May 13-14, 2023 - Friday/Saturday

Friday began with washing down the staysail.  To do this, I raise the sail in increments, spraying both sides with water as I go.  Then let it drip-dry in the sun before lowering it and stowing it on deck.  All sails pick up dirt (near shore) and salt when out on the water.  Cleaning this off when convenient helps make sails last longer and look better.  I also made some adjustments to the sail tack hardware (where the sail attaches to the deck.

Next up was another radar reflector.  This one I brought down with me to augment the one already on the boat.  The new one was an octahedron style and made of aluminum pieces.  It folds up flat, so is handy for shipping.  I now have three radar reflectors.  Overkill perhaps, but I do want to be seen!

Pierless' radar reflectors

I spoke with Ruben, a local guy who does boat canvas work and can repair sails.  He will drop by and take a look at my sail and see what he can do.  I also picked up some adhesive I can use if I need to make the repairs myself.  

Saturday morning I installed my new bilge pump and tested it out.  Of course, the hose fittings on the pump did not match the old pump, so I had to look through my plumbing adapters to find one that would work.  Fortunately, I did have one onboard, so was able to finish this project without a trip to the hardware store.  The installation went well and I was pleased when I tested it.  I think it pumps at about twice the rate as my old pump!

New bilge pump installed.

I spent the rest of Saturday going over the rig in preparation for sailing on Sunday.






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