We arose early today, another nice day in Marina Taina. I began working on removing the structure surrounding the engine. The engine is hidden beneath the dining table, with a folding top, a few drawers under, a layer of soundproofing, and the cavity for the engine. Three sides of this structure are removable, albeit with difficulty!

The screws were stainless and had been in place for 35 years. For some reason, rather than drilling oversized holes for the threads to easily fit through the wood rails, they had been screwed through the rails and into the floor.

We worked through lunch and into the afternoon, and I had removed 9 of the 10 screws. Ah, but that 10th! In the end, nothing but drilling would remove it, so I began.

Conni and I have learned about solving problems by going to the "low-hanging fruit" first, and I should have do that. I was trying to charge a small hand drill on our small inverter but I couldn't manage it. After a hour of disassembling the charging base and trying various things, I looked at the inverter and realized that Mr. Physics had overlooked the on/off switch. Duh! I flipped it on and the drill battery began to charge.

After an hour's drilling the screw head was gone and I could pry off the frame. Done!

A cold shower, cocktails, and dinner topped the evening.

Tomorrow at 0800, the work begins. Photos and description when I can.