Thursday, 22 June 2017 - Today I decided to tackle the problem of why my grey water pump, which pumps the water from the sinks and showers off the boat, won't come on or go off as it is intended. I thought it ought to take a couple of hours to fix. It is under the counter, behind the bilge sump, not terribly hard to access, but uncomfortable, lying on my belly on a 1X4" board spanning the bilge sump. I had to track down and clean all the terminals on all the wiring to its switch, relay and pump and figure out which one has a fault. I'm now convinced the problem is with the switch itself. I don't know how it could go bad; it has no moving parts.

Friday, 23 June - Up early this morning to say a final "good-bye" to and assist Ton and Trisha on Thin Line in leaving the dock and heading north at last. After that, I returned to Island Time and did some research online to order a new electronic submersible float switch for grey water pump. Since I had had to figure out much of the wiring in the bilge in order to determine what the real problem was and why the pump wouldn't come on, I thought I might as well make a wiring diagram of what I had learned, so I opened up Inkscape, a cross platform vector based illustration program, and drew it all out.
                  At 5:30, I went over to have a few of Mark Becker's specially concocted margaritas, then go to dinner at Burdine's dockside restaurant for a huge burger and an evening of good conversation.

Saturday, 24 June - Today was a long day. I needed access to the dinghy dock to go to the grocery store, so I went in and paid for one day's usage. That gives me access to the showers, which I don't use because it's easier to shower on the boat, a holding tank pump out, which they won't do without 24 hours prior notice, access to the washing machines, which I don't need, and the right to tie up to the dock and unload my trash. I also bought 60 gallons of water, which takes me 3 trips to transport. Between buying groceries, which is about a mile and a half away, stopping on the way back to by three items at Home Depot, and transporting the water and lifting it onto the boat, I was pretty tired. I really only needed bananas, eggs and milk, but since it is so time consuming and so far to walk, I feel like it's wasted time to go so far for so little, so I ended up buying $90 of food anyway. I'll use it all eventually. Luckily, the movie "Sully", which is about the pilot landing the airline jet on the Hudson River a few years ago, was being shown at the local park, so I took my collapsible chair, a mat and some water, and enjoyed the cool evening in front of a big inflateable movie screen.

Sunday, 25 June - It's supposed to be a hot one here today, so I put the deck awning up and opened up the forward hatches. So far, at 1pm, it still feels pretty cool with the breeze coming through. This afternoon I'm planning on expanding the wiring diagram that I started the other day to include the bilge pump wiring. There is one pump, two switches, high water alarms, and other devices in there that I'm not sure what they are, or if they are actually in use. Also, several things that I can already see that the wiring has been cut or disconnected. I need to find out what the alarms and sensors are for and what in there is and isn't needed. I already discovered a valve in there that, if rotated, will allow the grey water pump to act as an auxiliary pump to pump out the bilge in an emergency, but I don't know what would turn it on, and the valve would have to be switched manually. Maybe in the process of drawing out the wiring diagram, I'll figure it all out.
                  Later...I think I ended up discovering more questions than answers.

Monday, 26 June - Virtually all day was spent on understanding the wiring of the bilge area pumps, switches, alarms, etc., then I went over to the Hurricane Restaurant for dinner and music by Fiddle Rock. Last week I think someone found out that I was coming, so they all stayed away. This week, apparently no one knew I was going to show up, so the place was packed.

Tuesday, 27 June - I spent today figuring out more wiring in the bilge and in the galley control panel, which has some related alarms, switches and controls, and expand my schematic to include them. It turned into a pretty long day.

Wednesday, 28 June - I think the post office doesn't like me, regardless of which town I'm in. A letter I was expecting that was mailed to me about three weeks ago wasn't there, and they're supposed to hold things for 30 days. My package with my new pump switch was supposed to get delivered to the post office yesterday and the tracking number said it did. I had paid extra for quicker delivery. The postal employee also told me that UPS doesn't deliver General Delivery items to them, which is a flat lie. I know that I can't pick packages up the same day they arrive at the post office because they don't sort them until the next morning, so I went to get it today and they said it hadn't come in. I showed them the tracking info that said it did, and they said it didn't matter, it wasn't there, check with UPS. I went to the UPS Store and they checked with the local UPS sorting facility and said it was delivered to the USPS post office yesterday. Back at the post office, they, again, denied that it was there. They both said the other was lying. I got on the phone to talk with UPS again and, lo and behold, the package suddenly appeared at the P.O. The postal employee said it got delivered within the last thirty minutes and he just went through the pile and found it. Since I had walked about 3 miles in this hot weather, I was just glad to take my pump switch and leave, but about a block away, I happened by the UPS truck. I stopped and asked if he had just delivered my package to the post office. "No, yesterday." What do you do?
                  On the way back from the post office, I saw the "Big Red Bus" blood donation vehicle, so I stopped in for a quick phlebotomy session. It used to be so easy. Now they ask a million questions via a computer pad, then ask the same questions again verbally. You even have to prove you are who you say you are! All I wanted to do was donate some blood. It took way too long.
                  As usual, my half-day repair job has turned into more than a week. Maybe I'll get it installed tomorrow.

            Until next time.
                        "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S. Thompson

                                          Rick