At last….!

Well the refurbishing of the bilge was finally completed today.  The first job of the day was to give the base yet another coat of paint.

Later in the day the bulge pump was tested and then refitted.  As far as we are aware the bilge hasn’t had water in it so this must be the second time the pump has run.  The first being when the pump was fitted.

Fitting the pump onto the mounting plate and then the plate to the bilge proved to be very “fiddly”.  The machine screws are very small and the location is quite confined.  I had been hanging upside down for so long during the process that I felt nauseous for some time afterwards.  It must have been bad because I refused a cold beer.

I’ve been thinking of fitting some Drydeck matting on the baseplate either side of the engine.  It would enable us to use the area for storage without any potential problem of condensation soaking the items.  It would also prevent dirty footprints from messing up the lovely new paint!

We moved from Brownsover to Newbold stopping to fill the water tank along the way.  All the 14 day moorings were occupied prior to Newbold but we managed to get one just beyond the Newbold waterpoint when a Tupperware boat moved off. 

We’ll probably stay here until after Easter and just persevere with the “Shroppie shelf” which lightly bangs us around each time a boat passes. 

Somehow Daniel and I found time for a circular local walk during the day. The route took us through Newbold Tunnel and then west before returning to Waiouru by road.

Daniel had another driving lesson today and reports the local drivers no longer appear to be frightened by his appearance.