Tim has been focusing his time in the engine room. One of his major goals this summer has been to refigure our battery bank. To complete this project, Tim needed to locate 10 Trojan T105 AGM batteries. He couldn’t find them locally, but we were able to find a supplier in Lansing. Road Trip!!! Lansing is about a 3 1/2 hr drive south. Not bad, but when you add in time to load 10 batteries, stops for lunch and fuel and the drive back, it would be a long day. No problem now that we have the RV. I found Peacock Rd. Family Farm through the Harvest Host site, and we were off.
Peacock Rd. Family Farm was just 30 min. outside of Lansing and what a fun, cute place. The major crop here is Christmas trees, but there are soooo many more things to see and do.
The owners, Ed and Diana, welcomed us and invited us to wander around and enjoy. In normal (non COVID) years, they are visited by over 1200 local school kids who come out to learn about growing trees and to enjoy the wonderful critters. Ed told us they had over 40 weddings scheduled for this year that they had to cancel due to the pandemic. I think they were happy to have company. Can you tell from all the pics that we had a great time?
After our fun road trip, it was time to get back to work. Tim replaced the 6 old inverter T105 batteries with Trojan T105 AGM batteries. He rewired the ground system to install a Magnum battery monitoring kit so he can measure the amps coming in and out of the batteries to determine the battery state of charge. He’ll use the remaining 4 Trojans to replace the four 8D 165 lb batteries so we can have separate starting batteries for both engines. Together we also changed the oil in both engines and generator and changed the fluid in both transmissions.
In my last post, we had begun installing new retractable bug screens for our two side doors. We’re very pleased with the results.
Meanwhile, my primary focus has been the exterior teak. I have sanded and prepped the cockpit, rear deck and the port side. I will leave the starboard side to a time when we are not docked on that side. It’s all ready for Awlwood clear gloss, unfortunately though the weather has not been cooperating. I need temps in at least the mid to high 60s when I apply the gloss. I’d also prefer winds below 15 and that has not been the case here the last few days. The remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal have given us winds 20 to 40 mph and a cold front dropped in for a visit bringing temperatures down in the 40s with us barely making the 60s during the day.
So we continue with our chores and talk about the cruising to come. With Canada sounding like they’ll extend their border restrictions, we are looking at places to go within the US. More and more, we’re talking about Lake Superior at the end of July/early August. Our friends, the Reinkens, have been there before and would go with us. We’ll see. Gotta get these chores done first.
does tim still hold you by your ankles and lower you down behind the port engine to change the filters?
No, just the starboard filters.
Seems like the RV acquisition was well-timed … you may get more use out of it this season than Subject to Change is going to see! But she’ll be looking good and running like a dream when you’re done with all of your boat chores, and it’s a plus that you have cooler weather for your labors. I can’t wait until we can cruise together again!