Much to my surprise, the un-diluted bottle of bleach that I had liberally sprayed throughout the V-berth and head certainly had its intended effect. The boat is starting to actually feel habitable. The bleach made a world of difference on me wanting to sprawl out in the V-berth for any period of time.
I gotta believe that disposing of the four inch thick spongy bed mattress that came with the boat was definitely the right decision as well. All it seemed to do was absorb moisture and propogate germs not unlike a dishwashing sponge. It didn't seem that it would ever dry out in the hot sun and I certainly wasn't going want to be sleeping on a giant moist germ-collecting dishwashing sponge... so that thing was unceremoniously carted off into the marina trash dumpster.
In its place is a sleeping pad for camping, a sleeping bag, and a small air-mattress... not entirely nautical, but functional for the time being.
The alcohol stove had its turn today... I pulled it out of its recess and gave it a thorough examination and cleaning. The valve to the back burner was stuck in the open position but I finally worked it enough that it now opens and closes readily enough. The burners were encrusted in rust and burned crud but not after I put a metal battery terminal brush to good use. I made a mess in the cockpit but it was better than taking a chance on losing some small random fitting overboard.
The real test came later and Voila! The stove actually worked... both burners were burning away... I still need to get use to controlling the amount of flame coming out of the burners though... and I'll also need some real stick matches... that Bar-B-Que grill lighter that I purchased doesn't light on cue and the plastic cigarette lighter that I claimed off of a bar-room floor not long ago seems to take a layer of skin off of my thumb every time I attempt to use it.
On the menu tonight, not that anyone really cares, was maccaroni and cheese along with boiled red potatos and diced Italian hard salami. The water boiled readily enough inside the pressure cooker. I've got too much cookingware aboard the boat but the pressure cooker certainly is a keeper. I'll hold off on buying a propane stove for the boat for now.
Memo to self: plan meals ahead of time, dig out all the food items and seasonings as well as the pots & pans to be used BEFORE lighting up the alcohol stove.
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