We have had quite a bit of rain over the last week so progress has been slowed down s. Main achievements this week are:

• The agricultural dog-clutch style connector on the prop shaft has now been replaced with a shiny new flange and flexible coupling.

Before:

and after:

• The holes in the port side of the hull have been welded up and this week I will weld in some more doubler plates where the hull is a bit thin. Hopefully by the end of this week this section will be all painted out and we will be ready to think about a new layout for this side of the saloon.

• The inside of the starboard water tank has been repainted. Next job will be to fit the lid and maybe reinstall it if all goes well.

• The bilge pump manifold has been completed and again, when the weather improves, I hope to complete reinstalling all the bilge pumps later in the week.

• And finally, Sylph got a nice new bell as a birthday present from Kate, also in memory of my late brother, Peter.