We slept extremely well and it was nearly nine before I arose and got the kettle on. Suitably fortified by tea and coffee we set about the days tasks.
The first job was to empty the cleaning solution from the main water tanks and give them a thorough flushing. This job is made easier on Erbas because the previous owner fitted a hose connector on the pipework beneath the cabin sole
This means we can fill and flush the tanks from the bottom as well as from the deck fillers. It does mean taking the marina hose off the tap and substituting our own which has Hozelock connectors.
With that job sorted, Rik set about several electrical tasks whilst I looked at a couple of alterations to things around the cabin
In no particular order, Rik changed the choc block connectors on the new sump pump over to crimp and heat shrink connectors. I had to bodge it when I installed it but it wasn't very satisfactory given that it would only have taken a modest influx of water to short out the wiring thus killing the very pumps that should be dealing with the leak!
With that done, Rik then set about fitting the new solid state level switch to the engine bay bilge pump. This replaced the typical Whale / Rule of (the latter in this case) standard ubiquitous float switch that never, ever, works properly or even at all for very long.
I, meanwhile, decided that the Gypsy Moth wick lamp on the bulkhead at the forward end of the port settee had to go
People are forever clanging their heads on it so I decided to move it onto the end of the bookcase and see if that worked
Not only does it look better, the light will be in a more useful place and happily it turns out not to get caught when moving between the saloon and the heads. The only snag is that if we were significantly heeled to port the glass chimney could bash the bookcase end so if we're out on rough conditions we'll have to remove it and stow it safely.
Flushed with that success, I turned my eye to the mounting of the chart plotter.
The swivel arm, made from a modified swivel bench clamp, was a practical solution if not a particularly elegant one. I could live with that but the plotter, however you stowed it, always seemed to be in the way of access to the chart table and quarter berth.
As Rik seems to have settled on the quarter berth as his preferred place to sleep (awkward to get in and out of it may be but it's longer and cosier than the saloon berths) this had gone from being a nuisance to being an annoyance.
Removing the swivel bracket and moving the wooden arm to pivot off the bottom of the radio housing with the plotter bracket attached to it made for a much neater setup
The only drawback we can see so far is that the display can't quite be tilted far enough back for the optimum viewing angle when standing at the helm. Whether this will be an issue remains to be seen, if it is we'll work out a solution.
A final task for the day was to untangle the sounding lead line and wind it onto the hand reel of the crabbing line I bought the other day and (the crabbing line itself being discarded).
Before...
After...
At least there's a fighting chance of it actually being usable if it's ever needed in a hurry.
Then we realised that there was one more job to knock off before knocking off. Rik had positioned the cardboard template for the new cockpit bag on Saturday but rain had stopped play. Now, finally, the rain had stopped briefly so we quickly set about drilling the holes and screwing in the four hooks the bag attaches to.
Should be very useful for the helmsman to keep his or her bits and bobs in. Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as it could be and we're going to have to make small cutouts in the timber of the cockpit duckboard so that it can be removed for cleaning from time to time.
At last it was time to tidy up and think about food. There wasn't a very long debate before we decided to eat at the pub. We'd earned it!
A pleasant evening of good food and good beer and good conversation ensued before first Rik and then a while later I wandered back to the marina and then to bed.
The first job was to empty the cleaning solution from the main water tanks and give them a thorough flushing. This job is made easier on Erbas because the previous owner fitted a hose connector on the pipework beneath the cabin sole
This means we can fill and flush the tanks from the bottom as well as from the deck fillers. It does mean taking the marina hose off the tap and substituting our own which has Hozelock connectors.
With that job sorted, Rik set about several electrical tasks whilst I looked at a couple of alterations to things around the cabin
In no particular order, Rik changed the choc block connectors on the new sump pump over to crimp and heat shrink connectors. I had to bodge it when I installed it but it wasn't very satisfactory given that it would only have taken a modest influx of water to short out the wiring thus killing the very pumps that should be dealing with the leak!
With that done, Rik then set about fitting the new solid state level switch to the engine bay bilge pump. This replaced the typical Whale / Rule of (the latter in this case) standard ubiquitous float switch that never, ever, works properly or even at all for very long.
I, meanwhile, decided that the Gypsy Moth wick lamp on the bulkhead at the forward end of the port settee had to go
People are forever clanging their heads on it so I decided to move it onto the end of the bookcase and see if that worked
Not only does it look better, the light will be in a more useful place and happily it turns out not to get caught when moving between the saloon and the heads. The only snag is that if we were significantly heeled to port the glass chimney could bash the bookcase end so if we're out on rough conditions we'll have to remove it and stow it safely.
Flushed with that success, I turned my eye to the mounting of the chart plotter.
The swivel arm, made from a modified swivel bench clamp, was a practical solution if not a particularly elegant one. I could live with that but the plotter, however you stowed it, always seemed to be in the way of access to the chart table and quarter berth.
As Rik seems to have settled on the quarter berth as his preferred place to sleep (awkward to get in and out of it may be but it's longer and cosier than the saloon berths) this had gone from being a nuisance to being an annoyance.
Removing the swivel bracket and moving the wooden arm to pivot off the bottom of the radio housing with the plotter bracket attached to it made for a much neater setup
The only drawback we can see so far is that the display can't quite be tilted far enough back for the optimum viewing angle when standing at the helm. Whether this will be an issue remains to be seen, if it is we'll work out a solution.
A final task for the day was to untangle the sounding lead line and wind it onto the hand reel of the crabbing line I bought the other day and (the crabbing line itself being discarded).
Before...
After...
At least there's a fighting chance of it actually being usable if it's ever needed in a hurry.
Then we realised that there was one more job to knock off before knocking off. Rik had positioned the cardboard template for the new cockpit bag on Saturday but rain had stopped play. Now, finally, the rain had stopped briefly so we quickly set about drilling the holes and screwing in the four hooks the bag attaches to.
Should be very useful for the helmsman to keep his or her bits and bobs in. Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as it could be and we're going to have to make small cutouts in the timber of the cockpit duckboard so that it can be removed for cleaning from time to time.
At last it was time to tidy up and think about food. There wasn't a very long debate before we decided to eat at the pub. We'd earned it!
A pleasant evening of good food and good beer and good conversation ensued before first Rik and then a while later I wandered back to the marina and then to bed.
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