Dirty Work Below Decks

 

Wednesday cutting grass and other mundane stuff – wonder how much it would cost to astroturf the lot. J

Thursday back on Trudy-Ann working down in the engine bay starting to remove the steering gear but the cap on the rudder post refused to budge. In the end all I could do was a of soak it with WD40 and remember to bring a copper hammer tomorrow. Otherwise it was tidying the wiring  ready for the battery switches and checking the calorifier which seems to be weeping from the pressure relief valve.

Today the steering gear has been completely removed leaving just the rudder post and then it was set to with an angle grinder and wire brush cleaning all the rust off the fuel tanks and under the rear deck ready for painting. With the rudder arm removed it was apparent that my plan for just drilling a new hole to take the piston arm would not work due to the shape of the casting – still got a plan for that so will expand further at a later date as work is completed.

With it being so warm today all the dust seemed to be sticking in some uncomfortable places so it was a case of “sod it”. After vacuuming up headed home for an early bath. At least it showed the wisdom of investing in a quality face mask and goggles.

That should be the last of the preparation so painting and varnishing can start in earnest. Hopefully there will be some before and after pictures in the next few days.