Winding Down

Over the last few weeks we have been winding down our boating activities, and taking home any unnecessary items in anticipation for Moonshine's winter lift out i.e. dingy, outboard, generator, bbq and large ball fenders, along with a good clear out of the food and wine cupboard which was also undertaken. The new lifejackets and tv remotes are also going home to a nice warm dry environment...every little helps as they say, and we hope Moonshine will be a tad lighter for her winter hard standing period.  We have also replaced during the week the engine lubricating oil and filters so that the engines are stood with fresh new oil over the winter.
On Saturday lunch we ventured up to the moorings at Sykehouse Lift Bridge to give Moonshine her last run prior to lifting out in the next few weeks, and after a very cold and frosty start we enjoyed a pleasant run with the sun coming out gracing us with her presence.
The Raymarine C80 MFD chart plotter screen decided to start playing up whilst underway, after a quick check of the connections there was still no joy but miraculously the screen decided to function fully on our return back to our mooring. However airing on the side of caution we have removed the unit from the dash and will delve inside to make sure there isn't a loose connection such as the tape ribbon connection to the screen which has been known to play up on this type of plotter, and since the unit is well out of warranty we can investigate further when we have time. Annoying as this is it could have been in the middle of the boating season when we needed it most. 

 

After our main holidays the old stainless steel holding tank was cut away and removed as this had become porous and had started weeping.  We decided a much smaller tank would be better suited, so after a lot of measuring and further investigation we decide on a 110 litre Vetus nylon tank. This particular tank can be used for a variety of purposes i.e. drinking water, diesel and in our case waste water. 

  

 

We took the opportunity to create a storage rack, which can hold 4x 25 litre diesel containers. This sits above the new tank, which is straddled by a wooden frame which supports the rack and holds the tank securely in place.
 

The Wema level sender unit from the old tank had failed, so we sourced a new (old stock) Osculati level indicator panel and sender for considerably less than a Wema sender unit alone. The only problem we encountered was the loom was about 4 meters too short so a new loom was made.
 

Finally, on checking the log, we have worked out Moonshine has logged  a very respectable 1401.8 nautical miles this year....only 23 NM less than last year.