Week 10 Covid and snow!

 


Monday

Shoulda done it years ago...I had the boat out so that our boat expert could check the propeller - luckily, it is exactly right for the boat - motor, gear box, length and width of the boat - so no worries there. I'm happy just to potter along - and even happier now, knowing that there is nothing amiss.

I've had a leaking hatch for a few years - not too bad - but I am always a bit timid in tackling things that I know nothing about - but we decided to do it this week - our workplace volunteer is pretty handy and together we nutted it out - taking the whole hatch off and thus being able to see what to do.

We think that the rust had expanded under the hatch, lifting one side up, which allowed water to seep under the edge - having taken it off, we now think it is fairly straight forward to get it back in order again (fingers crossed) - and hopefully not too much damage to the woodwork trim inside.

We have a piece of canvas-like stuff to make a temporary cover - it is intended to be a shade cloth during the summer
















Last year's anti-fouling (aka bottom coat) was a good brand and the most expensive I have used over the years - and it came out looking like this!

So, I've had it pressure cleaned and will have to put another layer or two on it. This can be done outside the shed if there is a layer of plastic underneath. But, I also have to wait a bit longer for the weather and drying temperature.



After last week's birthday party, the Birthday Girl rang to say that she had Covid...so by Tuesday morning (which does seem quick) I woke up feeling crook and Janny made me do a test...


So, no more boat work or anything else, for that matter. Keeping out of the way of the clients was my sole aim. And then we had SNOW by the end of the week anyway.

Robin and Joy came for a few days to have a quick look at their boat - before heading  off flying around Europe for a while. Only 30 degrees cooler than when they left Darwin. They'll be back mid April to do some more boating.










I often think about my grandchildren in terms of "what will it be like for them when they are my age"?.

Probably best not to think about it too much...

Last weekend I picked up a local Wageningen newspaper and found an article titled "Grootouders voor het klimaat" - Grandparents for the climate.



Another article about the existing electricity grid not being able to cope with the increase in green energy.

The number of homes and small firms with solar panels has gone up by 25% to over 760,000 while over a million homes have now been fitted with heat pumps. In addition, there are over 300,000 electric vehicles on the roads. ‘The electricity network in many residential areas is not up to the speed at which consumers are going green,’ chief executive Maarten Otto said. ‘We are working hard to adapt… but we need to place 20,000 new substations in the coming years. One in three streets need to be opened up to place heavier cables.’ In addition, Otto said, the company is facing a shortage of staff and equipment, making the situation even worse.

We've put all that stuff on hold for the time being (we'll have another look after the (boating) summer - even electric cars have a question mark now that the subsidies and tax reductions are being removed. Fleet owners and managers have to assess the benefits and maybe stay with the existing petrol or diesel for a while longer.

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