Under Wraps

One of my News Writing students has chosen me as the subject for his personality profile, so I dragged him along with me to tend to Ariel yesterday morning. My goal was to vacuum oily water out of the bilge, remove the batteries, and finish the oil change I'd started days before. I explained as I worked and answered his various questions while Jake (my boat buddy) hung out in the cockpit.

The batteries are home awaiting recharge, the bilge is dry (but smelly), and the engine has fresh oil, ready for spring commissioning. I'd like to give Ariel a good cleaning down below when I get some time. Perhaps next weekend Jake and I can get back to the boat for a couple of hours.

I got the winter cover on last Wednesday (Oct. 31) after changing the support structure. Rather than the covered-wagon approach, with rounded PVC crossbraces that didn't shed snow so well, I used thicker sections of pipe to create a smooth slope from the mast to the lifelines. The thing seems to be fairly well supported, although I might need to add a couple crosspieces. We'll see how things go. It's clear that I'm going to need to add some permanent chafe protection when the cover comes off in the spring. Adding a few patches of leather in critical areas will go a long way to keep the cover in good shape. So far, though, I'm really happy with the it.