Our Last Prep Visit

We are once again on board in Port Charles Harbor. It's so good to be on the boat! We are feeling that Mara Beel is our home, and our houses are where we visit- a significant shift in perspective. 

We met up with Joe and Punk on "Carolyn Ann" and Linda and Fred on "Young America." Both couples are experienced Loopers and are heading up the Mississippi on their 37' Great Harbors. They are a treasure trove of knowledgeable and fun to be with!

We have a list of tasks to complete over the next several days. We hauled a lot of provisions and other "stuff" we will need on our journey.  Tomorrow a carpenter is coming to build some shelves in the lazarette (comparable to a basement) and also under the galley floor. These shelves will give us more convenient storage space. I'm excited! I've been organizing like crazy!

We also had the top surface of the lazarette hatch replaced as a result of rot.  It is true that everything on a boat is broken, but we just don't know it yet.

Today Mark and I replaced our interior lights with LED lights. The LEDs are more efficient, emitting more light while using less energy. The LEDs are supposed to last 10,000 hours, so we won't be replacing them any time soon, if at all.

The round light on the left is the LED. The old light is on the left.  The wine cork gives you an idea of size.

The new light, installed on the ceiling.

Our new anchor is here, a Rocna, so we have some work to do on that. We also need to wash and wax the boat (ugh) and install a battery monitoring system, among other things. We plan to leave here during the first week of September to resume our loop. Can't wait to get moving!