications and decor upgrades to the berths and heads. As well as....who is on the guest list for joining us on this adventure back to RI...a lot to think about with just 3 months to go.
Smooth trip, but still some issues
As travels go, Carlos had a smooth plane trip down with 1 stop at BWI, and got picked up by family. Getting to Bubista II was not without drama. At Marina Jack's their two transportation boats were broken down - yes, both! So Carlos hitched a ride on a borrowed boat and boarded Bubista II. As suspected the house battery situation had not improved. The image shows definitively less than 10 volts!! There was no water in the hull, so there hadn't been any leakage to be concerned about bilge pump operation. However, this is truly time to plan for battery replacement. However, Carlos left Sarasota with changing the batteries - a critical faux pas that would show up on the next visit.
Besides the battery
Other items looked at: the dinghy drain plug seem to be less than optimal and was replaced. The audio speakers had excessive static, so measurements were taken to replace them. We definitely needed to learn something about the Raymarine instrumentation and the wireless network on-board. The real task to protect the instruments was installed: Carlos designed and constructed a cover for the helm instruments - clever use of the track intended for the dodger.
Lost our home port slip
A slight turn of fate on the home port side. The marina where we were planning to dock is now full for the summer season :-(( . So we have to go across the bay to the "Bay Marina", Warwick, RI. Not a bad location, but 15 minutes by car from the house (vs. 5 minutes by car and 15 minutes by bike at the previous one). This means that we can't just stroll to the boat for evening sunsets....lesson learned for next year. We'll add another shot of the slip once the boat returns to RI.
Hope you got your New Year’s card
I am thoroughly happy with the holiday cards that got to me o-so-late, but were beautiful. You can still get one, especially if you email me at info@carlosandkimsalingnoir.com . You can be assured of receiving our 2020 card. Enjoy your holidays!!
