A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2020/2022

[Jimmyt]

Great pics! Congratulations to the Admiral for her feat of helmsmanship! (Helmswomanship? Helmspersonship?). Successfully driving the boat! Sounds like you're having fun, and that's what it's all about!

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We’ve just about completed our first week of our two week 2022 journey on Lake Champlain!
Time is flying by so quickly (as it always seems to when we are finally on the water… wonder if that’s the same for other MacGregor owners too.…. Betcha it’s part of the MacGregor experience!!!

The weather has been great with several days getting up into the 70s.
Many days of calm waters and hours out on the lake proper or exploring Malletts Bay.
Good meals aboard using our electric rice cooker (fast crock pot ) and our induction cooktop.
Local take out has been excellent with our daughter bringing over excellent Himalayan Indian food from ‘Makalu Himalayan Sherpa’ such as Tandoori, Curry and garlic Naan. There is also great pizza from the authentic ‘New York Pizza’ too! (Sorry guys there haven’t been any left to share ).

We really lucked out with the Fall Colors this year here on Lake Champlain and Mallett’s Bay this year!
We had been afraid that we might have been too late in the season getting here but the colors waited for us!
The colors are just coming into their own! Stunningly beautiful and gorgeous is an understatement!
Enjoying them leisurely from the open cockpit of our Mac26X is a real treat for us.

Day temps ranging from the mid 50s to 70s.
Night time temps down as low as the mid 30s occasionally.
Our trusty electric heater has yet to get past 1/2 way on the lower setting and we have been toasty warm.
Even without the companionway foam seals in place yet the Admiral has been very comfortable!

Speaking of treats! We were able to first hand observe a pair of low level hot air balloons playing at ‘balloon boating’ as they dipped their baskets gently on the bays waters.

Here are a few pictures we’d like to share with you all!





































































Off in the distance of some of the phots if you look carefully you can see the first snows on the mountain tops!

Best Regards to All!
Over Easy

[Russ]

Awesome photos. Truly beautiful shots.

Dipping the balloons into the water would seem dangerous. And so close to boats with masts. I assume those balloon pilots know what they are doing. They sure give you some pretty scenery.

I'm really curious about how you sort out the transducer for your chartplotter. I just bedded mine into the putty and called it good because we were mid-season when I installed it with the boat in the slip and didn't want to mess with it.

Ideally, they expect you to mount it on the transom OR it comes with big hose clamps to mount it to a trolling motor.

The thing is long and I don't want to have it hanging off the transom. But it sure would be interesting to see how the bottom plotting stuffs work.

Yesterday I put the cover on the boat and tucked her away for the season.
I am doing a new method this time using MANY 1/2 flexible tubing to make the arches. This also allows me to cover all "sharp" points that traditionally have punctured my silver tarp.

Solar panel re-installed to keep batteries topped up over the winter.

[NiceAft]

Russ,

Where does that support go, and what holds it in place?

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Just made another run from our slip at ‘The Mornings’ in Colchester down to Burlington again yesterday afternoon.
It was a great trip!
Average speed was 10 mph there and back to avoid getting wet with the splash from the light chop.
Got to the Burlington Community Docks and ‘Splash’ in time for their last day of the season late afternoon lunch!







Lunch consisted of a cheddar cheese burger, a Taco Garden Burger salad, and Chicken Finger with Salads. It was a great lunch watching a clear beautiful day over Lake Champlain.

Several people came up and asked interested questions about our Mac26X!It was flattering and fun to share our experiences and point them to our forum for more detailed information as well as the many much more experienced MacGregor sailors that we are.

The run to and from took a total of about 4 hours (or 2 hours each way).
Average speed 10 mph (to avoid getting wet) at about 4000-4500 rpm.
Fuel consumption was about 4 gallons round trip.

Spent the last hour coming home navigating in the dark again with our new bow searchlight leading the way.
(Still need to move the anchor more to one side though )

Tried uploading a short video the Admiral took but it didn’t show up with our ‘Add image tp post’ feature

Nice sunset and moon rise to finish our day out and about!

Best Regards to All
Over Easy

[NiceAft]

You are really making use of what it was designed for; power when needed, sail for the Zen.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We had a excellent time going out past the Malletts Bay breakwater and into Lake Champlain proper then turned north following South Hero / Grand Island coastline up past Young & Bixby islands to "The Gut" where one can cross over to the area behind the eastern side of South Hero/Grand Isle.

At that point our time plan had us turn around and head back.
Wind swells were approaching 2 ft heights coming up from the south. The trip north was a breeze but the return trip going south was an adventure! Winds were apparently approaching 20+mph while we maintained about 6-to-8 mph ground speed per the GPS.
After the wind picked up a notch or two the Admiral and MacGregor went into the cabin for a break.
While it was a ‘wee’ bit wet we had fun washing the boat as it were .
Our new foul weather gear kept us reasonably dry it would have helped if I'd remembered to cinch up the waist band, wrists and collar better. A set of all weather waterproof gloves and boots would make welcome additions as well as a set of large ski goggles!

Fortunately we bring several towels and can hang things under the Bimini to dry out. Inside the fleece and other things will dry out with our cabin heater. On the plus side we did get back before sunset today! Add to that we got pizza for supper tonight as the Admiral wasn’t up to fixing dinner after our adventures and neither was I

Sorry we weren’t able to get and pictures today to share of the increasingly beautiful Fall colors surrounding us on the hills and mountains.
It is becoming a stunning carpet of red, yellow, green and amber hues that almost are almost effervescent when lit by the sun in a cloudless sky. There was not her spectacular sunset as the far off mountain’s changed to varying shades of purple as is in a watercolor.

We are really enjoying our stay here on Lake Champlain this year.

Best Regards to All
Over Easy

[pitchpolehobie]

Yes thanks, that seems like a good speed for engine size.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Met up for coffee with very nice local MacS owner today by the name of Chris.
He invited me to a sail but other obligations with the Admiral precluded that.
(Also the wind was building and it would have been a handful.
I didn’t notice any boats out and about except those powering in to be hauled out, caution was the better part today.

I'm the volunteer "go for " to get her the supplies for her presentation which is this time is making a couple different kinds of pumpkin breads for the course she runs for the Girl Scouts on-line programs.
I also get to be the official taste tester too! The advantages of a virtual on-line class… someone has to eat the results!

Yesterday we had a excellent time going out past the Malletts Bay breakwater and into Lake Champlain proper then turned north following South Hero / Grand Island coastline up past Young & Bixby islands to "The Gut" where one can cross over to the area of Lake Champlain behind the eastern side of South Hero/Grand Isle.

At that point our time plan had us turn around and head back.
Wind swells were approaching 2 ft heights coming up from the south. Then there were several”rouge” ones approaching 3 feet. The trip north was a breeze but the return trip going south was an adventure!
And a bit wet but we had fun washing the boat as it were .
While our foul weather gear kept us reasonably dry it would have helped if I'd remembered to cinch up the waist band, wrists and collar better.

Fortunately we bring several towels extra for this sort of thing and can hang things under the Bimini to dry out. Inside the fleece and other things will dry out with our cabin heater.

I think we were a bit too optimistic about the lake conditions and the winds being calmer than the 20+ mph that crept up on us. Nothing serious (aside from the roller coaster aspect) but we were glad that we had a full ballast tank and a great new engine that proved to be responsive and reliable for us.

Things calmed down some as we crossed the breakwater and got continually calmer as we proceeded back into Mallett’s Bay.

Our voyage plan worked out nicely in that we got back to our slip at sunset…
(Plan your work & Work your plan)
Part of what we wanted to do this trip is to get more familiar with the unique waters and conditions of Lake Champlain. Winds from the south build the waves…Stronger wind =>> Bigger waves but you all already knew that .


It was beautiful but unfortunately the camera was tucked under all the now wetted foul weather gear.
Sorry about that but you can imagine a spectacular golden red sunset over gorgeous Autumnal hills colored in yellow, red, green and tan sparkling iridescent in the last rays of daylight backdropped by majestic purple hued mountains in the distance….. it was a beautiful end to a adventurous day.

Earlier yesterday I finally clamored forward and repositioned the Danforth Anchor bracket to the rear section of the bow rail. Glad I finally got that TBD done! Really opens up the direct forward view!
(Eventually we’ll get to making our anchor roller extension plate and drum winch but that’s farther into the future…) Next time we get to use our searchlight there will be a lot less back scatter to contend with. Meanwhile the new position seems to make the anchor easier to reach and deploy.

Best Regards to All
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We’ve just finished up our last full day on Lake Champlain today. It was yet another stunningly beautiful Fall day filled with all the vibrant colors of the season surrounding us along the shores, carpeting the surrounding hills and mountains…

This was followed by yet another strikingly beautiful sunset over calming waters. It’s now 7 PM with the waters surrounding us as smooth as glass. Sitting in our cockpit with the Bimini stowed is like floating on a black mirror reflecting the night sky above. What a great day!












Tomorrow is haul out day and time to head back to NH. This stay of only 14 nights seems far too short in comparison to last year’s 70 night stay.
Lake Champlain is awe inspiring, adventuresome, beautiful and intriguing… always different… always inspiring… and we have just begun to see her…. We can only hope that we have further opportunities to visit with her in the future.

Best Regards to All
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Sunday was a gloriously beautiful and gentle day!
Plans for an early haul out evaporated in the sparkling sunshine and clear skies.

Our daughter came over with her Standard Poodle Nova and invited a friend along for a last extended cruise of Malletts Bay and on out to Carlton’s Prize Island in Lake Champlain proper.
It was a really nice extended last day on the Lake.





















All too soon the day was drawing to a close and it was time to leave Lake Champlain.
It has been a perfect 2 weeks on the water.
We again have throughly enjoyed our time here.
Our timing coincided with the weeks of peak Autumn colors.
An explosion of color lining the shores and surrounding hills…mountains.

After dropping off our daughter’s friend the Admiral brought our daughter and Nova along on her second ‘solo’ going back to the Malletts Bay State Boat Ramp from the Marina while I closed out with the management, hooked up Over Easy’s trailer and drove over to the ramp.
The Admiral had a blast with her voyage and impressed our daughter with her skills.
(They even took an extra bit of a “all girls” excursion!

This time I managed to get some photos of her second solo voyage…













Nova enjoyed being the “look-out” on the approach






The haul out went without a hitch and our Dodge pulled us up to the upper level prep/de prep area.
Soon we were buttoned up and ready for the drive home….mainly in the dark as the sun settles down quickly this time of year.



We arrived home shortly after 10 PM without any troubles.
A great last day for our second sojourn on Lake Champlain…..

Best Regards to All
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

So we got back to NH after our stay at Lake Champlain VT without incident.
The plan had been to spend a week or so in NH buttoning up our home there and then head SOUTH before the snow fell…
Well that was the plan anyway…..

Reality snuck in and we incrementally extended our stay to the weekend before Thanksgiving….
We are failed “snowbirds” again..it snowed.
Not much but enough to require some shoveling, salting & sanding.

Leaving the Saturday before Thanksgiving went well enough but it was cold and predicted to get colder.
The first stop was in NJ to visit with friends… Late arrival… Too cold to camp in Over Easy … off to Home2Suits for the night for us and the pets while Over Easy had a nice safe and secure lit parking lot.

After spending the Sunday with our friends we made a late afternoon departure we headed SOUTH for several hours.
The weather actually got colder as we drove SOUTH!
Around Midnight we found another hotel … so much for the camping plan … but the warmth, a shower and ‘free’ breakfast were appreciated!

One of the reasons for our delayed departure SOUTH was our younger daughter and her friends are attempting to start a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Balsam Grove NC in the midst of the Pisgah National Forest and she wanted us to have a “Friendsgiving” with them at their farm. It sounded like a good idea at the time. They have a nice new barn with electrical power, a pond to look at and even a waterfall nearby. So we were gradually getting up in elevation on Interstate 81 on o much more WESTERLY track than we have traveled before. Plenty of time to arrive there at the farm on Wednesday. NOTE: The Pisgah National Forest is an enormously large Rhododendron Forest with lots of streams and waterfalls. It sounded beautiful even if it was now late fall.

Monday was a noonish departure and after checking tire pressures and trailer condition we continued on.
After about two hours we stopped for gas and I again checked the tire pressures, condition, hubs and trailer.
Everything was right on the mark!

The Admiral noticed after about an hour or so that the trailer and boat were vibrating on one side but not the other as she drove along.
So we pulled off at a convent exit to check things.
Well talk about serendipity!
The trailer tire on the driver side front axle had a broken belt and a huge blister under the center of the tread! Quite the surprise!
(All the trailer tires were replaced with new ones when we first purchased/adopted Over Easy in the Fall of 2020.)
Fortunately with a few Google searches and a couple phone calls we found an appropriate in stock replacement at a nearby Walmart
So we gingerly made our way over there expecting a loud “Bang” at any moment.
Once we got to Walmart they said they could remove the old tire from the rim and put on the new one but getting the tire off of a loaded trailer was all mine! Hmmm…. Hadn’t counted on that…. The Van’s scissor Jack could possibly done the job but there was a fully stocked Walmart right there! So one Twelve Ton bottle Jack later I was easily able to safely lift that side of the axle and remove the wheel from the trailer (it helps if you carry tools when traveling cross country…and now I had the Jack to go along with them!

They guys in Walmart changed the tire in no time.
I took a couple pictures of the old tire to share…










With several hours now behind us not moving we checked everything else on the trailer and then casually got back on the road SOUTH-WEST. It was only Monday and we weren’t expected till Wednesday. It was still rather cold (below freezing) when we decided to call it a day so after a little discussion we opted for another night at a nice warm hotel.

Tuesday after breakfast we got back on the road again… an hour or so later we stopped for gas and as per our SOP I checked tires, hubs, lights and securement of the trailer. All systems Green. Several hours later we repeated the process…again everything in the Green. Later that afternoon as we crossed into Tennessee near Bristol we decided to stop at the State Welcome Center for a break. Getting out of the Van the Semi Trucker next to us pointed to our passenger side trailer tire and said “Wow! You pulled off just in time!” Me: “Huh?” Him: “Wow!” Me now looking at front axle passenger tire: “WHAT THE F*@#%§¥£€..k!”

The wheel was sitting at about 30 degrees off vertical!!!

The hub had failed catastrophically!!!
The outer race portion of the hub was gone!
The inner and outer bearings were gone!
How had it not broken free and flown off or worse?!?!?
How had we not noticed it sooner???

Well, the front axle on our trailer has the hydraulic disc brakes.
The caliper assembly had held the wheel in position as it died allowing it to basically idle in place while th carry load was taken up by the adjacent rear axle wheel. Great sales pitch for having a dual axle trailer!
Things could have been worse, MUCH WORSE.

So while the Admiral got on the phone and started calling around to see if there was any place in Bristol TN or surrounding areas where we could possibly get a new hub and bearings I got busy securing things and started looking into how much yogurt we were in…
After loosening the wheel nuts ‘That nice bottle Jack from Walmart’ came out and nicely lifted the damaged wheel axle up off the ground.
It’s nice to bring tools when you travel and again they came in handy. Once the wheel was off I started in on what was left of the hub hoping to free it from what was left of the caliper to ascertain the condition of the spindle. … Not good…The spindle was scored up inner and outer seal surfaces… Maybe…if I could get a new hub to fit with new bearings and seals I could maybe limp along without the hydraulic brakes??? If the seals didn’t hold then I could stop every half hour or so and re-grease via the zert fitting on the end of the axle…not great but the van brakes were Heavy Duty disc and had the capability…definitely not my first or second or even third choice but still workable options given we had the second axle to backstop us…

About this time the Admiral had found a place that might help..”The Boat Doctors” of Bristol TN!
They had a plain hub and could get bearings and seal the next morning…it was now about 4:30 in the afternoon on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

So while the axle was up on the Jack and the leaf springs compressed o got out a long ratchet strap and after making several loops around the now empty side of the axle and frame snugged up the ratchet and lowered the trailer off the Jack. Now on three wheels we cleaned things up, packed up and cautiously made our way to “The Boat Doctors” arriving just at 5 PM. The manager looked at things and said he would call us in the morning when they could get a good look at it. ( My personal assessment at this point having had a half hour to think about it was that the spindle was cooked off and the best choice would be a new axle assembly…🫣).

So after uncoupling the trailer from the van we took a few minutes and looked at our options.
We could stay local and hope for parts in the morning and limp along without trailer brakes with a grease gun and several cartridges of axle grease…. We could continue on the three hours to our younger daughter’s place an get the phone call there. Not being optimistic but pragmatic we chose to drive on to our daughter’s place and find a nice hotel to stay for the evening seeing as we wouldn’t be camping in the boat that night. We found a VERY nice place called the Brook Trout Inn in Saphire NC. A great place run by great people. The place was reasonably priced and beautiful. So off we went heading SOUTH WEST down Interstate 26.

Now it was full on dark by this time and there wasn’t much to see but the roadway got steeper… and steeper ….and steeper! Finally we crested but there was an even steeper down slope than te up slope if that was possible with multiple truck runaway arrestor zones. Then we got onto the secondary increasingly narrow roads and it actually got worse with tight hair pin turns and switchbacks more reminiscent of a roller coaster track than a road. When we finally arrived at the Brook Trout Inn we were very glad to call it a night!

Wednesday morning we cooked ourselves breakfast in the Inn’s open galley kitchen and enjoyed the gas fireplace in the lounge. A call to “The Boat Doctors” confirmed my suspicions and options. A persnickety band-aid and no trailer brakes (which I would then have to undo and replace once we got to our home in SC or a proper fix. After the drive through the mountains in the dark the night before I knew that not having the trailer brakes wasn’t a valid option anymore. So we went with the replacement ax, disc hubs and new calipers. The guys at “The Boat Doctors” worked something of a near miracle getting a replacement axle found and ordered the Wednesday before the four day Thanksgiving weekend. They were also able to get new calipers, disc hubs and bearings on expedited order. At this point all we could do was to lean back and enjoy preparing the “Friendsgiving” feast with our daughter and friends. There was the last minute shopping to do at the grocery which in the mountains was an adventure in driving with again more hill twists turns blind corners cliffs and hairpin turns than Magic Mountain!

Thursday there were two kinds homemade pumpkin pies made..one from carving pumpkin and one from butternut squash, NY Stuffed manicotti, Midwest fried stuffing, a huge Salmon fillet, shrimp cocktail, cheeses and crackers, velvet mashed potatoes and turkey gravy along with raspberry Bavarian amount other things. Our daughter’s friends are great kids and one of their Moms was also in attendance. There were 10 to start with and later 2 more late arrivals. It was a lot of fun.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we got to spend time with our daughter and her friends to see more of the nacessent farm, chickens, goats, pond and hike to their waterfalls. It was a great time!

[OverEasy]

Continued……

On Monday we talked with “The Boat Doctors” and confirmed that all the necessary parts were on order and we’re expected to be delivered by Wednesday. Given all the work to be done we made an executive decision to also have all original the galvanized and rubber brake lines replaced with new corrosion resistant nickel-copper alloy ‘while they were at it’. This was something that was already on my trailer “would like to do list” and now was a prime opportunity. They agreed it was a good idea as several areas of brake line and fittings were showing significant rust.

Tuesday we talked again with “The Boat Doctors” and as the replacement axle was coming in with plain (no brake disc) hubs they suggested that “while they were at it” they would like to swap out our old rear axle hubs and old bearing/seals for these new plain hubs and bearings. It was a nice and smart thing to do at this point. Meanwhile we got to spend more time with our daughter, sight seeing, having some great dinners and very nice omelets, frittatas, amongst other culinary breakfasts at the Brook Trout Inn galley kitchen. It was fun making Lemonade out of our situation. (Personal Motto: Deal with the “IS” condition. It could be worse!)

Wednesday was more of the same…some of the parts arrived … some were delayed … more time to enjoy the surroundings and people. The Admiral works remotely three days a week (Tues-We’d-Thurs) so she was happy as a clam to have the fireplace lounge to herself as a very nice ‘make-shift” office. Me I just enjoyed the fire and scenery. MacGregor (our dog) loved the extra hikes, walks and adventures! Zaboo the cat was content to lounge in the sunbeams of our room.

Thursday the missing parts arrived very late in the afternoon. “The Boat Doctors” were now trying to get everything finished up by Friday afternoon as they weren’t able to be open Saturday. A brief visit with our daughter was snuck in as a bonus along with another dinner out. The Brook Trout Inn hosts were wonderful! Some of the other guests wondered if I was a visiting chef and could they place a breakfast Oder . I declined and then served up the Admiral a nice fluffy four cheese and mushroom omelet with a side of diced fried potatoes and light onions with a toasted English muffin with fresh orange juice and coffee.

Friday we checked out of the wonderful Brook Trout Inn (after breakfast) saying pleasant goodbyes to our wonderful host Julie (who half offered me the opportunity to come back in the summertime as their breakfast chef ) . The three and a half hour drive back up to Bristol TN via I-26 was even more dramatic in daylight! This is a significantly steep and adventuresome (scary) interstate highway!!! Again I see our failed hub as a serendipitous event in all seriousness. Had I known just how difficult a road this was, )never mind the secondary roads) , I would never have considered taking this route and being able to spend time with our younger daughter. I would have sorely missed the time spent with her but I NEVER would have considered towing Over Easy there had I known about the roads involved. So again, serendipity was a benefit to embrace.

Do to some unanticipated construction delays and traffic passing through Asheville NC we arrived at Bristol TN and the “The Boat Doctors” just minutes before 5 PM! They had just finished up all the repairs at 4:30 PM and we’re waiting for us! We can’t say enough nice things about everyone at “The Boat Doctors” who helped us get our damages placed in the rear view mirror! The delay was worth it! They did an excellent job helping us!

So NOT wanting to head SOUTH WEST onto I-26 (under any circumstances) we headed NORTH EAST back up I-81 to then head SOUTH EAST down I-77. A much better safer flatter route that took us EAST of the Smoky Mountains through relatively flat farmland toward Columbia SC. We stopped just North of Columbia for the night at another hotel.

Saturday we completed our journey SOUTH to our home in Beaufort SC by mid afternoon.
It was quite the serendipitous adventure that worked out better than I could have planned given all the circumstances involved.
It’s good to have made it home without any of the potential disasters that could have just as easily have occurred.
Very GLAD they didn’t and that things worked out so enjoyably well!

Best Regards and Happy Holidays to All,
Over Easy

[NiceAft]

What an adventure.

How assured were you that whichever hotel you would choose, that there was parking available large enough for a tow vehicle and trailer?

[OverEasy]

Hi NiceAft!

Yes, it was!
More than we planned for or on but it all worked out.

We tend to use Home2Suits for the most part near the Interstates.
They tend to have a 360 degree parking lot layout for the most part with good lighting and security camera coverage.
Generally we have been fortunate and have not had too much difficulty though we did have to bak into an end side spot with a couple of careful approaches.

We also check on Google Maps and the hotel website to get the layout and potential issues & alternatives before making a reservation.

Best Regards,
Over Easy