Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Elise Health Bulletin

Did some maintenance work on Elise this afternoon. Beautiful day for it and no one around.
  • fixed broken sheet bag
  • replaced broken clip for tiller extension
  • hooked up boat hook and oar alongside the starboard quarter berth (previously, they were just sitting on the floor under the berths)
  • emptied, cleaned and de-salted (boat soap and hosed off) the inside of the boat
  • rinsed off most salty boat items (lifejackets, cushions, lines etc...) and cleaned other interior fixtures (sink, etc...)
  • re-packed the 2nd spinnaker
  • partially cleaned the bilge
  • sanded and spray-painted blue the engine post
  • mounted a new way to adjust the backstay from the high side, without having to look back. Will try this. It's very easy to undo
  • Fixed a couple of scratches on the gelcoat on the cabin top (apparent fiber glass)
  • tried a 'restore the gloss of your gelcoat) in places where the gelcoat is patchy
  • applied teak oil/cleaner to all wooden surface
  • re-charged the battery
  • removed and cleaned uneeded items (stove, glasses, etc...)
  • put boat cover on to prepare her for the night

turns out that she might not need a bottom job yet (looks like the anti-fouling paint is still working) and apparently it is normal for paint that is designed to stay in the sun to lose its color. Sounds like it has to do with a high copper content.

As for the kink in the mast, the only solution would be to physically try to bend the mast back. only 40% success rate. It only affects performance, so I will wait for the rig to die of natural causes (hopefully) before I replace the mast. And I need to be careful not to tighten the aft lowers too much and not release the backstay completely to maintain some tension aft. I will probably change the rod before the next big ocean race for Elise.

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