Ranger Tug 21ec "Lil' Green Tug"

Mansions on the ICW north of Vero Beach Yesterday was blustery and chilly, with winds out of the north at a steady 17 knots. It was the day I decided to head north from the Vero Beach City Marina on the Indian River (also known as the Indian River Lagoon and forming a part of the Intracoastal Waterway) to Sebastian, Florida. It's a short, 14 mile trip. The charts show the channel meandering through mangrove islands, but just north of Vero Beach it passes by beautiful mansions on the barrier island to the east, estates you never see driving north on highway A1A past the high concrete and hedge fences, past the gated communities. There were several pods of porpoise, there were cormorants coming up in front of the boat with wiggling fish in their beaks which they flipped around until the head was pointing down their throats and then down-the-hatch so to speak, and a manatee, my first sighting of one. It was a dark grey hulk just below the surface. I'm not entirely sure that&

Rain, rain, and more rain! The Vero Beach City Marina mooring field has over 100 boats, and just about everyone is hunkered down below decks waiting for the rain and wind to stop. Some come ashore in their dingy all bundled up in foul weather gear to do the laundry or catch the free bus to Publix to do some grocery shopping, but for the most part the marina is pretty much empty of people ashore. A week ago, we had 4-inches of rain in one 24-hour period, a record for that particular calendar day. But I really don't mind the rain so much. I have a nice, new lightweight, breathable rain jacket with a hood that keeps me dry when I go outside, and my nylon cargo shorts dry quickly enough. The boat I'm on (a Ranger Tug 21ec) stays dry below decks. In all of the sailboats I've owned over the years, hatches and windows leaked, and condensation built up inside along with mold, but this little boat is as tight as a drum. I have a small electric space heater that takes away the

My first night aboard, I twisted and turned, and couldn't sleep. I couldn't figure it out! I had lived aboard a sailboat for a year back on the Chesapeake Bay, and I was always comfortable, even with a fresh coat of snow on the deck and no heat. Around 3:00 in the morning, I got up and pulled my cargo shorts on and walked to the car. First stop--Walmart for a fluffy pillow and a foam mattress topper. Next stop--International House of Pancakes for some comfort food (I was really needing it!) Back to the boat at 5:00 in the morning (at that hour of the night there are absolutely no cars about in downtown Vero Beach!) and after a hot shower at the Marina facilities, I set about making my bedroom afloat comfortable. I cut the foam mattress to fit the v-berth and covered it with a sheet. Then I unzipped the sleeping bag and spread it out like a comforter. Lastly, I fluffed up the new pillow, kicked off my shoes and climbed back in bed. Ahh, the comfort. I slept soundly for four

Launching at Taylor Creek Marina. By now, I should know the drill: call ahead and Taylor Creek Marina in Fort Pierce will launch the boat. Not much to it! But I always get butterflies in my stomach the first trip of the boating season. Will the engine start? Will it keep running? Have I thought of everything? I was even more nervous than usual because I hadn't purchased Sea Tow or Boat US towing insurance for this season. I've been boating for 40 years and never missed it -- now I feel at risk without it. I may buy it. I'll decide later. Previous boats have been sailboats, so if the engine conked out, I could always sail home. Approaching Vero Beach City Marina, kind of a tricky entrance running along the Route 60 bridge. In about a minute, "Lil' Green Tug" was launched, the engine fired right up, and I was out on the azure-blue, tropical waters of the Indian River. The wind was from astern at about 10 knots, and a nice cooling breeze blew through

Condo in Vero Beach, Florida. In Indiana it's a chilly 46F degrees. Fall leaves are turning yellow, red and orange. Winter will soon be in the air, and streets and sidewalks will soon be coated with snow and ice! But here in the South it's hard to imagine all that. I have made my long-planned escape from the Mid-West winter to Vero Beach, Florida. Here it's a pleasant 78F degrees with a nice breeze blowing through the open condo windows. The plan is to take Lil' Green Tug out of storage in Fort Pierce next week and put her on a maintenance rack to wax the hull. The black water holding tank needs some attention. I'm not sure how to clean it other than to fill it with fresh water and bleach. But what to do then? I can't discharge the tank while I'm on the rack, and I shouldn't do it while underway. I want to discharge the water and bleach through the overboard hose line since there is some residual sewage in there causing an odor. The odor isn'

I first discovered Vero Beach Municipal Marina 20 years ago while helping deliver a sailboat from the Chesapeake to Miami. After four days at sea, and four days of constant seasickness, we finally pulled in at Cape Canaveral and motored south to Vero Beach. The marina was like an oasis, lush and green, well kept, and the moorings were well protected from tropical storms. I remember it as being the highlight of the trip, and I vowed that someday I would be back. It took a while, but I'm finally here! John Holland unhooks the boat while the forklift operators decide how they will offload it. John Holland towed the boat from the Chesapeake this past week, arriving at Fort Pierce, Florida, on Wednesday. The forklift operator put the boat on an outside maintenance rack where I did some cleaning and made some upgrades. I intend to keep the boat here at Taylor Creek Marina in indoor storage for the hurricane season which lasts from June through the end of November. Solar

It was a long, cold winter in Indiana. My bedroom walls were covered with photographic prints of Lil' Green Tug anchored on the Patapsco River last summer, bobbing in the warm Chesapeake sun, while six inches of snow was falling outside my windows. But this will be my last dreary winter. I've made plans to bring the boat to Florida to live aboard next winter. Vero Beach Municipal Marina I got a fair price on uShip.com for towing the boat south, and it should be arriving in two weeks. I've already made my escape, arriving a few days ago at a condo community in Vero Beach. It was a sunny 81 degrees here today, 59 drizzly degrees back in Indiana. Once the boat arrives at an indoor storage facility in Ft. Pierce, I'll give it a good cleaning and waxing, and install the solar panel on the Igloo cooler on the stern swim platform. Over the winter I had the marina in Pasadena, Maryland, connect the two air-conditioner batteries to the one house battery, tripling the h

Lil' Green Tug at Pleasure Cove Marina, Pasadena, Maryland Saturday, September 08, 2012 Beautiful fall day, sunny, breezy, not humid, about 82 degrees here at Pleasure Cove Marina in Pasadena, Maryland. Been siphoning out the drain pan on the air-conditioner. It fills up after a night with the air on. I think there is a drain line that is disconnected or clogged. This is the first perfect day on the boat weatherwise--sunny, not too hot. I’m just laying back, enjoying the breeze. Been lazy all morning. It's 5 pm, and there is a severe thunder storm and downpour. I was out for supper in the car when the front blew through. I waited under the boat racks for 20 minutes for a slight pause in the rain. Been thinking, "This boat is perfect for Vero Beach, Florida—good for tooling up and down the ICW with friends, good for crabbing, big enough to live aboard for a few winter months. Maybe I’ll plan on moving it down next spring." At anchor, St. Michae

Anchored at Baltimore's Inner Harbor Thursday, August 30, 2012 Motored to Baltimore from Pleasure Cove Marina in Pasadena, Maryland. My favorite dinghy dock by the water taxi next to the submarine had signs all over it, “No dinghies. Dinghies towed away”. What a disappointment!  I tied the dinghy up there for over 20 years every time I visited the Inner Harbor. I rowed back to the boat, and the paddle-boat concession owner zoomed up in his rowboat. "You will have to move out of the paddle-boat area."  I thought the orange buoys were marking the anchorage field. Oh well, moved out about another 50 feet. I called the dock-master on the vhf.   “You can tie up your dinghy anywhere but pier 4.” I thought that wasn't so bad--I could tie up the dinghy at a bulk head, just a bit more of a row. This weekend was the Grand Prix race. Things were jumpin’! I rowed ashore and scoped out the race course through the city streets. When I  got back to my dinghy, there was a

Monday, August 20, 2012 Motored to Annapolis from Pleasure Cove Marina in Pasadena, Maryland. 43.5 hours on the engine hour meter on arrival, about 2.5 hours en route. Tachometer/hour meter stopped working but started working again after shutting off the engine. The engine hours appeared to be accumulating OK. Logged onto Annapolis Wireless at $12/mth, a bargain. Pusser's restaurant on the Annapolis waterfront. Friday, August 24, 2012 Nice seeing Bill and Linda yesterday, friends from the past. Except for all of us looking a bit older, it was like time had never passed. We just picked up the conversation were we left it in 1992. Ate at Pussers. Had a rum punch. Not sure if it was the drink, or just being around old friends again, but I felt depressed after they left. Felt like getting off the boat. This morning I’m happy and content. Dinghied ashore, had breakfast at Chick and Ruth's Delly on Main Street, about the only spot in Annapolis with reasonable prices

Luv Tug , soon to be renamed Lil' Green Tug, on the Delaware River Saturday, July 21, 2012 Have had a few good days to check over the boat here at Winter’s Sailing in Riverside, NJ, on the Delaware River north of Philadelphia. Installed three new batteries, charger is working and properly set for flooded or AGM batteries, changed oil and filter, new zincs on the running gear. All safety gear is aboard. Been learning to use the GPS. Hope to leave with the falling tide (tidal range is about 12 feet!) at around 6:00am tomorrow. Tanks topped up. 27.9 hours on the meter. Will head south on the Delaware River to the C&D Canal. Will refuel at Summit North Marina halfway through the Canal, and then head for Pasadena, MD. May stop for the night at Worton or Fairlee, but hope to make it in one day. Sunday, July 22, 2012 Left Riverside NJ at 6:45am, arrived Fairlee Creek around 5:15pm. 2.5 knots favorable current on the Delaware. SOG 10.7 knots! Filled up the fuel tank halfway