Finding Neverland

We moved the daily updates HERE!

 Hello friends and family! This will be a shorter than normal post as today we made it back to Chattanooga and we are so tired we can barely think straight! Yesterday, we woke up around 6:45am which put us a little behind on time getting to the first lock around 7:45, however, the first couple of locks yesterday were actually on the smaller side and the last couple actually went down rather than up which allowed us to gain some time. After making it through the locks the canal quickly opened up into Oneida Lake which we had to cross in its entirety. During the last hour of the crossing we ran into a mild storm that had us really pushing for the finish line. When we reached Ess-Kay Yards in Brewerton, New York just north of Syracuse, it was pouring rain while we were tying the boat off. Once Dad ran inside to talk with the marina owners we figured out what time we needed to wake up for our 6:30am flight and then quickly went to bed. This morning we flew out of the Syracuse Airport with

Hello Friends and Family!           This morning we woke up just before 7am to catch the lock right after Amsterdam, New York. We were expecting to have company by the time we made it down to the lock, since it is beneficial to start your day when the locks open, and the two boats that ran with us earlier in the canal were at the free dock right before the lock. Nevertheless, we passed them on the way to the lock and we assume they decided to sleep in, which allowed us to lock through the whole day alone. Right after Amsterdam there were 2 locks right away, and then three locks pretty evenly spaced out with some little-no-name towns in between. Today went very smoothly as we had the locks pretty much down pat and had a pretty good understanding of what to do and how to be efficient. However, two or three of the locks today were tricky because of a difference in their water fill location. The normal locks have fill ports on each side of the lock. This means that when the lockmaster rais

 Hello Friends and Family!          Today started early at around 6:45am in Waterford, New York at lock #2 at the start of the Erie Canal. Right at 7:00am the first lock opened, and luckily enough we were able to squeeze behind two other boats and catch the first lock of the day on time. The other two boats that ran with us through the first 5 or 6 locks together were from South Carolina and Alabama. After the first lock there were 4 more right away which is called the "Waterford Flight" of locks. The locks were much easier and faster than the earlier lock in Troy, New York. This left us optimistic knowing that if we timed them right that there wouldn't be much time spent waiting. A quick fuel stop in Schenectady Lots of today seemed the same with us going through 9 locks total and the Erie Canal looking honestly pretty dull the whole way through to where we are now in Amsterdam, New York. We are in a tricky position because none of the locks on this leg of the trip are o

 Hello Friends and Family!           We apologize for not updating the blog last night, however, after a 15 hour day on the water we were more than ready to turn in for the night. We spent the night just south of Jones Point on the Hudson River at anchorage near Peekskill, NY last night. Don't let the moniker "anchorage" fool you however, this is basically just anchoring on the side of the river in a spot that is known to be somewhat calmer than the main channel. Throughout the night we did not get much sleep as we were worried that the anchor would drag and have us either in the main channel in the line of fire of a commercial ship or in the rocky faced bank. We "woke up" in the morning to the boat in the relatively same spot and headed out at 5am. Despite the sleepless night and the early start, when we rounded the bend the sunrise met us at the Bear Mountain Bridge and rewarded us with a stunning view to start our Saturday voyage.  View in front of Bear Mount

          Hello Friends and Family! Today began early in the AM in New Rochelle, New York with a breakfast that consisted of calculating out the right time to hit Hell Gate which is the intersection just before Roosevelt Island where the Harlem River meets the East River. We went back and forth for 30 or so minutes debating the time and eventually decided that we needed to head out around 8:45 AM. This decision was tricky because not only is it essential to hit Hell Gate at slack tide (calm tide), it is also extremely important to have the current going with you once you round the corner at The Battery (near World Trade Center and Financial District on the tip of Manhattan) because the current in these waters can be about as fast or faster as Neverland can go. Eventually, we pulled out of the marina, signaled to the draw bridge man that we needed a lift, and we were on our way into the port of New York City.           Upon leaving the marina and turning right onto the East River, we ro

 Hello friends and family!  We got an early start this morning, grabbing some fuel for our new reserve starboard fuel tank and leaving the marina at 7:15 am.  Nervous is the best way to describe the morning as we headed West down Long Island Sound. Slowly, the hours passed and we began to gain some confidence that the issue with the fuel was resolved. It was a beautiful day in the water, however we had a 4 foot following sea as we neared Bridgeport, which essentially feels like Neverland is surfing waves. After 9 hours, the New York City skyline came into view. We worked out way back to a small marina that we lucked up on in New Rochelle, passing under a drawbridge to get to the dock. We met a real character at the dock who insisted on showing us the charts for tomorrow, offered to grill us some burgers, and drove us into town for supplies.  Thanks, Mike! Tonight it’s some navigation work for tomorrow under a beautiful sunset.

 We've been stranded for days at sea, surviving on raw fish we speared with a stick whittled from a piece of deck railing...Jackson may have salmonella...losing his will to live minute by minute... Just kidding..we needed some comedy relief! We left the marina this morning at 10:45 after the mechanic bled the fuel system.  We were sure the cause of the air in the lines was due to a loose filter cap and after bleeding we idled for an hour before heading out. Jackson looking for options Three miles later...we lost power...the same exact way...Neverland just slowed then stopped.  Another tow back to the marina. Not our favorite view Bill, our wonderful mechanic, came down right away and began looking over other possible reasons for loss of fuel.  Then he found it.  We have been running the entire time off of the starboard fuel tank..none from the port tank...the valve was off to that side and the fuel gauge is only looking at that tank, which showed almost full.  So, essentially, we r

 Good evening family and friends! We launched this morning around 9:30.  The guys with the lift are really interesting to watch as they haul the boat to the lift site. All systems go!  Neverland started right up and we did a quick check on the transmission before heading out to make sure the repairs were good.  We left Cedar Island at around 9:45 and the boat is so much smoother without all that rope around the prop! The ocean was a little choppy, as winds were out of the south west.  It's incredible how much less vibration is in the boat.  The engine was definitely working easier to keep us up to our top speed of 6 knots. Beautiful down Long Island Sound...until we lost power.  We came to a stop and the diesel just let didn't want to start again.  After doing some preliminary checks, our only option was to call Tow Boat and ttake a tow into a marina to see what is going on. The mechanics won't be able to look until first thing in the morning, so for the night we are enjoy

 Good morning, family and friends.  A long couple of days behind us.  We arrived in Connecticut  on Sunday afternoon and spent most of it continuing to finish up with the mechanical work. A quick trip for some items we needed On Monday, the goal was to pull the flywheel to check behind it.  We needed to make sure any bits of metal from the old damper plate weren't hiding back there.  The flywheel came off easy, and we found all the remaining bits of metal that were unaccounted for.  Everything was cleaned and ready for reassembly.  I had been so worried about the flywheel removal being difficult, I didn't even think about how hard reinstalling would be.  That thing is HEAVY (edit:  i’ve discovered it weighs 86 pounds!) and must be aligned just right to bolt up.  After 2 hours of Jackson working the little crane lift and me pushing and pulling, it finally set into place!  Yay! New damper plate installed! went well after that, until the very last bolt.  The starter had been remov

 Spent the weekend changing out the broken damper plate.  What a job!  Things went fairly well, although I ended up spending a LOT of time on a stuck bellhousing bolt, and then needed to construct a small crane to help lift the transmission out of the way.  I ran out of time before things could be reassembled, and I needed to order a small scope so that I can inspect the area behind the flywheel to make sure no pieces of the old part managed to get behind it.  We will be heading up soon to finish reassembly and get the next leg going!

Well, bad news. The boat cannot be fixed immediately. We will need to track down the part and see when it can be lined up for installation. So the boat is going to be here in Connecticut for a time. It's sad, but we are really thankful that Neverland will be kept in a very safe spot until repairs can be made. Also very thankful that the issue happened at a marina and not out in an exposed area. We'll be heading back to Chattanooga now!

Ready to head out at 6:00 am this morning. When we placed the boat in gear, we heard a disturbing sound coming from the engine room. Based on what it sounded like, I think we've lost the flex plate that sits like a clutch between the engine and transmission. A mechanic here at the marina is coming down shortly to listen and see if that is the issue. So, looks like we'll be here for a bit figuring out how/when/where to get it fixed. Adventures always have unexpected problems!

Hi friends and family! Got an early start today and it paid off! Woke at 4:45 am and pulled up anchor at 5:25 am. We hit the Atlantic when she was in a very good mood, nice and calm..and even glassy when we got to Fishers Island. We put in a lot of miles today, but were planning on going a lot further. At noon we received a weather bulletin for possible storms in Long Island Sound in the afternoon. Rather than try to deal with that, we ducked in to a marina in Clinton, CT for the afternoon. Turns out...no weather at all...which cost us quite a bit of cruising time. We made the most of it. We filled up our water tank, did some laundry and got some real food at a nice restaurant. We both need sleep very badly, so an early evening is in store. We are planning on an early wake up and plan to get as many miles tomorrow as we can. We'll see how far we get!

Hi friends and family! Totally exhausted so this will be quick. We really wanted to get an early start, but mother nature had different plans. FOG. We woke up to a real pea-souper. We didn't even fire the engine up until 9:30, and even then we had to proceed very carefully. Made it to Newport for refuelling, then down to Port Judith where we have found a nice anchorage. BIG waves today. I'm hoping we have the worst behind us. Going to try for an early start tomorrow!

 A quick little 30 minute run down the Providence River before rafting Neverland up with Neil's boat Brasil.