Stowing the liferaft

I've had the liferaft stowed in the forward end of the cockpit for the past two seasons - it looked like this:

I made a temporary 'bridgedeck' that could be quickly removed but was strong enough to stand, or even jump, on.

This worked amazingly well, despite appearances.  That's why it lasted two seasons ...

The liferaft was safe and handy, and I had a useful place to put dishes and other utensils while standing at the galley. It also made sitting across the forward end of the cockpit more comfortable.

However, it wasn't ideal - the cannister was in the way a bit for the helmsman (on the rare occasions that I was manually helming ...), and the advantages of the 'bridgedeck' could be achieved with a smaller structure.

Also, I'd seen a Rival 34 (Southern Rival) with the liferaft stowed very conveniently just in front of the mast, in a location rarely needed for anything else.

So now it looks like this:



It was after dark (4pm) by the time I finished up.

I have a couple of things to tidy - I'm not too happy with the quick release strap supplied with the cradle.

Gimbal tamer.

I've never had the cooker right out on Raasay. The space behind it needed a good clean, and I wanted to fit a device to stop it gimballing when it wasn't required. I might call this device 'the toaster', because it allows the oven door to be opened without tipping the contents of the oven, as well as anything standing on the hob, into the cook's lap.

Taking things apart more often might be a good idea. Here is something that looked very disturbing:

The thought that I'd been sailing around for two or three years with this apparent repair hanging down the back of the cooker made me feel quite lucky. In a bad way.

Further exploration showed the armour to be intact, but to have been rubbing on the back of the stove - thus the semi-protective (or wishfully protective?) electrical tape. I looked to see if there was a way of rigging the link so that it wouldn't rub, but came up with this solution instead:

It will take a very long time to rub through, and should terrify any future owner at least as thoroughly as the tape terrified me. The blotch is glue from an old label, not the consequence of some mishap.

Cleanup in progress:

I didn't boil the water before removing the stove, but had, as normal, decanted the remains of the morning kettle into a flask. Luckily.

Here's the outcome - an open oven door, thanks to my very nautical arrangement of string and cleat:

And then I made a toasted cheese sandwich. A safe toasted cheese sandwich.

Talking heads: unpleasant tasks ...

I installed a holding tank in Raasay soon after bringing the boat home. I was on a swinging mooring in a tidal estuary with a public beach ...

Also several hundred seals, mind you. Not sure about that one.

Anyhow:

Since the installation, I've never quite managed to stop the heads from backfilling. I have high loops, a tank vent, and a siphon break, but still get occasional problems. Also smells. I know the non-return valves in the pump should stop this, but they really don't look like they're meant to be a tight seal.

I can always give the bowl a quick pump with the lid open, but generally the need for this only reveals itself just after a tack on a hard beat. Not when I have a moment that needs filled up with a little job. So to speak.

So, one of today's objectives was to fit a separate non return valve close to the pan. I wasn't looking forward to it.

At the planning stage (ever optimistic) I imagined doing this by reaching behind the bowl, but on site it was obvious I was going to have to take everything out to get at it well enough to do the job properly. Advanced stage 1 looked like this:

Unfortunately (?) I haven't been able to photographically represent the smell.

A little later things looked like this:

And the whole boat, plus a considerable part of Inverness Marina, now smells of Milton.

Preliminary tests suggest that this will solve the problem. I discourage the disposal of toilet paper via the heads (a convenient polythene bag is provided), so everything which isn't the byproduct of a medical emergency should pass through.

I'm sure there will be a few brisk Spring days which will test the theory ...