The boat list begins. Today I started on the battery issues, cleaned the bilge, and met with the welder to design new davits. The bilge has been something bothering me forever. There is just a ton of gunk in there because the cockpit lockers actually drain from outside into the engine compartment. So stupid I can’t even comprehend, but something that won’t be properly fixed until we haul out and I can go to work on all of our through hulls, including adding them in for this. Anyway, to really get the bilge cleaned out required me to contort my body, twist my neck, and reach as far as I could with my left hand’s middle and index fingers, then extricate myself with what little I had grabbed, throw it away, and repeat. I was filthy by the end of that one. But hey, I did manage to grab that fuel pump I dropped down there months ago.

The welder and I came up with what I think will be a much happier solution for me. Right now I hate the dinghy davit system because it requires so much stinking work. The new set-up will make lifting the dinghy, with motor still attached, much quicker and easier. Making the thought, “Should we put the dinghy in the water for just this one night?” a question of the past. It will also allow plenty of room for solar panels whenever we get around to that project.

Meanwhile Ali has been on a rearranging and throwing crap out binge. I’m one of those people that even after a year or two on the boat still have to open three drawers in order to find a pair of scissors, so to up and rearrange everything on the boat is just plain cruel. But hey, stuff is going in the garbage too, and in my mind that’s always a good thing. We’re both happier with empty drawers anyway.