Titusville - Water strainer work

See, there are flowers up north too at this time of the year (from Marie)

I had two Vetus raw water strainers on board, one for the main engine and one for the genset. In my haste to ensure they were air tight so they would draw water properly (they are put under suction by the water pump) I had used a waxy compound to seal the threads. Well, they were certainly air tight but also impossible to unscrew due to the high viscosity wax treatment. So I ordered two more and replaced both today. Once off the engines (Volvo and genset) I could work on them with more leverage and I eventually got both undone. They are now my spares. The moral of the story is to use teflon or silicon to lubricate the screw cap and not something that will cause high friction when trying to remove the cap when debris piles up inside the strainer. Such are things you spend your days doing on a boat.

Egyptian iris - in Marie's house

Ann did the wash while I puttered around inside the cabin, taking five hours to do what any mechanic could do in less than one! We had missed our mail drop in Vero but John Kwak knew that his cousin, Hans Kwak and his wife Thea, were coming to Titusville on Monday so he volunteered to bring our mail north and we got it today. I now have everything I need to do that dreaded task, taxes! We had Hans and Thea over for happy hour on our boat at 5:00.

Hans and Thea Kwak, Happy Hour Time!

Meanwhile, my flower photos inspired some friends up north to show that they also had flowers, albeit, inside a hothouse so I've included two photos from Brian and Marie in Connecticut. Brian McDonnell is head of McDonnell Marine, the premier parts supplier for Volvo engines in the northeast. Brian also does warranty work for Volvo up north. If I ever have an engine problem, the first person I call is Brian!!

Let's see, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight", right?

Now we're aiming for a Wednesday departure for Rockhouse Creek. The weather looks good and we're hoping to meet up with friends at St. Augustine on Friday, still not certain yet.