All Systems Go!

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Our plans to head off on the boat were put on hold when Jeff was diagnosed with congestive heart failure back in December. His cardiologists had said that the next 1-2 years would be very important, and we thought the best we could do was to leave in the fall of 2019. However, much to our delight when we were at the CHF clinic last Monday we received the go-ahead to cut the docklines next month!

Jeff had a cardiac ablation procedure four months ago which so far, knock on wood, has restored his heart back into rhythm (it’s not uncommon for atrial fibrillation to reoccur, even with an ablation). Once he recovered from the procedure he immediately noticed an improvement in his energy. Since then his ejection fraction (the amount of blood his heart pumps out of the ventricles with each contraction) has improved to 50-55% which puts him on the low edge of normal (it was 15-20% when he went into the hospital), so for now he doesn’t need an implanted defibrillator. Continue reading “All Systems Go!” →

Hello, boat!

Saturday we drove down to Dutch Wharf to say hello to Pegu Club and check out the engine progress. As avid DIY’ers it felt very strange to see that things are being completed without having to do anything but write a check. I think we could get used to it, but alas, the bank account won’t let us! Sam at Dutch Wharf has been doing a great job keeping us up to date, but it was still fun to see everything in real life.

Our Firefly batteries arrived just after Jeff got out of the hospital. Given their weight we knew there was no way we could install them ourselves, so that was our first non-engine outsourced task. We knew they wouldn’t fit in the existing battery box, so the guys removed it and did a new install that looks like it’s always been there.

While the engine was out Sam called and said the 40 year old fuel tank looked a bit suspect and the fuel tank hoses weren’t looking too good either. We had planned on pulling the tank out to inspect it prior to Jeff getting sick, and we had bought an extra five gallon diesel jerry jug in anticipation of the task. After briefly debating whether I could just pull it out myself, we ultimately decided to have the guys do it – our second non-engine outsourced task. A pressure test confirmed that it was time to get a new one. Cross that off the to-do list.

Since we were getting a new engine and shaft, we figured we might as well have the cutlass bearing taken care of and a new PSS shaft seal installed. We’ll consider that an engine-related task! Although we had replaced the packing in the stuffing box last winter, we were tired of the water in the bilge that resulted from the drip-drip-drip. We had heard good things about the PSS and checked it out while were at the Annapolis show in October. Now seemed like the logical time to install it. This is the marine version of buying a new dishwasher which leads to an entire kitchen remodel! Continue reading “Hello, boat!” →

In a New York Minute

I’m not a big Don Henley fan, but I’ve always liked a few of his songs: Boys of Summer, Dirty Laundry, Sunset Grill, New York Minute. “In a New York Minute, everything can change. In a New York Minute, things can get a little strange.”

Prior to 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, our plan was to cut the dock lines on August 4th. I was waiting to put it on the blog until it was more widely known at my job, but I had let my boss know and we were entering the home stretch. We had seven months and eleven days to go. Now we’re going to need to wait a bit longer.

Continue reading “In a New York Minute” →