Thursday December 14: Getting Rid of Those Constant Sources of Annoyance

Some days are ruled by those little things that don't work right - or just not the way  they should or the way I expect.

Yesterday was the start of dealing with several of those issues! Ever since coming to Banana Bay in 2011, the internet has been an issue. Sometime it's ok, some time it's non-existent and then the rare day when it actually works well! So I'd complain that this isn't the way it should be. If a marina advertises it has wifi, then HAVE IT - and not just sitting by the office. It's a problem way too common when we're traveling. Hence we use a Verizon hot spot for our primary internet - not inexpensive but it's a solution.

At docktails the other night, the internet - or the lack of it - situation was being discussed when Stephen on Stevedore mentioned that at one point they were getting internet through Comcast (the cable TV provider for each boat). Really? Is that possible?

Yes it is! I called, signed up and then drove to the Comcast office here in Marathon to pick up the equipment. By noon, it was hooked up and activated!! It's a giant modem but that's ok - it works GREAT! Not inexpensive at $60 a month but worth every penny for sure and our Verizon hot spot has been retired for the time being :-)


Then there are some of the vinyl miniblinds that after 10 years just don't work very well anymore. I pull the string to let them down but have to then physically pull the blind down. Minor inconvenience for most of the blinds due to location but the one over the bed is particularly annoying. I can reach the string without climbing on the bed but not the blind itself. Arrrrgh ...

Steve picked up a new one at Home Depot - time to swap this one out.

Not terribly hard to do :-) Even with a bum hand! Steve had to do some of the small detail threading of string through the holes to finish up though. Done. On to the next thing (for Steve).




The damage to the rails from Irma are not only visually distressing but are also dangerous - especially if we are out on the water. Steve has been itching to get them repaired so when the weather permits, we can head out for an overnight trip.

He decided to start by repairing the piece that was torn off of the flybridge. It was found intact by Shelly at Driftwood - fortunate find as it made the job way easier.

There was a chunk of wood missing from the corner that will be replaced with a piece of teak cut from the broken front railing. Once fitted, glued in, and finished with cetol it should look great!

In the meantime, Steve found a very nice young man that works at Keys Welding. He is coming out tomorrow to give us a price and date on replacing the broken front railing. We're thinking to just replacing the wood with a stainless steel railing - about 10 feet or so on both sides of the bow.

The boat next to us has a wood to stainless transition and it looks quite nice.We'll see ....




So with more of the constant sources of annoyance are being removed, life is getting better :-)

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And we are reminded that even though there is still a great deal of rubbish from Irma along Route 1, Christmas is returning to the keys.

This is the tree made from lobster pots that makes it's appearance yearly. So nice to see ....