With summer fading fast, it will soon be time to remove the SHADETREE sun cover. It provides welcome shade to a good portion of the deck of Ishmael. The air conditioning needs all the help it can get in the really hot months. The sun, here in the summer, tries to make the boat into a solar oven. It is nice enough on deck but try to sit below and work and you discover just how hot it really is. Taking down the shade cover re-exposes the Bimini cover to rain and sun and that is were the story starts.

Last summer we re-stitched all of the seams and edges on the Bimini cover. But for some reason we did not re-sew the top windows. It was probably something I decided based on sound scientific fact like "that stitching looks OK" If it were not for mistakes, we might get bored ; but I doubt it.

The top windows of the Bimini cover had developed the annoying habit of collecting about a gallon of rain water and then dumping it on our heads at random times. So today Kathy and I removed the Bimini and double re-stitched around the windows. There was a minimum of cursing as only three needles were broken in the process. Typical stitching involves getting the needle through Stratoglass plastic and at least four layers of Sunbrella canvas... The Sailrite sewing machine took it in stride and were finished in a couple of hours.

To add to the general mood, thunderclouds began to gather about half way through the repair. Is is not really surprising as there is at least a 20% chance of thunderstorms nearly every day all summer long. In quite a cooperative manner, the rain held off till we got the Bimini back in place and the curtains on .

Life is good.