OUT WITH THE OLD

I am still amazed that ten years after I converted to Electric Propulsion I still find items from BIANKA's diesel days around. The latest items were some MDR Diesel Water Zorb and a bottle of Valvtech Bio Guard. A reminder of just two of the ancillary items I use to carry on the boat to keep the old diesel engine running and are no longer needed once I converted BIANKA to electric propulsion.

What to do with these and other items I no longer have a need for on board BIANKA. I don't like to see anything end up in a landfill. The answer for me it is to donate them to a local nonprofit sailing organization. Their boat still has a diesel engine and can use these fuel tank additives. I previously donated an old Honda 650 generator to them and recently found the manual for it. I also donated a lightly used Brownies Third Lung Dive Hose Kit and a Add A Diver Kit . I only used the Hose Kit  a few times to clean the bottom of the boat. Because it required having a scuba tank on board that was heavy, took up space and needed to be refilled it was not as useful as I thought it would be. These items were on the boat and then sitting around the house for a decade or more. So with the coming of a new year it got me motivated  to finally get them out of the way. The end of the year is a good time for "out with the old and in with the new" type of thinking.

AN UNEXPECTED BONUS

It's nice when a project lends it's self to another project benefit. Such was the case with the cabin wood molding project I completed to cover up the handrail access openings. I thought that I might mount a fan to the molding at some point. But, then I thought that  the wood molding strip would also provide an excellent mounting place for ...

ANOTHER GEORGE ORWELL MOMENT ON BOARD

I had a frustrating few days on board recently. I ordered the new pressure switch for the boats washdown pump and it arrived in two days. I bought it to the boat and put it aside. When it came time to attempt the repair I could not find it. Then I had a sinking feeling that perhaps I had thrown the box with the part out with another empty box. I went through the trash bins at the boatyard and found the other box but, not the one with the pump part. I swore I threw out two boxes. Did someone see it and take it? Still not finding it on board despite looking everywhere from the cabin sole to the lockers. I finally gave up and ordered another forty dollar pressure switch kit. It arrived and I bought it on the boat determined not to lose like I did the last one. The next morning just after I woke up I noticed the box containing the original pressure switch was sitting on top of another box right under the table in the main cabin. Though I looked all over the cabin I never noticed it sitting on top of the empty inverter box. It was also no more than three inches from my knee when I was having dinner or using my laptop. As George Orwell said:

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." 

-George Orwell 

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ANOTHER "AHA" MOMENT ON BOARD: STORAGE

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." 

-George Orwell

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The other day I was hunkered down below in the cabin as the wind and a cold rain hit the deck. While nursing a cup of tea I had an "AHA!" moment as I thought about storage in the cabin, BIANKA has three storage lockers in the main cabin behind louvered doors like this one:

One is located amidships just aft of the galley area and is very accessible. It contains several items associated with the cooking and food serving and has done so since I purchased the boat fourteen years ago.  Items in the locker include a steamer (which I never used), paper plates, plastic utensils for guests (seldom on board) and spare storage containers:

The truth is I maybe open this locker once or twice a season. Meanwhile across the cabin and located in the aft end of the cabin behind the table is a locker I access weekly if not more. This locker contains my wiring and electrical tools as well as my ditty box for sail repair items :

Because it sits in the aft corner behind the table access is a bit of a pain. My "aha" moment came when I realized I should swap the contents of the two lockers. Once done I would have much easier access to the electrical and sail repair items I use weekly if not more often. It only took me fourteen years to come up with this plan. George Orwell was right!
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A LITTLE ORGANIZATION PLEASE

The winter was cold and wet so other than a few quick checks I did not spend much time on board. So the cabin pretty much stayed somewhat disorganized from the post Sandy cleanup:

As you can see there are some things that really have no place in the cabin. Like the fender thrown in as I was buttoning up before the boat was pulled it really does not belong in the cabin. Also the piece of Lexan that use to be secured to to the solar bimini but, was not secure enough to survive the 95 MPH winds of Hurricane Sandy should be out of here. So now that it's time to start getting the boat ready for spring outfitting a little organization might is in order:

 It may not look like much improvement but, dropping the table down and having better access to various tools and parts really helps me find things as I go around and do some spring boat maintenance. Once the boat is ready for launch then everything gets stowed away properly. But, for now having things very accessible is the plan