Thursday, 26 October 2017 - I did some more tracking down and labeling of wires in the engine room and in the saloon control panel today, then later went out with Tami and Jay Klassen and Steve to the Tai restaurant for dinner.

Friday, 27 October - Steve and I went over to Sombrero Beach in the dinghy, removed the engine, gas tank, etc., and flipped the dinghy over to asses the damage to the starboard tube. Surprisingly, the hole I thought went clear through the hull/tube joint, does not, going only into the tube. It's still going to be hard to patch. On the way over to the beach we found an expensive diesel jug full of diesel, a kayak paddle, and another boat fender. Just as we returned to the boat, Jay Klassen called and said he was coming over to Island Time, bringing his Raymarine wind instrument to compare to mine. We unplugged mined and plugged his in and the readings were the same with either one, thus eliminating that part of the system as a problem. The next suspect part of the system is the sensor at the top of the mast, but I want to talk to Raymarine before I go up to replace that. Jay also gave me contact information for another source for repair or replacement, too.

Saturday, 28 October - A tropical storm is supposed to pass near us this evening, so we're expecting a very wet and blustery day here in Boot Key Harbor. This posted later: Very breezy, but little rain. I worked a bit on labeling cables in the engine room and finished tracking down and verifying the cable routes and finalized the paper version of the wiring schematic, then created a digital version on my computer using Inkscape. Steve, being British cooked up a tasty batch of Shephard's Pie for dinner.

Sunday, 29 October - The tropical storm that we were supposed to be on the port (left) side of eventually had us directly in its sights, then we were plotted on its starboard side, and it eventually passed just beyond Key West. After that, a cold front pushed it right back over Key West, then it moved northeastward, accelerating as it went. Before it got even with us it has been moving at about 15kt., then accelerated to 30kt. That's pretty fast, but the next time I checked it had passed clear over Florida and was in the Atlantic blowing 54kt. and moving at 58kt. I'm certainly glad I didn't have to outrun that one. The three inches we were predicted to receive turned out to be about three hundredths. I had been planning on topping off the water tank with fresh rainwater, but that certainly went out the window.
                  I took Steve to shore to wash his clothes, then he contacted a couple more employers about a job since the previous job seems to have fallen through. One, working rebuilding an expensive home, said he'd just hired about three men but would call him if one of them didn't work out.

Monday, 30 October - My birthday so I got several calls and emails from friends and relatives. Thank you.
                  Steve got the call about the rebuilding job today, so he'll start to work tomorrow morning.
                  A very cool day with 12 - 15kt. breezes so I put off going up the mast to check the transducer on the wind vane until Jay and Tami Klassen invited us over to dinner, then I realized I was almost out of time since Steve has to go to work tomorrow morning.
                  Up the mast, I discovered that the transducer really is going to need to be replaced. They run around $350. I had hoped that the problem might be just a loose or corroded connection that I could remedy on the spot. No such luck.
                  Dinner at Jay and Tami's was delayed a bit because on the way over to their boat I discovered an empty dinghy with the engine running, going in tight circles here in the harbor. We immediately started looking for someone in the water, but soon heard a lady on one of the nearby boats yelling, "That's my dinghy." Thank goodness! I really didn't want to find a body in the water. She had gone to a boat other than her own to give a pregnant girl who's baby is due today some lasagna. The lady didn't know how to turn the engine off, so she tried to get off the dinghy and onto the boat without either turning it off or even taking it out of gear, so it took off on her. Luckily, she had made it aboard while only getting one foot wet. a wonderful, spicy, chicken curry. Their boat, Avighna, is a beautiful racing catamaran on which they've made many modifications while living on it for the last four years. They also showed us photos of the fabulous home they left in order to become full-time live aboard sailors.

Tuesday, Halloween 2017 - Up early to take Steve to shore to go to work, then back to the boat for me. Actually, I haven't given up on the wind instrument system. I contacted Raymarine, its makers, and they told me a test to run. I tested what they asked and that part looked good, which still points to the $350 transducer, but I see that one pair of wires that I believe should read about 12v is only reading about 7.9v. I'll call them to confirm what it should read.

Wednesday, 1 November 2017 - When I got back from taking Steve to shore to go to work I got a call from Rob Zwergel asking me to help him re-erect his radio antenna and straighten the aluminum extrusion on his roller furling for his genoa that got slightly bent during hurricane Irma. The antenna mast went fine, but boy did we screw up the straightening of the extrusion. He needed several large "C" clamps to bend the extrusion and I have several, another one of those items that I wasn't sure I'd ever need, but brought along just in case. I'm glad I did. Well, maybe I shouldn't be. We put a 2 X 4" piece of lumber against the extrusion and clamped two 10" C-clamps on the two above the bend to hold it firmly, inserted about a 1/4" wedge in at the back of apex of the bend, then clamped the lower end and tightened it. It bent back straight, but upon release, returned to near its full bend. We inserted more wedges and repeated the procedure with a little bit better results; then repeated again. We got to about an inch of wedges, and to be honest, it looked pretty straight to me; certainly not enough to effect the furler's ability to operate or change the shape of the sail when deployed, but he wanted it straight. One more try and "crack", the extrusion broke opposite the wedges. That's going to be expensive! Luckily, they come in sections so he won't have to replace the whole 65 feet, only about three, but the most expensive part, plus he'll have to disassemble the whole bottom of the stay and its Sta-Lok system. Not good!
                  Now that Steve is working, he needs his own transportation to and from shore, so I went and salvaged a kayak that has been rescued from the mangroves by someone else and tied, swamped, to a mooring near here for ever since Irma. I figure that if nobody has claimed it by now, they probably never will. It probably belonged to someone that lost not only their kayak, but their boat, too, doesn't need it anymore, and has given up and left. There were a lot of those around here. It was totally covered, inside and out, with barnacles and scum, so I spent about three hours cleaning it up. It looks pretty good and is a quality boat with a good adjustable foot peg system; unfortunately, it has no seat in it, so we'll have to McGuiver one.
                  I, also, made a first attempt to repair the hole at the tube / hull joint on my dinghy today using contact cement and a patch. I'm sure this won't totally seal the hole, but it's a start. The patch has to stick to aluminum and the hypalon of the tube and is in a very difficult location to access. I'll let it set overnight and inflate that tube tomorrow and see how long it takes to lose pressure. Of course, there are two other untried patches on that tube, too, one was a hole about 1"X2.5" and the other, a cut about 7" long. Those may leak, too. Time will tell.

            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