Restoration Project 5

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It's been a little while since I last posted a blog entry about our restoration efforts but after returning from what I anticipate will be our last trip to the boatyard this calendar year, it seems an appropriate time to bring you up to date.

The engine awaiting connection
The new bright red engine and associated mechanical parts (note my lack of technical detail) were finally commissioned in September when the boat was launched off, passed her float test and returned to the yard so that we could continue working on her.

The new propeller

The gas cooker has been rehung, the gas locker properly vented and the topsides have  been repolished and minor defects on the deck reglassed. The new toilet, an automatic bilge pump and the replacement seacocks have all been fitted too.

In August we began to paint inside the lockers but the temperature is now against us in this connection, meaning that painting and varnishing are instead a project for 2019 although we have brought home several doors and panels to potentially work on at home.

We are still storing the berth cushions (now back in their covers) in our house too, but thankfully the parfum de diesel is an odour of the past. Indeed on this trip the overwhelming scent on board was of the glue used to fix the newly resealed windows.

Mister E has been planning the rewiring of the boat from our dining room table which has been piled with diagrams and switch panel templates for weeks. This latest trip was therefore an opportunity to concentrate on electrical issues including the fitting of a new battery box which he has constructed. Well actually I wasn't allowed to interfere to begin with and denied my role as supervisor, foreman and whiphand, I was initially deployed to clear leaves from the deck. The boat is now outside, hence the leaves, but at least I had a wonderful view!

Leaves gathering under the toe rail and behind cleats 


The view from deck across Loch Crinan
Days are so much shorter in Crinan even than at home at this time of the year and with no heat in the sun until after 11am and it dropping quickly from 3pm, Mister E, either taking pity on my cold stance with dustpan and brush or else conscious that he was running out of daylight, did eventually promote me. Armed with a pair of wire clippers I was allowed to assist in the tracing of the wiring from the existing switch panel and then, where it was clearly no longer needed other than as a messenger line, to snip it and remove the associated cabin lights. Yes I got to twist a screwdriver too!

Corroded motor for the anchor windlass
We made a futile attempt to remove the old, corroded anchor windlass. Mister E used bolt croppers to disconnect its cabling but I was still consigned to leaf duty at that point and required to do no more than hold the cable straight for cutting. Thankfully he has a steady hand and there are no injuries to report but the motor remains in place held securely by its ageing bolts .

The wires removed on a previous trip
The site for the new switch panel
Before: Wires to the lights and stereo speakers
After: The only remaining wire to one set of cabin lights after I had been let loose with the snippers
Ultimately we decided it was a successful trip having reduced the birds' nests of wiring down to manageable proportions and returning home without forgetting anything. The latter being a good marker for a triumphant retirement jaunt. 
Link to previous instalment: Restoration Project 4

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