...and up!

...and not with a whimper but a bang the mast is up.. 

The weather is the usual bag of spanners we get at this time of the year so with long experience I always provide the Jolly Boys with a couple of dates so that we can shift if necessary, and so it more or less was this year. Forecasts were shabby for the first day so I shifted to the fall-back only to get up on the first day and the weather being nothing like was forecast a mere 12 hours before..  

The phone started pinging from various Jolly Boys saying 'should we go ahead anyway' - so the plan was changed again, and a mere hour later we were on the boat prepping for the mast lift.

It was a good, fairly trouble free, lift as per the previous efforts (and as documented here [clicky]); the only niggle we had was the topping lift (which I use as a fail safe for the jib halyard) wrapped round the furler - but that was easily resolved, and if anything was a help as it kept the foil out of the way during the lift.. 😏

Nothing for it but to adjourn to the cabin and cockpit and drink beer* and eat pork pies and picked eggs in celebration.. good one!

Will get the sails on next time we have some decent weather..

*Appropriate libations were also made to boat and Neptune for the coming season.. 😀

....and in!

..yep, Sparrow's in, but not before a whole load of extra work and "doings"!

As storm 'Kathleen' launched herself upon the south coast (and her straight after storm 'Olive'!), I heard through the grapevine that the lift in on Sunday was cancelled, so when I did my club "lift in" duty on the Monday I knew it was going to be busy as the guys were trying to concertina the two days into one...

Suffice to say that Monday duty was a 'mare of a day that I was more than happy to finish 18 boats later..  I was doing launch duty which normally I love, but the day was a catalogue of disasters for me..  the spring tides were running stupidly fast so the first issue was wrapping a mooring rope round the prop that I simply didn't see (pick up float was at the wrong end of the warp for some reason, so the warp was floating free just under water 😕)...  then at the end of the day, as the tide was going out, t'other Dave gave me a shout for a lift back to shore, it looked like there was enough water so I set out to pick him up, but clearly there wasn't as I hit the only submerged rock in the whole inner bay and totalled the propeller! Gaaah... 😩  I blame myself for not weighing the odds better..  lesson learned, and the guys have managed to recover and refit the propeller..  no harm done apparently..

As I was going home I was advised the Tuesday lift in was also cancelled due to heavy winds, so my lift in was shifted to Wednesday. 

Popped down the club Tuesday night to strap the engine on ready for a potentially early morning lift..

..an Oxalic wash removed the staining a treat to the sides of the new outboard pad..

...which was well timed, as when I arrived Wednesday morning at at half eight I was told I was next to be lifted for a 'dry launch' (which I prefer) from the shingle at the bottom of the slipway.. far more relaxing to sit and wait for the water, than be launched like a missile from the hoist.. 😏

So many expectations... 

The timing was also perfect for the last job of the winter maintenance cycle..  borrowed the long ladder, and then removed the old windex and replaced it with a nice shiny new one...  I am offering no better than 25% odds this one survives the summer, but hey ho.. 😏

That done, it was time for the traditional very last job of the season.. 😀

...the last job...

..before sitting down in the cockpit with a coffee to wait for the water to arrive. An hour later and she started rocking gently, and 15 or 20 minutes later and I was off..  thanks to the club CCTV for the following.. 

Just floated off and now heading for under the bridge... at 10:14, unbelievable.. 😀

...it was good to be back on the mooring even of the weather wasn't the best..

 

...thoughts now turn to getting the mast up!!

Few last jobs to do..

Few last jobs to do - 

• I've bought the tiller home with me to sand down and varnish in the comfort of the garage - didn't take a before picture unfortunately as it would make an excellent tutorial picture to show how not to maintain a tiller - this is the best I can do and dates to end of last season  add on 6 months of outside in winter and you have a good idea of how bloody awful it looked..

Post rub down..

Post nine (maybe 10 😏) coats of varnish..

That'll do, pig... 😀

• Sparrow needs a damn good wash - it's been a wet, wet, winter and she's showing a lot of green  - DONE/CLOSED

Cockpit filth removed...  for now..

Plus a wash down outside, a couple of hours with some extra fine wet and dry (to remove all the bump and scuff marks from the tender last year), and then an Oxalic wash along the water line and other area's of staining - cleanest she's been since this time last season..😏

• The Windex needs to go back on, but that's a last minute job, maybe even on the water to avoid it being damaged during launch
• Cockpit hatches need to go back on - DONE/CLOSED

Before.. what a grub...   for shame... 😏

After.. note bottom left of the lower wash board - that's what got the item added to next winters maintenance schedule..

• Tender needs to go back to the club - DONE/CLOSED
• The mooring tackle needs to go back on the buoy - managed to get a lift out to the mooring on the club launch - DONE/CLOSED
• Outboard pad needs replacing (job #10) - old and rotted ply (which was always considered to be sacrificial due to the crap'ness of the ply and was installed in 2021) was replaced with a double thickness of high-density polyethylene chopping board - rot proof and maintenance free. Got the biggest one I could find but it was a couple of inches shorter in width, but no matter - she's bolted in, sealed around the edges, and when I get a moment I'll tidy up that staining at the corners to tidy up the installation. I have a square of 3mm aluminium plate for the inner edge of the well, but intend to leave that unattached - the outboard clamps will hold it in place.. DONE/CLOSED