Autumn in Baltimore

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Tuesday, September 22

Another very cool morning (low 50’s) assured us that it is indeed the first day of autumn.  I was outside adding another coat of Cetol to the starboard toe rail before 8:30 AM so that we had enough time to drive to Annapolis by 10:30 AM.  (The starboard toe rail, forward of mid-ship, is now completely finished.)

On the way driving to Annapolis we talked about various restaurants where we can go out to lunch.  Carroll’s Creek Cafe won out—it’s probably our all time favorite.

After lunch, we dropped off the cardboard pattern for the additional anchor guard plates at Kato Marine and stopped at Fawcetts for more boat supplies (a can of Cetol and the vinyl covered stainless steel braid material to make a loop on our anchor).

While having lunch in Annapolis, we decided to get a slip at Annapolis City Dock for the winter (November 9 thru April 1) instead of staying in our slip in Baltimore. 

 

Annapolis City Dock is pretty empty at present.

We picked up the paperwork at the Harbor Master’s office and got our name on the list. (We were the fourth boat to sign up.  Once we return the paperwork on Thursday with our $50 deposit, we will be all set for our winter stay!)  We think it will be a lot more interesting than staying in Baltimore for the winter.  (I lived in Annapolis most of my life and we continue to do all our personal business there.)

We got back to Baltimore after 5 PM.

Wednesday, September 23

It was already 60 degrees at 8:30 AM when I started gathering my tools to work on the toe rail refinishing.I sanded the interconnecting section of the toe rail with 200-grit sandpaper and applied the third coat of Cetol in the morning.

Later, I added a loop fastened to our anchor so that I can grab it with a boat hook and orient it when it reaches the water's surface for proper retrieval. 

The anchor retrieval loop was constructed from
vinyl-covered stainless steel braided cable.
(i covered the compression sleeve
with heat shrink tubing.)

I decided to sell the Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel on eBay rather than fill part of the slot in the stem of the anchor.  I had simply lost all confidence in the Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel due to the numerous times we couldn't properly set the anchor on our last trip north on the ICW. (The anchor loop accomplishes the same goal without the need to fill the slot in the stem of the anchor.)

Thursday, September 24

The sky was overcast from the get go today.  Rain is likely tonight.  I got up early and got another coat of Cetol (the third) on the interconnecting section on the starboard side.  (Two more coats and the starboard side will be completed!)

I drove to Annapolis primarily to get our paperwork submitted for our winter dockage at Annapolis City Dock.  I talked with the Harbor Master who advised me to get slip #10, 11, or 12 and get to the City Dock as soon as dockage is available so that we get one of the best slips.  (This means moving to Annapolis on Monday, November 9!)

After having lunch at Italian Market and picking up a few grocery items, I was on my way back to the boat in Baltimore.   

At 4 PM Maggie had arranged a visit to tour one of our boat neighbors renovated house boat.  The house boat was a 44-foot Gibson--the house boat's interior was completely gutted and rebuilt.

The bow area also serves as a "living room."

Looking from the bow toward the stern reveals
a cute galley and the primary berth
with a full size bed.

Work on my boat projects will resume tomorrow...stay tuned!

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