RV Camping Trip #3: Lake Ouachita State Park

pics and story to come

SAILING DAY! Always a good day!

We had the chance, in our busy schedule, to finally get a day of sailing in! We decided on DeGray Lake. Being a favorite of both Stacey and mine for many years, plus I know it like the back of my hand having my first sailboat, a 1982 Catalina 25 Swing Keel Sloop, there at Iron Mountain Marina for over 7 years.

Upon arriving at the DeGray Lake Lodge Resort marina parking lot, after an uneventful trip down Interstate I-30 to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, we discovered an obstacle: low water had shut down many of the launching ramps! Thanks to a stranger passing by as we were about to raise mast telling us, saving us the time and effort!

We put the mast back in "trailering mode", tied down well enough to make it down to Caddo Point launch ramp that we were told was still under water.

Once we got her in the water, we had a wonderfully brisk sail in the bay area around Caddo Point and then pointed a little more upwind and sailed into T-Cove, a favorite "T" shaped gunk hole on the lake. Anchored, played music, had lunch and even jumped in the water...briefly...starting to get cold already!

Afterwards we sailed around more until it neared 5pm and we headed back towards the ramp, sailing along mostly at 4-6mph all the way. Nice weather, temps, wind and water! Good time all around! We love that little boat! :)

Boat (RV) Drinks

A recent thread on an RV forum made me think to post this. The thread was one where everyone was freely offering their favorite libation recipes. I thought I'd share my now perfected Bahamian Rum Punch recipe.

I promise, neither of us are lushes...

I just couldn't find a picture with a full glass! It's that good!

Patrick's Bahamian Rum Punch
2 shots parrot bay coconut rum
1 packet crush strawberry drink mix
3 ounces simply orange juice
3 ounces simply lemonade with raspberry
4 ounces dole pineapple juice (best from 6oz can)
Jigger of lime
Jigger of lemon
4 ounces water
Serve over crushed ice

Makes 16oz. drink


ENJOY!

RV Camping Trip #2: Petit Jean Mountain State Park Campground, Petit Jean, Arkansas

Our new header for the blog reflects our "broadened" lifestyle thanks to our new RV!

For our 2nd trip, Stacey mentioned going to Petit Jean Mountain State Park and hiking the Cedar Falls. I hadn't been there in many, many years, and NEVER got to stay – day trips only. So... SOUNDS GREAT TO ME!! :)

We made plans for last weekend a week earlier when the weather reports said low 90's for the high. By the end of the week the reports had changed to high 90's, verging on 100's!! ugh. But thankfully, up on the mountain, the temps weren't that extreme and we did alright....

Well, we did better than alright, we had a GREAT TIME!

Sold 10/12/13! 1998 Bayliner Ciera Express Hardtop 2452 with Trailer $16,500

With some regret, we are selling our beloved 2452. The boat has served us well by keeping me out of the sun, providing a safe boat to travel the lake in and lots of fun had by all! We have meticulously maintained her, added a most impressive swim platform, and kept her in top form! Loved, is a way to put it!

But as with all things, our life is changing and we must let her go to a new owner. So please take these photos, and the following list of items included, and let us know if you or someone you know is interested.

We think the boat would be great for a fisherman that wants to fish all year-round, with the enclosed cockpit and all!

Here are some of her features:

RV Camping Trip #1: Catherine's Landing, Lake Catherine, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our first outing was at Catherine's Landing, on Lake Catherine, outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas. We couldn't have picked a better location to start our new RV adventures!

The staff was courteous and very helpful on the phone answering my many questions about "can we...?" "will we...?" "should we....?" like the novices that we are! They took it all in stride and had easy-going answers for me.

The amenities included a great saline swimming pool, laundry facilities, game room, guest kitchen, gift shop/lodge with some drinks and beer products too! They also have a huge pavilion with fire pits for larger parties, complete with ice machines, and bath houses. Kayak, canoe, party barge and bike rentals were also for the taking at mostly reasonable rates.

WE BOUGHT AN RV... Yep, I said it... WE BOUGHT AN RV!!

Here we are about to drive off the lot, ready to "Go RV'ing!"

Coming from a lifelong love of boating, I'd always looked on to the shore of those poor landlocked people in their big white boxes with pity, thinking they were missing out on the joys we were having on the water. Well, I can now say... I WAS WRONG!

They had it right all along. I used to say one of the things I loved about boating was where ever you went, you took your belongings/home with you. But so do people in RVs.

I also used to think "How can they be so close to the water and not be in it/on it?" Well, now I also know, you can do both!

The blogging gods listened! Check out this weather!

It's almost too cold to go swimming. Too bad there's no wind though :(

August 5, 2013 Storms at Pontiac Cove Marina

Pontiac Cove Marina Blog: August 5, 2013 Storms

We hope to get up there this weekend to survey any damage on our docks, but so far from the reports I've read, the 400-600 docks got the worst of it. :(

I wish them all the best in getting past this and recovering!

HOT AS HELL – no sailing, no boating, no leaving the house! ugh. Summer has ARRIVED!

Sadly, our plans to get the new Garhauer Mainsheet Traveler system installed on S/V Firefly has been put on hold... along with several other projects that I'd like to attend to.

Joys of Trailer-Sailing! New lake adventure: Lake Ouachita

Yes, the real joys of trailer-sailing is getting the opportunity to experience other lakes & areas, maybe, someday, even oceans!

    

This trip we took S/V Firefly and crew to Lake Ouachita, outside of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Hot Springs is actually my hometown. I was born there and lived a few years there as a boy, but even when we moved to Benton, I spent most of my childhood there at the many lakes around the area.

Lake Ouachita is the largest, it's connected by damn to Lake Hamilton (no offense to those who love it, but it's a crummy over crowded lake with too many homes and rude boaters for my taste), which is in turn connected to a small little lake called Catherine. South of that is one of my favorite lakes DeGray Lake. I had my first sailboat, a 1982 Catalina 25 named S/V Lucky Star, there for 7 years at Iron Mountain Marina and enjoyed the company of the Iron Mountain Yacht Club.




We launched from Brady Mountain Resort's Corp owned boat ramp. Low day rates, plenty of parking and space to set up our rig. Restrooms and a launching dock make the job a little easier. Although we did encounter a few unruly power boaters, most there were friendly and very interested in seeing a little sailboat!

Once out on the water we motored out to discover very little wind, but my iPhone app "Sailflow" said it was coming later in the afternoon and this was a good time to teach the crew a bit more about the boat, sailing and tell them stories of growing up coming to the lake.

Our 1998 Seaward Fox: Before & After

I need not say more! :)

...Okay...Stacey reminded me there is more to say after all that hard work. Here is the list of items we repaired, replaced or refit since August 2012:

All the Brightwork
Fixed Scupper
Mounted engine mount, removed old rudder mounted engine mount
Built fore and aft Mast Crutches for trailering
All interior cushions slip covers
New portholes
Repaired all holes in canvas, zipper fixed on bimini boot
Electrical repaired and panel upgraded
Bow sprit epoxied and doweled together, refinished and reinstalled.
Dolphin striker under sprit replaced
Stanchions, mainsheet attachment and pulpit rebedded
Metal polished
Hull compounded, polished and waxed
Old pin striping removed and replaced
New name graphics
Mainsail washed and tell-tales installed
New halyards
Custom companionway cover
Custom companionway board bag
Rebuilt cockpit table and new base installed
New compassed installed
Windex on mast head
New gudgeon bolts


And a few other items I'm sure I'm forgetting!

Still a few things on our wish list but this puppy is just about done, time to go sailing!!

"Vacation's all I ever wanted..." and Go-Go we did, with Firefly the Fox in tow!

Our week with our Fox in the water was great! That little boat impresses me more and more every time we put her in. 

The New New Ports & Companionway Cover nearing completion!

The New-New Ports

So the new, more oval, larger ports arrived yesterday. The Sailor's Exchange in St. Augustine were very helpful after they shipped us the wrong/mismatched set of ports and no longer had any matching. They "upgraded" us with a brand new set of Bomar Flagship Molded Oval Ports. My wife had reservations about the new shape not as "birdy" as our Fox's old squinty eyed ones, but I'm going to love the extra light and air flow these babies bring!

Let there be light!!

Well, our intention working on the boat last night was the truest example of "things that happen during mercury retrograde!" We got to the storage place where we keep Firefly and our lock was gone, replaced by another. I called the guy and he forgot that he told us it was okay to move into our new larger garage. For the last two months, I paid the bill online and noticed that the price didn't go up. I just thought he'd get around to it and bill me the difference... NOPE, he plum forgot! So they cut our lock off and couldn't find anything with our info to call us (much rectify this) and put a new lock on it until someone (us) called about it.

So once we got that resolved, another hour had gone by. When you're doing the work "after work", there's not a lot of time in the evening to do it.

The "Good port"

We unloaded all the tools and parts, including the new switch panel and new battery. My main reason for the work was to continue on the new port installation, but when we pull the 2nd port out of the box (stupid me, I opened the one, liked it, happy with it, never even thought to open up and look at the 2nd one.) It was a different type altogether!

The "BAD port"

I purchased the ports on ebay, to save a little $$, ya know? Well... the warehouse screwed up and sent us the mismatched set. So by the time I called today and sorted it out, turns out they have sold out of the shiny stainless steel ones and only have the ugly black plastic/chrome ones!

They were nice about it, admitted their mistake and offered a full refund and return shipping on them. We had to choose a slightly different shape (which although changes the character of the boat from squinty eye sandpiper bird to a bit more wide-eyed sparrow look (sic)) but it's all shiny stainless and cost twice as much for brand new ports still in their plastic. They (ebay seller) took the hit and are sending those out ASAP for the same price including shipping.

Firefly daysail II & the lost weekend on TimeOut!

Well, more like an "ongoing mission" than just a day sail. Corey bowed out to hang with friends, so it was just Stacey, Rachel and I. We decided to head back to Degray Lake.

First we stocked up on ice at the Shell station off the freeway exit.

Then we headed toward Iron Mountain Marina to put in but the lake was up so high that the all of their ramps were closed, including the damsite spillway one!!

So we headed over to the State Park Marina. We were able to get good ramp clearance there again and proceeded to rig her for sail.

Sew Stacey: Strumstick Gig Bags

Sew Stacey: Strumstick Gig Bags: As if Strumsticks  aren't cool enough, I had to go and make them even cooler! Just a plain ole gig bag made of ripstop nylon was not ...

Happy with our Lehr 5hp Propane Outboard Motor

I'm not sure if we mentioned this item somewhere along the way, but now that we've been able to use it a few times, I thought I'd write a little about it.

The Lehr 5hp Propane Powered Outboard Motor. It's clean and green! It can use both 1 lb. and larger propane tanks. It doesn't require any winterizing (of the motor, we still change the oil and lower unit gear lube). It produces less exhaust, requires no oil like a two stroke, and is lighter weight than it's gasoline powered 4 stroke standard (52 lbs. vs. 75 lbs. and up!).

Even when we first got the motor and discovered that one of the latches was broken, the company responded quickly with an upgraded latch system and instructions on how to install. So we never had to involve a repair shop, or worse, have to ship it back to them! It was an easy fix!

Firefly gets her name! And a few other items are new, too!

"Everything's SHINY Cap'n!"

Edit: I feel the need to say more upfront that, yes, we named our boat after one of our favorite TV shows, Firefly. When we bought the boat, we put possible names to a vote at the dinner table. After much discussion, everyone agreed, especially our teen daughters, that we name her "Firefly". Serenity would have been nice too, but it's just such a cute little boat, it needed a cute little name. Firefly fits for many different reasons. First and foremost, the boat suffered and has now been lovingly restored. (as Mal said “Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse... but you take a boat in the 'air' (Sic) that you don't love... she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the 'air' when she ought to 'fall' down... tells you she's hurting before she keels. Makes her a home.”) We love our little Firefly!

As a graphic artist of over 20 years, I usually frown upon blatant theft of a logo or identity, but here, it seemed more like a tribute. Considering how most fans of the show feel, it fought hard to stay alive but was cancelled too soon by Fox. But it lives on in the hearts of millions of viewers. So with all that in mind, I felt that using the original TV show's typestyle behooved our "Tribute". I hope that it doesn't offend any fans or infringe on a trademark (too badly), but we, unabashedly so, love it and stand behind our decision! :)

Now! On with the boat blog!

Well, this Mother's Day weekend, the plan was to go for a little sail, possibly just over at Lake Maumelle. But we opted to take care of the house and lawn and a few other things. That included working on some boat projects. One that we really wanted to do, as a family, was to finally apply the boat's name graphics.

I started work cleaning up the mast and working on making the mast sleeve coupler slide better. It had been caked up with what looks like dry graphite, the kind locksmiths use to make locks turn better. Really the wrong kind of stuff in there. I'm guessing it was left over from the original owner as the most current previous owner said he used SailKote, which appears to be true from the white powdery stuff I saw on it as well. We'll be buying some new SailKote to use on that and the luff slides. We'd really like to fair and paint the mast as well, but that might be a next season thing. Making sure that it's fit, tightening bolts and checking fittings is enough for now.

Cushions, tables and WIND...Oh, MY!

A gorgeous day on the lake!

Well, after a rainy weekend mostly spent working indoors on a few odds and ends, we finally put Firefly back in the water...and on a moderately windy day! 13-15 mph winds. I never used to take my 1982 Catalina 25 out in more than 10 mph wind, but the 25 was a much more tender vessel than this stout build by Seaward/Hake Yachts!

The little Seaward Fox, at only 19 ft., 1300 lbs., held up much better under higher winds. With a reef in the main, I can imagine she can handle 20 knots easily!

Of those projects, Stacey continued working on the interior cushion slip covers. She finished the two small upper pillows and the cushion for the "Lounge Chair", plus one of the quarter berth cushions! They look great!

I worked on recreating the table that originally came with the boat, but with some modifications. Since we decided not to redo the v-berth at all and use that area only for storage, that meant that the table no longer had to function as a filler board for the berth cushions. So I made it a little thicker, smaller and added two cup holders! It's currently covered in WilsonArt brand laminate. I've yet to finish routing it out but that will be very soon!

The other "thing" I worked on did not fair very well under usage: a propane canister rack for the Lehr Propane Outboard motor we use on this boat. There's not enough room for them to stand upright in the storage lazarette, so I thought a "wine" style rack would work, but I have to modify the design slightly to get them to all stay put :( Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Firefly's getting her war paint on! Vinyl graphics are going on finally!

We're saving the name graphics for this weekend so our girls can be involved. As far as we know, the boat has never been officially named, so we'll be doing the naming ceremony on the water Saturday as well!

The vinyl was produced by my good friends Randi and Sherman at AdCraft of Arkansas, inc.! The best place in central arkansas to have vinyl graphics made, tshirts and other items screen printed and MORE! Check them out, I'm sure they can ship anywhere, too! AdCraft of Arkansas Website

TimeOut is back in the water!!

Well, after a long rainy and cold day on Friday, I finally got the boat yard to de-winterize and splash our 1998 Bayliner 2452 TimeOut! I took the day off just to get up there early and get it in so I could clean her up, but that didn't work out. They didn't want to do it in the rain, so we had to wait until there was an opening in the weather. Alls well that ends well!

Rodney Shockey, our boat guy, said "good thing you had that wiper in weather like this!" when he delivered the boat to me at our dock before I took the return trip to drop him off back at the ramp. He's right! This boat, along with that alaska cover, was made for weather like this!

We're excited to have a new slip this year as well! Far away from the awful breakwater and rude boaters who came in pretty hot with a huge wake that was unbearable to deal with. We're in much calmer waters now!

Even though the temps were still a little chilly, we left the alaska cover up and motored down to a new location on the far end of the lake as our shake down cruise!

Nearing completion!! Just a few more fine details and then she's on the water!

Here she is after a long hard weekend, but wait, let's start at the beginning… (see next photos!)

Another (hard!) weekend of work. Bodies aching, fingers sticky with 4200 adhesive, bruised and punished... ahhh, boat owner-ship! Not for the faint of heart!

We survived alright, just a bit tired, but man, what great work we accomplished. It really pays to make a list, and then not really follow it exactly but go with the flow, so to speak. We were very lucky that we didn't encounter any major setbacks, at least, nothing that we didn't find a way to work through, around, or "disguise" :)

All in all, we did some major "clean-up" so to speak of many projects that were under-way, under planning or otherwise delayed. The companionway boards are in, even though they may need some tweaking to get the fit they should, they are better than they ever have been AND they are installed: CHECK that off the list!

Spring has sprung...it's time to get back to work on Firefly!

With the super nice weather, this last weekend was our first chance to finally pull Firefly out of her garage and get back to work...and work we did! We mounted the new motor mount, polished the sides, installed the new dolphin striker, reinstalled the rudder and tiller. I also got the cabin hatch sliding smoothly and we rebedded the front eye hook for safety. A few more holes to fill, reinstall the cabin parts and get the companionway hatches reinstalled, finish the new mast support for the bow that Stacey has started designing based on another Fox owner's photos (Thanks QuietBoating.com). I also hope to get Firefly over to a welder to create a new stern/rudder mounted mast crutch at some point.

The things that will likely be left over this year until next season is the interior cushion recover, the electrical rewire/repower and some minor comfort odds and ends. Along with hopefully a trailering cover, new bimini and a cockpit table. New lifelines are on the list, ours are really ugly but...they will have to wait.