More to dos 'done'

More to dos 'done' 

Running the outboard, Copyright (c) Froo Gal, 2015,
All Rights Reserved

We are well and truly into summer, having enjoyed the hottest day in July since records began, but the list of 'to dos' keeps growing.

This last month has included:
1. Fitting an AIS transceiver (see separate product review);
2. Fitting a (removable) cheap SSD PC microcomputer;
3. Servicing the outboard; and
4. Measuring for a cruising chute.

The AIS was simple to fit and to us represents a cost effective safety improvement.

The solid state drive PC was an impulse purchase. It came with built in wifi and Bluetooth and was simple to configure. Unfortunately the marina's wifi is not stable or strong enough for the little blighter, so we may ditch it.Our outboard wintered badly. It did start first time using old fuel, but under load at max throttle it cut out. Armed with some carb cleaner, latex gloves and a small plastic contained to catch drips of petrol and cleaner and *no maintenance instructions* I 'serviced' the carburettor. And  I topped up the fuel with new petrol. Afterwards it ran okay and did not cut out, but it was still ropey at the top end.

A few YouTube 'how to' videos later I had another go at dismantling the carb. I felt that I had done a more thorough job (but not perfect).  It had made no difference. Perhaps the 50% old fuel was still the problem.

Measuring for a new sail was more fun and trouble free. I tied a thin polyester cord to the spinnaker halyard raised it to the top and marked off the I and max hoist (to the pulpit) measurements. I then marked off J from the foot of the mast to the bow forestay.

I measured (twice) the three dimensions using a metre length of tape measure -- job done. Now, we need to start saving for the sail, snuffed, sheets and turning blocks.

Swan Famility, Copyright (c) Froo Gal, 2015,
All Rights Reserved

And all the while a certain member of the Froo Gal crew drank wine and soaked up the sun while reading a book and watching the swans.

Next time I will try to take the time to take some shots of the carburettor or even make a 'how to' video.  Any advice on the Suzuki DF2.5 from readers would be most welcome.