Wednesday 2 November 2022

Slowing down - first jobs and deliveries

So, after that frenetic burst of activity a couple of weeks ago, time to slow down into the off season (curse you, Alden, and your Kiwi summer about to start! 😀) but stuff is happening, stuff is being bought, and projects are being formulated/designed/cogitated...

By way of a digest then...

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The boat has been pressure washed - she is clean again - weed removed, all remaining barnacles gone - to all intents and purposes, another coat of antifoul notwithstanding, she would be ready to go back in...

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Mooring pick up chain, shackle/swivel and pick up buoy pressure washed, all weed removed, all checked, after drying sprayed with WD40/white grease and stored in the boat - 
  • main shackle (mooring buoy to swivel) is good, 
  • swivel was new 2016 and so 7 years old next season, but given one year was missed (COVID) and one was very short (same), I think it looks OK for another season 
  • minor shackle (the one between swivel and pick up chain) is old and needs replacing - I'll take the opportunity to end for end the chain (bought 2016) at the same time (new job #11)
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Job #6 (smooth off of the antifoul) is still on the list from last year - last year I did it, and definitely saw an improvement, but I was using 120 grit mesh, classed as medium, which for this function is way too fine - I am of the opinion that the coarser the better, so I have some 60 grit on order - I'm not looking to go back to hull, but it does need smoothing out..

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Rodders ('captain, my captain') contacted the Jolly Boys the other day to let us know that the litany of bad luck associated with Ocean Waves (our ride for the annual Jolly Boys Cruise) has continued, and she's suffered yet more damage this week, this time due to Storm Claudio rather than us...  😕😔

After the damage in February (Storm Deirdre) which resulted in her not being available for our cruise =>

"ouch"...  so in the severe weather the waves pitched high enough to force the fenders out..  the boat then smashed into the wooden surround of the pontoon breaking it off, but leaving the retaining bolts, that then did what you see...

This time Claudio did for her - apparently a bow line parted, and as a result the stern ended up bashing repeatedly into the pontoon - by the time she was found she was holed as seen, and flooded to the level of the cockpit sole => 


She has no luck - or they seriously need to consider changing her berthing position which is on one of the outside pontoons...
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Last of all for this update - I have decided that my winter project this year will be bilge pump(s) - job #4. 

Time to start deciding what and where I want...  initial thoughts -
  1. electric or manual or both? thinking electric at this stage
  2. How many and where? Sparrow is a bilge keeler with substantial recesses at the top of each keel - cockpit sole is much higher so I'm thinking a suction point in each keel will do (lowest points)
  3. Where do I vent the water?? I dislike "through hulls" so I want to use any I already have, if possible, and that means utilising the 3 cockpit drains - vent water into the cockpit???
Time to start doing some research..

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are well ahead of things, sadly I'm still trying to work out which of this year's summer projects I should start

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    1. Hi Max - good to hear from you... re. old projects? Just do what I do and just tell everyone you completed them - how will they know? :o))

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  2. If you're sanding something that clogs up the sandpaper like antifoul, then have you tried sanding mesh? It's a mesh (obviously) coated in sand. The advantage is it's less likely to clog as particles work through the mesh.
    Toolstation have it in various formats: https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=sanding+mesh

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mark - yes - got my sanding pole and mesh all lined up - just waiting for the enthusiasm to arrive... :o)

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