Spring Outfitting April-May 2019

Last October we took Aisling Gheal to Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY to spend the winter in their large indoor and warm (55 degree) storage. 

The boat was very snug with probably about 150 other boats.  The indoor storage protected her from the NY winter storms, ice, and snow.

In December we decided to charter a sailboat in Thailand.  We asked the marina to mail us our passports which we had left on the boat, since we had no plans to leave the country. However, when they opened the boat to get the passports, they found the boat had a mildew problem -- there was a cloud of mildew.  We had the marina do service work to wipe down all of the surfaces with a cleaner.  Beginning the first week in January we wanted to take a trip to NY to see what the situation was.  Barbie was afraid that the boat would smell like mildew and feared the worst.  The marina was only open during the week.  We kept trying for a good three day weather window but one never came.

Finally, the end of March we got a favorable weather window and we were able to drive to Brewerton -- although we did get  a snow storm that put down two or three inches of snow. 

Aisling Gheal was in much better condition than Barbie had feared.  This was a great relief.  We had taken off all of the bedding and food so the boat was nearly empty.  There was NO smell of mildew.  Just to be sure, Barbie wiped down all of the surfaces herself.

Jeff had decided to replace our six flooded lead acid batteries (like car batteries but deep cycle marine batteries) and replace them with five Lithium LiFePO4  batteries. These are state of the art batteries better for boats since they are longer lasting and deliver more power.  He took off 3 of the batteries and left 3 batteries hooked up.  Now Jeff ordered the Lithium batteries from Battleborn Battery of Reno, NV.

Our next trip to Brewerton was on April 28 - May 3.  We decided to take the RV and the car.  None of the camping parks were opened yet in the area, so we stayed at Walmart each night and drove the RV and car to the marina each day.  We had frost on the windshield the morning after our first night. The outside temperature was 28.  We slept warm because Barbie had looked at the weather and came prepared. The inside temperature in the RV was in the low 40's.  Since we were not hooked up to power, we did not use the RV's heater but had many blankets on us and the two puppy dogs, Hans and Greta.

Waiting for spring, just inside the door to the outside

On Monday, April 29 Jeff started doing work.  From past experiences we've learned that everything on the boat takes at least three times as much time as you think it's going take -- and at least 3 trips to Loews and/or Home Depot for new tools and hardware. This was no exception. Jeff took out the last 3 flooded lead acid batteries. We got the 5 new batteries on the boat and Jeff started charging them.  Four of the batteries charged quickly and kept their charge.  The fifth battery had problems.  It would charge but lose its charge quickly.  This caused some stress and concern.  Jeff called the battery company and they advised to charge for several hours and the battery should be OK. We did that long charge and the battery kept its charge.

Difficult access to battery shelf

When we got to the boat on Tuesday morning, Aisling Gheal had been taken out of the shed and put on blocks on the land.  Now we could work on the boat even if the office was closed.  This was a sign that spring was coming!

April 30 -- Outside at last!

Now that the six old 80 lb. batteries have been replaced with the five new 31 lb. batteries, Jeff engineered and installed a battery box to keep the batteries from shifting and crashing around the boat when underway. Of course, because this is a boat and "nothing is easy on a boat",  the area the batteries go in required Jeff to lie flat on his stomach reaching over a bulkhead, crushing his ribs, reaching down thirty inches to place the batteries in the proper location.  After hurting his left ribs and several hours he had installed the batteries.  He was exhausted.  

New Lithium Batteries

The predicted rain started sometime during the night on Tuesday/Wednesday.  The temperature was in the low 40's so there was no danger of snow or ice.  On Wednesday, May 1, Jeff wired the batteries together tightening bolts with steel wrenches. One slip of the wrench or anything else that came in contact with the wrong terminal post could cause a spark bad enough to damage the tool, the battery, Jeff or the boat.  Jeff successfully wired the batteries and all 5 are working.  It did stop raining but the wind started blowing and it was COLD.  

We plan to return and do more projects in the next two weeks.  We have a launch date of Thursday, May 16.  The canal is scheduled to open on Friday, May 17 and we hope to leave the marina on Saturday, May 18 (Barbie's birthday).  

The plan for the summer of 2019 is to stay in the NY area until June 22.  Neither Jeff or Barbie have seen Niagara Falls, so we plan to go west on the Eire Canal to the Niagara River at Tonawanda, NY.   We will entertain our three grandchildren, Alex (15), Cindy (10) and Caitlin (8 almost 9), on the boat during this time.

Then we will retrace our route East on the Erie Canal to the Finger Lakes area.  On June 22 our long time friends, Delight and Jim Scouten, will celebrate their 50 wedding anniversary in Ithaca, NY.

Beginning the end of June we will be continuing our Great American Loop trip adventure north through more Great Lakes and getting to Chicago by mid September.  The locks on the Illinois River are going to be closed the summer of 2020 for repair work.  NO pleasure boats will be able to travel the river until the repair work is completed.  Therefore, we will get past the Illinois River in the fall of 2019 and continue going on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers.   Our plan is to arrive in the Knoxville, Tennessee area before winter.