2026 March: Boat Maintenance & Repair

 

Singers at Library Concert

1 March 2026

We started today with a quick change in weather. As I sat looking out the back of the boat around 9:30 this morning, thick fog rolled in and I could see nothing but white as I looked at the water. As quickly as the fog rolled in, it dissipated. I attempted to capture the transition as the fog back vanished as I watched. 

Low-level clouds

Buildings reappeared

Where we had no air movement in the morning, the winds came in later in the day. I tried to close the top part of the Dutch door on our boat and my hand got smashed as the wind slammed the door shut. Fortunately, it was just an ouch with no damage to the hand. 

Being Sunday, we were off to the church this morning for the 11:00 service. We aim to arrive at 10:00 because of band practice before the service begins. 

Clark at St Columba

Given I had some time to kill before the service began, I decided to walk around the grounds to see if the rocks I left hidden here a while ago were still there. Two of the three were gone, but one was still waiting to be found.

The church had a special service today called "Bloodies & Bagpipes". The "Bloodies" part was Bloody Mary beverages. The bagpipe part was pretty obvious.

In the past years, those of us attending the 11:00 service only heard about the bagpipes being played at the 9:00 service. 

Today we got a surprise, the piper actually played for us!

After the contemporary service today, we rushed back "home" to the boat because we had boat maintenance projects planned for the afternoon. We had an oil change to set up for, prep work to get setup to swap out our autopilot hardware, and Clark needed to repair the anemometer that he found hanging by a wire the other night in the wind.

Clark pulled out the epoxy kit to repair the wind finder. Once he was done, he had me throw a couple of coats of paint over the epoxy as it does not stand up well to ultraviolet rays.

Anemometer repair underway

The can containing the hydraulic fluid for the autopilot presented a bit of a problem when it came to opening the can. Neither us nor anyone I polled in the marina had an old-fashioned can opener to punch holes in the can. Clark used a screwdriver to puncture the can.

Bottle opener anyone?

After boat chores, Clark said he had two choices of what to do next - taxes or guitar playing. He went into the pilot house to work on taxes and came back almost immediately. He said it was too hot and sticky to sit and do taxes, so the guitar "won".

I spent several hours today bringing the blog up to date.

By 5:00 the wind came in and the temperatures dropped rapidly making working on taxes more reasonable (we almost never use the air conditioning). 

2 March 2026

Boat Maintenance Run

Even though we had a windy day today, we decided to take the boat out for a maintenance run to warm up the engines in preparation for an oil change. Clark said we should go out in the morning, eat lunch, and then complete the oil change after. Taking the boat out heats up the oil but it also heats up the engine room. It gets brutal in there. 

Our maintenance run took us out to John Sawyer Shoal. The trip out today on the boat was the first time the boat has moved out of our slip at Marlin Bay since we arrived on Thanksgiving Day! I always worry when we move the boat that we will not get the lines back in the right positions for easy on/off at the dock. Before we dropped the lines, I marked them with a permanent marker where they attach to the cleats to help get things set up the way they were when we pulled out. 

Having not moved the boat in so many months, both Clark and I needed a moment to feel comfortable with getting the boat underway. We had a bit of a wait before we could get moving as the chart plotter decided it needed to do an update. Eventually we got underway. Given the proximity to the first of the month, some folks in the marina thought we were leaving permanently. 

Clark said we would motor out towards John Sawyer shoal, turn around, and return to the marina. The only problem - we had difficulty finding John Sawyer. Clark had the boat pointed in a slightly wrong direction to spot the marker for the shoal. 

Eventually we figured out we needed a correction and found the marker.

Shoal marker on the horizon

We turned around near John Sawyer and headed back towards Faro Blanco before returning to Marlin Bay.

Clark spent the rest of the afternoon sweating in the engine room. He did the bulk of the work without my help, but I was useful in one way. I remembered some procedural steps that Clark did at the last oil change on the hard-to-reach side of the starboard engine. That helped speed up the process by a bit. 

3 March 2026

Today  I decided that I had to go shopping before I did anything else, so I had Clark pull out my bike for a trip to Walgreens and Publix. He had plans to go work with Dan on his boat, so he was not available to join me. When that happens, I have to be well-behaved at the store so that I don't buy more than I can carry back on my own. I had my backpack, a bag that attaches to my handlebars, and a spare bag "just in case". I used up all the planned space, even filled the spare bag, and tied it to the handlebars for the ride back. 

The wind in my face made getting to the store difficult. Since I wanted to get back to the marina as soon as possible, I pushed to get to Publix quickly. The only good thing about fighting the wind all the way to the store is the helpful boost on the way back to the marina! 

Slightly out of breath, I made it back to the boat just in time to play Mahjongg with other boaters at the marina. Today, we had two tables of three players. The fourth at each table was "Bob" the dummy player.

Carole, Robin, and Francine

The tables we use have holes in the center for umbrellas, so we need to cover the hole so the tiles don't fall through to the ground below. I took a Turkish towel with the Marlin Bay logo on it (a welcome gift when we arrived in November) and cut it down to size to make it a Mahjongg mat. 

Roni and Ronda at my table

It's a very good day at Mahjongg when I win a round, and today I got to declare "Mahjongg!" for one of the four rounds we played. 

When I play Mahjongg that means we have a late lunch as it typically does not end until around 1:00. After lunch, Clark headed off to guitar practice at the church. 

Clark's guitar practice ended a little earlier than usual today which was good in that we had an MTOA meeting this afternoon. Part of my rush to Publix in the morning was to get something to bring to this get together. We had a small turn out for today's MTOA meeting as only 4 couples attended.

Clark talking to Mike

"Sinbad the Sailor" dog
at the MTOA meeting

With so few folks, the meeting got over early enough to get back to the marina in time to see the sun set. I headed for the west side of the marina first. I grabbed some random pictures as I walked towards the obvious sunset viewing spot.

As I admired the sun from the west side, Clark was hanging with the folks on the east side of the inner basin. When he left sunset setting, he told the folks there to tell me he went to "DanCyn" (the boat he has been helping work their battery issues). The folks there, however, heard him say, "Tell Evelyn, I went Dancing" as he walked away. 

I happened to pass Clark as we changed sides of the marina, so I knew where he had gone. It was pretty funny to find the confused folks telling me Clark went dancing without me!

Crowd on the east side of the inner basin

I talked with the folks there for a while but eventually the group broke up to go find dinner, etc. When Clark passed me on the way to "DanCyn", he said he would not be gone long. However, when I walked back to the boat in total darkness, there was no sign of Clark. 

When I got to our boat, I had a problem. I had my prescription sunglasses and a water bottle with me. The boat was a large step away from the dock. I feared that if I put the sunglasses down on the dock, they would blow off the dock with the strong winds. I had no where safe to put them and I could not wear them to get on the boat because it made it too dark to see where to step! 

While I fretted about what to do, I got to see the moon rising in the distance.

Big moon rising off to the east

I looked around for a person to help me get onto our boat and found no one - not a single person was in the area. Frantic and angry to find myself in this situation, I called Clark and insisted that he come back and help me on board! His "only a few minutes" had turned into an hour. By the time I got on board it was 7:15, and I still had to cook us some dinner. 

The lines are not quite as nicely set up as they were before we went out for that maintenance run. I hate being unable to get on or off the boat due to wind!

4 March 2026

This morning, I got my exercise walking back and forth from our boat to the washer / dryer at the marina office. Clark was busy on board working on installing the hoses for our new autopilot unit. He was deep down in the lazarette and I kept returning to see if he needed any help. A few times I was able to "go for" stuff to save him some climbing out. 

Clark in the lazarette in 
the cockpit of the boat

Parts lined up for installation

After lunch, I went to the pool to meet JoAnn for a swim. When I got back, Clark was ready to do a preliminary test of a new autopilot pump after correcting the plumbing for the pump installed last summer which continued to fail. This showed that it was not a bleeding problem but likely a problem with the pump. The new pump, a different brand without shuttle valves, was able to move the rudder from stop to stop without hesitation.

As I sat nearby ready to go get something if needed, I looked up and saw a rainbow off to the east.

Shortly after I announced the presence of a rainbow to Clark, it started to rain. We had all sorts of things out on the cockpit and had to scurry to move them out of the direct path of the rain. Some things moved to hide behind our dock box, and others were quickly moved into the cabin of the boat.

I did not get to see the sun set tonight, but I did get to see the glow of the clouds to the east as the sun set in the west.

5 March 2026

This morning it was back to work on the autopilot to adjust the pump and strap down the pipes and new hoses. We got going first thing and worked until 1:00 when we stopped to eat lunch. A fellow boater here offered to help Clark on the project, but I told him to decline the offer as I would skip Mahjongg to assist. I know, from experience, where Clark keeps his spare parts and tools. I knew it would be a lot faster and easier if I was the one doing the "go for" work. As the morning played out, I knew I made the right decision as things Clark asked for were scattered in various places on the boat and would have been nearly impossible for someone else to retrieve quickly.

We had a treat in store for us after a morning of hard work, however, as "The Kennedys" were performing this afternoon at the Marathon Public Library. The music was fabulous. I could have watched the finger work on the guitars for hours. Unfortunately, the show was only one hour long.

Maura and Pete Kennedy

I captured a couple of videos to demonstrate their amazing musical talent.

Besides writing and playing songs, Pete has written a couple of books. One of them is a memoir of his 50 years playing with famous singers like Frank Sinatra. 

Our friends, JoAnn and Jim, came to the concert with us. They struggled to get to the library in time for the show as Route 1 near the Marathon airport was highly congested with construction. They did make it to the show just a few minutes after the performance began.

After the show, I asked JoAnn if they could take us shopping to complete a few errands. They took us to Home Depot to get some parts for the autopilot project, stopped at Walgreens to pick up a couple of items, and then a quick run through Publix to pick u something for dinner tonight. 

After they dropped us off at the marina, Clark headed back to DanCyn to look in on the battery situation while I walked up to the marina Club House to see who was around. I found someone I know from Mahjongg in the Club House and ended up staying their for an hour or so talking. When I walked out of the Club House shortly after 5:00, I was shocked to see no one in the pool. Given that I looked to the pool bar expecting to see a bunch of folks hanging out (as per usual), and there was no one there either. 

Where did they all go? It felt like I had entered the "Twilight Zone" as it was eerily quiet. I did find the bartender preparing to close up early for the day due to lack of business.

I left the pool area and walked back towards our boat. Along the way I found folks already sitting in the "sunset seats" waiting for the big event of the day. 

I noticed the sky, off to the south, had turned various shades of pink as the sun set. 

Tonight, it was, once again, 7:15 when I climbed on board our boat. Fortunately, tonight, Clark had found his way to the sunset area before I wanted to leave, and we walked back to the boat together so I had him there to help me, if needed, to get on the boat. 

2026 February: Art Jewelry Photography & Cuba Talk

 22 February 2026 - Sunday

Today started as a nice sunny day. We went to church at St. Columba as per usual where Clark played his guitar in the church band. Colder weather with some rain was expected later in the day. The wind came in and brought a distinct chill to the air as predicted.

Clouds rolled in.

The feathers on the bird standing on the dock next to our boat were fluttering in the wind!

Once again the marina pool was devoid of swimmers due to the briskness of the air! The hot tub however had a regular crowd of occupants. 

23 February 2026 - Monday

The weather story in Marathon today was, once again, strong, north winds bringing a significant chill to the air. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, more snow was in the forecast. I'll take Florida's winds over New Jersey's chilly temps with snow any day!

Clark has been helping a fellow boater with a battery issue on his boat. It started out as a simple question: "Why can't I get my phone to connect with my solar panel MPPT controller?" The answer to that question was simple: the unit was defective and needed a replacement part. Once the part arrived, the phone to solar panel connection could be made. 

That should have been the end of the discussion; however, Clark noticed that the battery charge was over 14V when it should be in a 13.5 range. That led to inspecting batteries and refilling them with water. That required removing the front row of batteries to get access to the fill holes of the back set which were located under an exhaust hose. While doing this work, he noticed the shunt was not wired correctly and corrected that. While the batteries were disconnected, the 12V DC house system continued to operate. He found the windlass battery was also tied into the wire feeding the house loads. 

Further, this battery turned out to be AGM while the house bank was a bank of 8 flooded golf cart batteries. These two banks should be separated, so a rewiring seemed in order. This led to a parts order first to add a switch to the solar panel side of the controller to prevent any future issues if the battery bank is disconnected, and second, to address the rewiring. The rewiring would need a charge source for the windless from the alternator for extended cruising. While looking into this, Clark determined there was no charge source from the alternators for the bow thruster bank either. The boat had be rewired from the original setup with additional battery banks. The project is on-going. 

Meanwhile, I had invited the three young girls from "Still Waters" to come on our boat to do some jewelry making. I spent the morning pulling out my supplies and coming up with ideas for bracelets. The girls, Sienna, Hannah, and Tessa, arrived with their mother Lisa at precisely 1:00 as planned. They selected the beads they wanted to use and got to work. 

Sienna's creation

Hannah's bracelet

Tessa walked away with a number of items on her wrist. Two she made and one woven one made by her sister. Tessa made one with a "T" for Tessa and one with an "R" (for her middle name).

Tessa's bracelets

Sienna & Hannah

Sienna modeling her design

Tessa showing her bounty

We all had fun. Their visit was shorter than I expected as they all worked quite efficiently. Sienna and Hannah gave me some instruction on woven bracelets. When they were done, I played around with some materials and created a 4-strand, woven bracelet myself.

4-strand, braided bracelet

As Clark was gone all day on the battery issue, I decided to walk up to the Club House for bingo. It was held indoors today as it was too cold and windy to entice players to the pool bar. We got one card for the first couple of rounds and then two cards for the next two sets. Four women won; I came close once, but I was not one of the winners!

Hannah. who had been on our boat doing jewelry with me earlier in the day was the caller of the numbers for Bingo. She is quite extroverted and has been calling bingo the last few times it has been offered. She is very good at it and does not take any guff from the attendees. Right after the first number called, a boater (Lou) yelled out, "BINGO!" 

She told us all, "The next person to call out Bingo that doesn't have bingo will have to wear a basket on their head!" She was not kidding, as someone called Bingo when he shouldn't, and she had him wear the basket!

To make the game take longer (so they can sell more drinks) and be a bit more of a challenge, they have the contestants try to match various patterns like an "M" or an "X".  The "M" pattern does not have any "N #s" in it, so Hannah said she would not call any "Ns". However, she did call N's a couple of times, and, on the third time, her sister, Sienna, put the wire basket on Hannah's head! 

All in good fun - Now you wear it!!!

After Bingo, I made my way back to the boat circa 6:00 p.m. or so. Clark returned from the "battery" boat after I did. When he saw our boat, he noticed that the anemometer up on the fly bridge, that is supposed to be upright and reading wind speeds and directions, was hanging off the mast by a single wire. 

Dan, who walked back with him from the "battery boat", ended up helping Clark take down the anemometer so it could be repaired. They worked together to take down the mast, remove the anemometer, and put the mast back up. Clark would need to do some repair work before it could be reinstalled.

Our sunset picture tonight shows some wave action from the strong winds. 

I took a video to try to capture the sound effects of the wind.

24 February 2026 - Tuesday

The weather still has a distinct chill in the air. As I walked  out of the Club House this morning, I passed a baby iguana hanging out in the sun on the steps. I walked next to it, but it was too lethargic from the cold to consider running away or even moving over. It looked at me, and that was as much as it could muster up for energy.

Cold Iguana!

Today, Clark was back on the "battery boat" to continue their work. Several times on this project, parts were required before work could continue, so it has been going on for a while.  Meanwhile, I enjoyed myself playing Mahjongg with other boaters here at the marina. Today, we had enough folks for two tables - a table with 4 players and another with 3. The participants changed each time depending on what time and commitments folks have. 

Several women have Mahjongg sets. I am not one of those women, so I am dependent on someone with a set coming to join the activity. I am relatively new to the game having only learned last season here in Marathon. Then, I played a simpler version with only two players. The four-person variety has a lot more rules and procedures. 

Later in the day, Clark and I attended a presentation on Cuba given by a couple who took their boat there a few years ago (2017 if I remember correctly). They showed a video of highlights of their trip. The event was held at the Marathon Yacht Club. This was only the second time we have been invited here.

Some history of MYC

Guest speaker being introduced

Presenter 

Following the presentation, ten of us from the MTOA organization sat at a table together for dinner. 

Pam and CJ from MTOA

After dinner, I slipped outside to take a couple of pictures in the area as the  sun set.

The view looking out into the water did not excite me overly much. However, when I turned around, I caught a view of myself reflected in the window to the yacht club. 

Me taking a picture of the sunset reflected 
in the yacht club window

Clark had gone directly to the yacht club event from guitar practice. Consequently, he rode his bike there and had his guitar strapped to his back. I, on the other hand, walked to the yacht club as it is only about 3 blocks away from our marina. With the wind pushing our boat away from the dock, I did not feel like trying to get my bike off the boat. That is normally Clark's job or a joint venture. Walking was simpler. 

However, that meant that after dinner at the yacht club, he was on a bike and me walking "home" in the dark. Fortunately, a couple we know from the marina were also at the Cuba event. They are not part of MTOA but were there having been invited by an acquaintance at the Marathon Garden Club who is a member of the yacht club. Mike and Carol offered me a ride back to our marina, and I accepted. Clark biked back alone.

25 February 2026 - Wednesday

Today, being Wednesday, meant I started the day at the Captain's Lounge doing laundry. I had a couple of loads worth that I hauled up there using my "Dolly Trolly". I look like a bag lady dragging myself through the marina, but it sure beats having to drag it a mile down the road to a laundromat. 

Clark took a break at lunch from the "battery boat" to go visit another boater who needed help installing a replacement microwave on his boat before returning to the battery boat later. The old one gave out on him. His boat is just down the way from ours. When he was wheeling the new microwave to his boat in a cart, he saw me and said, "I heard a rumor Clark is good with electrical stuff." I asked him what he needed and, when he told me, I said that was something Clark could easily take care of for him. 

I was correct in my assessment. Clark took care of the "fix" rapidly. He gave the boat owner two choices: 1) install an outlet or 2) cut the wire from the microwave and use connectors to wire it in. He opted for the "cut the wire" choice. 

A couple of weeks ago, I had a jewelry session with Heidi here at Marlin Bay and made myself a pair of earrings. Today, she had a jewelry-making session where folks could decide what to make - an anklet or a necklace. I decided to make myself a necklace to match the earrings I made in the prior session. 

Heidi's sample bead arrangements

The necklace shown below are the ones I made to coordinate with the earrings I made in the prior session.

26 February 2026

Today, being Thursday, we had pump-out of the waste holding tank on the agenda. However, I left Clark to deal with that as they had not arrived by 10:15 when I had to leave to get to Mahjongg on time for today's session. 

Yesterday, I took some time to convert a beach towel into a table cover for the Mahjongg sessions. The tables we use have holes in the center for beach umbrellas. I thought the "mat" would help cover the hole. The last couple of times we met, someone taped a piece of paper over the hole. 

Mah Jongg Card for 2025

I have come a long way from last year when I had no idea what a "card" was.  Sometimes it seems hopeless and confusing, but I have even managed to get Mahjongg a few times! Today we had one table of four players. The first two rounds, no one won, i.e., "The Wall Won". Roni won the third round and Ronda won the fourth. I only needed one tile to win on the fourth round!

Yesterday, when I made the necklace in Heidi's jewelry session, I had spare time and made some additional jewelry as gifts for my grandchildren. I wanted to do another item and arranged with Heidi to meet her at the pool bar today to complete that one more piece. She brought the components I had selected and would need to complete the item.  She had minimal folks coming to the bar for beverages, so the two of us worked side-by-side as I  created the jewelry. 

Clark has three things he is currently juggling while I am off having fun. The main things taking his time are taxes, guitar practice, and the "battery boat". 

27 February 2026 - Friday

The library decided to have sewing sessions instead of photography for the better part of January and February. Today, finally, they held a photography session that I enjoyed participating in. 

The assignment:  9 angles, 1 subject: Take a photo of the same thing from 9 different points of views.

Only two of us attended this photography session. The two of us and Maria, the instructor,  left the library and walked to Keys Fisheries to see what we could find for subject matter. The answer? Birds, birds, and more birds!

Egret poses ...

I learned from the fellow photo workshop participant that a group of pelicans is called a "squadron"!

Pelican poses ...

After class, I was still into the theme of things and found a non-bird subject at the marina. Maria said the idea of the assignment is to make folks guess what the big picture is by building up to it. I could not do that with the pelicans or egrets. Below is my submission for my homework assignment!

A rack of Kayaks!

At 3:00 today, we got a real treat! Our AGLCA looper friends that we met in 2015 arrived from Michigan to spend some time in Marathon. Their rental would not be available until Saturday at 3:00, so they stayed overnight on our boat with us. 

We talked continuously to make up for not having seen them in far too long. They brought us lovely tulips!

Clark, Jim, JoAnn, and Ev
(Tulips in corner of picture!)

We decided to go to the "Island Fish Company" for dinner. This is a restaurant that is just a little too far over the Vaca Cut bridge for me to want to bike there for dinner. For this restaurant, however, the customer has a choice on transportation - one can drive a car, ride a bike, come by dinghy, or even fly in on a helicopter as they have a landing pad! 

The food was excellent. We had about a 30 minute wait for a table when we arrived at 5:30 or so.

I took a sunset picture from our table in the restaurant.

After dinner we stopped at Sweet Savannah's for ice cream. Sinfully delicious!

28 February 2026 - Saturday

To start the day, I wanted to get to the Farmer's Market, Publix, and Walgreens. JoAnn had their car and agreed to take me. We stopped at the Farmer's Market spot first and were disappointed to find no market. Today was the last Saturday of the month when St. Columba has their $5 bag sale. The space where the truck usually sits was full of cars parked for the folks filling their $5 bags! 

Next we went to the post office so JoAnn could mail a letter, then Walgreens for a prescription, and finally Publix for food. Afterwards, we had lunch on the boat, and mid-afternoon, Jim and JoAnn could check into their rental, so they left to get situated.

Marlin Bay has been advertising a big event at the marina for tonight - "Casino Night". The cost to attend was way out of my league especially as I am no gambler. We got to see them doing some of the preparation at the Club House, but the building was shut down to non-participants after 5:00, so I never saw the final result of the "remodeling".

Entrance to upstairs

Lounge area with all furniture removed to
make way for the casino tables

The table for prizes was set up. Buckets to collect ticket entries were located behind the signs.

I saw nothing that I would want to win. 

John Bartus: Life Performance for a
Private Party
(I don't plan to have a party on the boat)

Restaurant Certificate and
Pearl Necklace

Autographed Hockey Puck
Yay!

Rumor has it that the prizes in previous years were more valuable. I would not know. One boater staying at Marlin Bay marina  (that I know of) attended the event. He said it was well-attended. It was a fundraiser for high school graduate scholarship awards - a worthy cause indeed!

Later in the day, I took a peek out the window and was not super impressed by what I saw for a sunset, so I decided not to bother taking a picture. Then, later, I saw a picture posted on Facebook that Hannah from Still Waters had taken. Wow! What a shot! It's certainly not what I saw when I looked out!