Saturday, 1 March 2025 - As usual, we had a nautical swap meet today at the tiki hut at the marina. I managed to come out ahead today by selling two freezer bags for $10 each and not buying anything. I did, however, spend over $400 by paying for another month's rent of a mooring ball. This afternoon I spent a couple of hours onboard, once again taking the carburetor off of the Honda EU2000i portable generator, cleaning it, reassembling and remounting it, and starting the generator. I fixed nothing. It still runs for about 15 seconds, then dies. I'll deal with it again tomorrow at the marina workroom.

Sunday, 2 March - I got up a bit early and defrosted the freezer right after breakfast. During the Cruiser's Net's "Comments, Questions, and People Needing Help" section I asked for help with my Honda EU2000i generator and this is one of the major reasons I'we been here in Boot Key Harbor for so long. Two people, RJ on S/V Tesla and Phil Vachon on S/V Uno Mas, volunteered to help me fix the generator. I met them at 10:30 at the marina's shop and what I had hoped would take about an hour and a half took the three of us until about 3:30, five hours. Each of them has taken about 10 of these generators apart and repaired them, plus Phil has an ultrasonic parts cleaner specifically designed for this type of job. They know these generators inside and out and went way beyond what I would have attempted in disassembling it. The generator has been pumping fuel into the crankcase and, lately, starting up, but only running about 15 seconds before dying. When we had it all reassembled we had running perfectly and not filling the crankcase with gasoline. Yahoo. I took them and Phil's wife Carol to lunch and gave each some cash, too. I'm out about $150 and it was worth every penny.

Monday, 3 March - After fitness class and pickleball today I picked up some high speed data and charging USB cables to connect my phone to my computer that had been delivered to the marina. I returned to the boat, had a quick lunch, then loaded up my 5 gallon fuel containers and filled them at the fuel dock about a mile away by dinghy. Cost - $4.60/gallon = $180.10. I got an email indicating that another package arrived so I returned to the marina. I had bragged to Bob Dahmer that my dinghy was running well while at pickleball this morning and added that by doing so I had probably jinxed it. On the way to the marina this time it started running very poorly and on the return trip I wasn't sure I'd make it back. I got lucky twice. The package had, indeed, arrived in good shape and when I got back to the boat I popped the casing on the engine and immediately discovered the problem. The lower spark plug wire hand come off the spark plug. I pretty sure that's the easiest fix I've ever done to the outboard.

Tuesday, 4 March - After about 3 hours of pickleball on the newly resurfaced courts today I quickly showered at the marina. I'd forgotten to take a clean shirt with me so I had to return to the boat then meet Susie back at the marina to go to Mike Wagner's and Bev Fowers' place to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Lots of good food and Mike entertains us by singing and playing his guitars. We left there about 4:30 and I met Susie at Dockside for some dancing.

Wednesday, 5 March - Fitness class started at 8:30 this morning and I went directly to pickleball right after that and played until 11:30. This afternoon I entered several items that I've received recently into my database, then put them away. After that I continued to re-read "God Forsaken Sea". I had recently read "The Longest Race" about the first single handed, non-stop, unaided sailboat race around the world which occurred in 1968 and I realized that I had confused parts of that race with the same race in 1996, so I'm re-reading the 1996 version to clear my memory.

Thursday, 6 March - A warm but very breezy day for pickleball. I played until around 11:30 this morning then went to the marina and picked up an order of ToobSeal that I had ordered. My dinghy is leaking like a sieve. I have to pump it up hourly if I'm using it and overnight it goes almost flat. The sun has turned the outer layer of rubber to dust and air simply flows through the inner fabric. I wall have to empty the ToobSeal into the three air compartments in the dinghy and roll the dinghy around so that every part of the inside of the tubes gets the sealant on it. The sealant will flow into the holes in the fabric from the inside, then dry, sealing the holes. I spent this afternoon trying to rig a set of blocks and tackle so that I can raise and lower the ends and roll the dinghy around horizontally so that the fluid covers the inside of the tubes by my self. I made a rig with two double blocks and two single snatch blocks that I think will work, along with a lot of rope. Later I added a brass grommet to another gas can cover to keep the sun from ruining it, too. The grommet is to run a line through so I can tie the jug down on deck.

Friday, 7 March - After fitness class and pickleball this afternoon I returned to the boat and tried to determine what glue, sealant, or adhesive I need to purchase to fill and seal small gaps on both sides of my dinghy at the joint between the hypalon tubes and the aluminum hull. Not only is the leaking air badly but is takin on water, too. I had thought that the leak on the port side of the dinghy was caused by abrasion on the swim platform as I raise and lower the dinghy on the davits daily but recently I discovered leakage in the same place on the starboard side. That side can't be from rubbing the swim platform because I always lift the dinghy with its bow on the starboard side of my boat. The leaks must simply be from the constant flexing of the tubes while riding through or over the water. The lower the air pressure in the tubes the more water I take on, even while the boat sits at the dock. Whatever I buy needs to be able to adhere to both hypalon and the aluminum and be flexible, too. Not only that but I'm not sure I'll be able to clean the two surfaces well because of the location they are in.

Saturday, 8 March - The Marathon Seafood Festival was at the city park today, It is sponsored by the commercial fishermen on the islands of Marathon. Five bands performed for two hours each, there were about 60 or 70 commercial booths selling artwork of all kinds, but mostly nautical, jewelry, rides for the kids, and, of course, lots of shrimp, lobster, crabs, and fish to be had. I arrived around 11 am and sat with Bob Dahmer, Doc and Kate Neises, and Susie. Most of this week was very cool, at least for here, and windy but they had perfect weather today, about 78°F, lots of sunshine, and very little wind.

Sunday, 9 March - I'm still having problems with my new phone communicating with my laptop. Sending out my February posting to you still took several hours today. The two devices won't synch my photos and the laptop doesn't recognize the phone and list it as a drive as it should. They communicate in other ways so I can't figure out why the photos won't synch. I had determined that the USB-C cable I that came with the phone's charger won't transfer data so I purchased high-speed USB-C data cables thinking that would solve the problem, but apparently not. This evening I met Susie at Dockside as usual for a Sunday Jam Session.

Monday, 10 March - There was a well attended fitness class and poorly attended pickleball games this morning. Afterward I went quickly back to the boat because another sailor had said that he was interested in a triple block with a becket that I have and I had said I'd be available at one o'clock at the boat. I had forgotten that Kim Brown-Stamp was having a garden party today and I thought it started about one or two o'clock. Returning to the boat quickly gave me just enough time to defrost the freezer and shower to go to the party before the boater showed up. Luckily, he did contact me at 1 o'clock and came over immediately. Unfortunately, as soon as he saw my block he knew he didn't want it. He needed one with an attached cam cleat, but hadn't said that before. As soon as he left I headed over to Kim's, stopping on the way to buy a large pizza to share at the party. I got there an hour early because the party was to start at three. It worked out good because I could help Kim get tables, chairs, and food set out. Unfortunately, about 5 o'clock a cold front passed and made it sprinkle for about one minute which made the band pack up to protect their electronics. It also ended the party even though the rain was so brief. Once Donnie McDaniel said they would stop, everyone left. Although the wind continued to blow about 15 to 20 mph all evening, it never rained again and the "cold front" only dropped the temperature to about 75°F.

Tuesday, 11 March - I quit pickleball a bit early so I could get to Publix to buy groceries and then get them put away before going to Dockside. Susie texted me to say that she had to leave early in the morning to get to an appointment in Miami so she wouldn't make it to Dockside so I decided not to go either. I got too lazy though and went to have dinner there anyway.

Wednesday, 12 March - Fitness class started at 8:30 this morning. That lets me get to pickleball by about 9:40 but I have to get up in the dark to have breakfast, get ready, and get there, which I don't like. Afterward, I decided I'd better get my files ready for taxes so they'll be done on time so I started on that. I started at about 1 o'clock and finished around 7 pm and I'm sure glad it's done.

Thursday, 13 March - When we showed up for pickleball this morning there was a sign that said the courts were closed for maintenance. There was no one there but me and Bob Dahmer even though I'm not the first to arrive at this time of year. We walked past the baseball and soccer fields to the skateboard park and there were six people there. Unfortunately, none of the visitors knew to do that so the eight of us were the only players today.

Friday, 14 March - I joined about 24 others on the fitness court this morning for the hour workout, and since the fitness court and basketball/pickleball courts are next to each other, I noticed pickleballers on the courts. I didn't join in on that today, however, because I needed to get an early start sealing leaks in my dinghy. I've been having to put about 20 pumps of air into each of the three compartments before I used the dinghy even if I had only let it set for about two hours. It's not hard but has just become a bit time consuming and a nuisance. I returned to the boat for a quick sandwich, the ToobSeal, to remove the seat and outboard motor, and to get a short piece of 1/4" tubing to insert into each valve to make sure the ToobSeal didn't get on the valves as I squeezed the fluid in. That done, I rowed into the marina, had the dinghy lifted out of the water with a small crane and loaded onto a carriage at the dock so I could roll it to a grassy spot in the shade at the edge of the marina. After I got there I lifted it off the carriage, deflated all the tubes, squeezed the ToobSeal into each tube and then proceeded to re-inflate the tubes. That done, I spent the next three hours rolling the dinghy over, tilting it forty five degrees to each side, standing it on each end, etc. to make sure that the fluid came into contact with every inner surface of the tubes. It was a lot of work! Then I had to reload it back onto the carriage and pull it back to the dock to drop it back into the water and row it home.

Saturday, 15 March - The dinghy held air very well last night and it was really nice to not have to pump it up this morning. I listened to the Cruiser's Net this morning then joined about 25 other boater to, independently, go all around the harbor picking up trash from the mangroves. Before heading out I mentioned that it is much easier to work in pairs, one to maneuver the dinghy and the other to work off the bow to reach the trash. Another boater joined me and although we didn't get an awful lot because about a hundred feet of 3/4" line was well tangled into the mangroves, we certainly did our share. We got the rope, a portable toilet, a 4 foot square of plywood, lots of plastic bottles, and a few pieces of trash that I'm not sure what they are or were. Upon finishing, we had hot dogs and pizza supplied by local stores.

Sunday, 16 March - I attended the Sunday brunch at the marina this morning then returned to the boat and reinstalled the bow navigation light on the dinghy that came off the other day when I infused the sealant into the dinghy's tubes. This evening I went to Dockside and met Daryl Richardson of M/V Sweet Anne for a few drinks.

Monday, 17 March - I attended fitness class and played pickleball this morning then went over to Mike and Bev's St. Patrick's Day celebration for corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes, plus desert and a bit o Jameson Irish whiskey...and, as usual, Mike entertained us with some guitar playing and singing.

Tuesday, 18 March - I played pickleball for about two hours this morning then paid some bills. I also cancelled an appointment with a orthopedic surgeon in Key West because it is getting too close to hurricane season again to have surgery on my shoulder. My Yamaha outboard motor became very hard to start yesterday so I removed and cleaned the carburetor this afternoon. About 6 pm I went to Dockside and had dinner but came home right after eating. Susie is having to treat her face for mild sun exposure so she's staying home.

Wednesday, 19 March - I had planned to play pickleball this morning but that plan was quashed by the fact that my outboard motor wouldn't start when I tried to set out from my boat at 8:45. I set my pickleball paddles aside, opened the housing on my outboard once more and decided to do a better job of cleaning the carburetor than I did yesterday. Actually, I discovered that I was very luck to have reenable to start the engine to go and to come back from Dockside. This time, after thinking about the sound of the engine, I decided to disassemble the fuel pump, which is attached to the carburetor. Inside the pump I found a mysterious, 3/8" round piece of what appeared at first to be a piece of black fabric. Upon closer examination I found it to be a very thin piece of gasket material that should have been attached by a tiny rivet on one of the two check valves. There should have been a tiny washer that held it is place, but I couldn't find it. I assumed it must have dropped out as I disassembled the pump. That meant it had to be somewhere in the boat. I searched on the seats, in the bilge, and everywhere I thought it might have fallen. I even took out every tool in my tool bag and ratchet set. There were lots of twigs and mangrove leaves still in the floor of the boat left over from the harbor cleanup on Saturday and I looked at both sides of every one before I threw them overboard. Still no washer. I decided to see if the old, original carburetor had a matching part but it did not. I decided to put the old carburetor back on the engine and see if that would work but, after installing it and taking it out for a test run, it still won't gut the boat up on a plane. I dug through my collection of tiny screws and watch parts and found a tiny, I'm talking a 9/64" gear, that I thought I might be able to modify to replace the washer. It was now about 5 o'clock so I decided to get something to eat. As I moved my bag of bread on the refrigeration top that I use as a workbench, there it was...the tiny missing washer. I have no idea how it got there...but I was very glad to find it anyway. I got out a small anvil and my ball-peen hammer, assembled the gasket onto the check valve, and gently reset the 1/16" rivet. I remounted the new carburetor and took it out for a test drive. Upon inspection it looks like I may have set the rivet a little too hard. I'm not sure the gasket material will lie flat. It still won't put the dinghy on a plane but at least it starts easy again now and that's sufficient for now. We're not allowed to go fast in the harbor anyway. I finished at about 7 o'clock and had dinner.

Thursday, 20 March - While working on the carburetor yesterday I found out that the ToobSeal that I used on the dinghy tubes was a massive failure. I had to pump up the starboard tube almost every 45 minutes to sit on it. I sprayed it with soapy water and within about 3 minutes the soap bubbled up about 3 inches with fine bubbles of air oozing up through the fabric. After pickleball this afternoon I searched online for the best deal I could find on a new dinghy. The best I think I found is at a dealer in Vancouver, British Columbia. He's going to find out how much shipping will cost and let me know tomorrow.

Friday, 21 March - My left shoulder and left knee were hurting this morning when I awoke so I skipped the fitness class and pickleball. Instead, I cleaned up the boat a bit and spent about an hour and a half doing a minor repair on my telescoping dinghy light and trying to make it unsinkable by stuffing both ends of the inner telescoping tube with styrofoam. My dinghy's telescoping pole was an old broken boat hook that I modified with a hook made from a piece of 1/8 inch solid copper wire but the hook needed to be stabilized. I must have about 40 or 50 kinds of tape onboard, electricians, packing, mounting, double sided, gaffers, duct, aluminum duct, fiberglass, etc., but I never seem to have the right one for the job. That is exacerbated by the fact that once the packaging is thrown away, the intended purpose for the tape goes with the packaging. It has forever baffled me as to why the manufacturers don't label the core of tapes with its identity or even the manufacturer's name in case you need more. I had gone through all of my tapes and picked one that looked tough enough and that might withstand the sun's rays but when I unrolled a bit of it, it wouldn't stick to anything at all. I thought it was just too old and I was about to throw it away when I realized that it had a thin, almost invisible backing that needed to be removed. The tape turned out to be perfect. When stretched, it conformed to the odd shape of the hook and adhered to itself and the pole very well. I finished it and leaned it against the stern pulpit on the way down to the dinghy and as I moved past the pole something caught on my clothing and I heard a clatter. Into the ocean it went and instantly sank. The inflatable Luci Light attached to it broke loose and floated away. I needed to get water so I didn't have time to chase the light or dive for the pole. I watched as another boater in a dinghy quickly picked up my light and drove away. After that I made three trips to the marina and got 145 gallons of fresh water for my boat's water tank.

Saturday, 22 March - I spent some time this morning organizing and cleaning things on the boat and defrosted the freezer. After lunch I made another attempt to seal the leaky fabric on the dinghy. This time I attempted to use Flex Paste, as advertised on the net. I had purchased a container of it awhile back and didn't use it immediately and before I did, Phil Vachon needed some so I gave him mine. He said when he opened it, it was already thickened and unusable. I bought some more last week and the container has been changed from plastic to a tightly sealed can called a "New! Stay Fresh Container". It had a thick skin on it when I opened it and I had to dig through that to get to the part that was usable. Working time was supposed to be 15 to 30 minutes but was closer to 2 to 3 minutes. I really didn't have time to spread it smoothly and it looks terrible. I couldn't complete the job. Unfortunately, there's no going back. It needs to dry for 24 hours so I won't know if the part of the tube that I spread it on will hold air until tomorrow evening. I'll be taking the container back to Home Depot to see if I can get a refund. My hope is that what I did spread works. If so, I get a new can, check it for freshness before I leave the store, and finish sealing the tube soon. Wish me luck! This evening I put about three gallons in a five gallon bucket, added detergent, dropped is several shirts, and agitated it all for about 5 minutes, then more later, and will let it soak overnight, agitate more tomorrow, then rinse and air dry tomorrow.

Sunday, 23 March - This morning I discovered that I couldn't hear the Cruiser's Net on my handheld VHF on channel 80A. It took me awhile to realize I wasn't on 80A. I was on 80, which is an international channel that the Canadians, among others, use. I had to get out the instruction booklet to figure out how to change the set of channels from international to USA. Easy when you know how. I had apparently held a button down more than one second, which changes the settings. I also finished washing and rinsing the clothes that I soaked overnight, then hung them up to air dry in the cockpit. Later, I pumped up the dinghy to see how well it sealed and headed to the marina to shower, then off to Dockside for the evening. Susie didn't show up and I sure missed her.

Monday, 24 March - After exercise class and pickleball this afternoon I made a quick ride up to Home Depot to exchange the too dry can of FlexPaste for a fresher one. Luckily, they had just put out a new box, although even it as not as tacky as I had hoped, but it was better. I returned to the boat, deflated the dinghy and applied it to the worst part of the tubes to let it cure overnight. It starts drying out so fast I could barely stay ahead of it and it looks horrible but if it seals the leaks, that's good enough for now. I'm looking for a new dinghy. In fact, the best price I could find on one is in Vancouver, BC. I talked to them four days ago and am surprised that they haven't contacted me with figures on the shipping costs.

Tuesday, 25 March - I had an early morning video conference call with an audiologist at the VA this morning and she made some changes online to my hearing aid settings. She also told me that I need to wear the aids more than the 3 to 4 hours per day that I have been using them. I haven't been wearing them on the boat since there's no conversation onboard but I guess I'll wear them more to get used to the unimportant noises that I hear with them. The call was early enough that I think I only missed one game of pickleball. The tube on the dinghy that has been leaking the most and that I applied the most FlexPaste to held air pretty well today but I need to get one more can to finish the two other tubes which had lost some air by this evening. At least now I'm not in a great hurry to buy a new one.

Wednesday, 26 March - Fitness class and pickleball this morning.

Thursday, 27 March - I played pickleball this morning.............I've lost track of what else I did this day because I didn't record it until a few days later.

Friday, 28 March - I discovered this morning as I used the head that the pump on it was not working properly and when I returned to the boat after playing pickleball it smelled terrible again. I had smelled it yesterday but assumed that the fellow just upwind of me had just used his restroom. Pumping the head released fumes from the holding tank's vent and it can be smelled briefly downwind. Two days in a row was unlikely so I went to the side of my boat and discovered sewage coming out of my holding tank's vent. That's why my pump wasn't working right. My holding tank is totally full. That means they haven't been pumping my boat out weekly as they should. Now the vent is plugged up, too. I had been onboard about 3 or 4 weeks ago when Jeff, one of the pumpout boat drivers came to pump me out but was unable to get any waste vacuumed out so I had added Downey Fabric Softener to the tank. I had been told by a long time boater that Downy would soften human waste well. When I wasn't notified the next week that pumping the boat out didn't work the next week or the week after that, I assumed that the pump-outs had been successful. I didn't know otherwise until this morning but didn't have time to delve into the problem then. This afternoon, however, the aroma off the boat was a dead giveaway. Now, since the tank is totally full, I can't add any more chemical into the tank through the toiled bowl pump. Had I been notified, I could have been working on the problem a little bit at a time for the last two weeks but with the tank totally full, I'm not sure what to do.

Saturday, 29 March - I was planning on going to the Blue Angels air show with Mike and Bev but the wind was howling and the show got rained out so plan B was staying onboard most of the day but went to shore to use the restroom there and shower, but as soon as I returned to the boat, I got a call from the marina asking me to come stuff Cruiser's bags to be handed out to new arrivals to the harbor so I returned to the marina to do that. The afternoon I spent cleaning up the hoses in the cabinet under the sink that are for the head, then tracing each one from one end to the other through two bulkheads and to the deck and blackwater tank, then drawing a schematic to figure out how the system works. This is not as simple as a toilet in a house. There is a macerator and Y-valve in there along with the deck pumpout, and two through-hull valves. Not only that but the head itself has an inlet hose and outlet hose, as does the hand pump attached to it.

Sunday, 30 March - I was up early so I could have breakfast before catching a bus to the air show at the Naval Air Station at Key West featuring the Blue Angels. As I approached the bus stop I realized that I had forgotten my little Canon camera and I didn't have time to return to my boat for it. That means that all the photos I would take would be with my iPhone which has limited optical zoom for close-ups at a distance and has significant lag time between pushing the button and exposing the image. Just as I got to the bus stop a policeman brought a double amputee in a wheel chair from the hospital a block away and left him there. I asked how he lost his legs, expecting to hear, "in Nam, or Korea, or Iraq", but he said, "at 40 below zero in Montana." Wow! That must have a real experience! He had nothing below one knee and I don't think he had anything below the other hip.
                    The air show had gotten rained out yesterday so it was pretty crowded at the airfield today. I thought the show was great. There were lots of planes on display on the ground to inspect plus several aerobatic planes, one of which could, among other things, fly down the runway with his wings perpendicular to the ground and about 3 feet above it, and another that could do several rolls just above ground then go vertical and do several spins before stalling, then make his plane flip end over end, both forward and backward before going into a dive to gain speed to regain control and pull out just before hitting the ground. There was also a jet powered car that started at a standstill at one end of the runway until the vertical wing flying plane passed him then he hit the throttle and blew past the guy in the plane at about 350 mph before popping his chute to slow down before running out of runway. Then came the incredible Blue Angels. It takes them about 20 miles each to turn around after making a pass in front of the crowd at 300 or 400 mph and I think one of the things that impressed me more than anything else was that after passing each other going in opposite directions, they could turn and come in from different directions again and cross each other right in front of the crowd again. To say the least, I thoroughly enjoyed their show. Upon arriving home I quickly cleaned up and headed to Dockside for dinner since I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Dinner didn't happen. Right after I got to Dockside David Tye came to my table and asked me to join him and his wife, Pat for the evening. I had met them several years ago and I must admit, I wouldn't have recognized them at all but we had a great evening.

Monday, 31 March - No fitness class or pickleball today. My left knee and shoulder are both hurting so I thought I'd skip the workouts. I also needed to be onboard when Toni came by on the pumpout boat. She came by after she finished her route so she could spend more time at my boat. Unfortunately, she still couldn't get a significant amount of my waste sucked out through the waste line. I had had high hopes because I had gotten a bit of fluid to overflow through that line by pumping some chemistry through the head and, supposedly, into the tank. When some came up the outlet I thought maybe the chemicals had broken up the stoppage. I had an another idea this evening that might help tomorrow.