A Productive Weekend (for once)

Yes, I got the long handrails sanded and oiled today. I got down to the boat very early in order to get on board as early as I could to maximise the day. I even took food and made a flask of coffee so I didn't have to stop to make a brew. I was a man on a mission today!
I got there before there was enough water to get to Sprite 2, so I had a mess about with my nautical binoculars to see if I could take photos through it:

Its not a bad effort I suppose. It shows how close mine and Jim's boats are, plus the fact that the Geese are back in huge numbers. Nearly every white dot you see in the background is a goose!

 Anyway, I got on board, pulled the cockpit cover back and made a start. Jim was due to pop down some time during the day. He got down about two hours after me, just as I'd finished the first long handrail. I nipped over and said hi for a short while, then got back to sorting the second handrail.

As you can see they're both looking good. As with the front ones there are a couple of missing teak plugs over the screw holes, so I need to get a handful and replace them.

I also managed to remember to take a picture of the bottom washboard. A few weeks ago I coated the bottom of the washboard with epoxy as it had deteriorated a bit because of water pooling in the slot it sits in. The Epoxy waterproofs it and holds it together so it shouldn't deteriorate any more. It might not be pretty, but its functional.

All told I spent 4 hours aboard working on the handrails. This time of year thats about as much as you can snatch really. By the time I'd got the cover back over the cockpit the Sun was going down. I left the boat under a Salmon-Pink sky. Should be fine tomorrow then.

By the time I'd got ashore and got the dinghy sorted it was so pink it was reflecting off the water.

I got into the car and instantly got that flushed-face feeling you get when you've been working out in the cold all day. All in all its been a good weekend, I feel as though I've achieved something for once. I'll have to get a few more coats of varnish on the rudder and get the mainsail Halyard and battens sorted because the next time the tide and weather is the same as today and I'm on the boat I might actually take it for a sail.