One thing that we discovered during our trip to Lockport is that my clever idea to put a takeoff pulley on the prop shaft to turn an alternator to get power hydraulically when we are sailing along is not without its problems. We put it on with a compression fitting which is a neat ideal that has the inside fitting drawn into the pulley with four bolts and as it does it grips the shaft tighter and tighter. The problem on this trip was that I guess I didn’t get it tight enough and when the engine is put in gear the initial turning of the shaft causes it to spin briefly inside the pulley until it grips and starts to spin briefly then slips again, grips, slips, grips, slips, etc. The result is quite a vibration until it finally hangs on and turns in sync with the shaft. I have two solutions that will result in keeping the idea: first and probably the best from an engineering viewpoint is to have a keyway cut in the shaft to match one in the pulley hub; or second to use clamps to tighten the existing mechanism properly and see if that works. The first idea involves removing the shaft (AGAIN) which I can only do when Nelleke is out of the water for obvious reasons. The second is what I will try first. I’ll let you know how it works out. I have to do something as I can’t have the whole mechanism vibrating every time I put the engine in gear.

We have put in another part of our raised garden bed and planted out grape vines. One of our tenants is getting quite a kick out of our work in the garden as everything that I do is decreasing the amount of lawn that I will have to mow in the future (Yea!). We now have ten L’Acadie Blanc grape vines in our back yard and in three or four years we are hoping to begin to harvest and make our own wine. If it works well I might just plant another batch only with vines for red wine just so that we’ll have a full cellar. The ten plant will give us 16 yards of vines when all is said and done which, if conditions are right, should result in as much as 60 bottle of wine (or vinegar, depending on how good a wine maker I turn out to be). I have made wine lots of times but only from a concentrate but I am looking forward to tending the vines and seeing how they make out. Maybe I’ll speak French to them to make them feel at home.

It finally rained, a bit, last night and things are a little cooler today. Emphasis on a little. If there was any further need for proof that there is indeed climate change and changing weather patterns some of the naysayers just need to turn off their AC and go outside!

Daughter Kayt is arriving late Saturday for a brief overnight visit which we are looking forward to a lot. We are planning a dinner out at a local restaurant and a nice long conversation interspaced with a lot of hugs and squeezes. Then she will be coming down for a week at the end of August to be here at the same time as our son will be down for a visit as well. The whole family will be together again! Hurrah! Although it’s great seeing them out and on their own in their careers there are times that this whole empty nest business sucks!