The Sunshine State

The weather has yet to improve much here, even though it is not raining today, it is much cooler and still overcast. So much for Florida being the Sunshine State.

I spent a good bit of time yesterday working on a boat here in the marina,  Sven and I met a really nice out going guy here named Gary, who owns a boat that has inboard engines with outdrives, and he was having problems with one of the drives. That led to me helping Gary out by doing a bit of work on his boat. I made a few bucks, and got Gary back on the water, so all worked out pretty well.

One thing that I have found I do consistently is look at the names that people give their boats. Sometimes I think that a large group of boat owners must go to the same book or list of names when they purchase a boat, I would bet that the number one name for a boat in the US is "Therapy." Therapy is not the name of a boat, it is the name for what you need after buying a boat. I think if I see another Therapy, Serenity, Talisman, At Ease, I think I'll puke. Believe it or not, I just looked for it on the net, and there are actually websites that catalog and make suggestions for the name of your new hole in the water. Sometimes you will get an owner that actually has a bit of individuality though, and you will see a boat named for someone or something of significance to them. Take Arden for example. Gary named her after Alice, as he does all of their boats, and even though I could have renamed her when she became mine, I felt it was only fitting that I continue to thank them by leaving her named as she came to me. In the website "10,000 Boat Names" there is not one other boat listed named Arden. Sven named his boat "JuCa" after his kids, Julia and Carlos. That means something to him, and is original and different. Every once in a blue moon though, you will come across a boat whos owner is not only creative, but also has a good sense of humor as well. Here at the Loggerhead Marina in Daytona, there is one that cracks me up everytime I walk past - Knot@Work.Calm. Quite a play on words, and very fitting in this internet age.

Today I helped Sven go retrieve his dinghy that sputtered to a stop yesterday afternoon at the Halifax River Yatch Club, and we tried to get it going, but it looks as if that might be a lost cause for now, turns out that the engine may have taken a bit of freeze damage while they were in Norfolk, there is water in the cylinders and she won't start. Perhaps later today I may help Gary get his boat pulled out of the water and check out a hydraulic leak on his outdrives. Not a huge problem, but not a good situation, so perhaps I can get a bit more work getting him a bit more squared away. I picked up that new bilge pump at West Marine, and when I get back to Arden sometime tonight I'll install that and get my bilge situation squared away finally. Sven and I might even take a walk up to a ship's chandler's that is another place that has used gear much like Bacon's in Annapolis.