Bits and Pieces

So my fancy repair work on the loaner outboard didn't go so well.  I drained the oil and replace it with new gear oil (provided by the outboard's owner).  I also replace the drain plug gaskets.  The motor sat in my shop for a few days, and didn't leak a drop.  The next step was to put it back on the boat and run it for a while.  Once on the boat, the motor started quite easy, but ran a bit rough.  When I shut it down, again oil (or maybe oil and gas mixed) started running out.  It was not leaking out of the drain holes, but appeared to be coming out by the prop.

The partners and I had a meeting and decided that we probably should have a reliable motor, since none of us are experts in adhoc repairs.  So I dropped the motor off at Otter Marine, the 'local' dealer/service shop for Tohatsu.  While I was there, I noticed some very nice outboards that would suit us perfectly!  They had some really nice 5 and 6hp 4 strokes for a reasonable price.  However, after meeting with the boat partners, we decided to defer this by a few weeks at least, as the yearly morage was due this week.

So to occupy my mind, I started washing the rigging.  The first step was to replace the ends on the ropes.  I grabbed a few feet of waterproof shrink wrap.  Obviously the intention isn't to keep the line dry, but the waterproof stuff has a glue on the inside, and should make the perfect ends.

Once the ends were done on the halyards (the sheets are tied to the sails and in excellent shape), presoaked them in a bucket with a spoonful of detergent.  After leaving them for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally, I ran a rope brush over them (which didn't seem to do anything).  

Then I tied it in a chain sinnet with the hopes that it wouldn't tangle so easily in the pillow case.

Once the rope was tied, I loaded it into an old pillow case, then used brass wire to close it.  I then washed the whole thing in our front loading washer with another spoonful of detergent.  

 When the rope was done in the wash, I spread it on the patio table to dry.  To be honest, it didn't come out nearly as clean as I had hoped.  I'm going to run it through the wash again with no soap and see what happens.