Some of our favorite things on board...

I have been asked a number of times what items we can't live without on our boat. While I can live without some of these items, they have become things we don't want to live without.
Most of these items are used daily or at least every time we are under way.
The items are not listed in any particular order.
Here are just some of the favorites...

Our headsets got a lot of use while locking down the river system. It made the task of securing the boat pleasurable.

Wireless Headsets - (other wise known as "marriage savors".) Let me tell you, this has saved us a lot of bickering and discussions about docking. You see, Ben can not see me on the deck while he is operating the boat from the flybridge. He also can not hear me as we have full enclosed canvas up top. This made things a bit annoying as we would come to dock and I'm trying to let him know I've secured the spring line and he's up there asking if I've got us secure...then we would yell and then I would get sensitive, making docking not enjoyable. Now, we speak clearly and he knows exactly what I'm doing, I can give direction from the dock master if needed and we can yell at each other and no one can hear us!!!
Click here for the ones we own: Simutalk 24G headset

Hand held radio - We have been happy about this purchase from day 1. We have a VHF radio on board (one on the flybridge and one inside) but having a hand held radio (This particular model floats.) adds another safety feature as well as another way to communicate. Ben would have the main radio on 16, 13 or whichever channel the working tows used along the rivers. I had the handheld on 71 so we could talk with our fellow boaters while underway. This proved very helpful when I would reach out to the tows, as I could walk about the boat and wave as we pass. If Ben is on one channel I can be on another in a different location on the boat. We used it a lot while locking, Ben would be able to move about the boat and still be in communication with the lock master. Either way, having a second radio is always a huge help, and much safer.
Click here for the one we own: West Marine VHF 160 floating handheld VHF radio

Vacuum - We generate a lot of hair on our boat, actually Crocket does all the generating! So, I tend to vacuum a lot! Having a large vacuum that had to be plugged in, made it more cumbersome to do the job. So, I invested less than $100 in this cute little Black and Decker cordless hand held vacuum. It has a ton of suction with a 20V lithium battery, it pivots so I can reach those hard-to-get-to-spots and does not require a bag, and all the parts can be cleaned in the sink. It has its own charging station that can be mounted on a wall and it looks cute. Now, I vacuum every day, making it look like we do not have a shedding dog living here!
Click here for the one we own: Black and Decket 20V Pivot Vac

Sirius/XM radio - This one is pretty obvious. We love music and traveling as much as we do/are, radio stations are not always in tune. We tried our iTunes playlists but after a month of hearing all the same song selections, it was time to change. Ben ordered the Sirius/XM radio and now we have tunes whenever and where ever we are located. We want to listen to country...got it, hip-hop...got it, dance music...got that too!! Commercial free too! It is awesome!

PetGear soft crate - We purchased this dog crate for our sweet boy Crocket. Crocket is an 11 year old Springer who is allergic to bees. This has caused him to be freaked out by any bug that makes a buzzing sound (bees, flies, mosquitos) and he will try to bite at them. This is not a good thing. It could get very scary if he were to do that. So, this crate offers him protection, security (he was crate trained and loves being in his own space) and he still can see out and get fresh air flow. This was a life saver for us, when he is in here we don't have to worry about bugs getting to him, because they can not get him! This crate is soft sided and folds down making it great for storage. WE LOVE THIS CRATE, so does Crocket!
We found our soft crate here: Pet Gear Soft Crate

doTerra Essential Oils - Don't get me started on the benefits of these amazing oils! I have fallen in love with the many oils and many ways they help. I have my diffuser going daily with a variety of oils for cleaning, healing and helping our moods. Oils can be used to clean, cure, heal, protect and boost moods. I use oils from doTerra as they are considered therapeutic-grade oils. My favorites include: Frankincense, Lemon (mood boosting, cleaning, and great smell), Grapefruit, Serenity blend (mood booster), Lavender (help to sleep and good for skin irritations) and digest zen blend (for tummy aches), Terra shield blend (mosquito repellant) and OnGuard (healthy immunity).
Click here for information about doTerra oils: doTerra - Essential Oils 
Click here to order these oils from Amazon: doTerra oils on Amazon

Museum Putty -  When on a boat in waves, you better make sure you have the lamp, vase, picture frames and flower pots secure. Museum putty secures breakables! This is a life saver. I have many items secured using this amazing putty. It is like silly putty that you attach to the bottom of your item (vases, baskets, picture frames, lamps, etc) and press it where you want it. When you want to move the item, you twist it gently and viola! No damage to any surface! AND you can reuse it! It is awesome!!
Click here to order from Amazon: Collectors Hold Museum Putty

My bike with the bag attached. You can see the size difference from the full size bike in the photo. 

Bikes - One of the necessities we highly recommend investing in, is folding bikes while boating. We have gotten so much use out of our bikes. Since we do not have a car, we use our bikes to grocery shop, go out to eat, sight see and anytime we need to get somewhere we don't want to walk. Our bikes were purchased at Camping World and are no longer available. We went with a bigger tire than most small folding bikes offer. Seems to work for us! We purchased bags to attach to the bikes so we can load up with groceries! Some of our Looper pals have full size bikes on board. We just did not have the space. We purchased both our bikes for $400!

SeaLine Baja Dry Bag - traveling on the water either by dinghy or our boat, its important to have something to protect our valuables (phones, wallet, towel, camera, purse etc) from the water, salt, sun. This bag has proven to be our favorite travel companion in our dinghy. It holds a towel, our phones, wallet, our hand held radio, beverages, food, Crockets leash and whatever else we do not want getting wet. It has a roll-top closure that makes a watertight seal. The material is heave duty and will not tear. Best of all it is made in the USA. They offer this bag in a variety of sizes and colors. Ours was a gift from our Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tamara (over 5 years ago!)...I don't know what we would do without it!!!
Click here to order from Amazon: SeaLine Baja Dry Bag 20L

Roxy UPF 50 long sleeve rash guard - Being in the sun all the time is hard on your skin. I do not lay out, nor do I actively try to get tan. However, I am really tan. I use sunscreen (UPF 30) everyday and I still have a tan. But, there are days where we are out on the dinghy and I can not avoid the sun. So on those days I wear my Roxy long sleeve. It has a sunblock rating of UPF 50 and it keeps me cool...strange I know. I'm not sure how it does this but I can be in 85 degree temps and feel fine. I am also saving my skin from future wrinkles and sun damage. There are a lot of shirts out there that offer this same protection, but in my opinion, none as cute as this one!! I LOVE THIS SHIRT!!
Click here to order from West Marine: ROXY Women's loosest long sleeve rash guard

This is a custom smoker/grill...another item we CAN NOT live without!!!

My Husband - I HAD to add Ben here!! I would not be able to do this trip without this amazing guy! He makes me feel safe and loved, he keeps me laughing and helps fill my tummy full of yummy food. We are having the time of our lives and I would not want to do this trip with anyone else!!!

Faro Blanco Throws a Party!

We lucked out, just by staying here at Faro Blanco! We were invited to the launching of the new menu here at the Lighthouse Grill Restaurant. The restaurant is on the property of the marina so we all were invited to try their new menu and socialize with some locals. Somehow, us Loopers all stayed together...we are 'Loopy' like that!! hehehe!

Since this party, all the Loopers have left Marathon. Some are enjoying the Bahamas while others are heading north. We were stuck here with our engine problem and now that we are all fixed, we will start making our way north.

Buddies from Knot Sew Easy, Dream Catcher, and Chasing 80

Tim and Carol from Liquid Assets 

Loopers Sea Moss, Knot Sew Easy and Jammin Jane

More Loopers: Cork Screw, JobSite, and Sum Escape

Looper Party!

Bob (Knot Sew Easy) Jill and Kevin (Chasing 80) Ben (Jammin Jane)

Shortly after arriving in Marathon, we were invited to attend a Looper gathering located just down the way from our marina. We certainly do not turn down opportunities to get together with our fellow Loopers. I'm typing this a month after the fact, all our Looper buddies have left here and are heading north. We are still here but not for long!

The party was hosted by a couple who reside here in Marathon and since there are many of us Loopers in these parts this time of year, why not get us together to share stories, meet new people and enjoy some free beer. All we had to do was bring an appetizer.

We traveled by dinghy with 3 of our buddy boats and enjoyed a few hours of socializing, dancing, eating and picture taking!!

Liz (Knot Sew Easy) Jane and Jill (Chasing 80)...These girls, my favs!

Our friends, even though they abandoned us and started moving north a month ago!!

My wonderful, sweet friend Liz...miss her dearly!

Bob and Liz cuttin a rug!

Our dinghy ride back to the boat

Selfie under way!

Jamming Jane flying by! Thanks for the photo Liz!

Hot on our tail...Knot Sew Easy! 

Chasing 80 making their arrival

Our beautiful marina...Faro Blanco!

Boot Key: Another option, mooring in Marathon

Entering Boot Key...

Boot Key is a 1100 acre island in the middle of Marathon. This area offers a large number of boats to moor for the winter or year round. This is another option to those that prefer to be at anchor and not spend the money to stay in a marina. Hundreds of boats are moored (tied to a fixed floating ball that is attached  permanently to the bottom) in Boot Key. You come up to the mooring ball and loop a line through to attach your boat to it. It looks a bit frightening to me, to see all these boats so close together and not one of them swinging into each other. It is first come, they take no reservations. When you arrive you call the number listed on the bridge and you are assigned a mooring ball number. This is your location for the duration of your stay. It is much less expensive to stay here, and you better have a dinghy so you can get around. 

I was fascinated by all the amenities Boot Key offers. They have their own community center with a library (take a book, leave a book), dog walking area with doggy poop bags, workshop with tools ($5/day to use), TV room with lounge chairs, Bathhouse, laundry facilities, a water taxi, a small restaurant/bar, weekly pump-outs (they have their own boat that comes around whether you are on board or not) AND best of all every day at 9:00am they have their daily VHF radio updates. It is called the Cruisers Net (Channel 68). They give out information about activities offered, like yoga on Wednesdays. They have a buy/sell/swap segment to the radio show. Anyone can listen in and offer up advice if you have the knowledge someone may need. They complete the hour-long radio show with a trivia question, of course Ben mostly knows the answers!!! Last we tuned in someone was selling a ukulele, too bad they wanted too much money! We enjoy listening in!

I love the community they have formed here. Although, I prefer to stay in marinas for the convenience of letting our dog, Crocket, off the boat without a dinghy, I can walk to the restroom right from my boat, and if we are lucky there may be a pool at our marina, which is not offered on Boot Key. My husband spoils me and I am fine with that! 

Anyone staying on Boot Key has to travel everywhere by dinghy. Essentially, it is your car. There is no power so no AC and no TV unless you run your generator. We see lots of boats in here with solar panels and small wind turbines that supply power from the wind. 

What a great option if you are not looking to stay in a marina. The community is important for those that stay lengthy periods of time. And the views are to die for!! 

Look close you can see the information for obtaining your mooring location.

Hundreds of boats moor here...it is awesome to dinghy through here and check out all the boats. Some are permanent residences while others are here just for the winter months.

Boats as far as the eye can see.

This is the dinghy dock for the community center.

Community Center

Close up of the community center, each of these doors offers a different room for the cruisers. 

The bathhouse/laundry room 

I loved this sign! We would go left!

"Why isn't our AC working???"

That is what I asked Ben while the sun was blazing down from a cloudless sky. It was a scorcher, the ground was too hot to walk barefoot.

So, Ben proceeded to check all systems. We still had some power and our power cord was connected properly.

Hmmmm...what could it be?

After some trouble shooting on Ben's part he found our culprit...

This is the first time I've seen a fuse like this. I thought it was a spent bullet casing of some sort at first!

A blown fuse for incoming power to our bow. Which caused us to lose one leg of our 50amp power cord.

Of course, the ever prepared and ever safe husband of mine had an extra fuse on hand and viola! We have AC!!

I'm so lucky he knows how to fix virtually everything on our boat!! I'm also learning lots by having to understand the problem and what he did to fix it. Otherwise I would not be able to write these posts. Win, win for all!

UPDATE #2: We are up and running!!!

Ben and I flanked by Joe and Walt from Caterpillar. These guys did an awesome job installing our engine!!!

We have a boat that has TWO, I repeat, 2 running engines!!! We are waaaaaay excited!!

 To get the back story, click here...

Two weeks ago we moved our boat, on one working engine, to Marathon Boat Yard (which is literally across the street from the marina we are staying, Faro Blanco) to have our motor removed. We found out we actually have a cracked block, which probably caused the cracked cylinder.

So we got a re-manned engine from Caterpillar with a 2-year warranty.

Here she is...our new engine! Cat 3116

Going in!

She's running!!!

Jamming Jane at Marathon Boat Yard.

The Caterpillar guys, Joe and Walt, arrived on a Thursday and had the engine installed, performed the sea trial, and along with Ben, moved Jammin Jane back over to our marina two days later. What a wonderful feeling! Everything is running great, temps are all good and we are way excited to begin the next half of our loop!!!

Back in our slip at Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club

Hard to see her, but here she is in our slip.

Our gorgeous view here in Marathon, at Faro Blanco!