Another visit - another fix

This time we went there together to brush off the snow that had accumulated on the deck. We also closed the doors to the aft cabin, checked the thermometer (which read -14C) and Teemu fixed the cushioning:

We're within limits - barely

Visited Summertime on a cold and windy night. I expected to see a disaster of some scale but luckily everything was still in place. I guess the fact that we use springy ropes to attach the tarpaulin and that the tarpaulin is not anchored firmly to the ground has managed to create a flexible enough construction to withstand strong winds.

The wind was really blowing, the tarpaulin was making huge waves and the A-frame made squeaky sounds but did not budge:

There was even more snow on the deck so we need to find a way to keep the snow out but let the wind blow through:

The night was not completely without tragedy. I saw several torn tarpaulins, wildly swinging weights and this poor individual with wooden plank banging on her sides in heavy gusts:

If only I had my proper camera with me, I would have taken a couple a knock-out shots with the wind, snow, night-time and massive boats as my models...

All is well

Went to check how she's doing (after a windy night) and found her in a-ok condition. The frame was in the same place as we left it, so it seems we finally managed to load enough weight on it.

The aft wall of the frame is quite open and some snow has fallen on the aft deck. We'll need to cut a piece of the tarpaulin we got from the previous owner to close up the aft opening.

Devil is in the details

But first: whoa, what happened? This is what was waiting at the docks when I decided to take a gander on a semi-sunny day...



Regardless of our hard efforts to secure the A-frame with weights etc the aft part had moved about 40 cm to babord, maybe due to strong winds. The cover was ok at the fore. So the work doesn't really stop...



Anyhow, with about five months remaining before Summertime should be ready for the sea again, it's time to start thinking of repairs. Mikko had mentioned that he'd like to polish the instruments in the cockpit, so here are some detail shots.





Summertime came equipped with a Silva compass, an original installation from 1965. Hopefully Mikko will have the endurance to polish this too :-)



And finally, we'll have to sort out the electrics as well, but it seems to be a simple system, and properly documented too.

Glykolera mera

Some visual remembrances from the long night with the anti-freeze. The time-line details have been long forgotten, but somehow it took 4 hours to get gas in the tank, get gas into the carburetor, and start the engine -- that's us :-)



I think even 5 liters of the water-antifreeze mix would've been enough.



Naturally we thought of nature, storing the overflow in a bucket and then disposing of it properly in the waste containers of the docks.