Smartened up

A tidy up in lockdown means the boat’s looking smarter now than she has in years

- Marsali Taylor

Once I was let out for walks, I decided to go via the marina. There were loads of things I could be doing there: woodwork, for a start. On my first walk, I just happened to be carrying my bucket with sandpaper, sanding block, turps, brushes, and International Woodskin. I got started on the cabin roof grabrails and window frames then moved to the cockpit seats. They needed a good scrub, and I filled the water tank while I was messing about with hoses.

Then it turned cold. My next walk included a quarter-bucket of hot, soapy water, and while the snow swirled into the cabin, I was busy scrubbing my fore-cabin, including moving out all the stuff that had gathered there and ‘rationalizing’ it. Finds included the rest of the wind and depth instruments that I’d needed only part of – always good to have spares – and a new halyard. The next bucket did the heads/ hanging locker; the next day, I was in the cabin, dealing with the stuff on my mental to-do list.