Weekend plans

Heading down to the Blackwater this weekend.... Bradwell is the plan... Meeting a couple of other ybw.com forumites while there, so no doubt the pub will beckon! Early start tommorrow.... 06h30...

nearly finished forepeak

Went down to Maggie after work yesterday, and stopped the night on her.... Managed to get the forepeak walls carpetted, and fitted the infill piece so that the kids don't fall out of bed! Rather pleased with it even if I do say so myself...!

BEFORE

AFTER

Means that Friday evening, I can concentrate on getting the radar cable down the mast. I don't want to leave it all coiled up inside the mast as some of the halyards are in the mast, and sods law says that they will foul on teh cable at the most inconvenient time!

mast climbing

Went down to Maggie today to fit the radar... good progress but not finished!!!! The first trip up the mast was eventful.... loaded with the radar mounting bracket, and the cordless drill, it was a bit of a precarious run.... But eventually I got there, and sat at the spreaders and started to mount the radar bracket... it needed 12 rivets..... 4 in complete with Duralac, and the batteries on the drill packed up..... so back down I came.... A cup of tea and a break later, and I was back up there (trip 2)... maned the get the remaining 2 rivets on the side I was on fitted... Back down again, and backup the other side of the spreaders (trip 3).... managed to fit the remaining 6 rivets.... Back down again.... tied the raydome to another line, and back up again (trip 4).... pulled the raydome up, and started the delicate job of bolting in in... a bit of a balancing act, as I needed to remove the line I had pulled it up with to fit it, so if I had dropped it, it would have been all the way down to the deck..... got it fitted OK in the end though..... Next job was to drill the larger hole for the cable to enter the mast. I had stopped at the DIY store on the way down to get a 12mm drill bit... just the right size.... sadly it didn't fit in the chuck I discovered while perched at the cross trees.... so back down I came... I decided that I had to use the largest bit that would fit, and then a circular file....I first drilled the hole at the base of the mast.... and then back up I went (trip 5).... After drilling and filing the hole was big enough.... so I dropped a bit of whipping twine weighted with nuts down the mast...... SWMBO was at the base and had a bit of wire with a 'hook' in the end to fish the line out of the hole..... It wouldn't fit, and she couldn't get it to bend any further... so down I came.... I bent the wire and we still couln't hook the line.... it was too fine.... so I found a larger bit of string, and back up I went (trip 6).... This went down OK, and was soon hooked out.... I tied the cable to it, and we started threading...... the bloody cable just wouldn't go down though..... I seemed to go so far and then got stuck.... probably twisted round a halyard...... I tried to pull the cable back out, and it came so far and then the plastic coating snagged on the inside of the hole and started pulling off..... I gave up before I wrecked it.... So down I came... I couldn't do it either... so I decided to go back up and feed the cable in from the top to get it out of the rain and leave it for today.... so back up I went (trip 7) I eventually managed to feed all the cable in..... What I haven't mentioned so far is that all the while I had been doing this, the rain had poured down.... so now I was like a drowned rat! Sod it.... time to go home! I've decided to pull the cable back out next weekend, using a small piece of stiff plastic rolled into a tube in the hole to guide the cable back out, and have another go at threading the mousing line... Hope it works!

radar

Not sailing this weekend, due to family commitments on Saturday..... was intending to go to Beaulieu Boat Jumble Sunday, but parents can't have kids, and don't really want them out of bed at 05h00 on the day before school starts again, plus crap weather forecast, so going to give it a miss... Instead, we are going to go down to the boat Sunday and try and get the scanner fitted for the radar... Several decisions made ref fitting the thing... Firstly its going at the spreaders at the side of the mast.... on the front of the mast it would have been firstly too high (in order to clear the babystay) and secondly, with a 24" raydome, would have been a PITA with the genoa, and would probably have needed a protector rail to avoid it getting trashed.... I'm going to mount it on the starboard side, so that the deadzone is more likely to be in the area where I am stand on vessel... Secondly, I have bought 3 through hull glands (another £45).... the radar cable will enter the mast through one of these, meaning that I only need to drill a 12mm hole... it will exeit at deck level, with another gland (I can't get the cable easily through the bung inside the mast at deck level) It will then go through the coachroof using the third gland.... So all I need now is a handful of Monel rivets, some Duralac paste and a small switch rated high enough for the radar (10amps should do it).... Hopefully the chandlery will stock these (I know they have Monel rivets... I saw them a couple of weeks back)... if they are a bit expensive for the switches, I'll just wire it directly to get it set up and tested, and then put a switch in over the next couple of weekends..... So, its up the mast with a drill for me!

engine bits

Should add that while doing a bit of spring cleaning on the boat on Friday night, I decided that I really needed to get to the bottom of the locker under the quarter berth, as we had just piled more stuff in rather than properly emptying it, and seeing what was lurking at the bottom.... Imagine my delight when tucked away in the dark recesses I found a bag containing 2 new fuel filters, 2 new oil filters, a new impellor and several other minor spares... I was ecstatic when the next bag revealed two new injectors... and my day was made when beneath these two bags, an emergency VHF aerial emerged!!!! Only item of confusion was what appears to be a shaft log... wrapped in oily cloth..... however, both ends appear to have had the edges 'sharpened'...... god knows what that is for.....it can sit unsolved alongside the mystery of why anyone would keep 4 sections of a chimney sweeps pole onboard......

its begun!

Got down to Maggie Thursday evening by about 20h00.... traffic was suprisingly light for a bank holiday weekend... Spent Thursday evening just kicking back... getting a few little jobs done, just tweaking here and there... Friday morning dawned, and we decided to set off nice and early for a sail, perhaps out to Cork Sands?.... on went everything, and ******.... the wind speed, log and depth sounder all reading nothing.... just rows of zeros..... So.... I spent the next 2 hours taking the shelf units out of the space above the chart table... it appears this is the only way to access the back of the instruments.... The wind speed gauge was easily fixed... a loose connector on the seatalk bus, and all was well... reading direction and speed, and seemingly consistent with observations.... still nothing on the others though..... Next, I pulled the log..... a quick twirl by hand, and a reading appeared.... OK... so thats working..... but still no depth.... I spent an hour tracing the wiring back... all seemed OK..... all this time the wind was blowing 10kts and the sun was shining..... getting more and more frustrated, I tapped the sounder transceiver with a spanner... and 'boing'.... it popped into life..... Great.... I then spent the next hour reassambling the shleving unit.... Eventually, by midday, we slipped the marina.... the new berth proved a lot easier to exit, and before we new it, we had locked through and were out in the river.... bliss... the season has begun! We motored a short way, and soon had a full set of sails up.... downwind in 10 to 15kts and sun shine.... heaven...... Maggie waltzed along, and we were soon down by Harwich.... given our later than intended start, and the appearance of some cloud, allowing the early season to reveal its true temperature, we decided to turn around and head back north..... Maggie sailed nicely on the wind for a while, but it was getting pretty darned cold.... the kids retired below, and in no time had decided that the pilot berths and sleeping bags looked comfy and the sound of gentle snoring emitted from the companion way.... SWMBO supplied an appropiate quantity of coffee and soup, and by the time we reached Pin Mill, I decided to drop the sails and motor, as it was a bit cold for short tacking! We motored through the lock and into the marina.... the wind, from the south made the new berth really easy, as we were blown on.... so we were soon tied up and secure... A grand meal of sweet and sour chicken was rsutled up, along with home made bread cooked in the oven aboard, and we tidied up.... Fellow forumites, Beancounter and SWMBO came over, and we enjoyed a couple of bottles of good wine, and a few hours of pleasant company, before retiring to bed exhausted.... It was our first sail, and it showed! Saturday dawned, and a hazy fog hung in the air, and was supported by a distinctly cold feel.... it was decided that I would do some more work on the forepeak berths, with able assistance from M, while SWMBO and C made there way into town for a spot of retail therapy. A couple of hours later SWMBO returned to find the trim fitted and the first section of wall carpet nearly cut to shape and ready for gluing... As the sun had made itself known, we decided instead to head for Pin Mill to grag a buoy for some lunch... The wind has swung to the South and so the departure was a little more interesting, but lots of throttle saw us easily clear.... we locked out and into the river... What followed was an extremely pleasant sail... it was a beat up to Pin Mill, and we held full sail in the 15kts, and short tacked the few miles up the river.... tacking on average, I guess, every 3 minutes..... great fun... a great shakedown, and a real vindication of the placement of the winches under my cockpit arrangement.... we got a real routine going, and the tacking was coming on to be quite slick... Basically, I took the working sheet and uncleated it.... SWMBO took the lazy sheet on the winch with handle in place.... I then started the turn from the helm..... as the bow passed through the wind, I held it there for a second or two, and at the same time paid off the now lazy winch while SWMBO took the slack in on the now working winch.... I then lent over and cranked a few turns on while SWMBO tailed... and I gradually let her take onto the new tack.... nothing revolutionary.... just nice to be able to do this, as the previous cockpit layout made it very difficult... Within a few tacks, we were able to get it so that the handle only needed a few short turns just to put some tension on..... We were delighted.... not hard work, fun to do, and must have looked quite slick! it only worked because with the new winch positions, I could reach to winch while also maintaining control over the tiller..... We soon reached Pin Mill, and I rather reluctantly dropped the sails and headed for a buoy.... We decided that I would helm, while SWMBO garbbed the buoy with the boat hook..... the first we reached, she grabbed, only to find that the pick up buoy was hopelessly wrapped around the riser..... I had a go, and I couldn't get it free either, so we abandoned that one, and went for another.... much better... although SWMBO did struggle again to grab the pick up buoy.... she's just not strong enough, sos suspect that a better strategy is for SWMBO to helm, and for me to grab the buoy in future....this one also proved troublesome.... the thing did eventually lift though, and revealed a rather wimpy looking rope attached to a better chain, with a length of pipe to protect the topsides.... It was all rarther tangled, and I didn't trust the rope at all, so we ended up with the chain bashing the nose a little, as there was a strong tide flowing given we were just 2 hours after HW, and loads of stinking rotting weed all over the bow.... still we were on... A short lunch, curtailed by both my unease with the mooring arrangements, and the reducing temperature.... While we ate, we overheard a Mayday... (details withheld as required by the licence), for a MOB..... full credit to the crew... a calm and controlled handling of the situation..... and a happy outcome with only 3 minutes in the water... well done whoever you were... we were suitably impressed with your management of the situation.... We unfurled the genny for the dowwind leag back to Ipswich, and enjoyed a much warmer sail back.... Soon locked in, and relaxing, enjoying a marvellous Spaghetti Bolognaise, and a quiet evening..... Stopped over Saturday night, and then dived off home Sunday morning for family Easter lunch duties...... All in all, a perfect shakedown weekend..... winds pretty tame, weather, although chilly on ocassions, pleasant enough..... The season has begun!!!!!!!

Miles this weekend: 24nm
Miles this season: 24nm
Miles since this blog started: 805nm

Easter

Sailing this weekend.... forecast has gradually revised itself from poor, to average, to now even verging on OK! Will go down Thursday night, sail Friday and Saturday, and then head home Sun late morning for family duties... Current thinking is to day sail, rather then head for somewhere, in order to get our hand back in gently, and also factoring in that, while the sun should be out, its still not that warm yet! But...... The season has started!!!!!!.... happy...

berthing....

Forgot to mention that while we were down on the boat on Sunday, the Marina Manager popped his head over the guard wires to ask if we wanted to relocate to the berth next door.... The previous owner having now departed for pastures new.... Initially I declined, given that it is Starboard side too, and with a RH prop, we kick to port in astern.... However, after mulling it over for 20mins or so, I changed my mind.... firstly the berth is 'open' rather than 'closed', has significantly more space, being the last finger before the main pontoon proper, so only has a transom to negotiate rather than a complete hull, and finally, with prevailing wind direction, we are blown on, rather than off.... So, last task Sunday evening was to move boat onto new berth..... now, bearing in mind that we haven't exacwtly had an active sailing winter, and that my maneouvering skills are somewhat rusty, I was wary.... add to this, the 20kt wind blowing in exactly the opposite direction to prevailing, eg straight off the berth and towards the stern of the next boat, I was slightly more nervous.... We backed off our current berth, and I took the ultra cautious route of motoring right out of the aisle, into the dock proper and then taking my time to motor back in slowly.... We approached, while I waited for SWMBO to jump onto the pontoon..... I waited and I waited.... eventually I said, OK, go on then.... at which point the reply was, no bloody way... its 6 feet away..... I had gone in too slowly, and we had been blown off.... I didn't want to go in too hard and then need to use to much reverse as the kick to port can be quite large....... So into reverse we went..... the stern swung, and we got frighteningly close to the Benny 393 behind.... abit of shuffling saw us clear, and I then had to execute a 3 point turn in the aisle, which was happily successful..... we then backed right out, and had another go..... In a bit hotter this time, and then a belt of reverse... SWMBO made it onto the pontoon, and made off the stern to stop it swinging into the boat behind.... it was however, way too long, and we swung out quite a way.... she made the bow line off, and I went ashore and pumped the stern back into its rightfull place.... Going to be interesting this one over the coming weeks.... easier with the wind blowing us on, but may have to explore the use of a line from the mid ships cleat...... perhaps a bit of practice on the waiting pontoon outside the lock.....

almost ready

Had a day down at the boat today, getting a few final jobs done, so as to be ready for the season.... it was a full family trip this time.... Friday night I finished the final cushion cover and that was ceremoniously loaded into the car and today added to the boat.... SWMBO then held a screwdriver for me, while I crawled into the depths of the stern, wriggling around the steering gear to access the underside bolts of firstly the old wind vane mounting gear (to remove them), and secondly the broken autopilot mount (to replace it with a new one, loving crafted in my garage at home) I then fitted two new jammers to hold the traveller securely, but also allow it to be released more quickly when needed.... Last, but not least we finally bent on the sails... We carted another car full of equipment back to the boat, and now have all the 'normal' equipment back on board, charts, lifejackets, utensils, pilot books etc etc... Also, should mention that I had ordered the foam to make the berth cushions for the forepeak... it turned up Friday morning.... have you any idea how large a 94"x78" sheet of 4" thick foam is!!!!!!!! I had made templates for the cushions using wallpaper backing paper, and spent Friday evening merrily cutting out the cushions with the electric carving knife.... so will shortly get them covered, and then all thats left for the forepeak is to fit the small woods trim pieces to hold the cushions securely, to cut the 4 remaining access hatches, to glue the carper to the walls and to make the 'central' piece that fills in the berth to make it larger... A large number of the jobs now crossed off..... only a few essential ones to go, such as fitting the radar scanner...... Hopefully, out for a sail at Easter!

selling sailing gear

Remember the friend of mine, John whom I posted about last year who is raising money for pens, paper and school equipment for kids in deprived countries that he visited by getting people to sponsor 'messages in a bottle'? Well, he's set up a business to allow sailing and yachting gear to be auctioned in a manner similar to eBay, but dedicated to sailing, so a bit more targetted..... site looks great, and I thought i'd mention it to support him.... URL is http://www.sailroom.co.ukAny ideas on how to promote this, I'm sure he'd welcome them, or drop me a note, and i'll forward your thoughts and ideas on.... Sorry for the blatant advertising, but he's earned the right...!

cushions

Just finished covering the last cushion.... motivation is back.... (excludes forepeak cushions, for which I still haven't ordered the foam) Weather still looks dodgy for next weekend, so may well go down just on Sunday with SWMBO and try and get a few more jobs done... Need help removing the old wind vane mounts, and replacing the autopilot mount (made the new one already) as I can't reach both sides at the same time.... I need to crawl inside the boat to reach the fixings..... Also, may have first pass at fitting the raydome...