Titusville - Aft oil seal replaced

Our enthusiastic mechanic, the engine is once again apart in pieces in the aft cabin

Today was the day we had the rear oil seal replaced on the Volvo engine. The part only costs $200 but the labor takes 5 hours so the labor costs much more than the part. The mechanic that came over had never done it before but I had the instructions written by the previous mechanic for him to follow complete with photos of the stages of disassembly.

A peaceful evening

Everything was going smoothly until he removed the dampener. It's the connection between the engine and the prop shaft and is meant to absorb shocks as the transmission is engaged. The absorbing components are made of rubber and they wear out. Given the age of the engine, it was time for a replacement so the repair was stopped to the point where the dampener was to be reinstalled. I ordered a new one shipped overnight and it's supposed to arrive Friday morning. If so, he'll complete the installation on Friday afternoon.

It was hot again today but the forecast is for cooler weather over the next week. We still have a lot of stuff to get done before leaving for New York but we have next week for that. It's a busy time.

Titusville - New running area and dog park

The most beautiful sight of all for a sailboater - a 65 ft high bridge!

Today was getting Fleetwing ready for replacing the aft oil seal. The Volvo D2-55 engine has a history of developing oil leaks at the aft shaft where it exits the engine. I've had it done before so I'm familiar with the process. It's a five-hour process to replace a $200 part so the labor is more than the oil seal. One of the advantages of being in the Titusville Marina is that we have a mechanic right next door at Westland Marina, Boater's Edge.  He'll start in at 9:00 and hopefully be done in five hours.

Anybody for a little exercise along the running trial?

Another thing we've enjoyed during our stay here is the excellent running area. It has just been repaved and they've added exercised equipment along the running path. I don't use the equipment but the running path is great. There are no seams to trip over, nice and smooth.

Well, throw your ball, already...

Of course we took Hoolie back to the dog park. It's a big deal for him to get out and run free. he just chases the tennis ball, that's all he's interested in - certainly not the other dogs. They only thing he wants to do is run after a ball. It's nice here now, the rains seemed to have passed and we have a calm night ahead.

Titusville - We take Hoolie to the dog park

I'm read, I'm ready.......  Well, throw it already...

We've come into a rainy period but it stopped this afternoon so we took the opportunity to let Hoolie have some exercise in the dog park next door to the marina. They have two fenced-in areas, one for dogs larger than 25 lbs and one for smaller dogs.

Every light post has an osprey nest on top.

Regardless of the dogs already there, all Hoolie wants to do is chase after a ball. So we enter and the first thing we look for is a stray tennis ball to throw. Hoolie perks up at that and runs with all his might after my toss. The other dogs invariably don't keep up. They will run perhaps a couple of times but then they fade out - while Hoolie is still going strong.

He's out of shape so we didn't run him too much. We were told that Brittanys need a lot of exercise and Hoolie runs hard when he has the chance but once back on Fleetwing, he settles down and naps. We think he's an ideal boat dog.

On Wednesday, I must get the boat ready for the mechanic's arrival on Thursday to replace the aft oil seal on the diesel. As we've cruised now for almost 10 years, we've accumulated a lot of stuff we really don't use but then, we might? It's so hard to get rid of excess baggage when you think that someway, somehow, you just might need that item you haven't used in 10 years... I've got to get all the stuff out of the way so the mechanic can work on the engine.

Titusville - the rains come

The photo doesn't do it justice

Ann is back to painting again and it's a joy to see her work around the boat. She sets up on the cockpit with all her pastels laid out and paints whatever inspires her. I like her work - and I'm not biased :)

We have a change of weather with lots of rain in the forecast. We were so lucky to have a good spell of weather to reach Titusville by November 1st. There's a whole bunch of boats still north of us that's not so lucky. Many of them had insurance that required them to stay north of Florida until November. We don't have that restriction so we came down early.

Groan, another walk in the rain... 

I took Hoolie out and we all got wet but at least we weren't in a dinghy. Still, wet is wet and we're now drying off inside the cabin with the A/C on to keep the humidity down so we can dry off. We've been busy as beavers even since we've arrived here so on Tuesday, we're just going to take it easy. One of the advantages of this marina is a mechanic next door in the adjacent marina. I'll take advantage of that to get the aft shaft seal replaced on Thursday. Then, I need to start getting the boat secure for our trip north for the holidays with extra lines and fenders. I wonder if it's cold up north?

Titusville - We visit Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

The few birds there were, were still beautiful

When they were looking for a site to launch satellites from, they wanted a launch over water so not to endanger populated areas. Launching to the east was a requirement since the rotation of the Earth in that direction added to the rocket's velocity and allowed bigger payloads. Cape Canaveral was the natural choice and they bought all the land nearby. However, they did not need all the land for launching rockets and thus was born the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.

I think he's drying his feathers

Whenever we're in Titusville, we always take a drive through Blackpoint Wildlife Drive. It's through the heart of the stopover point of birds headed north or south. Of course, this time of the year, they are headed south and it's usually full of migrating birds, but not today. I think the weather has been so warm that the birds are still up north. Perhaps that will change over the next few weeks. We will try again next weekend.

The yellow flowers were all over

Meanwhile, I need to talk to the mechanic next door about once again replacing the aft oil seal on my Volvo D2-55 diesel. It seems to go every 2000 hours. That will occupy me this coming week as we get ready to leave Fleetwing for two months while we return to New York for the holidays.

Titusville Marina - Now and then

Titusville in 2013 - where are the boats?

We've been leaving Fleetwing at Titusville for the holidays since 2013 and the place has changed a lot since we've been coming. The price of a month's dockage has gone up from $10.00/ft to $10.50/ft which is not too bad. The biggest change has been in the occupancy rate. "C" dock used to be empty but not more and there's no room anywhere in the marina. You have to make reservations months in advance if you want to stay for more than a few days. The photo at the top is the marina when we first started staying there, not a lot of business.

Titusville in 2019 - no room at the inn

Then I started publicizing the great rates and other attractions like a dog park next door and walking access to town. Management changed too. Titusville hired and outside marina manager and he's done great things in smoothing out the operation of the marina. The WiFi now works and the bathrooms and showers have been renovated. There's an air-conditioned captain's lounge now along with an LCD TV and in the next few months, new washers and dryers. 

All of the improvements along with the low price has attracted cruisers wanting to save a few bucks compared to higher-priced marinas farther south, especially if they are looking for a place to leave their boat for a few months. The only downside is that the entrance is open to the southeast where occasional strong winds enter, rocking boats on "C" and "B" docks. The docks are fixed since there are no tides and it's just a matter of securing your boat with adequate lines and fenders.

As I write this, we have 20 kt winds but we're fine here on "A" dock which is the best protected of all the docks in Titusville Marina. We feel secure in leaving Fleetwing with the extra lines we have in place and fenders positioned strategically. Meanwhile, we rented a car and after today's laundry and provisioning, we'll explore the Merritt Wildlife Refuge on Sunday - but only after donuts on Sunday morning from our favorite donut shop on the entire east coast!

Titusville - at a dock over the holidays

Hooie loves his  beach at Bethune Park in Daytona

It was a great day, we reached our dock for the holidays. When we first started out, the Titusville Marina was virtually empty. You had no trouble finding a dock. We found it to be the perfect place for a holiday layover. The price, at the time, was only $10/ft for a month's stay and it was a secure location, not directly on the coast and not subject to extreme tidal surges.

We are secure in our slip at Titusville Marina in a web of lines

So I started writing about it in my blog and extolling its virtues in my guidebooks. Well, lo and behold, it started to fill up. Now it's rather hard to find a slip, especially for an extended stay. What are the attractions? First, it's the price. At $10.50/ft for a month, it's the least expensive marina on the east coast. Furthermore, although they are fixed docks, they are massive and the tidal range is less than a foot at most. They have newly renovated heads and showers, three washers and three dryers, and a nearby fenced-in dog park. There's an Enterprise car rental nearby with $20/day weekend rates and plenty of places nearby to visit like the Kennedy Space Center and the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Add in free, high-speed WiFi that actually works and it's a real bargain. It's a great place to spend some time relaxing.

On Saturday, we'll provision at the local Walmart (there are Walmarts and then there are Walmarts, this one is an upper-tier one) and Ann wants to explore the new Hobby Lobby. Then we'll be off to see who's in town at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. It's a stopping over point for all manner of birds headed south. You never know what you'll see. It's always fun to see the local wildlife.