Yes, I know I've used that one before but it was ages ago and I'm a great believer in recycling!
After my efforts earlier in the week to make the aft cabin habitable and sort out the cockpit lockers, my mission this morning, which took longer than I expected, was to lay out the 50m of chain from the chain locker and clean it up
We've had a problem, when recovering the anchor, with the chain sticking on the windlass gypsy and jamming underneath it. This was caused by a combination of rust and crud jamming the links and rather large cable ties that had been used to mark the chain
A further problem was the rather odd spacing of the chain marking which seems to have been done to some esoteric unit of measurement (about two foot six and a half I think!).
So it was out with the pressure washer, then off with all the old cable ties. Progress was only slightly delayed by my dropping my favourite side cutters in the mud where they promptly disappeared without trace. With the chain cleaned up, I set about marking it at 5m intervals with a cable tie for each 5m. I gave up at the 40m mark (8 cable ties!) but there's only another 10m after that anyway
Then I set about winding the whole lot back into the locker whilst applying the entire contents of a can of WD40 to prevent further rusting and jamming of the links (at least in the short term, a new chain is going to be needed before long). Happily, it went away without a single jam
A messenger conversation with my cousin and some business discussions interrupted proceedings until late afternoon at which point I set off for the supermarket on a mission to start stocking up for our extended summer cruise (of which more anon)
This provisioning mission, the first of several no doubt, was aimed at stocking up the Tinned Stores, No.1 Beer Hold and No.2 Soft Drinks Hold
The young lad at the checkout was a little taken aback at the rather unusual contents of the over-full trolley but seemed genuinely interested in the explanation and we chatted about cruising under sail whilst he rang my shop through and I packed it away
Of course, once back at the moorings I had to barrow the lot down the pontoon, heave it all on board, then transfer it below decks before stowing it away!
The No.1 Beer Hold still has some stowage space left but not a lot! There's wine, cider and lager in there too (shhh, keep it quiet, but we may have a lager drinker on board this year)
The No.2 Hold is well filled with coke, diet coke, ginger beer and bottled water (for drinking) which can be transferred to the refrigerated hold in small quantities as and when required
The No.5 (Emergency Rations) hold is fairly full of UHT milk (it suffices and I've become tolerant of having it on my breakfast cereal) whilst the No.6 (Tinned Food) hold is rammed with all sorts of goodies!
The next shop will be for snacks and lunchables
The object of the exercise is to only have to shop for fresh whilst we're away.
One extant problem is that Tesco are once again on their "we can't get Kwells" nonsense. That means a trip to another chemists as I occasionally need them and so does Jane. Nothing else works for either of us so it's no use offering alternatives Tesco!
Watch this space for plans for our Sojourn to the Solent (and beyond) ...
 |
| 50m of chain doesn't look that impressive laid out! |
We've had a problem, when recovering the anchor, with the chain sticking on the windlass gypsy and jamming underneath it. This was caused by a combination of rust and crud jamming the links and rather large cable ties that had been used to mark the chain
A further problem was the rather odd spacing of the chain marking which seems to have been done to some esoteric unit of measurement (about two foot six and a half I think!).
So it was out with the pressure washer, then off with all the old cable ties. Progress was only slightly delayed by my dropping my favourite side cutters in the mud where they promptly disappeared without trace. With the chain cleaned up, I set about marking it at 5m intervals with a cable tie for each 5m. I gave up at the 40m mark (8 cable ties!) but there's only another 10m after that anyway
Then I set about winding the whole lot back into the locker whilst applying the entire contents of a can of WD40 to prevent further rusting and jamming of the links (at least in the short term, a new chain is going to be needed before long). Happily, it went away without a single jam
A messenger conversation with my cousin and some business discussions interrupted proceedings until late afternoon at which point I set off for the supermarket on a mission to start stocking up for our extended summer cruise (of which more anon)
 |
| First of two barrow loads of shopping |
The young lad at the checkout was a little taken aback at the rather unusual contents of the over-full trolley but seemed genuinely interested in the explanation and we chatted about cruising under sail whilst he rang my shop through and I packed it away
Of course, once back at the moorings I had to barrow the lot down the pontoon, heave it all on board, then transfer it below decks before stowing it away!The No.1 Beer Hold still has some stowage space left but not a lot! There's wine, cider and lager in there too (shhh, keep it quiet, but we may have a lager drinker on board this year)
The No.2 Hold is well filled with coke, diet coke, ginger beer and bottled water (for drinking) which can be transferred to the refrigerated hold in small quantities as and when requiredThe No.5 (Emergency Rations) hold is fairly full of UHT milk (it suffices and I've become tolerant of having it on my breakfast cereal) whilst the No.6 (Tinned Food) hold is rammed with all sorts of goodies!The next shop will be for snacks and lunchables
The object of the exercise is to only have to shop for fresh whilst we're away.
One extant problem is that Tesco are once again on their "we can't get Kwells" nonsense. That means a trip to another chemists as I occasionally need them and so does Jane. Nothing else works for either of us so it's no use offering alternatives Tesco!
Watch this space for plans for our Sojourn to the Solent (and beyond) ...
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