" When Pigs Fly"

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Yesterday was one of those days.  Parts of it were good, some of it was bad and some was down right UGLY.

The Good

The area around Buzzard Rock Marina is wooded and lovely.  Lake Barkley is beautiful and the water shows the most awesome reflections.  The 60 foot to the top on our slip reflects an equal distance into the water and sunsets are striking.  Through the course of the day yesterday we enjoyed watching a doe with two fawns saunter across the road about a hundred yards in front of us.  We watched humming birds visit our feeder, loons swimming on the lake and herons standing sentry on the dock.   The crowning moment for the day came when we went for a boat ride late in the day and found an American bald eagles’ nest.  The nest is situated on one of only a couple of trees on a very small island in Lake Barkley.  Through the binoculars we were able to watch the pair on the nest and caught one taking off, soaring on the air currents.  Nature at its best. 

So that's  the “good”. 

The Bad

The “bad” was really part of a typical day; finding something that needs to be fixed.  There was an unpleasant odor on the boat so we set to work cleaning.  We cleaned and deodorized the filters on all the AC units…and vowed never to let them get that nasty again!  We cleaned the carpet and emptied all the trash.  Still the odor lingered.  In an effort to isolate the smell we looked in the bilge.  That’s when we discovered a problem with the shower sump pump that takes the water out of the boat from the shower.  The diagnosis was that the float wasn’t working so it wasn’t triggering the pump.  Instead of pumping the grey water out of the boat, it was over flowing and emptying into the bilge: something that needed to be fixed but not a major issue (And not the source of the odor). Our bilge pump eliminates the water from the boat but the Captain will have to deal with the float so things would work as they should. 

The really UGLY

Things got “ugly” when we finally discovered the source of the odor.  While inspecting the bilge the Captain noticed a trickle coming from one of the hoses on the holding tank for the front head. 
Ah yes, the source!  The immediate concern was the overall condition of the holding tank and whether it would need to be replaced.  As we’ve mentioned before our beloved Pig is no spring chicken (or piglet!)  and there would be no way to remove the holding tank without destroying the 26 year old hot water heater.   We know the water heater will need replaced someday just not today, please. The dollar signs were running through our heads at an alarming rate.(BOAT)

Following the initial shock of seeing the leak, we started with the easiest possible solution.  We loosened the pump out valve to see if relieving some pressure on the tank would make a difference.  It didn’t.The Captain consulted with Dale, the mechanic here at Buzzard Rock who has helped us with all sorts of issues.  Dale is wise re: all things boat and an all-round great guy.  He suggested that maybe we didn’t get a good pump out when we had it done a week ago and the tank was full.  We had thought about the full tank but knew we had just been pumped last week so had moved it down on the list of possibilities.  With Dale’s observation, it went right to the top.  So we motored over to the gas dock, supervised a thorough pumping out and the leak stopped.    No major repairs needed!  The Captain will find a way to seal the coupling around the hose and we’ll be more careful about pump outs.  Of course there was that very ugly mess to clean up in the bilge and the Captain spent about 30 minutes literally in the "bowels of the beast" scrubbing with Lysol.  We went to bed relieved and with a very antiseptic smelling boat!

And...The Good

The nicest thing about driving to the gas dock is that it led to a lovely boat ride to areas of Lake Barkley we had not yet explored.  We saw the eagles mentioned earlier, saw another big bird of unidentified species swoop down on the lake and catch his/her dinner and we cruised by the Kentucky prison, which is rather stately from the water.  The crew piloted the boat for a spell and we experimented with the new radar.  Finally we anchored for a bit, played in the water, enjoyed a beverage on the back deck and cruised home.  Captain Frank says there are only good days at the lake.  This one had its moments but the good definitely outweighed the bad, and the ugly!

See you on the water.