Flexing

Stove Project: Day 10
We start the day with one more attempt to force a piece of electrical flex up from inside the lazarette up the inside of the jungle gym post to the small hole already drilled for its exit near the gas bottle. After a while we give up and accept that the jungle gym will have to be dismounted, at least on one side, and raised up. This all takes time to undo all the things that hold up or are held up by the jungle gym, then the topping lift is attached to the cross rail for a careful raising, preferably without damaging the newly installed gas pipe, which has been carefully unbolted and moved out of danger. Even with a gap between the exit from the lazarette and the entry into the jungle gym pole visible, it still isn't an easy job, but eventually we succeed, then lower the jungle gym equally carefully back into place, and redo/mount/tie everything that was undone/dismounted/untied. Once the pole is bolted back in place, and while the engineer does the rest, the mate retires below to feed the other end of the flex back from the lazarette into and through the guest cabin. Engineer then removes the panel above the fridge to get the flex through the last section of the guest cabin, then across the top of the galley cupboard and finally to its target, the gas alarm. He gets started on the wiring, including the underfloor sensors, only to find that the instructions for the alarm have gone missing. We ring the manufacturer, who promises to email them, but doesn't, so engineer has to call him for assistance whenever it isn't obvious what to connect to what. Meanwhile, the mate attacks the bird poo problem - while we were in Melbourne it seems some largeish bird trapped itself under the doghouse, flapped about mightily dropping feathers and excrement everywhere before finding its way out again.
The previous day a big Hanse yacht called Coorain berthed opposite and we were greeted by Peter Watson, whom we met sailing his yacht Ankira four years ago. At about 5 he appears to invite us for drinks at 6, by which time the idea seems most welcome. We clean up and join the Coorain skipper Howard and crew where we play the "who do you know that I know" game as we are all from Melbourne and of an age. After several hours and two bottles of red, we adjourn to an Indian restaurant in Tedder Street for a feed. Mate thinks it is a serendipitously pleasant way to spend her birthday.