Homeward Bound

Joining The Migration of the Snowbirds

    Tues April 22nd- Looks like the weather window that all the northbound sailors have been waiting for  is finally arriving. Lite winds and calm seas are predicted for at least the next four days and we join the procession of boats staging to cross the gulf stream to FL and points north. Many northerners will head into the gulf stream and let it's 4 kt current carry them as far north up the US coast as the weather allows. Much of the chatter on the radio is french as the Canadiens have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this mild weather. We motor into lite west winds most of the day and anchor off of Foxtown, Abaco for the night along with 6 other travelers. Caught a big barracuda but released it since it was to big to safely eat. Explore the many rocky islets surrounding our anchorage by dingy spotting numerous turtles and small nurse sharks.

    Wed-Off motor sailing west most of the day, winds built by afternoon and we were motoring into choppy seas. Decided to cut the day short and stop at Great Sale Cay. Finally a good day of fishing, A nice Spanish Mackerel followed by a huge barracuda(released), then a giant mutton snapper and lastly a jack. Anchored along with 40 other boats, (3 powerboats), all are headed for the east coast.  This island is 30 mi from anything and uninhabited but a great stopover before heading out. At least a third of the boats are flying the canadien flag so have a long trip home ahead.

finally a great day of fishing

  Thurs- Headed out with the procession of boats under sunny skies but calm seas. Many of the boats headed directly north to catch the gulf stream and make an overnite passage to north FL.  Motor all day and anchor for the night off of West End, Grand Bahama. Normally this anchorage would be way to rolly as it is exposed to the open ocean but the seas are calm and winds are predicted to stay favorable. Celebrated our final night in the Bahamas by gorging ourselves on the last pound of our frozen lobster tail meat.

Back to Abaco

Lynard Cay-Little Harbor, Abaco
     Monday, April 14th- As predicted the skies have dawned partly cloudy and the wind has setteled down overnite to about E@12kts. We head out to cross the NE Providence Channel for the 60 mile trip to the Abacoes in the middle of an armada of about 12 boats. The seas are rolly with a 4 ft swell and we sail with the assist of our engine to keep our speed up. By the time we reach Little Harbor inlet the wind and seas have built and many of the boats are concerned about the conditions in the inlet. We are spread out over many miles and reports from the first boat are favorable letting all relax a bit. We are happy to anchor by 3:30 after what was a tiring day.

Treasure Cay
    Tues- We head north to find a protected harbor as the next few days are predicted to be unsetteled. Our plan was to pick up a mooring at Hopetown but the sailing was excellent and we kept running north covering 30 miles in the protected waters of the Sea of Abaco to anchor in Treasure Cay. Where we spent the afternoon on Chris' favorite beach. Ended a pleasant day with Scott and Donna from Saltine over for happy hour.

    Wed- Lots of clouds with showers off and on much of the day. We spent the day relaxing and catching up on chores.

   Thurs thru Sat- With the inclement weather around but still lots of sunny breaks we spend our time Biking with Scott and Donna, an impromptu boaters get together on the beach, Sitting around the pool, and another happy hour this time aboard Saltine. Saturday brought rain most of the day and Chris spent the day baking. She really outdid herself with pie, rolls, cinnamon buns and cookies for my birthday. No wonder we gain weight while cruising. Squall during the night had us up as the winds howled and the anchor dragged a bit. Thankfully we were able to wait until the storm passed to reanchor. we really hadn't dragged far but were closer to the seawall than I was comfortable with.

Birthday/Easter treats

   Green Turtle Cay

     Sunday and Mon- The skies have cleared and we decide to take advantage of the moderate breeze to pass thru the whale cut. To head further north we have to take a short hop into the open ocean to round the Whale. This can be a dangerous passage if the seas are running and even with moderate winds it still is a wet and rolly passage. Thankfully we had reserved a mooring at our old friend Donnies in Black Sound and as expected the place was full and their is no room to anchor. Happy hour at Pineapples where we enjoyed their conch fritters and rum punch. Spent the days enjoying long walks on the beach and wandering around town.

Pionting our bow back north

Eleuthra-Tarpum Bay

Sat, April 5th
    Having decided to start working our way back home we head out to cross the open waters of Exuma Sound back to Eleuthra. Seas have calmed to an easy roll and winds are fairly light. Motor sailed all the way across along with 6 other boats. Anchored off of Tarpum Bay by 3 PM. Had never stopped here and enjoyed a walk around town stopping off for Conch fritters at a local stand.

Sun- Another sunny day with light SE winds. As we slowly made our way to Governers Harbor we actually tried out a spinnaker we have had for a few years but never used. A trip to town for cash at the ATM, a couple of jugs of Diesel and a quick stop at the grocery.

Mon- With yet another cold front coming our way we head for the protection of Hatchet Bay Pond. The winds and seas have built and we were glad the trip was only 16 miles. Catching the first fish in a while added excitement to the trip but unfortunately it was a huge barracuda (about 40 inches) and I cut the hook off after getting him alongside. As I have mentioned in previous years large Barracuda build up a toxin from eating reef fish that can make you quite ill. They are fine eating mild firm fish but we are advised to only eat them if under 30 inches.    Luck was with us as as we entered the harbor looking for an empty mooring as a boat was just leaving and we snatched up their mooring.  The front is expected to bring big winds and Chris always sleeps better knowing we are secure. Off to town for a hike about with a stop for a beer then later for the treat of Ice Cream. Off after dark to pick up Stone Crab Claws from John the Crab Man. A real deal at 4 lbs for $20 but not as good  as usual since I failed to bring him any beer or rum.

Tues, Wed- Nasty weather has us hanging out on the boat but by Wed evening the skies were clearing and Bently and Jim on Salty Paws organized  a get together at the town dock that was attended by about 15 boaters with great entertainment provided by Jim and Bently.

Thurs-Sunny and still breezy we headed north to anchor off the glass window. A stop at Gregorytown where we purchased a couple of pounds of frozen lobster meat from Islandboy. Lobster season is over so fresh is no longer an option. Spent the afternoon relaxing on the protected beach after a hike to the Queens Baths.

Fri- Winds are still brisk as we cross over thru Current Cut and on to Spanish Wells. Running with just the working jib we flew along nicely. Picked up a mooring from Bandit in the harbor then wandered about town. Met up with fellow cruisers for happy hour at a new local restaurant in the harbor.

Sat- Move to Royal Island where we picked up a mooring then spent the afternoon snorkeling and hunting conch on the north side. Warm and sunny.

Sun-Lots of clouds around with showers threatening.  Hiked around in afternoon then prep boat for crossing to Abaco tomorrow. When we make an open water crossing the dingy gets stored on deck with the outboard stored on the stern. We take this precaution having heard a few stories of boats being hit by a rouge wave that has torn the dingy and davits right off the boat The anchorage is filling up as many boats have been waiting for weather to make the crossing and this is a great staging point.

Exumas

Highborne Cay

     Fri March 21st-Headed out under sunny skies and a north wind of 12 to 15 kts to make the open ocean crossing of 36 n miles.  Our original heading was to the cut at Wardrick Wells but this had us heading directly downwind making for a course that the autopilot couldn’t handle. We decided to turn west and make for the cut at Highborne. This was a much faster and easier course to steer but it meant entering a cut that I swore 4 years ago never to attempt again with seas running against the tide. We made great time and entered the cut by 3 pm on the exiting tide  rocking and rolling like crazy.  The entrance would have been smoother if I had kept some sail up but you make 2 sharp turns around the reefs and we didn’t want to deal with sail handling at the same time.  Quiet night at anchor after a great sail.

 Wardrick Wells
     Sat-Sunny and warm with much calmer seas. Decided to head outside to fish the deep water as we make our way to Exuma Park at Wardrick Wells. Motor sailed to keep our speed up and hooked a huge bull dolfin(Mahi) that exhausted me in his fight to stay free. After a half hour and numerous leaps finally had him alongside only to loose him just as Chris was ready with the gaff. Later in the day hooked another Mahi but it only stayed on for one leap then was gone. An exciting day of fishing that was closed out with the Sat evening boaters cocktail party on the beach that was attended by at least 30 boaters.

    Sun thru Tuesday
Two days of warm sunshine and calm winds allowed us to spend our days snorkeling on the fantastic coral gardens that surround this anchorage. All flora and fauna in the park are protected making for the best snorkeling around. Swimming among schools of colorful fish, rays, sand sharks and lobster among the colorful plantlife and coral brings us back to this favorite spot each trip.
Monday night the anticipated cold front arrived  bringing high winds and storms that lasted thru Tues but we were snug on our mooring.

Pipe Cay

Wed thru Fri
     The north winds are still blowing at around 20kts but we decided to run south ending up at the abandoned US base at Pipe Cay. This is a great spot that we discovered last year and we were the only boat there for 3 days. Being tied to the seawall gave us a secure feeling as the wind howled for 3 days. We spent our time exploring the many creeks and bays hiking the sand flats during low tide. Collected conch for two dinners during these excursions.

Cambridge Cay

Sat and Sunday
     With another cold front expected to bring strong west winds we move back to the Park to pick up a mooring at Cambridge Cay. Our normally serene harbor at  Pipe Cay is exposed only to the west and wouldn’t be a fun place to be as the wind switches. Sat evening joined a group of boaters on the beach for an impromptu party and jam session they called the ARG meeting (alcohol research group). Most of these boaters had spent the winter together at Georgetown where these meetings are a regularly scheduled event.  The expected weather was a non event but with the west winds we were able to snorkel at Rocky Dundas Cave, a spot we have always wanted to try but was always exposed to the surf.  Our next stop was at the coral garden that has huge growths of elkhorn coral.  Timing swimming at both these spots for slack tide is important as the current flows swift with the tide as it does in most of the Exumas.

Bell Rock, oceanside Cambridge Cay

Salt pond with anchorage in background, Cambridge Cay

Oceanside beach, Cambridge Cay

Black Point

Mon and Tues
     With the winds back out of the northeast at 18 kts we run south with just the big genoa making record time to Black point anchorage. We haven’t had internet since leaving Eleuthra as there are no cell towers in the remote parts of Exuma where we have been traveling.  Our airtime had expired for our internet connection and we had planned to purchase another month at the phone co office here.Shouldn't have been   surprised to find that the office is only open on Wed. but we are able to get wifi at the local bar. Picked up a few perishables at the grocery and Chris spent a morning at the laundry as we are about out of clean sheets and towels. Clean clothes aren’t much of a problem as most of our time is spent in bathing suits.Three nights a week the local bar hosts a happy hour catering to the boaters. With nearly 40 boats in the anchorage we joined a good crowd and spent the evening with friends Ron and Karla off the boat Island Breeze whom we met early this trip.

Staniel Cay

     Wed- After spending the morning dealing with batelco getting our data card (internet) topped up (nothing is ever simple here) we decided to make the short run north to Big Majors Spot and Piggy Beach. In the morning we were off at 8 to snorkle at the Thunderball Grotto. This is where the James Bond movie Thunderball filming took place. Unfortunately we were to late for slack tide and decided the current was to swift for our abilities so we went into town in search of fresh veggies. You probably have noticed a recurring theme here.  The problem getting produce on most of the small islands is that the markets only get a delivery when the mailboat arrives and sell out very quickly. The mailboat schedule seems very arbitrary as does everything here. As we sat at anchor in Black Point we watched the mailboat Captian C run aground during an extremely low tide as the radio was filled with chatter of people from Staniel sat waiting for their deliveries. Hard to blame the ships pilot as the harbor was crowded with cruising boats blocking his path and I'm sure us cruisers weren't his favorite people that night.

Black Point school field trip to see the swimming pigs

swimming pigs of Big Majors Spot

Hawksbill Cay

    Thurs-Moving north with a brisk east wind we anchored back in the park at Hawksbill Cay. Spent the afternoon hiking the oceanside beach. Our original plan was to head directly north to Current Island then on to Royal Island but once again a change of plans due to the weather prediction. Decided to instead head across to southern Eleuthra and work our way north to be in Hatchet Bay for some extreme weather expected Tuesday of next week.

oceanside beach- Hawksbill Cay

Wardrick Wells

    Fri, April 4th- Motor south to Exuma Park HQ where we picked up a mooring and will have an easy shot out the cut to the ocean. Snorkle and hike in the afternoon. Then prep the boat for the mornings ocean passage. This is to be the first day since our fishing trip on March 22nd that the ocean has been calm enough to venture out.

South to Eleuthra

  Eleuthra March 4th
    After a peaceful night listening to the seas crashing across the narrow island that protects us from the ocean we head out Little Harbor inlet into a beautiful sunrise. The swells are big, 4 to 5 feet but with light winds we motor sail very comfortably south. Catching a nice Jack within minutes of setting our lines had me optimistic for a good day of fishing.  About half way thru the day finally had another fish on and this was a nice Mahi. This is one of our favorites and after a great dinner, fish for at least 5 meals  went into the freezer. The addition of a vacuum sealer this year should help keep our frozen catches tasting fresher.  After a great crossing we anchored in the protected harbor on Royal Island where we plan to spend a few days.

first mahi (dolfin fish) of the trip

Wed-Sunny and warm with light breezes. Spent the afternoon snorkeling and wandering about the island. Found an area loaded with small conch and was able to gather 4 that were large enough to keep. Had a great feast of cracked conch for dinner. Whoever first decided to eat this large snail must have been really hungry as it’s the ugliest creature but is very tasty. The sweet meat must be pounded thin to tenderize it and we have come to love it fried coated in batter then dipped in a spicy sauce.

 

conch making a quick getaway(old photo)

Thurs and Fri- As expected another cold front has moved in from Fl with clouds, big winds and a few squalls. We are hunkered down for the duration with our books. Had neighbors over for cocktails and a pleasant evening sharing stories and info. Most of the boats we meet are already heading north after spending the winter here so it is nice to meet other boaters we will be traveling south with.  During the night we were awakened by a squall packing fierce winds that laid the boat over on its side for a short time. It passed quickly and other than having numerous unsecured dishes flying about  we survived unscathed.

Sat-Dawned sunny with a brisk north wind. Head south under full sail timing our passage thru Current Cut at just past slack tide. The current thru this narrow pass normally runs at 4 kts but today our timing was good and we had only 2 kts of current. Sailed tothe Glass window where we anchored off the beach for the night. Caught a great mangrove snapper along the way.  An afternoon spent hiking to one of our favorite spots, an abandoned castle like home with a great secluded natural pools above the crashing ocean waves topped off another great day in Eleuthra.

Mangrove Snapper- great eating

Sun- Moved a short ways south  to explore a spot we had been told about last year but never found. The Queens Baths are a national park site but it appears the locals have removed any signage probably to keep out us tourists. What a fantastic spot. Hiking over the ragged cliffs we were rewarded with a craggy cove dotted with a cave and numerous pools that were kept full by the crashing seas. Spent hours frolicking like kids in another secluded spot. No wonder the locals work to keep this for themselves.

queen for the day in the "Queens Baths"

another rough day

Queens baths

Cave at Queens Baths

     Monday-Prior to moving on from this idyllic spot we had said we would get up and bring a thermos across to the ocean side to watch the sunrise from the Queens Baths. Welll, the best laid plans,, after pressing the snooze alarm twice we decided it was a little cool and were very happy to lie in bed. Even missed my 6:30 weather on the SSB radio.  We did finally venture out and spent the morning basking in the sun and warm pools. Motored south a few miles to anchor in Gregorytown, a sleepy hillside village where we wandered about and had hoped to buy fresh conch to no avail.  After not having any luck finding fresh conch or lobster we motored the few miles south to Hatchet Bay where we were planning to hole up for the next blow later in the week. Brought a bottle of rum in to our friend John who runs the stone crab boat but since he hadn't been out that day we had to settle for frozen. He sent one of his men to the freezer and we had a feast later that evening and froze enough for another night.  John had just bought an old boat from the lobster fleet in Spanish wells that we had seen and laughed at the name "Lackanookie" since these boats go out for weeks at a time. The previous owner also had named his home Lotsanookie.

    Tues- Sunny and warm, since we have a mooring Chris says we are staying to be sure we don't loose it when the harbor fills up for the expected blow. This harbor is a totally enclosed lake with a narrow entrance cut in the cliffs. Great protection in a storm and the govt has supplied 10 moorings to tie to. My only problem with an enclosed harbor is the quality of the water as I can't imagine the homes have much in septic systems.  We don't swim off the boat and rely on our water tanks even for dish washing. Hiked to the beach on the ocean side where we explored but the seas were to rough to swim.

Hatchet Bay entrance on a calm day

    Thurs- Sunny and hot, hauled the bikes to shore and rode south to an area called Rainbow Cay. A 70's housing developement with lots of roads and beautiful beaches both on the ocean and the sound. The building boom never happened so there are only scattered homes and the roads make great riding.  With the winds now from the west the ocean has calmed down and we enjoyed an afternoon swimming at a secluded beach nesteled among the cliffs.

    Fri- Stormy weather has arrived but mainly strong winds and enough rain to fill our water tanks. Spent the day aboard being lazy.

Governors Harbor
   Sat and Sun- Motor sail south 16 miles into choppy seas. By the end of this short sail the boat was covered in a layer of dried salt.  This larger town is one of our favorite villages in Eleuthra. We spent our days hiking to the beaches and wandering about town. The winds have been strong but the protection has been fine.

Pink beach- oceanside Governors Harbor (defunct club med)

Colonial homes overlook Governors Harbor

Back to Hatchet Bay
    Mon, St Patrick Day- With another cold front expected to bring strong west winds we hightailed it back to better protection in Hatchet Bay. A brisk SW wind made short work of the trip but entering the narrow cut into the harbor was exciting with following seas. Later in the day an oil tanker and a huge schooner (cruise ship) made the same passage and they must have only a few feet to spare. Actually this cut is 90 ft wide but the cliffs and big seas certainly make it seem half that. An afternoon walk to the oceanside beach topped off another day in paradise.

tanker exiting cut

 

Schooner Liberty Clipper (week long cruises out of Nassau)

Asparagus trees over 30 ft tall(100 year tree?)

    Tues- The expected winds have built  blowing 20-25 kts all night. We are well protected but the noise of the wind all night keeps Chris from relaxing. The day is spent doing chores aboard (laundry while we have free water) and it's now cocktail hour and the predicted storms still havn't arrived.

Palmetto Point
    Wed- with the winds and seas much calmer we headed south stopping off at the beach off of Palmatto Point. Spent the afternoon hiking to the oceanside beach with a stop at a local bar that seemed very crowdwd and noisy for a mid week afternoon. Bought some fresh veggies from the local grocer who keeps a garden in the back.  

Rock Sound
    Thurs- light winds finds us motoring much of the way to Rock Sound where we filled our propane,water, diesel and dinghy gas. These items all have to be hauled in jugs to the boat, but the water is free so I don't mind hauling jugs. After 5 years of visiting these islands we have found enough places where we can haul free water that we rarely pay for it. A trip to the grocery for a few more staples has us stocked up to head for the Exumas where supplies are very limited.

Off to the Bahamas

Provisioning- Chris has been busy these past weeks making sure we are stocked up with supplies to last 3 months. Since this is our fifth season cruising the Bahamas we have a pretty good handle on what we need to bring along and what can be bought locally at a reasonable cost. Most food when available costs double what we pay here so we provision as much as possible. Beer is especially expensive but since it is heavy we limit what we bring. We can  our own venison, pork and our home grown fruits over the summer and also fill our freezer mainly with meat. Chris bakes bread and desserts regularly and I must say we eat well while aboard. Last year the fishing was excellent and we hope for the same luck this trip.

Shoving Off- Sat, Feb 22, 2014
    The weather is looking great for the next few days so we close up the house and move aboard. At 11am we are headed south to Lake Worth (Palm Beach) where we anchor for the night close to the inlet to make an early start.

Crossing the Gulf Stream- Sun 2-23
   Anchor up at 4 am and we motor out of the harbor with hardly a ripple on the ocean. We wait for calm seas to cross the Gulf Stream as it flows north at 4 knots and any North winds build big seas and make for a rough ride. By Dawn the south winds have built enough to raise the sails and we end up shutting down the engine and having a great sail for about half the trip. By 1pm we have crossed into the shallow waters of the Bahama Bank and are at anchor at our first landfall of Mangrove Cay by 5:30. This tiny uninhabited island is usually our first stop as if the winds are up we can get protection in it's lee from the waves. Very little boat traffic as we only saw 3 sailboats and 2 motoryachts all day. Dinner under the stars of fresh yellowtail snapper and Spanish Mackerel caught along the way topped of a great day.

On to Abaco- 
    Monday dawns with brisk winds and we head out under full sail flying along much of the day. Caught numerous fish with the best being a nice Mangrove Snapper we fixed for dinner and freezing 4 others and releasing a huge Barracuda. Anchored at Crab Cay along with 2 other boats.

    Tuesday brings calm waters and we motor all day stopping for lunch and clearing customs at Green Turtle
then continuing on to Treasure cay where we will wait out some nasty weather expected later this week.

    Wednesday is a beautiful sunny day and after spending the morning getting our phone and internet set up at the batelco office we were off to spend the afternoon at Chris' favorite beach. We are sharing this totally protected anchorage with 15 other boats but as the weather worsens more will pile in. The resort here charges us $10 a day to anchor but that allows us use of their pool, showers and internet. Cocktails with friends from the Catamaran True Colors who we met last year topped off another great day.

   Thurs-Fri The expected foul weather has arrived and we spend our time relaxing aboard. Winds howl but we are quite comfortable and dry reading and catching up on chores.

     Central Abaco

    Sat- Marsh Harbor- dawned sunny and cooler with brisk north winds, we headed south under full sail flying along at 7 kts and made Marsh Harbor in record time. Caught one big barracuda but cut it free, to big to eat. Our main reason to come into Marsh Harbor is for shopping and we picked up a case of our favorite local rum and a few fresh veggies.

at anchor Marsh Harbor sporting our new sun shades

Hopetown inner harbor, from atop lighthouse

at anchor below Hopetown Light

  Sun- Hopetown- with light winds we motor to Hopetown and anchor outside the crowded harbor. This quaint town is a favorite with boaters but the harbor is full of moorings with no room to anchor. Spent the afternoon wandering the narrow streets and walking the ocean beach.


     Mon- Lynard Cay- Sail south under gentle east winds to anchor in the lee of Lynard Cay. Caught a nice mutton Snapper that went on the grill for dinner. Had to cut off the head so it would fit the grill. After stuffing ourselves we still have leftovers for another meal. With a few days of moderate breezes predicted we have decided to make our way south to Eleuthra. This entails an open ocean crossing of 60 miles thru the northeast Providence channel crossing a major shipping lane along the way.  The seas on the ocean have been big for the past week and as we  settle in it’s hard to believe the weatherman that they will subside by morning.

Back to the Water 2014

After spending a great summer at our home in Northern NY we returned to our winter abode in Jensen Beach FL on Oct 15th. After a quick bottom paint job Apres Ski is back at her slip at the Pellicans Nest within an easy walk from our home.

    Winter Boat Projects
    Paint deck- My main project this year has been to paint the deck, cabintop and stern.  As with almost any project on an old boat this turned out to be much more labor intensive than planned. After removing all the deck hardware and window trim the process of sanding, patching, priming and lots more sanding was followed by multiple coats of Interlux Perfection 2 part epoxy applied using foam rollers. I then masked off all the smooth areas and applied the same paint in light tan to the non skid areas. I must say the paint was much trickier to work with than anticipated as temps, humidity and wind all played a major role in the final finish. I am quite happy with the final result and now Chris says it came out so good that I need to paint the cockpit next year.

new paint job

  Repair Transmission-Following problems with the gearbox slipping at slow speeds last year I researched this problem and found it is common with this unit in that the metal on metal friction cup and cone setup gets glazed. The suggested solution was to dissamble gearbox and burnish the clutch surfaces. This was an easy fix and was amazed at the the info available on the web especially on utube.
  Upgrade Alternator-The addition of a larger alternator, 80 amp combined with an external 4 stage voltage regulator will hopefully cut down on the time spent running the engine to charge batteries.
    Replace freezer-The freezer we bought last year (Dometic cool freeze) was a major disappointment in that it failed to keep food in the bottom frozen while the upper portion stayed at 10 degrees.  After numerous call to the company they had us return unit and refunded our purchase price including all shipping costs. I replaced this freezer with a Norcold unit that is bigger than we wanted but was a good price. Time will tell but so far this has been a great unit.(runs on same danfoss compressor but has a much larger evaporator plate.
    Sun Shades-In past years when it got to hot at anchor we would use old bedsheets attached to our enclosure to block the sun. While this was functional it wasn't very convenient or very yachty looking. This winter I fashioned sunshades using white filtertex (screen like shade material that still lets you see out) that can be zipped and snapped in place as needed.
    Mast Steps- One of the chores I hate on the boat is going up the mast for repairs and maintenance. I have always considered a set of mast steps but their cost and appearance deterred me. This fall I came upon a fellow sailor selling a box of new steps he had bought years ago and was able to get them for a song. It was a project installing them hanging from the bosuns chair as each step is held with 6 rivets. You might know that with only the top 2 steps to install I ran out of rivets! Poor planning meant another trip to the top.