Yesterday we awoke to our boat being TOTALLY covered in mayflies. They swarmed in right after sundown and made themselves at home. This seems to happen to us somewhere along our travels each year at least once. Hoping that this will be the one and only time for this trip! The first hour and a half of the morning was spent using our small shop vac to vacuum the pesky things off of the carpets, bimini tops and the rest of the boat before departing.
Our planned trip was only for ~43 miles but it included two locks the second of which (Wilson Lock and dam) had restricted hours for locking recreational vessels. We called ahead to the first lock (Wheeler) and were told that they didn’t foresee any commercial traffic if we headed that way and were there within the next couple hours. We also called the second planned lock (Wilson) to ensure that the navigational posting was correct and they would only lock rec boats through three times a day (7am/1-3pm/7pm). They informed us that this was accurate. We headed out hoping to get through Wheeler early and leave plenty of time to be at Wilson by 1pm. Our planned destination of Florence Harbor was just a couple miles below Wilson lock.
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| Riva has really struggled to acclimate...lol |
The lockmaster gods were looking after us today much better than yesterday. We arrived at Wheeler lock and were hailed right into the open chamber where we quickly descended the 48' to the lower pool and were on our way toward Wilson Lock. When we exited Wheeler we called again to Wilson to check on what the barge traffic was looking like and whether they could tell us if the afternoon locking of rec boats would be closer to 1pm or 3pm. The lockmaster informed Renee that if we picked up our pace and could get there in the next 20 mins or so that he would lock us down with a small commercial tow. Nice!!!! This would shorten our trip and likely have us to Florence Harbor by shortly after noon. Things went as planned and about 10 mins after arriving at Wilson Lock we were allowed in and given a ride down to the Florence pool. The Wilson Lock is interesting on two levels; it is a very large drop (98 feet) and also rather than doors at the top it has a gate that is lowered beneath the surface of the water deep enough to allow boats into the chamber. This is the only lock we have seen like this of the hundred plus that we have traversed.
Couple of videos at the top and bottom of Wilson Lock
We arrived at Florence Harbor Marina at about 1pm and got safely secured in our slip for the night. This marina has a courtesy car that is available for use which was nice for us because we wanted to do a few errands. We hung out at the dock for a while and did boat chores; Erik washed the outside (remnants of the mayfly invasion) while Renee concentrated on the interior. We then relaxed in our lazy chairs in the A/C and took brief naps before heading out to run errands. The stackable washer/dryer at the marina was not working (Renee found out the hard way) so we loaded our laundry and while it was in the machines at a local laundry mat we went next door to a Chinese restaurant (The Rice Bowl) for a nice dinner of Chinese and Sushi. We left miserably full but very satisfied with the good grub. In the same shopping center as the food and laundry there was a small market that we walked to and got a few needed groceries.
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| This bird hung out around our slip both days occasionally letting out a loud squawk to let us know we were in his fishing grounds |
We headed back to the marina where we enjoyed a cup of coffee before retiring. Erik planned to awaken early to attempt to figure out why our onboard generator was not working. The next several legs of the journey we are planning to anchor out so it would be really nice to have it functioning as it should.
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| Our Nemo track for the day |
Tuesday 6/7 - Day/night 2 at Florence Harbor
Erik awoke at his usual dark thirty and was busy by 5am digging into the generator to diagnose what the issue was . He awoke Renee and Riva about 5:30 when he made his first attempt at starting it after checking wire connects, filters etc. No luck :-( Based on a single clicking noise that it was making when the fuel pump manual switch was used he thought there was a good chance that the electric fuel pump was bad.
We utilized the courtesy car and went to a local AA meeting at 7am before heading to an auto parts store and Lowes to get new spark plugs, starter fluid and some material to make screens for the windows. It was nice to get to a meeting. We had been to that same meeting four years ago when we were here and really enjoyed it. Our old friend, Gary "Buck" Buckwater (now gone but not forgotten) used to often say, "Seven days without a meeting makes one week (or one weak)". He was correct and it had been 10 days since we had been to a meeting. Was nice to be amongst friends.
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| TGCHHO We believe this same picture is in our blog from four years ago when we visited Yep....still pertains |
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| Love and tolerance of others Renee needed to apply this in dealing with Erik turning wrenches and busting up knuckles today |
Back at the boat, the generator would start when starter fluid was sprayed in the carb, but it would only run for a few seconds until that fluid was used up. This pretty much confirmed that the issue was with the pump. We made calls to multiple marine service shops and RV/marine generator shops only to determine that the needed fuel pump was not stocked anywhere. Additionally, we were informed by the one marine service shop that even Onan (generator manufacture) said the pump was out of stock....ugh. At about 2pm a gentleman from Duke Marine Service whom we had spoken with earlier in the morning stopped by the marina to take a look and tell us what he thought. After 30 mins of diagnostics he also determined the pump was bad. He left to go back to his shop (only 1/2 mile from our marina) and check with his suppliers. He returned to the marina about 45 minutes later with a used fuel pump that he pulled off an old generator at his shop. Nice guy! He only charged us $50 for his time and the pump which was a great deal. Erik spent the next couple hours removing the old pump (and busting up his knuckles.....he LOVES working on engines....NOT!) and installing the new one. Finally, at about 6pm the generator was back up and running. Another accomplishment for the day was to make and install two new screens for the windows in the salon area.
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| The culprit bad fuel pump on the generator The pic doesn't do justice to just how tight of a spot it was in to work on |
Riva had been acting funny and not eating well. Renee suspected she had a urinary tract infection. She had called around to a bunch of vets earlier in the day but all were booked up. There was one emergency clinic not far away that opened at 6pm and would start taking walk ins on first come first serve basis. After indulging in a nice taco salad dinner that Renee cooked up we again headed out in the courtesy car to the clinic. Renee's diagnosis of Riva's issue was as good as Erik's on the generator fuel pump and the vet confirmed a UTI. It is official, both boating AND dog ownership while traveling is expensive. An hour and $260 later we left the vet clinic with antibiotics for the Diva. She is worth every penny though!
Back at the boat we touched base with Erik's Dad to see how there trip was going from their home in Mazatlan Mexico eventually to Ohio, but, with a side trip through Kentucky to pick us up. They are currently in Waco TX. After talking through our current schedule with him we determined that we would touch base again Thursday afternoon to make final meet up arrangements in Kentucky; likely on Saturday.
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| In the marina shower room hallway there is a cool board with a large map of the US showing home ports of all the AGLCA members who have stayed here at Florence Harbor I apparently messed up in taking the pic of the west coast side of the board |
It has been a busy couple days and we are HOPING to depart Florence Harbor tomorrow. BUT, as we write the thunder is clapping and the forecast for tonight and tomorrow is not favorable for boat travel . They are calling for strong storms with high winds and hail. Not exactly a 'go' day for us. We will see what happens tomorrow.
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