Author Archives: sailing

1979 Morgan Out Island 33 Sailboat in Orange Beach // For Sale

June 3, 2008 – 6:44 am · Popularity: 16%

Morgan Out Island 33 For Sale

This is probably the saddest post I could make on this blog but we have come to the decision that we can not keep up with our house here and the boat we love down at the coast.

I will be posted more photos and information as time goes on but you can look through this blog and all the posts and history of the boat to know what we are selling. It is a 1979 Morgan Out Island 33 in great shape. We had put a lot of hard work into her since we purchase her in Tampa in 2006. The only issue she has at all is the 50hp Perkins motor needs a new head gasket. The Perkins has been serviced, a new heat exchanger installed, filters changed, and she runs GREAT. Starts right up every time, but she does need the header gasket replaced.

Comes with all sails and equipment needed to take an off-shore cruise to the keys or Bahamas. I will post the latest survey soon. We did not have one done as we did not continue the coast guard registration process. Along with all the normals for a boat this size, it also has a GREAT marine a/c and heater unit. We used this all summer last year and this winter and it works great. It is a very roomy cabin, perfect for a live-a-board with the headroom and sleeps at least 5 comfortably. The interior is very clean and in very nice condition. Floors and wood work on the inside are in great shape. Two water holding tanks that hold about 50 gallons of water, a 35 gallon diesel tank, working head and fresh water shower.

To see the history of the vessel please visit the history page, you can also see the most recent survey as well. We had not completed the name change so it is still technically called the s/v LAUGHALOT. The boat is located at the Bear Point Marina in Orange Beach Alabama. You are more than welcome to visit the marina to see the boat. The current asking price is $19,500. The current NADA price is about $23,000 but we have discounted the header gasket work that needs to be done, which should only be about $1500 or so. The marina is VERY nice and the slip is very reasonable at $350 per month, which includes electric, water, phone, and cable.

Any questions at all please let us know through the contact page above and I will be happy to return your email. You can also ask your questions through the comment box below and I will post answers there publicly.

Here are some recent photos.

Morgan Out Island 33 For Sale

Morgan Out Island 33 For Sale

Inside the Cabin

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Dolphins Came to Visit Us and Mate in the Marina

April 27, 2008 – 5:40 pm · Popularity: 7%

The first time we saw dolphins from right here in our slip Deborah and I were very excited. Now, they seem to be here every time we come, but not like they were today. Today, a pair came into the marina (which is a dead end), went all the way to the end, came back half way, had some fun, they made their way out.

We filmed this a few weeks ago but I just now got the chance to upload the video to youtube.

Dolphins Playing (or Mating) in the Marina

It was so exciting to get to see them so close, and from right here in our slip. The dolphin boats here in the marina are always full (it seems) and I am sure they all have a great time, but we get to see them without having to go anywhere, what a treat. Not only did they come in where we could see them, we ended up getting some great (to me) video and photos too.

dolphins came to mate in the marina

You can see from the video that they came all the way up into the small marina cove here. They are really neat animals to see in the wild and not in some trained setting. When they get into a feeding frenzy it is really quite something to see as well.

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Slipping Into a New Home at the Marina in Orange Beach

March 15, 2008 – 3:34 pm · Popularity: 7%

We have been at slip E-12 for about a year now and it was not the most comfortable place for our sailboat. It was a little small and we never could get the lines tied off correctly to keep her from smashing into a pier once in a while when the winds or wakes peaked.

laughalot\'s new slip

So, we moved. We are now in E-13 and we are enjoying this new location. Yes, we moved one slip over, farther out towards the inter coastal. Doesn’t sound like much but we have a dock that comes all the way out, almost to the aft of the boat where we had almost no dock space before, and, we now have no pier for the anchor to bang up against.

That’s us, last one of the end (left side of photo). We still stick out quite a bit but it is a better slip for our sailboat. Moving was not the easiest task in the world since our Perkins has a blown head gasket and once we were out in the channel it seems our prop or drive shaft or something was not giving me the power I know this thing has. It could just be lack of a cylinder or two (it only has four), but I am NOT a mechanic to know what the lack of power came from, but we muscled it into the slip and tied off without much issue.

I am sure we gave someone a good laugh and pure entertainment value for the 30 minutes or so it took us to move over one slip, but that is the fun of a marina. You watch everyone else screw up and vice-versa. We are now happily in E-13 and just in time, the wind is blowing just under gale force now.

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Pressure Washing a Sailboat in a Gale Warning, Really

March 10, 2008 – 2:05 pm · Popularity: 7%

tow boat on the inter coastal waterwayBefore we left from our other home, we had planned on using this weekend down at the boat as a cleaning weekend. We were trying to beat the Spring breakers who were  arriving soon, along with all the regulars for the summer. We were hoping to hit a slow time in between Spring break, snow birds, and regulars, and I think we managed to do that just fine. Of course, there was just one reason for that. GALE FORCE WINDS.

Temps that dropped down in the 40’s would generally keep most people away from a marina, but the winds were something else. Prior to this weekend it had been starting to get up in the 70’s so we thought winter was over. No such luck. When Deborah starting taking photos of me doing the pressure washing it was rather nice, but a little cool.

As the day went on, it got colder and colder and colder and the wind started blowing so hard that I turned on the weather radio to hear, “gale warning in effect” for the next two days. Oh well, this is when we were going to clean the boat. There were two tasks to complete today, a complete pressure wash, and removing all the vinyl lettering.  A job that didn’t really seem all that hard when we left Auburn and arrived at the marina to a nice sunny, and rather warm day, but oh how things change.

Pressure Washing and a Little Wind

So, I started washing to boat from top to bottom, or as much of it as I could reach. I started off in shorts and a hat and put on more cloths as the day went on. Being able to pressure wash a boat in the slip is a great advantage to having to haul it out or use a scrub brush or something.

scott washing laughalot

Each winter an unbelievable grind and gray matter clings to the fiberglass and finds a home that seems impenetrable. A pressure washer does a cleaning job like nothing else I can imagine. I would highly recommend one to anyone looking to clean anything that can withstand the power of a real, genuine gas powered, not available in California, pressure washer. They work great.

scott pressure washing

Time To Remove all Lettering

Deborah and I decided to re-christen our sailboat, named the s/v Laughalot, to the name of our company, motto, and a name we picked together about a year earlier, the s/v Island Zephyr. The first step of course would be to remove the lettering and measure for the new graphics.

scott removing letters

From some of the photos you can see that this was far harder than the washing and I think I had a headache for two days after I finished with the transom graphics. We are planning on putting the name along with the registration numbers at the bow, port and starboard sides, then a larger graphic in the back that has the name of the boat, home port (that would be Auburn, AL), and the website address. I will do another post with the actual graphic I have designed and hopefully we can get it made and put on the boat very quickly before someone gets upset with a boat that has no lettering. It won’t leave the slip at all so it shouldn’t be a problem.

scott removing transom letters

As you can see from this last photo, the winds are now blowing quite hard, I am now in long sleeves, and all sane individuals are inside and warm. The photo of the tow boat at the top should have been an indication, they were pulling over and stopping along the inter coastal waterway because it was to dangerous to move the barges. At least we are done. Cleaning and all this is just part of the fun of a sailboat. Everyone else around here will be doing this same thing when it is nice and warm outside and I will be done and up in the cockpit, watching.

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When Batteries Explode, Remove Them and Return to Walmart

March 6, 2008 – 3:18 pm · Popularity: 5%

We came down to the boat this time to find that we had a little battery issue, one didn’t like being charged over the last few weeks and just blew its top (or side as it looks). Most boats and sailboats have a battery compartment and we have three batteries on board. One starting battery and two “house” batteries.

Much like an RV, the house batteries are supposed to be deep cycle batteries but when we bought the boat the person who “preped” the boat said they put in new batteries, and of course they were all starting batteries. This wasn’t really a bid deal since we weren’t going to use them much at first anyway, but one of them didn’t like being charged like a deep cycle does.

Batteries, Charging, and that Deep Cycle Thing

I removed the coverings to find that the side had completely blown off the side of the battery and of course all its contents were in a puddle underneath the battery. Thank goodness the plastic that lines the battery compartment kept the battery acid and all things wet, contained (also thankful it didn’t start a fire as well).

exploding batteries

Since the lead plates were visible I was not real thrilled with getting in there and removing it, but someone had to do it, so while I prepared, Deborah took a few shots here. You can see from the battery shot, the yellow piece to the left is actually the side of the battery that blew out and up.

removing batteries

Disposal of Said Bad Battery

What to do… well, we put a box in a garbage bad, pulled the battery and put it in the bag, then mopped up all the remaining acid and water, sealed it all up and went outside for a breath of fresh air. What in the world do you do with a battery like this? Disposal needs to be done properly, so, Wal-Mart here we come.

The conversation with the automotive center guy went something like this.

wm - Do you want to return it for a refund?
me - Nope.
wm - Do you want to exchange it?
me - Nope.
wm - Do you want your money back?
me - Nope.
wm - What do you want?
me - Nothing, just take the darn thing and dispose of it for me
wm - (opening the bad to inspect)… ummmm
me - ahhh, don’t do that, it is pretty bad in there
wm - ok, anything else.
me - Nope. Thanks.

People are always dealing with power issues on a sailboat, nice to see some of the other posts about some of these issues, like House Battery Shelf, which looks like he shouldn’t have this problem, its great to do it yourself. We now make sure the charger is turned off when we leave since the remaining battery is still a starting battery, but in very good shape.

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A Cold Day on the Beach in February is Empty and Fun

February 15, 2008 – 5:53 am · Popularity: 9%

Some days a cold day on the beach is better than a warm day inside. The beaches, in most parts of the country right now, are completely empty, but put a nice cool breeze and January into the mix and you get this (see beach image below). Not only is there a rare February thunderstorm in the distance but the only visible moving object on the beach is a tiny little bird in the very center of the image. The sunsets at the marina are always so dynamic and each one is different. The thunderstorms here made just enough of a hole in the sky to give us a great sunset today.

Sunset at the Marina

This image was actually taken by my cell phone. I am really amazed at the quality of images that can be taken by a cell phone these days. Not that it is worthy of publication but for just sticking a phone up in the air, its not bad.

Gulf Shores in January

This weekend we did spend the day on the beach (see all the photos below) but we came down to be on Laughalot. We did enjoy the peace and quiet that the marina always has around this time of year, and of course on the beaches too.

We have several favorite beaches down here, some are in Florida, some in Alabama, but depending on the time of year, you can usually walk several miles in either direction and enjoy a quiet walk. As is customary for me, I try to get in about 5-7 miles while I am on the beach, here I am on my way, yes, it is cold. I don’t look all that thrilled but I really am glad to be there, even if the weather is a little harsh.

Scott going for a walk

Of course, DK has here own way of keeping warm, stay in the tent, don’t move much and have a ton of layers on. We do have some larger shots of the tent area on the beach but this close up gives a better idea of how cold it really is down here today.

Deborah\'s Beach Tent

It still made for a very nice sunset at the marina and we had a great weekend on Laughalot.

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This is What You Do in January in the Marina, Knit and Blog

January 11, 2008 – 6:34 pm · Popularity: 6%

Now that the cold weather is here this is what you do, sit and knit. It is now to cold to sit outside in the cockpit for any extended period of time but we can still come down for the weekend and enjoy being here. Here is Deb sitting under a bunch of blankets knitting on the boat. Surprised she doesn’t have on her mittens and ear muffs but we did get the heater working this summer, thank goodness.

Deborah knitting on the boat in the marina

There will be warmer days but we still had a nice weekend down on the boat. Once again we were treated to wonderful sunsets, right off the transom but it was a little to cold to go outside and do much. What I should be doing right now is getting a list of all the things I want to do on the boat when it gets warmer but who can get motivated in this cold.

View of the Sunset from the Marina

We did take several trips over to the beach where I could do some much needed walking and DK could knit, in the shelter of our tent. Photos of that will be coming soon, pictured above are two shots I took with my iPhone, not bad for a phone camera.  The first is of Deborah of course, knitting on the boat in the heat, the second was taken from the cockpit, both with my camera phone.

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Moving Sailing Blogs Together and Moving On

January 1, 2008 – 5:22 am · Popularity: 5%

This blog is a continuation of a blog started on the different sailboats we have had but the focus will now be on the S/V Island Zephyr, a Morgan Out Island 33, which we plan to take coastal cruising in and around Alabama, the Florida Keys, into the southern islands and perhaps up the East Coast by the end of hurricane season 2010-2011. Previous entries will be related to other sailboats and when we purchased, what was at the time, LAUGHALOT.

Entries past this point will be on the preparation and maintenance of the [soon to be] s/v Island Zephyr to ready her for cruising.

[update 06-01-2008] Well, admitting defeat is not always a bad thing, we can’t get the repairs going and do not have time to be able to spend restoring the boat to what it needs for a long water crossing.  We will spend some time camping and hopefully someone else will take the boat on and sail it like we wanted to ourselves.

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Christmas at a Marina is Beautiful with Light on the Sailboats

December 14, 2007 – 6:25 pm · Popularity: 11%

Christmas time at a marina is really pretty. All the boats get all dressed up and at night they light up the sky with Christmas lights. Sailboats with masts rising 40 feet above the water line is really a site to see. I can’t imagine how it looks up north where it is so cold there is probably not a sole that wants to step outside, but down here in the Gulf Coast, it is at least bearable (for us that is mid-60’s).

Christmas Light on the Marina

Being that I have been a photographer for more than 10 years now I have a hard time adjusting to taking images without a tripod, especially AT NIGHT. But, a tripod does little use on a sailboat that is constantly in motion, so this is the best I could do with hand holding, lights, at night. It was a wonderful site at night.

There were some very strange unique displays as well, but I always love seeing lights to celebrate our Savior’s birth. DK and myself would just assume you leave lights up for Christmas all year round but that doesn’t seems to want to catch on (unless you are really lazy). Maybe we will start a trend.

Christmas Light on the Marina

This display was one of the rather unique ones of the season. This is not a sailboat but a charter boat and yes, that is a Christmas tree at the top.

Christmas Light on the Marina

We didn’t put up any lights this year but we did enjoy those who did. Maybe next year. That is DK’s head just over the rail line (knitting) as the sun is going down. It was a wonderful weekend.

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October is for the Annual National Shimp Festival in Gulf Shores

October 13, 2007 – 5:05 pm · Popularity: 5%

We were able to come down for the weekend but not much else. When we got here we discovered that this was the time for the annual shrimp festival so we figured we might as well check it out while we were down here. We didn’t get much work done on the boat but we did see several beautiful sunsets while we were here this time.

Sunset on the water

This photo was taken on our boat from the slip just as the sun set over the gulf. It is amazing we can still be out here in relatively warm weather in mid-October but we will take it.

The Annual Shirmp Festival

The annual shrimp festival was a lot of fun and there was tons and tons of food. We did not come down here for the festival but to enjoy being on the boat for the weekend but it was nice to get a flavor of the local society while we were here.

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