Winter Blues Jobs

My first ever sail patch - good learning

Tensioning the luff line along a corridor!

Yes, my sewing needs some work, but white thread might have helped!

It is when the clocks go back and that I start to procrastinate the job that need to be done onboard. And they are numerous, and that is probably why I shy away from them. That list is really very depressing to look at. Without boring you with the whole list though, I do have some priorities that I need to attend to.
The first thing that this needs attacking are the small weeps that make me take on around a pint a day. Although not serious, it is enough to allow me to worry when I am away from the boat for long periods. I strongly suspect that this is due to two centre-line bolts under the engine. I never replaced these (I am not sure why but I suppose it was laziness) and now they are giving me a headache.
I was hoping to remove them without taking the engine out, but alas no, so the engine will have to lifted out, and the bolts driven out (I hope). Once this has been done, I will feel much happier and then can get on with other small jobs.
I have managed to finish one small job though, and that is to sew a few repairs and a luff line into the main sail. My cheap Hong Kong sail, was just that! I would not say it was a false economy though, mainly because it was cheap enough to play with that has meant that I now know all the idiosyncrasies of a 60 year old rig, and I have learnt how to sew with a left-handed palm (yes, I am right-handed).