WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE

AND NOT A DROP UNDER OUR KEEL.....

The Erie Canal is OPEN as of two days ago, or so they say on the official Canal Website, www.canals.ny.gov; of course, this is the same site that has been forecasting the opening " in a few days" since mid June, so we will see.

VELOMER has been on the hard for four days now awaiting new cutlass bearings and then the right sized new cutlass bearings, which, as of last evening, ARE IN. We are so ready to back to a cruising life on the water.  We see Rondout Creek water about 10 yards behind the stern and are itching to be on our way again.  One more day here in Kingston will insure there are no shaft alignment issues, I can also adjust the stuffing box and top up the transmission oil, and we are going north for Waterford before we turn west for Oneida Lake.

The stopover here has really been pleasant.  The people here are extremely genuine and the most hospitable one can imagine.  We will plan to return to Rondout Marina in the Fall after we complete our "little loop" this year.  PM wants to be here in Kungston for the Irish Festival over Labor Day weekend. Phil and Bettina's plans include a trip to NYC for another wedding this September. We may be able to connect with them while they are in the east and Irish beer may be a perfect incentive (right Phil?).

This trip is about the journey, as I keep reminding myself.  We never would have rented a car and explored the local restaurants and diners,Wallmart, Hannafords and Hertzog's Department Store, which, if you are even in the area, has everything you would expect of a home decorating center married to a hardware store and automotive supply house.   It was really a rare find.

I feel so much better about the challenges of our Loop Trip now that the bearings are new.  We expect a significant improvement in fuel consumption and hopefully will not be stimulated by exciting landings as I reverse at low RPMs approaching the dock.  The bearings were so deteriorated, the shaft could not be turned by hand.  Bill Barrett, the mechanic who replaced the bearings, and I were thinking about the reason this occurred and the working hypothesis is that the bearings dried out when the boat was kept out of the water for a year or two due to health issues of the first owner before Winn Pillsbury, the second owner, bought her.  When we looked at the ones that were removed, they were cracked, dry and almost solid in texture, not the desired characteristics of functioning bearings.  As things get fixed, we learn more about systems that were just a mystery prior to this adventure.

PM is showing some really good instincts about the mechanics of this engine.  She apparently has strong engineering genes as well as excellent spouse and laundry and boat cooking genes. Living together has been really good, most of the time, and at times we need space.  We both have learned to take it; VELOMER is roomy enough for that.  In fact the more time we spend aboard, the more we come to believe, this is the perfect size and craft for us to explore the waterways and canals of eastern America.

I am loving this life in new ways every day.

PM's Perspective -- Never in My Wildest Dreams!

Before this trip, I thought a stuffing box was made by Pepperidge Farm and a cutlass bearing was a description of a female pirate about to board an unsuspecting ship!  I can now name all the parts that compose a boat's drive shaft from the cotter pin at the stern end to the keys that lock the shaft into the transmission.  I can change the transmission oil and the oil in the diesel engine.  I know when the fan belt is about to go, when the fresh water system needs topping, how to check the intake screens on the raw water systems for the diesel engine and the generator, as well as make a mean peach salsa!  I am tapping into talents I never dared imagine I had.  The learning curve is never ending and a great deal of fun (other than the non-cooling refrig).

The last ten days have been an unplanned opportunity to get to know some fabulous people, learn about a new area and cope with unrelenting summer heat.  Because the boat has been on the hard (boat talk for out of the water on stands) without creek water to operate the air conditioning system, we spent the last four nights at the local Super 8 Motel enjoying their air conditioning.  We are both looking forward to continuing our journey seasoned with sweet goodbyes to all the friends we have made!