Back in Vero Beach for the Winter

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't too bad, but it's enough to be noticeable.

Fresh coat of bottom paint.
I drove the 15 miles south from Vero Beach to Fort Pierce today and saw the boat with it's fresh red bottom paint for the first time. I wasn't so sure red was a good color choice, but after seeing it, I really like it. The batteries were at about 80% charge (12.5 volts). They had only been charged once in the last five months, so I was worried they would be dead. It looks like they will last for another season. That's a relief!

On November 1st, after the maintenance is complete and the boat launched, I'll motor up to the Vero Beach City Marina. My tenants move into the condo for the winter on November 15th, and that's when I will move aboard Lil' Green Tug.

Palms outside the condo door.


Morning at South Beach, Vero Beach, Florida.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 6, 2013 at 8:20 AM

    Hi Jim.
    I got word that I start my new contract this coming Monday. I found out there is a good Indian buffet in West Little Rock called Star of India.
    We were supposed to get 2 to 6 inches of snow yesterday. It rained all day and
    we probably got sleet last night. There was a quarter inch of inch on my car when
    I got up this morning.

    Phil

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim AckertNovember 6, 2013 at 8:57 AM

    Hi Phil,
    Good to hear about the job. There is an Indian/Greek restaurant here in Vero Beach, but it is expensive and not so good. I don't miss the snow, that's for sure!
    Jim

    ReplyDelete

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