I have a list of small jobs to do on Passion X to complete some original task, to add crew requests and a small amount of routine maintenance.
The sticky back cable tie mounts on the bilge pump lines proved inadequate for the task so a small maintenance task was to replace these with some solid screw mounted ties and while the tiniest or jobs it is satisfying to have the pipe runs now very secure.
On the unfinished tasks list was installing the gland packing in the rudder stock housing. Now the gland is well above the water line and the high lube Vesconite bearing has minimal clearance so a negligible amount of sea water makes its way into the boat. Indeed there is still some dry sawdust on the floor but for the sake of good order I have installed the gland packing and secured the keeper with four stainless steel bolts nipped up just finger tight.
The crew has been very demanding of late and as if two spinnaker poles were not enough they wanted extra foot holds on the cockpit floor. I have been very pleased with my 850 mm wide cockpit but as Passion X heels a lot a central floor cleat for a foot hold seemed like a reasonable request. Today with Elaine’s help I installed the cleat and we will see if the effort was worthwhile.
A cleat for a foot hold on the cockpit floor.
After a long wait the replacement chartplotter is installed and protective cage completed. The cage had solid stainless steel rod across the face to protect the screen from the crew.
A protective cage for the chartplotter. It is removable so that the sun cover can be replaced after each outing.
I am more than half way through changing the dome nuts on the chainplates for nylock nuts. At launch last March the rigger said he would prefer nylock nuts as there is a chance that the dome nuts will pull up in the bolt instead of the flange. Now nothing has moved in the 18 months since launch but for the sake of peace of mind I am changing out the nuts and concede that some of the dome nuts were pulling up on the bolt instead of the chainplate.
The list is longer as I have still to install a small amount of furniture trim and do the final painting of the galley tops and chart table. Perhaps these will get done before Christmas.