How to replace a refrigerator in 1000 easy steps

This post is mainly for fellow Gemini owners (105MC specifically) who have been told that the only way to get the fridge out of the boat is to remove a window and the instrument panel then carefully lift it over your head and out into the cockpit.

We were first introduced to this myth after we bought a replacement fridge and pulled out the old one.  When we tried to get it out the door, we realized the opening was at least 2" too narrow.  A search on the Gemini owner's forum lead us to believe we would need to do major work to get it out. 

The recommended technique would involve:

Removing this panel which means removing the main teak trim piece that spans the whole cabin.

Removing the panel that holds all the instruments and possibly removing the wheel also.

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That should have left us with a hole that is just big enough to fit the fridge through.  But after we measured everything we weren't convinced that even this would work. We decided to dismantle the old fridge to get it out and see if we could return the new one for something slimmer. While taking apart the old one we discovered that with the removal of only 12 screws the entire cooling unit from the back of the fridge comes off allowing for the fridge to slide neatly out the door.  The same procedure on the new fridge got it in place.

Remove the 5 screws that hold the cooling plate in the fridge

Remove these three screws in the freezer

Remove the 4 bolts from the corners of the cooling unit comes right off.

Now we are back in business with cold beer on hand!

Remember my old friend the alternator?

If you have been reading from the beginning you will know I have a hate-hate relationship with my new alternator (see August 26th post for some background).  The repair we had done in Spanish, Ontario 4 months ago finally failed us.  We just got complacent and stopped checking on it frequently.  If we had kept up with the checks we would have noticed when it first started to come loose and likely not had the problems.

Lucky for me my Dad came for Christmas and we got a chance to make a few modifications which should reduce the vibration.  I also adjusted the idle speed to an RPM that results in less shaking. Hopefully with these changes and with regular checks that everything is solid and our most recent weld is holding we should be OK.

The TowboatUS membership was worth every penny!

Is the belt supposed to do this?

It looked nothing like Christmas

Christmas is over and New Year almost here.  The holidays were seriously weird this year.  Temps in the high 80s with no rain for days on end - absolutely lovely but not very festive. My Mum and Dad came to visit us in Fort Myers for Christmas and Boxing Day which helped things feel a little more normal.  If normal is father-daughter bonding over a wobbly alternator.

So, here is a round up of our past few weeks:

Decorating the boat with only the finest dollar store finds:

The Jenga match between Sam and Riley was pretty intense

We love marinas that have cats.  One of these days we might steal one

We stayed at a full service marina where rich folks call ahead to have their boat's launched, washed down, and fueled up before they arrive.

Might not be the Christmas we're used to but it has its charms!

You can buy wine at the dollar store down here.

 The kids have a new best friend.  Laina aboard Darwin.

We did have one cold day.  Don't let the smiles fool you, we didn't enjoy it!

The planning has begun for the next phase of the trip

The Land of Derelict Boats

Before we got here I had heard about the disputes in Florida between boaters and land lubbers over anchoring rights.  Everything I had read was definitely written by boaters and heavily biased.  The landowners trying to stop anchoring were portrayed as rich assholes who didn't want anyone in the water behind their house because they felt that they owned the view they had paid so much for.  Boaters were all presented as nature loving, conscientious people who weren't hurting anyone. Now we are here I can see what property owners are complaining about.  There are derelict boats everywhere.  Idiots ruining things for everyone - as usual.  Florida now has a new law which will hopefully help get rid of some of these eyesores.

Here are some I've seen in the past week:

The Big Bend

Last week we completed one of the milestones of the Great Loop - we crossed the "big bend" of Florida. 175 nautical miles from Carabelle to Gulfport, FL. 30.5 hours at sea.

Our original plan was to go to Tarpon Springs but we extended
the trip to Gulfport to meet up with friends. This also allowed
Sam to travel on another boat to help them out with night watches.

We left Carabelle at dawn on November 30th and motorsailed through the day.  The wind was much lower than forecast so we were unfortunately not able to shut down the engine which made for a noisy trip but it fades to background noise pretty quickly.

Sunrise in Carabelle

Sunset at sea (wonky horizon due to boat rocking)

Sunrise at sea

Sunset.  Still looking energetic...

The reason Riley still had lots of energy at Sunset.  I was on watch alone
for several hours while Reg and Riley slept.  Notice the harness attached
to the boat - you must be tied in when on watch alone. No exceptions. We also
tied in on all night watches if we were sitting close to the side decks of the cockpit
even if we weren't alone.

Our view for most of the night - electronics and backup electronics

This is what the radar looked like all night - not a blip in sight.
Good for safety but doesn't help keep us awake!

And this is the backup to the backup to the electronics.
I plotted our position every hour so that if we lost electronics and
needed to call for help we could still tell the coast guard where we were.

Don't worry, Aunt Wendy, we are still alive

I realized this morning that I haven't posted since November 20th.  That means my Mother, Reg's Mother, and Reg's Aunt Wendy are all sitting at home worrying that we might be dead but not wanting to bother us in case we aren't! Don't worry, ladies - a few posts are heading your way this morning.

We are tied up in downtown Tampa right now.  Yesterday the kids got to ride the roller coasters at Busch Gardens and we all went to a Tampa Bay Lightening hockey game last night. Reg and I busied ourselves with laundry and grocery shopping which somehow take all day when you live on a boat.

Change of Pace

Sometimes you don't need a map to tell you when you've crossed a border.  Florida looked exactly like Florida the second we went over the line on our charts:

After rushing day after day to get off the rivers and back to big water we've been settling in to a much slower pace here in Florida.  We are aiming to be in Panama City Beach for American Thanksgiving to visit with Reg's brother (who lives nearby) and his parents (who are flying in for Turkey Day).  When we left Mobile we had 10 days to cover only 145 nautical miles which gives us time to stop more than one night in places we like such as this:

We anchored in Big Lagoon north of Perdido Key for two nights.  Perdido Key is part of the Gulf Island National Seashore so it is unspoiled.

This guy greeted us when we were anchoring and stayed with 15' of the boat for about an hour.  I guess they are used to people feeding them but I was a little scared of him so I didn't encourage him to stick around.

Perdido Key Dunes

From Perdido Key we finally got what we have been after for months - a long, fast sail!  We didn't stay on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Pensacola to Destin, FL because there are three bridges that we would need to reach at low tide for a comfortable clearance above our mast. Instead we sailed on the open ocean on a beam reach for 40 miles in a perfect 15-20 knot breeze.  To travel without the engine again is wonderful. Unfortunately after months on the rivers Riley had forgotten that he needs to keep his porthole closed and he was woken up at 7am with a salt water wave in his face!

After a night anchored in the harbour in touristy Destin we are now in a small marina in Niceville, Florida.  They have a courtesy car so we did a big reprovision today which will keep us going for a few weeks. We bought some canned meats so we can start experimenting with them for when grocery stores are few and far between in the Bahamas.

New Orleans

We didn't sail all the way down the Mississippi to New Orleans but found time for a side trip when we were told by the boat yard in Mobile that we would have to wait a week to get our mast back.  We rented a car and shared an Air B&B with Ed and Shannon which worked out wells as Shannon is very familiar with the city so she was able to show us all the sights with very little effort on our part.

The Air B&B was close to Louis Armstrong Park:

We did all the usual touristy stuff like The French Quarter:

I expected to see corseted ladies of the evening draped over the balcony...

...but I guess the buildings are pretty enough without them.

Lots of music to stop and listen to

Lots of fun bands to watch

Lots of cool looking people to watch watching the bands.
This guy's oversize coat had elaborate embroidery on the cuffs.

But after dark is when the French Quarter shines

The large shadow of Jesus was a
lttle intimidating.

Being in the French Quarter also means seafood and bourbon.

This was when they were near the end of their bourbon flights!

While in the French quarter the boys and I had our palms read.  Just between Sam and Riley I am going to have between 5 and 8 grandchildren!

Sam, Reg, and I did a hop-on hop-off bus tour and visited the Lafayette cemetery.  We were there late in the day and I was terrified that we might miss closing and be stuck there all night!

We also went out for dinner with live jazz.  Shannon found a place for us on Frenchman St. (I think - hopefully she will read this and correct me if I'm wrong) where the boys were allowed in.

Unfortunately we only had 2 nights to spare for this trip.  Ed and Shannon were eager to be on their way east and we received a call that due to a cancellation we could get our mast back!!

I'll even miss the NOLA graffiti.