Marathon Tidbits II

The owner of this vessel passed, his kids have it up for sale.

What a deal for $6,000 and the scuttle butt is they will go as low as $2500.

There are lots of permently anchored boats with live aboards. They  all seem to have at least three anchors out and due to swinging around over the years the rodes get tightly wound up all the way to the bow.

These vessels no longer swing into the wind.

\When I need some exercise this is the Gym.

I have always wondered about these sailboats with the small cockpit forward of the main cockpit?

I thought it was ok to cle3an the dingy on the dingy dock but it was not.

So they advised me to use this little beach around the corner.

These people sailed here from the Czech Republic with two small children on this
Beneteau, they have used up their time here and are bound for the Bahamas.

This board matches up boats to buddy up for crossing to the Bahamas and other destinations, it is constantly changing.

I love this place, tons of great new and used marine gear located in Ft. Lauderdale.

And the Largest West Marine in the World  is just down the street from SailorMan. 

The Admiral helping sew up part of my project for the Jerry cans. That little 40+ yr old Singer still gets the job done!

Even the power boats add solar and wind to beef up their electrical systems.

Another budget Cruiser living the life.

Don't think you can't take it with you!

The Customs cruising the neighborhood looking for foreign vessels.

Yep the parking lot is full of cruisers cars who somehow manage to get them to Marathon for their 2+ months they plan to be here.

My buddy John Furlinger just showed up on his 1979 44' CSY, she is a beauty and all authentic on the interior, very nice!

John and his crew Tom from Tamps, These guys have more stories about putting out fires aboard the big commercial vessels they  sailed on, Tom as Captain and John as Chief engineer. 

I wanted to get the bottom cleaned before departing Marathon and knew it would probable be time to change the shaft zinc.

Just another example of boat dogs living the life, this Dalmatian easily balances looking for sea life  on the front of this small Kyak/dingy

Whoa, wait a minute some one bought the vessel in the above pic and  made a duplex!

Last Beer at Burdines where I took the jerry cans for diesel and gas for the dingy

Marathon Tidbits II
Some short notes:  Preparing to Leave Marathon is a bit bitter sweet for us. After almost 4 months we have really grown to enjoy this wonderful community. I will pick up Bill Wilson Tomorrow at the Ft. Lauderdale airport and if the forecast holds we will depart for Little shark River on Monday and points between on the way back to St. Petersburg. I wanted to document just a few things in this post before leaving here.
There was some discussion among those that live year round here on their vessels about the above boat for sale. there was a rumor that the children who were selling their deceased fathers boat would take $2500 for it. Recently I noticed it was tied up to another vessel that is permanently anchored here and so I guess they now have a duplex! I also wanted to get a couple of pics in if the vessels anchor rode who have been here for years and have 2-3 or more anchors out. The anchor rodes have wound up really tight as the boat has shifterd with the winds over the years. the rode is so tight that the vessels barely move anymore, they do not point into the wind as all the rest of the vessels on Mooring balls do. Then I noticed the guy who has a full size motorcycle on his 30'something boat, amazing,  we all have speculated on how he gets it off to the dock? As you can see the parking lot is full of cruisers cars. I know there are cars scattered all up and down the East coast just waiting for the owner to return some day to get it and move it on down the coast when they stay somewhere long enough to need it.
A couple with small children who sailed here from the Czech Republic on a 38' Beneteau were adopted by the Boot Key Harbor Community. they were running low on funds and needed a few items to continue their journey. One of the locals worked with them and made a list which was announced on the Cruisers Net. All the things they needed were assembled from the community and delivered to them. Wand'rin Star donated a 4 pin GPS cable to the cause so they could hook up there chart plotter to their laptop and download needed charts.
When we first got here I noticed a pretty new 45' Sea Ray on the East side of the harbor, the thing that made me notice the vessel was it had two wind generators mounted above the Bridge deck. You might expect to see a trawler with a wind generator but not the Amero/Euro designed Sea Rays that project all that Sex Appeal. Those Wind Generators ripped the Sex right off that vessel, But hey I guess they don't like hearing the Diesel Generator run either! since then I have seen all manners of power vessels with wind and solar mounted wherever they could.
My Buddy John showed up just the other day on his 44' CSY, a great vessel. Tom helped him bring it down and they had great North winds. John Said this was his best trip ever to Marathon over the years he has been coming here from Tampa. They got to sail all but 2 hours. I spent an evening with these two guys and the stories would curl your brain as they recounted several moments when all hell was breaking loose on the ship they were on. Tom is still working as a Captain but John has retired as his Chief Engineer.
The day after John got here I jumped in and managed to finish cleaning the growth off the bottom and clean the shaft and Propeller for the trip back to St. Pete. It was time to change out the shaft Zinc and this was a first for me. It took me about 20 minutes to get the old one off and the new one on but I moved slowly as I did not want to drop any of the parts. When I got the old one on the deck I was sure glad I got the job done, I do not think it would have made it must past the harbor.
I ran over to Burdines today to fill up the dingy fuel tank and drink a last beer there. It is a great spot to see the boats coming and going from Boot Key Harbor as it is located right on the narrow channel leading into the Harbor. We plan on making stops at Little shark River, Indian Key, Naples, and Fort Myers Beach, all outside passages, then coming into the GICW and going to Engelwood Beach, Long Beach, then on to St. Pete Marina. Stay tuned.