A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

[OverEasy]

Hi All

Whew! The past 28 months have been a whirlwind of adventures for us and Over Easy!

While we liked just having the one log to document our journey with Over Easy it was getting a bit long for the server apparently.
At the suggestion of our forum administrators we are starting a new adventure journey log for the 2023 year.

So here we go!
Welcome to “ A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024”.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

So far it has been a low key start for our 2023 journey with Over Easy…

We’ve gotten some miles and nights under our belts so far along with several modifications and our new engine.

Our Major Mod List So Far
> New Galley
> New Dual 12 Gallon Fuel Tanks
> New Fuel Filter/Selector/Regulator Assy
> New Interior Cushions & Covers
> New Vee Berth Extension
> New DC Electrical Wiring & Control Panel
> New Dual Battery System
> New Bilge Pump System
> New Fwd Remote Control Flood Light
> New DF60AV 4-Stroke Engine
> Air Conditioning System

Our Major Trips So Far:
> Approximately 1500 miles of exploration of the Beaufort SC Area Estuaries
> A 70 night and 14 night stay on Lake Champlain
> Approximately 5000 (+) miles of road travel

Things to Do:
> Rear Arch
> Rear Enclosure
> Dodger
> Drum Anchor Winch & Anchor System
> Rebalance Boat
> Solar Power System
> Solar Powered Vent
> AC Shore Power & AC Electrical Control Panel/Box
> Portable Generator & Mounting
> Replace/Rebuild Carbs on old Tohatsu
> Move new-to-us runabout down to SC from NH
> and others that evade me at the moment.

Lots to do and doubtful we’ll get it all done in 2023 but we’re hoping to put a dent it!

Planned Trip Options TBD for 2023:
> ICW from Beaufort SC North to Charleston SC and south down to Savanna GA
> Lake Champlain VT
> Great Bay NH
> Lake Winnipesaukee NH

Non-Boating Projects for 2023:
> Remodel Kitchen (DIY) - SC
>> Finish basement electrical wiring leftover from Summer 2022 - NH
> Driveway & Retaining Wall Remodel - NH
——Actually the driveway IS sorta a project for Over Easy

This retirement is busier than we had envisioned

Best Regards
Over Easy

Our “new to us” 15 ft runabout (and ICW tender…?)

It’s currently on a better refurbished SeaLand’r single axle galvanized trailer we accomplished back in October 2022
We’ll try and get an update photo of it all together once we get it to SC

[Russ]

Quite the accomplishments already.

Sounds like a veeeery busy retirement.

[OverEasy]

Thanks Russ!

Residual Type A condition
Guess the glass is still half full ……
Or as my Dad used to say ‘we can rest when we’re looking up at the daisies” whenever I slacked off on my chores.

While I loved my professional career and I don’t regret the early retirement back in 2016 I do miss the challenges and mental stimulation.
Up until taking the early retirement I’d had some half baked idea that retirement would be lazy mornings reading the paper with a cup of coffee and toast with marmalade…. That lasted about a week

I figure life is what it is while it lasts…best to keep busy and enjoy the work
Keeps me outa da bars and being under foot which keeps the Admiral happy .

I can also only watch just so much YouTube of other people actually doing stuff before I get fidgety

Hope all goes well for you in this New Year!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

With all the house projects we desire to accomplish both down in South Carolina this Winter and Spring 2023 in addition to all the house projects we desire to accomplish this Summer and Fall 2023 we made a management decision to curtail a sizable portion of our planned modifications for Over Easy to the ones we need most.

Since we got back down to SC we’ve managed to remove about 6 packed bundles the size of a minivan of vines removed from our yard!
This is about a half of the yard! Still a ways to go….

Never mind the SC deck to complete, door and windows to replace, garage to dig out and organize, and the kitchen to renovate/reconstruct….

The New Hampshire house driveway renovation/construction and requisite retaining walls and landscaping are equally daunting.

So what to do with Over Easy???
Viola! Eureka!
The Marina in Port Royal came through with a slip opening availability from the beginning of March through the end of May!
So while we may be limited for time to get any significant mods accomplished for Over Easy we can still get to enjoy her out on the local estuaries!!! It will be a welcome reward to be able to easily get out on the water at the end of the day of labors.
We are VERY grateful for this opportunity!

The weather here in SC has been absolutely amazing for the past month. Improving every day. Temps have been in the mid 70s during the days of late!!! (Meanwhile back in NH there have been several snowstorms and temps having reached down into the teens for several days.
Freezing temps every night as wel, even when daytime temps have climbed occasionally to the low 40s. Brrr)

Today (while the rain curtailed yard work) we were able to change out the old rear guide poles on Over Easy’s trailer. The old original pokes were short and tapered at different angles ….this made loading Over Easy on the trailer occasionally a hassle. The new poles are taller and uniform from side to side. Once the old guide poles were off we were able to repair them and mounted them to Scrambled (our runabout) trailer. Not bad for a rainy day.

In the garage last week we pitched about three plus 60 gallon garbage bins of debris, installed three 6 shelf 8 foot tall shelving units. In no time they were filled with stuff… Still a long way to go on that front.

The deck is moving slowly…got the bench columns wrapped in Trex…2/3 of the bench seat facings have been wrapped in Trex - now if I can only get that wrapped up I can move forward with getting the bench tops covered in Trex? Then I can get started on the two stair sets started

In the kitchen we got the upper cabinets on the divider wall emptied! No to start finding the time to remove them….but oopsie, I still need to make room in the garage for them (Sometimes we feel trapped in a full sized game of Tetris )

Not as far along as we’d hoped but not terrible for the the first month back in SC.
Just gotta pick up the pace…..

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

It’s March 4th, Saturday night, and I’m deep into the bilges of Over Easy having just completed a new Mini Air Conditioner Condensate Drain Bilge! Ta Da!!!

We had wanted to get this accomplished ever since we installed the A/C in Over Easy! It sorta evolved… We had initially just had the condensate collect in a pan that we periodically emptied (Gawd forbid if the humidity was high or if we plumb forgot about it!).

So next, given we had installed three automatic bilge pumps ( Port/Starboard/Center) we let it drain directly into the Port Bilge. Problem was that the “Automatic” bilge pumps don’t trigger unless the water there is sufficiently deep and then when it does finish pumping it leaves about 1/2 inch (or so) which given the shallow nature of the Mac26X bilges is still nearly a gallon (or so) of water remaining. Who wants a gallon of water sloshing about? Eh?🫣 (Yes, we do have wet vacuum lines routed to each of the bilges but it’s still a chore that needs to be done 🫤.

So this season we created a “mini” bilge just for the A/C unit. (That way the Port Bilge can remain dry and only the much smaller 1 Quart “mini” bilge gets wet.)

The bilge tub is a trimmed down plastic pneumatic nail container that easily fits in the aft berth Port side access. The pump is the shortest automatic bilge pump I could find locally (a Rule 500 series). To maximize pump out and minimize drain back I placed a check valve inline adjacent to the pump duscharge. I chose to reduce the discharge line down from the typical 3/4 inch tube to 1/4 inch to minimize retained water. For a discharge Port I decided to re-access the original Mac26X sink drain through hull which I had capped off when we did our galley mod back in 2020. Glad I chose to use a threaded cap! While the check valve will preclude any siphoning issues I also added a high loop in the discharge line up to where the old sink rim would have been just for good measure.







The Rule pump automatic feature doesn’t use a float but rather a 2-1/2 minute timer. It then uses a current sensor to keep the pump on until it runs out of water to pump. While it eliminates a float switch one does need to get used to to periodic “whoosh” sound which is reasonably minimal and really can’t be heard when the A/C is running.

Meanwhile I finished the annual start of season scrub with Clorox Tilex of all the interior surfaces. Everything inside sparkling!

Tomorrow we give the outside a through bath to get off the winter gunk and all the recent pine pollen that has accumulated. The pollen has been so heavy as of late that our cars turn yellow almost over night!

Still targeting Monday morning to get Over Easy launched!

Although there are still major house projects that need to be done it will still be nice to be able to go down to the marina slip and get out into the beautiful estuaries surrounding us!!!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[pitchpolehobie]

Overeasy at what point does your boat become a new version of a 26X. Macgregor 26x Rev OE

[OverEasy]

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

So today was Over East’s bath day!
We tried the wet/soap/brush/rinse & repeat process. No dice ! The pine pollen seems embedded into all the surfaces! So out came the pressure washer (again🫣).

Was hesitant to use it as even when a good 18 inches away it is still a bit rough on the old gelcoat. But that aside it was the only way to get her cleaned up ! (We guess that we might be adding a new DIY paint job to the “To-Do” list…at least to the top side surfaces in a year or two).

Least sways the pine pollen yellow and the bulk of the black stuff is gone now! Gonna try some Bleachy stuff in the cockpit to see if we can’t brighten it up some later.

Still hoping for a launch tomorrow morning but as this is supposed to be a fun thing (as opposed to a forced march) we have the option of launching on Tuesday morning. (We’ve found that rushing to launch artificially isn’t a good practice… something critical tends to get overlooked🫣.)

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[pitchpolehobie]

Get some launch day pics for those of us up north that still have lakes that aren't full yet with spring rain!

[OverEasy]

Hi Pitchpolephobie!

That phantom “only human” part showed up this morning when the alarm was mysteriously turned off at 5 AM this morning……

So launch is rescheduled for Tuesday morning… high tide at ~8:30 AM… a half hour later than today.

Gives us another day to get some more ‘piddling’ chore time to take care of a couple cosmetic items.
With the cleaning Sunday we noticed a couple of those inevitable small rash spots in the gelcoat we can now take care of.
And there are always things we were gonna ‘bring to the boat later’ we can put aboard now…. ….

Yes, we’ll make it a point to get some launch and first day cruise photos posted.
We know the feeling of being ‘ice bound’ in the northern regions… New Hampshire just got another foot of snow… just very grateful we are down in South Carolina this winter and able to enjoy the warm weather (as opposed to last year’s surprise medical issues ).

Meanwhile here are some pictures of the Azaleas blooming









Over Easy all cleaned up and ready to go….


Hope these alleviate the winter chill…. Spring and Summer are just around the corner!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Russ]

Living vicariously. It snowed again today. No flowers.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We launched!
Beautiful clear warm sunny day with a light breeze and really only riffle waves!

We had gotten to the boat ramp a little after high tide and there was a good ebbing tide just starting to flow out. Three ramps at the Port Royal Boat Ramp but for a Mac26X (or anything you want to launch/retrieve level the first two don’t count as there is a good sideways sand slope 🫣) ya really need the third ramp farthest from the pier… go figure

So we got down the ramp but needed a stern tag line as well as a bow tag line of about 40 ft to get the boat off the trailer AND control it in the growing current and breeze. Bit of comedic relief for those watching. Needless to say the time to take pictures wasn’t gonna be. Sorry folks…yer just gonna have to use your imaginations!

We did get it accomplished without any swimming, falling in, bangs or scrapes.
Whew!🫣

Our new Suzuki fired right up and with a helping volunteer assisting in pushing the bow pulpit clear of the pilings we were off!

After a couple system checks we powered up and cruised down the Beaufort River past Paris Island (USMC) where we heard the Marine Corps Band and on to the junction of the Broad River.

Our First Mate (MacGregor) had a terrific time!
Face to the wind and flapping ears! He was happy!

The waves were picking up so we turned about and headed back up the Beaufort River enjoying being out on the water. We worked our way up past the City of Beaufort under the swing bridge and then on up to the Brickyard Boat Ramp on Ladys Island.

We saw multiple Dolphins, Loons, Osprey and Cormorants. It was great!

At about 3 PM we felt it would be prudent to head back to the Marina where we will be renting a slip through the end of May ensuring there would be plenty of daylight to be able to secure Over Easy in her slip and settle in.

Docking was a breeze and the Marina staff were there to catch our lines. A great day on the water!

The one hiccup was the Honda we had left at the Marina the night before and our Caravan tow vehicle/trailer we left at the Port Royal Boat Ramp…. I left the keys for the Honda in the Caravan!!!🫣🫤. Oopsie!!! No problem… a quick Taxi ride and the problem was fixed!

To celebrate we popped open a mini champagne and toasted our successful day. We finished up with Pizza! Seldom does it get better than today!
























A gorgeous full moon finished our first day on the water for 2023!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Jimmyt]

Sounds like a great day! Great pics! Thanks for posting.

[pitchpolehobie]

Successful launch day! Great pics. Cheers to a good season.