We were getting ready to go, but we found an oil leak so we had to get that sorted first.

There was a sharp rain shower down at the marina, followed by a beautiful rainbow. We both love to see rainbows especially when they are so clear like the one we could see. We could even see the secondary rainbow as well.

Oil leak - 1st inspection

When we were in Strangford Lough we had found a small oil leak under the engine, so we were both keen to get that sorted before we set off. We keep our engine very clean so that if any problems occur we can see them early. We had also identified where the oil leak was coming from and that was the impeller housing, but we also noticed that there was no nut on the bolt so we hoped that, was all it was, so we fitted the nut and started the engine. After we fitted the nut we started the engine and it was still dry so we thought that we had won.

Inspection mirror

Because we had been using our inspection mirror, Beverley decided that she had, had enough and it was time at last to fix the mirror, so she used masking tape to mask off the mirror, followed by masking tape on the mirror itself, before she got some CT1 out of the locker and applied that to the mirror itself. She made sure that there was plenty of CT1 to push out so that she could smooth off the excess with her finger. Once that was all done it was just a case of removing the making tape for a nice neat job.

DC - AC Convertor

One of the things that I had bought in Strangford lough was a DC - AC convertor, and contrary to Beverley's laughter, what I was trying to ascertain from the manual was when the device was in the off position, was it truly off or was it in standby mode. Of course Beverley laughed, but I filmed her anyway, life on Salty Lass is full of laughter, so why not share that aspect of our lives too.

Getting ready to go

One of the things that we needed to do before we left was clean the mega weed from off the rudder, it is like string and it just comes into the marina and wraps around the prop, so you need to make sure that it is all removed. While she was sorting that out plus the slight growth we get on the side, I looked at another boat and the curtain of weed growing on its side, It is so sad when you see that, boats need to move and that means clean sides.

Storing stuff

While Beverley was cleaning the sides, I stored all sorts of stuff under our rear bunk, so I stored fabric, wood, acrylic and all sorts of other stuff. When I was done I could not feel a thing, so I'm afraid that I am not a princess. It's a sad realisation but it is what it is.

Oil leak - 2nd inspection

It was time to go off and the oil leak that we had found had not been sorted by the adding of a screw, so it was time to dismantle the impeller housing to gain access to the oil O-ring. While we dismantled the impeller housing these are the tips we learned.

• Think about how you remove any hoses, as there might be a better way that causes less water going in the bilge
• You can remove the bottom step of a Bavaria by removing six screws. Removing the bottom step improves access to the engine, plus you are not having to bend over in awkward angles
• Have a variety of spanners, short handled ones as well as long, as sometimes you need to access an awkward nut
• Take breaks. If you can do the job in on go, then do so, but if your cursing and swearing gets too much walk away for a few minutes
• Buy long veterinarian gloves so that you protect your forearms, not just your hands
• Keep going. Just remember that you can do this, it just takes time
• If you need a rectangular o-ring, do not be bamboozled into accepting a round one. The round 0-ring will leave gaps.
• Check that you have got it right by checking anything you can
• When the time is right test and test again
• Don't get disheartened when things don't work, if you have learnt things you have succeeded