Odd Jobs

There’s a never ending pile of little jobs that need doing before the summer cruise, not just things for the boat, but odds and ends around the house. Today has been typical of the sort of thing I mean.

I spent a large part of the morning working on my web sites in preparation for when I shall be away. Keeping a site up-to-date requires a fair amount of time and effort; it’s not only checking hundreds of links, but it’s playing around with the content, refreshing and adding new pages.

After lunch I was required as a chauffeur for my wife who had yet another hospital appointment; then it was time for some varnishing on the self-steering vane and paddle.

When that was finished I made three visits to the local garage for the yacht’s diesel fuel which I carried home in five small plastic containers. I find it’s best to use small ones because they can be carried more easily and stowed more easily. Pouring the fuel into the yacht’s main tank via a filtered funnel is more easily done when using a small can. Using a large can at sea, except in the calmest of conditions would be impossible and there’s nothing worse than spilled diesel over the cockpit seats and floor.

Next, the lawn was in need of a severe cut, but as the grass was somewhat wet I had to manually clear out the cutting box after every second row. All that bending, lifting and pushing sure helps keep one fit.

The antifouling will be the next pressing job, but tomorrow’s forecast is poor, therefore I’ll probably have to sort it out on Thursday with two coats of International Cruising Uno antifouling – not cheap at £80-00 a tin! Fortunately, I have a spare tin left over from last season and a few dregs in other tins. That may be enough to cover the underwater area, including keels and rudder. The propeller would be better if it had some of that special resistant antifouling, but again, that will cost me.

There are a number of jobs my wife wants me to do before the cruise, such as cleaning the windows and buying a barbecue, but there will be others. Of course, there’s paperwork, like paying the yacht insurance and returning my DCA membership form. Social visits to relatives will also be on the agenda; then, what about the unforeseen?