I really don’t feel as if I have much to contribute to this week’s blog, certainly in terms of information regarding the two subjects of this week’s YouTube video: the rebuild of the engine and having covers made for the dinghy, seat and outboard engine. Baz goes into it well in his blog #159 and I really didn’t have that much to do with either project.
Baz is the Captain, computer whiz and mechanic who is ever expanding his expertise in all yacht systems. I’ve watched enough of the projects to understand what’s going on, and can even name specific engine parts, but beyond that, it’s way too much like brain surgery for me. Get me in there with an instrument and I’d be more likely to do additional damage than any good, even with the best of intentions. Oh wait, my small fingers were an asset when Baz couldn’t put a nut onto a difficult to get to engine bolt.
Of course the whole engine rebuild wouldn’t have happened without an incredible amount of input from our friend Kev, who knows engines inside-out and who assisted Baz in much of the engine’s dismantling and rebuilding. Credit too goes to Aydin who is the town’s mechanic and who has sourced or made parts for A B Sea’s engine whenever needed.
In a way, we follow more of the ‘old fashioned traditional’ roles – with Baz doing more of the literal nuts and bolts type work, while I spend more time cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry and keeping the boat liveable. Which reminds me, I need to get the vacuum out; it’s amazing how easily dust shows up on polished wooden floors!
Feminists may say I’m letting the ‘side’ down, but honestly, I enjoy what I do and would balk at the thought of fixing anything major on the boat myself. Having said that, I do like to help Baz out on the things I know I can’t break, such as removing and re-hanging doors so he can access the engine compartment, and I’m very handy with a brush or roller when it comes to applying antifoul. I am always willing to get my hands dirty and lend a hand as I do enjoy being part of Team A B Sea. Baz too can rustle up a tasty meal and I will happily admit that his version of my dad’s recipe for spaghetti Bolognese is often more flavoursome than mine!
I’m also the artist.
That means while Baz generally answers social media questions which are often technical and he also restores the boat, I am in charge of the website, design of merchandise and of course hand-crafting beach jewellery, which I’ve added to our wonderful new online shop – the installation of which is thanks to our son Luke. Here he is wearing one of our hoodies featuring a pic of a turtle that I painted.
Technology is amazing to me. It’s allowed us to not only keep in touch with Luke while he’s in Australia and we’re in Turkey, but it’s also made it possible for him to help me out on upgrading our website (which now loads much faster and is mobile phone friendly). Luke also linked our merchandise to our online shop in much less time than it would have taken me, and he’s added some great design elements and a smoother flow to our website in general.
If you’d like to see Barry and Kev rebuild the engine in this week’s YouTube video, just click here.
To view our shop which includes great Christmas gift ideas from tee shirts to mugs, to unique handcrafted beach jewellery to relaxation audio tracks, then click here.
And until next week, I wish you a very pleasant week, taking action to bring your dreams to life.
