Winter works 2016/17
So now back know the home mooring and I can start the list of jobs over the winter. One thing you can be sure off is nothing ever fixes itself so over the summer I have accumulated a list of around 20 jobs that need doing thus winter. As next year (April) is also time for the boat safety inspection some of the jobs will need to be prioritised.
It is also time for the boat to be blacked, and after investigating options I have put a deposit down on a slot to have the hull "zinc sprayed" at Debdale Wharf next November this should reduce the ongoing maintenance on the hull for up to 10 years and save money in the long term.
Two weeks ago I visited the boat to make a start on the jobs, by replacing the exhaust on 
the deisel boiler, only to find that there was a leak into one of the lockers and cupboard in the engine room. As both the engine and central heating pipes how through thus area it was not immediately clear which was leaking, or how the water could have spread as far as it did rather than just dropping just to the bilge. The wet locker has been emptied and left open to dry out ( a slow process at this time of year) and I ran the engine for an hour without any sign if a leak.
This weekend I returned to the boat and managed to get the boiler exhaust replaced and the air intake installed. The original exhaust was supplied as part of the boiler "kit" and includes a long silencer tube. This meant that the exhaust looped around in the engine compartment and sat on the top of the counter where it soaked up any water or oil, which then burns off the exhaust producing lots of potentially flammable fumes. The new exhaust is much shorter with a compact silencer and is mounted so that is held clear of the counter and lining. This along with the new air filter/intake now mounted inside the engine compartment rather than the bottom if the locker, means that the boiler is quieter in the cabin. One last bit is to lag the silencer and aluminium tape over the lagging to keep any splashes of water oil etc off.
1 job down 18 to go.
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