Friday, 4 August 2017 - Wow! Things didn't exactly go as planned today. I thought I'd probably do a little sanding and put Cetol on a few more touch-up spots, but I couldn't figure out where to start, so I decided to clean up one or more of the four door knobs and locks I have onboard just to see what they're supposed to look like. I'm sure they haven't been cleaned up and polished in many years and since they are all brass, they are all dark brown with some green mixed in around the spots that don't get touched much. I spent about four hours cleaning one up by removing it, disassembling it and using a file, sand paper, and a steel brush to get all the layers of dirt, grease, verdigris, etc. off. When I tried to remove one of the back plates that cover the holes in the door, one of the screws into the wood was buggered up, so I decided to remove it last, after cleaning up the rest of the lock. I couldn't get it out with the screw driver I was using, so tried two others, but it wouldn't budge. Ok, I got out a set of ease-outs and drilled the center of the screw out a bit, then inserted the ease-out. Half a turn and the head of the screw broke off. Well, the hole I've drilled is centered, so I drilled with a smaller bit down the center of the screw a bit further, then inserted a smaller easy-out from another set I have. I didn't have a chuck small enough, so I had to jury rig one from the Dremel tool set I have. About one revolution and the easy-out broke off in the screw. I tried drilling around the screw with a 1/16th inch bit but decided I needed something stronger. I didn't want a broken bit in that hole, too. I finally ground around the screw with the Dremel tool, then pulled it out with a pair of needle nosed pliers. I then dug out the wood filler and filled the hole with that. I thought I'd check my email while it dried since it was now about 6:30 in the evening.
                  The screen is black, which is normal, since I usually shut it down when not in use, or, it shuts itself off after a few minutes of non-use, but, it won't come back to life. Nothing. I try to turn it off and on several times. No blink, no beep, nothing. This is not good! I plug it into the laptop. Nothing. I get out a new cord and try it. Nothing. I put on the auxiliary charger. Nothing. I always assumed that as the battery started to go bad, it wouldn't hold a charge as long and would need to be charged after only a couple of hours, but this hasn't been happening. The activation button feels hot. This could be something worse. I leave it on the charger for about 30 minutes as I took a break for some iced tea and to think this over. This is really not good. If I were still in Salt Lake City or Bradenton, I'd have simply hopped it the van or motorhome and headed over to the closest Apple store, but the Apple store closest to here is probably in Miami. That's a little different, a bus ride of several hours and return, or perhaps stay overnight at a hotel. Is it the battery, or do I need a new phone. I try it again. Nothing. I reconcile myself to the fact that I'll be spending tomorrow morning at the library to try to contact Apple via my laptop and set up an appointment. Why does everything always go wrong on Friday? Since I don't have a phone, I won't be reading the book I've just started reading on it this evening. I admit, I've become very reliant on my phone for phone calls, even though I get very few incoming calls from anyone I know, (I don't think any of my old friends have dialing mechanisms on their phones), for the weather forecasts several times a day, email, reading, the news, and a myriad of other things. No phone, no internet. I rely on the phone to serve the internet to my laptop. For days at a time, it is sometimes about the only method I have of keeping in touch with the world. It's going to be a long evening without it and no telling how long before I can get it repaired or replaced.
                  I decided to work on the grates for the hatch covers a little more before dark. I worked till dark, at about 8:30, then return to the saloon and realize that I left the iPhone on the charger. No use wasting the boat battery energy trying to change the phone. I flip the switch to turn off the power to the charger and...the iPhone comes to life!!! Yahoo!
                  I have no idea what happened to make it lose its charge, but am so grateful that it's back. It will be getting a full charge before I go to bed.

Saturday, 5 August - I got two more of the door knob/lock sets cleaned up and reinstalled today. Only one more to go...and all's well with my iPhone. It still had a 100% charge this morning and lasted all day without a problem. I still have no idea why it suddenly lost its charge yesterday, and certainly glad to have it back.

Sunday, 6 August - The door between the aft stateroom and the head has a locking mechanism that still has most of the original lacquer on it, so I decided to polish only the knob and handle, on which all the lacquer was gone. I can already tell the brass that I polished two days ago is starting to turn yellow, so I'm sure it won't be long before all the "shine" is gone. I wish I'd had a can of paste wax onboard to wax them with, but I didn't, and it's a long ways to the hardware store. The grocery store might even have wax, but that's even further. It's not worth a trip for only one item. Of course, I may wish I'd gone anyway if the brass really tarnishes fast.
                  After finishing the door knob and handle, I reinstalled the grates for the forward, gabled hatch covers that I put five coats of Cetol on. My silicone caulk that I planned to use had almost dried up and the silicone wouldn't extrude from the tip, so I had to cut the side of the tube open to get enough silicone to use.

Monday, 7 August - A trip to the gas dock cost me $97 to fill all my gas tanks for the dinghy and two spare jugs to run the generator with. Later, I cleaned up part of the boat and then had a visitor, Kevin Vallee, who works at West Marine and lives on the sailing vessel Present Moment. Tonight's pizza and beer, and music by Fiddle Rock at the Hurricane.

Tuesday, 8 August - I spent the afternoon at Sombrero Beach visiting with some of the people I've met at a couple of the bars. I had gone to listen to a musical jam session, but I saw no musical instruments nor heard any music. It turned out to be merely a social gathering to have a few beers, have a few snacks, and look it girls in skimpy bathing suits, but that's okay, too.

Wednesday, 9 August - Time to clean the bottom of the boat again; well, actually beyond time. Lots of growth, about 5/8" thick, but luckily, virtually no barnacles on the hull and easy to clean. I did get a bit of a surprise. At one moment, as I looked down, a shark about 5 feet long passed under me. I was about 4 feet down in 10 feet of water. I believe it was a nurse shark, but not positive. I left it alone and it left me alone. I never saw it again, although I will admit, I looked around a lot more after that. Visibility was only about 10 feet, but that's pretty good for here in the harbor. I cleaned the hull and rudder in a bit less than two hours using snorkeling gear and will clean the propeller and keel using the Hookah breathing system tomorrow if things go as planned.
                  Later, I headed to the library to see a very depressing and aggravating movie, a true story about the genocide committed by the Hutus against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 killing around 800,000, mostly by hacking them up with machetes, even though the UN peace keepers were there. It was told from the point of view of the commander of the Canadians, frustrated by lack of supplies, the French abandoning the effort, the U.S. not participating, and his superiors telling him not to let his men fire their weapons unless fired upon. Of course, the enemy knew this and all they had to do was confront and overpower the peacekeepers without firing upon them. They were powerless. A well done film about an atrocious occurrence, but history that should not be forgotten nor allowed to repeat.