Ships Blog
Tapping
Today we went to get taps for stainless steel and then Sam and I re-tapped oversized the screw holes in the "tuff track" on the mast. We had worked on it yesterday and broke a tap. But today we used hss (high speed steel) taps from Fastenall. It was much easier and much faster with no broken taps. the hss taps cut nice little metal curls. Sam video'd our conversation and the tapping process. I was standing on the boom or sitting on it depending on which screw hole I was tapping. I have been wanting to finish this process for nearly a month now and finally got it completed. I'm not sure I want to continue with the tuff track but at the moment it's what we have. Then no matter how hard we tried I got some metal flakes on the deck and of course it ended up in my left foot. We went to good will and found two sets of shoes for Hannah and in the evening we went to a Military surplus store and Sam bought a blanket and a Gortex jacket. It was one of the best stocked surples stores I've seen. We are now getting ready to play Gin Rummy again tonight while eating chips and Humus with Ginger Beer. It's a beautiful evening.Date:Thurs, 01 Oct 2021 23:10:00 GMT
Stinky Water
Today we we went back to Bacon Sails and went hunting for parts and pieces. We found a few books, a hook for the table, and a teapot to match Hannah's stove and some rubber to seal the back hatch. They had new portholes but they were just a little small. We put the new rubber seal in the back porthole that goes to the cockpit. Then we turned on the water and it stank terrible.... we entered a new lower tank that had not been used in weeks and it smelled like sulpher. UGH... so we drained all the tanks and refilled them with clorinated water. We will let it sit for 24 hours and then tomorrow we will drain and refill again. Hannah made Chalah and we will do shabbat before dinner. We did a lot of reading and we will not be putting chlorine bleach in the tanks because they are stainless. Shabbat Shalom!Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2021 03:01:00 GMT
Sailing
Today in the morning we worked on the dingy motor getting it to idle correctly. This entailed a rebuild of the carb followed by extensive fiddeling with the mixture. Then we went for a test sail at about 1400 local. The sky was clear temp was in the mid 70's and winds were out of the west. We got back about 18:30. We sailed south for a couple hours then back north again. Then we worked on controlling reverse which is nearly impossible. On arriving back at the dock, things went much smoother. It was a beautiful day. Then in the evening after dinner we drained and re-filled the water tanks again in an effort to clean things out after a good sloshing on the water. There were lots of boats out sailing and we had a wonderful time. Hannah will be doing most of the steering and Sam and I are working the sails at the moment. Sam jumps off to the dock, Hannah throws lines and I steer when we are approaching the dock. Well folks we are getting closer and closer to being able to head south. Good night for now!Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2021 23:45:00 GMT
Sailing 2
I suppose I should not just name each blog with a number and sailing or we'll have sailing 234 as a title. Ha Ha but for today this was our first sail completely alone. We were very pleased with ourselves! We went out of the Magothy heading east into the shipping channel, made a circle and came back with a light southerly wind and calm warm weather. Three were tons of boats on the bay. It seemed everyone was sailing. We averaged about 6 knots sometimes hitting 7.4 sometimes 4 as the land blocked the wind but it was a wonderful day.Earlier in the day we spent our time sorting doc lines, finding homes to stow everything and inventorying the boat. We also went shopping, started planning stops for our journey and cleaned up the boat. We are having troubles starting the engine due to an apparent dead battery but I think it's a switch issue. There is a switch on the electrical panel which allows for starting the engine on the battery or parallel with the engine battery and house battery. This is incase you have a dead battery. It is defaulted to the engine battery but it does not work unless you hold it in parallel or battery position. In the middle position it acts like it's not getting enough amperage and clicks. I think there is a charging issue or a switch issue but the voltage shows good. I'm still diagnosing it. Worst case we buy a new battery. This one is a little large and sits too wide for its tray.
Date: Wed, 06 Oct 2021 00:17:00 GMT
Prepping for trip south
The last two days have been a blur. Here are some of the items we are dealing with: 1. The roller furling is jamming at the top car due to age. We have to keep it just a little loose to furl easily. The sail had a penant at the top which allowed the car to be pulled all the way to the stop without tightening the sail. This caused the sail to wear and begin tearing on the luff bead/tape. We moved the penant to the bottom so that we could control the tightness of the head sail but then you have to losten it before furling. The dinghy is missing a plug on the transom and is difficult to put together. The boards are hard to keep together. We tied some line around the boards to hold them together during assembly. Then we noticed that the repair of the front tow clew is weak so we rigged the line to pull equally on three points: the clew and two handles. There is no way to stow it on the deck without rolling it up so we will have to get a different dinghy before going off shore. We purchased life vests for offshore with jack lines to help prevent overboards. We had to attach the spinnakar and the reacher to the deck but the chocks are unavailable so we strapped them to the stanchions with rope. The spare anchor is strapped to the supports by the main mast as well as the dinghy engine on the other side. We are still sorting and inventorying everything on the boat and we did our final clean out of the water system. I still have not solved the charge/battery problem with the motor yet but we are going any way. The goal is to leave in about 12 hours from now.And wouldn't you know... the balmar generator is not working. The mount is incorrect and it wobbles. When it wobbles the belt makes black dust everywhere and the Generator is too loose so it doesn't charge correctly either. I'm really not sure what is charging and what is not but we need to get out of here. So at 4 in the morning I removed the balmar generator. Tomorrow we will eigher leave or we will fix the mounting bracket. More in the morning.
Date: Thurs, 07 Oct 2021 02:03:00 GMT
Almost ready to leave
This morning Sam and I replaced the balmar generator again this time with rubber bushings in the mount to hold everything tight. It still isn't charging enough only putting out about 13.4 volts. But at least it's not tearing up the belt. I still have not solved the starting issue yet but if we set it to "battery" or "parallel" it starts fine. The rest of the day was spent sorting rope and putting things away. The plan is to leave in the morning early. The leaves are turning and the days are shorter. We saw a fox today running across the road. He stopped and looked at us. Of course there is a small craft advisory tomorrow with rain. Just our luck.Date: Thurs, 07 Oct 2021 23:10:00 GMT
And it Begins!
This morning we got up at 7am and went to make one final run to the store. At about 9am we started getting every last minute thing put away and prepared for our journey. We left at 12:30 after saying our goodbys to our new found best friends. They have been the most wonderful hosts and have helped us beyond measure. We owe them lots for their help and letting us stay at their dock. We hope to be back up here next year to go sailing with them.Then off to the Magothy marina for a top off of fuel and water. Docking was a little difficult as the winds were blowing us at a weird angle but we managed without looking too bad. We then motored out the Magothy river beause the winds were direct head winds and too light to sail. Then down under the Annapolis bridge and south to a little anchorage on the Rhode river. The Rhode River Bite anchorage is very pleasant. There were three other boats here when we arrived. We planned some hand signals so we didn't look like we didn't know what we were doing and made a little circle, then dropped the anchor, pulled it tight and turned on the Generator to cook dinner. It was a beautiful warm autumn day in the mid 70's with winds light and variable out of the south south west. Sea was calm barometer 30.02. We experimented with the chart plotter and autopilot a little bit making our first "route" but it took us straight through the cargo ship anchorage so we had to deviate. We're in good spirits and it's time for dinner, Chile Mac! I'll post a couple pictures after dinner. Ciao.
Date: Sat, 09 Oct 2021 02:26 GMT
Backing in and water
I woke up early at about 4am and had a difficult time going back to sleep. It was a beautiful calm morning and I used the mop to swab the deck with saltwater and cleaned off all the dew. At about 7am we ate breakfast and pulled up the anchor. We were the second boat of 5 to depart the anchorage. The wind was dead calm and we motored the entire way to Solomons island arriving around 16:00. About half way there I had a feeling I should check under the floor and sure enough the hot water had blown a seal. Water spurted up the the ceiling and all over everything. I turned off the electric water pump and cleaned up. We continued to motor. While researching the problem Sam found that these seals typically blow at about 4-5 years and it's irritating to folks who own them. We also re-calibrated the knot log on the old B&G hercules 2000. It was a bit obscure because it was from 20 years ago but we figured it out. Everyone got a chance to steer and play with the autopilot. When we arrived we tried to anchor 3 different times but the anchor would not set. So we took a berth at a marina and of course they made me back in! It was my first time and I was terrified but I tried not to show it and worked it slowly. In we went with no trouble. I must say I love the bow thrusters!. Afterwards I got an UBER to ace hardware and bought some pipe fittings to put in a valve to turn off the water input. We had fried burritos and calliflower for dinner and then went to schmoose with people. Sam went to the pool. Tomorrow we are hosting a coupld friends for the night before heading on to Norfolk.
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2021 21:53 GMT
Day Sail in Solomons
We had guests last night with their two children. They slept in the aft cabin. We stayed up till about 1 AM talking. We also had a minor electrical problem which we fixed together. In the morning they decided to sail with us and stay another night. So we decided to go on a day sale in late morning. We headed out into the Chesapeak and raced a few other boats. We beat them all with our old race boat. Grace performed wonderfully. She is so good to weather it's amazing, but on a reach coming home we hit over 8 knots. We put the rails in the water several times. It was a lot of fun. We are getting the hang of it again. Sailing is quite the thrill. Now back at anchor Hannah and our guests went out looking for a grocery store for dinner. The plan is to leave tomorrow for Virginia.Date: Tues, 12 Oct 2021 01:37 GMT
Goodbye and continue south
We said our goodbye's and took our friends to the dock in the dinghy. Then we decided to get fuel and water etc but the dock was busy so we opted to continue... Who needs extra fuel? Anyway at about 11am we headed out of Solomon's Island and turned south toward the Potomac river. There was (of course) a small craft advisory and it was pretty windy and the waves were 3-5 feet. It was a long tiring day but lots of fun. The cockpit stayed amazingly dry though there was quite a bit of wave action on the fore deck. We rocked quite a bit before we turned south into the following sea when things mellowed out. The B&G display rebooted in the middle of a turn and we lost helm for about 30 seconds. It was pretty disturbing and we ended up broadside to the waves. We had to make a full loop before the helm was restored. We saw a pretty cool wreck at the mouth of the Potomac and a large cargo ship called us on the radio after seeing our AIS. We were trying to hug the starboard side of the channel but he wanted that side and asked to pass starboard to starboard. there were lots of birds on the water and pelicans followed us for a while. The food/can drawer opened while rocking and one small drawer in the V-berth also fell out. Sam and I fixed it underway and no more problems. We think a can rolled and hit the latch on the drawer. I was afraid we would be sick but amazingly not. The motion of this heavy full keel is wonderful slow and easy. When we arrived at the mouth of the river there were several people anchored right in the bay. We decided to move up the Mill Creek and anchored in a beautiful little protected wide spot about 2 bends up in 10 feet of water. There were 4 other boats there but plenty of room. Hannah made grilled cheese sandwitches and soup and banana bread. We are amazed about how much fuel and water this boat holds and the generator is wonderful.Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2021 01:14 GMT
Full Sails Ahead
We got up at 7 and were leaving Mill Creek for Norfolk at 9am. On the radio another ship called us as they were leaving and asked us if we were AYC (Annopolis Yacht Club) headed south. We motored out to the bay and about 11am hoisted all the sails into a following sea with a small craft advisory and 15-20 out of the North East. We ran for about 4 hours making from 5-8.5 knots. At one point we jibed into a wing and wing but it was difficult to maintain so after about 30 minutes we started the engines brought in the sails. We knew that we wern't going to make Norfolk so we headed for the Severn River off of MobJack Bay to anchor. We were passed by a beautiful topsail schooner of about 60 feet and felt like we were in a time machine. There were sailing boats both behind and ahead of us and we did very well. As we were motoring in a porpoise jumped up by our starboard side. When we got to the river to anchor it was about 1800. We made three attempts to anchor and ran aground twice. The ground here is muddy, filled with shellfish and very uneven. We had chicken salad sandwiches and banana bread for lunch and dinner was baked potatoes olives and cheese with the remains of the fudge for desert. Now with everything put to bed and the sails covered we are having tea and preparing for bed. It was a blustery day and is raining still lightly. Tomorrow morning we are going to get up early and find a marina for fuel and water and a pumpout. We are all tired but in great spirits
Date: Thurs, 14 Oct 2021 02:11 GMT
Fog and Electrical problems
We got up at 7 but there was thick fog on the Severn river so we didn't get underway till about 0900. Sam steered out of the river and into MobJack Bay. It's a beautiful area and we took lots of pictures of the estates along the bay. As we exited the Bay into the larger Chesapeak the rain and mist started and more fog rolled in. So we motored away into the fog and rain. at about noon it cleared up and stopped raining. We ate Candy Corn for lunch and tried to do some planning for where to get fuel and where to anchor for the night in the vacinity of Norfolk. We decided to go into Salt Pond marina just to the north of the entrance to Norfolk. It's a very narrow approach but we had 9-11 feet all the way to the dock where we met a couple in an old British coast guard vessel from the 1960's. It was an amazing looking vessel. They are staying the winter in VA with her. After filling up we headed on into Norfolk. There were lots of helicopters, big ships both civilian and Naval as well as two hovercraft that looked like they were coming into Norfolk but turned around about 3 miles out. When we arrived at Hospital point which is mile zero of the ICW south we anchored and the Generator cut off. We couldn't get it started again and for the third time we couldn't start the engine without the generator running. Something is terrible wrong. In the midst of all this a male and female pair of mallards came to visit. It was a bright spot in what was going to be a long evening. Hannah gave them our last heel of bread and they went on their way to visit each of the other boats in the anchorage. AS to the electrical issues I think it's more than just a dead battery. But we couldn't get the generator to run long enough to even start the engine. After some diagnostics we found that it was shutting off because it was overheating. The raw water was not clogged and as it turned out we had to replace an impeller that ate it's self up from the inside. Luckly we had a spare. It was a shame because this was a new impeller. After we got the new impeller in, the generator starts and runs fine. I also found a fuse in the battery box that goes to (I think) the balmar voltage regulator which had blown. It is a 1 amp fuse but we didn't have a spare so we replaced it with a 5amp fuse for the time being. (not the best idea) I did find a loose ground on the house batteries as well and tightened it up. At the moment we have lights and water and we hope the battery will start us up in the AM. We need to get to NC so we can work on her in safety. Just a few more days to hold her together. I remembered the approach to the ICW from 20 years ago it was fun. We passed by the old fort where we anchored with the kids 20 years ago and thought about stopping and having a look with Sam but it was getting late so we continued on to Hospital point. Just like before all the huge naval ships are amazing. Oh... a little catamaran with blue flashing lights came out for a look as we were passing the Aircraft carriers but after we passed he went back into the military area again. All is put to bed and tomorrow will be a new day.
Date: Thurs, 14 Oct 2021 22:59 GMT
Bridges!
We got up and left Hospital point by 8:15. We were the second from the last sail boat out of the Anchorage. I did a little more diagnosis of the starting problem and I found that hte Balmar is never charging the house batteries unless you put the momentary parallel switch on. I'll look at it more when we get to North Carolina. We motored past all the docks where they are working on battle ships and aircraft carriers. It's pretty amazing. We were in a line between two Hinckley power boats and one of them asked us if it was a Bermuda 40 and we chatted for a moment as they passed us slowly. When we got to the Gilmerton bridge it was about 9:15 but they don't open till 9:30. We had to wait for two trains so we didn't get through till 9:50 or so. We continued on and went under I64 which is 65 feet. We were terrified. It was low tide but it looked like we were 2 inches below it. We were probably 5 feet below it but who knows... we went through really slow. Later we got the locks just before the Great Bridge and had a little confusion tieing up but got it in the end. We are still learning. We tied up on the south side of the bridge by the Museum where the first land battle of the Revolutionary war was fought.After cleaning up we walked with our laundry abut .75 miles to the laundry mat and also a grocery store. Sam and I tried hoisting O-Malley on the deck to drain some water out after several days of rain. It worked just fine. Now we are having beans and rice and tortillas. We will get an early start tomorrow.
Date: Friday, 15 Oct 2021 23:45 GMT
Wakes and Bridges Again!
We left at 7:15 from The Great Bridge and started motoring. We met up with a boat, Carousel, who was in front of us. As they approached a bridge that said 64 feet they were going really slow but it knocked off their wind vane on a cable that was dangling a little below the bridge where they were doing construction. They were 63ft 3in. We went through fine but the workers lifted the line. One of them yelled down to us that we cleared by a couple feet. We stopped and exhanged numbers and they called the coast guard. Later in the day there was a bridge that was 65 feet but they opted to stay and a marina just short of the bridge over the canal saying they were gun shy. Some of the wakes from power boats are severe and some are not. It seems that faster is actually easier to deal with than slow. The wakes are displacing less water when they are up on a plane. I told several guys to keep their speed up and come around. Our deep keel helps a lot but the cuts are narrow so there is not much room for turning to cross the wake at 90 deg. Every time we go under a bridge we come to less than 1 knot and drift under the bridge at less than a walking pace. The weather has been great and we're getting a nice tan all of us. After we anchored at Lutz creek I started messing with the electronics. This is drive me nuts!!! We can't start the engine unless we start the generator first and charge the batteries. So I removed the panel behind the aft head mirror and started trying to figure out what is going on. In the process of tracing everything I found that when the Marina in Pasadena did the work on the transmission they lifted the engine to replace an engine mount. In that process apparently they removed the ground lug on the side of the engine. It was completely loose. So I tightened that up. I also found the actuator lever on the throttle was loose so I tightened that up and then I found the wires that were broken for the black water pump were off and tightened them up as well. I left the wiring open because I still can't figure out how the motor is ever supposed to charge the house batteries. I can't make that work at all unless I put the starting battery selector in parallel. Then the engine drags down and charging occurs. I cannot keep it in that position. I think that needs to be a real switch not a momentary one. I didn't get things buttoned up till after 22:00.
Date: Sunday, 17 Oct 2021 01:17 GMT
Long Straight Canals
Today was pleasant with calm winds and lots of autopilot through straight canals. We got underway at 8 AM. There were lots of power boats. It was a beautiful slow day with lots of wonderful scenery. Sam made Tuna Melts (grilled tuna and cheese) for lunch. When we approached the Alligator to Pungo river cut/canal we thought about wheather or not to anchor or continue. We decided to gamble that we could make it before dark. It worked out ok and we arrived and anchored at 1802. At 1900 the storm hit and winds picked up to 25 knots. We ate dinner with the boat rocking. Then Hannah made chocolate chip cookies. Since we made it through the canal we might make the Neuse river by tomorrow. We noticed areas where we anchored and where we ran aground 20 years ago. It was very interesting to see and remember. We saw two sailboats that were run aground. One we heard first on the radio calling for help. A couple hours later we saw Towboat US coming to get them. When we anchored we saw the same boats from the previous anchorage or along the way, Natural Magic, and Gratitude.Date: Monday, 18 Oct 2021 00:58 GMT
Breakfast time for birds
Today was cool with a strong north wind. We motored from the anchorage at 07:15 and made it to the Marina by 17:00. The morning was full of birds. It was breakfast for them I guess, there were thousands diving and sitting on the water or circling the boat. We motored down the Pungo river till we got to the Pamlico river and then to the sound. It was and easy beautiful day. We took the cut through the sand bar into the mouth of the Neuse river. Then we raised the Genny and the mizzen and sailed into the mouth of Clubfoot creek where Matthews point marina is located. When we tried to furl the Genny once again it stuck and it was a very frustrating 30 minutes getting it put in. I'm not sailing again till I figure out what the problem is. I think it's the length of the pennant at the top that we need to work on. But finally we did get it in. The Creek is a narrow shallow channel and we drug bottom at 5 1/2 feet 3 times before reaching the dock. Andy, Buck and Ben helped us tie up and guided us into the slip. Everyone was wonderfully friendly. Tonight we sleep tomorrow we look for a 50 amp reverse y connector and a new battery for the engine. We made it!!!Date:Tue, 19 Oct 2021 12:55 GMT
Reunited with our Truck and the work begins
We were re-united with our F250 today and after it sat for several weeks the battery was dead but the Dockmaster had put a charger on it for us yesterday! Wonderful Marina. So we drove into the city today to find a battery to replace our dead one. I found a type 94 AGM that fits perfectly. Now it's time to figure out why it's not charging. That will be tomorrow. The day was spent today recovering and getting organized. We will need a reverse Y connector for 2 30 amp to 1 50 amp service to get shore power working and possibly some re-design of our wiring system. We also need to work on the Genoa to make sure it furls correctly. I will try to post some of the work we are doing but I don't suppose anyone is going to get excited about replacing a battery. So more tomorrow. Good night.Date:Thur, 21 Oct 2021 12:55 GMT
Work
The last few days have been spent working on the boat. This will continue for a while. Our To-Do list is expanding by the moment. It is a boat, you know. We've got the charging going after finding blown fuses and the shore power cables should arrive today from Defender. Sam and I moved the pennants on the Genoa so that we an furl and un furl it properly but there is still work to be done. I've put together a work list on the computer and we are attacking it one day at a time. For now it is good to be at a safe location where we can relax for a bit and get organized. We will be starting youtube and patreon accounts and probably a go-fund me for the restoration project. This boat is one of only 8 produced by Hinckley and deserves to be restored and preserved.Date:Friday, 22 Oct 2021 02:26 GMT
Small differences matter
Today we tackled a water leak in the aft head. There is blue PEX 3/8th inch ID coming into the back of the vacuum head. There was a leak by the metal valve to turn off water to the head. We went to the store to get some pex fittings and do away with the pex to hose to metal valve to toilet mess that was there before. We found some newer pressure pex fittings instead of the sharkbite type. It looked like it would fit the blue pex so we assembled it all and turned on the water. It held but started leaking by the toilet again. As it turns out the flush valve was cracked. Luckily we had a spare on the boat (SPARES MATTER). After putting on the spare flushing valve and re-assembling everything we still had a leak. But this time it was by the blue pex to the valve. As it turns out the blue pex is about 1/32 smaller in OD than the white. The pressure fitting was not putting pressure on the pex as it would with the white 3/8th inch pex. I think the blue is metric. In the end we wrapped the heck out of the blue pex with teflon tape so that the pressure fitting would put enough pressure on the blue pex to keep it from moving and to squeeze it agains the nipple inside. So far it's holding. Now we have to replace the spare flush valve. Nothing can just be simple.Date:Monday, 25 Oct 2021 15:04 GMT
There Must be a better way
Today I started taking apart the forward head to get to the vacuum switch on the expansion tank that is part of the Vacuflush head system. The vacuum switch was not working properly so it would never switch off after developing vacuum.Of course this required dismanteling the drawer system and part of the shelves in the forward head. That took a while with pieces laid out over the v-berth and the dinette. I started by trying to adjust the spring screw so that it would work the switch but I ran out of adjustment. I had a new switch but the darn tank was put in backwards so it was completely inaccessable. (just had a dejavu..) Anyway, After full adjustment it still wouldn't shut off so I decided to file down the pin on the switch. Almost got it but still unreliable, so I decided to go ahead and replace it. It was not as stinky as I thought it was going to be and it was difficult to unscrew. I don't know why it was necessary to tighten it sooo tight. Well, I got it off and replaced it. Now I know why it was so tight. It takes that to tighten it up and not leak. But in tighetning it up it cracked and so now It works but it has to re-pressurize/vacuum every hour or so. I've tried sealing the crack but it's still leaking. I'm not sure it's the crack in the switch or a bad duck valve. Why can't anything be easy? I'll post a few pics later. And of course a new valve is $200....
Date:Wed, 27 Oct 2021 03:26 GMT
Water Heater
Today was fix the hot water heater. The one that blew a seal previously. The seal came in and we installed it this evening. Even though I thought I had turned off the water entering into the heater it turns out that water was still leaking into it through the mixing valve that sets the temprature. So There was pressure on the gasket so that I couldn't get it open. Then when I finally got it loose it was spurting again and then dumped 5 gallons into the bilge setting off the bilge pump. The bilge pump then didn't work because it had been dry so long that it was not primed. Scared us as I thought we were going to have to buy a new bilge pump. But thankfully it finally primed after several minutes of convincing it. There I was head first into the bilge arms up to my elbows in bilge water trying to get the hose to get the pump to prime. Of course this is after dark by flashlight. Finally back to the hot water heater I managed to coax the heating element out of the hole, put the new seal on it and get it back together. I tightened it down but aparently not tight enough because it started spurting again scaring me a second time. A couple more turns on the wrench and it was set solid. It seemed to take forever to fill but fill it did and in about 15 min we had blazing hot water. Cleaning up so Hannah would have a floor before she got back with the laundry Sam and I got everything back together just in time. Oh and of course there is tape on the teak deck right where Hannah was coming in as we were caulking teak today so it was hard for her not to step on the new caulk but thanks to Sam's idea about surrounding the area we were working on with tape no one stepped on it. Hannah declared we had created a cat trap but no cat. And one more thing, the fish wind sock that we had was outside tied up waiting to be hoisted up the flag halyard but decided to go swimming with his other fish friends so we lost the pretty gold fish windsock. Oh well. It is a blustery evening and the boat is rocking for bedtime.Date:Sun, 31 Oct 2021 12:19 GMT