Remarkably Well

Much colder and less sunny than yesterday, but it did not rain. Knackered the saloon brush by sweeping out the grate while it was still hot.


Cleaned out the gas lockers, and let them dry, while I got to work on the roof's rust spots again. Aggressively went at it, and tried to get all of the covering between the handrails back to bare metal, but the budgie sand anti-slip paint is a sod to grind off. Underneath the layers of painted and filled bodges, the roof is in a surprisingly good condition. It looks virtually new. Peter strolled by, and said "She's really come up remarkably well".


Matt & Richie spent the day buffing up our 200K neighbour. Apparently, it is "lovely" inside. From what I can see, the dashboard resembles a passenger jet, with a million dials for the steerer to look at, from the comfort of their white leather padded armchair. Must be like sitting on the top deck of a bus. Not really my sort of thing. We're much more up close and intimate with the water.


After de-griming myself, I turned the plank that floated past the boat into something useful. Filled a 3.99 kindling bag with it. So I am well happy. And I also remembered Victoria, my grandmother, who taught me how to use the billhook.


The engine is being lifted out by the marina crane tomorrow.
"It will only take half an hour", Steve said.

Makes sense, then we will have more space to move around in the 'ole, and the bottom of the engine can be inspected. I thought it would have been a lot more hassle to remove such an integral part of the boat. But no, apparently not.