MFV BF494 'Pansy', an old Motor Fifie Conversion

'Broons aall roond' as they are oft heard to say in Cowes week, the Panser now starts and runs off the key again, the rats nest, both burnt and unburnt flavours, has been attacked and vanquished. Spiffy new wiring, all neat and accessible, proper isolators, new relays, and emergency over rides all tickety boo (although the alternator is shagged as is the oil pressure sender from the wee bonfire). so we're back where we were as far as getting the girl running, and more importantly knowing where to start looking when she's not running and what to look for when she won't run. The alternator is a curious one, another bog standard Lucas job, model A376, which bizarrely for the 7 litre behemoth lehman engine, is the exact same alternator as fitted to an 1100cc ford fiesta, at least it'll be cheap, unless Ford made a special 'Marine' version of the Ford Fiesta that is!

Elsewhere, I've been researching a bit, about what the crack is with the big post that is sitting between the prop and the rudder, basically along the lines of should it or shouldn't it be there. It seems some Fifies had them, some didn't, and those that did each had there own design. In amongst all this are the various derogations of Fifie - Scaffies, Yawls, Skiff's, and my personally favourite, Baldies, named after the italian revolutionary Garibaldi, for reasons I'm yet to discover (answers on a postcard please). So I wonder if there's a Caribbean version of Fifie called a 'yardie'

*No. 2 awakens*

Our boat is a biscuit! Explains a lot. I've been held up at work a bit this week saving people's lives and creating things of beauty. The Skipper has done fantastically well without me being there - a testament to his quick learning, versatility and levels of energy bordering on "The Occult". I did get down for about 96 minutes, put me wellies on over my best trausers and had a look down below, took a while to get into the engine room as The Skipper had turned the ladders round so I went in upside down. First thing I noticed was how much I hadn't done in the last 143 minutes I spent down there, next thing I saw was some new stuff, wires in a kind of 1920's type of space suit for a very thin man's arm covering. I also saw some other wires and a piece of metal shaped like a fingmy which was a bit less grimy than the rest of the metal stuff down there. I think I might have shouted things like "Fantastic" "Topper" "Cush" "Bonzer" "Ech ma boab" then ran out of things to say. I stayed down there for quite a while to pretend I was sizing other things up, and spotted a few things I need to do - honest Skipper. THIS WEEKEND, I promise .....