Friday, 17 August 2018 - I installed an AK 4400 Gusher Titan Service Kit into the existing emergency hand bilge pump at the helm, which had quit pumping water. Interestingly, there were visible cracks in the exterior of the bellows, but not the interior, but replacing it cured the problem. I hope I don't ever really need it!

Saturday, 18 August - There were several things that needed tending to ashore today. Rent got paid and mail got picked up, then I was off to the hardware store to get two one inch stainless steel rings to sew into the foredeck awning. One grommet has already torn out of it and there are three others that need to be replaced before they do. I'll attach the rings with one inch strapping, as they should have been in the first place instead of the grommets. The hardware store didn't have the rings, so, since I was halfway to the grocery store on a bike on loan from the marina, and since I was out of milk and bananas, I continued the the grocery store to get them. Halfway back, I realized I should have gotten a loaf of bread, too. Oh well, mañana. Upon return, I checked the bike back in, returned to the dinghy and filled 9 five gallon jugs with fresh water to take back to Island Time.

Sunday, 19 August - I'm off to Cudjoe Key by bus this morning to look at a dinghy to replace mine. A fellow there has one just like mine, but newer and with fewer leaky patches. His price seems reasonable and it has a newer engine on it than I have...and it's a four-stroke. I'm not sure that is better. No mixing of oil, but it's heavier and a more complex engine to work on. I guess I'll find out how well it runs, it will be a 25 mile run with a light headwind back to Island Time, if I buy it. It's small, 3 gallon fuel tank is a bit of a concern to me because of that.
                    Evening: Well, after about an hour of inspecting and taking a test ride in the dinghy at Cudjoe Key, I am the proud new owner of a "new to me", slightly used 2016 10' AB dinghy much like mine but with only two small patches, and no air leaks and not taking on water. Unfortunately, it has been sitting in salt water for awhile, so it has a few rather large barnacles on the bottom. The ones on the aluminum hull won't be too hard to remove, but the ones on the rubber tend to embed themselves through the rubber and into the fabric, so they'll be harder to get off without damaging the surface, although I don't think they'll cause it to leak. Once I get them off, they won't have much of a chance to return because I raise the dinghy on the davits every night. Right now, however, I do have a slight problem. I have one set of davits and two dinghies and unfortunately I can't just rotate the dinghies nightly and kill the barnacles. They can survive days or even weeks out of water because they simply shut the lid on their little cones to retain their water so they don't dry out.
                    At this point, I'm fairly sure I will try to sell the newer outboard engine and keep my older ones. This one, however, is tempting; in looks virtually new, even with the cover off. It's biggest drawback is its weight, although having yet another set of proprietary connectors isn't good either. It weighs approximately 20 lb. more than my two cycle Yamaha, which has the same power output, 15 hp. That 20 lb. makes a significant difference in the angle of attack that the boat rides. The weight pushes the stern down and the bow much higher, although a set of large trim fins mounted on the lower casing might help. Both of my other engines have them. After I got back, I made lifting lines for the davits for the new dinghy and lifted it out of the water. The twenty pounds felt very significant there, too. That's the biggest consideration.
                    My 25 mile ride back was a bit bumpy, but the day was absolutely beautiful. I outran a storm that was chasing me, but arrived back at Island Time just in time to fold up the foredeck awning to avoid wind damage by another squall that was moving up the harbor, and, although a bolt of lightning struck close enough that the thunder boomed only about a half-second later, it petered out just as it got to me. My concern about making the trip back with the small three gallon tank was unfounded, I made it back with about a quarter tank left. I took two gallons with me just in case and that made the trip much less stressful I assure you. I would not have wanted to run out of gas on the open sea at the wrong end of the Seven Mile Bridge. The out going tide could have take me to who knows where.

Monday, 20 August - I've decided I'm going to sell the new engine, hopefully with the old dinghy. It runs perfectly and is barely over a year old, but since it is a four stroke, it is just too heavy; about 20 lb. heavier than the Yamaha two stroke of the same horsepower. That wouldn't matter if I left it in the water and towed it everywhere, but I lift it onto the davits every evening to get it out of the water to keep barnacles and moss from attaching to it. Today was spent removing the engine from my old dinghy and mounting in the ship's rail, then swapping everything from the old dinghy to the new and vice versa. That included the gas tanks and the under floor gas line, fenders, various lines, etc. I didn't switch the engines yet, because I need to do some more work on the old dinghy.

Tuesday, 21 August - All day today was spent in vain at the marina project room trying once again to seal the leak in the old dinghy. I injected the sealant, then, for four hours I had to roll it over every fifteen minutes to try to seal the leaks. It still didn't seal. A wasted day, but I had to try...and I've discovered the new dinghy has a small leak in it, too. Aaargh!

Wednesday, 22 August - I scraped the barnacles off the bottom of the new dinghy, then headed over to West Marine this afternoon thinking I would buy cables, thimbles, rings, and compression sleeves to make a new set of lifting cables for the "new" dinghy and make them up in a couple of hours. Not only did I not finish the half that can be done with their tools, but I couldn't believe the parts cost over $90. About 5:30 pm, I realized I couldn't finish and get to the library for this evening's movie on time, so I quit and will have to return tomorrow.

Thursday, 23 August - Right after the Cruiser's Net this morning I headed over to West Marine to finish the installation of the last thimble that can be done at their work station. The rest will have to be done in the dinghy. That took about an hour, but I still have to do four more thimbles in the dinghy and that's going to be a lot harder. They have a table mounted crimper and a vise to work with. It will be a lot harder working in the bottom of the dinghy. It's about a three of four handed job.
                    I then returned to Island Time to get necessary items for sealing the hull/tube joint that is letting water into the dinghy. Upon picking up those items, I towed my old dinghy out Sister Creek to Sombrero Beach to work on it there. I need to let it dry out, then scraped the rubber and aluminum hull where it was leaking and cleaned it with acetone, although since the leak is up inside the space, I'm not sure how clean I got it. Next, I injected 3M 4200 adhesive into the joint, put a steel ruler on top of it to hold it in place, and weighted it down with a couple of large cans of pumpkin pie mix, cherry pie mix, and a 3" diameter steel plug that I sometimes use as a small anvil.
                    That done, I grabbed a spot in the shade and proceeded to finish the last half of the book, "Irmageddon", while I let the adhesive cure. "Irmageddon" is about the exploits of twenty of the sailors that had been in or near Boot Key Harbor when hurricane Irma came through and tore the islands up. I found it pretty interesting to see what others had experienced. There were people that left their boats here, others that, unfortunately, brought their boats here to get to safety, boats that sailed northeast, northwest, west, to the Yucatan peninsula, to Cuba, and even one that was in the Bahamas. Everyone's experiences were quite different. Just in case you're interested, that book, by Michael A. Barber, is available for $12 on Amazon.com as a paperback or $5 as an electronic download. Or, in fact, if you simply do a Google search for "Irmageddon Rick McClain", since I'm one of the authors, you'll find a link or two to the book on Amazon. I got the printed version so I can get some of the twenty authors to sign my copy at a book signing party tomorrow evening at the marina common room.

Friday, 24 August - Up early and applied some touch-up paint to the old dinghy to cover some of the adhesive around the patches before breakfast and before the sun got the tubes too hot to paint. After breakfast and the Cruiser's net, I was off to shore to register the new dinghy and pay the taxes on it, then to the library to drop off some movies on DVD, after that, to the grocery store to replenish my food supplies.
                    After putting away the groceries, I showered, cut up a fresh pineapple to share at the book-signing, then back to the marina. The book signing party was a great success. I believe about 90 - 100 people showed up but, unfortunately, only about seven or eight of the boat owners in the book were able to be there. Of course, some lost their boats and others have sailed away since it's almost a year since Irma. I don't think I've ever had to sign my name so many times in one evening in my life. A good time was had by all and I hope others can learn from the mistakes we, the authors made in our preparations for and during the storm.