Toe in the water..

Been a while, but following the last sail where the engine decided to go "putttt" I took her off to the outboard engineers for a once over convinced that the issue was the throttle cable (despite it being in good condition)..

With the delivery issues we're currently experiencing in the UK (bottom line a shortage of HGV drivers that may, or may not, be caused by Brexit depending on who you believe) he was concerned that it could take 3 to 4 weeks, but as it turned out 2 weeks and she was done, and yes, it was a throttle cable which was replaced..

Took a day off and refitted it over one high tide - again using the boom as a crane, and the main sheet for lifting "grunt" - this worked so well that I could almost get it into the outboard scoop  whilst still using the tackle - excellent, and so much easier...

I'd also noticed that I seemed to be leaking oil from somewhere (I suspect the oil dipper wasn't screwed in tight enough), and after a top up of oil gave her a run just to confirm all was good - and it was..  

Going forward I have decided to not raise the outboard leg to the top position when I leave the boat..  because the boat is nose heavy, it can mean the prop is higher than the block at times, and that can't be a good thing, so I now leave it in the mid position - the prop is half/quarter submerged while she's floating, but the angle of the leg when she dries is much better, and when I went out this time there was no sign of any further leakage, so job's a good'un I think..

I had no intention of actually going out at all when I got to the boat, the intent was to give her a once over and make sure everything was OK as the weather when I left home was grey, humid, and wind'less - when I got to the boat however, it was warm , sunny and with a nice breeze!

Throwing caution to the wind I dropped the mooring and headed off down the cut in a weaving and zig zag manner as I re-learnt some sail raising skills after what seemed like a long time..

It was a short trip - by the time I got to the headland at the bottom of the Emsworth channel it was gusting a good top end 5, and greying over..  I wasn't ready for it (too much sail up, couldn't be bothered to reef, and just after HT anyway) so turned, dropped the sails and went back to laze in the cockpit on the mooring, but not before losing my prized BAR America's Cup hat over the side... a perfect man overboard recovery (albeit on the the 3rd attempt!) however, and she was returned to the boat..

Log:

Distance: 2.5 miles  (cumulative total in the mileage tab at the top)
Wind (Speed; Direction): F4 gusting F5; WxS
Sail Plan: Full main partial genoa
Speed (Max/average in knots):  3.5 knots

Southampton Boat Show 2021

We're hot to trot...

So after the huge disappointment of last years late cancellation (and yes I'm fully aware that that could at best be described as a "first world problem" in light of the other sh*t that has liberally besmirched us all thanks to COVID, but as my mate says "that may be so, but I live in the first world") the Boat Show is back - albeit on a slightly smaller scale, and with a few extra hoops to jump through to get in..  minimum requirement was double jabs, but they also asked for one of those to the left within 48 hours of attending...  no skin off my nose, I was just pleased they were putting the show on and attempting to keep us safe.. throw in the fact that the tickets were paid for out of the voucher they gave me last year following the last shows cancellation and I'd say that I was more than a little looking forward to it...

Plans were drawn to attend with my sister and brother in law, but a week before we were due to go, the brother in law (who works for Clipper) was sent abroad so in the end just me and my sis went - but what a cracking day..

Number of exhibitors was down - not noticeably so - but at the end of the day, when I looked back, I had missed the usual Chandlery culprits as I was looking for a few bits and bobs that normally I would have got from them - the big trade tents were reduced to one (normally there are a couple). On the plus side the pontoons were as busy as ever (in fact I thought busier), and the food and beverage choices were better (which had had a positive effect on the price of a pint)

Good day then - so just a few pictures

One day I'll have one of those (above) - who am I kidding, no I won't...  Morgan were at the show and I couldn't resist the 3 Wheeler - British racing green, RAF roundels, Flying Tigers graphics..  lovely..  and the guy running the stand was a delight - knowledgeable and happy to chat..

My eldest is an Eleanor so that was for her - lovely day boat..  note the electric outboard - it was something I noticed increasingly at this years show...

Ludicrous... the Boat Show always has a few niche sellers and this was one of them - above - these are ice buckets on the grand scale - but £500?! Funnily enough the cow was sold already and we saw the new owner taking it home through the middle of Southampton on our way back...  😀

Sunseeker or Princess - above - I forget which, but despite not being a motor boat fan I thought that picture was too good to miss - beautiful sunny day and that row of bows just looked fantastic...

My boat of the show - above - the Tofinou 10 [clicky] was absolutely beautiful - stunning boat, and look at that varnish - almost French polished...  also very clever as the sheets and lines run underneath it so as not to intrude...  note also the recessed cleats... looking back over previous Boat Show posts I do seem to have a thing about the Tofinou boats!

From the sublime Tofinou to the ridiculous - above - Dutton...  who buys them???  😀

Lastly - above - no show is complete without a classic - and this years was the Dutch tall ship "Morgenster" [clicky] a sail training vessel originally built in 1919, but substantially altered over the years, including a period of service in the pirate radio line! All I can say is that she was absolutely immaculate - a very well looked after ship indeed...

No pictures - but another stand out boat was the Viko 21 [clicky] which I first saw back in 2016, there's a pretty good review of it here [clicky] but I still remain absolutely gobsmacked at the price - the one they had at the show was £26K (!) for a  21 footer..  ready to go... amazing..   The one at the show had a built in A frame to lower/raise the mast with integral 6:1 blocks for doing the lifting and dropping...  lift keel with a bulb..  sails..   roller furling... 

 Couple of pints in the Platform afterwards to end a brilliant day.. love the Boat Show!