short and sweet

J's daughter Holly arrived just as we about to set off to sail Chuckle and was very keen to come along. Turned out to be a brilliant sail. Reaching 6.2 knots on a reach, heeled over at 15 degrees. Everything went well. Can't wait to go out again. Still haven't painted the topsides!

back out into the Bay

the forecast was for very light winds but towards lunchtime the wind picked up from the SE and so we rushed to Chuckle and motored out hoisting the sail as soon as we were clear of the lighthouse. Even as we did so the wind dropped. We took out the reef and managed 3.8 knots on a tack but after that the wind lessened. We perservered and practiced tacking but in the end admitted defeat and dropped the sails and motored back into the estuary. We did manage to goosewing at one point. It's all very similar to sailing our dinghy.
Strange, yesterday we were nervous of the strength of the wind and today we were hoping it would increase in strength.

on the high seas

Managed to get out onto the Bay three times this week. The first was only a short motor out. The second was with sail up as was the third. The first time with sail the wind died immediately we passed the light house and we were drifting along. Still it was good experience in raising the sails. The third time, today, we motored out of the estuary raised the sails and immediately the sky turned dark, the wind strengthened and we were tearing along at just under 6 knots with the starboard toe rail in the sea. All a bit much but a good time to practice heaving to and reefing the main. It all went really well and we felt much more confident than healed right over. Alas the wind died within 30 minutes and so we dropped the sails and motored back in.

We'll try to get out as much as possible as the more we do it the more our confidence and skill levels will rise. Today we learnt how to hank on the main without raising the sail fully and we discovered that we can get out of the harbour at various stages of low tide. Everything going in the right direction.

Galley MK2

Decided to redo the galley as the first one using pine board from Homebase had already started to warp after only a few days. My neighbour very kindly gave me some waterproof board used in bathrooms. It's marine ply faced with plastic. Probably not heat resistant so will just have to be careful.

I've bought a used plastimo 50 ltr water container with associated pipe work and a caravan waste water container for a knock down price off Ebay which will be installed under the galley area. An amazingly high quality sink was included too so I have swapped the homemade one over. It even came with a foot operated whale pump which I may find a use for.  The vintage brass galley pump looks much smarter and is much more efficient at pumping water.

Still haven't glossed the topsides due to the awful wet summer we're having but will crack on with the cabin sole and the front engine cover. Joy has been concentrating on the deck, removing old flakig paint and feathering in the edges. It's all ready for masking off and repainting - weather permitting. Have decided to retain same colour which is a cream.

Did manage a short trip out with the engine. Just wish we had hoisted sail. Here's a few pics of Joy at the helm concentrating  on avoiding lobster pots

Idiots on jet skis

What is it about people on jetskis? Went aboard Chuckle yesterday and opened the hatch to discover mayhem. Tins of paint, varnish, tools etc strewn all over the place. Thought at first a fishing boat had come too close and too quickly which would have been unusual as the few boats operating out of Berwick are very much aware that Chuckle is undergoing a refit and keep well away. In the middle of tidying everything back in place heard the roar of two engines and looking out witnessed two jet skis beginning to tightly circle each moored boat in turn at full throttle. As they did so each boat started to pitch and roll violently. Ours was next in line but on seeing me they veered off and roared out of the bay. What a couple of complete idiots - using a line of moored boats as a slalom course!
An hour later we had started up the engine, cast off from the mooring and were motoring up and down the estuary to recharge the battery. As we did so both jetskis reappeared and as we motored along one of them cut straight across our bow at full throttle only a matter of feet from us. Clueless, dangerous and moronic behaviour.

New galley

Chuckles new galley. A stainless steel sink which wil be supplied by a vintage brass galley pump and an origo 2000 spirit stove.

On deck

We hoisted the mainsail the other day to familarise ourselves with the slab reefing system which is fairly straight forward. I think the previous owner was using a sail tie to secure the reefing point so have attached a stainless steel hook to the goose neck which hopefully will be simpler and quicker to operate.

Also noticed that there is no way to alter the tension of the clew outhaul. The clew of  the sail was tensioned by a piece of cord tied to the clew and threaded through a block attached to the end of the boom and the cord was badly chaffed.
Have attached the block to the clew via a stainless steel shackle and added a dinghy forestay tensioner. The outhaul can now be tensioned according to the wind conditions!

At the same time have added an identical tensioner to the backstay. Again there was no way of altering the tension or at least not easily.

Chuckle has two anchors, a danforth and a fishermans both of which are set up for immediate deployment and they take up a large amount of deck space. Given that we have hank on jibs and need to get up there quickly and safely without  tripping over and falling overboard the fishermans anchor will be relegated to storage in the forepeak. Likewise the heavy wooden beaching legs which are currently stored on the coach roof and are a bloody obstacle course.

Eventually it would be good to lead all the lines back to the cockpit but will have to wait and see.

.......and more rain

Was hoping to get the first coat of gloss on the hull this weekend but the weather has put paid to that. Did manage the final coat on the doghouse but it rained immediately after so that all needs sanding and redoing.

In the meantime have ripped out the galley. It was ugly, totally impractical and not very well put together.

So now we have a big space to fill.

Made a start yesterday evening cutting an old teak table which was given to me to form a work top. Have cut out two inserts which will will house an Origo 2000 spirit stove from Ebay and a circular stainless steel sink. I'm pleased with the sink which is made from a large stainless steel mixing bowl with a hole drilled in the bottom with a kitchen waste added. A fraction of the cost of a caravan or boat sink - even secondhand. The sink will drain into a plastic container beneath the work surface. I've also bought, again off Ebay, a vintage brass galley pump which should look the part once it's installed. It will draw water from another plastic container under the worktop. Hope to get that done today - if the rain ever stops!

Once that's out of the way I can make a start on replacing the cabin sole which is a real mish mash of ply, pine boards and the odd bit of teak. It will be replaced with some mahogany flooring which I bought - from Ebay.  Should look vastly better.
I also need to address the companion way some time soon. There are two mahogany boards screwed in place which look to have come from an old piece of furniture. I did add a curved teak step - the end of the teak table! - which makes access in and out of the cabin a bit easier and added a iroko grab handle which I fashioned from some scrap wood gleaned from a local window manufacturer. The problem is the access to the Yanmar 1GM. In order to check the oil level the whole lot has to be unscrewed to gain access which is fairly daft.

We also want to do something with the forepeak. At the moment it has a raised platform to accommodate two berths (previous owner had two children). Might look at lowering the platform and installing a porta potti or even a proper heads. It did have one some years ago which was removed but the thru hulls are still in place.