Thursday, 14 July 2016 - My gudgeon wasn't on the boat when I arrived this morning, so I walked over to the shop to see what was going on, if anything. They had done more brazing and grinding on it, and as I stood there looking at it, Lee, the manager came in behind me. "What do you think?," he asked. "I don't think it's flat. If it's a bearing surface, it needs to be flat," I said. I turned it over to show him the bottom, which was machined flat when it was made. He tried to defend the work, but, in the end. said he'd get it fixed...again. Wouldn't it just be easier to do it right the first time? I went back to the boat and a couple of hours later that they had it installed. It finally looked pretty good. The sand shoe was sitting there, so I asked them a couple of questions about it and told them it was too long. It was made such that when the rudder was turned, the back end would protrude beyond the edge of the rudder, creating a point that something could catch on. They really don't think much. I really wonder what the condition of my boat would have been in had I simply told them what I wanted done and gone away, like so many boaters do, only to return when all the work is finished and pay the bill.
                  An hour later, I came off the boat to get some lunch and was surprised to see that they already had it installed on the skeg. Actually, what I was amazed at was that I hadn't heard them working on the boat while I was aboard. It, again, looked pretty good, but could ride a little closer to the rudder. There shouldn't be any gap at all for something to get into. I went to lunch and since I said that it rarely rains here, it rained pretty hard for about 20 minutes. I had closed up the boat, but when I returned, Mike and Steve, two of the boatyard workers were at the rear of the boat taking off a still tacky layer of fiberglass that they had just put on. The rain had ruined it.
                  They left again and I decided to start pulling the anchor chain back up to the deck and feeding it into the locker. I was amazed at how twisted it was, so I spent some time straightening it out enough to enable the swivel to rotate and get the twists out. Part of it was laying in a puddle of fresh rainwater, so I moved it and left about 45 ft. on the ground to dry overnight.

Friday, 15 July - I came to be boat early this morning and raised the remainder of the chain and the anchor to the deck and put the chain in the anchor locker...I thought. I went below to confirm that all was well and it wasn't. The anchor chain had crossed over the divider panel into the compartment for the rope, so I pulled it back out onto the deck. This has happened before, and now is a good time to remedy the problem. I walked over to the sheet metal shop at the yard here and asked them to cut me a piece of aluminum that I can tack onto the top of the existing plywood to extend it so neither the chain nor the rope can cross over to the other compartment. While I was there, the boss, Lee, came by to check to make sure that the repair on the gudgeon was ok. I had to tell him NO, the rudder can't be turned at all. When they loosened the cables for the steering, they let them fall slack, which had let one of the cables fall off one of the pulleys. That was it was all tightened up when I came back from lunch, so I assumed that it had been fixed. I tried to turn the wheel, but it was very stiff, which it should not be. The repairman couldn't believe it. He said it turned easily with one finger. Well, not for me. Maybe I used the wrong finger. Anyway, it needed looking at and, sure enough, the cable was off one of the pulleys under the binnacle (steering column). That opened up the opportunity to switch the cables on the two pulleys at that location, which will take the twist out of the cables between the binnacle and the port side pulley in the engine room. The cables were rubbing against each other and looked as if it could be a problem over time. The steering still seems a bit stiff to me, but that may be because the packing gland for the rudder post has no lubricant in it. It is normally lubricated by seawater, but since the boat isn't in the water, no lubrication. At least the steering is smooth when racked both ways. I definitely need to remember to observe the ease of steering when we put it in the water and it gets wet before I leave the dock.
                  Another day gone by and the only thing that was accomplished was the steering redone, which shouldn't have been necessary; no new work on their part. I'll work on the boat over the weekend when no one else is here.
                  Around 4:30 in the afternoon, my fan quit working, but since clouds had rolled in and the temperature dropped, I did' think much about it or look to see why. As I was leaving for the day however, I discovered that someone had unplugged my power at the outlet in the yard. At first I thought that someone had done so because they merely unplugged everything for the weekend since it was right after their workday ended. Then I realized that not only had they unplugged me, but they had taken my almost new $170 50amp to 30amp pigtail connector. There is the slight possibility that a yard worker assumed that I wouldn't need it for the weekend and has "borrowed" it for the short term, although "Island Time" is written very conspicuously on it. I certainly hope this is the case.

Saturday, 16 July - Steve Monaghan and I headed out to the hardware store again today. We only purchased a few items and tried to be quick about it because both of us had projects that we needed to work on on our boats. We still ended up eating up all morning, although about 45 minutes was spent just looking for an ice machine that would work. We ended up going to a Publix Grocery store and paying twice as much as the local ice dispensers charge, but at least we got it. A couple of the local ice machines dispense 20 lb. for $2, and the marina wants $3 for 10 lb. Publix charged $4 for 10 lb. Oh well, when your desperate and frustrated...
                  I returned to my boat, walked around and, luckily, found a 50amp to 30amp adapter that belongs to the boatyard so I could charge my computer, phone, and run a fan. and was working on the inventory when my power went off again. I immediately got up to look off the boat and sure enough, the power was again unplugged. I moved a little closer to the back of the boat and saw who had unplugged it, and again, not only unplugged it, but was taking away the pigtail adapter, headed toward his dinghy. I yelled at him and asked what he was doing. He said he unplugged it because there isn't supposed to be anyone here and to keep the cable from being run over over the weekend. He had not, however, moved the cable out of the way, and on the weekends, there is no one to run over it with trucks or fork lifts. He said it belonged to the yard, which this one does, and that he needed it. I said I needed it too, because mine had been taken yesterday. He dropped it and hurried on his way. I certainly couldn't stop him, because, as he stated, this one belongs to the yard, but I will be having a talk with the management bright and early Monday morning. In the meantime, as soon as I finish today's report, I'm changing the combination on the boat's locks. He knows the combination I'm using now.
                  I installed the aluminum extension panel on the divider in the anchor locker and fed the chain down into the locker. The chain can't cross over into the rope's partition and vice versa, but that still didn't solve all the problems with the chain. It stacked up in a vertical column about 10 inches around instead of sliding over itself and leveling out, so it jammed up at the top and wouldn't all go into the locker. I had to pull most of it out, go below, and level it by hand. Inconvenient here at the yard, but that will be almost impossible in practice at an anchorage. It won't happen as often when the chain is wet, but I would still like to find a way to make it quit happening altogether. I'm open to suggestions from any of you sailors out there with a solution.

Sunday, 17 July - Steve Monaghan and I had a good dinner last night, then headed over to one of the bars. We closed it down at 2am, then slept in in the morning. Steve slept until noon.
                  I had hoped to get a piece of plastic from the sheet metal worker at the boatyard that he said is trash and that, if I wanted it, I could have, but since they are not here over the weekend, I don't want their video cameras to record me wandering around the yard and looking suspicious, especially in light of the theft that has already occurred recently. I doubt that their cameras actually have recorders on them, but I didn't want to have to explain myself if they do, so I stayed away from the yard today and relaxed at the marina.

Monday, 18 July - Arriving at the boatyard at 8am, I went immediately to the office to talk to the manager, Lee, about what had happened after hours Friday and on Saturday. He was disappointed to hear it, but glad I told him and assured me that he'd deal with it immediately.
                  I had dinner at Bonita Bills and stayed for the music. I think I had mentioned that Ghost, the band leader, used to play with the Del Vikings, Rick Nelson, and Chubby Checker. He had been talking with one of the weekly guest guitar players from Philadelphia and found out that that fellow played with Danny and the Juniors of "At the Hop" and "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" fame for several years. I also won another bandana for knowing which female country western singer was kidnapped in 1978 in a supermarket. The answer he was looking for was Tammy Wynette, but that story was false. It was really a coverup for the fact that Tammy's husband at the time, George Richey, had beaten her up pretty badly and the kidnapping story was a cover-up for that beating. How sad.
                  After arriving back at the marina around 9:15 in the evening, I joined others in the captain's lounge, which is merely a TV room, along with restrooms, showers, and WiFi access. One of the people there was a professional treasure hunter. Not sunken treasure from ships, rather sunken treasure from drunken boaters and beach goers. He searches the beaches, shorelines and sandbars with a submersible metal detector for jewelry and makes about $20,000 - $70,000 per year that way. One ring that he found paid for the nice boat he has, another was the "Purple Heart Ring" of a veteran that he tracked down returned the ring to, and another was the "Stanley Cup Hockey Championship Ring" with two year's dates inscribed in it along with the winner's name. He advertised that he was looking for the owner and was offered as much as $80,000 for the ring by collectors before he returned it to the owner. The ring had been lost for many years and, since the ring had been from the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs had won the cup, everybody was sure their current losing streak would be broken...but they still haven't won the cup again.

Tuesday, 19 July - The boatyard manager met me at my dinghy when I arrived at the boatyard and assured me that the situation had been handled and that my shore-power adapter would be returned. I was a bit surprised to be told that he hadn't fired the fellow. I don't think I would have been so forgiving. It's admirable to think that he can help turn the fellow around, but, especially since he believed that a drug habit might be involved, I think that's a mighty slim chance. I would have been thinking more about the reputation of the yard and relieved him of his job. I certainly hope it works out for the good of the yard and the worker.
                  A little sanding and painting of the rudder got done today and I got some consolidation of bed covers and vacuum packed a few things to preserve them and take up less space on the boat. I also installed two new sacrificial zinc anodes on the propeller shaft.

Wednesday, 20 July - Early this morning the boatyard manager told me that they'd be painting on the boat today and tomorrow and that I should be put back in the water sometime Friday. Finally! I spent the day squeezing the last few things into the forepeak under-berth compartments that I could. That space is officially full. I hope I don't ever have to get anything out of there in a hurry. It would literally be impossible. It's packed.