It has been a very productive and busy week in Grenada. While Bill continued to disassemble the engine room to access the fuel tanks, I continued working on repairing the helm station and removing window frames in preparation for the new windows. In order to get to the leaking fuel tanks, Bill had to remove all of the battery banks, the fuel filtration system, the solar and wind controller and a multitude of mystery wires. Then, he had to cut through the sound barrier wall to expose the tanks. Next, he will need to cut the tanks into small pieces so that he can get them out of the boat. The current tanks measure 3 feet by 3 feet by 5 feet. The builder built them into the boat so needless to say, getting them out is not fun. We will replace the old tanks with 4 smaller new tanks but they are still going to be a wrestling match to install. As for my window job, whoever installed the window frames wanted to be sure that they did not ever come off. I have chiseled, scraped, hammered, pulled and sacrificed some of my knuckles to the window gods. I believe they used tar to keep them in place. So, it has been slow going but as of today, one window down, four to go! I have also been repairing the helm station since we are replacing the old instruments with new. This repair involves fiberglass which is not one of my favorite things. I don’t mind the finishing part of the project but the laying of fiberglass is like trying to mold cotton candy wearing Velcro gloves. However, I was quite pleased with the initial efforts so now I will be moving onto sanding and painting.
We had a big step forward this week when the fuel tank fabricator called us to come to his shop for the initial inspection of the fuel tanks. He told us that he would pick us up at the dinghy dock so we assumed his shop was across the bay. We certainly did not expect his shop to be on a boat! It was quite the layout he had engineered and the good news was since our fuel tanks took up most of his workspace, we figured he’d be putting in double time to finish them. However, he did not work on them the day we went for the preview because it was his birthday so, of course, we had to buy him a couple of brunch beers to celebrate. I feel it is safe to say that he probably did not work on our tanks the day after his birthday either! We are adapting to the Grenadian ways more and more each week. We have really been having fun with their Covid “policies” that the local businesses must follow. First, they must take our temperature. Sometimes. Sometimes they just take one of our temperatures and the other person is a “gimme”. We swear that the thermometers are all set to one standard temperature. This week’s temperature was 33 degrees Celsius which is 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. So basically, dead. No matter where we went, one of us was 33 degrees Celsius. The next step in the process is to write down your name, address, phone number and temperature on a list. We assume it must be for contact tracing should that need ever arise but since there are only 5 active cases on the island right now (all incoming travelers that were pegged at check in) we generally have some fun signing the page. So far, we have been Horton Who, Minnie Mouse, John Galt, Peter Rabbit and several other whimsies that strike us at sign in time. As for the address, we put ‘boat’ and the phone numbers are whatever lottery combination comes to mind. Not one security guard has ever noticed. It’s the little things that get you through the Stupid on a daily basis! On Wednesday, we caught wind of $1 wing night at a neighboring marina. Who doesn’t love a wing for a dollar? The news got even better….it was 1 EC dollar which is .35 cents in US currency. Score! We spent Friday night listening to the tunes of the Leaky Seacocks again and eating barbeque chicken. Life is good! Please support one of my friends in her fight to cure Lupus! You can make a donation and get more information at this link: http://chapters.lupus.org/site/TR/WTELN/LFANorthCarolinaChapter?px=1110069&pg=personal&fr_id=2091 Thank you!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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