Another Weekend

The weekend is upon us once again, this year really is flying by and it won’t be long before our first holiday of 2012. Rather worryingly we are nowhere near finished with our list of winter jobs yet.

The weather looks reasonable for this weekend so I don’t expect many jobs will get finished but there are a few small jobs we can be getting on with. The anchor locker needs a good clear out with the unwanted junk and clutter removed. The mop and mop bucket can be thrown away, we rarely use the mop and we now have a collapsible bucket which will take up much less space. The spare fenders can be thinned out as we rarely need these and the fishing gear can be sifted through with the old rod and landing net to be discarded. We will also need to check that the electric windlass and deck switches are in working order ready for our afternoon on the hook at Trent End on our way to Leeds early next month.

With the weather set to be dry but cloudy I will make a start on polishing the topsides of the boat. The hull gets polished every time the boat is on the hardstanding but the topsides have not been polished in almost four years. They are well over due a once over so this should be a very rewarding job with the results plain to see. With the topsides polished they will need waxing to ensure that the shine lasts long into the year.

We have also decided it is about time the outboard engine was taken back to the marina. It has spent the winter months tucked up safely at home well away from the freezing temperatures. Hopefully it should be a simple case of lowering the dinghy into the water, sticking the outboard on the back, hooking up the remote fuel tank and it should be ready to go. It has been sat at home for three months now but we have every confidence that it will fire up at the first pull of the cord.

With the weather set to be fair and mild for the time of year it is high time we broke out the BBQ for the first time this year. We will no doubt head into Lincoln to gather the relevant supplies of meat, vegetables and bread. The fridge will already be stocked up with Budweiser of course.
The only thing left to choose now is the destination. It has been a while since we ventured onto the River Witham so a visit to Washingborough or Fiskerton isn’t out of the question. If we do visit Fiskerton we will have to take a trip to the farm to buy some fresh eggs. However we could just as easily head to Saxilby or Torksey. We shall just have to see which way tickles our fancy on Saturday.