Day 19: Boat Maintenance and Dentistry

To service, maintain or repair kit on a boat, even at just 4 years old is essential for our safety on a 2000 mile voyage. There's no one here to do it for you and the sailing gear, engine and electrics must work.

An example was in jamming the furling main from the mast the other day; but that was a learning curve on winding it away carefully.

A port main sheet winch failed in use the other day, Peter the skipper dismantled the block to find that the sprung locking tooth had stuck simply through lack of winch grease. Re-greased and all is fine. So here we dismantled the starboard winch down to the teeth to grease and service the mechanism, picture. It's great to understand the working of these things and pre-empt any failures through routine maintenance.

The engine is of course regularly checked, I have value that diesel course now over 5 weeks ago!

Oil level, fuel filter with dirt and water check, auxiliary belt, fresh water coolant, drying the bilge etc.; picture.

We've also changed the battery, connected wires afters changing connectors, sorted anchor and bow bi-colour light bulb and terminals, replaced stanchions, attended to the failing hob ring and oven burner on the cooker, dried bilges, checked the tightness of the steering mechanism in the rear section of the boat accessed from the back of the stern cabins, adjusted cupboard locks and drawer runners when they become impossible to open, repaired a cabin door handle - the spring of which broke in rough water; all routine and ongoing!

Our ropes and lines are vulnerable, especially to abrasion. Peter had purchased some wide water pipe in Whitby which we have used here in Scrabster. Using washing up liquid we fed our lines through the pipe so that they are protected at the tugging hence abrasion points on the harbour wall as they are taking such strain in these high winds; picture. 24hrs later and ropes were adjusted allowing another section to take the strain.

SHIP'S DENTIST
You could say that part of boat care is also keeping the crew in good well maintained order. So, under the direction of Mike, who is our ship's orthodontist, a tooth repair was effected to Brian who was in pain from a lost filling. So with the emergency dental kit that Mike carries everywhere, the photogenic Brian can be seen having a temporary filling applied; a good photo for the mantlepiece!