Progress on the engine front
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Wed 7 Mar 2012 23:05
One thing that really gets me about all this is the habit (not confined to Fiji) of artisans coming up with bad news at the eleventh hour. What is it about 'I don't have much money and I have to budget really, really carefully' that people can't understand? OK, maybe this is me just sounding off and yes, I would expect and want Martin to test the engines before putting them back in the boat, but I would rather that I knew and budgeted for this months ago. I wonder what else is in the pipeline? Oh, I can answer that, the Mac Laptop. It seems the root of the current problem lays in the top cover, the power on/off switch to be precise. Of course, it's impossible to replace the on/off switch alone and a new top cover would come to F$350, simply not worth it. There is the possibility of a second-hand one for F$50, possibly less. So, having put a second hand screen on the thing months ago for F$200 (£72 and no working camera), a new keyboard in the UK for £150, I'm really beginning to think that I should have bit the bullet and got a new one when I was in the UK. As it is, I will now have a four + year old 'bitsa' and will it be remotely reliable? Rizwan the Mac-man says 'should be' but is honest and says that Apple spares are hard to come by for a machine of this age.
In the meantime, no Raymarine autopilot spares (a bit crucial for single-handed sailing really), no recent news on the anchor windlass (ditto) and the weather is crap. I've basically decided to have a 'hissy-fit' for the rest of this week and pull myself together next week. Monday morning 'Amresh the Canvas' is coming to give me a quote for re-stiching the UV strips back on both fore-sails and I did make a start on the new book, 'Chapter One'. Yep, that was it, that was 'wot I rote', then the muse remembered she had another urgent appointment somewhere else. I will post this and try again.
Exit stage right, muttering.
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