Finding ourselves back at base I decide that it is time to tackle a few of those little jobs that seem to add up as the year goes by.

A week or so ago the mains packed up. Nothing too unusual there except it was only ours that packed up. A few minutes with a test meter and a screwdriver showed that the neutral bus bar on our incoming mains unit had got hot - very hot - hot enough in fact to melt itself. A temporary repair was carried out and a new mains box purchased.

I spent a large part of the 26th installing a revised mains layout. We can now choose simply by moving a few plugs where our mains comes from - shore line, gen. set or inverter or even - should we feel the need - we can feed one half of the boat from one source and the other half from another. All we need to do is simply unplug the supply and plug it into whichever source we want to use. I know you can buy fancy changeover switches but this is foolproof - even to a talented fool.

With the mains now permanently upgraded I move on to replacing the gear cable. A quick trip to those very nice people at Millar Marine and we return resplendent with a 2 metre long gear cable (the last one was 2.75 metres and I believe the convolute path this had to follow was largely responsible for its' early failure). Last time I replaced the cable three of the bolts on the control panel sheared and I ended up drilling and tapping the holes, fortunately because I greased the new bolts last time they came out very easily this time and after a few adjustments we are potentially mobile again.

Which just leaves us with the Eberspacher to service. Recently our unit has started sounding what can only be described as a bit 'fluttery' and often takes 2 of its' 3 goes to start and has subsequently been known as 'Ebby 2 goes' for the last month or so.

There are as you may be aware two camps when it comes to Eberspacher heaters - you either love them or you hate them, and in my case I love them. Like anything else they need servicing and in my view people think they are unreliable purely because they don't service them until they break down. Fortunately (or not as you may decide for yourselves) Eberspacher units are inherently clever little sausages and when they self diagnose a fault they tend to play safe and shut down - or as it is perceived - break down, rather than struggle on and make matters worse or possibly even dangerous. The list of these self diagnosis shut downs is extensive and by way of a small sample includes, but is not limited to :- supply voltage too high, supply voltage too low, air flow too low, flame failure, fuel supply failure. . . . When you come to think about it all of those really are safety issues and whilst it may indeed be a pain in the rear when it stops working I'm sure you'd agree it would be more of a pain in the rear if it tried to carry on and flattened your batteries, burnt out it's memory or created dangerous combustion products. On top of all of this the Eberspacher operates a 3 strikes and you're out policy - if it doesn't start within 3 goes it shuts down.

Removing the unit is the work of 10 minutes, disconnect the water supply and return (2 gate valves and jubilee clips), isolate the diesel (turn the fuel valve off) then disconnect it (10mm & 14mm spanner), disconnect the electrics harness (simply unplugs), undo the exhaust and air intake pipes (10mm socket) then simply unclip it (large screwdriver) from its mounting bracket. From here I can work on the unit in top of the roof hatch where there is light and space. Servicing the unit is simplicity itself but like all other DIY manuals here is a warning IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING DON'T DO IT .

I knew that the problem wasn't the glow pin as the unit just refuses to even try and start if that has gone faulty, however taking the unit to this many pieces and not replacing it would be false economy so I put a new one in. By the way the Eberspacher original is £43 + VAT, the compatible, made by Beru - Part No 0 100 226 340 I can get for £14 + VAT and I'm sure if I looked harder I could find them cheaper - guess which one we use. A new glow pin should be around 2 ohms.

So, off with the casing and out with the burner unit which is decidedly coked up. In fact the hole is at least 50% obstructed by carbon deposits which would explain why the fuel air mix wasn't happening cleanly and we were getting the flutters. I clean it out with a combination of steel wire, (the sort used for wrapping around circuit board pins), a battery drill set on reverse (so I don't accidentally drill through anything I shouldn't) and Isopropyl Alcohol to soften things up. I was quite pleased with how well I'd cleaned this, feeling certain that I'd improved matters and then as the IPA took effect I noticed another hole - at least it would have been a hole if it wasn't totally coked up. A similar process is carried out on that one and a good general tidy up later all looks good. I give the inside of the combustion chamber a good brush out then stick it all back together again.

Everything back in place and I am rewarded with a first time start with no smoke and no flutters. Leave Ebby running for an hour just to make sure he's a happy little bunny and all is well. Got to think of a new name for him now - 'Ebby 1 go' just doesn't sound right.

About those swans . . . .  Many pages ago we told you about Sid the swan who we didn't know the gender of. A discussion with a vet today reveals that the swan with the bulging bit on the top of the beak is the male. This knowledge has come as a great relief to all swan kind as I no longer have to turn them upside down to find out.

And just to make sure that we squeeze the last possible few ounces out of 2007 we take out the opening section of every window, clean them, the channels they sit in, the drainage holes, the frame and the glass. We also spend many happy moments cleaning out the accumulation of gunk that has collected on the drainage channels on the inside of the frame, replace and repair assorted window catches and replace broken or missing draught strips. A final rub around all of the glass with neat vinegar and a micro-fibre cloth and we can see out again.