I spent two nights at the anchorage to the east of the famous Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. I had a good spot in the lee of the wharf.

A thanks to Andre of the Harbormasters Office, Officer Lombardi of the Harbor Patrol, and Joey at Santa Barbara Fasteners for their assistance. (It is their jobs, but being called back and actively taking part in solution-ing in a serious tone is good customer service.)

Since I wasn’t a paying customer to the Harbor, access to shore had its challenges. I called the office for direction because I know I’m not the first one in this situation. Since Sampaguita’s dinghy is a non-traditional choice, an inflatable kayak, Andre had concerns it might get cited, or worse, impounded, if it were left at the skiffs/tenders dock. While it would be easy to leave it on the beach, if unattended, it also might be impounded. No bueno.

Andre needed to speak to someone up the ladder for the best choice. This is when Officer Lombardi called. He said I had two choices. I could tie up to Stearns Wharf and climb up the ladder. This way I could come and go as I please, or I could tie up under the Harbor Patrol’s pier, but there would be logistical obstacles in coming and going. Since I was passing through, the fee would be waived.

I opted for Stearns Wharf because it was much closer to Sampaguita, didn’t take me in the opposite direction of the services I was in pursuit of, simplified logistics, and came with a bit of thrill!

I made this trip twice in one day in the process of provisioning, which was of great success. The most important bit only came to light as I was preparing to do the first Fuel/Trader Joe’s run.

I like to circle the boat when I get into the kayak to look over Sampaguita from that angle. This is when I noticed the lower unit of the outboard was missing one of two studs and nuts that hold it into the shaft. There was a 1/8 inch gap you could see daylight through. Uh-oh. New priority. (And that accounts for the new motor sound I had heard over the past few days, but did not understand.)

I don’t have much for metric fasteners aboard, so I sussed out the size I might need and called around to see who would have SS steel metric fasteners.

A place with Fasteners in the name seemed like a good choice and the location was walkable. I would use a hex head bolt with a flat washer and lock washer, rather than worry about putting a stud back in there. The original must have vibrated out before it got corroded into the cast aluminum housing permanently. I tef-geled the bolt so I would be able to remove it when servicing the water pump.

Trader Joe’s and fuel did also happen on that run and my lunch of TJ’s Sesame Chicken with asparagus was delicious. The second run was for propane. It’s been tough to find a place that doesn’t have a minimum refill charge. The tank I was filling is no more than 1.5 gallons. Some want it to be a $20 gallon of propane. Maybe someday, but not today. I walk away from those offers. Luckily, I don’t wait until the last minute. In my search for fasteners I noticed the local Ace hardware fit my bill for right sized and priced propane refills.

Boat Hack: On a small boat, crew is moveable ballast. At 160 pounds, I’m about 10 percent of the weight of provisions and stores in Sampaguita. So where I sit/stand matters. Here is the kayak seat I supervise from in the companionway. A compromise of keeping my weight low and forward, but high enough where I can keep a lookout.