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...