At last the end of the projects seem in view. We have serviced all sorts, tidied up various areas of Salty Lass and got ourselves as ready as we can in these crazy times. We still have no idea where we will be able to go, but go is what we both want to do.

Sail Bag

My repairs to the sail bag were at last done.

• Webbing - In my efforts to reuse stuff that I already have on-board I have used various pieces of webbing, but I actually found Sail ties to be a good choice in that they are thin but still strong.
• Invisible zip - I've also done my best efforts of making what is called an invisible zip, so that the canvas covers the zip completely. I am hoping that with the zip completely covered by cloth the zip will be less prone to UV damage.
• Cleaning - Every now and then the sail bag needs a good clean to remove the green that is just all over the bag. On the day I cleaned the bag I went out between showers getting caught just as I was finishing the job., but even though it was hail stones, I still stayed out because once a job is started you need to get it finished.
• Rinsing - So once the sail bag was cleaned, I gave it a quick hose down out on the pontoon, followed by another hose down while it was in place on the boom. While we were cleaning it, Beverley and I joked about the glamorous lifestyle that is called yachting.
• Waterproofing - I left the sail bag to dry, then I applied the waterproof spray, to help the water run off.
• Batons - In a sail bag there are some batons to keep its shape. Sometimes these can be slightly different lengths so mark on the batons which side they go, it makes life so much easier.

Waterproofing

I had bought the waterproofing spray primarily to proof the sail bag but seeing as we had the stuff, we took the opportunity to waterproof the winch covers and the binnacle cover. Beverley also took the opportunity to have a minor rant about protecting your equipment.

Hoisting the sail

When we hoist the main sail, we prepare the sail before we start by

• Clean the slugs - These are inside the track and they get dirty, so give them a good clean to remove all the dirt that they accumulate.
• Apply PTFE spray - Apply PTFE spray to your slugs, this means that the slugs will slide just that little easier in the track
• Go up the mast - If you can go up the mast and clean inside the track and apply PTFE spray then do so, but if you don't have the time apply the sray as far up the track as you can
• Replace all the batons and reefs - A job for a calm day, as there will be times that you have the sail up the mast.

Other sewing projects

The other sewing project that I completed was making hatch covers. I found these really hard to do which is why I contacted a lady on Sailing Argo, to help me.