Pleasant surprises are so damn transient!

'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Wed 2 May 2012 18:40
A wonderful surprise yesterday, a bottle of fizzy put behind the bar for me (thanks again chasps, fine job!). Returning the leaking ice bucket (pause for a quick chorus of 'there's a hole in my ice-bucket etc etc) to the bar, I encountered a worried Martin the Meknik. Word had got round that if he didn't reassemble my engines PDQ I was going to remove them from his custody and have somebody else do the job. He came to reassure me (I think) that he was on the job, but there was a very slight delay due to a problem with a shaft on another motor but he really was on the case. I was in a mellow mood (and also aware that the gelcoat was taking a while to set so launch is not imminent). Then came the unpleasant surprise, exactly what I had been vaguely worrying might happen.
'Ah, there was a sort of rubber skirt on the outside of the hulls that partially covered the hole where the sail-drive legs came out. It was glued on and I don't think it was important because it's the 'dougnut' that keeps the water out of the engine bay, but 'we' don't have the replacememnt skirts.'

Now, 'we' ordered exactly what 'we' were asked to in the way of engine/saildrive spares. I can't imagine that these skirts were stuck to the hulls on a mere whim, so after I've finished this there will be an email to Volvo UK to find out if these things are essential. No doubt yet more expense and potential delay. WHY couldn't he have mentioned this about three months ago when there would have been no problems in case Volvo have to back order them? If anybody has an answer to this (i.e. are they necessary or just a nice finishing touch, perhaps a sort of 'anti-leg bump' idea) I'd like to hear from you.

Gently wafted back up the hill towards the house. Stopped off in the not so super supermarket to get some cooking oil and bumped into Junior (Arun the Elektrik's lad). 'We have all the wires and other stuff we ordered, all set to go, be in on Monday morning to finish up'. Then he gave me a lift to the house.

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