Slowly but surely

Hello symphonic fans - hard weekend at work on Elise for a change...And still loads to do but we are definitely seeing the end of it and resolutely crossing off items on the list. From bow to stern, we:

• Secured all the "lids" on the V-berth with a combination of bungee cords, wooden 'sticks' through the hole of the lid and sometimes a padeye or similar fitting for the cord in the cubby hole
• Secured the stove with a nice big bungee so it doesn't go flying if we are upside down
• Latched firmly the two batteries - they ain't going nowhere unless the entire bow is moving in that general direction
• Secured the 'head' (read bucket) to its fittings
• Added a nice "hook" out of place and behind thick cable so it's not a danger to anyone for practical reasons (say, we need to hang a flashlight or something)
• Tied the "lantern" (battery-operated camping lantern) by the stove at the v-berth to provide light. It is unlikely that we will need a lot of light there but it is handy to have ready at our fingertips if we do need some. Remember, everything has to be easy when you are sleep deprived
• Taped the through-hull plugs close to the through-hulls, in a nice ziplock bag
• Revamped the safety 'drawer', with new cool gadgets such as a 1x1 m orange flag ready to be displayed on deck if need be as per the rule, more spares, etc...
• Secured the top of that drawer with strong velcro
• Secured the nav table lid with a little mechanical aid
• Drilled some holes to secure the SSB to the nav table
• Cleared the nav table so it contains only the items we really need...
• Installed mesh pockets for 1) various items such as sunglasses or a flashlight which we just need to drop when we check something quick at the nav table 2) all of our spare gloves, etc... 3) cooking ustensils (pretty basic...) 4) toiletry items 5) misc, not assigned and put a bunch of sticky plastic hooks that can become handy...
• Installed rolled up flags on the starboard side along the cables we are running...
• Bought all of the missing flares we need
• Wrote 'Elise' and added some reflective tape on our spare lifejackets and other various buoyancy equipment (that was a hard job...)
• Find new ways to stow equipment that is safe, easy to access and more open (the cubby holes were getting very damp and retaining humidity): dock lines and tow lines and winch handles and jewelry bag (no we don't carry jewelry, this is what we need to rig the boat up, turning blocks, etc...) under the port settee. Lines are hanging off the MOB tube also on the port side. Tools + spare parts under the port-side settee
• New anchor + 14 ft of chain + aS 200 ft of 3-stranded nylon anchor line...now stowed next to the engine...m njuumh (that was Hershel the cat's literary participation to the adventure)
• Finished installation of the wireless remote control for the regular auto-pilot
• Devised a way to secure the cooler to the floorboard and ensure that the lid doesn't open up all of the sudden
• Fixed the floorboard (one of the mechanical fittings to keep it in place had to be replaced)
• Got a Rambo-like dive knife which will be used as a cockpit knife as a safety measure: if lines need to be cut, crew that needs to be disciplined, you know, this type of things...
• Got a 50 ft throw line
• Got a nice little stroby-looking light for the lifesling with the most annoying "test" mode...
  
• Ordered a 'light list' from the Coast Guard
• Finalized our celestial navigation package: almanach 2008, universal plotting sheet, reduction tables...we have the tools already, including the sextant
• Got our borrowed first aid kit (it's not a first aid kit, it's a portable hospital)
• Got a new pole (we are using the old one as a spare)
• Got a new spare halyard (the other one chafed)
• Put some anti-chafe tape at the end of the spinnaker halyard
• Got a nice second reefing line and installed it
• Got some cool pockets to keep lines out of the way and installed fittings for them
• Did some varnishing for the emergency tiller...
• Devised and built a nice way to get two of our solar panels operational! (Kudos to Nathan)
• Got delivered pizza directly on the boat, on the trailer...
• Ordered a second bucket as per safety rules
• Got a boat drogue (drogues are not designed to stop your boat unlike sea anchors. They hang off the stern and slow down your progress downwind)
• Got a 5-gallon gas can...

Still a bunch of things to do...but getting there! Inspection deadline is July 3rd so last leg before the finish on boat prep!