..and with not so much as a bang but a whimper out she came...
This year "Sparrow" was being lifted on the Sunday which was also the last day of the club lift out so by the time I got down to the mooring I was met with a whole load of not very much at all - just "Sparrow" and two other boats there, everyone else had been lifted already..
I was on the boat by 11 (I'm nervous the night before a lift out - no idea why...) which was three and a half hours before HT, so just a little time to get on with a little work... I wanted to remove the mooring chain before I left the mooring as otherwise I'd have to come out again on the tender which is always a messy job...
As expected the galvanised shackle had rusted completely - tried to unscrew it but it wasn't going to go, so resorted to the hacksaw... all removed, and shackle and swivel now in the bin - the swivel was an original from "Papillon" so is the better part of 5 or 6 years old, as was the chain, and I've decided that for next year I'd have new... the swivel and chain have been through some heavy weather over the years - best to renew them before they fail...
So chain off and left in the tender, which I left on the mooring (standing instructions for lift out is to not tow your tender as it gets in the way) - engine on and warmed up, and roughly two and a half hours before HT I motored for the bridge...
..now you see why the mast has to come down....
..picked up a mooring the other side and put the kettle on while I waited for enough water to get the tractor and hoist close enough...
....one explosion in a coffee shop later (a long story, but the nub of it is don't try to make a frothy coffee in a sealed thermos mug with boiling water by shaking it up and down vigorously) I'd opened the beer (!) and was taking layers off as the sun was out (it had been a foggy start) and the temperature was rising...
..two boats later I was taken in... this is me in the hoist, chap at the front is one of the two lifting crew they put on each boat...
...and then plonked down on the gravel in roughly the same space I had two years ago...
First things first, I was interested to see how the antifoul had done this year - outstanding crop of barnacles, fair amount of weed, but not seemingly too much different to a lot of the other boats...
...so the work begins - first bad news - the hatch covers haven't stood up well, there's some de-lamination already...
This year "Sparrow" was being lifted on the Sunday which was also the last day of the club lift out so by the time I got down to the mooring I was met with a whole load of not very much at all - just "Sparrow" and two other boats there, everyone else had been lifted already..
I was on the boat by 11 (I'm nervous the night before a lift out - no idea why...) which was three and a half hours before HT, so just a little time to get on with a little work... I wanted to remove the mooring chain before I left the mooring as otherwise I'd have to come out again on the tender which is always a messy job...
As expected the galvanised shackle had rusted completely - tried to unscrew it but it wasn't going to go, so resorted to the hacksaw... all removed, and shackle and swivel now in the bin - the swivel was an original from "Papillon" so is the better part of 5 or 6 years old, as was the chain, and I've decided that for next year I'd have new... the swivel and chain have been through some heavy weather over the years - best to renew them before they fail...
So chain off and left in the tender, which I left on the mooring (standing instructions for lift out is to not tow your tender as it gets in the way) - engine on and warmed up, and roughly two and a half hours before HT I motored for the bridge...
..now you see why the mast has to come down....
..picked up a mooring the other side and put the kettle on while I waited for enough water to get the tractor and hoist close enough...
....one explosion in a coffee shop later (a long story, but the nub of it is don't try to make a frothy coffee in a sealed thermos mug with boiling water by shaking it up and down vigorously
) I'd opened the beer (!) and was taking layers off as the sun was out (it had been a foggy start) and the temperature was rising.....two boats later I was taken in... this is me in the hoist, chap at the front is one of the two lifting crew they put on each boat...
...and then plonked down on the gravel in roughly the same space I had two years ago...
First things first, I was interested to see how the antifoul had done this year - outstanding crop of barnacles, fair amount of weed, but not seemingly too much different to a lot of the other boats...
...so the work begins - first bad news - the hatch covers haven't stood up well, there's some de-lamination already...
one of the "joys" of a sailboat is repairs - I enjoy doing mine (well most of the time)
ReplyDeleteHi Miles - to be fair, so do I.. little bit disappointed in how long the hatches (didn't) lasted though..going to see if I can rescue by glue/clamp and more paint... or maybe I should replace with perspex! :o)
DeleteThe seat hatches on Ciao Bella did the same when I first made them.. The next year they were epoxied and varnished and seems to have held up well. I haven't even gone through and started a list yet!
ReplyDelete