Launched today

Got Buddy in the water today after spending 4 nights with good friends in Venice. Even though we are in the middle of the first real cold front to hit this area this winter, we took a 30 mile cruise with our friends aboard. With the sun out and the cockpit enclosure up we enjoyed the afternoon in comfort. We motored back to Venice, docking at the Marker 4 for dinner. After thanking our hosts for five super days, we cast off to anchor off the ICW by Venice Yacht Club. It's forecast to get to 35 tonight, but our Cozy Cabin Heater with the Ecofan on top is keeping us comfy.

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We took the wool socks off today...

We're in Venice prepping Buddy for launch on Monday. We decided to get off of I65 early last evening as it appeared every snowbird in the world was heading south. After almost being rear ended by someone behind us as he drove onto the shoulder to avoid hitting us, we baled out and headed the nearest Holiday Inn...

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Tailgator

After a slight delay and one busted knuckle from replacing both batteries in the truck, Buddy is headed south. First launch - Venice, FL.  :-D

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Great day for boating in Wisconsin

Ice boating is cool..

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Three weeks.. but who's counting??

This is much better than a dirty bilge photo...

Tom and Pam cruising Florida Bay on Tonic

Muskrat problem solved ...

With the help of my very capable, high-paid assistant, we ended up running a fish tape down the center line of the boat through the limber holes to get the transducer wire to the helm. The new transducer is now mounted underneath the cockpit floor. My original thought was to mount the transducer underneath the helm. But after measuring the hull deadrise there, I fished for another location..The layup is a full 1/2' thick.

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Muskrats are not my favorite animal...

I have a new through-hull depth transducer ordered to replace this one...

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Fayette State Park Michigan

A labor day cruise north for the holiday weekend, meeting up with sailing friends Les and Barb. As we were leaving, some nice folks we met at the dock took some photos. The building in the background is an 1880's steel mill...

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Two Weeks in the Thousand Islands

A recap of our cruise...  After launching in Picton, we headed to Waupoos for a rendezvous with the crew of Grey Hound... As usual, we had to climb Mount Goofy...

From there we spent a night in Parrotts Bay. Then it was off to Beaurivage Island in the Canadian National Park where it poured rain for about 15 hours... In spite of the rain, it was a beautiful spot. The next night we were back in civilization at Kingston.

From there we headed to Downey and Hambly Islands for a night on the hook with the Grey Hound anchored beside us. There we waited out squall warnings that never materialized. We then headed to Clayton, NY for a night and a tour of the Antique Boat Museum. 

The next day we headed east and did the Castle tour. We did not feel inclined to get off the boat... A-Bay was the next stop to watch the Pirate Days celebration. Fortunately we fueled and docked at Rogers Marina across from the Village Dock... 

Our next stop was Gananoque for a night and bicycle tour of the town.

The next morning we headed to Camelot... Island that is. Spent a quiet night there with storm warnings posted again. We then headed to Bath for the night. A VERY quiet little village...

Camelot Island is a popular spot offering moorings and docks and good hiking.

Wildlife was abundant...



This was one of many quaint private islands in the area...
Our last night was in Picton, getting together with friends Lynn
and Don for dinner, with haul out the next morning. Sixteen hours later we were back home.  180 gallons of diesel, towing 1,810 miles, and 90 gallons of fuel, cruising 220 KM... A beautiful area. We saved the Rideau Waterway for another day...

Pirate Days in Alexandria Bay...

First time I've ever seen one of these...

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Thousand Islands cruising

Took a 28KM Castle cruise today visiting both the Boldt and Singer castles.

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Kingston, Ontario

We took a walking tour of downtown Kingston this afternoon. A number of buildings we saw were over 200 years old. A cruise up the Rideau Waterway is planned for the next 2-3 days.

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Picton, Ontario

With friends Lynn and Don on their mooring for the night.

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New suit of threads...

Except for rain flaps at the deck level of the new side curtains, packing provisions for 2 weeks, and a couple of other odds and ends, Buddy is ready to hit the road. We'll remove the cockpit enclosure prior to leaving for points East on Weds. The trailering bra we made last fall is on for the haul.

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Glass houses...

Buddy it is getting a new bimini plus a cockpit enclosure. The Admiral hopes to have it done in time for our trip to New York and Canada next week.

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engineered for life...

In this case "life" was 13 years. Re-build kit, $70, new improved head $180. The choice was easy...

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Two piece band...

Actually, the horn on Buddy died. I found a new AFI horn through Amazon.com that is a pretty close match (the price was right). Such beautiful music...

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Cruisin' home

A bit smoother ride than Friday...

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Ye ha!!

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HOT water!!

Buddy now has hot and cold pressure water! There is no real reason to have a three or six gallon hot water heater with a heat exchanger as Buddy is outboard powered. Total weight of the system is 3 pounds. The tankless water heater was a breeze to install!

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First Summer 2011 "Cruise"

This weekend we took an overnight trip to Menominee Michigan for the "Spring Splash" party at M&MYC where we are members. It's a short 20 KM ride across Green Bay from our house in Door County, WI. The weather wasn't the best but it doesn't really matter when you have a Rosborough. It rained on the way over and was pea soup fog on the way back. As we got into Sturgeon Bay the fog lifted as we passed Sherwood Point Light.

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Sweetwater!!!

Buddy's back in action. A balmy 50 degrees today. The swans are migrating North. Weather is 15 degrees below normal for this time of year. It's a good thing Buddy has a furnace...

The HUSTLE...

Buddy gets a stable mate! We hauled Buddy 1,800 miles in three days, getting home on March 18. Buddy was back in the barn the next day. The snow had all melted. On March 23rd winter returned, giving us 15" of snow... Friday I headed to Memphis to pick up the "Hustle", returning the next day, another 1600 miles. I am really looking forward to receiving the fuel bill for this month...

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Lesson learned...

Check tire inflation pressure EVERY time you tow. This lesson only cost me $540 for 4 new tires installed. The tires only had about 7,000 miles on them, being new with the trailer last May...

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