Since the last entry in this blog I have spent very few days working on the boat, as other things like family commitments and friends' celebrations have taken up a lot of my time. I did manage to sort the joinerwork in the forecabin, to clear the top of the largest locker so it will be easier to get sails in and out of it, and also to secure the locker tops, so that the cushions will be supported. All our horizontal-topped lockers on the boat now have Ikea slats on them rather than the original solid plywood panels. This reduces condensation when we sleep on the bunks, and also has the happy side-effect of making the contents of the locker easier to access. I'll devise a way of securing the slats in place before we set off on the long trip.

The house is full of boat parts freshly varnished, and ready to reinstall in the New Year. Yesterday the brand new water tanks arrived, brilliant white in colour, unlike the old dark blue ones. So now that we are both finally freed from employment and all our time is our own, we can tackle the rest of the refit once we get home from our week on Islay, with friends.

Meantime the boatyard have been busy working on our mast. We asked them to do a detailed report on the mast and standing rigging, and following their recommendations we have had the forestay replaced, the furling gear serviced, and the burgee pole replaced. The other things we wanted them to do were to put on mast steps (without which I couldn't see myself ever going up the mast, and one day it might be crucial that I should); to put on a combination downlighter and steaming light, a radar blipper, and replace the masthead lights with Lopolights. They have now completed this work, and the mast looks great. We can now get on with removing, mousing, washing and replacing the running rigging.

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