Transom Repairs

All the dodgy wood has been removed from around the starboard aft corner. John had to open up the deck to get to all of it. While it was clear the water was getting in under the rotten runner backing block, some water seemed to be getting in to the transom wood above the deck line. I worked this out today - it was through the ensign post socket. It was not properly sealed, and there was an old drain hole drilled through the wood under it, which would have previously gone into the lazarette, but now seems to just discharge into the transom timbers. Easy fix. Hopefully all will be 100% after this.

Decking opened up, new sections of packing wood partially laid in (it continues under the teak decking).

Sand, Varnish, Repeat.

Have started getting serious, sanding up the cabin sides in preparation for painting. Still loads of prep to do, but Rob and Sharon have put in many hours to get it this far.

 Have got four coats on the starboard cockpit. Weather has turned crappy again...

Behold, The Pumpinator!

OK, I know what you're thinking: it looks like a squid mated with a hose extruder and this is the mutant offspring.

But, while it may not be aesthetically pure (though to me it does bring to mind the induction manifold of  an early fuel injected Holden 308, which should make it beautiful in the eyes of some) it does work very well, delivering loads of water, great pressure, and near-silently, with the added bonus that if any pump should fail it doesn't matter, the water flow rate just drops by a third, and I can "hot swap" a pump if necessary.

The Home Stretch

Well, not really, but we are finally ripping into the starboard side brightwork. Sharon has done an awesome job stripping down the cockpit.