2010 redux. Boat time continues inside. The old Racor 500fg is new again thanks to a seal kit. Everything came apart and went back together easily. I began by de-gunking the bowl by blasting it at a car wash. The rest of the filter is in good shape - well, almost. One issue that illustrated part of the reason for a total rebuild was that there was no check ball seal in the filter. It was simply missing. As one goes through each element on a boat, one sometimes appreciates the work that was done, and at other times one really wonders what sort of oaf did(or didn't do) something.

The gunk in the bowl and filter (2 micron) suggests that my efforts to preserve fuel for a year by treating and polishing did not work. I am now thinking about the possibility of using two fuel tanks, one for most of the time and the other filled for passages. This would also permit me to keep as much weight as possible forward rather than aft under the cockpit sole. We shall see.

Another indoor task was putting together a full-size mock-up of the new table. I like 3/4" foam board for this sort of thing. Some beautiful Honduras mahogany is on hand for this project. The old"Philippine" mahogany top will be reused. The drop leaf side is toward the dinette interior. From behind the cushions one can pull out an insert that spans the area under the table, and then drop the table leaf. Voila, you will have something of a sea berth. It will be a bit wide, but, in a pinch (and with pillows), it will be a third sea berth.