Jobs to do... winter 2010/2011

I suspect this post will become a bit of a moving feast as I add and complete various items.. but here's my starter for ten....

1. My mother-in-law has offered to sew me up some new cushions for the cabin to replace the current one's which I think must be original...having slept on the boat on at least two occasions I can confirm you may as well lie on newspaper!
   1. Find the material - needs to be waterproof but sew-able - apparently my wife knows just the stuff
   2. Find the foam - a quick glance at the web would indicate this stuff is priced like gold dust.. more research is required!
2. New s/s shackle for where the bottom of the cunningham (down-haul to us unrepentant windsurfing types!) connects to the bottom of the mast - currently a nasty galvanised job
3. New s/s shackle for the top of the jib where it connects to the roller furling foil - currently a very small shackle with split pin - not up to the job
4. Small plastic eye to whip into the end of the new topping lift
5. Replace/renew topping lift
6. Replace/renew jib halyard
7. Rip out old cabin lining below the shelving - take back to GRP, prime and paint - extend the paint into the quarter berths, and forward as required.
8. Investigate cabin lining forward to see if I can make an interim repair that's neater than fourteen strips of gaffer tape!
9. Re-splice rope to anchor for main anchor - looking worn and slightly frayed..
10. Finish off the electrical connections for masthead and deck light that I put back together earlier in the summer but haven't tested - need to confirm positive..
11. Rub back and refresh the varnish down below, and on the washboards - do this after the painting
12. Build "A" frame for easier mast lowering and raising - two bits of three by three, hinged with an eye bolt, and with a big lump of pulley and tackle should make raising and lowering the mast a whole lot easier - and may mean I can take advantage of the club lift in rather than having to trundle the trailer along the road.. this is not a high priority item - the advantage is it can be built at home in spare time.

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Chichester Harbour...

As you probably know my boat is moored in Chichester Harbour. The organisation that looks after all the administration of running the harbour (collecting dues, looking after moorings etc etc) is is known as the Chichester Harbour Conservancy [click here], and they've just released a couple of films dealing with why the harbour is special, and the work they do to keep the harbour the way it is..

The harbour is designated as an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" which gives it certain rights within law, the following is one of the two films and gives you an idea of why:

....now you know why I like sailing here as much as I do....!

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Lift out...

...and so the 2010 season comes to an end as "Papillon" was lifted out last Sunday...

Fun day, no pictures I'm afraid, but certainly action packed - and a long one for the guys who man the tractor and hoist... the boats started coming out just before lunchtime and the last one was moved at about 6.. and this was the third solid day of boat movements! Never had any idea just how many there are in our club..

In my case I'd arranged for my lift out a couple of weeks ago, but true to form when I got there on the day there was no mention of me on the list of boats!

Not a problem though - I had nothing else scheduled so just asked to be tagged on the end which they were happy to do...

Despite concerns about massive lows and high winds, in the end we had a hot warm and sunny day (amazing for October, I actually went home sun burned), with a pretty solid force 4 (gusting 5 at times) easterly - again - perfect for our set up as the slip is sheltered from an easterly by the embankment carrying the road and bridge...

With a lot of time on my hands I had a pint and watched everyone working hard (they had plenty of people so I would just have got in the way) until the guy who had the mooring behind me mentioned he still needed to get his mast down - he owns a Westerly Jouster (that's one of them just above) so I volunteered.. we got it down, but I can't say it was the most controlled mast lowering I've seen!!

Happily no lasting damage done (he'll need to pop rivet one of the spreaders) - I liked his boat though - I'm used to the boat tipping when I walk down the side deck on Papillon, but despite only being a couple of feet longer the Jouster hardly twitched.. this guys also had the most amazing outboard - Tohatsu 8Hp two stoke - it started first pull and was SO quiet you could hardly hear it... sigh.... I could spend thousands if I had the cash!

...and that was largely it - a lift out to my boat was nice, and when I got the outboard started with no issues (an amazement given the hard time I gave it on the round Hayling) and I just took her in and grounded her on the slipway with the last of the ebb, before being lifted straight on to my trailer. Luxury!!

Lift in next year is the weekend of March 12th and 13th (and that's early), so only four and a half months to get the jobs done... next post will be on those, I've also started Day Skipper Theory (third week in) so a post on that - so despite the fact we're out of the water there's still plenty going on!

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Round Hayling...

Those of you who have read from the beginning of this years blog are aware that I had a slight contretemps with my mast...

Not surprisingly I now have a mental block about taking it down, so this year, having also decided that the club can lift me out, I also decided to sail round to the slipway rather than take down the aforementioned "stick" and sail under the bridge like my other club compatriots do...

Slight overkill, but it was also a last opportunity to go out on the boat this season, even if most of it would be on motor...

So - having moved the boat to a deeper mooring the previous Sunday, I managed to get off the mooring to start the trip at 8 in the morning, high tide was at 11 but was a big one (almost 5 mtrs) - I planned on 3 to 4 hours to get round, but with the early start and the big tide that gave me 6 hours for safety - plenty of time!

Weather started wet and rainy (new waterproofs were aired in anger for the first time) but had cleared to sunshine and a steady force 4 by the time I got to the entrance of Chichester Harbour...

Started up the engine and it then ran for four and half hours - I'd need it - I'd be against the tide almost the entire way round, and with all that water, they were not inconsiderable!

Either way - the second in an occasional series - this is Langstone Fairway, which used to be a buoy and is now a pole (click on any picture for a pleasingly bigger view by the way)..

Port hand side of the Langstone entrance (as I came in) - that's the lifeboat station with the red roof..

Starboard side - that's the Ferryboat Inn (from where all the jet skiers launch in the summer! )



Last of all the track - which made my mate, Jellybean Phil laugh...

Yep - that's 15.88 miles to travel 50 yards as the crow flies!

Trip took four and a half hours - maximum speed was was just a tad over 5 knots (though I did see 6 very, very, briefly) and an average speed of just over 3 - pleased to see my passage plan was pretty much spot on.

No main - I wanted to get away from the mooring quickly, so didn't hang around getting sail covers off - I did have the jib though for additional forward oomph (which was very much needed with the tide being what it was). Lowest speed was about 1 knot when I turned into the wind and tide outside Chichester... my little outboard donk really wasn't up to it, and sounded distinctly wheezy by the time I got to my new mooring...

Next trip will be to bring her out on Sunday - just as they're forecasting an Indian summer weekend here in the UK - wouldn't you believe it!

PS. We'll gloss over the five attempts it took me to pick up the mooring - I can only blame it on the current - we don't get anything like that on my normal mooring!

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