Yep, some things are predictable. It was one hell of a day, so bad that it's one I've tried to forget.
2 breakdown calls in relatively quick succession - one where the customer has dropped the radiator cap into the engine bay and can't find it and other that's lost steering.
The radiator cap one was relatively simple, but the lack of steering was frightening (not least of all for us....) - a 32foot, front steer cruiser. Not a simple job if the cable has snapped. Luckily, our worst fears weren't confirmed; the helm unit casing had failed and fractured and it was quite a simple fix to get them going and then we replaced the unit the next day to ensure no further breakdowns.
My wife recently pointed out that my hair's got quite a lot lighter and assumes it's exposure to all this sun we've been getting, but I'm certain it's the on-set of grey.....
Empty yard means renewed Fair focus
We're getting into the season good an proper now. The boat yard is pretty empty today and all focus is going to be on finally finishing Fair Freedom. This vessel has cost an astonishing amount this year in repairs and upgrades and we've missed countless bookings on it which have been mightily embarrassing. It's out, for definite, next Saturday and sports a number of upgrades and improvement. We're about to finish installing the new 1800w inverter system which has its own, dedicated battery bank. There's a microwave on-board now too - an essential addition for a 10-berth cruiser.
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
What a day!
I'm really not looking forward to today at the boat yard as I'm trying to hold the fort, pretty much on my own.
Yesterday, I took a nice chunk out of my arm on an open drawer I reached over, resulting in a 1 1/2 inch gash which needed steri-stripping together. It's not sore (though I've no idea why) but since the adhesive pad and strips have become unstuck, I've now got it bandaged too and I'm beginning to look a bit like walking wounded and it really needs redressing.
But there's no time; today, I've got Pete and Donna on a day off; that's my engineer and office staff out of the picture. Ordinarily, I've have at least one other yard staff in too, but Colin Facey informed us yesterday that he's running an RYA Power Boat course today and did we want to get our man on it? Well, we have a policy of training all our show-out instructors in boat handling and Rab hadn't yet done his so, I agreed to relinquishing him for the day too. That leaves me with a cleaner and. OK, just a cleaner.
It's a recipe for disaster, isn't it?
Normally, my wife would come in and cover the office when Donna's out, but today she has to clean a holiday cottage that was booked last minute yesterday. Hopefully, we'll see her as soon as the cottage is done.
The phones are still manic; bookings are still thick and fast with September and October getting a lot of interest now. How am I going to cope? All it's going to take is one break-down call and my day will collapse around my ears. If you need to call in today, please be prepared to witness a nervous breakdown and have 999 already tapped into you mobile phone - just run to the top of the road to find a signal.
Yesterday, I took a nice chunk out of my arm on an open drawer I reached over, resulting in a 1 1/2 inch gash which needed steri-stripping together. It's not sore (though I've no idea why) but since the adhesive pad and strips have become unstuck, I've now got it bandaged too and I'm beginning to look a bit like walking wounded and it really needs redressing.
But there's no time; today, I've got Pete and Donna on a day off; that's my engineer and office staff out of the picture. Ordinarily, I've have at least one other yard staff in too, but Colin Facey informed us yesterday that he's running an RYA Power Boat course today and did we want to get our man on it? Well, we have a policy of training all our show-out instructors in boat handling and Rab hadn't yet done his so, I agreed to relinquishing him for the day too. That leaves me with a cleaner and. OK, just a cleaner.
It's a recipe for disaster, isn't it?
Normally, my wife would come in and cover the office when Donna's out, but today she has to clean a holiday cottage that was booked last minute yesterday. Hopefully, we'll see her as soon as the cottage is done.
The phones are still manic; bookings are still thick and fast with September and October getting a lot of interest now. How am I going to cope? All it's going to take is one break-down call and my day will collapse around my ears. If you need to call in today, please be prepared to witness a nervous breakdown and have 999 already tapped into you mobile phone - just run to the top of the road to find a signal.
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