Two "cars"....and "graboid".....

So maybe....just maybe....by starting this...I can get Paul to post a little (usually with him a lot) of his wonderful information on what has been going on...here he is with his "new" Yahama (electric start)....then our bikes - what a difference getting around without pain (for him) makes!!!! AND, our two car (dingy) "right place - right time" finds.....and, yes, he has been so busy downloading tv shows with Graboid....he has hardly let me on the internet....let alone the computer!!!!

And now the rest of the story.....

Yes it has been a while...but I have an excuse....I had a 3 pager going with all the pics and blow by blow with the dinks and motors....damn Blogger decides to delete the whole thing...I have been on strike!!! Well after loosing the dink...we went on a buying spree...bargains that could not be passed by. First we found a Yamaha 15 hp 4 stroke.. a 2004 model with 3 hrs on it....seems the guy has all the toys...just never used the outboard....thing is worth 2 grand...guy was selling for $1800..then dropped to $1200. Well we rented a car...drove to Ft Lauderdale...arriving back in Marathon about 10:30pm...then we had to get this 120 lb monster on the Stern of the Wally waggon...my old dink minus the inflatable floor....we tied the engine to the car and lowered it down the 4 ft to the dink..Joyce guided it on to the transom..and with a push of a button we were on our way back to the boat....soooo quiet..you can carry on a conversation while under way. Without the floor the Wally Wagon starts to bend in the middle when you twist up the throttle....not good if you want to go fast...guess we could have lived with that till we got down to Margarita....the dink I want...and AB is about 1/2 price...so we wet back on CraigsList looking for a dink..seems this guy in Marathon had just listed his on CraigsList....so we dinked ashore..jumped on the bikes for a 4 mile ride to the guys house... He was from Montana..selling their home in Marathon and had no use for a dink in Montana. It was a RIB..(fiberglass floor) by Zodiac...8 ft...a little short but almost new. The outboard was a Mercury 8 hp with maybe 10-15 hrs...almost new....asking price 600 bucks...I could turn around and sell the dink or the motor for $8-900 apiece. So now we have 2 motors and 2 dinks. Well we needed to get up t Miami to get the new batteries...decided to do an overnight to Ft Lauderdale since the Marina in Miami was full due to the Miami boat show. Had a wonderful sail up..got out into the Gulf Stream for the 2-3 knt push and arrived into Lauderdale by 8 in the AM. Downtown marina could take us aday early so we were good. Phil by Britt friend arranged to loan us his pickup on Monday so we could swap the Batteries. Now you must remember Joyce will not let me lift anything heavier than a 12 pack...batteries weigh about 65 lbs apiece. I unhooked them by 9:30 a and Joyce had them up on the dock by 10 am. Phil showed up about noon...we loaded up and headed for Sam's...oh yea..had called around the night before...the 4th Sam's had 12 of these batteries..the others had only 2 or 3. Joyce unloaded them onto a flatbed and we headed in. The Tire and Battery guys come out and start t test them with some voltage thing...they pronounce the first 3 as good. I protested that one cannot tell the condition of a battery by voltage alone....I asked if they had a load tester or hydrometer...nope just the voltage thingy that was saying all my batteries were good. I volunteered to go buy a hygrometer....we walked oer to Walmart...bought 1 for .88 cents..walked back and tested the batteries they said were good...guy disappeared for 20 min...asks us for the receipt....fills out a form and sends us up to the front desk. We wait in line...and charges me 17 dollars for 12 new batteries....wow sun was shining on me for once...guy even loaded them into the truck for Joyce...well we gave Sam back most of his loss on the Batteries by buying half the store....this would be our last big fix on US stuff for some time. We went back to the boat...I started to use the food sucker to suckie bag the meat...in the middle of this Phil and Joanna show up to get the truck...DAMN...well we went down the dock for dinner ...a good time had by all.

We were up to ride to West Marine the next morning..probably a 5-6 mile round trip...I had 1 crash...thanks to the soft grass , only my pride was hurt...when we got back ...well we both hurt...me from the crash and Joyce from yesterdays weight lifting Championship...yes she came in 1 st place...simple dinner and we crashed. We were a little sluggish this AM. We had to go pick up a lifeline at the riggers , check out and move the boat. Joanna came by about 1 pm to pick up their movies (about 500) they had pirated from Netflicks). We were able to copy about 20. We were going to try and sail down to Miami...but decided to anchor in Lake Sylvia ..the only place in Ft Lauderdale to anchor...and then for only 2 days....So here we sit...sucking on a Gin and Tonic...the end of just another day on the Lady H