Lifejacket check...

I'm late this year but the life jackets were serviced this week...

• Unpacked and manually inflated
• Gas bottles weighed (and same as last year 149gms) - no signs of corrosion
• Then left 24 hours and as they were still inflated at the end ==>
• Re-screwed the gas bottles and re-packed them...

After 24 hours

I need to buy a replacement bottle though as one of them went off when I packed it away - didn't realise the arming spike was poking out.. burger.. still at least I know it worked!

Not looking good... post script....

So on Sunday I decided with nothing better to do I'd pop down to the boat and see if it was where I'd left it... 

The following is copyright to the chap named bottom left - this is Southsea sea front near Portsmouth Harbour entrance on Saturday....  mid summer day?? Think not!

Suffice to say the forecast had been proven correct...  for the time I was on the boat it blew force 6 (WSPD) gusting 7 (GST) all the time, and continued to do so for most of the day - wind direction (WD funnily enough) was north of west (most unusual) and once I was out of the shelter provided by the bund that the road is built on, the water was damned choppy...

Following is courtesy Cambermet [clicky]

Date	Time	WSPD	WD	GST	ATMP	WTMP	BARO	DEPTH
23/06/2013	12:50	22.7	278	28.3	15.4	14.8	0	4.75
23/06/2013	12:55	24.8	286	30	15.3	14.8	0	4.72
23/06/2013	13:00	24.1	284	30	15.3	14.8	0	4.69
23/06/2013	13:05	22.3	282	29	15.3	14.8	0	4.65
23/06/2013	13:10	24.6	284	30.2	15.2	14.8	0	4.63
23/06/2013	13:15	23.2	278	27.7	15.1	14.8	0	4.6
23/06/2013	13:20	23	278	27.5	15.1	14.9	0	4.57
23/06/2013	13:25	22.1	274	26.1	14.9	14.9	0	4.54
23/06/2013	13:30	22.2	278	28	15	14.9	0	4.51
23/06/2013	13:35	21.4	277	27.7	14.9	14.9	0	4.48
23/06/2013	13:40	21.6	271	27.6	14.9	14.9	0	4.45
23/06/2013	13:45	23.1	275	28	14.9	14.9	0	4.41
23/06/2013	13:50	22.1	276	26.3	14.9	14.9	0	4.36

Still..  the boat was where I'd left it - along with all the others - no damage, nothing breaking lose - bit of rain water in the bilges (half an inch and fresh), but other than that she was fine....

Dropped off the now completed cockpit step cum table (with one final modification which was to sprinkle the penultimate coat of wet paint with fine sand for some grip - the last coat of paint on top of that stops you thinking you've got sand on the table!)

Need to go sailing - but work this week is not going to allow that, then I need to get her in for standing rigging (hopefully next week 4th and or 5th) - this weekend is looking good though, fingers crossed....

Not looking good.......

...for time on the water this weekend.....  

Click for bigger view... but not if you're easily disappointed....

Wall to wall cloud, strong wind, and possibility of rain....  must be summer.....  

More fettling...

There were late tides last weekend (15th and 16th), but although it was lovely and sunny, Cambermet shows it as Force 6 gusting 7 on Saturday, so I had some hopes for Sunday instead...

When I got to the boat it was grey and spitting - not very enticing so i decided to get on with some more work on the boat...  finished hanging the curtains, unpacked a large crate of  "rubbish" I had bought with me from Papillon, but more importantly I spent some time offering up an enhancement for fit...

Enhancement....?! 

Yeah, I've been bodging in the garage again...

This was made from an old pine shelf and has a dual function - the primary role is as a foot stand to allow me to work at the bottom of the mast - I had a couple of these on my last boat and they are worth their weight in gold as it means I can stand on it in the companion way (so safe), but far further forward in the cabin so that I can work at the mast far more easily - for either roller boom reefing, or (at the moment) raising/lowering the main... gives me a foot and a half of height/reach...

Definitely...!

Second use is as a table for when I'm in the cabin - in fact, if I made it with a bigger surface this would make a handy chart table - I could put some pen/compass holders on the sides...  next version.... either way, it worked well in both modes so has been taken home for a final couple of coats of bathroom paint..

Sods Law of course that by the time I'd done all that the sun had come out and it was ideal sailing conditions but too late....  ah well - sat in the cockpit, cold Coke, sunshine, chatting to fellow mooring'ites doing much the same as me... not much better ways to spend the afternoon...

Langstone Cutters were out..  looking good...

So - what's next?

1. If the weather perks up a crafty day out of work to go sailing later this week
2. I have had a quote from Emsworth Yacht Harbour to have all the standing rigging done and have told them I'd like to proceed - very exciting, just waiting on a date....

Fettling day...

Bit breezy for sailing what with my slightly elderly standing rigging, but it was too good a day not to be on the boat, so decided it would be a fettling day... not only that I managed to finish all the jobs I wanted to do as well...  amazing.. 

First job, lower block is now fitted so the kicking strap is now complete - lovely! At some point in time I may beef up the line for this (it's currently 3mm - 4mm might be better, or even 3mm braid on braid as it's less stretchy)...  By the way - ignore the rusty mast foot fitting - it'll be done when the mast comes down for the new standing rigging....

By this point I felt I'd done so well  that it might be time for a sit down, which logically meant it might be time for food as well, so the Fursty Ferret [clicky] locker was broken open....

Suitably refreshed it was time for the major job of the day, the port side mushroom vent. This was in a poor state; age/UV damage/mould and generally cracked and broken.. note the base which I think is/was the source of one of my leaks when it rains...

Before...

 

I'd already done the starboard side at the beginning of the year so I new largely what to expect...  previous owner had used stainless steel fixings so no corrosion, and all the bolts came of pretty easily, the dome though was fairly firmly held with the old sealant so I resorted to large screwdriver and hammer to slowly chip the deck flange away until in the end the whole fitting came loose..

Cleaned up the deck area around the hole, removed old sealant with a scraper, brushed off debris and we were ready for the new one. Based on a tip on the Practical Boat Owner web forum I used Frame Sealant last time, no reason to think it didn't work so did the same this time...  a good bead around the inner edge of the flange, pressed it home so that sealant began to squeeze out round the edge, put the nuts and bolts in, and then tightened them down...  got lucky here as 50% of them I managed to tighten completely without needing outside assistance. For the others I used the trusty mole grips on the nut on the inside of the cabin, and tightened up the bolt from the outside while the mole grips held the bolt stationary...  job done...

After...

 

Time for another sit down...  sun was lovely...  Langstone Cutters were out doing circuits..  pretty breezy so the performance dinghies from the club were howling around...

Time for the last job....  last time I was on the boat, I noticed these (the two tiny holes).... I recognised those from my last boat as being the bolt holes used for some eye straps (since removed), as I had similar, in almost the same spot...

Before..

 

Nipped to the chandlers in the morning and bought a couple, and then with the balance of an acrobat and a lot of grunting and groaning I managed to get a nut, bolt and washer through to hold them fast - a small win but with significant benefits as I can use them for bungees when I want to use some rudimentary self steering, holding the tiller central when she's moored, etc.

..all in all then, a damn good day and finished off by a visit to a fellow members new to him boat (you can just see it with a tender alongside in the picture above) in order to deliver a bottle of the finest so that he can christen his new boat (third for him, third for the boat, third for Neptune 👍). 

 

A swift half later and the tide was disappearing and it was time to bring proceedings to a close....

Cheeky day off...

Cheeky day off as the weather is too good to waste, and I'm fully booked this weekend so no time to go out... 

Oh man, so pleased I did - what a day...  sunny, force 3  with the occasional interesting gust, and the almost ideal direction - lottery winning conditions.... superb....

Half ten HT so on the boat by 0745, was off and running 20 minutes later - 5 minutes of engine and off it went for the duration of the trip apart from the end...

Long run down the harbour, almost to HISC, turned left for a far better look in Snowhill creek, almost got stuck - very shallow and also narrow....

...told you I'd get to it..   

Exit'ing Snowhill Creek looking back - East Head on the right

...and then across the channel to Prinstead Creek for a nose up past TISC (Thorney Island SC) where I'd had an idea I might find a mooring for a little snooze/reading time...  there were moorings to be had, but I was enjoying the sailing too much...

HISC ahead on the way home - just about to turn left for home...

Turned back to the main channel and then had an hour of almost perfect conditions, gusty F3 right across the beam with some excellent speeds..  the sailing experience is totally different to my old boat... on her I'd have been sheeting in & out all the way up the channel to stay upright and stop weather helm....  Sparrow just picks her heels up and goes; she may only be a foot longer, but she's 30%  heavier*..

Got to the entrance of the Northney channel and just for once the conditions were good enough to sail right through to the moorings basin...  5 minutes of engine and I was back on the mooring... 

With a bit of time left before the water disappeared, I fitted the jamming block and the new improved kicking strap is now done - very pleased with it -  as an added enhancement I'm going to get a small double block for the bottom to allow better leverage, but it's already a million times better - very pleased with it...

Log:

Distance: 14.73 miles (cumulative total in the 2013 mileage tab at the top of the page)
Wind: Force 3 gusting 4.. NNE/NE (cracking direction for travelling long distances in the harbour!)
Sail Plan: Full jib and main - engine for manoeuvring..
Speed: GPS track says max speed was 5.1 knots (under sail) - average speed: 3.2 knots.

 * Sparrow is significantly faster, and the GPS proves it...  consistent averages of 3 knots, where Pap was doing 2.5...  what it means is that I go much (much) further on a day sail/single tide...now I just really, really, want to get the standing rigging done!!

Emsworth meander...

First off - a well done to Jelly Bean Phil [clicky] who crewed on Peggoty - another Hurley 20 - in the Round the Island Race yesterday..  they picked up the Tenacity Trophy (for finishing last but within the time limit) and I for one think they wholeheartedly deserve it - goes to show just how fast and seaworthy these little boats are for their diminutive waterline, and that despite being without spinnaker/crusing chute they still managed to get round in time.... well done to the skipper (Liam) and the other crew (John) as well...  fantastic stuff...

=============================

Poorly timed tides again this weekend but the weather was too good to let a sailing session go missing.. hopped out of my pit at 0630 on Sunday and was on the water an hour later and casting off 15 minutes after that... 

A fair few tenders on the moorings so it looks like some of my compatriots had taken the opportunity to get away yesterday (and I did toy with the idea of sleeping on the boat last night but got distracted by Transformers on the TV) as there was no one else out other than a few boats exiting Northney Marina...

With a NNW'ly wind blowing and not much time (it was an 0700 high tide) I decided to to have a mooch up towards Emsworth as I love looking at the boats in  the main channel, and I also like the technicality of the close tacking to get up there...

... beautiful morning, flask of fresh coffee, radio on, and the enjoyable puzzle of tack threading your way through the boats...  brilliant.... doesn't get much better though I'm increasingly irritated by the plastic luff fittings on the jib catching on the shrouds when going from port to starboard...  bloody irritating and when I get a moment I'll hacksaw the edges down to the minimum.

For the first time ever I took the opportunity to poke my nose into Fowley Rythe - wind was perfect for it - not quite enough water to get into Nore Rythe though...

So just past this one (below) I turned south and had a slow meandering run down to the Northney channel and back for home...

...interesting trip home as the gusts were building but Sparrow took it in her stride... by just after 10 we were tied up - just as well really as I had got the tide times wrong in my head - I was convinced the HT was an hour later than it actually was!

Terror - one of the last surviving Emsworth oyster boats..

 

So a very enjoyable meander - one of my favourite trips because there's so much to see... quite surprising how many empty moorings there are though...

Log:

Distance: 5.98 miles (cumulative total in the 2013 mileage tab at the top of the page)
Wind: Force 4, but both ends of the scale.. NNW
Sail Plan: Full jib and main - engine for manoeuvring..
Speed: GPS track says max speed was 4.1 knots (under sail) - average speed: 3.1 knots.

Separately - have just started the process of getting quotes to get the standing rigging done - itching to get further afield....  first quote is in, another one to go, and then I have to decide who and when...