My 1936 wood powerboat, Tortuga, is in the storage shed and won't come out until spring. I may go on board and do a bit of sanding and install some mahogany trim. Other than that Tortuga will have a quiet winter.

I do have a couple of small projects on Seaquestor, my Allied Princess 36. I will be removing the engine so that I can replace the cutless bearing and the hose between the shaft log and the stuffing box. While the engine is out I will refurbish the engine compartment and also rebuild the mizzen mast step. The engine has a persistent anti-freeze leak. I will trouble shoot that and if it turns out to be a cracked block as I suspect, I will replace the engine with a new Volvo-Penta D2-40. Since the prop will be off, I will send it out for reconditioning. It looks like about three weeks work. After that is done, I have decided to install a Tides Marine strong track on the main mast. I will then order a new sail. I will also lead all the main handling lines aft to a new Anderson 28ST winch I will install on the cabin top to replace the existing Barient 22 non-self-tailing winch. I may make the new winch electric, but may also wait for a year before doing that.

Compared to building a completely new cabin house on Tortuga last year, these projects are small change