Make and Mend

Amazing Grace
John and Julie
Sat 18 Jul 2009 17:03
We are on "make and mend" day 3 or 4.  One step forward another back.  Today was "I'll seal around that hatch they put in" only to find that the balsa was damp so I'll let it dry a few more days and then seal it.  But then there was some water in the bottom of that compartment so off came the watertight doors so I could drain it. (Its normal Mark says especially when you've been going fast).  And then a spray around the hydraulic components to stop any corrosion. 

Then it was on to reconfiguring the electrics so the switches actually do what they say!  Ah but what's that down there - oh - water near the air conditioning cooling water dump.  Hmm salty - hmm - Oh, I see 'Slack Alan' was on the job again.  Forgot to install the retaining ring and sealant.  Oh well - did that too!

Julie busy making outboard cover - very nice - matches dinghy cover!  Same material. Since dinghy cover was waaaaayyy to big she removed the excess material and has converted the leftovers into the outboard cover and winch covers.

We had F7-8 on the beam last night and much attention was necessary to lines.  Have now crossed the med mooring lines to give some more stability if beam winds come again.  Most unseasonal and not even forecast from the East - we were expecting northerlies!

This morning boat looks like camel athough thankfully does not smell same.  We have much red dust everywhere. Very very fine and so a good hose down in order come Monday morning.

Over the last few days we have been sealing up the gaps that there were in the interior and sorting out a few loose head linings.  Julie custom fitted the dinghy cover to give some protection from the UV light. 

We've taken to having a siesta since its been very hot - 95 degrees yesterday.  We bought some fans from Carrefour - one is good - the other was noisy so we had to take it back but its a 5km walk each way so we do it in the evenings.  That's good since they so a pretty decent evening meal for about a fiver. (Better than Morrisons, Dad).