Installing a new windlass

Loy's hand has healed well and he is back to work. The old windlass wore out and this is the new stainless steel Lewmar Pro 1000 installed today. Tomorrow we will drive a rental car to Melbourne, FL to see Harry and Barbara Ann Oehler on s/v Our Dream. We met them in Redbird Creek, GA in the spring of 2005. On Monday we hope to leave for Lake Worth looking for weather to go to the Bahamas. Linda went to the farmer's market today at Ft. Pierce, FL with Lynnea Rosner on s/v Antares at Vero Beach.

Linda received a call from VISA telling her that our struggle with the Dataw Island Marina boat yard has been resolved. They built a new rudder for us and did great work, but the bill was $3,200 higher than the estimate. Linda led the fight to get this reversed. We filed complaints with the chamber of commerce, the better business bureau, the consumer affairs office of the S.C. attorney general, Visa, and Boat U.S. consumer affairs. All were helpful and we received an estimate for the same job and the same materials from Mark Kish at Larsen's Boat Yard in Waukegon, IL. Dataw Island settled for their original estimate and the balance was returned to our account. We wrote a brief article for BoatWorks magazine suggesting what cruisers can do to keep from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous boat yards. Thanks to everyone who helped us.