Scrub-a-dub-dub, toxics in the tub Lindsay McRory December 17, 1995 A perfect Intercoastal cruising day ended in Daytona Beach. After docking at Halifax Harbor Municipal Marina, we ate at the nearby burger place and called it an early evening. To date, 3,300 miles of water have passed under Hakuna Matata's keel since we left Kingston in May. She's starting to show signs of neglect, as well as a few battle scars. We took advantage of a nice day to embark on a thorough scrubbing of the topsides. It was more than a hosing; there was stainless steel and fiberglass to polish and awnings to wash off. And a brown "Chesapeake mustache" around the bow had to come off. Cleaning your boat these days is one-half chemistry research and one-half experiment. The amount of cleaning supplies we carry exceed what a normal house requires. Environmental issues add to the decision-making process. Since "environmentally friendly" came in vogue, it gets more confusing. On board we have a fiberglass cleaner based on hydrochloric acid and oxalic acid. The label shows the "skeleton hand," as Kita calls it, and has stern warnings about touching and breathing the solution. But in a backflip, the label states that the cleaner is environmentally friendly because it's biodegradable. Radioactive plutonium is biodegradable as well (after quite a few thousand years), but I wouldn't go around saying it's environmentally friendly. After reading and rereading the label we decided to skip the oxalic acid washing. A little elbow grease went a long way. It was a lot more fun for the kids, too. Now into the warmer climes, the marinas are gradually changing personalities. From St. Augustine down there are a growing number of live-aboards and semi-live-aboards. The semi-live-aboards are people that live far away (Midwest or Canada) and leave their boats tied up. When they come down, they use the boat as an apartment rather than as a boat. These boats are easy to identify because most haven't left the marina in years. The decks are cluttered, water lines full of eel grass and barnacles. Once tied up in a quasi-permanent way, the living space is expanded by leaving lawn chairs, picnic tables, and full-sized barbecues on the dock beside the boat. Some marinas are more tolerant of this than others. Even though we are living aboard while traveling, we do not find the idea of permanent marina residence appealing. The trip from Daytona to Titusville, Florida, is 48 miles along the Intercoastal. Blue skies, light winds, and no navigation hazards. Perfect. Just outside of Daytona, the deep but very narrow channel was completely clogged with 50 or more recreational shrimpers on small boats. There was no place for us to go, so we slowed down to idle speed. Gradually the boats cleared a path for us, then quickly filled in behind us to continue shrimping. We arrived in Titusville just before the Christmas boat parade. If all goes well, we will spend a couple of weeks here. Kita can get caught up on her homework, myself on office work, and all of us on boat work. Of course, we haven't forgotten about Disney World, the Space Center, and Epcot Center.