Temps last night were not as low as the weather man said, which is a good thing. He did say we would have sunshine too and there was none of that today. Start went well. We are slow getting the auto pilot and the GPS working. They are not talking to each other yet . The auto guidance on the GPS is working now. We can steer the boat with the auto pilot. When they get working together they will steer the boat down river in the channel. We got to lock 12 just a behind a barge so during the wait Dave was able to get the outboard motor unplugged, so it is working now again.
While going though lock 12 at Bellevue, Iowa, we learned that Lock No. 19 is currently closed to all navigation. Emergency repairs are in progress to get the lock back open to navigation. It sounds like it might be open later today. We are set to go though on Thursday so that should be fine. We also found out Lock and Dam No. 21 will be closed to all navigation from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm each day on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 2, 3, 4 and 5 November to remove the existing miter gate leaves and to install 4 new miter gate leaves. That means we will need to get though in the dark Thursday night. I talked to the marina that we plan to stay in tonight, and we will not have water or power and they will be closed by the time we get there. They are leaving us a key so we can shower and get to the restrooms. The restaurant will be open. We made Clinton Iowa by about 4:30. We noticed that the structure that sits on the boat's deck and holds the mast had shifted foward with the big cruiser passing out of lock 12. We got it back to where it should be and added some more ties. I plan to add a couple more cross members to it tomorrow.
After reaching the marina for the night: We got a good dinner and warm showers. I am feeling lot cleaner. I might ever watch some tv. We have 2 tv/dvd players on board and I brought about 500 tv/movies to watch.
Weather looks to be a good day tomorrow, but rain on Wednesday and cooler.
Monday, October 31, 2011
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Photos from Friends
Day 1: Here are photos of us leaving Wabasha, taken by our friend Brianne:
Day 2: Here are Dave and I, in Marquette with DeeAnna, and the big pink elephant in the room. Chuck was behind the camera.
Day 2: Here are Dave and I, in Marquette with DeeAnna, and the big pink elephant in the room. Chuck was behind the camera.
Day 3 of river
The day started with grass and muck all around the boat. To try and not plug the main motor, we used the outboard and we think we plugged that up now, will try and look at it later in the day. It started to sprinkle shorly after we left the dock, which made for a cold wet morning. About 15 miles down river the main motor raw water inlet had plugged again and overheated the motor again. Dave got it open again and then off to lock 10 and our first fuel stop. We topped of the tank with 15.6 gallon of diesel for 161.4 miles. Dave had planned for about 10 miles per gallon, so we are doing a little better than that. Our friend Deeanna bought us homemade ham and bean soup last night so we had that for lunch. It might be an interesting night in the boat as the soup had lots of beans.
We have passed, and been passed by, a huge cruiser (see the photo on day 1 post). The two boats are like the tortoise and the hare. We are up early and run late, and they run faster than us. They are on the way to mobile also. At some point they will leave us behind.
Most of the rest of the day went well, got through both locks quickly. When we got to Dubuque we had 3 marinas we tried to get in to. The first one said channel was worn to 8' at low pool, but when we turnned off the river it was at 4'. Being that we are at 4'6", we ran aground in some muck. Dave was going slow, we tried to back off, with no luck. So I got the dingy out and took the anchor out as far as I could. The wind and the current pushed me back too quick. On the 2nd try I was able to get out bit farther and it grabbed. So I cranked on the anchor as Dave used the motor, and we did get unstuck. I tried calling the 2nd marina and no one there. So off to number 3, and it was closed on Sunday but looked like a bigger marina with 8' of depth per our book and yup it was only 4' grrr stuck again. This did not take as long to get out. Back to the river and day light was going so we stopped just off the river and put out 2 anchors to keep us in this narrow channel.
Tonight was going to be dinner out and showers instead no showers in 3 days and beans for lunch plus temps are going to be below freezing.
So the hope is tomorrow getting to Clinton, Iowa, getting hot showers and hot dinner. We will see what the day brings.
Are we having fun yet ????????? time will tell.
We have passed, and been passed by, a huge cruiser (see the photo on day 1 post). The two boats are like the tortoise and the hare. We are up early and run late, and they run faster than us. They are on the way to mobile also. At some point they will leave us behind.
Most of the rest of the day went well, got through both locks quickly. When we got to Dubuque we had 3 marinas we tried to get in to. The first one said channel was worn to 8' at low pool, but when we turnned off the river it was at 4'. Being that we are at 4'6", we ran aground in some muck. Dave was going slow, we tried to back off, with no luck. So I got the dingy out and took the anchor out as far as I could. The wind and the current pushed me back too quick. On the 2nd try I was able to get out bit farther and it grabbed. So I cranked on the anchor as Dave used the motor, and we did get unstuck. I tried calling the 2nd marina and no one there. So off to number 3, and it was closed on Sunday but looked like a bigger marina with 8' of depth per our book and yup it was only 4' grrr stuck again. This did not take as long to get out. Back to the river and day light was going so we stopped just off the river and put out 2 anchors to keep us in this narrow channel.
Tonight was going to be dinner out and showers instead no showers in 3 days and beans for lunch plus temps are going to be below freezing.
So the hope is tomorrow getting to Clinton, Iowa, getting hot showers and hot dinner. We will see what the day brings.
Are we having fun yet ????????? time will tell.
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Day 2 of river
Today did not go as well as yesterday. We started with a temp of 27. Before we got started we wrapped the end of the mast with some foam to protect it if we bumped the side of the locks as we go in and out. About 7:45 a.m. we headed down river. When we got to lock 8, we had to idle for about a hour as a barge came through, going up river. After we got through, the engine's over-temp buzzer went off. We found some river grass in the raw water strainer. The engine uses river water to cool the engine. We started up again and a little farther down the buzzer went off a second time. We checked a few things out but could not find out why it was over heating. The 3rd time after pulling more apart we found out we had no water coming in from the river. Fixed that, problem solved, we thought.
Off to the next lock, the huge cruiser that passed us yesterday passed us again, but we caught up with him at lock 9. We pulled up and chatted with them as we waited about 45 minues for another barge to get though the lock going down river. After we got out of the lock Dave hit the throttle, and we barely got going. The buzzer went off again. Grrrrr we had only idled a short time. So Dave tore everything back open to get to the engine and turns out it was plugged at the valve coming into the boat. At this point we had lost a lot of time digging weeds out of the engine, so we fired up the outboard motor and I headed down river, as Dave got the port unplugged again. Somebody needs to clean up the weeds in the river.
I got the 10 horse outboard motor to push the boat to 7.7 MPH. The main motor is 19 horse. After dave got done we started the motor back up, let it cool down for few minutes, and ran both motors. I think we got the boat to 9.5 or 9.7 MPH running both full out. It was getting late and we were not sure if we would get to our stop before dark. I got the flood light and spot light wired up to use. After that the cabin looked like a bomb had gone off. So I spent some time repacking everything. At one point we caught up with the barge we waited for in lock 9. So Dave passed him inside on a corner. Dave said when you race, that is how you pass. Finally at about 6:00 as it was getting dark we got to Marquette, IA and met our friends Chuck and Deeanna at the dock. They took us out for dinner at the casino in Marquette. Another dinner we did not have to cook, yay.
Another long but good day.
Off to the next lock, the huge cruiser that passed us yesterday passed us again, but we caught up with him at lock 9. We pulled up and chatted with them as we waited about 45 minues for another barge to get though the lock going down river. After we got out of the lock Dave hit the throttle, and we barely got going. The buzzer went off again. Grrrrr we had only idled a short time. So Dave tore everything back open to get to the engine and turns out it was plugged at the valve coming into the boat. At this point we had lost a lot of time digging weeds out of the engine, so we fired up the outboard motor and I headed down river, as Dave got the port unplugged again. Somebody needs to clean up the weeds in the river.
I got the 10 horse outboard motor to push the boat to 7.7 MPH. The main motor is 19 horse. After dave got done we started the motor back up, let it cool down for few minutes, and ran both motors. I think we got the boat to 9.5 or 9.7 MPH running both full out. It was getting late and we were not sure if we would get to our stop before dark. I got the flood light and spot light wired up to use. After that the cabin looked like a bomb had gone off. So I spent some time repacking everything. At one point we caught up with the barge we waited for in lock 9. So Dave passed him inside on a corner. Dave said when you race, that is how you pass. Finally at about 6:00 as it was getting dark we got to Marquette, IA and met our friends Chuck and Deeanna at the dock. They took us out for dinner at the casino in Marquette. Another dinner we did not have to cook, yay.
Another long but good day.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
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Day 1 of river Part 2
Yes, we did get off and are on our way to Belize. We ended up with about a dozen friends and family to see us off from Wabasha, and left at about 7:45 am. Thanks everyone, it was nice to have the send off. Today we made better time than planned. We had planned at about 7 mph but ended up at 8.1 to 8.7 mph. That may not seem like much but that changes the daily mileage from 70 to 80 plus miles a day, that could take 2-3 days off river part of the trip.
We had 5 locks today, 4 of them we went right though. We pulled in, they closed the gate, floated in the middle of the gate, water dropped to the next level, and off we went. At the last one we had another boat with us so per their rules we needed to grab two lines off the side of lock, but still was quick. We found a small leak in the hose that drains the ice box so water ended up standing right in front of the stove. To fix it is a big job because we can't get to the hose without taking out most of the galley. So we will live with it for now, and just use a mat so we don't track it around the cabin. We are looking fowaed to warmer weather as we head South, as it was about 32 degrees F when we took off, and standing with the breeze is a bit nippy. It was cloudy most of the morning and started to clear off by afternoon. About 5:00 we got to the Lawrance Lake Marina for the night. They let us use their car to run to town to get dinner at TGI Fridays and make a Target run. When we got back, we figured out the leak on the ice box, checked email, then off to bed for both of us.
Been along day but a great start
We had 5 locks today, 4 of them we went right though. We pulled in, they closed the gate, floated in the middle of the gate, water dropped to the next level, and off we went. At the last one we had another boat with us so per their rules we needed to grab two lines off the side of lock, but still was quick. We found a small leak in the hose that drains the ice box so water ended up standing right in front of the stove. To fix it is a big job because we can't get to the hose without taking out most of the galley. So we will live with it for now, and just use a mat so we don't track it around the cabin. We are looking fowaed to warmer weather as we head South, as it was about 32 degrees F when we took off, and standing with the breeze is a bit nippy. It was cloudy most of the morning and started to clear off by afternoon. About 5:00 we got to the Lawrance Lake Marina for the night. They let us use their car to run to town to get dinner at TGI Fridays and make a Target run. When we got back, we figured out the leak on the ice box, checked email, then off to bed for both of us.
Been along day but a great start
Friday, October 28, 2011
Day 1 of river
We are on our way. Done with first day, safe, tried and going to bed. I have been up 19 hrs.
more later, was a great day thanks all who sent us off.
more later, was a great day thanks all who sent us off.
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