Well not much time for blogging. we are on the final push now before getting out of Brighton for good.
The remaining job list is huge........ but we'll see how we go. I've added a few photos into the gallery..... Dinghy restoration, aft cabin and forward head. Tomorrow I hope to get the advanced regulator finally fitted. It is complicated but should reduce our engine hours a lot when battery charging. Monday should see the main engine serviced and Tuesday we'll begin tiling the forward head. Nichola is busy looking at charts, and building victualling lists and running the cabling for the alternator charge controller.

We've only a few more jobs to do on the dinghy and that'll be good to get finished.

I'll try and blog some more soon as the pace to departure increases
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Busy Busy Busy!!!

Well we are now down to the wire...... I've rejigged the forward hanging locker to hold the multitude of tools we've aquired over the last 5 years refitting the boat, and Nichola painted it.

Nichola has been busy researching our possible Baltic trip (thanks Adrian for all the info) and also looking to put together our ships medical cabinet properly with splints, sutures (knit one pearl one...) and some useful drugs, but no class A's as the paperwork isn't worth the hassle! We'll carry a couple of courses of antibiotics and perhaps lignocaine as well for stitching.......

I've also been installing the holding tank and as all things on Emerald, that involved dismantling .... the steering, draining the engine, draining the heating system, moving the engine start battery, disconnecting the 110V transformer, removing the cockpit locker floor...... getting the tank in, then replacing it all again. Once the tank was in we had to run the pipework, and install the macerator pump, and changeover valve in the engine room, and wire everything to the switch panel.

Now this part is complete we have to work out the plumbing in the head, then finally we'll tile it this week.

That leaves us an engine service, and a few improvements in line runs for the furling gear to reduce fiction, and sort out our new hard dinghy, if we can get some warm weather so the epoxy paint will set properly!

Then pack the boat and head east!!!

slainte
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Well,

We have about two months left before leaving Brighton (again!) but this time fingers crossed for good on our open ended travels.

We've been struggling to fit everything in, with redecorating our rental properties (thanks tenants!) and trying to get through our winter jobs list..... now drastically reduced to only the absolute necessities, plus the 'parts' to complete most of the remaining cosmetic work as time and weather permits as we travel.
Realistically that will take probably another two or three winter seasons....of full on boat improvement work.

However despite the seemingly endless rental house bills and lack of time/money we wouldn't swap our lifestyle for anything!!! What value do you put on freedom? As a wise person once said:-

my worst day as a cruiser is a thousand fold better than my greatest day in the office....


not much else to say apart from that eh?!

Photo of a sunny lazy day at anchor. Perfect!

slainte skip

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