February 23, 2009 - Nai Harn, Phuket, Thailand

I'm not going to talk about the trip from Railay back to Phuket because it just wasn't at all interesting. Instead, I'd like to take a moment to introduce you all to something that no cruising boat should be without:

A Pound of Monkey Shit

We bought this stuff when we were back home in the States. It sticks to wet surfaces. It stays in place underwater, even in saltwater. It doesn't doesn't harden up, nor does it get runny or dissolve. It remains pliable and is reusable. We originally bought it to fill in the gaps around our refrigeration pipes. Lately we've used it on three additional projects: to fill the gaps around the plug during the head thruhull repair, to seal the stern tube during the replacement of a seal on the main engine, and to rebed the chainplates (we don't yet know how well that will work, but we've got high hopes). According to the package it is "duct seal," but in the plumbing trade it is known as "monkey shit." We wish that we'd known about this stuff years ago.