Thursday, 1 August 2024 - Bill Greene and I are the only pickleballers that showed up today. We practiced serves and dinking for about three hours in spite of the heat warnings in effect. I returned to the boat and defrosted the freezer/refrigerator.

Friday, 2 August - Bill Greene and I are the only pickleballers that showed up again today. The possibility of rain may have been a factor. We practiced serves and overhead volleys for about 20 minutes before I thought I needed to quit for the fitness class. It also looked as if we were going to get wet pretty soon. We put the net and ball away and I checked to see if the fitness class had been called off and it had been. As we walked the short distance to the marina it started to sprinkle so I went to the marina office to wait out the rain. It didn't last long so after an ice cream bar and a Dr Pepper, I headed to the boat. I had the awning furled because of the possibility of strong winds along with rain showers and it was wet from the rain. With considerable rain in the forecast I hoped for a bit of sunshine and got just enough to dry the awning out after I unfurled it, then I totally removed it from the deck and stowed it in the forepeak for the duration of the weekend or upcoming storm, whichever lasts longest. I'm also waiting for a call from Susie's niece. She and her husband want to stay at Susie's house this evening and I need to deliver a key to Susie's house to them when they arrive from Ft. Lauderdale. Well, I never heard from Susie's niece. I guess the decided to stay home because of predicted rain. We had a pretty good lightning storm this evening around sunset and even though the boat was moving quite a bit, I got a couple of pictures with my iPhone.

Saturday, 3 August - I awoke this morning and discovered that, because of the overnight winds propelling my wind generator, my batteries are already at 96% charge. Nice. The tropical depression that NOAA has been hyping all week has, overnight, finally started to show some circulation. This morning it is centered over the west end of Cuba and we are getting gusty winds in the 20 to 30 mph range along with very scattered, brief showers. They believe it will develop into a tropical storm around midnight as it passes to the north and west of us and heads into the Gulf of Mexico. After that it may develop further into hurricane Debby. It looks like we'll have pretty gusty winds and on and off rain storms for the next 36 to 48 hours.

Sunday, 4 August - When I awoke this morning Tropical Storm Debby had, indeed, passed to the north and west of Marathon. The winds are quite gusty between 20 and 40 miles per hour. That moves the boat around quite a bit but its not uncomfortable here in the harbor. I had two of the five windows in my dodger replaced about 2 years ago and the repairman told me a flat lie. He said he'd be using the new, heavy duty, UV resistant, synthetic thread that should last for 20 years or more. The thread in those two windows are turning to dust having been in the sun all the time and one of the strongest gusts today tore all the threads in my starboard window out. Amazingly, we got very little rain out of the storm. I didn't ever come close to filling my water tank.

Monday, 5 August - In spite of what the weatherman predicted, today was a beautiful, partly cloudy day with no rain. Key West is still getting rain, but we are not. I was the only pickleballer that showed up this morning, I didn't even set up a new, but did practice my serves for about 30 minutes before the fitness class, which had 6 attending today. About 3 o'clock this afternoon Susie's niece texted to say they would need the key to Susie's house for tonight so I returned to shore, met them, and delivered the key. Back on the boat again, I used soapy water to discover leaks in the dinghy. The Dinghy is getting well worn in spots and all three compartments need to be pumped up two or three times daily. Air is simply escaping through the fabric and the outer layer of rubber has deteriorated from exposure to the sun so much that it is turning to dust. I applied PC-11 Epoxy, rubbed into the fabric, from the outside with all air pressure removed from the tubes in 11 spots. I couldn’t get the spot to the port of the center bow patch to lay flat with the tubes deflated, so it may not seal well when the tubes are inflated in the morning after curing all night.

Tuesday, 6 August - I had left the three valves in the compartments of the dinghy open overnight so the epoxy would cure so I got up a little early this morning to pump the dinghy up again before going to shore for pickleball. It takes a lot of pumping to fill those tubes when they are totally deflated. I was sweating well before I reached the pickleball court but it didn't matter, no one else showed up. I practiced my serves for a while then headed back to the boat. I defrosted the freezer again so that when I filled it after buying groceries this afternoon it would be a fresh start. This evening I had dinner at Dockside and listened to the music of the JibSea Cowboys. There was a pretty sparse crowd as usually happens in the summer. At 8:30 the band took a short break and most of the few diners left, including me.

Wednesday, 7 August - As per the recent normal, I was the only person that showed up for pickleball this morning. I practiced 90 serves, put the balls back in the bucket and walked over to the fitness court. Five showed up for that. Diesel Don called this morning to explain and beg forgiveness for the slow service we've gotten on the repair and return of the high pressure fuel pump being rebuilt in Ft. Lauderdale. He assumes that since we shipped it to the attention of Joe, when it arrived, it was simply set on Joe's workbench and ignored while Joe was on vacation instead of being opened up and repaired. This afternoon Don called again and said that Joe is back on the job and that the pump is ready. All I had to do was call Joe and pay for the repair, which I did immediately.

Thursday, 8 August - Letty Irwin and her grandson, Wyatt, showed up for pickleball, then Letty talked a fellow practicing basketball into playing to make a fourth. He had played before, and I could tell he's played tennis some, too, but he didn't know the rules well at all. Still, he did pretty good and made it more fun for the rest of us. I returned to the boat and killed a little time waiting to see if my fuel pump came back from the rebuild shop. I went back to shore and found that it had arrived so I picked it up. Diesel Don came by the boat just as I arrived back and said he'd talk to his assistant to see when they can re-install it for me. When I opened the package I realized that the locking bolt that I had spent $180 for a 4" alignment tool to set, and that we spent so much time to be sure it was aligned properly, wasn't locked. That seemed wrong so I talked to Don about it and he agreed. He was so convinced that they screwed up that he called them about it. Even the owner of the rebuild facility was surprised that it had been shipped not locked, but after a discussion with the technician, Don caved in and agreed maybe it wasn't necessary. Don still wasn't totally convinced so he called a couple of other repairmen for their opinions and both thought the shaft should have been locked in place.

Friday, 9 August - Bill Greene and I showed up for pickleball this morning but no one else. He decided to just go for a walk since there were only the two of us and since I was only going to play for about 30 minutes before the fitness class was to start. I practiced about 90 serves then went to the class. While I was exercising, Diesel Don called the pump rebuilder again he was so worried about it. After all, the rebuild cost me over $1600 and the removal and re-install will probably be about $1000 or more and Don didn't want to do it twice. He was finally convinced when the owner of the company said he'd rebuild the next six pumps for Don for free if this isn't right. That means the fellow is pretty damn sure it is okay to not be locked. Someone along the line explained that locking the shaft isn't necessary unless the end plate on the shaft gets removed, which we didn't do. I hope they're right. The shop manual doesn't mention that at all. We re-install tomorrow morning and will know when we try to start the engine.

Sunday, 11 August - Don and Brandon Bunch removed the pump again today and will send it back to Everglades Diesel Injection in Ft. Lauderdale. Actually, Brandon arrived at 10 AM and had most of the removal done by noon. He just wasn't sure how to verify that the engine was sitting with the number one cylinder on top dead center so he called Don and he came over to rotate the engine on TDC. An hour later they were through. I had had to use my small wet/dry vacuum to suck up some antifreeze and my two foot plumber's pipe wrench to turn the engine over so I spent another couple of hours cleaning the rust off of them and oiling the wrench and my bolt cutters, too. Later I went to Dockside for dinner.

Monday, 12 August - I think pickleball is dead for the summer. No one else is showing up. I patched several more tiny holes, or rather groups of holes, in the dinghy this morning and left it deflated for several hours before airing it back up. This afternoon I reinstalled the deck awning. I had made some notes to make the reinstallation easier the next time I put it up but I think it took about twice as long for some reason. One of the benefits of living on the water is seeing the wildlife. On the way into shore this morning I spotted an eagle ray and this afternoon as I was reinstalling the deck awning I heard something break the surface of the water at the bow of the boat, looked down and saw an adult and a juvenile porpoise doing a ballet chasing mullet for dinner.

Tuesday, 13 August - I tried to order a switch or sender or sensor, I don't know which, that got broken during the removal of the high pressure fuel pump from Transatlantic Diesel today but, even with photos' they couldn't identify it. They said they'd send the photos to Perkins in England for indentification and get back to me tomorrow.

Wednesday, 14 August - I attended the fitness class this morning with four others including Letty Irwin. Just as the class was over Letty saw that someone was getting out pickleball equipment. It turned out that they are visitors to the area and we asked if we could join them. With four of them and two of us, Letty and I rotated in after the first game. Unfortunately, it was very warm on the court and after only three games, they were ready to quit. I received unsettling news from Diesel Don around noon. He had talked to the company rebuilding my fuel pump. They had received it back and run it for three hours without it leaking. It leaked for us within seconds when I started my engine. If it truly is not damaged, something else is causing the fuel to leak, meaning the $1600+ that I paid to have it rebuilt, plus the 12 hours+ time that Don and Brandon have spent so far plus at least another 3 hours to reinstall the pump will have been an expensive mistake. I have no idea how much Don is going to charge me yet. Don suggested that perhaps the excess fuel return line back to the tank might be pinched or otherwise obstructed, I think that should have been checked out before we removed and sent the pump in for a rebuild. I'll try to trace that line down tomorrow if I have time.

Thursday, 15 August - Since Diesel Don had implied that perhaps the return fuel line might be constricted in some way, causing the fuel to exit through the seep hole in the pump, I got down in the engine room this morning and traced that hose from one end to the other, but found no problem. I also adjusted some of the lines on the deck awning to try to improve airflow into the boat. After that I emptied 20 gallons of fresh water that I had on stored on deck in 5 gallon jerry jugs into the water tank. Water, even treated city water, will eventually start to grow algae if stored on deck too long.

Friday, 16 August - Marathon being on a small island, there are no clothing stores, or for that matter, very few stores of any kind other than the two grocery stores, Home Depot, and a couple of Walgreens that have the necessities of life for the permanent residents. There are several stores, however, that supply beach "necessities" like cheap hats, snorkel gear, sandals, umbrellas, folding beach chairs, and sunscreen for the tourists. For that reason, I spent an inordinate amount of time the last couple of days online searching for a couple of nice, cool, Hawaiian shirts that will dry quickly onboard when I hand wash them. A blend of linen and polyester or hemp and polyester fabrics seem to be the best choices, but I can't find any.
                    This afternoon I went into the marina and picked up the fuel pump again. I talked to Don and he can't get back to my boat until the first of next week to reinstall the pump and to try and determine what the problem truly is.
                    I called Susie about 9 o'clock in the evening to see how her trip home was progressing. She had left a day early and was so anxious to come home that she had decided to drive longer each day and make it home in two days instead of three. She was only about two hours away, up near Homestead on the mainland and arrived home around 11 PM.

Saturday, 17 August - The weather apps I use have been really wrong the last three days, predicting 30 to 50% chance of rain for almost every hour day and night. Radar doesn't show much rain and we've only gotten a couple of very brief showers. This morning I defrosted the freezer and opened the hatch to the bilge and checked the flapper valve I had made for the refrigeration compartment drain a few years ago to see if there was a problem with it. It wasn't totally closed and maybe that is letting cold air out at the bottom of the compartments and allowing warm air to enter more aggressively each time I open the lids. I adjusted the valve and hope to see a decrease in the volume of frost that is developing on the refrigeration's evaporator. I will actually be very pleasantly surprised, though, if that solves the problem.
                    As I was about to leave Utah in search of a boat, Lew Ershler and Jon Lindgren were very helpful to me. I had purchased a 15 foot, large, enclosed cargo trailer to hold my sailboard equipment and other items in as I traveled. With the 33 foot motorhome, it was next to impossible for me to back up to the exact spot that I needed to be in to hook up the trailer. Since the hitch on the motorhome was 12 feet behind the back axle even the slightest turn of the steering wheel moved the hitch about six inches. Since, by myself, I couldn't see the trailer hitch behind me, I was having trouble. Lew and Jon came to my rescue with the wonderful gift of a SwiftHitch remote camera system that attached above my motorhome's hitch and let me see while backing up. Wow! What a game changer. Well, the motorhome is long gone, but I kept the SwiftHitch and have redeployed it on the bow of my boat. As I approach my mooring ball at a distance I can see the ball but as I get within about 20 feet, it disappears from view below the bow so I mounted the camera on the bow and put the view screen at the top of my binnacle where my chart plotter and wheel are and I can see the ball right up until it is right under the bow. The last time I tried to use it, however, the battery in the camera wouldn't charge. I've taken it apart but sadly discovered that I'm not going to be able to replace that battery myself. Instead, I'll soon be ordering the newer version of the setup. The latest version will let me use my iPhone's larger viewing screen via Bluetooth connection and their app. Many thanks to Jon and Lew, it served me well.

Sunday, 18 August - At 6:30 this morning I was awakened by the sound of thunder from not too far away. Frequent lightning strikes kept getting more frequent and closer by distance. I started counting the seconds between flashes and their thunder. At two seconds I thought one was close, more so at one second. Then one came at what I estimated at about a 2/10 of a second delay. At 1125 feet per second, the math told a boat very close, about 225 feet away just got hit. I was right. I found out this afternoon the it was RJ on S/V Tesla, on mooring ball M-9. I'm on M-6. That's just over 200 feet away.
                    The weather station on my saloon wall started beeping about once every second late last evening so I thought the batteries were running low. Unfortunately, even when I replaced the batteries, it still beeped incessantly. This morning I cleaned up the battery terminals but got the same result so I opened up the case and discovered a broken wire. It probably didn't break until I opened the case or it wouldn't have even beeped but that made no difference. After about 2 hours I had that wire resoldered and the weather station was up and running again.

Monday, 19 August - Susie and I attended the fitness class with just two others this morning. I returned to the boat and caught up on some emails, then started getting ready for Diesel Don Shuler and Brandon to reinstall my high pressure fuel pump again tomorrow.

Tuesday, 20 August - Diesel Don and Brandon Bunch spent about 4 hours on the boat and reinstalled the injection pump again today and it is still leaking in exactly the same spot as before. They spent about another 2 hours testing the return fuel line to the fuel tank for blockages, but found none. We had deemed that to be the only possibles way for a fault on the boat to cause that problem, but found no problem here, but the pump still leaked. I took Don and Brandon to lunch at Florida Keys Steak & Lobster and we returned about 4 pm, too late to get started removing the pump again. We made a short movie to prove to the rebuilder that we did, indeed, disconnect the two return lines and that it is still leaking and sent it to him. Don talked to him on the phone and the guy said he's tempted to simply buy me a new $3000 pump, but Don pointed out that that still wouldn't cover all the extra work that he and Brandon have put in dismounting and reinstalling the pump. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I doubt that it will be in my favor but I know Don's on my side. Thank goodness I didn't pick the rebuilder. Since Don chose "his preferred rebuilder", it's his responsibility.

Wednesday, 21 August - Brandon Bunch, Diesel Don's assistant/apprentice came to my boat at 8:45 this morning and with me assisting him, removed the injection pump again. After removing and installing this pump twice already he says he "could do it blindfolded." He did remove it in about half the time it took him previously. Don will ship it off again this afternoon.

Thursday, 22 August - This is the rainy season here and although we didn't get much rain, it threatened to do so all day. That means I need to either close all the windows, hatches and portholes, then open them right back up over and over and over, or close up and turn on the fans to circulate the air, I did a little of both today.

Friday, 23 August - Four people in our pickleball group committed to play this morning. I played for thirty minutes before my fitness class started then worked out for an hour. Luckily, the other three had played two on one for about three games, then waited for me to return, then we played for about another hour. Afterward, I caught a ride up to the post office with Letty Irwin, one of the pickleballers, to mail a letter. While up that way just before noon, I decided to have a slightly early lunch at the Panda House Chinese Restaurant. They have been closed for at least a year and a half for remodeling. I had their buffet and unfortunately, the food didn't seem as good as it had been in the past.

Saturday, 24 August - I had lots of ice and frost in the freezer so I defrosted today. After I defrosted, I went to the marina to get a temperature sensor that replaces on that got broken while removing the fuel pump the first time. I also dinghied down to Dockside to get a couple of seat cushions that I accidentally left there Tuesday evening. For some reason, they threw one away and saved one, but getting one back is better than none. I met Susie there for dinner and dancing in the evening.

Sunday, 25 August - Another rainy day. However, I've been watching two different radar apps on my phone this afternoon. There's been a twenty mile wide light rain patch approaching us slowly for quite awhile and, I swear, there really does seem to be some kind of small, invisible dome or force field that protects Marathon by making the rain just dry up or scoot along past us just off shore. Many times it rains all around us and we get nothing. This happens very frequently and people call it the "Marathon Bubble." It's working overtime today. It's intriguing and I can't figure what it is about this island that causes it. Other islands in the chain get much more rain than we do. I finally remembered to SuperGlue a couple of things on the boat today; a dime-size magnet that holds my shower curtain against the fiberglass wall so water can't get around it, and a knurled retaining/sealing nut on the engine kill cable that got broken while we were removing the high pressure fuel pump. It was already cracked and I thought it was made of poor pot metal with bronze in it because of the verdigris on it. It turned out to be simply be plastic. I'm truly amazed that it hadn't broken years ago...and it may have and been replaced numerous times already.

Monday,26 August - We had four pickleballers show up today around 8:40. I got in one game before going over to the fitness court for an hour and when I returned we had eight. Unfortunately, three were out of towners that will be going diving tomorrow morning. Maybe they'll be back on Wednesday.

Tuesday, 27 August - We had some rain this morning before pickleball so Bill Greene and I squeegeed the court and set up the net before anyone else got there. Letty Irwin joined us and we played two games of two against one. Halfway through a third game a lady out for a walk noticed us playing and Letty invited her to join us. She's in from out of town, borrowed one of my paddles and turned out to be a pretty good player. I spent all afternoon putting a freeze on my credit accounts on the three credit bureaus and changing some of my passwords on online sites. It's going to be a nightmare.

Wednesday, 28 August - Well, of course, after having bragged about the "Marathon Bubble" on Sunday, it lightning called off the exercise class halfway through so I went back over to the pickleball court, then got rained out there. It rained hard enough for about an hour and a half to put about 90 gallons of water into my water tank for me. I, again, spent several hours changing passwords for online sites. It is very time consuming because many of the sites hide passwords before and after they are typed and because each one has to be changed on the sites, in Firefox on my computer, in Safari on my iPhone, and then recorded in my password file in OpenOffice Writer.

Thursday, 29 August - We had four brave souls willing to ignore the likelihood of rain this morning to play pickleball. We had to squeegee the court but didn't get any more rain. I returned to the marina community room and waited for UPS to deliver my fuel injection pump but the UPS driver didn't drop it off. Sometimes they make two trips to deliver so maybe it will come later. I had hoped to get the pump back in the boat tomorrow. On the way back to the boat I got my first good, up-close look at a green sea turtle. One about three feet long surfaced for air close to the dinghy as I motored out. I made it back to the marina just before they closed to get the pump that had finally been delivered. Susie and I met at Dockside to listen to music by Candace Widgeon it the evening and while there discovered that Ron and Karen Butler have come back from travels and that they have purchased a home in The Villages in northern Florida. They'll go up there as soon as they can sell their boat here, or maybe sooner.

Friday, 30 August - I called Diesel Don at 6:30 this morning to see if he was planning on installing the pump today, but he said no. That let me spend an hour on fitness court exercises and two hours of pickleball to use up my time this morning.

Saturday, 31 August - No pickleball, no fitness class, no fuel injection pump. I got to sleep in this morning. After breakfast and listening to the Cruiser's Net I scraped the barnacles and marine slime off the port side of the bottom of the dinghy. I haven't done that in a long time because my shoulders hadn't recovered enough and my left shoulder got pretty sore just doing that. Even today doing half of the hull was enough. We got thunder, lightning, and light rain in the afternoon.