I dragged the bamboo for my battens out of the shed yesterday and washed them down with water and bleach to get the mould off. They didn't look wonderful. So I figured I'd try an idea I had read about and had done once before. The idea is to heat up the surface layer till it sweats, this sweat is then wiped off with a rag. I used a gas blowtorch. Don't heat up too much at a time and if there is a whitish residue then apply the heat again and repeat the process. The difference it makes is quite a lot, it looks like it has been polished. I might write something up but here's a link to some photos Post #911
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?88318-Redwing-update&p=3275669#post3275669

Saw your whiteboard comment, thought about one for myself and decided there isn't one big enough.. :(

A great morale booster - if you do a job that isn't on the 'to do' list, add it and then cross it out!

The gear/throttle control is in place now and I've been busy playing with bits of metal to make a linkage between the gear shift cable and the gear lever on the gearbox. After a fair bit of head scratching I now have something that works. The weather has turned very wet so my plan to cement the ballast mould in the ground is on hold for a bit. We're heading into the Wet Season here so there maybe more delays before the pour happens anyway.

Ditch the Bosch and buy a one wire alternator from an auto parts store. Hook the one wire up to the positive pole on the battery, make sure the alternator body is grounded. End of story.
Jeff