My blog titles have long since lost any originality. Despite each day being quite different I think the titles capture the essence of our current existence so I’ll keep it up until the day we splash.
With no further ado, straight in with the days progress report :
- I discussed our concerns with the new anchor chute with Peter. The result was that Dan spent some time removing it (it was very firmly stuck to it’s epoxy base) so it can be taken to the engineers to be curved some more.
- With Dan’s help we attached the new through hull for the genset water exhaust.
- I obtained a couple of new screws for the headsail furler and ascended the mast to expoxy the holes and put in the new screws. It looks like the original holes were misaligned by about a milimeter and someone countersunk the outside sleeve wider to accomodate the screws in the correct position. This has left it with a certain amount of movement. The epoxy should minimise this small movement.
- Assembled the grab bag and double checked remaining items required.
- I attempted to move our stern light behind the wind gen pole which obscures it from one angle. Turned out there was no easy option which would also be elegant. I ended up leaving it where it is and sealing the course of the power supply. I’ll await more inspiration.
- The varnishing of our shower door sill was completed.
- I spent much of the afternoon working with the rigging guy fixing the unbalanced tine at the top of the forestay. Turns out this work was more than prudent as the asymmetrical forces on the tine had resulted in the retaining split pin becoming close to being sheared. A failure here would have resulted in the main pin working loose and the loss of the forestay and possibly the loss of the mast. Not good. We’re glad we did this.
- I called the sign company regarding our windows. They should be ready Tuesday afternoon.
- I researched the means of purchasing duty free fuel up in Opua. Given the probably May passage to Fiji it looks like we’ll have time to get back up to the Bay of Islands before then.
Alongside all the the painting has begun on the boat. First, protective plastic wrap was taped to the boat above the point where the hulls will be painted and all the way up to the safety lines. We’ve had our first coat of primer applied. I discussed the pros/cons of applying a second coat of primer with Peter and have decided to go with a second coat. This will make our subsequent bottom paints much simpler and cheaper. We used our dinghy davits to raise our rudders into the air so they can be easily painted.
The weather forecast is looking good for the rest of the week so we should make plenty of progress with the bottom painting. The mechanic is due back today to install the starboard shaft. That will involve removing the temporary supplemental battery setup I have in place to allow him access. Once he is complete I’ll be able to put most of the batteries back into their intended positions. I’ll leave some access to the shaft to enable inspection and ‘burping’ of the shaft seal following our splash.
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