If you have followed this blog for any time you will have noticed two blank periods for each of the last few years. April was another of those with Helen and I spending almost 4 weeks in France working in a team of “benevoles” getting a campsite set up ready for their season. That is a french legal role as a contracted short term volunteer.
The start of May was then occupied by a trip to Doncaster to sort out our previous home which has now been abandoned by the tenants. They left enough of their belongings to be temporarily un-available for letting out.
May 13th The tidal pattern today is a lot better than earlier in the week as we have tidal peaks close to 2 M above datum The first peak is predicted to be at about 8am so I got an early breakfast, packed a lunch that I could eat on the boat and set off to the sailing club at about 7:15.
Having unloaded the tender from the car and unrolled it, I discovered that the thwart is not in the bundle. That meant I was sitting on top of the water carrier and bellows to get the right sort of position for rowing. There was quite a strong wind to fight on the way out as well as the gentle beginning of a rain shower. The rain got harder while I was moving things onto Rathenice so I ended up sheltering and working in the cabin. That was an opportunity to set up the chemical toilet and sort out the sail ties and other items that I needed.
My new mooring position seems to be less sheltered by the houses around the lagoon and today’s stronger winds were giving something like a 10 degree roll even without sails attached. I do benefit from a view right up the harbour though.
The Genoa went on and was furled without too much complication. It is all covered by the new UV protection strips and is rolled more firmly this time than was the case last year when the sail got damaged in strong winds. That job was just completed when I had to shelter in the cabin again because of strong gusts and fairly heavy rain.
The next lull between showers allowed me to organise the mainsail and get it under the sail cover just in time for the third shower of the morning. The boat is now ready for sailing and motoring trips although there is still quite a lot of working stuff cluttering up the cabin.
The row back ashore was a little less challenging than the journey out and I was home just before mid day.
14th to 20th Another trip to Doncaster for the second court session trying to evict our absent tenants (or at least formalise the unavailability of it as a home when his prison sentence ends).
23rd Another warm day with high pressure. As a consequence it looks as if there is not much water in the channel and rowing out to the mooring will be difficult until after the low tide.
After lunch in the garden I set off for LSC, arriving with just about enough water in the channel for an easy launch and row out. The guy in front of me got aground having strayed out of the channel which shows how marginal the depth was. The aim of today’s trip was to sort out the cabin, measure the seat cushions with the intention of resolving the issue of inadequate sleeping accommodation and investigate the potential for a better engine locking system.
After a few hours work, I now have a better organised stowage system in the cabin and galley with most stuff in plastic bags and / or boxes in the main locker (although there is still probably more tools and spares that I really need on board?). The spray dodgers are organised in a way that should be compatible with dropping the lifelines to help Helen get on and off. This and the other work today are potentially important as she has two Wareham band performances the same day in a couple of weeks and has agreed with my suggestion that I could take the boat to the quay as a rest stop hidey hole between the sessions and possibly overnight again if I can sort out more comfortable sleeping arrangements.
Measuring the cushions went well although I will either need to take the existing ones home to cut the foam to shape or else do it on the boat. The measurements will enable me to decide what size of slabs to order though.
One slight setback was that the outboard tiller handle became detatched while trying to work on the lift locking mechanism. The sleeve that translates rotation of the handle into linear movement of the throttle cable is now somewhere in the mud under my mooring. Hopefully I can organise a replacement but it should not stop me using the motor. I currently have a 17mm spanner wedged in the mechanism because the alternative 10mm bolt tends to roll out of the somewhat worn locking slot. I need to make a better shaped metal locking device as well as improving the lifting process.
I headed back ashore at about 6pm having achieved what was needed and leaving a boat that now feels ready to set off and sail.
A little footnote today – It looks as if the same Frank Shephard who helped me right at the start of this rebuild project has just joined a Snapdragon owners Facebook group that I monitor.
First published 14th May. Updated 24th.