juggling boat projects

How many boat projects is too many?

At dawn I, applied the final coat of primer to the starboard side of the kayak hull.  Then Bud and I headed out the the boat yard to remove the windlass.  On the way back from the boat yard we stopped in the machine shop to check on the bobstay repairs. The repair is moving along and should be complete by the end of the week.

Once back and the house, Bud and I began to disassemble the windlass.  The removing the aluminum cover plate on the bottom of the windlass exposed a foul mass of fatigued grease that ranged in color from eft red to toffee tan to aged banana brown.  Salt water corrosion  had breached the plate in a couple spots so Bud volunteered to take the 1/8" aluminum cover home to Mooresville and fabricate a new one.

Lunch time internet research yielded exploded diagrams of the windlass assembly and an supplier in England that sells spare parts for the windlass.  Hopefully no replacement parts will be required.  A couple of the bolts refused to part ways with the windlass body.  Rather that force any fasteners I am attempting to encourage the bolts with afternoon applications of vinegar and an overnight soak in penetrating oil... remember replacement parts must be shipped from England don't want to force anything.

Reaching an impasse with the windlass, I turned my attention back the the head plumbing.  I did not have the time to remove all the valves and fittings from the hoses or the holding tank on Saturday.  So I brought the old hoses, fittings, and tank home to deal with them at a later date. 24 hours of curing in the backyard and the need to deal with cleaning the salvageable parts of our toilet plumbing would no longer be ignored.

A couple hours of removing hoses and scrubbing crevasses yielded the assortment of plumbing hardware pictured above.  The majority of the fittings removed from the plumbing are serviceable.  All the old hose is retired.

As  mid-afternoon thunderstorms begin to rumble, I return my attention to the kayak hull.  Baked in the coastal sun throughout the day, the morning's coat of primer now beckoned.  A session with some 220 grit sandpaper and the hull is ready for tomorrow's application of primer.  

So tomorrow's projects will start at dawn with the application of the final coat of primer on the port side of the kayak hull.