Smaller projects continued while we waited for the contractors of the larger projects 
to complete their work. Stuart has an excellent repertoire of marine services and it seemed like we consulted almost all of them. Vic's, for example, is the place to go for repairing and refurbishing alternators, starter motors and such. Click on the photo of our alternator over there and you'll see Vic's metal plaque, certifying it was he who did the work on it. Classy.
Spinnie, our fine KISS wind generator, was due for a refurbishin' and as luck would have it, the builder, Hotwire Enterprises, was located in Tarpon Springs, Florida, an easy rental-car drive westward from Stuart over to north of the Tampa Bay area. The Hotwire folks, John and Libbie, have always been very good to us over the years we've owned Spinnie, promptly answering all our email questions, and overhauling Spinnie as needed when we've shipped it to them from various foreign ports. We were looking forward to finally meeting them in person and let me tell you right now, they are two friendly people who are extremely generous with their time. Because we had delivered Spinnie in person this time, John walked GB through the whole dusting-and-cleaning process and instructed him on the finer points of maintenance and care of the unit while at sea. That's right: John did all the maintenance work on Spinnie WHILE WE WAITED.
John and Libbie are justifiably proud of their products (wind generators and solar units, mostly) and they take very good care of their customers. In fact, most of their customers have been with them for a long time – why go anywhere else when Hotwire's products and service are so good? Spinnie has been charging The Fox's batteries for 10 years (and about 18,000 miles) now and with regular maintenance is still going strong. It especially enjoys breezes in the 10-to-20-knot range and is always one of – if not the – quietest wind generators in any anchorage.
Conclusion: If you are ever anywhere near Tarpon Springs, stop by to meet John and Libbie and take them out to lunch at the Greek restaurant of their choice. You won't be disappointed by the local Tarpon Springs cuisine, OR the company!
[Next post: what we did with the rental car instead of driving directly to Tarpon Springs…]
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