Mathews to Deltaville

We finally have all of the maintenance items completed. The list seemed to get longer as the days went on. Our original purpose for going to Zimmerman Marine in Mathews Va. was to get the hydraulic leak fixed on our autopilot. Before we left Hampton I had a diver clean the bottom since we had been sitting for several months. He mentioned that the bottom paint was rubbed off of the bottom of the keel. So I decided to have the boat pulled and touch up the paint also. In the past when I had done this the boat was hauled, bottom paint touched up and relaunched all in about 5 hours. The boat stayed in the travel lift the entire time. At Zimmerman Marine in Mathews they don't have a travel lift. They use a huge trailer with hydraulic arms that are raised after the boat is over them. Then they pull the trailer and boat out of the water. The bottom needed more attention then thought so the boat was blocked on the hard. The work should only take a day and we should be back in the water the next day. Yeah, right! Eight days later we are finally back in the water. The hydraulics on the tractor that pulls the trailer out of the water broke down while they were pulling another boat out. It took a week for that to get fixed. It seems hydraulics and I don't get along. We stayed on the boat on the hard and it was like living in a tree house.










While the boat was out of the water we noticed that the cutlass bearing needed replacement. This is the area where the propeller shaft goes thru the hull. It is a rubber bushing that will wear out with use. This is the first time we have had to replace it in 9 years. Since we are using the boat more now it will most likely last two or three years. I also replaced the stuffing in the stuffing box. That is the part where the shaft log, tube the propeller shaft goes thru, ends inside and keeps the water out. I also replaced all the zincs on the shaft, propeller and week shoe. The zincs keep the other metals from being eaten by electrolysis. I also changed the impellers on the main engine and generator.

We moved from the dock to the Zimmerman mooring buoy out on the East River on Friday the 17th. We had to move at high tide in order to get across the bar that is only 4 feet at low tide. I kept have the song "The tide is high and were moving on" going thru my head. We stayed on the buoy until Sunday morning. At that time we took off and headed for Deltaville Va. about 30 miles north.

East River looking south.








East River looking north.









The trip north to Deltaville was uneventful. We motor sailed since the wind was mostly on the bow with some points moving to starboard and allowing us to sail close hauled. The trip took us 4 and a half hours.

This is the Wolf Trap light house which we used as one of our navigation markers. It is about three miles from the western shore but marks an area of shoaling.






We entered Jackson Creek on the south side of Deltaville. That name has a nice ring to it. The entrance looks wide open coming into the area. However, the opening is very shallow, two feet in some places, and you have to remain in a tight channel coming in. We did see one boat turn too early and run aground. They were able to back off and recognized their mistake. We first stopped at the Deltaville Marina where we were able to pump out our holding tank for free. We then went around to the southern arm of Jackson Creek and anchored in 9 feet of water. This is a very nice creek with lots of protection from all but east winds. There are some very pretty homes along the creek.

Looking west in Jackson Creek.








Home just to the north of where we are anchored.








Looking east out into the Chesapeake Bay.









On Monday we launched the dinghy so we could go into town. We landed at the public pier which is only about 100 yards from where we are anchored. The main road is about 1/2 mile from the public pier. All of the stores are spread across about two miles along the main road coming into the marina area. We wanted to go to the grocery store which is about another mile away. Right when we got to the main road a guy in a pickup truck asked if we were off of a boat. We talked to him and he offered to give us a ride to the grocery. He also told us about the area and what restaurants to go to that are good. We spent about 30 minutes in the grocery and started walking the mile and a half back to the pier. We walked about a eighth of a mile when a lady stopped and asked if we were off a boat. She gave us a ride all the way back to the public pier. These two individuals were absolutely wonderful to give us the assistance they did. Everyone we have met on this entire trip so far have been wonderful.

We plan to leave tomorrow, Wednesday, and head for Reedville Va. about another 30 miles north.