And then it was spring

Wow, what a difference a day makes. Suddenly the sun felt warm, and it was out there in the sky with no clouds to blanket it. Even the wind decided to die down a little. Just lovely. It was so nice that the people in the local Tesco seemed happier too. Not happy, just happier.

We used the nicer weather to start on some exterior cleaning and maintenance work. Firstly, replacing the water pump impeller in the RIB outboard (you have to drop off the gearbox and drive shaft to get to it) and then going for a hooligan "burn up" in the bay area to check that all was well after the Captain / amateur mechanic's attention. Luckily (amazingly?) it was. If you really must know how to do it / see what an outboard looks like dismembered, try this: Yamaha outboard water pump video which is at least introduced by a very nice girl (bet that ups the hit rate!)

For those who cannot be bothered to see a video, it looks a bit like this:

After such a wet winter, the teak trim on the transom, bathing platform slats and the steps to the flybridge needed a good clean. They were nice and green so a scrub with the 2 part cleaner stuff was in order. A lovely job but satisfying once done as the green hued teak returns to a nice original colour:

Of course, a warmer day also means polishing - this time the hull was the lucky recipient of our elbow grease. Such a wild lifestyle this boating. Still, we view it as preparing for a nice summer in new locations - assuming we have a summer of course.