Apologies to those who may find the technical side of the diary a bit mundane. We are using the web page to update those involved and we are also using it as a printable diary of work completed. It was a long day for the team today with an 0600 start. Jay has now completed the re-bedding on the for’d dorade, and in fact it has been completely rebuilt with all the internal connections re- sealed. We removed all the components including the fibreglass cowl and the timber framework which did not impress Alico who had recently varnished them. All were cleaned and faired before being sealed and bedded in caulking compound. Masking tape was used to obtain clean edged to the sealing compound and removing the tapes and a final clean up remain for tomorrow. Jay moved from that job to stabilising the helm seat which tended to rock out of its mountings when we were heeled over. A pair of extra wing nuts are being installed to hold the base down – but still allow quick removal for access into the after cockpit lockers. We have dismounted the hatch cover and seat and they have all been taken up to the shop so the work can be done on the bench. Mohamed is working on a simple small Bimini screen to fit over the main hatchway which will allow us to leave the hatch open without the danger of random spray and rain entering when at sea. John attacked the remaining work on the engine and was pleasantly surprised to find that changing the drive belt was straightforward and took less than 15 minutes. The designers had position the demountable joint in the cooling pipes exactly at the right spot and it was easily accessible. It took longer the bleed the air out of the cooling system afterwards than to change the belt. With a pair of asbestos hands it’s probably doable even at sea. We looked at mounting a spare belt whilst we had the cooling pipes apart but it proved difficult to secure the spare so that it could not get caught up in the moving parts and in the end we abandoned the idea. The pencil zincs were changed whilst the engine was cold – the stocks we have on board are slightly oversize in length but work with a bit of fiddling. A major clean up of the engine space was then undertaken with the space being degrease and washed down. This also allowed us to test all the bilge pumps as we turned then off whilst washing then ran them individually to clear out the residual. The two manual pumps were also tested. We then moved on the shaft tunnel, cleaned and degreased the grey water sump, likewise the saddle bearing area and after end of the bilge and gearbox area. The saddle bearing grease system was cleaned, checked and refilled. Shaft alignment was +/- 5 thou so well within tolerance. Tail shaft bearing and packing gland was checked and packing looked good with a minimum drip being evident. Grey water pump and auto float were cleaned and tested OK. The shaft was degreased and washed out. Roti’s arrived for lunch and we have finally managed to obtain boneless chicken – mostly the chicken here is chopped up complete with bones which makes for a long job sorting it out. After lunch we made a start on the winches and completed three by 1800. However we have a bit of trouble with the ST42 winch on the main outhaul which even after overhaul is a bit sticky. By 1800 we had had enough of pulling it apart and re-assembling it so have left it for a fresh approach in the morning. We are also going to talk to the manufacturer in the morning as this is the only winch on board that we can’t find an assembly diagram for. We have a suspicion that there may be a spacer missing or wrongly positioned. Interestingly one of the crews adjacent to us came up today and suggested we were not playing the game by doing all the work ourselves. I can’t see why most of these crews are hired – they promptly go out and hire other people to do the work at the owners’ expense.