Week five brings us to Key West and our month long stay at Stock Island Marina Village. The cruise from Faro Blanco in Marathon to Key West was a wonderful day on the water. We had following seas of three to four-foot waves that gave us a boost
Photo by Jerry Coleman
from our usual 8 miles per hour to 9 ½ miles per hour. Our trip was pleasant, and we were able to share memories of the different keys and places we had previously visited. While reminiscing, we were constantly changing course to miss the innumerable crab-pots strewn along the way. Crabbing in Florida and the other seafood offerings as well as an economic mainstay for the state. In 2014 Florida ranked seventh among U.S. states for fresh seafood production with 99.2 million pounds harvested with a dockside value of $257.7 million. Florida however, ranked first by value with grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters, and Spanish mackerel. Florida fishermen caught 92% of the above species. When we speak with other cruisers about the number of crab-traps, we have to avoid I now see why. In 2015 Stone
Photo by Jean Coleman
Crabs and Blue Crabs brought in $36,498,363 million and $12,106,862 million respectively. In pounds, the Blue Crabs outpaced the Stone Crabs 6.6 million pounds to 2.8 million pounds respectively. I thought we had a lot of crab-traps in Pinellas but was amazed at the number here in the Keys. While Pinellas County caught 8.1 million pounds of combined crabs with a value of $23.6 million, Monroe County hauled in 12.6 million pounds with a value of $71.2 million dollars. I have a love-hate relationship with crap-traps; I hate having to constantly course correct to miss the crab-traps but love the dinners they can provide in the evening. https://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Marketing-and-Development/Education/For-Researchers/Florida-Seafood-and-Aquaculture-Overview-and-Statistics
Jean and I are enjoying our month-long visit in Key West very much. We go exploring every day. The Key West Botanical Gardens was a great visit for example, where we learned about the local area environment and its ecological history. Hurricane Irma made a complete mess of part of the site, but the staff has made many repairs and improvements.
Before we departed on the loop, Jean and I bought two compact and foldable bikes. I highly recommend to those considering the loop or any lengthy travel (RVer’s included) to bring bikes along. The bikes increase our range over walking by a factor of four as well as the time you can spend at various locations.
Jean and I noticed an odor in the aft stateroom that we could not locate, so we begin to take apart the bunks and closets and found a persistent leak under Jean’s bunk that brought a few gallons of standing water in every six hours or so. We decided to haul out and have the repairs done at Three D Boatyard a quarter mile from our
Photo by Jerry Coleman
berth in Stock Island Marina Village. I thought that I could repair the leak once the transom dried out but found that the port trim tab bolts had rusted out and burrowed a hole in four places. Upon that discovery I had them remove all the trim tabs and glass over all the holes. We have never used the tabs nor do we cruise at a speed that the tabs assist us. When we took off the starboard tabs, we could push four of the attaching bolts through by hand. It was only a matter of time before I had the identical leaking problem on the starboard side as I had on the port side. We found a marine contractor that knew what he was doing and set about making the repairs. I have learned that fixing one problem will lead to many others that need correction also. As we sat on the hard (mariner speak for “out of the water” and on blocks and stabilizers), we saw that Makin Memories bottom was in desperate need of a paint job. The price quote was extremely reasonable, and we have at least 5000 miles to go yet, and we knew that at some point the bottom would need to be addressed but had delayed for the time being. Makin Memories now has a beautiful blue bottom.
Our marine contractor said they would be done today and we should splash (mariner speak for “dropped back in the water”) tomorrow at 10:30. I am looking forward to being back at the dock and then can begin the clean-up. Any time your boat is in the boatyard, she will become dirty, dusty, and just plain grimy. We have friends coming to visit this weekend and would like to have Makin Memories ship shape.
Jean and I are in the final phases of preparation for the Grand Depart on January 6th. A few of the items in the final stage include; installation of the y-valve in the forward head as we replace the old hoses with new ones. We have been painting shelves and bulkheads as well as floorboards in the engine room. We are changing the forward berth curtains and bunk spread with something lighter in color. Left to the last few weeks for completion are a custom dinghy cover, a Furuno 1830 radar plug adaptor, chaffing gear for lines, minor fiberglass repair, and porthole sealant. We continue to sort out the clothes we will need to take and where they will reside.
Makin Memories is back in her slip at Turtle Cove after a week of maintenance and cleaning. The swim platform turned out as planned and the engines received new water pumps each. Attaching the ladder from the aft deck and bringing the dinghy onboard have yet to be done (hopefully this weekend) as well as adding additional batteries for the house electrical load and a valve cover gasket for the starboard engine. I will change the oil in the diesel engines the first of December as well as change all the oil and fuel filters (jeez, sounds like a lot to do yet!).
We installed the DinghyRamps yesterday afternoon as well as the telescopic swim ladder and cleats. The blow-out panels, stainless steel supports under the swim platform, d-rings, and ladder from the aft deck to the swim platform are the only items left to do on the stern. We will install two new water pumps on the diesels and a valve cover gasket on the starboard engine, as well as add two additional house batteries (they provide power for lights, etc. when at anchor). I will finish buffing today (supposed to rain this weekend, of course) and a few fiberglass repairs here and there and that should be it. Hope to splash her on Monday or Tuesday of next week!
We are getting closer to hauling out Makin Memories and preparing her for her custom swim platform. Today we discussed cleat position and non-skid application. The swim ladder location will be on the port side and measures 18 1/2″ L by 12 1/4″ W and will fold up and lay neatly 
on the topside of the platform. It is a “four rungs” telescopic type for a less stressful climb aboard. For the ladder from the aft deck to the swim platform, we are hoping that we can repurpose it and by leaving a twenty-inch height gap between the last step and the platform, we will still have plenty of standing space between the transom and the dinghy tube. The dinghy ramps are in their location and will be bolted in once we bring the dingy by to make sure their positioning is correct.
Doug and I broke the mold on the new swim platform yesterday and I got my first look at what months of planning and hard work had produced. While we still have to attach it to Makin Memories and add all the accessories on, we have to cut out the holes for the blow-out panels. All in all, it was a long-awaited moment and not at all disappointing. Thanks to Doug Bruce of Doug’s Custom Boat Work located in Tarpon Springs, Fl.
Makin Memories new swim platform is nearing completion. We are on the schedule to haul-out later this month to attach our custom swim platform and perform other work in preparation for the Great Loop beginning in January. I thought I would write about the materials being used by Doug at Custom Boat Work co-located with Pitman’s Yacht Service in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
in a moment). 1708 bi-axle glass is a heavy duty glass reinforcement common in marine construction. Used where high strength and fast build-up are necessary. It contains double bias(17oz) stitched at +/- 45 degrees to provide this superior strength. The mat in this fabric is stitched and fully compatible with polyester, vinyl ester, and epoxy resins.
many industries due to its excellent combination of energy conservation, good mechanical strength with lighter weight than other traditional materials. It is a rigid, closed-cell, high-density polyurethane foam core panel. Its advantages are:
