the terminus of our summer travels.

This will be the final posting labeled "Summer 2010".  The rains continue to fall here in Wilmington, NC.  I’ve timed my haul out with record setting rainfalls for the area, 22.5” in four days.  The rain delay has provided plenty of time to ruminate on our summers travels.   At times I am buoyed by the memories, other times I am saddened that the earth below C’est la Vie marks the terminus of our summer travels.   I’m eager to get started on projects in the hope that the work will spark my wanderlust for future travels and ports of call.

I’ve ordered the GMI10 display and a Airmar transducer that speaks NEMA2000.  GEMECO is the only vendor from which I can procure an appropriate transducer (the B122 can accommodate a 30 degree deadrise and speaks NEMA2000).   Oddly GEMECO does not sell displays , so I went to GPSonSale and was able to purchase a new GMI10 for $100 less that listed on the Garmin website.

On a second project front all the rain has aided me in identifying the location of a starboard side leak that drips into the quarter berth.  The leak that first appeared in late August is in the leading edge of the large lexan salon windows that I installed 3 years ago.

I’m headed back to watching the rain fall.  More updates on fall projects to come.

Rain Delay on Haul-Out Day

In the image above, Bud is at the helm as we motor past the USS Battleship North Carolina in the Cape Fear River.  After a 24 hour rain delay due to 9.5 inches of rain yesterday in Wilmington, NC, we traveled up the Cape Fear River this morning to haul out at Cape Fear Boat Works.  The trip up river, 4.7NM from my recent dockage in downtown Wilmington, took under an hour.  The haul-out was uneventful.  C’est la Vie was hauled, power washed, and blocked by 13:00.

The project list is still in the process of firming up, but once finished with lunch we immediately attacked the depth transducer.  Removing the old transducer is step one in installing a new depth sounder.   Chisels, channel locks, and hammers eventually overcame the 15 year old 5200, and C’est la Vie is now one transducer lighter with a 1” hole in her hull.  Ultimately the project will require us to enlarge the hole to 2”, but that is a few steps ahead.  First I need to order the new system.    With the old transducer in hand and a much better understanding of the dimensions and area in which the new system will need to be installed, Bud and I spent some time reviewing options via the internet.  Currently I am leaning towards a Garmin GMI 10 display with a intelliducer sensor.  If anyone out there has had experience with this system I would be eager to hear your comments.

Looks like the weather is going to provide me with lots of time to create the project, shop for supplies, and order a new depth sounder as the area is forecast to receive another 10 inches of rain over the next 48 hours due to the passage of (soon to be named Nicole?) tropical depression.