The first week at the Katinka in 2020 ended unspectacularly. After we had settled in again, we resumed our planned and unplanned boat projects. When we took the bikes out of the back storage room, the one on port side was filled with water.
In the days before our arrival it had stormed with more than 70 knots and the leaves had blown off the trees. A few of them blocked the water drain of the back boxes so that the water ran over the edge into the storage room. And that was no small thing. To make matters worse, the bilge pump didn't work either, so the water accumulated to over 50 litres. Of course this had to go out and so we pumped the water out of the bilge with the hand pump. Some painting work still had to be done and then we had to prepare the visit of Walle, Gaby's brother. All this at a lousy 14°C, pretty cool for our conditions, although it has to be said that the sun, when it shines, can really burn your fur.
We still spend our lunch breaks in our small marina canteen on a small motor boat. Because of space reasons we mostly sit outside and in the sun this is also really pleasant. But when the sun is gone, the felt 20°C quickly become 14°C again and this is definitely too cold. We make the best out of it at the moment, when it gets too cold we curl up in the saloon and start the diesel heating. Then it gets cosy and warm and we postpone work until tomorrow. We have already had our first walk through Fiumicino. As expected not much has changed. In our favourite cafe Le Moko, located directly at the canal, they were happy to see us again.
Now that we have completed all the work on the underwater hull, there is nothing more in the way of the deadline for putting the Katinka back into the water. I spoke with Valerio about a possible crane date and we agreed on 31 January. This gives me the opportunity to sand the hull and to properly handle the visit of Walle. Also, hopefully the work on the sanitary facilities will be completed by then. The marina had demolished the sanitary facilities after Christmas and has been replacing them with new ones for some time now. On the first day we stood at night in front of the door where we were told that the work would be finished by January 15th, so yesterday. After fumbling around for the light switch I reached into the not yet dried paint and realized that it will probably take a few more days until the work is finished. In this time there was no shower. A spare toilet was in the neighbouring building. In the meantime we are muffled, but we have the firm promise that the sanitary area will be finished this week. If this doesn't work out, I'll have to visit Valerio in his office several times, and if he can't stand it anymore, the process might come to life.
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