Saturday June 18, 2016
It was blowing hard all day Saturday, a good day to stay in port.
We walked a few blocks along the main drag in Morehead City to a breakfast place, and then a few more blocks to a bakery. Both were a great success!
At noon we paid $10 to take the Marina van out for 2 hours. Our destination was Atlantic Beach. The water was great!
We would be traveling to Oriental the following day. I remembered that there was one of Heron’s sister ships in Oriental, but I could not remember where I had put the owner’s contact information. Finally the old light bulb went off. I pulled out my laptop, searched my old emails, and found Archie and Beverly’s names. Yeah! Turns out that they were not going to be at their boat, but we could see her at the Whittacker Point Marina.

A tour of SV Heron thru photos. We are keeping her forever, but wanted to share what we love about our boat.

we love our electric windless and wash down hose in the bow. 100 feet of chain, plow type anchor.

we installed 3 step/hand holds above the top step of the swim ladder. Really helps getting on and off our boat.

At the suggestion of a friend, we ran the main halyard back to the cockpit. Makes raising and lowering the main much easier.

I bought a Sailrite sewing machine, and made the stack pack that goes with the  lazy Jack. No more furling the main!

The main sheet and main halyard are both controlled in the cockpit.

When we don’t need the screens, we roll them up. Nice when it is buggy!

We installed a Garmin chartplotter in the cockpit. There had been a small chartplotter on an “umbilical cord” that could be used inside or out.
Our cockpit seats are long enough to stretch out for a nap. We had stone crabs for dinner on Captiva with 11 seated around the cockpit table, a record!
We love our microwave, located in the aft fort. Note- the fort is full of stuff for our trip until we return home. The cockpit cushions fit in the fort, for the grandchildren.
Since we had to rebuild the settees and salon table, we raised the seat to stool height. This gave us a panoramic view while seated at the table. To convert to a bed, pull out framing drawer, drop in wood panel, pull cushion away from bulkhead, and drop table. A snap!
I love our inside helm when it is nasty outside. Jim prefers the outside helm, regardless of the weather!
We installed a cell phone charging station above the forward fort/settee. Another charging option in cubby in cockpit.
We have 6 house batteries, 2 starter batteries, and 1 windless battery.
The electrical control panel and the famous SOC (state of charge) display) by the inside helm.
What had been a book shelf is now our snack, tea, and coffee shelves.
We have a very comfortable V berth.
Each side of the V berth has a fan and a light. My side also has an electrical plug, so We can plug in my I-pad and watch a movie on Netflicks.
The head has a sink, composting toilet, and separate shower!
Bugs are kept at bay by screens, our battery powered bug zappers, and our propane bug repellant system.
Heron has a 51 hp Yanmar engine with 2,632 hours on it. Boat is 36 years old, engine is half that age.
love our huge refrigerator and freezer! 6 year old grand daughters are great at helping to defrost the freezer. Hang onto their legs!
Jim (and mechanics) love the easy access to the engine.
We have blackout material lining the salon curtains and roll up blinds. Keeps the sun and heat out, and provides privacy at night in marinas.
We have a little yellow bag tied on the stern with an emergency ladder inside. Also have orange life ring and a white life sling. Just in case….
Second night at Morehead City Yacht Basin.