Our last day in Homosassa

We had a breakfast of cold cereal as we wanted to finish the Wheat Chex and Great Grains that we brought from home. After eating, we took the dogs on a short walk on Standish Drive and Battle Creek Road then up to the stop sign before they were ready to get back to the house. We can really tell that both dogs are showing their age. In the past they enjoyed a long walk out around the neighborhood, but now they prefer a short loop.

New connection box

Mark and I considered going out to fish in the kayaks but wanted to do a few things first. Mark and Kenny entered a fishing tournament tomorrow, and we wanted to make sure that everything was in order for that. The first thing that we did was to replace the defective connection box on the outside of the house that supplies electricity to the HVAC unit. Saltwater corroded the existing connection box. The new connection box is much smaller than the previous box, and the connections are pretty straightforward. We disconnected electricity at the breaker then removed the rusty old box. The knockouts on the new box were difficult to remove, so Mark had to use an angle grinder to score the spot welds. Although we would have preferred to mount the surge protector on the side of the box, a siding strip prevented attaching the small unit, so we had to mount it on the bottom of the box. A little touch-up paint is needed, but the disconnect box worked well.

At the boat, we attempted to learn why the starboard shallow water anchor wasn’t operating. The Power Pole would not respond to either the keychain remote or the dash mounted remote. Our first suspicion was that the remote batteries were failing or that they were no longer paired with the anchor motors by Bluetooth. We replaced the batteries and then tried operating the Power Poles with the hard-wired controls in the bilge. The port unit worked fine but there was no response from the starboard motor.

Mark called tech support at the manufacturer of the Power Poles for assistance with diagnosing the problem. After lengthy discussion and attempts at getting the shallow water anchors to go up or down, the technician concluded that the main circuit board was defective and was, unfortunately, out of warranty. Mark could order a replacement circuit board from the manufacturer and have it within a week since the manufacturer is in Tampa. However, since the tournament was first thing tomorrow morning, Mark called the local marine sales and service centers and found that Homosassa Marine had the circuit boards in stock.

The circuit board was easy to remove, so we swapped the port and starboard circuit boards to confirmed that the board was defective. We drove up to Homosassa Marine where Mark got the board for over $250. Back at the house, the board was installed quickly and allowed the Power Poles to operate using the manual switch on the motor, but neither remote responded to the detailed procedure in the owner’s manual. After multiple attempts by both of us, we concluded that the new board must have a defect in the ability to link with the remotes. Mark called the dealer who agreed to replace the new but presumably defective board.

Mary, Cindy & Mark at Marguerita Grill

While we were outside working on the electrical box and the boat anchors, Mary and Cindy were working on Ancestry. By working together and using some of the old family records that their parents and grandparents had accumulated, they were able to add a few ancestors and relatives to their tree.

It was near lunchtime, so we decided to go to Marguerita Grill which is a fun place to eat and drink. On the way, we stopped at Homosassa Marine where Mark exchanged the new Power Pole circuit board hoping that another board will work for us.

Cindy & Mark at Marguerita Grill

The seafood at Marguerita Grill is excellent and well prepared. The owners, Cuban immigrants, have a very pro-American atmosphere in the restaurant and celebrate veterans at every opportunity. We were fortunate to get a table on the back deck with a good view of the water. Mary had a whitefish basket which she reported to be very good. She especially likes the lightly seasoned French fries. I got Gavin’s Seafood Platter with her agreement to help me eat some of the shrimp, fish, scallops, crab cake and hush puppies. We bought a “medium” margarita which comes in a pitcher and serves four. Everything was very good as always, so we left the restaurant very full.

Mary at Marguerita Grill

We made a quick stop at Sportsman’s Wholesale. Kenny’s birthday is Sunday, and Mark wanted to get him a spool of woven fishing line. He also got a few crank baits that might work for redfish.

Once back at the house we quickly installed the newly exchanged Power Pole circuit board and once again attempted to pair the remotes to the hydraulic motor. After failing several times using the multi-step protocol in the owner's manual, Mark called tech support again. They gave him a very different and simpler procedure that paired the two remote controls easily.

By the time we finished, we were too tired to go kayak fishing. We came in to prepare for our departure tomorrow morning. While we were watching an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, Kenny and Jodie stopped by on their way back from their evening meal at Marguerita Grill.

Sign at Marguerita Grill

Earlier we decided to leave Homosassa in late morning on Saturday. We would get a room in the Atlanta area and drive the final half of the route on Sunday. This would allow us to leave at a time that wouldn’t disrupt Mark and Cindy’s Saturday schedule. However, since Mark would be leaving early for the fishing tournament, we decided to leave early and drive back on one day.

In anticipation of our early departure, we turned in early after we did a little late minute packing.