Hi from Andrew, Thursday 20/11Photo 1 - Corrosion to underside of winch Photo 2 - Making a plate to sit winch on Photo 3 - The complete job Photo 4 - Checking seal on water pump Photo 5 - Washing the cushion covers Photo 6 - Sorting food lockers Photo 7 - Cleaning the brass Photo 8 - Polishing - what's that growing out of Clare's ear ?
Life is very busy at present. Plenty of maintenance jobs to do, some we did not anticipate. We knew the platform under the anchor winch was damaged but when we took it off the winch itself had severe corrosion so that will need repair but I am not sure how yet. I will raise it at the next weekly "Skippers De-stress" meeting to see what others think. The platform has had two stainless steel plates made to reinforce it and we wait for a row of sunny days before I epoxy it all together. The plates were expensive but the job is better than new and looks good. The winch motor brushes have very little wear. This year, aside from the routine oil and filter changes I undertook a number of inspections on the engine. The heat exchanger was opened and inspected -as clean as a whistle so the cooling water treatment must be ok. The seawater pump has been dripping from the seal but a bit of a cleanup seems to have rectified this. The alternator was off to get at the heat exchanger so I inspected the brushes - hardly any wear - and measured up for a spare alternator incase we get one. The outstanding problem to solve is the rudder. Over the last few months the steering has got very stiff. I have new bearings but the problem is that it took Clare and I half an hour to drive the rudder down 10mm with a heavy lead weight. Next week we will lift out and luckily we are second boat of only two on the day so we will be able to have most of the day in the slings to get the rudder out. I have lined up some able-bodied assistance and a large hammer and some shafting to do the job. The dodger zips have been replaced and we are getting pockets in the cockpit side canvas so we can put all the loose ropes away. As you can see, Clare has been doing a lot of cleaning. Washing the cushion covers and curtains as well as the usual feeding of the workers (Andrew and Clare).
Bye for now, we are off shopping , it is market day.
Candy
