Barnegat Bay to Manasquan

We’re voyaging again!!!! Parts came in about 9:00 am this morning and after a discussion with the marina owner, he agreed to lend me a bench to do the rebuild. Chad one of the mechanics immediately said he can use my bench. I will clean it off. I followed Chad to the shop and he not only cleaned off his bench but also offered his tools for me to use. That kind of hospitality is unheard of in other places.

Doug and I disassembled, install the new seal kit in about an hour and went to the boat to install the cylinder. The reinstallation went quite smoothly in another hour and then we needed to bleed the air from the hydraulic system. That took another hour and a half adding about 3 or 4 ounces of fluid, pumping it through the system, bleeding air at the cylinder, operating the lower helm to pump the fluid through the tubes, adding more fluid at the upper helm station and so on and so on. A very tedious process. While under way, I went to the aft cabin to check on the steering system and it was dry as it should be. All seems to be well!

We pulled out of the slip about 2:30 PM moving to the gas dock for some added diesel, very reasonable at $3.74 per gallon. We should have enough fuel now to reach Albany. As we motored to the bay there was a stiff wind from the South and a 2-3 ft. chop on the bay as we headed north. We decided to stay inside since our local knowledge folks assured us that the channel was deep enough for our boat to reach the Manasquan Inlet. There is a very narrow channel as we end the inside passage call the Point Pleasant Canal the current is reported to be 4.0 knots at flood and ebb. We have reviewed the tide tables and believe we need to leave our anchorage at 5:00 am tomorrow morning. It will be a short night. We are anchored in the Metedeconk River this evening, had shrimp for dinner and are enjoying some relaxations after dinner. Time to do the blog, answer emails and call home, then off to bed you sleepy head we plan an early morning.

The repairs and stay at Key Harbor Marina went better than we expected. Fred Brueggemann and his staff, their hospitality and extensive knowledge went a long way toward solving our problems. I cannot recommend them highly enough to other boaters.

Doug and Kathy's summer estate or maybe Jon Bon Jovi's house

We're pretty sure, Jon Bon Jovi's house

Another wonderful Sunset