More progress and a bonus

A successful day on several fronts. One unexpected bonus was that I got my trim gauge working. I had given up thinking the sender was kaput but I was doing a tidy of wires before I boxed in the panel behind the dash and I noticed...a stray power wire. Gauges do not work without power. I have no idea why I hadn't connected that but now it is connected and now the gauge works. So simple. This is what the wiring looked like before....

and this is what the heads looks like now.

With a handy access door

Next job was to fit the spring to stop the hatch slamming shut

Which bends out of the way when you shut the hatch

Finally I fitted some neat clips to hold the fenders on the rails. When I have to tie on or untie six fenders on my own before coming up the channel I can be swept a couple of hundred yards in the Langstone Run, clipping these on should make that job a doddle.

When I was looking for photos of Garry's galley in its finished condition I realised I hadn't any. Here are a couple of shots. I am really pleased with it.

How not to test a loo

Been quiet for a bit, family visits and all that but I have been doing a few jobs, including painting the heads with Jotun Hardtop two pack in white. I'll add a fiddle rail in teak rather than box in that useful shelf. I also plan to put a curtain over the door rather than a hard door as it is very cramped in there.

I tested the loo by pumping water in and pumping water out. All fine. On Sunday I decided to go fishing rather than spend the day fitting things so I headed out to find mackerel. No joy at all so rather than waste time I went straight to my mark and used frozen squid. Pretty soon I had a few small pouting so one went back down again barbecue-style. This is the result. First serious guts on the deck! 7lb 8oz

It went a bit quiet and an hour later something needed to be done Time to test the loo! What could possibly go wrong? Water pumped in fine. Did the deed. One pump. Fine. Two pump. Fine. Three pump. Resistance! Hard pump. And with that a 360 degree Catherine wheel of you know what came out of the back of the pump arrangement. I was then faced with a loo bowl full of brown otters and a speckled effect white Jotun loo cubicle. Nothing for it but to get bucket, rubber glover and bleach spray and get to work. Not great as by now it was blowing a beam F3. After all was cleaned up I left it until I got back to the marina before investigating further. Meanwhile I had caught another bass on BBQ pout! Result. When I finally got back in the berth, all I needed to do was tighten up all the screws on the pump and it pumped through fine. I may test it with something else, not poo, next though.

Various jobs and a short cruise

After a gap in reports due to a holiday, I spent a morning on Rebel Runner before taking her out on a little trip in the afternoon. I had been in California and among other toys I brought back a lure and trace holder, which I cut in two and fitted each side of the wheelhouse "wings". In fact, having reflected on how simple this is, it could easily be made from right angled plastic strip (less than £2 from B&Q) with small holes drilled in the sticking-out part and the flat glued to the boat with Sikaflex.

Next job was a simple one - I had applied for a Small Ships Register number and it arrived a while back. It has to be displayed in 30mm text on each side, so I ordered vinyl lettering from The Sign Man (who supplied the boat name lettering) . I applied them to the stern quarter.

The next job wasn't so easy. The hatch in the cockpit is a heavy beast and if it fell shut it could be dangerous. I bought a heavy-duty spring to hold it up but unfortunately there is nothing to bolt it to at the side of the hatch as the gutter forms the rim. I made up a block of wood and intended to glass it under the gutter. Have you ever tried glassing upside down underneath yourself, where you can't see the back of it? Worse, every time I put a layer of mat on it slumped down. Eventually I decided to do it in stages, here are two layers on, another to go then a flow coat. Who would have thought such a small thing was so tricky.

At 2pm the marina gate opened but it was blowing a good F5 and all the charter boats were tucked up in their berths. Fishing seemed unlikely. We have family arriving from the USA soon and I am required to transport some of them to Bembridge for a family meet-up, so I thought I had better do a trial run as I haven't been to Bembridge harbour for a while. Rebel Runner behaved perfectly heading into a very short sea and 20 knot winds, feeling very steady and surprisingly dry, most of the spray was deflected well astern. As you could have guessed, Bembridge on a Sunday in Cowes week was packed, it felt like the M25 going in. Once I found the visitor's berths I turned round, job done, only to find a 30 foot yacht reversing at 90 degrees across the channel which is about 30 feet 6 inches wide. I have no idea what was going on, I just found a gap and went through. I had heard mackerel were appearing at The Forts so I headed over. First drop, a mackerel, then nothing for the next several drifts but it was very uncomfortable in the wind. At least I could claim fish guts on that flashy deck at last! Back to the marina for a through clean down, now she's all ready for visitors.