November 4, 2019
Ft. Pierce, Florida
27.28.029 W
80.10.591 W


Today began with a rude awakening about 6 am when a loud thud hit the side of our boat, right about where my head was laying.  Our first impression was that we had been hit by another boat but it was the wrong side.  Then we thought that our fenders had shifted and we were smashing against the dock.  We later saw that it was actually fish hitting the boat.  We learned that it was a common event that fish, about 18-24” long go crashing into boats all the time in this marina.  We saw a dolphin later in the day and wondered if it was chasing them.  We considered that the bottom of our boat is painted black and maybe they just didn’t see us but wow! Talk about an eye opener!  The rest of the day was spent running errands, getting a rental car, and continuing the saga of the temperamental anchor windlass. 


When we left off, the Tweaker in Chief had decided to chase all of the electrical connections and clean them thinking the possibility of corrosion creeping into various parts might have been the problem for the on again, off again situation.  Which he did.  Then he ran the anchor up and down a couple of times, just to make sure everything was working as intended.  The last time leaving the anchor itself dangling just below the waterline to wash off the accumulated mud.  Once the mud had dissolved, he pushed the button to retrieve it and, . . . nothing!  OK, now things are getting serious.  So he called the number on the wiring diagram only to learn that the original company had been sold to another.  He contacted that number and talked to “Dave”. 


Dave was regaled with the history of the misbehaving mechanism and offered that he thought it was bushings in the motor starting to go bad.  His company didn’t actually sell a new motor but he offered a couple of places that did.  When the discussion of price came up, it was discussed as to whether it might be better to order a new windlass instead of just a part.  We were both surprised when Dave was adamant that no, no, no, we actually had a workhorse of an apparatus and the newer models weren’t anywhere as beefy as the one we had.  He also offered that with our long range plans, taking an extra solenoid would be advisable as they had a nasty habit of quitting too.   


Sometimes, it feels good, when another tells you that he’d love to take more of your money but you don’t need to spend that much, so why don’t you just keep it.  There may be hope for this world yet.