Spit and polish

Taking an extra weekend on Erin Mae meant a slightly different schedule for getting her ready for winter. In spite of Captain Ahab's comment on the 17th about a "winterisation lite" (thank you, Cap'n!), we'll probably not be back until April, unless…

Anyway, we got the chance to give her a polish.

I like this photo. You can see the enhanced reflections in the sides of the boat, but you can't see the scratches and worn bits which are going to have to wait to next year! I was also pleased with the process. We took Erin Mae across to the service wharf for a final pump-out and to replenish the diesel lost from the drippy water separator. Returning to our birth I backed her in with nary a touch on either side, so we could wash and polish the right hand side. Then I backed out again, turned around and came back in bows first to do the left hand side. All that manoeuvring was done yesterday, in the calm, given the great improbability of accomplishing any of it half so neatly in today's wind.

Also yesterday Steve from Kings Lock Chandlery rang to check that all was now OK with the diesel leak, and to say that he would gladly supply me with the equivalent amount of fuel next time I was passing through Middlewich – no time limit. You're a gentleman, Steve!

I've never understood how the "spit" in spit and polish was meant to work. Did it soften up the leather or the polish a bit? Anyway, on the assumption that rain spitting down when you're polishing a boat is less than helpful, we kept an eye on the sky while we got the task done, and didn't take a coffee break until it was done. Whether the nanometer or so of polish that actually remains on the surface when you've finished stands any chance of surviving the storm we're promised for Monday is another thing altogether.

And Monday is the reason for the ellipsis at the end of the first paragraph above. Clive Penny is going to bring his device for doing a final check on the inverter. If he is still stumped, then we'll probably call it a day and spend the winter wondering what to do next. But if his diagnosis suggests an immediate course of action, then perhaps we won't be packing Erin Mae down for the winter just yet.