Monday 2nd December
This morning it was off up Bristol Rd again for yet another trip to the hardware shop and the chandlery, we just love it! Having heard nothing from the boat electrical bloke Ken decided to replace the immersion heater element himself so we went to the chandlery at A & D Marine at Hempstead and bought one along with some more connectors for the wires on the new inverter. I also ordered some stick on treads for the front steps.
Then it was back to the hardware shop for a spanner to remove the old element and a couple of new screw drivers. Feeling chuffed with ourselves we returned to the boat. On the way back we called into a satellite and aerial shop to make enquiries about a new satellite dish. Ours is getting a bit rusty now and the LNB has been held on with insulating tape ever since we ripped it off on a bridge at Red Bull two years ago! After this we went into town and did a bit of shopping (newspaper, potatoes and eggs. And two cabbages and a huge cauli in a bag for £1-50 at Woody’s) then we did the usual.
On returning to the boat Ken decided to do the immersion heater this afternoon. However, this was easier said than done because he had bought the wrong spanner! It was the right size just the wrong sort. So off he went again back to the hardware shop to change the ring spanner for a box spanner!
I took advantage of his absence to do the hoovering and started the ironing. He returned with the correct spanner and soon replaced the element. There was some concern because the new one was about half the length of the old one and we were worried it wouldn’t work so well as the old one. We turned the immersion heater on and waited a while. Ken then stuck his hand under the hot tap and from the screams of pain I deduced that it was working better!
So that is that fixed then. Now we need to let the boat electric chap know he is no longer required, not that he is showing any sign of turning up!
Tomorrow I will be cleaning the outside of the boat while Ken plays with his electrical connections! Then I really must go and buy my xmas cards!
