Caulking starts today

The toerails have taken a little longer than I'd planned, but I decided it was worth a couple of extra days to do it right. I'm not going to be able to completely finish them, but I should be able to get them caulked today which will get the deck dry, at least from the companionway forward. I'll revisit them once I've got the cover off. I want to wash them down with soap and bleach to try to even up the color and get rid of the dark spots. Then I'll dry them really well with acetone and start brushing on the cetol.

I should be able to start remounting all the hardware later today or tomorrow. I think it will take a few days, but may have some issues with the portholes. There are plenty of other things I need to do as well, but I need to get the deck finished first and get the cover off. The other things include reinstalling the head, hooking up the bilge pumps, reconnecting the exhaust hose for the engine, and checking it out. I haven't run it in over a year, almost 2, but I don't anticipate any issues.

If there is a problem with it, I may need to have someone work on it. But this could also be a good opportunity to learn diesel engine repair. That's pretty much how I've learned everything else -- by doing it -- including the glass and paint work on the boat. However, I hope that can wait until I get to a warmer location.

Injury watch:

I finally healed up from the various bumps and bruises I got a week or so ago. The sole and instep of my right foot turned purple a few days ago and ached a bit, but that seems to have gone away now. The bump on my shin has gone down as well, even though I re-injured it a few days ago. The day after I painted the cockpit, I was trying not to touch it, when I slipped and bumped it pretty hard on one of the winch stands. Normally, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but under the circumstances, I saw stars. It took about 30 minutes for the pain to go away, which really cuts down on your productivity.

Other then that, I'm probably in the best shape of my life, or at least really close to it. Right now, I weigh about 174 with less the 18% body fat (according the my scale). All the sanding, scraping, painting, and crawling over the deck has really paid off. I only wish I could run.

The only times I might have been in better shape were when I was in the Corps. I don't remember how much I weighed back then, but I'm sure it was close -- my clothes are still the same size. If I could run, I'd have a better idea. I never got a perfect 300 in the PFT, but came close several times -- actually, I don't think I ever scored below 290 while on active duty. My problem was always the run. The best I ever did was 18:36 on the 3 mile run (Quantico 1981), but even then I wasn't training for it. I'd always been a swimmer -- a much better skill considering my intentions.

Fresh water watch:

I refilled all my tanks last night and added some bleach. I'd hoped to add just enough to keep the system safe, but must have put in a little too much. It's got a strong bleach smell now, so I'll drain and refill them again today and see how that goes. I don't have to use it for drinking water yet, but it would be nice to put away the 5 gallon jugs. I might have to flush it several times to get rid of the smell.

Zoe watch:

They are mowing the weeds in the yard again, so she's hanging out in the cabin today. It looks like it should be a really nice day and might get up into the 70's, so I hope I can put back outside soon.