Birds, Boats and Booze.

The weather was horrid on Saturday as our guests arrived at the condo. David and Reenie, and Bill and Judy arrived in separate cars and I met them individually at the front parking lot to escort them to the underground parking where they could enter below without getting soaked.

The wet, cold weather didn't stop us from having a good time though, as talk was abundant. We got caught up on all the latest especially since there were new grandchildren in both families.As usual at these condo visits with friends, the food was plentiful and very tasty.

On Sunday the weather miraculously changed for the better. This was good because weeks ago I had booked a cruise. We drove down the U.S. side of the river to Metropolitan Beach to the mv Clinton with Captain Greg for an excursion called "Birds, Boats and Booze".

The Discovery cruises, subsidized by the Metro Parks Commission, and University of Michigan as well as numerous sponsors are very well done and this one turned out to be exceptionally good. If you follow this blog you will remember the two other cruises we've done with the Discovery Tours CLICK HERE.

Bill is always watching for older boats for sale so he enjoyed the departure from the docks.

We were headed to the St. Clair River delta; an area known as "the Flats" a few miles north-east for a total of about 12 miles each way.

This map shows the close proximity to Detroit and the dotted line shows the track where we went on board the mv Clinton.

The obsolete range lighthouses greet us as we arrive at the Flats. You can read more about them HERE. We entered the area by the old, original channel. Over the years the main shipping channel changed and was straightened to accommodate newer, larger ships.

Julie Champion, our knowledgeable commentator, hands out informational materials.

 We didn't see too many birds on our "Birds, Boats and Booze" tour but our very knowledgeable commentator Julie Champion gave us hours of interesting facts about the boatbuilding industry (Chis Craft Boats originated nearby in Algonac) and the Prohibition Era. Rum-running was one of the main industries of this region in the 1920's and 30's. Tourism on the flats flourished from the turn of the last century on as huge steamboats brought eager customers from Detroit, only a few miles south, across Lake St Clair.

Julie had lots of pictures so we could see "then" and "now" . Actually they looked pretty much the same one hundred years ago.

It's  easy to imagine the booze runners crossing the narrow waters of the Flats with their illicit cargo. It was legal to produce but not consume alcohol in Canada but illegal to make it at all in USA so our Canadian distilleries rose to world status with the export of liquor to Europe and Cuba - wink wink! Some boats made the trip to "Cuba" 3 times in one day.

Whenever there is something illegal going on you can look for organized crime. Al Capone was in Chicago but "The Purple Flower Gang" of Detroit made big bucks with watered-down booze sales and extortion "insurance" payments to keep your illegal speakeasy running and free of the feds.

Most of the waterfront locations are now owned by the wealthy or yacht clubs.

They did discuss the bird part of the Birds, Boats and Booze Tour and managed to show how even a very natural topic tied into the theme of boats and booze through the massive amount of tourism and hunting in the area.

After the cruise we were all hungry so we drove upriver back to Port Huron and decided to try a new restaurant "Rix on the Rocks" located in the former "Pilot House Restaurant" building right on the river across from the refineries of south Sarnia.

Bill had the "Polish Special" of the day. Even he could not finish the generous portion of cabbage rolls, sausage and perogies. I had the wings (big surprise)and so did Judy. Wendy had a huge Ruben sandwich and fries. All in all a wonderful day was had by all.
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PROJECT: Deck Repaint. Exciting Stuff!

Having power washed the deck yesterday, we were ready to add a much-needed coat of paint/stain to the thirsty surface.

The handle of a fly-swatter in my electric drill made a good stirring device.

One of my most brilliant "think-aheads" was buying 5 gallons of the no longer available oil based paint - eight years ago!

Wendy brushes around the edges as I use an 18" wide applicator brush to cover the area. She had originally thought she would brush the whole deck until I convinced her that the applicator would be a lot easier.

The deck needed this repaint since the last time we painted was 8 years ago. Where does the time go? Although I always dread this chore, the job went pretty fast since there was no colour change and coverage was fairly quick.

The steps are always a  longer job. Good going Wendy. She uses the cardboard to protect the wall behind.

The most exciting part of this job is watching the paint dry. The deck always looks so huge with everything removed for painting.

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PROJECT: Swing Bench Restoration

Two old swing benches  around the pool have served us well over the past 20 years or so but time had run out for them. One of the benches came from my parents place around 1996 and was a few years old then.

Teak boards or slats were beyond refinishing and rust was prevalent on the frame.

Boards from the side arms had fallen off.

In the seat area the slats were rotted out and moss was taking over.

Last Thursday our friend Greg came over and "volunteered" to make some new oak slats from several I gave him to use as patterns.

I stripped off all the slats and ordered new nuts and bolts.

There seems to be more to this project than I anticipated and I feel bad for Greg who offered to cut all the new slats from oak boards for the cost of the wood. I think I will owe him a few more chicken wings and beer for all his work.

The old fasteners were completely corroded and many of them snapped as I tried to undo them. We decided that none of them were salvageable.

The benches were reduced to their basic frame parts.

Fortunately the frame tubing was originally powder coated, and a good job at that, so I decided to stay with the same colour.

I used muriatic acid to remove the rust stains. It did a wonderful job and the tubular parts cleaned up amazingly well.

Here I am standing in my bare feet (so I wouldn't damage my work shoes) as I swabbed on the acid. I did wear safety glasses, rubber gloves and kept the hose and some sodium bicarbonate ready to douse the acid if I got any on my skin. Muriatic acid works miracles on rust stains. You may not find it at the hardware store because it's pretty strong but a pool place or TSC Store will have it in gallons or quarts.

Here are all the components cleaned and touched up with matching spray paint which coincidentally was a stock colour at Canadian Tire. (the colour: R.V. White)

Here's the finished frame all ready for new oak slats and arms. I was even able to save the decorative plastic scroll-work. The old swing benches will be better than they were when they were new. Hopefully they'll go another 20 years because it's not something I want to do again.

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PROJECT: Two More Jobs On The Go...

Our son Tim was working the first phase of what turned out to be two jobs today. This morning I drove over to Home Depot and rented a pressure washer. The intention was to wash down the deck in preparation for a new paint job. None too soon I must say as the last time we painted it was 2008.

Anyway, since we have the machine for 24 hours, Wendy came up with the additional idea of washing the cement around the pool and also the pavers in front of the new wall.

Before

 After

Well, the pool and paving stones turned out to be a whole day job so the wood deck will have to get done tomorrow morning before the machine goes back by 10 am.

Looks like the dirt from around the pool and pavers ended up on Tim.
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More Maintenance...

We went to open the pool and discovered the pump motor was seized and the salt chlorinator was not chlorinating. You can see that the poor old pump motor was getting pretty corroded as it worked tirelessly all these (probably 20) years. I took it apart and got it spinning but it was shrieking in protest and finally died a noisy death.

Most motor problems on pumps are caused by water intrusion through the pump seals so new seals are always mandatory in a motor replacement. Fortunately my eBay supplier included the seals as a no charge extra.

The pump motor was a no-brainer. It was complaining/whining a little last year as the bearings were going. I knew we wouldn't make it another season and should have ordered a pump motor during the winter but alas, I forgot. I ordered a new 3/4 hp motor on line for $139 and we picked it up at the mail box on Friday. Would have been another hundred bucks at least in good old Canada.

The salt chlorinator is a pricey device. The control box can cost over $800 and even a replacement circuit board can run $400. Fortunately I was able to isolate the problem to a failed component.

I found the same problem on YouTube so it confirmed my suspicions. I saved a few hundred dollars here.

Upon investigation and testing I discovered that a small, disc-shaped, low cost electronic device called the current limiter had failed so I ordered a larger capacity one for $6.50 and had it also sent to the mail box in Port Huron.


Thank the Lord for Google and You Tube when you have to solve a problem. This video advocates a $2.50 replacement current limiter but I chose to replace mine with a super-duty, heavier, $6.50 model which should last longer since, being larger, it won't get as hot in use.

A few more home maintenance items to go yet, then maybe the weather will stay nice and I can escape to the condo in Point Edward. We'll see!
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