Catch up - deliveries, boatshows, mast drops

Been a bit busy, so by way of a catch up...  

First - the Southampton Boat Show..  much chat and blather on the so'shuls (sic) about how the show is 'a mere shadow of it's former self', 'much smaller', 'full of expensive food emporiums', blah blah blah, but I would say that the event is one of my favourite of the year, and after this years attendance, is still one of my favourites..

...busy cruise liner port is Southampton..

Yes, the surface area is reduced over what it used to be three or four years ago, but I still managed to spend the entire day there and come home feeling like I'd rushed bits - well done the organisers, another cracking show..

Stand outs - the Halberg Rassy 69 without a doubt

Second main cabin..

Main main cabin.. what you don't see is the mahoosive (40"??) TV mounted on the cabin wall facing the bed..😁

LOL...  the Jolly Boys can only dream..

Full colour!

..there you go - yours for about £4.5M, plus VAT, plus any extra's you want to kit her out with..😏

Next ..this caught my eye (following) - very futuristic (reminded me of a Star Wars storm trooper).. 

More here.. ALARIS™ 6.0 [clicky]

While I correctly identified it as electric, I quite incorrectly assumed that the 6 referred to a HP rating..  it's not, it's to do with the Kw power rating - 6Kw is the equivalent (if I understand it) of a 9.5HP petrol engine..   looking at the price list it's about £8K (including VAT), tiller version is available (which I suspect will cost more), and you will also need to source your choice of battery..  this is as far as I can tell, cutting edge for Tohatsu, as I think it only hit the markets at the beginning of the year - be interested to see if they release some other sizes..   it needs to be cheaper if it's going to get general acceptance..  I can buy five of their brand new petrol 6HP's for the same price as the engine alone...  never mind the battery's as well..

Next - delivery time...  the first of the Jolly Boys boats to leave the post season water was AmiLy, a much reduced contingent of just me and the skipper took her round from Whale Island to her winter quarters in Port Solent...

..always a bit of a downer if I'm honest - just a reminder that we now have 6 months of dark, cold, and rain before the boats hit the water and we can start sailing again.. 😔

Trouble free trip - including filling the tanks ready for the winter hiatus..

😍

Then next it was time to drop the mast on Sparrow [clicky]

I'd tried (and tried!) to slip in another sail, but a combination of tides, weather, and unavoidable commitments elsewhere meant it just wasn't going to happen, and with time slipping on, and Jolly Boy availability being key, there was no time left. The mast has to come down before lift out, and with some pretty dire weather in the forecast for this weekend, I went for it while I still had time.. 

So it was that Dave, Rodders and I (as Smithy had an unavoidable appointment with a tree surgeon) conjoined on Sparrow for the now traditional mast drop, beer, and pork pie combo..

One of the best drops we've done I think - no issues - certainly one of the quickest as I'd had time to do a lot of the prep before they arrived..  always a relief when it's done though, and what a gorgeous day to do it on, warm, sunny and no more than a light breeze..  perfect..

..and then last of all, the winter refit starts here ..

..the one it's replacing did as well as the one before it, having also lasted about 6 years - which works out at about a tenner a year..  I can live with that. The old one was paper thin, beginning to split, and generally had had it's day..

Next stop, my lift out which is next Wednesday..