Earplug method

Well, the earplug method I used to try to plug the bottom of the deck holes worked out okay, but only for 6 of the 11 holes. The other 5 will need to be refilled. About half of them seemed to almost work and might have held had the resin been a bit thicker. I'm hoping the first batch blocked those holes and the second will fill them up. If not, I can fill them up a third time. Even though the earplugs didn't work 100% on the first try, I'm still pretty happy with it, since it's the first time I was able to get any of the ones with a void between the two layers to fill on the first try. I might try to mix up another batch this evening, but it's too hot right now.

Zoe watch:

She's hanging out under the bow again, and although there isn't too much special going on with her, I did go ahead and cut my hair again today -- didn't want her to feel like I was picking on just her. I ended up with essentially another high and tight, but didn't touch the top. I was trying to let it grow out a bit, but made a few mistakes and had to keep going higher to get it even. However, I think I'm getting better. Maybe next time it'll look like a normal haircut. I've learned that even though I can't see where what I'm cutting, I can touch the end of my index finger to the clipper and guide it by feel.

I cut it under the boat so I wouldn't get hair everywhere, but had to keep climbing back on board to check to see how it looked. I have a little hand held mirror, but have to go into the head to use it with the large fixed mirror in order to see the back. It actually looks professional this time -- and I've had hundreds of professional, as well as some not so professional, high and tights in my life, so I know what I'm taking about.

I'm not sure where it originated, but after 14 months deployed at sea with no professional barbers, I can only imagine that the amateur barbers on board were basically doing that same thing. i.e., just keep cutting it shorter till it looks right.

Boat watch:

Cleaned up the rest of the lockers on the port side so I can run the freshwater feed line. I've already cut the holes I need to reroute it through the aft locker directly into the sous-sole, but haven't run it yet.

When I was draining the lower tank and pumping the bilge yesterday with the old wash down pump, it got clogged, so I had to spend a few hours taking it apart and fixing it. It's a simple pump, but took a while to clean. When I first tried it again, it didn't work, so I took it back apart, several times, and re-cleaned it and made sure it sealed properly. Finally it worked and I was able to pump the bilge dry and even refill and cycle the lower tank again -- didn't finish till around 10pm. It's much cleaner, but still isn't as clean as I'd like. I'll clean it a bit more and then run some detergent through it and then let some clorox stand for a while before trying to use it, but I don't think it'll foul my new pump -- I'll mount it as soon as I clean two more lockers. In any case, I've had worse, but nothing as bad as what Paul had to drink at his family's cabin up in Canada.

I mentioned earlier that Paul Smoke was my first boss. I spent a lot of time with him the first year I met him, part of which I lived in his spare bedroom, and he used to tell a lot of great stories. One of my favorite was the time he was up in Canada at his family's cabin. Everyone had been complaining for weeks about how bad the well water tasted, so Paul decided to investigate. He grabbed a lantern and climbed down into the well to see what was going on. Once he got to the bottom, he found the remains of a family of possums.

When I asked him what he did about it, to my surprise, he said he just came back up and made a pot of tea, then added that he'd already been drinking the same water for several weeks and it hadn't killed him yet, so it didn't really matter at that point. It was a good lesson, even if it can't be applied to all situations. I learned a lot from Paul. Hopefully I'll get to see him again when I get back to Texas, and drinking my water in a few days.