The end of the summer left me thinking as usual of the work I might need to do over the Winter. I knew that the fuel tank was leaking so this was something I would have to replace. I also wanted to put roller reefing on the staysail as Anne and I were using it more, especially in heavy conditions. We set a timetable of the Autumn for the roller reefing and January for the fuel tank.The roller reefing was complicated and I removed the old system which was on the forestay to put it onto the inner stay. That meant removing the forestay, dismantling the system completely, getting new fittings made to connect to the inner and then instal on the inner.

Unfortunately when we tried to use the existing staysail on the new roller, we found they were incompatible. So that meant we needed a new sail to be made. More expense as a result. .... So I got Watson sails to make a new sail in bright orange as it could double as a storm sail. I was hoping to get the sail made before Anne and I went sailing for New Years but it wasn't ready until the end of January. The important thing was the work was completed in time for the boat to be sailable over the Xmas holidays. We got away for 1 week in warm conditions, just lacking breeze. On the first evening we discovered the main battery bank was dying so the 4 batteries would have to be replaced. Yet more expense......

When we got back from the trip we started into removing the old tank. It is made of stainless steel and was fibreglassed in under the cockpit floor. So first I had to cut out the floor with an angle grinder. Then I could see that expanding foam had been user to lock the tank in position. I had to hack out as much of that as I could but to get access to it, I had to cut the top off the tank, and cut out large chunks of the tank. The whole process took more than 2 days before we were able to lift it out. Once it was out, Anne took over in cleaning up the place where the tank had been. This area hadn't been visible since the boat had been built so you can imaging the amount of gunge etc which came out of that space. Anne had to scrape away all the old expanding foam which took quite a while.

Once I could climb down into the space the tank had been, I was able to examine the steering mechanism and wiring. I found a lot of corrosion on the main steering linkage which connected the wheel to the rudder, a heavy piece of iron. So I had to take it off and get it remade professionally. I was able to remove old wiring and make sure everything else worked properly. At this stage Anne thought that we should do something about heating on board. We use a kerosene heater when we are not hooked up to mains electricity but the smell of the kerosene was getting to her. With the tank out, this was the ideal time to instal a new system. So more expense but it would make the boat more comfortable to spend extended time on in colder environments.

So I am now awaiting the arrival of the new tank. The new heating system arrived yesterday but will have to be installed and then tested. After that, the new tank will have to be installed, secured in place, and all pipework renewed. We are well into the work but an end is in sight. The joys of boat ownership......