Merry Christmas 2014

Praising the birth of baby Jesus at RiverCross Fellowship's Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve.

Silent Night

It was a truly wonderful evening singing Christmas Carols and hearing Pastor Kathi Busch talking to the kids in their pajamas while they ate cookies and sipped milk.  If you look closely, our granddaughter Savannah is sitting on the sofa on Pastor Kathi's left listening to the message.

RiverCross Fellowship

As 2014 Christmas Approaches

Our granddaughter Savannah has been singing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" since  December 1st.

Not an easy picture to identify those missing  teeth, but they're her upper incisors right in the front.









Our Pixie has been so lovable lately curling up in both Sue's lap and on me. 

If you look closely, you can see her "skin only area" on the right front of her face.

Many times a day we find ourselves checking on Pixie to see if she is sleeping or wants to "go outside".  She appears to be saying that she doesn't want any additional treatment and to be perfectly honest: "just keep my water dish filled and make sure I have some snackies before I go to bed."


I'm sure many of you have tried to reply below in the comments section, but we know that it isn't easy. 

In fact, I have attempted to leave messages for myself and found them discarded or lost so if you would like you could email either Sue or myself at:  sue@englers.com or don@englers.com and we'll respond to you.

Pixie Update

It was haircut time for the Pix 'cause Mommy was saying she is beginning to look like a slight sheep. Well I did agree and neither of us remembered Pixie's last haircut.

 Usually I like to trim her on the side porch so we can sweep her ample hair to the ground and the birds love to pick it up for their nests. But with cooler weather and rain, I brought a piece of plywood into the downstairs bathroom to help complete the chore.

I love the #7 blade with Pix

Doesn't she look happier!

Our little girl has lived through the frightful melanoma scare that begun this past summer; She is living proof that GOD answers prayers! 

Finishing the Winter Cover



The last step of adding grommets

We are so fortunate that our boat is placed very close to one of the  bright mercury vapor security lights of the marina.  It has been so helpful for working on the outside of the boat, especially since darkness reaches us at about 4:40 now.


View forward from the seahood

After all is installed and tight, Sue is cleaning up

View from amidships

All tight and ready for the snow storm coming on Wednesday

One of the twenty grommets in the bow cover

The charm of working with this lighter weight fabric is that it stretches and is easily sewed, however I still must reinforce the grommets with at least 6 thicknesses of fabric.

Tying down the bow cover




 





Removal of Feathering Max Prop for Reconditioning

This past summer both Sue and I have noticed more vibration coming from our drivetrain. On many dives to the prop for cleaning, I began wiggling both blades and felt there was more clearance in the blade than necessary.

I started to wonder when the last time this prop has been reconditioned (not when we owned the boat). I even dove on another sailboat that had a Max Prop to feel its clearance and it wasn’t quite as loose as mine.

Soon after Jubilee was brought on land, ten days ago, I began walking around the yard testing clearances of other boat’s props.  I determined that Jubilee seemed looser and needed reconditioning.

Easy removal - cotter pins and socket head screws

I found more support from Jerome of PYI, dealer of Max Prop on the west coast. He found that this prop was installed on Jubilee in Rochester, NY in 1988.  That is 26 years of questionable use; except for the trip to the Bahamas and all the motoring we did in the ICW.  Jerome also added that the split pin through the locking nut was done in the late 80s and since the middle 90s, a double pin is used to retain the gear mechanism.

I also found that this prop was installed improperly in 1988.  This is an 18” prop with 16 degrees of pitch, running in forward, turning counterclockwise, was set for reverse.  However this didn’t matter since the pitch is the same in forward or reverse.  This prop was usually good for 7.5 knots in flat water, at 2500 rpm, and we usually sail much more than we motor.

I'll be sending everything to PYI next week in hopes that their rebuild will give us a smoother ride in the spring.


I had to use a wheel puller to break the taper on the shaft

Preparing to Close-in the Bow Area

Since the weather is becoming a little nippy, we needed to expedite the bow cover. We needed a support, so I grabbed the spinnaker pole which resides in the top of our garage.


loaded for travel



red flag attached!





 

main support for bow cover

our camera room is large enough to layout
the entire cover and pin together

We've taken the measurements and cut the cover material to size, now to sew it and try the first fitting!  Don seems to enjoy his time behind the sewing machine and how intricate he can made the cover fit.

 

doesn't he look happy?

 

Reporting about Pixie:

On Thursday, 13th November, Pixie had her final exam after her radiation treatments and she is doing fabulously!

I captured an image while both Sue and she were sleeping together on the loveseat in the living room.  If you look closely
you can see the affected area on her right side is clean of any scabs or skin infections.  We're both happy for her total recovery and she acts so much younger now.

 



Covered and Prepared for the Snowy Winter

On November 5th we covered Jubilee's cabin area and cockpit.  We brought the dinghy home to give

us room to prepare to extend the winter cover to the bow section, since we haven't sewed it yet. We dropped the boom to the deck for safety reasons and moved all of the halyards within the mast. All work inside can now proceed with the cover on and the heaters connected.

Inside the cover



Ready for the harsh winter weather

Pixie & Mom waitin' for me to leave

Out of the Water on Election Day!

Jubilee was lifted out at 9:30, washed her bottom and placed in the cradle before 10:30 AM. 

http://www.delawarecitymarina.biz/


Lifted high above the water

Washing the hull

pretty clean

Pixie's Follow-up Exam

 “On August 18^th I was given 2 months to live by a specialist at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware.  My Mom and Dad saw that I was not feeling well and they prayed to GOD for a direction to help me.”

Walking into the VOS in West Chester with Mommie



Dr. Jeglum is examining me!

“Life is so precious, and the folks at Veterinary Oncology Services in West Chester never doubted that every day I could love and be loved was worth fighting for….  Thank you for all that never would have been had it not been for you Dr. Ann Jeglum and her Staff!”

Spending the Winter at Home!

The good news is Pixie has been sportin' her Elizabethan Collar to keep her from scratching her face and she is healing quite well.  Sue detects hair growing-in some of this area. Most of the credit should go to Sue as far as keeping Pixie regular on her pill/capsules each day.  We are planning to give her a bath today and a trim for her visit tomorrow at the oncology veterinarian in West Chester.



In just one week the tissue is responding!

The boat has been unloaded almost completely. We removed and flaked the sails today and they are stored in the garage.  We'll be placing the winter cover on Jubilee later in November, but first I will be adding insulation to our refrigerator and working throughout the winter on this project.

Jubilee sitting 2 inches higher in the water

Notice how much help Pixie is in folding the mainsail!

Back Home...

Dear Friends  - It is quite a disappointment to be home after two months of preparing for our trip south, however our primary concern is the health of our family member Pixie.  We couldn't expect Pixie to be as comfortable on the boat as at home and it took a short trip for both Sue and I to realize the magnitude of Pixie's needs.

Motoring at 9.5 kts on the C&D Canal

Almost everything from Jubilee to go HOME

Captured in front of Delaware City Marina

Waiting to be place on land

After arriving home we called the Oncology Vet to find out why Pixie's radiation wounds were not healing as we expected.  We visited them in West Chester yesterday (Oct23) and received more medication and were given a topical spray to moisten her cheek twice a day.  They wanted Pixie to wear her collar all the time and this would never work on the boat.

Also, the refrigeration system wasn't performing as expected and not nearly as well as it had during our Bahamas trip years ago.  This needed to be updated and more $$$$/time to be invested.
Most of the other systems on the boat were Ok and we needed them to get back in some of the heavy winds we've encountered.

Sue and I will be adding family photos and Pixie's recovery info as it happens, so do keep checking back now and then for those updates. 

We Have Cancelled our Trip South this Year

The many facets of preparing for a six month adventure may upset the normal person. It took us many weeks to prepare to leave our home on Saturday, 18 October with all the intentions of not coming back until late April 2015.  Just a short list of forwarding mail, paying all the bills via email, having enough food on board, shutting down all the systems in the house, and the security of leaving your home for those many months maybe daunting to most.

Both Sue and I have received many signs that this is not the year to go south.  We thank the LORD for sending them.

·        After receiving radiation treatments for 4 weeks and the melanoma vaccine, our Cockapoo - Pixie has developed an open wound area on the right side of her face.  She is continually losing hair around this area. We have a medication but while on a sailboat, but isn’t easy to apply it, and her normal potty breaks aren’t as natural as on land when you can open the door to the backyard.  Pixie certainly deserves better treatment than this.  This is our prime reason for turning back.

          We sailed on Saturday to about 25 miles south near Annapolis into a small cove.  During the sail we saw 28+ knots of wind and 5’ seas most of the way.  The boat can handle it, but many times the crew cannot.  There is a prediction for heavy air in the next week for almost every day and as you continue through Virginia & North Carolina it becomes more intense.  

         Our refrigeration is using too many amp hours for its operation.  This must be updated.  We thought about stopping on-the-way to have a new one installed, but it will not cure Pixie’s problem.

          Perhaps we may have waited too long during the month of October to leave.  Four years ago, when we sailed to the Bahamas we left two weeks earlier.  Those days were warmer and the winds were fair and not as high.



Pix waited to come up to the cockpit to join us


Our friends, Bill and Joan have come to pick us up

Visiting with our Friends on the Way...

It was great visiting with my brother Allan and wife Kathy on the waters of Eagle Cove.  Directly facing the cove is a beautiful horse farm and mansion.  We rafted with Al & Kathy and Chuck and Sue Bartlett.  We were treated to dinner aboard their 50' trawler "B-Attitude"