Summer in Baltimore - 2017

Jun 16 thru Jun 20

--Blogpost written by Bob

Shortly after docking in Baltimore on Friday, June 16, we picked up our car which was in storage for 8-1/2 months.  Our car looked great and seemed very luxurious even though it is not a luxury car--I guess I'm comparing it to the rental cars we've recently used.  We went out for dinner (tacos and margaritas) with Maggie's oldest daughter and her husband in Fells Point.  The traffic, all the people, and the noisy bars and restaurants in Fells Point were simply overwhelming to us. 

Joe, Jessica, Maggie, and me (left to right) after
dinner at Barcocina in Fells Point.

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The next day, Saturday, June 17, we drove to Annapolis to accomplish several tasks: took some things from our boat to our storage locker, bought new underwear (we really needed it after the harrowing trip through Georgia!), picked up some waterproofing liquid for our bimini, did some grocery shopping, and went out for lunch (pizza) at Italian Market.  We really missed Italian Market!  It was really nice to be welcomed back by the people at Italian Market and eat the best pizza in the U.S. (in our opinion).

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On Sunday (June 18), we pulled the stern of Rainy Days against the finger pier on the port side and used the outboard motor lift to transfer the outboard motor from the boat to the pier.  Then we used a marina cart to get the 84-lb outboard motor to our car so that we can drop it off for warranty repairs tomorrow.  I also removed the Bruce anchor from our bow.  We couldn't have deployed it if we had wanted to because a pin that holds it in place was seized--I had to cut it off with a grinder.  We're considering selling it and getting a lightweight FORTRESS anchor as a spare.

I removed the Bruce (secondary) anchor on our
bow.  We didn't use it on our trip and we 
certainly don't need the additional 
weight on the bow.

Another accomplishment today was replacing the fender we lost in Thunderbolt, Georgia.  Little by little, our project list is being tackled.

The replacement fender is the one on top of the
other, in the center of this image.

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On Monday, June 19, we dropped off our faulty outboard engine at Fawcetts for warranty repair.  I emphasized the need to determine what failed, why, and to do whatever is necessary that it doesn't happen again.  The loss of a dinghy engine in the Exumas (where we are going next season) would really be a significant problem since we will be in much more remote areas.

An outboard technician at Fawcett's is helping me load
the outboard engine on a cart to get it into
the shop for warranty repairs.

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Tuesday, June 20, was spent cleaning the dinghy bottom and painted it with anti-fouling paint (Petit Eco).  The dinghy bottom paint combination used last fall was the very best I have ever experienced in terms of minimal marine growth (and the dinghy was in the water most of the time) and endurance of the paint (there were only a few minor spots where the paint had come off despite being towed for maybe 3000 miles).

Our dinghy after the first coat of bottom paint.  We applied
the second coat on the following day.  I am 
really pleased how the Petit Eco 
bottom paint held up!

I also arranged some 4 x 6 wooden picture frames in our main salon to hold some colorful images we've collected in our travels.  I realize that our homecoming seems kind of anticlimactic and it was.  I'm having some trouble adapting to the city life that I never liked and the the filthy Potapsco River water.  We've talked about going back to Annapolis next summer and renting out our condominium slip here.  

Tomorrow is the first day of summer!  We should have a few more projects completed and a diagnosis of our outboard engine problem by our next blogpost.  


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