Andrew went home today (Friday) and Sue and Steve sailed off for Symi so I am left alone! Andrew and I had a busy week, Andrew cleaning and polishing the hull so that it gleams like it never has since Paul and Cathy owned Mia Hara. I have been chasing up quotes for all the work that has to be done. On Wednesday we went in to Marmaris to see them test our liferaft, which has not been serviced for twelve years (they tell you that you should service it, at great expense, every year). I pulled the string and it blew up perfectly - and turned out to be enormous, an eight-seater. The flares, which expired in 1999, needed replacing as did the ebattery for the emergency light, but otherwise it just needed the gas cylinder refilling. On the way there we got lost (mainly because of the massive road works) and asked a construction worker the way. He popped out his iphone and checked the map, then phoned the company to check how to get there and, when the instructions proved a bit complicated he decided to drive us there.It turned out that he had lived in Manchester for a while. To get back, we scrambled through the road works. Yesterday evening we went in to town to eat with Sue and Steve for Andrew's (and their) last night. I had checked out a recommended Turkish restaurant, which turned out to be closed, so we went back to the Taj Mahal, the Indian restaurant where we had been earlier in the week. The owner, from Bradford, turned out to have lived previously in Foleshill in Coventry.
Thursday was the big day, with the old engine and fuel tank coming out. The engine came out fine, but the fuel tank got stuck on the steering cables. Rather than ask the crane to wait an hour or two while we freed the cables we decided to finish cutting it in half to get it out, but even then we still had to free the cables before we could shift it. I now have to clean the engine room, which is incredibly filthy with oil and grease. But first I had to get rid of the diesel smells in our bedroom from the leaking fuel tank by giving it all a very thorough clean with boiling water and washing up liquid, then degreaser, then bilge cleaner, then a heavy hose through. Tomorrow it is into the engine room up to my elbows in muck and stripping our all the old oily insulation ready to replace it.
Today it has rained all day. Fortunately Andrew remembered to put a couple of pans to catch the drips in the forepeak. Next week the hatch should be repaired so those sleeping there will no longer get a shower when it rains.
Lin comes on Monday, her birthday, so I hope to have it all spick and span and tidy before she gets here.
No pictures this time - nothing interesting to photograph - but here is a picture that Sue took of us under tow last week.
Thursday was the big day, with the old engine and fuel tank coming out. The engine came out fine, but the fuel tank got stuck on the steering cables. Rather than ask the crane to wait an hour or two while we freed the cables we decided to finish cutting it in half to get it out, but even then we still had to free the cables before we could shift it. I now have to clean the engine room, which is incredibly filthy with oil and grease. But first I had to get rid of the diesel smells in our bedroom from the leaking fuel tank by giving it all a very thorough clean with boiling water and washing up liquid, then degreaser, then bilge cleaner, then a heavy hose through. Tomorrow it is into the engine room up to my elbows in muck and stripping our all the old oily insulation ready to replace it.
Today it has rained all day. Fortunately Andrew remembered to put a couple of pans to catch the drips in the forepeak. Next week the hatch should be repaired so those sleeping there will no longer get a shower when it rains.
Lin comes on Monday, her birthday, so I hope to have it all spick and span and tidy before she gets here.
No pictures this time - nothing interesting to photograph - but here is a picture that Sue took of us under tow last week.
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