$$$$ Damn Battery Gods are pissed...$$$$$

Wed 6:30 PM You heard from Joyce about the bump in the night...I thought my anchor that never dragged had dragged....but when we went to move the anchor was still well stuck on the bottom. We had been anchored there for 3 days with 20-30 kt winds....when the wind died down the boats swing different... Yes we have been walking the town....back and knee getting used to the mileage... but we must stop for beer breaks.... Over he past week I have noticed the voltage on the batteries has been lower than usual. Have been checking the water level, but using very little....another cruiser said he is using a quart a week....I have not used a quart in the last 3 months. So I checked the specific gravity of each battery....damn....dead or almost dead cell in almost all the batteries, over the last 2days I equalized the batteries...this where you "cook" the batteries by overcharging them to burn off the sulfate on the plates.....well no such luck...better but all but 1 battery has a weak cell.

They are 13 months old with a 1 yr replacement and a 3 yr pro-rated warranty. Damn...should have checked the damn cells last month. Now we will have to do a battery swap when we get back to Miami...lots of work and $$$ and I know Joyce will not let me lift a 50 lb battery....Guess I will have o take her out to dinner after the swap. A dozen batteries from the boat to a cart to the car to Sam's to the cart to the store and back IS WORK and some more $$$$$ . You might ask why they failed so soon. Long story...batteries on a sailboat almost never get charged to 100%. We usually charge to 90% since the last 10% can take 1 1/2 hrs...This is hard on the battery. Remember this is an electric boat...2 freezers, a fridge, that run all the time..and now Joyce's computer is downloading all those movies 24/7. The batteries should last about 18 months, ...the alternative is much more $$$ and they will last longer...had hoped we could make it to next yrs boat show...can get a good deal and the Rolls ..they are the best. Maybe next time....just too many things that cost the big bucks this yr.

Rather than watch the gay guys cook on TV, I discovered a website that allows you to download movies and TV programs for free....for a few bucks you can get unlimited downloads. Now Joyce's computer is in overdrive downloading 40+ episodes of NCIS, the same for Law and Order, House, Grey's Anatomy and a bunch of movies. I figure by the time we leave phone/Internet service when we head for the Bahamas next month we should have a few months worth of evening entertainment to supplement the evening "entertainment" provided by the wackos on the charter boats as they attempt to anchor each evening. Yea...I know I used to be one of those myself...and from time to time do provide some entertainment myself in the anchorage.

We had 2 cruise ships in today...cattle boats....and the cattle get off and are led from the bars to the boats and attractions. This boat get $35 bucks a head to sail for 2 hrs and sail by the Sunset location downtown.