Best laid plans...

...are never what you expect. Just after when the detailing started on the boat in earnest, I had the lovely pleasure of finding out that some patrons of the restaurant next door had complained about the view/noise/dust from the buffers. They didn't think it appropriate that their view of the marina was marred by seeing people working on our boat! I have to admit that I was rather taken aback, but...as I didn't want to ruffle anyone's feathers with the condo management nor with the neighbors, work with the buffers ceased, and hand-cleaning and polishing of the brightwork commenced until we could figure out how to handle the situation. We had the legal right to do the work there, and work was being done on other boats at the marina, but...we didn't want to get anyone upset with our being there, either. 

As it turned out, thankfully, the detailing company had ties with another marina that could handle Equinox, so on Friday morning after Ron's return, we moved the boat to get the boat work done. While it was frustrating that we had to move it at all, it was great that we were getting the work done! Of course, moving the boat was no simple matter. While the weather was gloriously calm (for a change!!) Murphy's Law still reigned, as the 20 kW genset refused to start! The mechanic aboard on Thursday had not only changed the oil in the main engines, but also changed the gen set oil (which unfortunately was not needed, as Ron had just done it...my mistake on not realizing that). But, the mechanic had not bled the air out of the fuel system adequately, either, and so the generator refused to start. 

So, we spent a good half-hour bleeding the fuel lines so we could have the use of our hydraulic bow thruster, which is powered by the 20 kW generator. The bow-thruster is a necessity since our hull is hull so deep and affected by currents quite a bit. While bleeding the fuel lines was frustratingly slow, it was a smart decision to get the genset running again, as there was a good current pushing through the other marina when we arrived. Without a bow-thruster, we would have been in a world of hurt trying to pivot and get into the slip!! 

SO...it was a busy day! After moving Equinox and getting her settled in at the other marina, we spent the day dealing with the myriad of other details that needed attention. We had hoped to pilot Eclipse, our inflatable, up the Indian River back home from the dealer, but nasty rain and thunderstorms moving in from the west shot down that idea. So, we returned to focusing on more hurricane preparedness: how to secure Tingum should a storm arise. Ron had done a lot of ground work already, visiting several car dealers and trailer places to find both a strong trailer large enough to handle Tingum's weight, and find an appropriate sized SUV able to pull Tingum. After a bit more running about, by the end of the day, we had a great trailer and...a new Toyota Sequoia with a towing capacity of 10000 lbs! I bid a sad good bye to my beloved X5, which we traded in, and mourned the loss of my much admired, fun bumper stickers:

This was my favorite! I shall miss it...

After a well-deserved soak in the hot tub, dinner was a delicious delivery pizza from Jack and Tony's, along with a good bottle of red wine. After the busy day we had, followed by an early bed time!