Savannah screen repair – continued

Wow, another 34 degree day – this summer really has turned out to be a long, hot, dry sizzler! It’s certainly the hottest that I can remember in the 4 years that I’ve been here.

I went to Malbec to continue work on 77ASY’s screen but there’s no point going too early when it’s ‘cooler’ as then the sun shines straight into the barn and I’d be working in direct sunlight. So not so cool after all. It’s best to start work at about 11.15 am because by then the sun has risen beyond the roof of the barn and although it’s then hotter outside, I’ve got shade to work in.

To give readers some idea of how ‘tropical’ it is here at the moment, when I’d finished work I went to rinse my hands under the hosepipe. Besides the water that came out being really hot, I was surprised when the flow started and a little brown snake about a foot long shot out with it! I think it was as surprised as I was as it went slithering off into the grass after hitting my hand and then the ground!

By the time I’d got started, it didn’t take long to drill out all of the rivets that secured the cabin top panel.

It came out pretty easily but anyone doing this job should make sure that they don’t drill out all of the rivets unless, like me, they’ll be replacing the top cabin glass as well, because one, or maybe two rows of rivets just hold that in and are not part of the panel fixing arrangements.

That just left the windscreen itself.

All that was needed was to drill out the rivets along the screen’s top edge and by then the Savannah cabin was beginning to look a bit bare.

After cleaning out all of the rivet holes ready for when I come to fit the new screen, I then placed the top panel back on top of the cabin, just to keep out as much dirt and muck as I could.

Then all I could do was place a cover over the front of the cabin in an attempt to dissuade any insects and birds from making it their home in the time that it takes for me to make up the new windscreen.

Here’s a shot of the old screen on my patio table (ha ha, it’s transparent, can hardly see it – doh!)

Tomorrow I’ll unroll the new Makrolon that I received the other day, place it on a flat surface- probably my bed so as not to scratch it – place the old one on top and draw round it. Then I’ll cut the new one out with large scissors and hopefully, Voilà! – my new screen will be ready to fit.