Man, what a day! It’s 23:22 (okay, 0:31 now that I’ve done a few revisions), I started at around 7:30…and here’s some of what got done today:
- Rented a minivan for tomorrow’s big fun
- Confirmed 5 batteries will be ready for pickup in Miami tomorrow for a fraction of what West Marine wants for ’em
- Confirmed Calypso Sail in Key Largo will expect me around 10:30 a.m. tomorrow to bring in my torn main and stays’l.
- Called Bitchin to let him know I found the boat…and got assigned a writing task for his newsletter. LOL. (Just kidding…kinda. It’s a win-win in my book.)
- Paid $10 for parking across the street from Key West Marine Hardware (“Los Cubanitos”)…which I discovered has free parking for customers. (BTW, totally go here before you go to the mega chain marine store across the street. This place rocks.)
- Got WD40, measuring calipers, butt splice connectors for repairing solar panel charging wire that chafed through in the storm, a wire brush, and a not-expensive heat gun to shrink the heat shrink tubing over the spliced solar panel charing wires.
- Ate some kind of “tempura-battered” lobster tail on a stick. Very reminiscent of Long John Silver’s.
- Came back to the boat and found…the batteries have come back to life after being connected to shore power! Huzzah! Another miracle! The boat has lights and doodads and a working refrigerator.
- Re-spliced the solar panel charging wires. (I got the wrong size butt splice connectors (14-16 AWG), but had the correct size aboard (12 AWG). And did this just enough before sunset that the charge controller lit up, showing that I do indeed have a connected solar panel again.
- Got too enthusiastic with the heat gun and melted through one of my beautiful heat-shrink-tubing-covered butt splices. Repaired with electrical tape. (Temporarily. I need to get this beeyatch back in the water and back to her home slip.)
- Removed main and stays’l and put them in the minivan so I’ll be ready to roll in the morning.
- Went back out on a scavenger hunt and found a washcloth and towel, a new alternator belt for the Yanmar, some Guinness Extra Stout, ice, lens wipes, and Gatorade Zero.
- Had dinner at 9:15 (Sorry… I mean 21:15)
- Showered for the first time since last Wednesday
- Sprayed WD40 on the ends of the cables that connect to the chartplotter, and which had been soaking in water…in the plastic quart bag I duct taped around them to prevent water from getting to them in the storm. (Apparently one of the few things I had presence of mind to do before abandoning ship…um, notwithstanding that it didn’t quite work.)
- Taped another plastic bag around the cable ends…this time full of WD40.
- Finished some tax crap
- Typed these words
Soooo… Tomorrow I’m gonna head out of here by 0800 (if not earlier), drop off the main and stays’l in Key Largo, continue to Miami to pick up new batteries…which I’ve decided I will probably just load onboard but not install just yet unless necessary…swing back by Key Largo to pick up the sails…and finally alight back at Stock Island where I’ll say howdy to my crew for the return trip—which may or may not be our friend Bill.
Meanwhile, the yard will hopefully be starting the pressure washing, sanding and bottom paint process…which I’d like to not be aboard during.
As always…
What could possibly go wrong?
-B
Where are you this weekend? Key west by any chance?
Sort of…LOL. About to splash her and GTF outta here!