Thus spoke the noble H.W.Tilman. I spend the weekend reconnoitering my recently acquired boat.

Luckily it was a weekend of wonderful weather and messing around on boats in the warm East China Sea is recommended.  Several issues have to be dealt with.

1. Fix the hole in the stern seat.

Yay, no problem as I have struck up a very intimate mime relationship with the man in the local hardware store. I mime repairing fiber glass and he leads me to the perfect kit.

The first layer

2. Can I drag the boat up the beach given my most weak hams?

The same guy in the hardware store responds ideally to my theatre of pulling a boat up the beach using rollers. He cuts me 4 x 1 meter length of sewage pipe. I experiment with boat and it works perfectly. Even I, a sexagenarian, can haul the boat out of harms way.

Rollers remind me of youth in Scotland.

3. Will the anchor hold the boat?

I row out to the reef  to  set and retrieve  the anchor in different locations and depths.

I learn that coral can very soon chafe through anchor rope. Must buy more chain.

The anchor

4. This is the big one. Can I get out of the boat and back into the boat without capsizing it?

I do many drills in the wonderful sun and warm, warm water. Splosh over the side departing from different parts of the boat. Clamber seal-like back on over the stern without ripping off genitalia nor allowing the East China Sea to occupy the boat.  I perfect a rope stirrup that goes around the outboard mounting. By placing one foot into this sling and launching myself low  into the boat I can achieve both goals.

Stirrup

There’s nothing . . . absolutely nothing . . . half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats.