Better view of the floor covering

This view, taken with my neat new camera, shows the new floor covering more clearly. For £5.00, I think it looks pretty good. It is self adhesive, which means I might ave to rip it up to lift the floor boards, but at £5.00 that wouldn't be a major cost. Each of the carpet tiles I used before cost more than that each, and they needed replacing every year.

Navigation instruments all in place

I have fitted all the instruments, including my Sony Android tablet, to check that they all fit in, work and can actually be seen. The tablet works well sitting on the cabin table. That puts it in the shade, protects it from the rain but keeps it within reach. I can even plug it into the USB charging point I installed. I have fitted a shock cord across the end of the table to hold the tablet in place. All seems to work well in the shed. I will install the Navionics navigation app, but not yet. They keep on updating it so often that I will wait until just before launch before downloading it

New cabin floor finish

I have changed the cabin floor covering. Before I had some carpet tiles either side of the centre board and vinyl under the companion way. This looked a bit messy and couldn't fit under the chemical loo. I found some vinyl "planks" which were both very cheap and very thin. I have fixed these across all of the floor and they tuck under the loo, so the whole thing looks much tidier. The light finish also brightens the cabin. I don't know how long lasting they will be, but they were cheap enough to try.

stern mooring lines

I keep all my mooring lines rigged when sailing, so that they are to hand should I need them. The stern ones have always been a bit unsatisfactory, getting in the way, getting tangled, or getting cross the boat somehow, which I never expect. I have now rigged a single, central cleat, screwed to the face of the mizzen support, with a single, longer stern line hung from it. The idea is that I can use it either side. It should be out of the way, behind the tiller. A concern is that if it came loose, it could drop down straight into the motor well. As always, seatime will test it out

Repainting non slip decks

I thought the masonry paint I used on the cabin top and side decks seemed much smother than I expected. Turns out that it was a new super-smooth finish that I have not used before. I have repainted all of the risky areas with a textured Sandtex paint, in what is actually a nicer colour, called oatmeal. This has given an excellent non-slip finish. I will just have to see how durable it is in a marine environment and being walked on. It is such a textured finish I may need to be careful walking around barefoot on it.