What happened to 2023?

 Hi folks well the good news is that I'm still here.

With June very hot and little to no wind, then of course heavy rain for parts of the UK, although down here on the island it wasn't too bad and much needed by those gardeners.

We did go out a couple of times but even those were fraught with either problems or issues.  The usual run to Totland for an overnight stay was a sleepless night for the Skipper.  Not sure if it was the abandoned motor vessel on the rocks that played on his mind, but needless to say he was kept awake by all the noises and creaks.  This isn't unusual for him for the first night, but clearly, he wasn't happy as the engine went on and despite decent winds, we motored all the way home.

On the next trip out, and there could be quite a few weeks between, my impeller decided to shatter itself, despite being replaced during the winter servicing.  They took me out as it was first thought that weed had gotten into the system. but by the time we were in the Solent and spun me round and round, the problem persisted.  With tide against we managed to make Trinity landing at the entrance to the river and the engine was at 105C.  We tied up there and let the engine cool down. This was when the state of the impeller was discovered, with a replacement fitted it was thought the problem was solved, but no.

Some water did come out of the exhaust on the way to the home mooring but nothing like usual.  It took a further three weeks to work out that where the butyl rubber impeller had worn and scored the stainless steel plate the vacuum had been broken!  This allowed air to pass breaking the suction the impeller created to draw water through.  A few weeks later the new plate arrived and all was well. Except, where the engine had gotten so hot the plastic on the exhaust had melted allowing water to now enter the engine bay and the bilge.  It took another couple of weeks before the new parts arrived and could be fitted.

Skipper and crew had promised, as usual, to look after two Pointers and a Viszla for a week around the August bank holiday.

Skipper has been back and forth more recently.  The Webasto heater took three attempts to start up and by accident, he learned that the socket in the cockpit had no power, which was only recently discovered that the connection had been pulled apart.  He also had ordered a pair of six pulley organisers from Spinlock to replace the existing ones that still struggle to turn despite several trips through the dishwasher.  With the deck wash pump, they can now be washed down with fresh water before the build-up of salts and dirt.

New organiser

Skipper was also recently looking at an anchor counter and remote control system.  The intention was so that anchoring could be done without leaving the cockpit, baring getting the anchor out of the locker and secured of course.  However, the counter available is not compatible with a horizontally orientated windlass so the project may be shelved.

I'm already booked in for my usual winter tern on the hard, but hopefully, I might get some wind in the sails before then.

Till next time 'fair winds'.

Spring 2023

Oh, how time flies.

April was not a particularly nice month weather-wise, plus bedroom 3 of Dagmar House was the attention of my crew for this year, and turned ankles and other distractions meant that progress was slow.  On launch, the water that spat out of the exhaust readily on the hard stopped.  With Skip's crew mate still nursing the ankle, he opted to take me up to my home berth on W pontoon on his own, as it's not that far from the Yacht Haven and with two cooling systems to the engine he was not too worried about overheating.

No issues and on his own he took me to my berth and sorted out my mooring lines.

Skip always has little ideas to make improvements year after year.  He came up with the idea that to improve crew comfort whilst sailing and looking forward he would have simple devices fitted to the steering plinths so that it is possible to sit comfortably with your back supported, whilst facing forward.  Without this device, your backbone rubbed against the hard surface making it uncomfortable.  Skip being Skip, always wants to dual purposes out of something to make it worthwhile.

So here's the backrest come drinks holder:-

Backrest mode whilst sitting facing forward

Drink bottle mode whilst helming

So it wasn't till mid-May before I came out of the box for a shake-down and then again a couple of weeks later.  On this occasion with the gradient wind only forecast at 10-13kts, but with the prospect that I was likely to reach 6.0kts of boat speed a reef was put in and a couple of rolls of jib held back.  Sure enough, the apparent wind was on average 16kts gusting to 22kts at times, and we flew.

It's the end of May and the crew of Nimrod will arrive the last Friday for a RORC race which Skip will meet up with them. Then hopefully before May is out and the weather changes, we'll be off pushing the boundaries.

Winter III 2023

The weather always is an element to consider when I come out and usually this far south in the UK it is reasonably mild, despite the moanings of the residents. Being out of the water and suspended in the air in the cradle means that the temperature around the base of the hull is probably colder than it is inside.

This year, unlike in previous years, due to the hike in energy prices, Skipper is being charged for the electricity he uses, as explained in previous editions. Presumably, it was built into the fees previously and lost, rather than being an element on the bill, which it now is and so a meter has been fitted along my shore power cable.  In the past, I had an oil-filled radiator on a timer and a heater element on low(ish), with a dehumidifier running.  Now, the dehumidifier is only on when Skipper comes on board and he sets it to turn off up to five or six hours after he's left. The radiator comes on only during the early hours and if he's working on me he may run the Webasto heater for a couple of hours, to warm me up inside and him when he stops for tea or has lunch.

However, the cold or rain is not conducive to working outside and the inside jobs can be done at any time. And so, time ticks on, and what was three months on the hard soon becomes two, then one. Skip struck a deal, in that rather than all the boats behind penning me in, having to be moved, to get me out for the pre-arranged launch date, Skip suggested that I remain there for another month at the lower winter rate.  Again in the past, I have been moved to the marina itself where the internal jobs can be done but shore power is still available.

The keel was filled rubbed down filled and sanded again and then Copper Coated job done.  Hopefully, the crack that always appears each year I come out will not, let's see.

The weather has changed them slightly from these shots

and they've been rubbed back slightly to expose

the Copper from within

There's always a great list of winter jobs, those that are necessary and the 'would like's'.

This year's 'would like' was to fit the deck wash pump, whose parts had been steadily arriving end of last year. Late summer, the back plate for the pump itself had been drilled, and the nuts for the bolts had been countersunk and resin into position and painted.  The glass fiber resin enables the bolt to be undone without the need to access the nuts, which when fixed are between the bulkhead and the plate, glued and screwed into position.

Deck wash pump sits in with the bow thruster

wiring was already there back

to the control board

So a 15mm domestic underfloor heating pipe was fed through my bilge from the fresh water tanks looping around under the floor of the master cabin and back to the cupboard in the ensuite. In here, is the clever bit, a valve.  This valve switches between the freshwater pipe and the seawater pipe, taken from the flushing system of the heads. Depending on what you cleaning down you have an option, fresh water to remove the salts from the pulleys by the mast and salt water to clean the mud off the anchor and wash the deck.

Although the 15mm domestic underfloor heating pipe

looks to be the same size, but it isn't, hence the

reinforced pipes at the sides.

The Hanse pipework is also much thicker, 

probably acts as an insulator

Having fitted all the pipework, the valve on the deck by the anchor locker and wired it in, it appeared not to want to draw water from the tank, seawater can't be tested till I'm actually in it!  24 hours later on his return, the joints were checked and tightened and the pump ran again, water spurted 24" into the air - result.  Due to another expected cold snap though, part of the system was drained down and 25mm thick foam pipe insulating was added to the section of pipe in the anchor locker and in the bow thruster compartment that now also houses the deck wash pump. The section of pipe to the pump is easily accessible and as such can be disconnected and drained down.

The switching valve under the sink in the master cabin ensuite,

above the lowered shower pump.

This is a push-in valve that stops water from entering, only exiting, black plastic fitting on the right is pushed in and locked, waiting for a 90 degree bend so that the hose lays on the deck rather than heads skywards.

The manual anode fitting was also replaced with a better solution enabling easy access at the point where the bolted joint is.

The hull has been washed in a boat cleaning solution and is waiting to be polished. Skipper having spoken to one of the professionals has bought a product and waiting for better weather before undertaking the last job on the hard.

The gear oil in the sial drive has been changed and engine oil and filters are on board waiting for the servicing of the engine.

Time is running out and I'll be back in the water on the 29th (March), the day after Skipper returns from a short break in Ireland again.

Today 16th March, Skipper came down with his new product and set to on my Port side, managing to complete the whole side in the day.  Bet he'll feel it in the morning!  It's not supposed to be such a nice day tomorrow, so I may have my engine serviced giving his shoulders a rest.

Winter II - 2023

Winter has finally arrived since the New Year, with temperatures dropping as low as -4C here in Cowes, a lot warmer than lots of places, but it doesn't make it too comfortable for those that want to work outside.

Skipper being one of them, as he has his list of winter jobs to get through.  The work to the keel is a unique one on the list this year and is progressing well, with the port side now having all the old anti-foul removed, just a few awkward bits that need to be finished by hand.  Still have the pin holes to fill in the filler and rub back and then it should be ready for the application of Copper Coat, once there's a bit more warmth in the sun.

Portside rubbed back exposing the old Copper Coat, which glistens

around the lead bulb where the mix slumped previously

(the white bits are the original keel).

Next, his attention was to clean my teak deck and then taking four recommendations over the years, purchase and apply 'Wet & Forget' over the wet surface. It's surprising how grubby the deck gets, but he does a good job and hopefully, the product will keep them clean throughout the season.

Work to clean the teak did mean that a hot water bottle was required

in the evening to ease the back muscles.

Day two and he learned to keep his

back straight.

I think the next is to ensure that there's a good electrical contact for the manual anode, as some corrosion appears to have stopped it from working judging by the state of the anodes that were renewed when I came out to replace the prop.  Whilst he's in my rear storage area, he can try to locate and seal all the tiny leaks that enable rainwater to enter and requires sponging out.

I know there's a valve to be fitted up by the anchor locker to enable the hose to be fitted such that the deck wash pump can be installed together with its switching valve, fresh/sea.  Whether the pump itself will be fitted or just the deck fitting as power is needed to drill a hole, the rest can be done whether on the hard or not.

Usual engine service and filter changes, and then the wash & polish, that should sort his back out!

Skip has also just completed a three-day refresher plus course on Astronavigation, tailor-made by Stokey, the guru, to match his requirements.  Back in 2005 he took the RYA course but opted not to take the exam as it was wasting his and the examiner's time.  He's always wanted to be able to use one and keep the skill of doing so alive and spotted two in a shop in Cowes, but um'd and r'd as whether to purchase or not.  Eventually, the one he preferred went from the window however, a few months later it returned and so having negotiated a price bought it.

Stokey took a look at it and adjusted the mirrors to take out the Instrument Error (IE).

Sip is now able to take a sun, planets, and star sights including Polaris, and plot his position in the Northern hemisphere, (he can do the South too but needs different stars). The next is to meet up with Stokey for a day in February to undertake a sun run sun sight for real using his sextant.