January 16, 2008 - Whangarei

Our day started with a visit from the cabinet maker who might be providing us with new countertops. However, between the preliminary price he quoted us and a talk Sten had with another cruiser this afternoon about typical refrigeration run times, we may not proceed with the project. The price is a bit high and as it turns out our refrigeration run time might not be so bad, comparatively. So we've got some more research to do.

Just before lunch the chain galvanizers came by and picked up our chain and the CQR anchor. I'm so excited about getting rid of the rusty chain. Hopefully the picture below will be the last one we post with rust stains on the deck and hull.

It is hot here now. After lunch we were sorely tempted to pack it in and head for the beach. But we knuckled down and got back to work. By the end of the day, I was half way through with my cap rail scraping project.

Cap rail with blistered Cetol (and lovely rust stain below)

Cap rail after scraping off the old Cetol

We were going to put Semco on it, but the price the Aussie distributor is quoting is about twice the US price. We're not impressed with the Cetol. And varnishing it is out of the question. So we're planning to let it go silver. Seriously, if grey is good enough for Sten's hair, why not the cap rail?

Meanwhile, Sten replaced the starboard backstay chainplate, which had developed a hairline crack. He had a spare chainplate on hand because he had an extra made when he replaced the port backstay chainplate in Sint. Maarten this time last year. Of course the screwdriver bit he needed for the project had gone walkabout. So it seemed like a good time to clean out the tool bags.