More Boot Key Stuff

As I posted previously, the community here is just that, a community.  People offer to share knowledge, lend a hand and get together for fun.  We have been to informational meetings on provisioning and we were able to share with a fellow sailor what we knew about traveling to the Bahamas.  We have a morning cruiser's net and people can ask for help.  For example, it's raining today and some of the boaters only have non-motorized transportation.  One boat asked for a tow to the dock so the trip would be a little faster and she had it!  Being a bit closer to the dock has been nice.  Shorter trips means less splashing and that means drier rides.  Yeah!  We have taken advantage of the work spaces to fix bikes, cut metal to install solar panels and definitely used the mail/UPS delivery area.  It is amazing to see the array of Amazon, West Marine and Wal-mart packages after delivery time.  We're into week 3 with another week or so paid for already.  We still want to make the Miami Boat Show this weekend via rental car, make another trip down to Key West via bus, tour Pigeon Key and see another play at the local theater and whatever else we can squeeze in.  Projects are almost finished so we'll have more time to explore the keys.

Our first ever dinghy drift was a lot of fun.  We met knew people and enjoyed a unique
way to socialize.  Everyone brought beverages and some brought food to share.  We'll know
next time to do the same.  We all rafted up (tied our dinghies together) and hung out for a while then
at sunset blew conchs and set the raft adrift through the mooring field.  Wonderful evening!

More local art showing part of the harbor.  Freshly painted since Hurricane Irma,
This deck is at the end of the main building facing the harbor.  The awnings provide
a shady spot to gather for games or talks or socializing.

During the talk on provisioning, a few guys were bringing a mast to deck load
on a sailboat.  In no time, there were enough volunteers to make light work of a
heavy load.

There were some questions on mooring balls so I thought I would share how it works at
Boot Key.  At the far left of the picture is the pendant ring with it's orange float.  A boat grabs
the ring and loops line through that and attaches it to the bow of the boat on cleats.
All the pendants are the same length and the office assigns boats of similar length to the different spots
so there is no danger of boats going bump in the night.  The big ball in the middle is the mooring ball
that has numbers on it.  That way you can tell folks your "address" in the field when you want to get
together.  The line and shaft to the right of the picture and what is below the water.

There was too much stuff in the way to get a complete picture of the auger but it is long
with a screw at the bottom that goes quite a way into the seabed to hold boats in place.
Not all mooring fields are so well maintained so we are grateful for the care the city takes.

For all my Marine family and friends, Siemper Fi.  There are quite few
boats flying service flags but this boat wants to make sure you know
he was a Leatherneck!

More work in the shop.  We needed to cut the stainless rod and aluminum
strips needed to install our second movable solar panel.

Rainy day project of getting the panel ready to install.  The wiring harness
is already made up.  The panel arrived yesterday so matter of assembling the
parts.

Finished version.  The stainless tube supports the weight of the panel.
Brackets are attached to the back of the panel and hinge.  They clamp onto
the bar so they can be removed and stowed inside when we go offshore.  Pigtails run from the panel to the new, blue junction box show in a previous post.  Lots of steps but worth the extra power.