We splashed on Oct. 17, \u00a0checked to see that neither the new drive leg nor the new depth sounder were leaking, and proceeded directly to Crews Inn, where we discovered that the slip that had been reserved for us was occupied. \u00a0 The squatter had limped in and requested a single night with which to sort out their problems. \u00a0 They had already been there more than a week when we arrived, and they just finally left a few days ago, some three weeks after their arrival.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, we were placed in the slip owned by a local who temporarily had his boat on the hard. \u00a0 Our thanks to him and to Crews Inn for accommodating us — we stayed much much longer in that spot than what was originally discussed.<\/p>\n
When we arrived at Crews Inn, there were two other Krogens there: \u00a0Richard and Lavinia on\u00a0Partners<\/em>, and Bill and Ann on\u00a0Ann Louise<\/em>. \u00a0Great fun to spend some time with them — as you can imagine we had much in common to discuss. \u00a0My only regret is that I didn’t take any pictures.<\/p>\n When we left Trinidad in July, we had intended on embarking on two additional major projects upon our return: \u00a01) installation of solar panels on the roof of the pilot house and on a reconstructed bimini and 2) reworking of all of the wiring associated with our house battery bank and the starter battery for the John Deere. \u00a0While we were away we decided against the former and engaged Dockside Electric to do the latter. \u00a0So since arriving at Crews Inn we have often had a worker crawling about in the engine room. \u00a0And then most recently after listening to Richard (Partners<\/em>) enthuse about his solar panels, we decided to install three panels on the pilot house roof after all. \u00a0The problem was that it didn’t appear that we could get them ordered and delivered to Trinidad in time to have them installed before we wanted to begin our annual trek northward. \u00a0And then Lee (Allegro)\u00a0<\/em>told us about a note he saw on the Power Boat’s bulletin board, Barb followed up, and we bought three 145-watt panels from a local. \u00a0Richard had his installed by an electrician cruiser while they were both in Carriacou and was very pleased with the work and the price. \u00a0So we have ordered a controller (which can be gotten here easier than panels) and will take the materials to Grenada to be installed. \u00a0Stay tuned for further developments.<\/p>\n With Lee and Sharon (Allegro<\/em>) we rented a car and drove up to Maracas Bay one day to see the famous beach and sample the best-on-the-island bake-n-shark sandwiches. \u00a0Impressive overlooks on the way to the beach, and the sandwiches were indeed yummy. \u00a0The beach was almost deserted; not surprising since it was a weekday morning and threatening rain. \u00a0Indeed, I had time to only take a few pictures on the beach before the skies opened. \u00a0When we returned to town the boys dropped the girls off to do some shopping, and the boys ventured off to find the NP facility for filling propane tanks. \u00a0We were looking for an “NP” sign on the right, and got all the way down to the airport before realizing that we had missed the entrance. \u00a0After coming all the way back to town we thought we had found it, but alas, we had just gone past and so had to go west, do a U-turn, head east, miss a chance to do a U-turn that would take us past the entrance, drive many miles to find the next opportunity, and then finally come back west to turn into an unmarked dirt road that soon was festooned with “NO ADMITTANCE” signs that bore a water treatment plant logo. \u00a0Signs or no — by the process of lengthy elimination we just had to be in the right entrance. \u00a0 And we were: our little dirt road opened up onto a little-used paved road, and there was the propane facility. \u00a0Getting the tank filled was by that time somewhat anti-climatic.<\/p>\n Back at the boat, in the process of cleaning the teak cap rails we realized how worn and rutted they had become in the three years since we had stripped them and let them “go natural”. \u00a0Reluctantly we decided to sand them down and return to periodic varnishing. \u00a0Soon after I had begun using a power sander on the rails, an employee of Crews Inn appeared and said that a neighbor was trying to take a nap, and that the sander was too noisy. \u00a0 Diplomatic Barb spoke with the neighbor, and managed to negotiate a “compromise” in which I could sand when the neighbor and her husband were off the boat. \u00a0After I had sanded for days on only a small portion of the rails, Barb insisted that we enlist some help, and so Raoul joined the work crew. \u00a0Fortunately, the disabled vessel that was occupying “our” spot finally was able to depart, and so we moved there, and although we were still fairly close to the sensitive neighbor, we judged that we were far enough away to sand with impunity. \u00a0Raoul of course wanted to do the varnishing too, but I have my pride. \u00a0 As this is written we have applied three coats of sealer and four coats of varnish, and there are still ruts showing, even in that portion in which I aggressively sanded the varnish in the hope that I could remove the ruts. \u00a0 Many more coats will be required to restore the smooth surface we had before the stripping three years ago.<\/p>\n While all of the sanding was going on, we also had a worker down in the engine room rewiring the house battery bank and starter battery. \u00a0 Basically, off-bank bus bars were used for both negative and positive cables, a project that rendered some organization to what was formerly a tangled mess that had some battery terminals so full that the nuts could barely grab the threads. \u00a0In addition, careful consideration of cable lengths and placement should result in much more even charging of all cells. \u00a0The project was expensive, but I am happy with the result.<\/span><\/p>\n We have been working hard, but also relaxing in the late afternoons and evenings. \u00a0We have been to the Wheelhouse Pub several times for Sword Fish, and visited the new restaurant (“Old Navy”) at the military museum. \u00a0While Lee and Sharon (Allegro<\/em>) and John and Amy (Wind Horse<\/em>) were still here, we often joined them for late afternoon cocktails at the Crews Inn pool.
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