Day 287 Odd jobs

Here's a picture of our stem fitting that holds the anchor and the large roller furling Genoa sail at Zephyrs bow.  The other day, while inspecting Zephyr, we found that the two bolts that you see in the picture were not fastened on properly.  Both require a cotter pin that goes through the nut as well as the shaft of the bolt.  This keeps them from ever coming off and causing gear failure some time down the road--or sea if you will.  Neither of ours had these cotter pins.  I guess I missed them when I inspected the boat before we launched her back in October.  We found that the top bolts nut was about to fall off and the bottom one was too tight and was keeping the big wheels on the bow that the anchor line goes through to bind up and not turn as they should.  Out comes the box we have of cotter pins and problem solved.  A lesson learned--inspect your boat often to see what may be going wrong even if you haven't taken her out sailing.

I went out shopping for the stainless steel bolt and nuts I need to "lock" the anchor to this same stem fitting.  It goes right through a hole in the shank of the anchor.  It needs to be stainless steel as it will be constantly exposed to the corrosive effects of salt water anytime we go out sailing.  I found a 1/2" bolt at Lowe's--over $10.00.  At Fastenal--a 5/8"(bigger!) bolt was only $3.75!! It pays to shop around I guess.  They have to order me in a wing nut I need to complete the job, but it will be here today.

I fixed the female end of the second electric cord in the afternoon.  While inspecting it, I found that the male end was also shot so I ordered a replacement plug from Defender, a marine outlet that sells things about 20-30% cheaper than West Marine or Fisheries Supply.  My order came to $24.98.  They have a minimum order of $25.00 so I had to add an oil absorber pad to take it over the amount listed.  I guess that is how they keep their prices low though I don't really understand it myself.  A buck is a buck, be it a $10.00 order or a $100.00 order.  Oh well, it should be here in a few days so I can get that job done.

I stowed our Winslow life raft in the forward hold to get it out of the weather.  Until we set sail, I don't think that we need to keep it on deck(it could go missing).  Strangely. the factory advises you to keep from being exposed to water.  Hey, it's a life raft!!  Where else are you supposed to store it for when you need it in an emergency?  Down in the bilge?  You want it ready to go at a moments notice.  That's why we had it strapped to the stern rail, all ready to go if needed.  It made it just fine during our fun trip from Newport, Oregon to Port Townsend back in July with no problems.  At least for the time being, she's out of the elements.  

We had some snow yesterday morning and the threat of more last night.  So far, it's just rain.  I hope it stays that way.  I have more orders coming in today that I need to get installed.  Nice weather is due later in the week, that is if you believe the weather people.

Have a great day everyone.