The most important job for the weekends break was rewiring the VHF aerial. On our last trip up the Trent in April it had become apparent that we were struggling with reception. We also needed to change our VHF aerial for a shorter one for transport next month so there was no time like the present to rewire the whole system. The cause of the loss of signal became pretty apparent with the state of the cable that we removed. As the quick release connection had been external to the canopies and subject to the inclement weather it had rusted the cable core for the first 1m or so. With the new cable in place and the new quick release connection now internal and away from the worst of the weather we have much better signal and much clearer reception.
We also managed to have a trial fit of the tonneau cover which fits very well considering it wasn't made for our boat, certainly good enough for the road trip. The dinghy patch is back in place ready to sit the dinghy on the davits and we fitted some new fender flutes to the fenders as the existing ones were starting to become a little worn and were starting to slip too easily.
With all of this done we are now ready for the off on Thursday evening.
What is the purpose of a tonneau cover? Google only brought up references to shade for open topped cars, but the 'eau' in the name implies something to do with water.
ReplyDeleteWe can't transport the boat by road with the canopies up so they have to be taken off. This would leave the back open and it would get very dirty with road grime. The tonneau just covers the back to keep it clean but is streamlined enough to not be bothered by the wind at 60mph on the motorway.
ReplyDeleteSo you have it down to protect the furnishings in transit, and can have it up to provide a little bit of protection from dew or rain if needed?
ReplyDeleteNo. It is for transport purposes only. Once the boat is off the trailer and back in the water the tonneau is removed and the proper canopies are put back on.
ReplyDeleteSome people if they don't use their boat through the winter remove their proper canopies and put the tonneau on for the winter.
Oh, I see. I didn't realise that you were taking the canopies as well.
ReplyDeleteI think we would be pretty foolish not to take the canopies as well what with the Scottish weather!
ReplyDelete