What does BOAT mean?

I have often heard all sorts of analogies about the actions surrounding the acquisition of a boat or yacht.  Most of them involved the money that would be spent.  I have been educated as to the meaning of the letters BOAT.

Bring Out Another Thousand.

Truth that.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

When we motored into the Gingerville Yacht Center in Edgewater, MD we expected to be in this facility at most two weeks.  It has been three weeks and we are still here.

We are currently staying in a long term hotel (meaning rudimentary facility), and had hoped that the stay would only be a week or so.  Again, three weeks later we are still in that single room and the two girls are not happy campers.  Charlotte and I are not exactly filled with joy either.

The major delay is due to Mother Nature, the capricious old broad that she is, and her delight in sending tons of rain to this area.  In the three weeks we have been in the Edgewater area, we have seen two days of not rain.  That is TWO DAYS of dry.  Every day otherwise has seen rain, misting rain, torrential downpour, and gray wet skies and surrounding air.  I thought I was getting a tan, turned out I was RUSTING.

For most of the time we have been in the Edgewater area we have been waiting for a diesel mechanic to show up to give us a diagnosis of what we encountered during the initial trip from Dundalk to Annapolis/Edgewater.  Always too busy to stop by and take a look.  During one of my visits to our home base (the Capital Yacht Club), I mentioned to several members the problem we were encountering with getting an evaluation of our engine problem.  On my last visit, I found a note on the members board with a name and phone number for a diesel engine person (Delyn Gruvener) who was the primary for the Yacht Club members on their boats.  I was informed by a member of the Yacht Club staff that this guy might be able to help, and that he had said we should give him a call.  Folks at the Club trusted this guy with their boat propulsion so I made the call.

The diesel specialist listened to what I had to say regarding what we had encountered.  He indicated that it could very well be a simply coolant hose problem and said he would meet with us and do a diagnostic for our starboard engine either Saturday evening or Sunday morning.  This morning, Sunday, at ten am, Delyn showed up with tools and a professional demeanor.

After a few initial minutes discussing the situation as we knew it, we lifted the hatch to the engine room and he began the diagnosis.  The news was not good.  It was bad, but may be worse.

Best case scenario, we have a blown head gasket and a minor overhaul will have to be performed.  Worst case scenario, we have a damaged engine, beyond repair and a reconditioned engine will be required.  Cost?  Between 5,000 dollars and 30,000 dollars.  Ergo the deal about the letters in BOAT!

Facing this situation, Charlotte and I decided that as soon as the flooring was installed (less disruption for the kitties if we wait until then), we would be moving on to the boat and simply rough it as the other work was accomplished.  The engine work will be done as Delyn has time in his schedule.  He has committed to working on the weekends to get us back seaworthy as soon as possible.  So we will probably move on board sometime mid to late this coming week.  I have a couple of electronic things to get accomplished and some items to purchase before we can actually take up resident, but if things do not go to hell in a handbasket, my next posting to this blog will come from the bridge of the Misty Lady.

BOAT, remember those initials!

More later.

Author: harv1941

Just a summary, I am 84 years of age, retired in July 2013 and settled down to promoting the dangers of bacterial meningitis, which killed my beloved son, Mike in 2009. My wife, Charlotte, and I embarked on an adventure of live aboard cruising, aboard a large Blue Water motor yacht. While our beginning was rather fraught with hurdles, we continued to look forward to the day we moved aboard the Misty Lady and cruise the eastern seaboard and associated waterways. After more than four years of life aboard this Bluewater Motor Yacht, I developed an advanced problem due to interaction with medications and experienced rather frightening balance problems. Therefore, getting on and off the yacht was fraught with danger of falling between the docks and the boat's hull. Walking the docks was also problematic considering that our yacht club docks were all floating docks and my balance problem was a danger during the walk from our yacht's docking slip to the clubhouse or out to the DC Wharf facilities and our car housed in the yacht club's reserved garage. SO, we had to regretfully put the Misty Lady up for sale and move back on shore. We moved on shore, first into a condo apartment in Alexandria, then after two years there, we relocated to the city of Newport News, in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Our original desired location was in the city of Hampton, Virginia, which is the oldest English-speaking settlement in the United States having been established originally in 1610. My ancestors came to this country through this settlement in the mid 1600s and lived in that area for around 100 years before beginning a migration of one portion of our family toward the west. I looked forward to moving back to this area and exploring the roots of my family, both maternal and paternal ancestry, but we found a great house in the Newport News area and became ensconced in the terrific neighborhood of Kiln Creek. My wife, being still actively employed, received a substantial offer in a position with a government contractor firm back up in Northern Virginia. So we put the Newport News house up for sale, receiving and accepting an offer withing two days. We then relocated back up to the city of Alexandria and into another high rise condo. My wife reached a point where considerations for retirement were becoming very important. She indicated that she really didn't want to retire in Alexandria, so once again we began a house search in the Tidewater area, this time in the City of Williamsburg and in a community restricted to 55+ age owners. We found the ideal location, initiated the sale and closing for our retirement home. We then put our condo on the market. Alas, the market was not as robust as before so we had to change asking price a couple of time, but finally the Alexandria Condo was sold. Now we are set to enjoy the great locations found here in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area, considering that we are history buffs and there are literally hundreds of historical sites in this segment of our nation. Of course living in Williamsburg is the epitome of history living life. So, now we are in our retirement home, in a great retirement type community. A great clubhouse with a fine dining restaurant, a grill/pub, an award winning PGA designed golf course and miles of walking trails. Looking forward to my wife's eventual full retirement and the two of us visiting all up and down the east coast historical spots. View all posts by harv1941