Gas Work Completed, Boarding Plank

The boat's gas system is now working and the new marine stove is operational.

I tested all of the couplings with a soapy water applied with a paint brush and after eliminating one small leak everything was safe.

Note in the photo how accessible are the gas cylinders and the manual selector switch above it.  The old system was set up terribly, with the cylinders hidden around the corner and the selector switch very hard to find, let alone reach and manipulate.

Gas Detector in Position

Cylinders and Selector Above Very Accessible

I then turned my attention to finding a way to make boarding of the boat from the jetty walkway easier and safer.  The problem is that the Fremantle Sailing Club has anachronistic fixed jetties which means that the boats are constantly dancing around their pens and worse, going up and down with the 1 meter tide.  When the tide is very low even I have trouble getting to the boat, much less passing supplies and equipment to it.  To date I have neither fallen into the water nor dropped anything, which I credit to focusing very hard when I am getting on and off the boat.

I've been nudged into action by my invitation to Bill and Pat, friends that I've met through Brenda, for drinks aboard Pachuca after I return from the Bunbury Cruise.  It is unfair to ask them, other guests, and Brenda to take that big step across the gap onto the moving boat.

I settled on the idea of setting up the boarding ladder as a part-time boarding plank.  The advantage of this is that I will not be burdened with yet another piece of large equipment that I must either carry on the boat or somehow hang from the jetty. To this end I have cut a piece of 18mm marine ply to fit along the length of the ladder.  The ladder will be fixed at the boat end and move at the jetty end.  I'll also rig a rope rail from the jetty post to the boat and drop the top rail on that side of the boat so that guests can step directly onto the boat.  If it works I'll name it either Bill's Bridge or Pat's Plank in honour of the guests who inspired me into action.

Proposed Boarding Plank

Yes, setting up the system for guests will be awkward, but if it work as planned I may be able to find faster ways of setting it up.