Reflecting on entropy and fitting a fiddle

Ms. Bettencourt's return to active status is proceeding--inexorably, but very slowly.

The aft cabin is cleaned up and re-stowed. The middle cabin bulkheads and the underside of the new top have been repainted. The rest of the middle cabin, including the dash and deck boards are clean, but obviously in need of refurbishment.

I have begun cleaning and re-stowing the forward cabin, including the galley and head. This has revealed  many other things in need of attention. For example, a rash has developed in the paintwork under the windows, a painted plywood deck board is de-laminating and paint is flaking off bulkheads here and there.

All this has me thinking about entropy. If you define the term as the "inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society," and if you accept Ms. Bettencourt as a system (which she surely is), then she is surely beset by entropy. There is only one, albeit temporary, cure for entropy: Try to stay ahead of it. I have fallen behind.

So an afternoon I expected to spend dusting, wiping down painted surfaces, cleaning windows and re-stowing mattresses and linens degenerated into a long session with a paint scraper, sandpaper and masking tape. This is generally unrewarding drudge work which is likely to continue for some days.

But it could be a whole lot worse: In 2004, when I was working to bring the boat back to life after a 12-year abandonment by a previous owner, the forward cabin looked like this:

You can click on the pictures to enlarge. It was not a pretty sight.













Here's a photo of the galley, taken at about the same time. Notice the clutter of containers behind the two horizontal dowels to the left. That retaining structure is called a "fiddle," a nautical term of uncertain origin.

Can you believe I actually saved that primitive fiddle when I gutted the interior?

I not only saved it, but I was able to find it yesterday, after only a brief search






Here it is, back in place for a trial fitting. I will have to set it somewhat lower than it was before to work around a strut that holds up a microwave shelf  I added above the space during renovation.

I think my old/new fiddle is going to be a neat and functional addition to the galley space.










In case you are curious, that  blue stuff shown on the bulkheads in the old photos was indoor-outdoor carpeting. The previous owner had applied the stuff over the original hull liner with two-sided tape. I tore all that out in 2003-04, as well as all the degraded original hull liner. I painted the entire interior with Interlux Bilgekote. It has held up well, except for previously mentioned rash under the windows.

And, concluding this reflection on entropy, it's important to note the degradations that had me worried in Ms. Bettercourt yesterday, pale in comparison to the end stage entropy I faced on the same vessel in 2003.