15/11/12 - Captain Simon,Tenacious

After a bit of a break on Sunday afternoon, we were back at it come Monday.
The engineers were busy getting the rudder ready to move - the first time it's been off since the ship was built. The first coat of primer was applied to the mainmast partners (the "ring" around the mast at deck level)
- that's the first paint applied in this maintenance period, but elsewhere, the paint was still being removed from the yards. The workbench in the Bosun's store has been put back together, all the curtains were removed to be cleaned and preparatory work was done in the Hot galley prior to re-painting the floor.

Tuesday brought a change from sanding for several people. The cable lockers needed emptying of the mud accumulated over the last three years, the void space under the Bosun's Store had to be emptied and the tumble drier had to be repaired after someone decided the operating instructions didn't apply to them! That, unfortunately, has put the engineers back by a whole day - though it's probably had its most thorough clean in some years! The rudder's blade was craned ashore, leading several people to comment that it doesn't look quite as big when it's lying on its side as it does when it's towering over you in the dock. The deck of the Hot Galley was painted and the Prep Galley was readied for painting.

Second Engineer Mick finally got into the port day tank (a diesel storage
tank) on Wednesday to clean and inspect it. Once that's all buttoned up again, he'll do the same on the starboard one. We'd planned to lift the port boat crane ashore this afternoon to work on it in the shed, but the yard's crane couldn't quite get in position because of the braces, so that's going to have to wait for tomorrow. One coat was applied to the Prep Area deck this morning and after dinner, Ted and Ashley got in there and put the second coat on.


So there we are, that's the first ten days or so of this docking. The weather's been not bad so far. We've had some rain - surprise, surprise - but we've also had some sunshine and the last few days have been bright days with light airs and surprisingly warm. We've had a couple of visitors too, it's been great to see Sue Kenny again. She was the ship's first MP, she lives down this way and has been coming in to help MP Stef. Nigel Davies, a BM who also lives round here, has been in to help and we hosted the first meeting of what is hoped to become the new Pembrokeshire Branch. So, all-in-all, we're keeping busy and getting on with lots of work. I'll try to keep the updates going every few days and let you all know what we're up to.

Simon
Captain