A very slow start

We departed Daytona Beach on Jan. 8, 2026 with Island Time and Easy Riders. We found a great anchorage on the Banana River. We all rafted together and enjoyed being free from the marina and had a great dinner. Unfortunately, the Bullfrog Cafe was closed :).

Up and on the move Jan. 9, 2026 to a very cool anchorage just south of Vero Beach called Hole in the Wall/Pine Island II. We all anchored out and friends of Island Time also came out and anchored their boats. We spend two nights here. We also took our dinghy's up to Vero Beach for lunch. It finally felt like cruising! Across the ICW, we tied up the dinghy's at a public park dock and went for a walk. It is amazing how many parks there are in Florida.

During our run South this Fall we have been plagued with a small issue of water dripping in from out propeller shaft seals. Gerry made the decision that the leaking when we are running at 3100 RPM needed to be repaired. He was tired of water in the bilges and the vibration. There is a seal on the propeller shaft that keeps water from coming in (in theory), but when the engine is out of alignment the shaft develop a “whip”, think of what a jump rope looks like in an extreme way.

On Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 we spent the night on the bulkhead at http://crackerboyboatworks.com/ to be hauled out the next morning at 8:00 am to initiate work. The plan was to remove the propellers (to have them balanced), remove the propeller shafts (to have them checked for straightness), new shaft bearings installed, and new engine mounts installed. Pretty much everything the touches the engine in the driveline was replaced or reworked.

Missing the propellers and shafts

On Monday, Jan 12 were were hauled out and by the end of the day the shafts and propellers were removed and ready to be sent to a shop to be checked and straighten. We were told they should be back in a few days and the goal was to be back in the water Friday, Jan 16. We rented a car and found an Airbnb with a full kitchen, washer and dryer and relaxed and enjoyed a few days in Fort Pierce near the Fort Pierce inlet. We did so much laundry and ate some of the best peel and eat shrimp at https://islandbeachbarandrestaurant.com/

On Thursday, Jan 15 when the shafts were not back from the shop, we realized we would not be floating for the weekend. We found a second Airbnb closer to Stuart in Port St. Lucie. This was about 20 minutes to the boat and 20 minutes to friends in Stuart and Palm City. We enjoyed Sunday music in the park https://www.rocknriverwalk.com/ and great dinners at https://www.lynoras.com/.

The PDQ family gets together once per year for an owners gathering in Stuart, usually, the attendance tops 80 people. We met up on Friday for happy hour with a bunch of owners and Sat for the full day event. Since we were in town, we decided to attend.

On Monday, Jan 19, we were told the boat should be all back together for a launch on Fri so we extended the Airbnb for three more nights.

On Friday, Jan 23, we checked out of our second Airbnb and returned the rental car and unpacked everything onto the boat. The boat yard told us they just did not have time to put us in the water that afternoon but promised they would launch us on Monday, Jan 26 at 11 AM. A bit frustrated we rented another car and found a very cool Airbnb in Stuart which was within walking distance of town for the weekend. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21883028?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

On Monday, Jan 26 we checked out of our third Airbnb, returned the rental car and unpacked everything onto to the boat, again. They launched two boats and when they were finishing up and setting up to get us in the slings, the Travel Lift stopped working. Over the course of a few hours, they realized it needed a new part. What do we do now?

We went to get another rental car and we decided, because it was only to be one night, we would stay at a hotel in Fort Pierce. Not great, but acceptable for one night.

On Tuesday 1/27 we were informed that the part for the Travel Lift would not be in until Thursday and maybe we could be launched then. So, we kept our rental car and found a fourth Airbnb in Fort Pierce. We spend two nights and were finally launched on Thursday Jan 29…. 17 days later.

Once launched, we took a shake down cruise with the guys that did the work, and tied up at Fort Pierce City Marina for 4 nights. We were schedule to have an in the water engine alignment Fri Jan 30 and to spend the weekend on the dock. The weather forecast had a cold front predicted to come through, bringing rain, wind and very cold temperatures. We woke up to 29 degrees and saw ice on the boat and docks!

During the shake down cruise, we did not have any leaking water (YEA) but a very slight vibration on the port engine. The in-water alignment on Friday fixed the problem! We left the marina on Monday February 2, 2026 and headed to a mooring in Manatee Pocket, Port Salerno (just south of Stuart) for two nights.

The in-water alignment did the trick, and our two hour trip south was so smooth and no water in the bilges. Gerry was very, very happy! That makes me, very very happy.

So what did we do for 17 days while the boat was out of the water? Here are a few highlights!

We (Gerry) replaced the 4 house batteries (which are working great) and I cleaned the brown tannin stains that boats get from traveling on the ICW and we waxed some of the hull.

We spend an afternoon at the Brevard Zoo https://brevardzoo.org/

As we were walking around the zoo we heard the most amazing, deep, guttural, ROOOAAR!! We happen to be near the lion pen, the sound reverberated throughout the WHOLE zoo! Now we know why they are called the King of the Jungle. It was chilling.

We even went to the South Florida Fair! https://www.southfloridafair.com/p/south-florida-fair

The Pig races were a hit!

We did all sorts of other things, here are various pictures. We also took walks at lots of different parks and beaches. Met up with old CT friends , Hi Rob Acquaro!

Cool saying on the wall at a cool bar/restaurant in Fort Pierce

Big nuts!

Amazing musician

Jenga game!

I had Caribbean Lobster for dinner!

My herbs are ready to head south!

We are thrilled to be back on the boat with everything running great! Heading south to cross to the Bahamas to catch up with everyone that left two weeks ago!