Alana continued her excruciatingly slow metamorphosis back to Bristol fashion today. The autopilot project is on hold for the time being, not because Jessica objected to her kitchen being used as a workshop, but because I am awaiting the arrival of a new $360 solenoid valve. A certain amount of fluid is lost every time the valve is swapped out, so I thought it best to wait until next week to try and bleed the hydraulic ram. I'm far from certain that a faulty solenoid is the problem, but in any case it seems like a good spare to have.
The last couple of days have been spent sanding down the severely degraded or bare spots on Alana's brightwork. I've applied a couple coats of Interprime 1026 sealer and will next start layering on the varnish. It is a shame that I allowed a few spots to actually cook/wear through to bare wood, Alana certainly deserves better, but I just didn't have the time, weather or opportunity to do better. Hopefully she will forgive this shameful period after about 8 coats of Schooner varnish.
I started the process of removing the helm pedestal, but ran into a couple of frozen machine screws. I applied some penetrating fluid to soak over the next day or two and picked up some Easy-Outs on the way home. One way or another those things are coming out Sunday or Monday.
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