Summer in Baltimore

—Blogpost written by Bob

Monday, July 13

The weather was nice and cool this morning with very low humidity.  After a light breakfast onboard, we drove to Annapolis.  I had to buy a lot of items to support my boat projects for this week and Maggie had a doctor’s appointment. 

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Before driving to Annapolis, I thoroughly soaked the stanchion base I’ve been trying to remove with PB Blaster so that when I finally could get back to it, hopefully, the connection would loosen.

I fashioned a little dam around
the junction of the stanchion
and the stanchion base
using duct tape and
filled it with PB
Blaster.

In Annapolis, we first went to Fawcetts Boat Supplies to pick up 14 feet of 1/2” reinforced vinyl hose and hose clamps for replacing the last remaining gray water hoses and the new fasteners I needed to replace the ones on the swim ladder steps.  (At Fawcetts, I learned that their business was down 65% due to. COVID-19.)   I had to go to West Marine to pick up 1/2” pump connectors for the gray hose replacements and 6” wide fiberglass tape for the planned repairs to the dinghy floor.

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We retuned to the boat in Baltimore around 2:30 PM.  In the late afternoon the clouds became thicker and a light rain shower rolled through the harbor.  Even though it was  almost 90 degrees in the afternoon, it was nice and cool in the evening (70's).

I refilled the little dam around the stanchion base with PB Blaster again in the evening.

Tuesday, July 14

Maggie was able to make a dentist appointment for 9 AM, so we were off to Annapolis again this morning, but not before I soaked the stanchion base (again) with PB Blaster.

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Our 6 HP Yamaha outboard motor for our dinghy has been in the shop for the past 2 weeks in an attempt to find out why the cooling water failed in the Bahamas.  First of all, it is now working again without touching anything.  After asking the mechanic to look into the problem further, he dissembled the lower unit and found that two bolt heads fastening the water pump were completely sheared off.  The only thought the mechanic had on this was possible freezing BUT the engine has never been exposed to freezing temperatures.  We may never know what caused the problem.

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We spent most of the day running errands in Annapolis and we didn't get them all completed.  Tomorrow is another day...

Wednesday, July 15

After a light breakfast onboard, I started removing the old fasteners on the swim ladder steps—the fasteners that connect the teak steps to the stainless frame of the ladder.  During the past 5 years, the barrel nuts were failing from corrosion from seawater exposure.  (The barrel nuts were constructed from chrome-plated brass while the cap screws were stainless steel.  The chrome plated brass completely disintegrated after 5 years of partial salt water immersion—only while the swim ladder was down.)  The new nuts were conventional nylon-inserted stainless steel lock nuts.

The flat head socket cap screws
provide a nice smooth surface
on the top of the steps

The nylon-inserted stainless steel
lock nuts on the bottom of
the steps.

In the afternoon, I finished reading American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power written by Andrea Bernstein.  

The cover of the book I recently finished.

This book describes the unethical and immoral behavior of two now-connected wealthy families who built their wealth through inheritance and by getting huge tax breaks from the city, state, and federal government (and when they didn’t get them they sued for it) and risking other people’s money.  Both passed down huge sums of money to their children through LLC’s and avoided paying their fair share of tax.  Both families were involved in unlawful behavior.  Charles Kushner (Jared’s father) spent a year in prison.

Thursday, July 16

The day started out with an overcast sky and a cool outside temperature (70’s).  We drove to Annapolis (again) to pick up our outboard motor for our dinghy which had been serviced, another doctor’s appointment for Maggie, and to pick up some things from our storage unit.

It was a completely uneventful day full of running errands--nothing much to write about except a delicious lunch at Lemongrass II.  We ate outdoors on the covered patio.

My Ka Pow Fried Rice was
absolutely delicious!
(but very spicy)

Stay tuned as I tackle more boat projects during the summer...


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