It’s been a long time since the last update!
Not all wasted time, but … yeah, there’s been a lot on. And another lockdown. And, and, …
Cushions: The existing coverings were stripped off, the old foam “sanitised” (tempted to burn it, TBH!) and re-covered (with an additional inch of foam to make them more comfortable. They’re not in the boat yet, still a deal more cleaning and sorting to do before the “nice bits” go in.
Ceilings: The old coverings have been stripped off, but new ones not yet put up. Been doing the research into what I’ll need to do (and if there are suppliers who will do it for me!)
Floors: New rubber-backed carpet is ordered, and arrived, and now at the boat; but, … see below.
Electric conversion, it’s happening. Lots of number crunching has been done to work out what’s needed – from prop efficiency calcs, hull drag calcs, estimates of efficiencies, etc etc. It’s given me a clearer idea of what power / speed of motor to go for, and what will be needed in terms of batteries to have a given range / duration. But to be honest, until the thing is in and working, any estimate of power use at cruise speed (or speed at max power) is just that – an estimate. An educated guess. Still, parts are ordered (motors, controllers) and are on their way from overseas. But not here yet. Now for that nervous wait…
It’s not all roses, though.
Bad news. Water in her again – clearly not all leaks have been fixed. Not too much, and considering it’s been over 4 months, so it’s not that bad. Some investigations to be carried out when I can bail it out (it’s collecting in the under-floor compartment, there’s a small crack between that and the under-fridge compartment which is why I found it, so it could be from either the new stopcocks, from the other transducer in there, or from the other end somewhere if there’s similar leak paths from that end…) But it’s hard to get it out – there’s no access to that compartment! There is a little water in the bilges, as you’d expect (from the prop shaft, I expect) but which end did it come from?
Bah!
