Wow. Never known a term like it. Feet haven't touched ground. Sixty five hour working weeks. The educational world has gone mad. There is a whole list of things to do on Arwen, not least of which is to paint her but at the moment that is a distant pipe dream. My hairline fractured elbow hasn't healed. In fact it turned quite nasty, puffy, inflammation and fluid build up which has been painful to say the least and a downright nuisance. Can't lean on it, can't use arm to push self out of chair, can't pick up heavy bags with it. On course of anti inflammatory and antibiotics which make me nauseous. It is a good job I am generally a cheerful chappie. Work kept me busy and slowly it is beginning to show signs of healing. It has been a long nine weeks!
So now thoughts turn back to poor Arwen, neglected, unsailed, lying on the driveway under her tarp. I emailed a few boatyards locally and all want to take a look at her and give me a quote for painting her hull. Some suggested ridiculous things like scrapping paint back to bare wood and spray painting her with awl grip paint something or other. All I want is her to have a sand down and then repaint. I would do it myself but I suspect doing so will aggravate the elbow and so common sense must prevail. 'Banger', a local legend in Salcombe gave me the name and number of his friend, 'Podge' who would be interested in doing it. Baltic wharf at Totnes, the Weir Quay Boatyard and The Salcombe Boatyard all said they were interested if I could get it across to them. So, all being well, sometime during the week after next, the elbow will be strong enough to get Arwen hitched up to the car, driven off our awkwardly sloping drive and taken off to these various places to get quotes.
In the meantime, the winter to do list looks like this.........................
- Sort snotter so it runs down through deck and back along to the aft centrecase cockpit area
- Remove Jack stays and just try attaching safety harness to rear eye pad at back of aft cockpit
- simplify reefing system by making attachment to hold sail as you transfer leech cringle from lower to upper cringle hole; and removing the slab reefing system lines; and by attaching clip to rear of sprit boom
- Paint interior and deck
- Varnish interior wood coaming
- Sort out tiller tamer so that the rope passes through the rope slightly more easily than it currently does
- Make a sleeping platform or doctor some old camping shelve tables I have to make a platform (recycling something - it appeals to my sustainability part of my brain)
- Remove jam cleats; replace some; reposition others at aft end centre case for downhaul, centreboard up haul, main halyard, topping lift
- Replace main halyard cleat with horn cleat
- Sort wind tell tales on shrouds so that they don't keep getting caught on the shrouds
- Put thin rubber tube around rollers on trailer to see if that stops them chipping paint off the chines
- Repair trailer roller at aft of trailer
- Reposition fishing rods on side decks so that jib lines don't get caught on them
- Add more deck hoops for gas pipe for tent
- Repair bow end tear in tarp tent
- Install manual bilge pump with outlet hose into centrecase
- Build a small galley box for trangia and other stove and cooking utensils
- Repair stitching sail batten pockets
- Check sails for wear and tear
- Sort out topping lift for Mizzen to work more efficiently
- Sort spare trailer wheel
- Sort ropes running either side of centrecase so they run through deck loops and don't get caught up on each other
- Check seals on all hatches
- Sort out tool kits and spares boxes....rationalise!
- Sand and paint rudder
- Repair rudder split in casing
- Lengthen downhaul on mizzen boom snotter
- Remove the side plastic bags and clean varnish up there
- Make new row blocks and position slightly further aft
Better get to it over half term. Could do many of these jobs then if I get organised!
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