Hi all,
Happy Emerald 30 day. That's when we started counting in months at Emerald 57. Superstition means that we can't bring forward the date, even though it should really be Emerald 18 day. Confused? We had originally planned for a July 2009 escape.... However things have moved and now July 08 looks more likely... hurrah! We don't want to tempt fate, so Emerald30 it remains. It changes on the 15th of the month, so it means I have 18 more pay cheques to go. A scary but somehow liberating thought!

Well I suggested we would go to the boat show last Saturday in my Friday blog, which we did, I have to say I miss the Earls Court London boat show, compared to Excel. It was much more intimate and exciting. Excel seems pretty sterile and well dull. The September Southampton boat show is much better for the serious yachtie I think.

Managed to get a couple of halogen spreader lights, two manual water pumps (one for fresh, one for salt) for the galley, some teak plates for the granny bar steps, and thinners for the special varnish we use. So excluding that not much else, apart from some great one pot Portuguese recipes at a cooker demonstration.

Then unbelievable we got up early-ish on Sunday and blessed with good weather got stuck in to some serious boat maintenance. I managed to achieve all the things I said on Friday! I think that must be a first!!! So I installed the mast pulpits!!!! I'm really chuffed that I got that finished, they look great and Emerald is starting to look like a really salty sea boat now. I was well nervous drilling holes in the deck!

I also managed to finish my little cockpit storage box, which has been a bit of a labour of love to say the least. It will be used to store things such as split pins, shackles, seizing wire etc, which are always needed in a hurry and nicely covers up the old Perkins engine instrument holes.

We also ordered some more Iroko (similar to teak but half the cost) to make our new windlass mounting, repair some water damage at the base of the bed in the aft cabin and make the posh-est jerry can lashing planks on the planet, varnished and all splendid, looking forward to those projects. Especially getting the anchor windlass installed out of the forepeak and on the deck where it belongs. And getting the jerry cans lashed properly so that the boat looks more and more ship shape and ready to go.

So looking forward to finishing off the plumbing as well, including new taps, pipework, tank switchover manifold and tank flow meter....
Also installing wind charger and solar panels before summer would be great and enable us to practice our cruising routines 'off the grid' so to speak.
Ahhhh the joy of old boat ownership......but sippin rum in the carib, I shall laugh at the job list, cos most of it will be done and Emerald future-proofed for another 10 years at least with hopefully only routine maintenance to do. I think it will take the 18 months to get everything finished the way I want to, including shakedown cruises and electronics testing, eg interfacing the gps to chart plotter, and then to the autopilot,..via laptop interface!! gosh I miss a hand held gps and hand held bearing compass!

Well must get this one posted. If you read this email me and let me know what you think. Put website in the subject to let me know you aren't a spammer (hopefully)

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