Green Cove Springs Marina

I got up at 3 AM to head up (down) the St. John's River to Green Cove Springs from Jacksonville Landing.  (Down because we were headed south even though we were going upstream?  Who knows?)  I was accompanied by Hobo II who had arranged for a diesel mechanic to look at his engine.  We arrived at about 7:50 AM and tied up to the dock. I had come for a "short haul."  They pull the boat out of the water, scrape and pressure wash the bottom and then drop the boat back in.  While we had Reboot out of the water I had the folding "Max-prop" folding propeller replaced by the original equipment bronze three blade propeller.  Folding props are great when you are sailing in light winds but you lose a lot of power motoring.  In Lake Michigan I did very little motoring and of course while racing you want every benefit you can get, but general cruising (particularly the ICW) results in many hours of motoring,  I was willing to give up light air sailing performance for higher speeds and better fuel economy while motoring.  We will see how it works out.

Jim (Hobo II) was able to track down his engine problems to a couple of gaskets he needs to replace.  He is going to pick up the parts on Monday and get the engine fixed.  He also ordered a new autopilot that he will pick up on Tuesday and we will install.

We expect to stay here for a couple of days.  With a clean bottom I am motivated to clean up the sides and deck of Reboot.  She has not had a real cleaning and waxing in over a year.  Also I have a large number of small projects that I hope to address while we are here.

Green Cove Springs is well known by the cruising community.  I had never been here and was delighted that it lived up to its excellent reputation.  The people were friendly, the work was done quickly and competently, and the price was quite reasonable.  I would recommend this yard to anyone in the area who needs services.

When we finish up here we will be looking for a weather window to head down to Key West, a trip of 5 to 8 days.

Postscript:  Wisconsin hammered Michigan.  GO BADGERS!