Thursday, 7 July 2016 - I went over to my boat this morning around 8:30 and there was already one fellow starting to work on replacing the bow cleat. He ground the heads off of the remaining two bolt heads which released the backing plate on the bottom of the deck, then put the new cleat in place with 4 new bolts and deck sealant. He then left to let the sealant cure, saying he'd be back in a bit. I never saw him again. Another fellow did a little fiberglassing on the hull and partially installed the cutless bearing, then disappeared. I never saw him because I was in the saloon filling out more of my inventory list, which led to significant amounts of reorganization of some of my hardware.
                  Until I finally started my inventory, I've had nuts, bolts, screws of all sizes; stainless steel, iron, and brass, all mixed up and spread around the boat in numerous bags, jars, and zip-locks such that I have to look in many different places, not knowing what I have or where things are. I need to have all like items consolidated in one location, and I'm getting there slowly. It's really seemed like half of my time on any project has been spent looking for parts or tools. Once I'm done with the consolidation and inventory, if I don't know where an item is, or even if I have an item or not, I can simply spend 20 seconds booting up my laptop, then type in swivels or cable clamps or o-rings or shackles or whatever, and I'll be told where all of them are located on the boat. Currently I have 732 items in the database and a long way to go, but I feel the time doing the inventory will be well spent and pay off in the end. Luckily, most items I can list as groupings, like adhesives or paints, but some I break down into smaller divisions, like plumbing, electrical, or engine hardware or boat parts. Of course, some items that I separate, like counter sunk screws and pan head screws, or stainless steel, brass, or ferrous bolts and nuts. I guess the most time consuming, as far is inventorying is concerned, is the small or unique, or infrequently used and hard to remember items like split rings, snap swivels, tension pins, spare battery terminals, etc. You get the idea, I'm sure. In a year or two, I'm sure I'll know exactly where most things are, as did the last owner, but until then, I think this database is really going to help.
                  At any rate, it is good to feel as if some progress is finally being made on the boat repairs.

Friday, 8 July - Very little got done on the boat today. There have been some modifications made to the design of the rudder since mine was created and the new rudder had one area in particular that really doesn't make sense to me or to the boatyard employees. Where my old rudder had a recessed area above the box that the boat's gudgeon attaches, the new rudder design not only filled that area in, but also built it out in a downward facing dome or bulge. The Foss Foam, that builds the rudder was contacted and asked about it and that's where the confusion really started. Several people heard different versions of the explanations given and some of them seemed to conflict. The new design was implemented in order to create a bearing surface that rests on the gudgeon and that will keep the rudder from moving downward under its own weight. The old rudder is much heavier and, although it might have been beneficial to have had that bearing surface, it did not. The new rudder, according to the manufacturer, should be of neutral buoyancy and, in theory, not need it. Regardless, in my mind and in the minds of the boatyard mechanics and owner, any bearing surface there needs to be two matching flat surfaces, and a dome riding on a flat surface is asking for significant wear and/or damage. I hope I understand it all because I'm the one making the final decision. Around 2pm, I decided I understand it well enough and said to rebuild the ground off areas of the gudgeon, mill it flat, cut off the dome and re-fiberglass any hole created and seal it back up. I want two matching flat surfaces. This has cost us all two or three days of our lives and a lot of money already. Let's get it done.
                  They'll get on it Monday...I hope!

Saturday, 9 July - Steve Monaghan didn't show up last evening as he usually does, so I had a late dinner on the boat after waiting for him, thinking he just might be running late. I thought he might arrive this morning, so I waited a bit, then, believing that he might have stopped to get hardware to do the replacement of the water exhaust tank on his boat when he arrives, I headed over to Island Time to finish up the consolidation of parts in my forepeak, lower, starboard storage compartment. That compartment, along with a couple of others, has all kinds of nuts, bolts, screws, shackles, swivels, Sta-Lok and Norseman connectors, a spare winch, and lots more miscellaneous hardware in it. I think I about have it all completed, but I've thought that before, only to find more small bags of hardware that needs to be sorted and put away there.
                  I assumed that I'd find Steve working on his boat when I returned to the marina about 4pm, but he wasn't, so I showered and changed clothes in case he showed up wanting to go out for dinner and/or a cocktail (or two). I did some reading in the boater's lounge, but Steve never showed up, so around 8pm, I walked down the beach and had dinner at Mr. Tequila, the Mexican restaurant that we had patronized last week. I had the enchiladas with Molé sauce previously, so this time, I ordered the enchiladas with chile verde and they were better yet. I fear for the survival of this nice restaurant. Although they have good food and decent margaritas at relatively good prices, they aren't very busy at all. The decor is absolutely beautiful, with hand crafted, bas relief, unique chairs, bar stools, booths, and tables, all beautifully hand painted in bright colors that really say "Mexico". However, as I said last week, Steve and I assumed from their signage that simply says, "Mr. Tequila", that the establishment was merely a bar, not a classy restaurant. They really need to put up something that says "Mexican Restaurant", "Mexican Food", "Mexican Cuisine" or something similar. You could easily be right outside and pass it by because you didn't realize they serve food, not just Margaritas and Dos Equis. In fact, I did, several times.
                  Since I was there by myself, I got out my iPhone and started reading "First Voyage Round the World" by James Cook. I read for quite a while, even after I finished my meal, and read 166 pages, but all I really accomplished reading was an introduction summarizing all three of his circumnavigations by another writer. I'm also reading another book about a circumnavigation called "Cilin II - A Solo Sailing Odyssey", by a former governor of Indiana that headed off around the world by himself at age 70. This is a book of Steve's that he thought I might find worthwhile. The author isn't much of a writer, but the story is informative. I don't normally read two books at one time, but I didn't have the paperback with me at dinner, so I got out the iPhone.
                  On returning to Steve's boat for the evening, something that I had never experienced before occurred. As I got onto the boat, the edge of storm clouds were directly above me, so there were clouds toward the rear of the boat and clear sky and stars toward the bow. Lightning was flashing about once a minute within the clouds, not to the ground. That's not unusual, but what seemed odd was that although the lightning was almost directly above me, it was taking 15 to 20 seconds for me to hear the thunder, if I heard it at all. Some of it I didn't ever hear. Sound travels at about 1000 ft. per second, so that means that if it takes 20 seconds to reach me after I see the flash, the lightning must be almost 4 miles high. I can't imagine how high the lightning was that I couldn't hear.

Sunday, 10 July - I spent some time this morning reading and finished the book "Cilin II". After that, I had lunch and I headed over to Bonita Bills to listen to Two Hands - One Man Band for a couple of hours. Upon returning I started catching up on some of my email. One was from a high school friend that had just attended the 50th reunion in Ft. Worth and had contact information about one of my high school rifle team teammates, Jim Wright. I called him and talked for about an hour before he said he'd better get back to the guests he had visiting his home. I guess he was glad to hear from me. He reminded me that we were the All-City Championship Rifle Team in 1966 and that we were only two points out of being the state champions. I had totally forgotten that. I'm sure we'll talk again soon. I'm sure I missed a good get-together. He said that about 300 or more people showed up for the reunion.
                  I have no idea what happened to Steve Monaghan this weekend. I hope he's not avoiding me because I've worn out my welcome. I thought these repairs would only take a couple of weeks, maybe three, and it's been six or more.

Monday, 11 July - When I arrived at my boat shortly after 8am, there were already two workers onboard. My bow cleat got reinstalled without having to cut or break the divider between my anchor chain and line lockers, which save me some money, and the propeller shaft was reinstalled, then they stalled. They had worked about 2.5, maybe 3 hours, then walked away and I didn't see them again all day. I knew they were going to have to help get a shrimp boat out of the water, but assumed they'd return after that was done. I worked onboard all day on my consolidation and inventory. I found three spaces that I thought I had previously organized that I hadn't. I got two of them done, and by that I mean that I moved a lot of stuff in each one out to consolidate with other, similar items elsewhere, and a few things elsewhere into these spaces to join items in them. Considerable time is spent on some items just trying to figure out what they are or, at least which system they belong with. Some have part numbers on them that allow me to look them up on the internet, others do not. For instance, I found two half inch, round items with wiring connectors on them that I had no idea what they were. Luckily, they did have numbers that could be looked up. They are switches that open at 175° and close at 157°, but I still don't know what system they are for. Those are pretty high temperatures for the hot water heater. Those temperatures are closer to the temperatures on an engine, but I've never seen a thermostat on an engine that is electronic. Maybe they are for the fan on the charger/inverter. I guess I'll find out someday and when I do, I hope my inventory database will help me find them when I need them.
                  I returned to the marina around 5:30 to get cleaned up to go to Bonita Bills for their Monday night jam session. The performers were all very good tonight, as usual, and I won another bandana for knowing who had a 50's backup band named "The Blue Caps," - Gene Vincent of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" fame. I knew the answer to the next question,too, but you can only win once per night. I think I need to find another venue, too. For some reason, most of the performers are playing more blues music, and I'll admit, I'm there for the rock and roll.
                  As I type this after returning from Bonita Bills, I'm surrounded by flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder, as usual. I'm amazed how it storms all around this little basin, and my phone's lightning alarm tells me there is lightning just 10.9, 13.8, 7.5, 10.7, 9.6, and 10 miles away almost every evening for several hours, but it really doesn't rain here very much. Once in a while we get a hard rain, but most evenings it stops quickly, or just sprinkles enough to make me close up the boat, then stops. It's still, however, very humid and the gulf water and river is 90°F, so it doesn't cool down much at night.

Tuesday, 12 July - When I arrived this morning, the gudgeon had been removed and taken into the shop to be brazed. That done, it sat there all morning with no one doing any more work on my boat. As I was going to lunch around noon, I stopped in the office and talked to Lee, one of the owners and the now acting manager, and asked him what it would take to get more work done on my boat now that the rudder is onsite. He apologized and said he'd get his men on it immediately, but said that the fellow that would be reshaping the gudgeon was gone for the afternoon.
                  When I returned from lunch, Steve was working on the boat and had replaced the gudgeon. I started to walk up to it and take a look, but Steve told me to go away and come back later to tell him how good a job he'd done. Lee walked up and I talked to him for a few minutes, then went aboard to got some more inventory done. As I was leaving, I inspected the work and realized that they had added a bit of the metal back, when they ground it back to flat in one area, they were almost back to where it was after the original grinding. The rudder appears to be fitting since they put the HDMW spacers in, and that shows that they didn't need to grind anything away in the first place.

Wednesday, 13 July - Steve, here at the boat yard, was working on my boat this morning when I got here, so I immediately told Steve that I wanted the gudgeon removed again and all the metal restored to its original form. He assured me that it was, saying that he had a trace outline showing its original shape and that that is how it is now. He then rushed off to get the tracing and tell Lee that there was a problem. Lee showed up shortly with the supposed traced outline, but, in the meantime, I had located close-up photos of the gudgeon taken right after the boat was pulled from the water, showing unequivocally that the upper line on the gudgeon is absolutely straight. I'm getting it redone. Of course, that slowed things down again.
                  Another fellow was measuring the skeg and rudder when I arrived this morning for a "sand shoe" that I asked to have put on the skeg. When I got ready to go to lunch at 2pm, he had brought the newly manufactured piece back over to the boat. It is merely a piece of stainless steel bar that will be bolted to the bottom of the skeg and extending backward under the rudder to keep cables or lines from crab and lobster pots from getting caught in between the skeg and rudder. I'm a little curious about the design. They have drilled two holes in the bar and it looks as if one hole will be in the skeg and the other in the rudder. That can't work unless the one on the rudder is exactly lined up with the center of rotation of the rudder shaft, which would be very hard to measure. Otherwise, when the rudder rotates, it will tear the bolt out. It needs to be bolted securely to the skeg, but not to the rudder at all. I definitely need to talk to them about this before it gets installed. They also did a little painting on the rear of the hull, skipping some spots for some reason, then disappeared.
                  On my way back from lunch, I stopped at the office and picked up a bronze drain cover that I had seen. I wanted to see if it would cover the drain in the anchor locker to keep out large pieces of mud, seaweed and critters than get hauled aboard with the anchor line as I weigh anchor. It looked like it would work fine, so I glued some finer screen to the bottom of it and dropped it into the locker. I don't think I need to attach it. It is fairly heavy and I can't see how it can get moved away from the drain hole. Also, if it's not attached, it will be much easier to clean when it gets clogged. Only time will tell.
                  It's 5:15pm. I think I'll head back to the marina to send this off via their WiFi.