We started this morning by tidying up and piling up the junk from the boat that was multiplying... or seemingly multiplying... around our house ready to take to the tip sometime this week. Obviously there is a load of parts of the old engine, but sadly there were spares for the old engine too. I think it won't even fit in one car load!
We then glued the new for'ard cabin/heads door. We are making it out of 2 layers of 5mm marine ply with an edge of 8mm marine ply between to make a gap and lighten the door. Cleo, one of our cats, is very investigative and kept following us around, keeping well clear of the wood glue while we spread it. Then I needed to cut another piece of wood and used the rotary saw for that. Cleo, flew across the room, straight over the wood glue, leaving footprints in the glue and sticky paws on herself. Sadly washing it off made her sick later in the day.
Down at King Malu we screwed in the final two cowls just in front of the main mast. These have cover plates so that we can remove them for day sailing and only use them when we are on longer passages. Both of the two heads have extractor fans in them, but neither of the two fans work! Another job for another day.
After lunch I painted the for'ard cabin. Originally I had intended just doing beside the beths which was pretty manky and gross green (if you could call it that) colour... the colour was close to that of fetid pondwater. When I started I realised that I had to paint the ceiling too, since moving one of the lockers back to make a work surface had exposed some equally unsavoury ceiling panelling. Anyway, should look much better, but more work than I hoped. Needs another coat sometime this week.
Meanwhile Tim cleaned up with the miracle cleaner ('pink stuff') the stern cabin ready for painting sometime in the near future. I couldn't face any more painting today and we are beginning to run short of internal marine paint.
After that we tried to fit the spotlight in the stern heads. There were two wires coming down inside the door post to bare ends where the switch should be. Easy... just attach a new wire, draw it through and wire it up. Tim, suggested soldering the new wire to the old. Being impetuous, I just twisted them together. Of course, it didn't work and the wires separated mid way inside the door post. So with the other wire I did get out the soldering iron and connected them together firmly. But... the wire wouldn't go through some of the tight bends at the top of the door frame.
Next we attached a piece of very light cord to one of the wires and drew that through. The intention was to use that to pull the new wires through. But... it separated from the wire with the wire half way down the inside of the door post. Somehow the door post had been split, so we then wedged a screwdriver in the split, splitting it wider, and foraged for the wire with a bent coat hanger. Bent coat hangers are one of the more useful tools invented. Amazing what you can do with them!
Eventually, wires through the door post (which will need gluing and clamping sometime this week to repair) and the spot light works.
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