![\"IMG_0963\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/IMG_0963.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt\u2019s been exactly three months since we moved onto the boat, summer has been and gone (together with the work barge), the house opposite is almost built, and that faint glimmer we see at the end of the tunnel may just be daylight and not the lights of an approaching freight train.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been an incredibly hard grind, but the difficult plumbing and wiring jobs are just about done. For any of you who\u2019ve seen that great Australian movie \u201cKenny\u201d (about a sanitation plumber hailed as \u2018the Dalai Lama of Waste Management\u201d), Bruce now qualifies as Master Apprentice at the very least, if not the reincarnation of the great man himself. We were under the impression that the boat already had holding tanks installed but it turns out that was a very loose description. What we actually had were two black fuel bladders (unused) under the floor in each hull, with some cursory piping attached to each bladder, but that piping wasn\u2019t attached to anything else! Thank goodness we didn\u2019t test them out, could have been messy. So Bruce has had the unenviable task of pulling out the old bladders and piping, and building his very own Kenny Mk II system from scratch, one for each hull, located in what used to be our hanging lockers.<\/p>\n
OK, the result may look like some crazy contraption from Dr Who, but hey they work!! We now have the ability to pump out overboard when at sea, or use the deck fitting at a pump-out station in harbour, so we are now legal wherever we go. All hail the dunny king!<\/p>\n With the aid of some new pressure gauges, the dratted water-maker is also operational (no thanks to the Italians!) although it\u2019s too difficult to tell what the water quality is like due to the muddy, brackish water we\u2019re sitting in. So we may have to wait until we get into cleaner water to thoroughly test it.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, I\u2019ve been making 3 new cockpit cushion covers, painting the cabin-top and cockpit sole with anti-skid paint, polishing, cleaning, provisioning, laundering (clothes not money, sadly!) and assisting the skipper with an extra pair of hands when needed. Many of these types of jobs that are so easy on land become a little more complex and time-consuming when you live on a boat. For instance doing the laundry is a half-day affair by the time you dinghy over to the city dock, wheel your laundry bags 5 blocks, wait for the washing and drying to be done and then reverse the process. Not that I mind at all, I quite enjoy my weekly excursion, and the chance to meet other cruisers in the laundromat and grab a cup of coffee. Depending on the time of day, there\u2019s also a rather nice Irish pub just opposite\u2026!<\/p>\n Our new bimini cover arrived yesterday, together with new shadecloth covers for the saloon windows. Goodbye to the \u2018charter boat\u2019 blues, hello toast!<\/p>\n And it seems there are some toys creeping onto the boat\u2026<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n