STABILIZER TEST

We travelled the ICW south for an hour and half to the Ft. Pierce Inlet. On the way dolphins came to play with our boat. That was the best part of the trip! I took my anti-nausea pill but an anxiety pill would have been preferred. The waves were five feet out there and not nice big rollers, these were fast and like a washing machine. Even with stabilizers, boats are not out in the big big water. The stabilizers had to go off and back on numerous times to calibrate and program them. I have zero video of when stabilizers were being tested because both my hands were hanging onto the fixed counter top in the galley looking at the horizon at the back of boat until the curtains closed from the movements!! Every time the stabilizers were turned off, I compare it to a contraction while giving birth, it is a short period of time but all kinds of things happen. It could be 20-30 seconds of agony and my internal screaming as I see stuff I had forgotten to lock properly or locks not working. The locks on 3 cupboards don't work well in five foot waves, and the furniture can't handle the angle either, so the couches are moving all over! That is right.... the FURNITURE!! The couches are full of provisions, no way to move back until emptied out on our return. 

This picture above was taken after we came back into the ICW. I had to stand at counter and watched this over and over and hear the clunking and "crashing" over and over. There is a trash bin, I was standing to the left of that hanging on wide-eyed!

There is a couch on left of above picture and is Paul's tool storage couch. I had to empty this couch, so we could move it back in place. It was way too heavy to move/slide. The above picture just shows all the heavy tools out on floor to give an indication of all the weight in that couch. There were canned goods in the other two couches, so a little easier to manoeuvre them back into place. 

Needless to say when the stabilizers were switched ON, they worked and the motoring was good on our way back. 

When we back into our slip at our marina here, reverse is very important! Starboard engine failed in reverse! Paul is a great driver and used his bow thruster to get us back into the slip safely. Just when one project is almost over, another pops up before we can leave for Exuma, Bahamas. 

The funny thing is.... Paul wants us to put non-skid on feet of couch. I figure if we need non-skid under the couch WE SHOULDN'T be out in the water that day? Or is that just me?


We are making our boat better with stabilizers.