September 24, 2013

Getting “Meander” ready for a trip on the St Johns River

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Took a quick look at my last post and was surprised to see our last day on the water was  Memorial Day.

The weather is finally cooling down a bit at night…but afternoon rain showers or thunderstorms continue.

We can manage with the heat and humidity during the day…it is trying to sleep at night that becomes a problem on a small boat….without AC.

I am gathering up the canned goods, cooking utensils, bird food, dog food….getting the cats outdoor feeder filled and stowing away our clothes and bedding. The hurricane straps are on the bee hives…just incase the wind and weather gets nasty, or a raccoon or other large predator decides they want to get inside. I saw a Bobcat less than 1/4 mile down the road and a black bear was spotted a mile or so away last year.  Would love to have them all camped out in the back yard…as long as they leave the other critters alone. So much land is being cleared for housing projects ….the animals are running out of space to live in…..and I love my 4 legged neighbors.

I usually manage to forget something….but we won’t be out for more than a week ….and we’ve learned to “rough it”  when necessary.

Jim has her all pressure washed so she looks pretty spiffy….bimini is on….generator loaded….and motor has been started and checked out. We never wait till we launch to start it….we’ve seen many a boater’s day ruined when he gets the boat in the water and the engine wont run.

The blue cover over the front comes off. It is only for rain protection while sitting in the yard.

Did have to clean out the exhaust water port…forgot to put window screen in the hole and mud daubers built a nest. So many things to remember.

Weather permitting….we launch tomorrow….hope my next post is from the St Johns River, at anchor.