Saturday 9 Nov, HHN day 29: Sold the Avon dinghy, new lifting points fitted to the Highfield, feedwater pump rebuilt and twin Dysons mounted.
Avon dinghy has been advertised in various places over the last 4 weeks, yet no one came to look at it. And now, today, we have 3 people wanting to come see it all at once. And just as those arrangements are made, a fourth person snaps it up off ebay including immediate payment on PayPal! It never rains, then it pours! It turns out, the person buying it blind from Ebay actually lives on their boat on the very same pontoon as we are tied to. So the morning is introducing him to his new purchase, which he seems happy with, and making all the paperwork. Nice and easy. While it is a rather sad farewell to our faithful friend, it is also good to know that it’s gone and we don’t have to lumber it with Ray to try to sell it after we have departed.

So onto the new Highfield. The Wichard U-Bolts we ordered from Defender have already arrived this morning. It’s hard to believe how super-efficient Defender is, they are amazing. With the dinghy back in the water, I’m soon sitting in it drilling the holes in the shiny painted aluminum, for the bolts. Not a nice thing to do to a new dinghy, but there will be more modifications in the days to come. I then use cut-outs from an old plastic chopping board to make backup plates, so the stainless steel does not touch the aluminum of the dinghy. Once bolted into place and sealed with TefGel, we again try a lift to the davits and are very pleased to find the spacing now perfect. Phew!
Now to adjust those spliced dyneema strops made last night, making the length just right so that the top of the dinghy has solid contact with the underside of the davit arms. The dinghy needs to be super snug if it’s not to rock around when at sea. The next modification will be to glue on the Simpson-Lawrence rubber locking castles which ensure there can be zero lateral movement when Cloudy is healed over, bit between her teeth. This seems to have taken most of the day. Just where do these daylight hours go to?

After dinner, jobs turn again to the engine room where the feedwater pump for the watermaker is rebuilt, using the new shaft seals received from Pumpsonline in Florida. Who would have guessed we could procure parts for an Italian made 220VAC pump in the USA, AND have then delivered the next day? You gotta love American commercial efficiency. I don’t install the pump just yet though, not until it is tested, which will have to be improvised outside. I cannot test it in place, because that would mean pumping seawater through the water maker, which is currently pickled and needs to remain that way until we are back into clear seawater (i.e. NOT the Chesapeake!).

Lastly, still in the engine room the new Dyson vacuum cleaner is wall mounted next to the old one. Due to severe abuse by me, vacuuming up sanding dust etc. the old Dyson now sucks. Or rather, it doesn’t suck as it should do 😊 So this one is relegated to my use only and Oana will take charge of the new one …. With strict rules of household dust only. Once mounted we stand back and comment: there can’t be too many cruising yachts that boast 2 Dysons!