Maintenance Log

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and did some straightening up and clean up. I worked on the spare water pump for the generator, cleaning it up. I discovered a hole in the water pump frame. It can be repaired with JB Weld, an old standby.

I rummaged around my stash of metal parts and found a piece of 2” stainless steel plate. I got out the chop saw and cut off the required length I will need.

It appears that once I move the exhaust for the generator at the stern, I will have to cut out a piece of the bed frame. I will use this piece of 2” stainless steel plate To put the bed frame back together.

The last coat Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod pieces had been done a couple of weeks ago, and I was finally getting the time to finish this project.

I loaded up all of the parts into the Black Beast, and took them over to the marina.

I got the boom gallows onto DREAM AWAY, and got it bolted into its frame. I then attached the speakers, and the instrument pod. I wired in the speakers and the instrument, and then did a check of the systems. It was all good. I still have one speaker that is not working, but it was not working when I took the whole system apart.

Boom Gallows Installed Ready To Be Bolted In

Parts Ready For Installation

Speakers & Instrument Pod Installed, Not Wired

Instruments Installed And Functional

Finally making some progress on the Bimini hardtop upgrade.

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop this morning. Spent the entire day working on the new PC getting Linux Mint up and running. It will be a bit of a struggle because I have not really used UNIX commands in so long. Hopefully I will be able to get the system up and running and meet all of the goals so it will replace the Mac and all of the navigation programs.

I applied the second coat of varnish on the teak tape on the head overhead.

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop this morning, but stayed on DREAM AWAY trying to get caught up on email and the Maintenance Logs. I am woefully behind but trying to get caught up.

I did get an opportunity to take apart the aft cabin bed and look at the exhaust outlets for the generator and the main engine. Trying to determine if it will be possible to move the exhaust outlets up enough to get them above the water line.

It looks like it can be done, but I must wait to get DREAM AWAY out of the water. It cannot be done while DREAM AWAY is in the water.

Generator Exhaust Location Inside Stern

Main Engine Exhaust Location Inside Stern

The two new Toshiba PC’s arrived and I took them out of their boxes, and verified they both booted up and made a connection to the WiFi router here at the marina. That was the good news. The bad news was trying to figure out how to shutdown the Windows 8.1 operating system. I just gave up and powered it down.

I applied the first coat of varnish to the teak tape in the overhead of the head.

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop this morning, but stayed on DREAM AWAY trying to get caught up on email and the Maintenance Logs.

We had purchased replacement irrigation timers for the gardens at the marina. A couple of the irrigation timers had frozen during one of the freezes and would not work. I installed the timers, after setting them up to irrigate around 0400 every other day.

Now it was time to install the tabs I had fabricated yesterday to keep the generator from sliding in the slide mount. I first had to drill a hole in the slide mount for the bolt. I ten bolted on the tabs and we were set.

Hole Drilled In The Slide Mount For Tabs

Fabricated Tab Installed On Slide Mount

Next on the generator installation list is connecting the control panel wiring. The good news is I have a paper with all of the wires number and telling me how the wires should be connected.

Wires Before Installation

Wires After Installation

I connected the battery cables to the starter.

Now that we have the electrical connections done, we start on the plumbing! I have to connect the input raw water to the raw water pump, then to the anti-siphon valve, then back to the heat exchanger.

Heat Exchanger, Raw Water Pump, And Anti-siphon Valve Connected

I then connected the exhaust hose from the exhaust elbow to the water lift muffler.

Now I connected the input fuel line and the return line. Last but not least were the hoses for the Amsoil oil filtration system. We were ready to start the generator, and it started right up! Yea!! I only let it run for about 10 minutes, because the exhaust is still under water, and needs to be moved!

That was cause for celebration (Adult Beverage), as the generator not running was a real bad problem, and now it had been conquered!!

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and worked some more on the battery box top. I laid some fiberglass mat on the inside of the lid, and soaked it down with polyester resin.

Went over to DREAM AWAY and worked on replacing the rubber shock mounts under the electrical junction box on the back of the actual generator. Taking off the old ones turned out to be quite a job, but I finally got them removed. The new ones were a different type, so they went in much easier. The new shock mounts were $22.00 each.

I put a coat of the teak dye on the teak tape I had put up on the overhead of the head.

I then went back over to the shop to work on the generator holddowns. My previous method of holding the tray the generator sits on in my slide mount for the generator, was to drill holes into the tray and then bolt the tray to the slide mount.

With the new stainless steel tray, I did not want to drill holes into it, so I came up with another plan. I would attach a piece of stainless steel flat bar, bent at 90°. This piece would be bolted to the slide mount at each end and keep the tray from moving on the slide mount.

Now all I had to do was make the pieces. I cut off the ends of a couple of scrap pieces of flat bar. I wanted to use my Oxy-Propane torch to make the 90° bends, but I did not have any propane.

I loaded up the new propane tank I had just painted and went off to LeBlanc Oil, and got the tank filled. I went back to the shop and set up the Oxy-Propane torch.

I put one of the pieces into the vice, heated it up and made the bend.

Piece In The Vice Ready To Apply Heat

I bent the pieces, and cleaned them so they would not look too bad.

Bent Pieces Before Cleanup

I then drilled a hole on one side of the piece so I could bolt it to the slide mount on DREAM AWAY.

One Piece Cleaned Up And Ready To Go

I took both of the newly fabricated pieces back to DREAM AWAY to check the fit and it was good!

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and prepared the generator for transport back to the marina.

I had to do some repairs to the top of the battery box in the tender. While getting into the tender the last time it was in the water, I stepped on the battery box lid and cracked it! Now I have to do some repairs and reinforcing.

First I mixed up a batch of the finishing putty, and applied it to the exterior cracks on the battery box lid.

Battery Box Lid Showing Cracks

Battery Box Lid With Finishing Putty Applied

Went back to DREAM AWAY for breakfast, and then enlisted help from Cindy & Johnal. Johnal and I took the dock cart over to the shop and loaded the generator onto it. We brought the generator back to the marina and down the dock next to DREAM AWAY.

Now the fun begins. We did not have a dedicated cameraman, so have no pictures of actually swinging the generator onto DREAM AWAY, and sliding it onto the mount in the engine room.

Using the main boom and the tender motor lifting tackle, Kitty, Cindy, Johnal and I lifted the generator off of the cart, down into the engine room, and slid the generator onto the mount in the engine room.

Generator In The Engine Room

Now with the generator physically in DREAM AWAY, I decided to work on cleaning up the cockpit coaming. We had removed the hard bimini so we could get the generator in and out of DREAM AWAY, and this exposed a bunch of holes that needed to be drilled out to a larger size. There were also several holes that had been filled in from past projects, that needed finished. When the holes are drilled out, I mask off the bottoms of the holes, and then fill the holes with thickened epoxy.

When the epoxy sets up and hardens, I drill a hole through the epoxy, and then I do not have to worry about water getting into the mahogany core.

I sanded smooth the old holes so I could apply finishing putty to the filled holes, and smooth the area off.

I mixed up a batch of epoxy thickened with teak dust, and filled the drilled out holes on both sides of the cockpit coaming. I then mixed up a batch of finishing putty and applied it to the tops of all of the filled holes on both sides of the cockpit coaming.

Starboard Side Cockpit Cockpit Coaming Before Drilling & Filling

Port Side Cockpit Cockpit Coaming Before Drilling & Filling

Starboard Side Cockpit Cockpit Coaming After Drilling & Filling

Port Side Cockpit Cockpit Coaming After Drilling & Filling

When I had cleaned everything up from the cockpit coaming project, it was down into the head to finish off the overhead.

If you remember from the February Maintenance Log, we had to split the piece of Structoglas that went onto the head overhead. We had decided at that time to cover the split with the iron on teak tape that I have. It was now time to actually apply the iron on teak tape to the head overhead.

Teak Tape Applied To Head Overhead

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Left DREAM AWAY, and went to Pam’s Hair Hut to get myself a haircut. Left Pam’s and went over to the shop.

I got into removing the old mild steel generator tray and installing the new stainless steel tray. I removed the three motor mounts from the generator and the tray. I cleaned the motor mounts and applied Dow 111 silicone valve grease.

Old Mild Steel Generator Tray Still Attached

Old Mild Steel Tray Removed

New Stainless Steel Tray Ready For Installation

Motor Mounts Getting Cleaned

The bottom of the engine had some very rusty parts from sitting in salt water, so I cleaned that all up, and applied the Dow 111 silicone valve grease to those areas.

The tray in which the generator sits is good news, bad news situation. If there are any oil spills from the engine or water leaks, they stay contained. The bad news is if there is a raw water leak, and it is not discovered right away, the engine and generator sits in the water and causes rust. The key is to keep an eye on the generator!

Bottom Of Engine Oil Pan Before Cleaning

Bottom Of Generator Housing Before Cleaning

Now that I had all of the parts cleaned up, I installed the new stainless steel tray.

New Stainless Steel Tray Installed On Generator

We put the generator back onto its stand. I have an engagement in the afternoon, so I do not have the time to install the generator back into DREAM AWAY.

I went back over to DREAM AWAY and cleaned up the area of the engine room where the generator is installed. Just wanted to make sure there were no problems when we install the generator.

Mount For Generator In Engine Room

I got cleaned up and showered, and Kitty and I attended the first meeting of the Delcambre Historical Society.

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop to get back onto getting the generator back together and doing a test run in the shop. I wanted to verify operation before taking it back to DREAM AWAY and installing it there.

I washed out the valve cover and installed that on the engine.

Valve Cover Ready For Installation

All of this work today, or at least most of it, would require two people, so Johnal, from the S/Y RUTHIE come over to help me with the generator check out.

The engine was pretty much back together, but before I put the fuel system completely back together, I did a compression check on all three cylinders. This proved to be a worthwhile effort, as all three cylinders measured between 525 and 550 PSI of compression. Now I could feel good about completing the testing.

Since I knew we were going to be doing a test start of the engine in the shop, I connected the fuel lines and return lines to a Jerry Can of diesel fuel I had in the shop. I also connected the lines from the injector pump to the injectors. With the manual lift pump on the engine, I was able to get fuel from the Jerry Can all of way the to the injector pump.

Fuels System All Installed

Fuel System Connected To The Jerry Can Of Fuel

Before continuing with the test start, the remaining fuel lines from the injector pump to the injectors had to be bled. This could only be accomplished by turning the engine over with the starter. For this I connected the tender battery to the starter via a set of jumper cables.

Starter Setup on Generator

We got the system bled, and the engine actually started, but I could not let it run because I did not have the cooling system set up as yet.

I took the raw water pump facing off and installed the impeller. The cooling system was all together, I just had to get the cooling water into and out of the engine.

The freshwater side of the cooling system was easy. All I had to do was fill the expansion tank with fresh water until the system would not take any more water.

The raw water system was a bit more complicated. I decided to use a five gallon bucket filled with water, sitting on top of two other five gallon buckets. This was to get the water source higher than the pump on the engine. I filled the top five gallon bucket with water, and ran a hose from the bucket to the raw water pump. I pre-filled the hose with water, so we did not have any water flow problems.

Raw Water Cooling Water Supply System

I got a second five gallon bucket filled with water, so when the first bucket started to empty, I could refill it and be able to keep the engine running longer. I had no idea how long it would take the running engine to empty the 10 gallons of water.

The last item on the list was the exhaust. For this I installed an exhaust hose on the exhaust elbow, and ran the hose outside the shop. I decided just to let the exhaust water run out to the street. I had hoped the engine exhaust would not be very loud.

Exhaust Hose Connected To The Exhaust Elbow

We started the generator, and it started right up. We ran the engine until the 10 gallons of water was exhausted, and we stopped the generator. I refilled the two five gallon buckets with water, and we started the engine again. It started right up and this time when the 10 gallons of water was exhausted I was satisfied.

I was satisfied the generator problem was repaired and that the generator would run with no problems, once it was back in DREAM AWAY.

Now it was time to get the generator back to normal. I had not adjusted the valves, so I removed the valve cover and did the valve adjustment.

I removed all of the cooling water hoses, drained them and put back all of the five gallon buckets. I removed all of the fuel hoses, and set them up to drain, and I removed the exhaust hose. I am now ready to replace the mild steel tray on the generator with the all stainless steel tray I had fabricated several months ago!

Generator Ready For Tray Replacement

The end of a long day, so it was back to DREAM AWAY.

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop after several days away to get back on getting the generator back together. I already had the head installed before I went to Dallas, so I needed to get the remainder of the engine back together.

The next item to install is the starter. Not really that difficult, only two bolts and that job is done.

Starter Ready For Installation

Hole In Bell Housing For Starter

With the starter installed, I could now turn to installing the injector pump. I had both my spare injector pump and the one from the engine tested, and they were both good, so I re-installed the original pump.

This installation is pretty easy, you must be sure to use the original shims (timing) and to be sure the stop lever is installed without dropping the pin down into the engine.

Injector Pump Ready For Installation

Camshaft In Engine That Drives The Injector Pump

With the injector pump installed, next on the list is the exhaust manifold and the exhaust elbow. Now I had found the problem! The carbon buildup in the exhaust manifold is incredible. When I looked at the exhaust elbow, it was completely blocked with carbon buildup.

I filled up one end of the exhaust elbow with water, and the water barely dripped out the other end. This was my start problem! Of course now, with 20/20 hindsight, I know why some of the valves in the head seemed to have a lot of carbon buildup!

I spent the next couple of hours cleaning out the exhaust manifold and the exhaust elbow.

Clogged Exhaust Elbow

Cleaned Out Exhaust Elbow

Clogged Exhaust Manifold

Clogged Exhaust Port In Manifold

Cleaned Exhaust Manifold

When that major cleanup job was complete, I installed the exhaust manifold on the head, the exhaust elbow on the manifold, and finally inserted the heat exchanger into the exhaust manifold. The last item for this installation was the rubber fittings at either end of the exhaust manifold to separate the raw water from the fresh water used to cool the engine.

Head Ready For Manifold Installation

Exhaust Manifold Ready For Installation

Exhaust Manifold Installed, Heat Exchanger In

Exhaust Elbow Installed On Manifold

That was it for today, back to DREAM AWAY for a well deserved shower and adult beverage!!

March 22, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee.

Worked on computers, ordered 2 new PC’s; will load Linux and run virtual machines; drove Red Beast (Ruby) home to Delcambre, no problems encountered

Before Jim got up in the morning, I had ordered two Toshiba PC’s off of eBay, and I was on my way! Jim burned me a couple of DVD’s with Suse Linux on them to take home with me so I could install it when the PC’s arrived.

We did some working on Ruby, and also fluid checking before I headed out to Delcambre. Jim and I went to the local Waffle House for breakfast. Jim went back home, and I headed out to drive home. In total it was about an eight hour drive.

Jim In Front Of Ruby Before Heading Home

Jim In Front Of Ruby Before Heading Home

When I returned to Delcambre, Kitty had a present for me - Fuzzy Dice!

Fuzzy Dice In Ruby

March 21, Friday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee.

Jim and I got up early in the morning and we worked on the old Gateway computer of mine. We also discussed possible solutions to my long term computer needs.

One solution that we came up with was to order two new PC computers that are exactly the same, and run Linux on them. Having two machines exactly the same means there is no problem having a backup computer.

If I run Linux I would be able to run my navigation software in a Windows virtual machine. Hopefully all the other utilities and programs that I have become accustomed to on the Mac will also be available on the PC running Linux.

Jim and I then headed south, after a breakfast at the local Waffle House. We drove to Fairfield, Texas, and picked up Ruby. We drove back to Dallas, and Ruby performed with no problems.

Jim and I talked more about the two PC solution to my computer problems, and Stacy liked the idea, and was behind it 100%.

March 20, Thursday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Spent most of the morning working on the Gateway computer trying to get it up and functional as a useful computer. This Gateway has a lot of broken pieces on it so do not know how long it will last as the main navigation computer or as the backup. Time will tell.

Kitty took me to the airport in Lafayette so I could fly to Dallas. I will be spending a couple of days with my good friend Jim Bates. We will definitely be talking about computers, and he is driving me down so I can pick up my new truck (toy). We did call it the Red Beast but Kitty likes Ruby better, so that is what she will be called in the future. The name actually comes from Red Beast = RuBy.

Had an uneventful flight to Dallas and Jim picked me up with no problems.

Jim made some great ribs for dinner with all of the fixins’, and we talked about our past careers, and what I am going to do about my computer situation.

Jim Working On The Ribs While Cooking

Jim Working On The Ribs While Cooking

The Finished Product We had For Dinner

I just had to throw in a photo of Jim’s Granddaughter.

Braylyn Laying On The Couch

March 19, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop this morning and removed the WiFi card out of an old PC we had stored there. I am taking the WiFi card back to DREAM AWAY to put into the Gateway PC to see if it will fix the WiFi problem on it.

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Removing WiFi Card From Old PC

I next put the generator head back together, and then installed it onto the generator. I had the service manual for the generator on my iPad so I was able to look up the necessary torque specifications.

Cleaned Generator Head Before Assembly

Cleaned Valves Ready For Installation

Valve Seals Installed On Head

Installing Valves Into Head With Valve Spring Compressor

Head Installed On Generator

I had to fiberglass the top to the tender battery cover. I had stepped on the battery box in the tender, and the top cracked. When I had originally fabricated the top, it was made from two pieces of spare fiberglass. I used some fiberglass tape I had and repaired the battery box top.

Fiberglass Tape To Be Applied To Battery Box Cover

Tape And Resin Applied To Battery Box Cover

I applied the third coat of varnish to the teak wire covers, and went back to DREAM AWAY and had breakfast.

After breakfast I drained the holding tank in the shower trailer. With so many cruisers in and taking showers, the tank fills up pretty fast.

I then put the tender back onto the davits. I knew we would not be using the tender for a couple of days, so it was good to get it out of the water.

Spent the remainder of the day working on the Gateway computer getting it to the stage where it will be a useful computer. I am able to send and receive emails. I am also learning that there really is no comparison between the Windows and Apple GUI. Windows is very clunky!!

March 18, Tuesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Booted up the Mac first thing and worked on the machine until we had breakfast. That was from approximately 0530 until 0930, and had no problems with memory overheat issue. While we were having breakfast the Mac hung! I am lost!

We called an Apple repair company, In and Out Phone Repair, and they said they would look at the Mac and see if they could find a problem. We drove to Lafayette, and went to the store. They kept the machine for well over an hour, and could find no trouble. It was then I decided to switch over to the Gateway as my backup computer.

When we got back to DREAM AWAY, I did all of the backups on the Mac, and then loaded all of the data onto the Gateway. Since the wireless card on the Gateway is not working, I am using a USB wireless card, and I can get to the Internet using that option.

A major problem using that USB card is that it drops the connection every five to six minutes, and I have no idea why. Another feature of my computer experience.

I will use the Gateway as my main computer until I can get the Mac back to the Snow Leopard OS-X.

March 17, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop today, but basically spent the whole day working on computers. I booted up the Mac and it ran with no problems, but I was hopeful the problem was fixed. I had good backups of the Mac and all of my data.

I took a break from computers and went out and drained the holding tank in the shower trailer at the marina.

When I got back on DREAM AWAY, the Gateway backup PC on board wireless card was not working! Nothing I did would get it working, so I decided to stick with the Mac. I then started catching up on emails and the Maintenance Log.

I worked the remainder of the day on the Mac with no trouble. It looked like my computer problems were solved.

March 16, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

I booted up my Mac first thing, with both of the 2 Gbyte memory cards in the computer, and it crashed. I removed one of the 2 Gbyte memory cards, and booted up the Mac, and it crashed again. I am pretty well convinced the problem is overheating memory.

I left DREAM AWAY, and went out to the military breakfast at the Marine Corps League Campout. The breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, SOS, bacon and coffee. I helped with the cleanup and breakdown of the tables and chairs. It was a good weekend and well worth the $30.00 donation per couple.

When I finished the cleanup at the campout, I went back to DREAM AWAY, and got myself cleaned up to go to the SPAMalot play in New Iberia. It is a parody of Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail. We went with Cindy and Johnal, and had a great time. By the time I left the theatre, my stomach was hurting because I laughed so hard!

We had dinner on the way back to DREAM AWAY. When we got home, I replaced the 2 2 Gbyte memory cards in the Mac with the original 2 1 Gbyte memory cards, and booted up the Mac. It came up with no problems. I might have found the problem!

March 15, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and I applied the second coat of varnish to the teak wire covers.

Varnish Applied To Teak Wire Covers

Varnish Applied To Teak Hole Covers

I then inventoried all of the gaskets we had purchased from Harris Castille for the generator. I wanted to make sure when I started putting the generator back together, I would have no problems.

Inventoried Gaskets On Work Bench

I then went back to DREAM AWAY, and started in working on the problems I was having with the Mac. Because my frustration level was very high, I called Stacy. We made a lot of progress, and it looked like I was going to be able to boot up the Mac.

We had to go to the Marine Corps League Campout, not only to enjoy the food and camaraderie, but we had committed to man the ticket booth for two hours in the afternoon. Kitty and I drove out to the Campout. The other cruisers would be out later in the day for the dinner.

Kitty and I had a great time visiting with a lot of Marines from our detachment in Abbeville. When the other cruisers arrived it was just in time for dinner which consisted of a spit roasted pig and fried turkeys with vegetables and rice dressing. Everyone enjoyed the meal and had a great time.

Enjoying The Campout Camaraderie

Enjoying The Campout Camaraderie

Enjoying The Campout Camaraderie

We all left the Campout, after helping some with the cleanup and went back to DREAM AWAY. I was able to boot up the Mac normally, so was very happy about that. I started running backups, so if the Mac did not come back all the way, I would have all of my data saved. It had been a long day so when the first backup finished I went to bed to continue the the backup process in the morning.

March 14, Friday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and did a couple of cleanup items. Tried to get everything ready to be able to put the head back on the generator, and then start the generator while it is in the shop.

I also inventoried the stainless steel chain grippers I ordered to replace the two galvanized chain grippers I use on the anchor snubbers.

Two Stainless Steel Chain Grippers On Work Bench

Our friend Cindy was going to do some shopping in Abbeville, so I decided to go with her. I needed to find some scraper blades and exchange the polyurethane for varnish.

Our first stop was Stine’s. I wanted to exchange the polyurethane for varnish, but they did not have a semi-gloss varnish. I returned the polyurethane, and then we went to Lowe’s. At Lowe’s they had the semi-gloss varnish, but they did not have the scraper blades I needed.

We then stopped at Wallyworld, so Cindy could do her grocery shopping. I also checked there for the scraper blades, but they did not have them either. We left Wallyworld and stopped at Tractor Supply to see about the scraper blades, and they did not have them either!

Our last try, just as we were entering Delcambre, we stopped at Otto Hebert Lumber Yard. I went in and they had both types of scraper blades I was looking for. I purchased two of each.

We then drove back to the marina. I went over to the shop and continued to clean generator parts. I also applied the first coat of varnish to the teak wire covers.

I walked back to DREAM AWAY and started getting all of the required stuff we thought we would need for the Marine Corps League Campout. When Kitty finally returned from her tour guide function, I had a couple of the guys from WIND ORCHID go with me to the storeroom. We loaded up chairs, tables and a tent into the Black Beast, then headed back to the marina.

Everyone got all of their coolers, coats and blankets loaded into the Black Beast, and we headed off to Maurice to the Campout. We had a great dinner, and the band was outstanding. We all returned to the marina around 2200.

March 13, Thursday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop to unload a few items from the Black Beast. I then loaded the passerelle into the Black Beast and went back to the marina.

I took the passerelle out to the new cruisers boat, WIND ORCHID, and they put it on the dock and their boat to get to the dock until the water comes in and they can tie up WIND ORCHID properly.

I then went to work weeding the front gardens at the marina. They were in really bad need of it. The cold weather seems to really bring out the weeds.

Kitty and I had breakfast, and after breakfast, Kitty took the new cruisers over to Avery Island to visit the Tabasco Factory, and take the tour. They also did the Jungle Garden Tour.

While they were out playing the tourist, I drained the holding tank in the shower trailer at the marina. When that was complete I went over to the shop to get to work on the generator head. I called Harris Castille and ordered the necessary parts to put the head back on the generator, and see if it will start.

Before getting on the oily work on the head, I put the instruments back into the instrument pod face. I am hoping that in between all of the social activities of the weekend, I can get the boom gallows put back on DREAM AWAY, and the instrument pod is just part of it.

Instruments In Instrument Pod Face, Covers On

Instruments In Instrument Pod Face, Covers Off

Now it was into the dirty work. I got at the head and with some clean gasoline, and cleaned up the head. This included cleaning out the number three cylinder exhaust port which was really heavy in carbon buildup. Not really sure why?

When the head was cleaned up and blown dry, I then cleaned up all of the valves and springs, and then did the valve grinding on all of the valves.

Head In The Cleaning Bucket

Dirty Number Three Exhaust Port

Completed Head On Floor

Completed Valves And Springs On Floor

The last item for the day was to apply varnish to the teak wire covers. When I got out the varnish to apply, I discovered the “varnish” is actually polyurethane. I will have to return the polyurethane and get the semi-gloss varnish to apply.

I closed up, and went back to DREAM AWAY. I got showered, and Kitty and I and the new cruisers went to Shuck’s for dinner.

March 12, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Stayed on DREAM AWAY in the morning, and attempted to catch up on email and other computer items. Around noon we drove to Lafayette for Kitty’s doctor’s appointment.

Did some shopping, and then came back to the marina. We welcomed new cruisers, John, Mia, Darrell, and Simon. They are on a cruise bringing John’s boat from Annapolis to Houston, Texas.

New Cruisers, Simon, Darrell, John, Mia & T-Boy With Welcome Basket

We got the new cruisers secured and sort of tied up. The water was real low, so we had to drag the sailboat as close to the dock as possible.

I did get a list of the gasket prices in an email from Harris Castille. It will take two or three days to get most of the gaskets, and the cost will be about $350.00.

Kitty and I then left for New Iberia where we participated in the Rotary Club Red beans and Rice fundraiser.

March 11, Tuesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop to start work on the generator to finish the compression test. I had brought along my big jar of hydraulic fittings so see if I could come up with a solution. I found one fitting that was a 90° turn. I connected this fitting to the oil outlet, and then put a container under the outlet to capture the oil.

After each test, I could pour the oil in the container back into the engine so it would not run dry.

I had to remove the fuel filter from the engine to connect the tester to the number three cylinder. I then brought the Black Beast as close to the door of the shop as I could, and connected one end of the jumper cables to the Black Beast battery, and the other end to the starter on the generator. I used the trusty steel screw driver method to activate the generator starter.

This proved successful, and I got a reading of 500 PSI on the number three cylinder. I also got ½ a quart of oil in my container, so I poured the oil back into the engine. I moved the compression tester to the number two cylinder, and checked it. I got 500 PSI from that cylinder.

To check the number one cylinder, I had to remove the injection pump, which I did. I connected the compression tester to the number one cylinder, and got a reading of 420 PSI. Later when I removed the injector from that cylinder I realized I forgot to use the copper gasket to seal the injector, and that is why number one cylinder is low. The low reading is well with is specs, so I am not worried about it.

Since I had the injector pump out, I verified the operation of the stop lever/spring system. It seemed to work properly.

Starter Back On Generator

Compression Tester In Number Three Cylinder

Engine Ready For Test

I changed gears, and put the orange dye on the pieces of teak I needed to varnish. Two pieces were the round covers to cover holes in the head overhead. One piece is the wire cover for the head overhead. The last piece, is a wire cover from the navigation station that had to be trimmed so the navigation station cover would close.

Orange Dye Applied To The Teak Pieces

Orange Dye Applied To The Teak Pieces

By this time Kitty had called, so I went over to DREAM AWAY to have brunch. Today is a diet day, the meal consisted of a piece of pork and a big salad.

After breakfast I looked into my box of electrical wire looking for a short piece of 10 ga. black wire. I wanted the wire to connect the battery in the tender to the echo-charge feature of the Freedom 25 Inverter/Charger. I found a piece of wire, and put the proper connections on the ends.

I then moved the battery in the tender to the area where the house batteries and main engine start battery are located and connected it to the echo-charge feature of the Freedom 25 Inverter/Charger. Tomorrow will tell if this is the method I will use to charge the battery in the tender.

While looking for the black wire in the electrical wire box, I found a long length of 8 ga. duplex wire that would be perfect for the solar panels if it was long enough. I decide to take it over to the shop and measure it.

Kitty had to run a couple of errands, so she dropped me at the shop so I could get back to work. I immediately started on the generator. I put the injector pump back onto the engine, and replaced the fuel filter. I again removed the starter.

I removed the rocker arm assembly, and finally the head came off. Johnal had also loaned me his valve spring compressor, so I removed all of the valves from the head. This went pretty smooth and all of the valves looked good except for the number two cylinder intake valve. It had a really big build up of carbon, which is very unusual. Not really sure of the source of the problem, except perhaps the valve guide seal.

I then took all of the valves out of the spare head, so I could get it ready to be a good spare if this problem would ever come back.

Valves Removed From Engine Head

Bottom Side Of Head With Valves Removed

Spare Head And Valve Cover

By this time, Johnal had come over to the shop so I could do some welding on some if his lifeline parts. He had done all of the fabrication, all I had to do was weld some ears onto a couple of pieces of stainless steel pipe.

Finished Life Line Parts

Since I had help on had, I had Johnal help me measure the 8 ga. duplex wire. it turned out to be 30 feet, which I think will be just right to connect the solar panels to the controller.

We then walked back to the marina. I had to get ready for the Port of Delcambre monthly meeting

March 10, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

I went over to the shop and checked the water I had left in the intake ports of the head from the generator. No water had leaked out of ports, so there was no obvious problem there.

As mentioned yesterday, I put about an ⅛” of oil into the cylinders of the engine. I wanted to see if one of the cylinders leaked down more than another.

Oil In All Three Cylinders

I then continued working on the solar panel risers I am fabricating. Some of the “T” plate I acquired from the scrap dumpster was not great, so I am having to do some extra work to get the last two risers fabricated.

Kitty called, so I went over to DREAM AWAY for breakfast, and then we left to run some errands and do our grocery shopping. When we returned, I went over to the yacht RUTHIE to talk to Johnal about my generator problem.

During our discussion, Johnal said he had a compression tester, so we decided I would put the head back on the generator engine, and we would run a compression test.

I went over to the shop and cleaned up the head, and the gasket. The oil in th three cylinders, did not seem to have leaked down at all, so I was pleased with that. I cleaned all of the oil out of the cylinders and put the head back on the engine.

Head Back On The Engine

Head Back On The Engine

Johnal came over to the shop with his compression tester. We proceeded to connect the tester to one of the cylinders. We had to connect the tester through the glow plug port instead of the injector port. I turned the engine over by hand, but could not get a reading on the gauge. On issue that did come up as I was turning the engine over by hand, I was pumping oil out of the engine into the tray!

Again Johnal and I talked over the issue, and we decided the engine needed to be turned over with the starter. Before we could do that, I would have to “fix” the oil pumping out of the engine. I will have to come up with some way to save the oil or put it back in the engine. Will work on that problem tomorrow.

March 09, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

At 0715 I walked out to the end of Pier “C” to help the cruisers off of MISS JAZZ get going but they were no stirring as yet. At 0745, when I went over to the shop, MISS JAZZ had departed.

When I arrived at the shop, I immediately started in on removing the head from the generator. The teardown was not too difficult, just had to remove several parts before the head could be removed.

Cooling Hoses Removed Exposing Heat Exchanger

Water Pump Removed

Exhaust Manifold & Heat Exchanger Removed

When I did finally get the head off, I could not find an obvious problem. This was very disconcerting. The valves in the head looked good, and all three cylinders looked very good. I set the head on the bench, and poured water into each of the intake ports, and no leaks were detected. I left the head in that condition over night, just to see if there is a leak.

Head Removed From Engine, Topside

Head Removed From Engine, Bottom side

The Three Cylinders In The Engine Block

Water Sitting In The Three Intake Ports

I did not do it today, but tomorrow I will pour oil into the cylinders and see if one leaks down faster than the other.

I went back to DREAM AWAY, and Kitty and I got in the tender and went for a ride down the bayou. We wanted to check out some land the Port of Delcambre owns. We had looked at the land from the landside, but wanted to see how it looked from the waterside.

Kitty and I are trying to get the Port of Delcambre to use this property as a nature walk for birders.

Land From The Waterside

Bird Nesting On The Mud

We continued our ride down the bayou, to give the Yamaha engine on the tender a good workout.

March 08, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go over to the shop first thing in the morning. Worked on the computer until 0900. At that time, Nicola & Noel called from Guatemala and we discussed the issues involved with the repair of the main mast step on TANTALUS. We are deciding what materials we will need to purchase here in the states, and that we will bring down to Guatemala to do the repairs.

Kitty and I had breakfast, then I got to work on getting the generator out of DREAM AWAY.

First item on the list was we had to move the hard Bimini from over the cockpit to the front of the boat. Because I already had the boom gallows off of DREAM AWAY the task was reduced. I had to disconnect the DC wires for the cockpit reading lights, and the external antenna for the Globalstar satellite phone.

When I got all of the wires disconnected, I attached ropes to the Bimini so we could lift it out of the way. I then removed all of the bolts that had the Bimini bolted down to the cockpit.

Now I had to get the generator ready to remove. The fuel, water, and exhaust were disconnected, and then all of the DC and AC wiring were disconnected. I removed the bolts that held the generator tray bolted to the stand. The generator is ready to go!

I got Cindy and Johnal over to help, and then with Kitty and I helping, we got the Bimini up and moved to the front of DREAM AWAY.

Bimini Wires Disconnected

Bimini Ready To Lift Off Of Cockpit

Bimini On The Front Of DREAM AWAY

Next was the removal of the generator. I have no photos of the actual removal because all four of us were involved in the removal, and no one could take pictures of the event.

Generator Ready To Go

Johnal Getting Ready For Work

Lifting Tackle For The Generator

Generator On The Way To The Shop

Generator & Johnal In The Shop

Generator On Drill Press Table

Drill Press Moved To Work Bench

We then went back to DREAM AWAY. Johnal went over to his boat to get back on his projects, and I straightened up the garage, put all of the tools and various items away. I also straightened up all of the lines, sheets and halyards we used and put the main sail cover back on.

I went over to the shop and applied the seventh and final coat of Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod pieces.

March 07, Friday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop first thing this morning as the temperature was in the high 40’s and climbing.

I had remembered the nuts and washers for the refrigerator cooling pump, so I put the motor back together, and tested the motor using the battery in the Black Beast. The motor worked pretty good. The bearing in the motor still sound rough, but it will do as a good spare for now. Before going out cruising again, I will probably purchase a new pump.

Motor Back Together

I then put the pump parts back onto the motor and tested the complete unit again using the battery in the Black Beast. Worked fine, but still have the bearing problems.

Pump Head On Motor

Pump Head On Motor

The last coat of Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod parts had dried, so I sanded down all of the parts with 220 grit sandpaper. This will be the final sanding before I apply the last two coats.

Sanded Boom Gallows

Sanded Instrument Pod Front

Sanded Instrument Pod Housing

I then wanted to start welding on the legs for the sail handling platform (SHP). I would like to get going on that because I might be able to get the SHP completed before our planned cruise to the Mermentau River at the end of the month.

SHP Leg Setup For Welding

I also have some aluminum welding that needs to be done on the solar panel risers. It would be more efficient to do all of the welding at one time with only one setup.

I then got busy cutting and measuring the “T” plates for the solar panel risers.

Measuring And Cutting The “T” Plates

Kitty called and was up, so I went over to DREAM AWAY to have breakfast. After breakfast, I went back to Xtreme Marine and talked to Travis about the generator. I told him about the different switches on the generator and they had no effect. He suggested that I remove the air intake/valve cover and verify that all three cylinders are sucking air on the intake. I told him I would, then headed back to the shop.

I worked more on cutting the “T” plates for the solar panel risers. I am working to get all 16 risers cut to 11” long and then the adjustable piece cut off of the “T” plate.

“T” Plates On Work Bench

Setting Up For A Cut Of The “T” Plate

Setting Up For A Cut Of The “T” Plate

At about 1530, I stopped cutting on the “T” plates, and wiped down the boom gallows and the instrument pod parts with the tack rag. When I finished, I then applied the sixth coat of Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod pieces.

I cleaned up the application materials, and put everything away, and headed back to DREAM AWAY.

When I got back I started in on the generator. I removed the air intake/valve cover, and was surprised to see a large amount of oil in the air intake half of the cover. I then had Kitty turn the engine over with the control panel start switch. The good news is the valve train seems to be operating properly. The bad news is there is oil being blown out of the number two cylinder!

I decided then it was better to take the generator out of DREAM AWAY and take it over to the shop to work on. Very easy access, and make the overall project go a lot better. It will also make it much easier to clean out and clean up the bilge.

Exposed Rocker Arm Assembly On Generator

Air Intake Holes On Generator

I took a shower and got cleaned up as we were going out to dinner with Cindy & Johnal off of RUTHY, and Helene and Francis off of MISS JAZZ. We all went to Shuck's in Abbeville. We had a great time, and of course enjoyed a great meal.

March 06, Thursday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop this morning, as it was still pretty cold, windy and overcast. The high temperature for the day was only 43°. I stayed on DREAM AWAY, forever catching up on email and computer projects.

After breakfast I went up to see Travis and Xtreme Marine and talk about my generator, and the problem I am having getting it to start. He suggested disconnecting the exhaust temperature switch, and even the oil pressure switch and the water temperature. If any one of these switches are bad, he said it would prevent the engine from starting.

I went back to DREAM AWAY, and went to work on the generator. As it turns out, my generator the M643-5N, does not have the exhaust temperature switch. I did disconnect the temperature switch and the oil pressure switch, and the engine still will not start. I am really running out of ideas! I will try and see Travis again tomorrow, and see if he has any good ideas.

The holding tank in the shower trailer at the marina was full, so I drained it into the sewer system. I have to keep a good watch on the level, because the tank watch system is not working properly. Even with the tank completely empty, it is showing ¾ full. More fun than I need.

When I cleaned up from that task, I went over to the shop. I had finally remembered to take over my 10 X 32 die, so I could fabricate the long bolts to put back together my spare refrigeration cooling pump.

I got the piece of steel rod in the vice, and cut the threads at one end. I screwed that end into the motor end cap, and calculated the length of the bolt, and then cut the rod. I cut a second piece of the steel rod, and the cut the threads in each end of the rod.

I put the motor back together, but I had forgot to bring over the nuts and washers to complete the project.

Cutting The Threads In The Steel Rod

Motor Back Together, No Nuts On Bolts

Went back to DREAM AWAY, and while preparing dinner, some new cruisers arrived. They are Francis and Helene of of the trawler MISS JAZZ. They are from Quebec in Canada, and are presently cruising the Louisiana coast.

They heard about us on The Active Captain, and came into the dock. They joined us for dinner, and they will be out touring the area with some friends from New Iberia.

Helene And Francis On MISS JAZZ

March 05, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Around 0830 went over to Pier “C” to help Chris and Melanie on MIDNIGHT SHADOWS get off. They went up to LeBlanc Oil for fuel, then they were on their way back to Kemah, Texas.

When that task was completed, Kitty and I drove to a Credit Union in Lafayette so I could get the cashier’s check for theasdasdas

. We got the check, then to the Post Office, and got the check off to the owner of the Red Beast.

On the way back top DREAM AWAY, we stopped at a grocery store and purchased some groceries.

After a quick lunch, I defrosted the freezer and cleaned out the refrigerator. It had been some time since the last defrost,and the ice buildup was quite large. The refrigerator was definitely in need of a cleaning.

Freezer With Some Ice Removed From Holding Plate

Ice Removed From Holding Plate

Ice Removed, And Food Back In Freezer

Finished off the refrigerator-freezer cleanup and defrosting, and went over to the shop. I then applied the fifth coat of Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod pieces.

It was then back to DREAM AWAY, to get a shower and myself cleaned up, and off to the monthly Marine Corps League meeting in Abbeville.

March 04, Tuesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop today as it was bitter cold with sleet and freezing rain until the late afternoon. The high for the day was 34° and the low was 31°. Not a good day to be outside, and I wasn’t!

Spent the day on the computer. Almost finished the February Maintenance Log, caught up on paperwork scanning, and catching up on computer work.

March 03, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan , and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop at all today, cold all day, with no chance of warming. Worked all morning on computer, catching up on emails and doing general family stuff. Making plans to get the Red Beast paid for and picked up.

In the afternoon, I worked on the generator. I took out all three glow plugs and checked them, they all glow! To get one of the glow plugs out I had to partially disassemble part of the fuel system. Once I got the glow plugs back into the system, I finished putting the fuel system back together

Kitty helped me by operating the start switches, and we bled the fuel system up to the injectors. fuel was squirting out of the injectors. The generator still would not start. I am running out of ideas!

I thought the generator might have a timing problem, so I sent an email off to Northern Lights, and asked about how to set the timing. The wrote right back and said timing was set with shims under the injection pump. I did not change the shims, so should not be a problem. He also said that if the timing was off, the engine my run rough, but timing would not keep the engine from running.

I am going to have to talk to Travis at Xtreme Marine here in Delcambre to get some ideas.

I then went into the head and cut the teak wire cover to fit over the wire to the overhead light in the head. One piece will do the job, so I do not have to epoxy a couple of pieces together.

I went back to the computer and continued work on it, still trying to catch up.

March 02, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan , and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

We had a very nice farewell breakfast, including Mimosas! Nicola & Noel were leaving this morning, as they were continuing their trip to Guatemala to spend a couple of months on their yacht, Tantalus .

We drove to the airport in Lafayette and dropped off Nicola & Noel. We are hoping to meet up with them this December or next January in the Rio Dulce.

We drove back to DREAM AWAY. Kitty worked at getting the front cabin squared away, and I went over to the shop. Before going over to the shop, I put in a low bid on eBay on a truck I really like.

This truck is a 1988 Suburban with a Cummins engine conversion, and a dually conversion also. Right now I am referring to it as the Red Beast!

When I got over to the shop, I worked on the risers for the solar panels that will be installed on DREAM AWAY. The slight modification will be much easier to adjust the height of the panels as the sun moves across the sky.

I then applied the fourth coat of Cetol teak treatment to the boom gallows and the instrument pod pieces. I did some cleanup in the shop and came back to DREAM AWAY.

When I came back to DREAM AWAY, I checked on eBay, and my offer was accepted. I am now the owner of a 1988 Suburban dually, Cummins conversion. Now all I have to do is figure out out to get money to the owner, and how I am going to pick it up and bring it back to Louisiana. That is a later or tomorrow project. Informed both kids of my new purchase! The fun begins!!

Kitty had some items for me to take over to the shop, and I had to pick up some sealant, so over I went. When I returned to DREAM AWAY, I applied some silicone sealant around the after port cleat. We are supposed to have a lot of rain tonight or tomorrow morning, so I am hoping to stop the leak!

March 01, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go over to the shop this morning, we ate a wonderful breakfast, and then headed up to Broussard, Louisiana. Kitty and I with Nicola & Noel in one car, and Cindy and Johnal in their car. We were heading to the Parish Brewing Company for their tour and the tasting room.

The “Computer Room” Before Breakfast

We sampled a couple of their beers. I preferred the Canebrake beer. It is brewed the traditional way, but they add some Steen’s Molasses during the brewing process, and for me it adds a nice flavor. Many opinions about the different beers as you can imagine, but we had a great time.

We all enjoyed the tour, and interacting with all of the other folks in the tour.

Front Of The Brewery

Brewmaster Giving Us The Tour

Post Tour Photo

Tapping A Keg Of Black Currant Beer

We left the Parish Brewing Company and headed north to have some lunch before we went to the Bayou Teche Brewing. We stopped at Prejeans Restaurant, which was recommended to us by several folks at the Parish Brewing Company taproom.

We all had small lunches, but the food was wonderful. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

We left Prejeans Restaurant and had a great adventure getting to the Bayou Teche Brewing location. One of the roads was being repaired and nothing but a dirt track. Loads of fun, but we finally arrived!

We walked into the taproom, and were told there would not be a tour because their was a funeral of a very close friend of the town, and all but one employee were attending the funeral. The brewmaster explained how they ran the tap room.

They have eight beers on tap, and we could purchase a beer flight for $4.00, and this would give us a sample of all eight beers. It seemed like a good idea so Kitty, Nicola, Noel and I purchased one flight.

Once everyone purchased their flight the brewmaster explained each beer, how they were made and what they were made from. My favorite was one of their best products. Boucanee. It tasted like you were drinking smoked ham. This beer would go very good with a hard cheese.

Brewmaster Pouring The Beer Flights

Cindy and Johnal With Their Flight

Jim, Kitty, Noel And Nicola With Their Beer Flight

The Gang And Brewmaster Before Departure

We departed the brewery, and headed back to DREAM AWAY were we had a wonderful T-Bone steak dinner with Dijon string beans and baked potato.