We have been back for a week now from Key West. The last few days have been a mess. I found upon returning that a bad diesel leak had developed somewhere in the engineroom. It took an entire day to pinpoint the leak as it was hidden behind some panels. The Sight tube which is used as a visual fuel level indicator was leaking badly. I removed it and sent it to Bertram. They seemed to be the only place to find that part. Then came the clean up. The entire bilge of the boat had diesel fuel in it. It took Kyle and I 2 1/2 days of bilge diving to get it all cleaned up with absorbent pads. Well some of it was soaked up with clothes that I threw away after clean up.  But the bilges of the boat from stem to stern look like brand new now. While we were at it, we did a full spring cleaning of every bilge. Every nook and cranny was washed and shop vacuumed clean. I will say this, Kyle was the one that had to get the hard to reach places. He was squished into all the tight spots.  We also used the time to Strip the boat down of all the accumulated gear on board. Three truck loads later and I bet the boat is a knot faster.
Yesterday a family of Manatees that frequent the marina stopped by the dock. They come in and out of the marina during cooler weather to warm up in the waters of the marina. They also are always in search of water. They need fresh water to survive. They look for natural springs but are opportunistic and will gladly take water from a hose. The Videos below are of the family of four Manatees right behind our boat. There were four total. One large Female and a calf ( baby) and to other smaller adults. The largest was probably 400 lbs and the baby was about 50 lbs. They are tender and tasty when they are small.
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