Thursday, 15 September 2016 - I finished the work on the sole (flooring) today by going to the hardware store and buying brads to tack the baseboard trim in place after I had cut the boards into shorter sections to facilitate using the under-sole space for storage. The hardware store on the island is very small and caters to people doing small home repairs, not mariners, so the only brads they had were "bright", meaning, I assume, "shiny until it rusts." I wish they'd had stainless steel or brass, because "bright" won't be bright for long on the boat. Amazingly, after all that work, the sole looks almost exactly like it did before I started, which is good, but it seems like if you do that much work, it ought to look better. Actually, there is one more thing I need to do before it is totally finished. There is a piece of vertical corner trim on a post that, if I put it back on and attach it permanently, I won't be able to raise the sole panels past it, which would make all my work for nought. It's similar to a puzzle. You can raise the panels, but only if you remove this seemingly unrelated piece first. I need to figure out how to install that piece so that it can be removed easily, but still look good.

Friday, 16 September - Gary Powers, an old friend of my parents during their sailing days, reads my stories and, after reading one of the most recent, told me to call him about capturing rain water instead of getting it on shore. Of course, I've known I could do that with the setup that the previous owners rigged with hoses at the corners of the bimini. I had assumed that I would need to fill my jerrycans, then pour those into the water tank. I've always figured that one would probably fill up faster than I could empty one, so I'd lose water in the process. Gary suggested running longer hoses directly to the tank. That makes sense, so this morning I started by removing and cleaning the short hoses for future use. I'll need to buy about 30 feet of 1/2 inch hose, but that'll make catching the rain water much simpler. I'll be able to catch about 50 gallons if I get 1 inch of rain on the bimini, which is just over 8' X 10'. That'll save hauling 45-50 lb. jerrycans back and forth to and from shore so often. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to teach the seagulls, starlings, grackles, crows, pelicans, etc. to poop on the poop deck instead of the bimini top! Plus, since I've moved my boat, the egrets are bringing me small fish and leaving them on the deck, bimini top and solar panels.
                  I spent the afternoon dodging rain squalls and in the exciting pastime of washing clothes at the marina. I also updated all my apps on my phone and laptop.

Saturday, 17 September - With a little too much partying at the Mermaid Bar last night, I was a little slow getting up this morning. Steve and I have to quit closing that place down or not show up until way later, one or the other.
                  I noticed that my phone's app store now indicates that I have ten more apps that need to be updated. I can't stay ahead of them!

Sunday, 18 September - I took it easy today and did some reading. I had mentioned last week that I was reading about Sir Francis Drake and Lord Horatio Nelson, so Chris Chads told me I should read "Six Frigates", which I couldn't find online in a digital file that I can read, so I decided to read Teddy Roosevelt's "The Naval War of 1812", which is about the same time period and subject. I'm amazed at Theodore Roosevelt's in-depth knowledge of the sailing of square-riggers, but the book is, I believe meant to be read by up and coming naval officers as a teaching tome more so than for the general public. It has way to much detailed information about the number of guns carried, the tonnage of the vessels, the weight of metal thrown in a broadside, the size of the crew plus marines, etc. Too much detail and not enough adventure. By the way, one of Chris Ducie Chads' forebears, Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chad's is mentioned in both books.

Monday, 19 September - Today, I spent quite a bit of time researching, or at least looking for more information about the refrigeration thermostat and solar system, then went to Bonita Bill's for dinner, musical entertainment and to test myself in the musical trivia contest again. I guess I'll never learn. Even though the crowd was tough competition again this week, I thought I knew the answer to one of the question before he finished asking it, so I waited to hear the whole question. Too late! Some one else yelled out my answer first. I should have yelled out first, then waited for the rest of the question if I wasn't right, but, this time, I would have. No bandana this week for Rick.

Tuesday, 20 September - Today, I went exploring over in Hurricane Bay, which is near here, looked at a sailboat that burned up and sank there awhile back, and went to the grocery store. I think Hurricane Bay deserves more exploration, especially with a sounding line. Most of it is very shallow, but if I could find a spot over there that I could get into before a threatening hurricane, it would be very well protected. While at the grocery store, I also met a couple that have a house boat in the mooring field, and since they are there, I asked them if they know Steve, the fellow that stole the electrical pigtail off my boat while I was at Gulf Marine Ways boatyard. I intended to warn them about him, but before I could, the fellow said "Yes, I know him, but he's no friend of mine. They are moored very close to each other and Steve, apparently, got mad at them for something and cut their boat loose while they were away. No harm came to the boat, and another neighbor got video of the incident, so now Steve is getting booted out of the mooring field. I certainly hope he doesn't come anchor near me!
                  I also went to the post office and picked up a padded seat for my dinghy. I don't really need the padded seat, but it has zippered storage pockets below it that I can store small items in, like my rain gear, the pump for the dinghy tubes, the hose for the pump, a flashlight, etc. THey've all been aboard, but either hard to get at in the bow buddy, or laying in the bottom of the boat and, I think, more susceptible to theft. I haven't lost anything out of the dinghy yet, but I don't want to either.

Wednesday, 21 September - I finally decided to take the chance and try to read the ampere output on my solar panels again today. The last time I tried to read how many amps were coming out of my solar panels, I blew a fuse that was hard to replace, so I ordered extras. I determined today that I'm getting about 6 Amps out of my solar at midday at best, then immediately blew the same fuse. I did, however, figure out what the problem was this time, and probably last time, too; pilot error! I forgot to move the plug for the probe in the meter back from DC Amps, to DC Volts when I checked the voltage again. Duh! At least this time I had the spare fuse. Theoretical output on the 185 Watt panels is about 15 A. Now I need to determine if getting less than half of that is acceptable or not. Of course, I wish they were doing better. The real question is would buying new cause a significant increase in output.