Early days

So the first thing was to decide what I had to get done before the trip to the Medway. The trip from my home in London is about 3 hours so I couldn't nip over after work of an evening. The boat had been sitting in her berth more or less unused for the last 4 years or so and looked pretty sad as a consequence. However, more importantly as far as I could ascertain her standing rigging was 20 years old or more; so that was top of the list and I engaged the local yard to do that. I hope that by now the mast will be out and they will have started work. I'll be there at the weekend so will find out! My efforts started three weeks ago when I went up with my pal Alan. We got the sails off which whilst grubby seemed in reasonable condition and I sent them of to Jeckells for a clean and service. The dodgers and spray hood were green with mildew and came out of the washing machine greener than they went in so I suspect they will have to be replaced. I took the jib sheets off too which were also green but thankfully the washing machine was able to make a reasonable impression on them. The main sheet looked even worse but was very professionally spliced on to the blocks so couldn't go in the washing machine. Successive hand washes in a bucket got rid of most of the grime and I'll have to do the same with the kicking strap.
Took the cushions home which were very damp. All but two survived the washing machine and re-fitting in one piece. My son's wife to me will repair the two.
The rest of the weekend was spent on the electrics and the engine. The original Bukh 10hp diesel, tiny by today's standards seems to be in good order and I suspect will remain for some time to come. Changed the oil in engine and gear box and changed the oil filter. Replaced the dead service battery with one of Zoetje's for now. The new anode wouldn't fit but I was told later that I needed to chip out the remnants of the old one first.
This weekend's tasks are to finish the engine service.