We posted our last blog mid-December, 2020 from Fort Pierce, Florida. We were scheduled for a mid-December haul-out and maintenance at Seminole Marine Boat Yard in Palm Beach Gardens. However, winter is a very busy yacht maintenance time in Florida, especially this year with COVID restrictions, so our haul-out date was delayed. We spent the holidays at Dockside Marina and Resort on the Indian River in Fort Pierce and made the most of the time.
On the 10th of January we said farewell to Fort Pierce and cruised to Palm Beach Gardens “on the outside” via the Atlantic and anchored in Old Port Cove for two nights before heading to the yard.
Jay Flaherty with Yacht Tech – Boat Service was with us when we hauled-out and the yard work began! So, there’s ‘yard work,’ right?
And then there’s ‘yard work.’ Seminole Marine and Yacht Tech were super!
We chose to change the bottom paint color from blue to red, serviced the thru-hull valves, the bow thruster was checked out and the underwater lights replaced. The hull was buffed and waxed while she was out of the water as well.
We were back in the water a week later and went to Safe Harbor North Palm Beach Marina to have the rest of the boat detailed, minor gelcoat repairs, schedule the life raft service and work on our high priority “TO DO” list. This is winter maintenance time, right?
Scott and I created a prioritized list of projects ‘as long as me arm!’ as most cruisers do and decided it was time to get some things done while we waited for others to complete their work. I think we exceeded our expectations, sweating almost daily to get the projects crossed off our list and waiting longer than expected for others! Included were new Stressless recliners for the salon. We chose a marine blue to add color to the salon. I love them!
We refinished the aft cabin teak rail. This involved removing the varnish finish with a heat gun, sanding and then applying a teak sealer finish much like we did on our N47. We cleaned all the canvases and salon carpet, sent the Swiftlik Life raft in for re-certification, and did oodles of little detailing chores. We ordered a threshold boarding mat from OBA canvas. Orenda is embroidered on the mat. Nora and Karl on N63 Bravo in Fort Pierce had a boarding mat. We stole the idea because it is awesome!
Scott installed a new pre-filter and UV filter on the fresh water system. As part of this project, the entire basement area was finally cleaned up and organized to create more usable storage. Scott said we now have plenty of room for beer storage. Yesssss! And of course, a great place for canned goods and bottled water.
We picked up our new Highfield 390 Sport Tender after having it rigged with our almost new Yamaha outboard from the old tender. Nautical Ventures Marine Center did the re-fit. The new tender required a new lifting harness to safely and properly lift her with the crane. Scott called Altitude Yacht Rigging and they came the next day, made the harness in the parking lot and we were good to go! Note that the Highfield tender has a ski pole! We have an inflatable tow tube on board. Anyone game for water sports? The new tender is SWEET!
Scott hasn’t been satisfied with our beach tender storage arrangement that we brought over from our N47. So we sold the almost new Suzuki 9.9HP motor and replaced it with a 6HP that is half the weight. Now we store the outboard on a boat deck rail and the beach tender vertically making more room on the boat deck.
We also cleaned and sealed or teak decks with a DiTEC treatment that is supposed to work well and last on yacht decks. This was a lot of work so we will see how well it does.
Scott added connections and hoses to our dive compressor which is located in the lazarette. We can now fill the tanks on the swim deck which will make diving so much easier!
As I mentioned, we have worked most days but have also had some fun! We purchased new Lectric folding ebikes with a 500 W motor which can reach ranges of up to 45 miles. The bikes have greatly helped with our errands, both time and distance. Our new favorite store is the Boat Owners Warehouse. Similar to Fisheries in Ballard, WA. They have just about everything.
We are very fortunate for the weather here in southern Florida; did we mention winter is often hot here! One day we were the warmest location in the continental US. Because of the pleasant weather, we can visit establishments and sit outdoors. It is nice to get out and the ebikes have been great! 5-levels of pedal assist and a throttle, weigh 62 pounds each, fold in half for transport, need only periodic charging, BUT require bravery and sobriety to ride over the many bridges.
One of our new favorite establishments is the Twisted Trunk Brewery but there are number of on-the-water venues as well. We frequent the Yard House, Duffy’s and the Draft House, not too far away. We had lunch at the Waterway Café with the crew on Beverly S, N46, Sue and Larry whom we had initially met in York River, Virginia. They have shared so much information on the many anchorages and marinas on the east coast.
Florida marinas seem to be filled with lots of Sport Fishing Yachts and we have enjoyed watching them use and take care of the boats. The sport fishing yachts fish for sailfish and when they return to the marina, have flags to indicate how many they caught! These yachts move around the crowded marinas at “warp” speed compared to us. Always backed into the slips, captains drive from the upper level, facing the stern, steering the boat with the throttles/shifters behind them. We had previously noted this skill demonstrated by a friend on a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, B.C. Rock on Vince, but it probably doesn’t work too well on your new boat, Last Arrow, N60, huh?
It is now almost mid-March, with most projects complete! Yay! We are looking forward to a month and a half cruising in the Florida Keys with several planned stops along the way, Marathon, Key West, Stock Island, Dry Tortugas, who knows? We are looking forward to family and friends planned visits as well! Our Orenda is ready and so are we!
The Adventures of Little Fish 