Well the first snow fell and everything is freezing up. Two weeks to go but it cannot come soon enough. We are down to one heater on the boat now.  We used to run two heaters off of one shore power outlet and the rest of our electric needs off of the other shore power outlet, but the heaters overheated our adaptor cable and fried it. So we replaced that but now only have the kerosine heater running.  It's a brisk 48 degrees in the boat now.  We figure this will make good practice for our January voyage tho.
We thought about pushing back the departure date to March 1st to avoid the freezing temperatures. But we are too close and too ready to wait any longer. So Christine put in her two week notice at work today, which is very brave and exciting. Let's go!
In other news I finally installed the Garmins transducer. Hopefully we will be able to catch some fish now
We have worked very hard for this over the last 2 years and we are almost there. Our to do list now consists of installing a gas gauge, running a safety line along the boat so that we can remain clipped in at all times, provisioning and inventorying. This to do list looks amazing compared to the 100 item one that we started with and eventually grew to 200 items. For a recap here are the checked off items!
DONE, May 09 anchor chain - rusted and broken, replace with 22ft 5/16 galvanized chain
DONE, June 09 clean minor corrosion from stuffing box hardware aft of engine, clean engine compartments 
DONE, June 09 Change Boat Name
DONE, June 09 Check outside ports for leaks and reseal with cauk 
DONE, May 09 Fix bathroom - Jabasco 
DONE, May 09 Fix/replace Stern Light 
DONE, May 09 Place registration stickers on boat and dinghy 
DONE, May 09 install smoke/CO2 detector 
DONE, May 09 mount 3rd fire extinguisher in cockpit 
DONE, May 09 clean running lights 
DONE, May 09 clean inside and outside of boat 
DONE, June 09 apply liquid cement in holes of deck handles 
DONE, July 09 Buy life line netting 
DONE, July 09 Install life line netting 
DONE, Aug 09 sew tear in screen door 
DONE, Sept 09 get refrigerator looked at 
DONE, Sept 09 Fix wood on top door hatch 
DONE, Sept 09 change anchor light bulb 
done, Sept 09 install spice shelf 
DONE, Dec 09 fix water pump 
DONE, Dec 09 install new water pump to make sure it works - jabsco par max 3.0 
DONE, Dec 09 fix plumbing pipe 
DONE, Dec 09 insulate boat 
DONE, Dec 09 pour anitfreeze in water intake of engine 
DONE, Dec 09 pour vodka in water tanks 
DONE, Dec 09 pour enzyme into fuel tank
DONE, June 09 exhaust leak - smog soot is on top of engine, clean 
DONE, Dec 09 exhaust leak - and then recheck after use - no more smog 
DONE, June 09 oil leak - accumulation of oil on forward section of engine adjacent to oil filter, clean 
DONE, July 09 oil leak - and then recheck after use 
DONE, Apr10 oil leak - Old engine, just keep an eye on it 
DONE, Mar 10 Take engine class 
DONE, Mar 10 change oil 
DONE, Mar 10 change oil filter 
DONE, May 10 buy fans 
DONE, May 10 install an inside lock/repair hatch wood 
DONE, Jul 10 Install new primary fuel filter
DONE, Aug 10 change primary fuel filter 
DONE, Apr 10 change secondary fuel filter 
Done Apr 10 change air filter 
DONE, Apr 10 change engine zinc 
DONE, Apr 10 change water impellor 
DONE, Apr 10 check for leaky gaskets 
DONE, Apr 10 tighten all bolts and hose clamps 
DONE, Apr 10 check for an engine alarm - NONE 
DONE, Dec 09 check seawater pump 
DONE, Apr 10 check glow plug - NONE 
DONE, Dec 09 Use fuel cleaning products in bathroom, ask mechanic - added starbryte enzyme to fuel tank
DONE, Dec 09 Check Engine smog problem, ask mechanic - no more smog 
DONE, Dec 09 Take down genoa and mailsail 
DONE, Dec 09 take genoa to canvas repair shop
DONE, Jan 10 price dodger repair 
DONE, Jan 10 buy inverter 
Done, Feb 10 hook up invereter to batteries 
Done, Feb 10 mount inverter 
DONE, Dec 09 remove oven and take to Bacon/sell current stove and oven 
DONE, Mar 10 install fishing rod holders 
DONE, Mar 10 repair wood trimming 
DONE, April 10 repair genoa stiching 
DONE, Jan 10 install claw on front of bow 
DONE, May 10 replace dodger/glass/zipper 
Done, Jan 10 buy alchohol stove 
Done, Feb 10 install food shelves 
DONE, Apr 10 replace velcro on winch covers 
DONE, Feb 10 buy gps 
DONE, Apr 10 install gps 
DONE, Feb 10 buy autopilot 
DONE, Apr 10 install autopilot 
DONE, FEB 10 buy windlass for bruce 
DONE, Jul 10 buy battery monitor
DONE, Jul 10 install battery monitor 
DONE, Dec 10 configure auto pilot 
DONE, Aug 10 install windlass 
DONE, Jan 10 install depth markers on new rode 
DONE, Apr 10 sell spinaker 
DONE, Mar 10 sell AC/Heater 
DONE, Mar 10 recommission engine 
DONE, Aug 10 install new anchor door hatches 
DONE, May 10 get engine for dinghy 
DONE, May 10 Register Dinghy 
DONE, May 10 put sails back up 
DONE, Sept 10 buy solar panels 
DONE, Dec 10 Pump holding tank 
DONE, Nov 10 install solar panels 
DONE, Sept 10 buy dignhy davits 
DONE, Nov 10 Install Dinghy Davits 
DONE, OCT 10 Fix stuffing box leak 
DONE, Sep 10 flush bilge, clean it really good 
DONE, Sep 10 Fix Bilge 
DONE, Aug 10 Repair fridge drain 
DONE, Aug 10 Hire Diesel Engine Surveyor 
DONE, Sep 10 check with USCG that we have all proper safty gear - call and set up a time 
DONE, OCT 10 fix bilge pump 
DONE, Dec 10 Install masthead/anchor light 
DONE, Nov 10 attach coast guard document number into inner hull, 3 inch block type arabic numerals, ask USCG
DONE, May 09 mast boot - old and peeling, add more layers of sealing tape 
Done, June 09 install handles on engine door 
DONE, May 09 figure out why sink water is dirty - air, algea 
Done, June 09 clean water tanks - run bleach through it and drain a few times 
DONE, June 09 inventory all cleaning products 
DONE, July 09 use seizong wire on anchor U bolts 
DONE, May 09 inflate dingy 
DONE, Mar 10 buy new dinghy 
DONE, July 09 patch dinghy holes 
DONE, July 09 buy clip for anchor door 
DONE, July 09 install clip for anchor door 
DONE, May 09 fuel tank guage - find it 
DONE, Sept 09 install piece of tape that shows mileage left around fuel gauge 
DONE, June 09 remove old glue from hatches 
DONE, July 09 buy more velcro 
DONE, July 09 reinstall velcro on hatches 
DONE, July 09 Get hatch measurements 
DONE, Oct 09 make blackout curtain with velcro 
DONE, Nov 09 Install new sink 
DONE, Nov 09 Intall new circuit breaker 
DONE, Dec 09 Return circuit breaker and put old one back in 
DONE, Dec 09 Switch kitchen outlet to its own breaker 
DONE, Dec 09 buy 30amp to 15amp converter and extension cable 
DONE, June 09 Get measurements for piece of wood for 3rd battery 
DONE, April 10 Buy engine mounting supplies, and cover for outboard 
DONE, April 10 Install stern engine mount 
DONE, Dec 09 buy battery charger 
DONE, Dec 09 charge spare batteries 
DONE, Dec 09 buy battery holders 
DONE, Dec 09 check water level on batteries 
DONE, Dec 09 put spare batteries with other batteries 
DONE, Mar 10 Check all our available lines and choose best ones for dock lines 
DONE, Dec 09 Fix bilge pump 
DONE, Feb 10 buy folding bikes 
DONE, Dec 09 buy inflatable kayaks 
DONE, Dec 10 run extension lines thru boat 
DONE, Apr10 Clean out head filter 
DONE, May 10 install starboard cleat 
Done, July 10 fix wheel at genoa rigging 
DONE, Dec 10 install fans 
DONE, Dec 10 Mount antena 
DONE, Nov 10 mount the wirie 
DONE, Sep 10 install kitchen light 
DONE, OCT 10 Buy Cockpit Light 
DONE, OCT 10 Replace cabin lights with LEDS (2 v-berth, cabin) 
DONE, OCT 10 Replace anchor light bulbs with LEDS (two) 
DONE, OCT 10 Buy spare steaming light bulb 
DONE, Sep 10 Buy spare running light bulb 
DONE, OCT 10 Buy spare stern light bulb 
DONE, Nov 10 hook up 2 extra batteries 
DONE, OCT 10 Install wood boards on deck to hold jerry cans 
DONE, Sep 10 find out proper length and size and get price quotes for lines 
DONE, OCT 10 main haylard line - old, replace 
DONE, OCT 10 Jib line 1 - old, replace 
DONE, Dec 10 install transducer 
DONE, Dec 10 Buy extra water cans - 6 out of 6 
DONE, June 09 Clean bilge with bilge cleaner product in bathroom 
DONE, June 09 fix shower 
DONE, April 09 lift boat out and power wash 
DONE, April 09 change prop zinc 
DONE, April 09 scrub/clean deck 
DONE, April 09 use magic eraser to remove scuffs 
DONE, Dec 09 Figure out why there are leaks near the windows 
DONE, Dec 09 Figure out why mast leaks 
DONE, Dec 09 Clean toilet with products in bathroom 
DONE, June 09 Buy inside Lock 
DONE, Jan 10 fill holes in wood, install hanging clips 
DONE, Jan 10 fix plywood under cockpit locker 
DONE, Mar 10 ask / interent - how to do this 
DONE, Mar 10 find out our exact color and what paint we need 
DONE, Apr 10 side stripes, good condition, repaint accent boot and sheer stripes 
DONE, Apr10 apply new coat of bottom paint (don’t forget the spedometer) 
DONE, Dec 09 Buy Bruce Anchor 
DONE, Dec 09 Buy rode for bruse 
DONE, May 10 figure out best way to do this and buy the wood 
DONE, Apr 10 keel - loose keel bolts, Re-tightening of all keel bolts 
DONE, Mar 10 Buy extra diesel cans - 4 out of 4 
DONE, Aug 10 learn to go wing on wing
All done by sailing "dummies" :)
-Joey