The Zen of Battery Maintenance, 9-22-2014

Monday, September 22, 2014

We arose to a beautiful day, but knowing that we would be marina bound.  Tim made some eggs for breakfast, and we settled to wait until 10 AM so that he could talk to the mechanic at the shop about the batteries, and Kathy could take the courtesy van from the marina to the grocery and drug stores across the river.

Kathy set out on her journey by crossing the river on a narrow 2 lane bridge.  She was told that if she tried to walk across the bridge, the local police would issue a ticket. This wouldn't be an issue for Ms. Acrophobia. There was no way she would be walking. Even driving across the bridge was terrifying for Kathy. But errands needed to be done. So she pressed on with her shopping mission.

On the way back, she headed over the bridge tailgating a semi, her eyes fixed on the back of the truck.  It helped her some.

Meanwhile, back at the marina, Tim consulted with the marina's mechanic.  Sure enough, the #1 battery was not holding a charge.  Luckily, the marina store had batteries in stock, but not the type currently installed in Sea Fever. Unluckily, the battery charger and alternator needed a matched set of batteries. So we had to buy two batteries and the boat's battery charger needed to be reprogrammed too.  So, Tim had his work cut out for him! 

A fellow mariner whose boat was also busted came by to chat.  He imparted a few words of wisdom: “On a boat, everything is broke, ya just don’t know it yet.” Ain't that the truth.

The engine and batteries are in a very small compartment underneath the cockpit that we sometimes call "The Well".  Those of you who have seen us work this summer know that Tim was usually in "The Well" installing the Kathy Anderson Memorial water heater, or new water filters, or, or, or…  Now he was back in the well wrestling with new batteries.




Tim changing batteries in "The Well" in Louisiana, MO

 

Tim and batteries

 

We finished up our chores, and tried to find a marina for Wednesday night.  We decided on Grafton, IL.  It is a long way off, and we estimate that it could take us 10 hours.  There are two locks between Two Rivers and Grafton.  Passage through each of them could be an hour, could be two.  It just depends.

We had Jiffy Pop for supper, and went to bed. Off to Grafton in the morning.

Backstory

There is a bit of history to the “Tim is in the well” saying.  We have friends that we met at our home marina, in Lake City.  Mom and Dad (the Fossums), daughter Liv (a proud age 10), and Trixie the wonder dog.

Trixie is an Australian Shepherd, and herds other dogs and her people (including us) whenever she can. At our home marina, when Tim is grinding  away to get things done on Sea Fever, and the Fossums, Kathy, and others are assembled on Stuart and Nancy’s boat, Grand Cru II, having  an end of sailing day happy hour, we would say to Trixie “Trixie, Tim is in the well.  Go get Tim”.  Trixie bounds off Grand Cru II, rushes three slips down to Sea Fever, heads down the finger dock, and barks until Tim gets out of the well and joins us.

We had the good fortune to take care of Trixie in our St. Paul home several times over the last couple years.   Sometimes it was for a couple of days.  Once it was for a week.  We weren’t certain that we were going to give Trixie back after the week of dog parks, walking, and having Trixie nap with Tim. But as soon as she heard the family Subaru pull up in front of the house, she was down in the foyer barking in excitement to see her “peeps”, and there was no choice but to give her back.

We were rewarded for our efforts with Trixie 2, heretofore called T2.  




Trixie waiting to leave on the Great Adventure

We took T2 on our car trip to Florida, in 2013, and she seemed to enjoy travel.  She is our mascot on Sea Fever for this Great Adventure, as well.  She reads charts...

Trixie reading a page in the upper Mississippi chart book

Listens to the marine radio...

Trixie hailing Lock and Dam #19

and sometimes lends encouragement in the steering department...



Trixie helping Tim keep Sea Fever in the channel

You will see more of T2 as we continue our adventure.

Thanks for reading.