Cooler Weather = Outside Boat Cleaning

Right around November the first someone threw a switch on the weather here in Florida and we went from what I refer to as 'ankle sweating weather' to 'the most fantastic weather ever'!!  We now have breezy mornings, hot sunny days, cool comfortable evenings, and no need for air conditioning!!

Every day.  And it's fantastic!

The only downside is Wilbur and I can no longer hide out below board eating bon-bons, watching old movies, and napping, all the while blaming the intense Florida heat for the fact that the outside of our Knotty Cat is just plain filthy.

But now that the weather is cooperating I can't use the heat as an excuse for my slovenly ways. I can't whine to Hans that just navigating my way through a day means sweating through the lightest of clothes and even while sitting still sweat rolls down my back unless I sit right in front of a fan. And I'm not kidding when I tell you that just standing at the bow for the half hour it takes me to fill our water tanks once a week during the summer is beyond excruciating.

Honestly, the summer here is that bad.

So I've actually (almost) enjoyed these past two weeks as I've mopped and scrubbed the decks and have used about a gallon or so of mineral spirits to remove the inky black tar left behind from the oozing edges of our roll up solar panels (I've since wrapped those edges with UV resistant foil tape). And you just haven't lived until you've used an entire box of Q-Tips to clean just one locker. I've also skinned my knuckles scrubbing out too many lazarettes and lockers of their summers worth of dog hair, grit, and grime.

Gross indeed, but I did it mostly sweat free and that works for me.

Unloading the lazarettes in the cockpit.

Wilbur stands guard over our belongings.

Wilbur's swimming pool put to a whole different use.

"Phooey on all this boat cleaning! Where are my bon-bons and  DVD of The Return of Lassie?"

Next week is Thanksgiving already and Hans finally has a weeks vacation due him.  We are going to spend it  cruising up the coast and will celebrate the holiday at anchor with Wilbur.

I've never cooked a turkey (actually I bought a turkey breast)  in my life and I'm hoping as Wilbur is so smart he'll be able to lend me a paw with it!