Tuesday 26 September 2017

External Waterproof Speaker and Autumn cheer...

The more time I have, the less I achieve - it's true... when I was working 70-80 hour weeks on occasions, I STILL managed to make MORE progress on the boat than I do now that I'm recovering from my hand operations...

A recently retired good friend agreed this when we spoke a while back that he doesn't know HOW he had the time to go to work as he's always busy these days but doesn't often feel like he's achieved much.  It's very true.

Still,  I AM still ticking off little jobs here and there - I've finally wired in properly the outside speaker which connects to the radio in the dinette - it's been wired in (and hanging through the door) for ages but I decided it was time to get the wires hidden away AND connect a switch into the circuit so on a morning when I put the radio on (usually Vanessa Felts I'm afraid... I MUCH preferred Bunty when she was on but the BBC keep messing things up  - I've YET to meed anyone who prefers that ginger Twunt   Chris Evans to Wogan either... ) it doesn't have to be heard outside.

Writing of the BBC, on the plus side, when the aforementioned self important fool  presenter is on holiday, the lovely Sarah Cox does a MUCH better job - pity she can't have the slot full-time....and I STILL miss Pam Ayres on a Sunday afternoon!

BACK to the wiring...

Well, having decided to do it properly ( ish) I got some trunking, fed a bit of old cat 5 cable through (which I'd cleared out of the garage) and glued it through a hole down into the engine bay and then through the bulkhead into the electric cupboard...  Of course it would have been fine had the wire I  used not been broken "somewhere" along the run - it was only when I tested it out I remembered the wire HAD been stapled to the side of the garage to connect up the garden speakers and I must have gone through one or more of the strands ... and of course I'd obviously wired up the duffer this time.  Hmmf.



The wiring in the cupboard does look a little Heath Robinson I'll grant you but at least now it works.

 The switch was recycled from one of Mick's old LED lights that had broken on his boat...  The speaker has been given a coat of dark grey paint so it doesn't stand out too much on the back and now Radio 2 can accompany us as we chug along - without having to faff around with portable radios etc...and if we're in a place with no signal, we can just plug in the ipod and listen to that instead.

Sorted!

As the plants outside are now dying back, Andy has planted up some winter violas to keep the roof of the boat cheery for a while longer...  luckily my mother gave us some smaller pots (I have a feeling they came from a friend of hers who gave her them to go on the boat) so at least you CAN see over these when chugging along - well you would be able to, had he not also planted some ruddy straggly fuchsias in the middle....  oh well - it's still a bit easier than it was in the height of summer.

In other boaty related stuff, the macerater toilet has developed an intermittent fault now - I think it's solenoid related as it ALWAYS empties OK but won't always "fill" - as in from the fresh water... it just clicks and does nothing... THUS far, turning the power off at the breaker, giving it a few mins and then back on again gets things moving (no pun)  although as I type this, I'm "waiting" to finish something I went to start earlier - and the aforementioned reboot hasn't worked... yet!

I think I'd better get in touch with Jabsco and see if I can get a replacement part sooner rather that later.  

HAND wise, the stitches come out on Thursday and  unless I'm doing something where it might get knocked, I've gotten rid of the bandages during the day - I still strap it up to sleep in for protection but it's much better than it was even a week ago....Still not much grip in my fingers but I know it will return in a couple of months.  When the stitches have gone, it's time to begin massaging the scar to break up the tissue underneath so as to prevent a hard lump of scar-tissue forming.  I've been doing this religiously on my left one and although there is still a sore bit, it's really quite good again now.... and MORE importantly, NO more being woken up in the night in agony.

I really should have had it done ages ago....  misguided loyalty to "work" was the reason for the delay.  oh well - you live and learn.

Until next time...

2 comments:

NB Muleless said...

We have the same problem with our loo! We have stripped it down - but can never find anything wrong and it usually works fine when we put it together - until the next time. The appropriate part appears to cost just over £100! so we are just persevering and manually adding water when necessary! We will be interested on your outcome!

Quaysider said...

Having investigated it, I've found there was a small drip on the other side of the t if you follow... where it's capped off. That in turn has dripped onto the gubbings beneath . Having dried that out and plugged the power cables back in- along with usung self amalgamating tape on the capped part ... so far so good.