Varekai

let's go fly a kite...

2012-02-26T19:13:00.000Z

Another first today.

Finally, the moment arrived to try out the spinnaker. It's something as a dinghy sailor I've never had to do. All of my dinghies have been really simple things, just a small main sail, or a main sail and a foresail. Nothing more complicated than that.

It was first mooted at the end of last year so I dug under my bed in the forepeak and found the huge bag of magical mystery material. I pulled it all out for inspection in the comfort of a warm club house. the whole thing was packed nicely, pulled out again, packed nicely again and then stashed away back under my bed.
The plan to go out with it between 25th and 31st of December never came to fruition, tides all awkward to get out of the marina and then strong winds set it back.

But then it all came together today, after a furious 1 hour of tidying below to make it safe, the engine started nicely after 3 months of sleeping and the small can of spray oil made slippy all the moving parts of the spinnaker pole.

Spray hood down... chug out of the marina for the fist time since December and what a fabulous day!

and my best friend came along for the ride to show off her catalogue pose.

all in all, a successful first go at flying a boat-kite.

Sense and sensitivity

2012-02-21T19:26:00.001Z

Why do sensitive people seem to gravitate in my direction?
I think I'm fairly clear on the way I talk and behave around others.
I behave and act in the way I'm happy to accept in return. It's fairly simple. Some might say Christian even.

So what is it about about my frankness and honest bluntness that causes the sensitive types to think I am perhaps angry or unpleasant?

I would have thought simpering or pandering to their sensitive needs would be dishonest of me, because I have no feelings of compassion or sympathy for that sort of thing, I would have to put it on.

I had a strange series of emails this week from a determined anonymous person. He or she contacted me first. Then when I got annoyed that they wouldn't reveal their identity, I told them to tell me who the fuck I'm talking to or fuck the fuck off.

The response was one of, I don't like it when women swear because it makes them sound illiterate. I asked if it was more acceptable from a man and that he or she was being rather sexist, I ended up on the receiving end of a tirade of bad spelling, grammar and a sensitive person was revealed.

If anyone knows me, it's for my own sweary moments, my rough talking, downright to the point of rudeness honesty. You know exactly where you are with me, I wear everything on my sleeve. No cloaks, daggers or hidden black cats. Everything, the good the bad and the ugly, all there, I have nothing at all hidden.

So just in case this rather strange person wants to try to blackmail me on any count here is my list of things he or she might try, and for those of you know me, perhaps you too might learn something from this:

I am a woman currently mid 30's
I have a male gendered brain
I have an IQ of roughly 142
I love lots of sporting activies
I'm asthmatic
I've never smoked
I've dabbled with hash cakes
I may or may not have driven a car under the influence of alcohol at some point in my life
I have ridden a motorbike in excess of 160mph on a public road
I have posed naked for photos
I've been paid for sex
I believe quantum physics will provide us with answers to some vital essence of being questions.
I love wearing tight costumes, especially pvc, rubber and leather (no particular order of preference)
I have a genetic skin disease
I choose not to breed because I believe the planet is already overpopulated
I have a long term (male) partner
I also love a woman I cannot have because I am not good enough for her.
That makes me bi-sexual, though I would describe myself as more of a lesbian off the wagon
I have taken part in multi-player sex games
I'm a size size 10 in my head, but a size 12 in reality, that causes problems of self denial.
I worry about the number of freckles I've got
I laugh at myself daily, mostly when I see myself in a mirror
I count my blessings daily that, as an outwardly female looking human, I was born in a country with freedom to express myself and to be treated equally with equal rights to vote, work and do all the things male looking humans can do too.
I plan to sail around Britain next year
I plan to join the campaign against FGM in Africa.

That's about it for now.
If the stalker is reading this, fill your boots. You have NOTHING on me.

the 25 hour day

2012-02-19T06:50:00.001Z

I was lucky to be able to join a late season trip to Dunkirk on the local RYA school boat Piranha, run by crouch sailing school.

What I didn't realise was that I would be finishing my coastal skipper practical during the trip.

I joined 3 other crew (Caterina, Steve, Hugh) and skipper/instructor Nick.

Amazingly good weather meant we had a lovely trip over the channel and back again.
Excellent sea conditions too. The best way to spend the clock change weekend with the extra hour.

I really really enjoyed it.

the direct link to the pics: Dunkirk trip

claustrophobic

2012-02-19T04:31:00.000Z

I'm enjoying having the facility to enable me to power my heater. Its nice. Its convenient.
I'm also enjoying not having to row out in the storms and heavy weather we've had over the past two months.
But I crave some space to breath.

Being in the marina I'm so convenient for people to just pop in and see me.

I dread the tap tap tap in a morning at a weekend. When I'm trying to catch up on sleep deprivation. When I'm catching up on some "me" time.

My day job is quite intense. People asking something of me every few minutes throughout the day. I commute on a packed train, I answer the phone, I answer the people I work with constantly. They bombard me with requests. We demand this, we demand that.
It feels like this Billy Connolly sketch:

So, I crave solace.

I do not crave company.
I do not crave love.
I do not crave hugs.

I'm really looking forward to being back out in the river.

six weeks until my marina mooring ends. Lets just hope the weather warms up a bit.
Otherwise I'm going to be cold.

Marshmallow boat

2012-02-05T04:15:00.000Z

It snowed.

Tripping

2012-01-21T03:53:00.003Z

It was a familiar feeling. Sitting there in the dark working away on my laptop doing some nonsense with pictures as usual.
Then the equally familiar feeling, Brrr, I feel cold.
I glance down at the heater. It's gone off. I glance over to the mains power switch.
Darkness.

Hmm. Which one of us has tripped the power off this time?
I arm myself with a big screwdriver to open the electric cupboard and my trusty headtorch. The brilliant Black Diamond Head torch

The power had tripped off. No problem. I just turn all the boats off (three of us) and turn us back on one at a time to see which one has the problem.
Last time this happened it was the neighbour for a reason I couldn't work out so had to leve him switched off and tell the marina. This time. It was me.
Worried something was shorting out, I went inside and switched the mains power off inside the boat on the battery charger.
I tried again, it still tripped the power off.
I luckily still have the spare electric cable of the friendly fisherman in my anchor locker, so I by-passed my own cable and meter and went direct.
No problem. Power works fine.
So I unplugged my meter from my shorepower cable. S
SLOSH
ahahaaa.

Water had filled one end of the meter fittings and socket, eventually filling enough to trip the power out.
Thank goodness for trip switches.
I took the socket apart, water flowed out and left it to dry near the heater for a weekend.
It's now re-installed inside the anchor locker where it's kept out of the rain.

Roland

2012-01-12T03:50:00.000Z

As I mentioned previously, I do rotation of clothes in my wardrobe to keep the damp down. As part of the battle against damp I also rotate which bed I use.
I installed under mattress breathable matting which has helped hugely in reducing the moisture. But, it's not completely eliminated.
So at the end of December I decamped from the forward cabin to the aft cabin. The aft cabin is a much bigger bed but perversely less room to stand.
So I prefer the other cabin.
Anyway, The back cabin has a cockpit facing lewmar opening window.
Which is nice to look out of and see the sole of the cockpit and what the weather is doing.
The bed is also low enough for the dog to jump on and off of. Which can be annoying.

This morning I was awoken by surprise, the dog jumped on me. Quite excited.
I put this off to him needing to go outside to do you-know-whats
I told him to fuck off and laid back down again.
I heard the pitter patter of a bird in the cockpit. I quickly glance out of the window to see which one it is. No sign of it.
I lay back down. Pitter patter
I look out of the window again, no sign of the bird.
Bastard fucking bird doesn't want me to sleep I cursed.

So I got up.

dressed and fed I opened the hatch and dropped the Banjo into the cockpit area. He shot forward, ruff up, pointing his nose to the small gas locker area under the winch bar. Tail rapidly wagging. I instinctively closed the hatch behind me as I exited the boat. I then climbed on the lazarette lid. Pocked the blanket (that I had stuffed around the gas bottle to keep the frost off) with my toe. The blanket moved, then the pitter patter of small feet as a GIANT rat legged it out of the gas locker and vanished down the back, under the false floor for the wheel.

Bugger.
That was no bird.

I poked around a bit into the steering cable area to no avail.

I then carried my plastic bag full of last nights curry to the bin and the half chewed blanket that had been around the gas bottle. I must learn NOT to leave my rubbish bag out over night like that.
Rats are keen buggers, at the slightest scent of something that may or may not be edible.

Roland is still at large.

plastic sweats and my new tube

2012-01-10T03:32:00.001Z

The cold weather is making the hull sweat.
I came back from a quick trip to the north at new year with my de-humidifier.
It's been chugging away removing some of the moisture but it has hardly any effect on the cupboards.

My wardrobe is one place that suffers damp. I have to rotate and air my clothes every other day. I take them out and hang them somewhere else to air, to dry a bit then rotate back into the damp cupboard. It's carpet lined, but somehow still damp.
I took my favourite dress and jacket out to see the first signs of mildew mould forming on them. That could have been very costly if I hadn't caught it so soon. I still have a strong (angry) memory of my favourite (expensive) sandals becoming absolutely ruined with mildew when they were stored over winter in a deep wardrobe on my last boat. This time I brushed the mould off a pair of Sebago deck shoes, another pair of sandals and a bag of clothes stashed in the bottom of the wardrobe. I know from bitter past experience, I can't stuff the wardrobe. It MUST have breathing space. But even with breathing space, the evil mould keeps threatening.

Cunning plan.

I've heard about people using tube heaters around their engines. But what about in small cupboards?
I looked on the expansive Amazon website for reviews of small tube heaters. 30cm tube heaters cost less than £20 and run on 45-50 watts. If I consider the cost of damage to my clothes, I think it's worth a try.

The electric cables drive me mad all over the floor, I try to keep them tidy, but it's a daily battle. Walk bare foot at your peril.

Thats a 2 kilowatt heater. (750 + 1250) which does a good job of keeping the boat warm during winter.

and that is a small tube heater, molly coddling my clothes, keeping the bastard fucking evil mildew at bay. It also means my clothes aren't absolutely freezing and feel rather nice when I put them on in a morning. It doesn't make them warm, just dry. 50watts.

I'm currently juicing up at around 12 units of electricity per day. at 24 pence a unit... I'm trying not to think about it to be honest.

Merry fucking bullshit day to you too

2011-12-27T03:17:00.000Z

It's that wonderful time of year, you know when everyone is told to "cheer up, it's xmas"
told to not be a "scrooge"
told that because you don't join in, you are a "bah humbug"
Well fuck you and your false birthday of dead Jewish martyr/prophet.
Fuck you and your excessive eating, drinking and partying. If I was Jewish, Jehovah Witness, Muslim, Hindu or any other religion than Christian it would be frowned upon to say such things to me.
I am a scientist, I believe in quantum physics, I'm a Jedi. Have some fucking respect and stop expecting me to join in with your annual season of stupidity and vast stomach churning over consumption of Chinese made SHIT that will be out of date in four weeks time and food imported from all over the world and eating birds that quite a lot of people don't actually like the taste of, but eat anyway, because it's fucking tradition.

I used to like December when I was younger. I didn't understand any more than the fact I would get fantastic presents and I would empty my bank account to give presents that although I put a lot of thought in to them, frankly, everyone I gave them to, could have bought them anyway, if they wanted to, but probably didn't want, so wouldn't have.
Now I understand a lot more about the silly season I choose not to be a part of it.

Unfortunately, it's forced upon us. I endured a works xmas lunch, an overpriced meal in an overpriced pub for an underwhelming meal. I justified it only because it fell on the winter solstice day, which I do sort of celebrate because, obviously, the days starting to get longer again, is worth a drink at least.

What has all this got to do with Varekai and boats? Near to fuck all, but I needed to get it off my chest.
24, 25, 26 December was spent alone, on Varekai and in the club house sewing. I managed to put 5 new windows into two different motorboat canopies. Two new zips and some patch work.
My family are all abroad in the sun of Lanza-grotty.

remarkably peaceful, with every cunt away eating fat bastard meals and sleeping. Leaves the rest of the world free for the minority of us who aren't doing that.

Join the club

2011-12-14T02:50:00.000Z

My canvas work has taken off far more than I could have imagined.
I'm getting more and more ambitious with each creation, initially trying to keep them small, the latest one is simply impossible to finish within Varekai. I managed to stitch the main seam down the middle amazingly inside the boat, but now to adjust the edges to curve and fit the customers boat and add the windows I really desperately needed a nice floor to lay it out on.
There was only one thing for it. I was proposed to join the North Fambridge yacht club.
The people there are friendly and not too stuffy like some yacht clubs I perceive to be and they are happy for me to use the floor of the club house. And the tables. And the electricity that is coin operated.
What a marvelous stroke of luck that they are so friendly and accommodating.
So the boom tent has almost done in the pic. Just needs a few fittings and then er, fitting.

Go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect £200

2011-12-06T01:07:00.013Z

Standing there thinking, brrr, it's gone all cold. I realised the electricity had gone off. I poked my head out of the hatch and saw someone else looking around too. The lights along the pontoon are all off and the lights of the clubhouse have gone out too.
Faced with an uncertain amount of time without power and the threat of cold weather soon I took the risk of heading into the marina, at almost the bottom of the tide, in the dark.
I was lucky to have the help of the grumpy Frenchman who was visiting at the time. HE stood and guided me in the narrow dark channel to the marina.
Mooring up was fun. A lot of other boats had come into the marina for the winter and all the spaces I saw available just two days ago we re all gone.
Ticking over I eeked along closely to the boats as there wasnt a lot of water. Pulling level with a potential spot I eyed it up asked the grumpy crew member if it looked big enough to him, yes was the answer.
Ok, so er, I think I will just reverse in as there's not really room to swing round.
In the time it took reverse to engage I was practically resting alongside the moored boats, 90 degrees away from being in the right angle for reversing into the mooring.
What a tit.
SO crew jumped off to fend us off the other boats, but dropped the stern line in the process, meaning I couldnt use the engine until it was retrieved.
In the mean time, crew man is looking worried. I say, hey its no problem we arent hurting anything, just take your time, dont rush all with be fine, but then he says, yes, but have you seen that>>> points to the massive bow sprit of a boat just off my bow. SHIT! I dont want to hit that. it belongs to one of the guys who works in the marina.
a quick bit of reversing and rope throwing, somehow we manage to man handle Varekai into a tight mooring spot. just a foot to spare between me and the neighbours boat.

Still, its in and snugly tucked up and I think reversing in will be an advantage with the way the wind blows most of the time around here.

Changeable

2011-12-02T02:45:00.001Z

The funny thing about this time of year is just how changeable the weather can be.
I awoke to this

but came home to this

and then spent the next hour re attaching, re roping and then fitting these

Bradwell and back

2011-11-20T15:06:00.002Z

I've sailed pretty much no where at all this year. It's been a write off.
Nothing doing.
But then, as I'm recovering from illness, having been struck down for two days my local sailing instructor took pity on me and said we should get out and enjoy some sunshine.
SO we did.
Up to Bradwell Marina and back
we shook the sails out and enjoyed the sun and the happy breeze that blew us there and back. While we were out, we practiced heaving to, so that I can do stuff below when I'm sailing alone.

forced pontoonage

2011-11-16T22:00:00.000Z

So, it was with a sad weary brow I arrived home with a sore throat late from work and decided I should probably move the boat closer to some mains power so that I can put some heating on. I feel an illness taking over me and while I'm still capable of standing up, I decided I should head for the pontoon.

The friendly local ex-fisherman hopped aboard my dinghy while I rowed out and offered to take a line for me. His wife waited on the pontoon for us, also ready to take my lines. I must have looked ill.

Fired up the Yanmar with a bit of a struggle. Since changing the diesel filter it has struggled to get started. I think there's a bit of a leak somewhere. I have no inclination to work out where or what or how at the moment.

Ten minutes later I was along side and the longer orange shore power lead that belongs to the fisherman was put to good use as mine was too short to reach the only available power socket.
Heater plugged in.
Now to bed. I'm ill.

Mines a pint of mild

2011-11-10T19:29:00.001Z

Unbelievable, nay unthinkable that we would still be enjoyiing such warm weather for almost mid november.

Somehow, I'm still clinging on to my beloved mooring spot on the buoy in the river. A pontoon berth awaits me in the marina. But the only reason for that will be to plug in to the mains grid power to power my electric heater.

Life on the good ship Varekai is currently as good as it gets.
Im run ragged between the sewing work for peoples boat canopies, photography work popping up and of course my day job in the city.
To make ends meet, it's a case of having to work and then work some more.

Except MY work doesnt really feel like work. Sewing in the evenings, or as last nights job was eyeletting which involved a power drill and a hammer, its rather theraputic. I just feel like im doing something. Wriggling my fingers a bit.
Creating. Fabricating.
Just as when I spend two hours each day on the train im creating, wriggling my fingers and typing. Fabricating a novel. I do it anyway, paid for or not.

Exhaustion rarely hits me. Except for this week.

Sunday I drove to see a gig in chesterfield and then drove straight back, but as I didnt get back until 6am, it didnt leave much time for sleep.
Now ive more or less got used to 4 or 5 hours nightly, but 2 hours, thats hard. And just 5 hours in 3 days almost turned me most queer.
I wonder how much sleep a solo sailor gets daily? Since its something I plan to do, I wonder if im capable of the high level of sleep deprivation.

Catching up now, im feeling quite full of beans.

I might get a fair bit done tonight, there's a mandolin needs playing. Ive neglected it recently.

I love swinging but...

2011-10-26T14:18:00.003+01:00

Attempting to swing on a buoy all year round would be a bit foolhardy.
But the rewards for staying out there in the river as much as possible are high.
The freedom to swing with the tide means I always know which way the water is going without consulting a tide table. The isolation is wonderful. No noisy pontoon creaking or footstep sounds as others walk up and down. No nosey neighbours peering through the windows and no need to get up and check ropes in the night if the wind picks up.
Getting to and from the boat is another matter, as is not having any form of heating.
The little yamaha engine that got a dunking a few weeks ago has ceased to work and is in need of some new parts that suffered the ravages of salt water. So rowing my little inflatable butter dish is quite some effort when the wind blows and impossible in a gale.
The temperature inside recently dipped to 5 degrees as the wind shifted to a northerly. Brrrr. Except my new heated blanket has been a marvelous revelation. I wish I'd bought it last year when the idea came to me.

So, as much as I want to stay out in the river on a buoy my choices for winter are forced a little to include finding an electrical point to power a heater.

In the spring of this year I provisionally booked in to Limehouse marina in london, thinking the 15 minute cycle to work would be great and the cost of the marina being very close to the cost of the train seemed like nothing to lose. Apart from my sanity that is.
After careful consideration, weighing up mooring in a sheltered, locked (as in lock of the watery kind) basin with a busy commercial river running for miles with no wildlife or views for hours of cruising and no friendly marina staff or other sailing friends, or, to pay a bit more and have access to a pontoon where I am in Essex on the crouch, where I have free parking, friendly people, a pub within staggering distance, views of the sunrise and sunset over wildlife reserves and, importantly, a river I can go sailing in practically any time I like. Give or take an hour or so either side of low tide to get out of the marina.
Limehouse would a convenient concrete prison that would pander only to my day job and in which I would merely exist.
Fambridge is a long journey to the day job, but, I feel alive there. The people, the wildlife and location, it's too much to give up.

Im saving up for diesel heating to make winter sailing a possibility.

A drip

2011-10-21T00:10:00.001+01:00

I spy with my little eye, a drip or seepage, or something.
A dot of moisture caught my eye, so now I'm checking the ball valve join each time I use it. Which is several times a day. Not sure if its condensation in the cold or genuine seep.
Last year I noticed water in the bilge and it turned out to be a sweaty hull...
Still, I cant help feeling I may have to tighten it up. Out of the water.

Here's lookin' at you Mr. B. Valve.

Hurricaine Katia

2011-09-13T14:16:00.001+01:00

When a hurricaine wanders off from the Atlantic and makes its way over, the resulting winds are great for drying clothes quickly.

the rain came and rainbows shone on the sky

then the sun set

and the tail winds of the hurricaine hit, and in the night the boat rocked, rolled and doors flew open and closed that I hadn't snecked back, my cutlery drawer flew out because I hadn't secured it and my dinghy...
Ah my poor dinghy, it took off in the wind, complete with Yamaha outboard and landed upside down.
I was not happy to be greeted with the bottom of an inflatable dinghy and a propellor waving at the sky.
Thankfully, its a simple engine with simple needs. It just needed a little love and it works again, as the video proves.

The power of wind

2011-09-13T14:12:00.001+01:00

I had a Rutland 913 on last season.
I was good, it charged and kept my batteries ticking over. But it was slightly not quite enough to keep them tippety tip top when I charged some of my juicier bits of electrickery.

So I upgraded to an Airbreeze.

and a new inverter was installed around the same time... as well as a shunt in preparation for a battery monitor.

sewing on board

2011-07-15T14:09:00.000+01:00

I bought a new bad-ass sewing machine over the winter and I've been honing my domestic skills on the beast.

I grew up learning to sew with my grandmother, every week. It just seems to come naturally these days. I just enjoy sewing.

SO, a neighbour I had briefly while on hard standing commissioned me to make a few covers for their boat.

A ketch is a tricky bugger to make spray dodgers for. how many cut outs?
What fun it was.

Happy Birthday to me

2011-06-24T14:06:00.000+01:00

June came along rather quickly and the bottom of Varekai hasn't been wet since October last year.
How time flies when you own a boat, when you can't afford to wave the magic wand of wonga and get it all done by someone else.
I took a week off, my birthday as it happens was during the holiday, so time to sit back and enjoy the world go by.

As if!
time to get busy. First, strip the keel back of layers and layers of old antifoul.

then get the antifoul on, touch in a few marks on the rudder, borrow a polishing machine to cut back years of not being polished and then finish, two coats of waxing by hand. I am the karate kid. Wax on, Wax off. There are no bingo wings here.

Launch day, Friday. but no.

The wind was blowing, hard. The guys in the marina asked if I could wait a few days.
OK.
Two more days booked off work, and the crane finally came to hover over Varekai for lift off.

such was the shock of the boat being ready to go back into the water, a bird literally fell out of the sky and landed in the cockpit, thus:

and then, ever the professional photographer, my battery died in my camera just the moment before it went in the water.

total bloody amateur.

The rudder problem

2011-06-24T13:50:00.000+01:00

The rudder took me by suprise.
I should know to always expect the unexpected, but I wasn't really expecting what I saw when I removed the rudder earlier this year.

clearly action was needed. I wrote to my friends at yachting monthly magazine to see if they knew anyone who would give me their opinion.
I wrote to the Dehler owners club too.
opinions varied from stripping back the entire rudder and replacing the stock, getting the stock turned down, replacing with new rudder, getting a new rudder made using the old one as a mould, put a stainless sleeve over the existing stock to replace the old sleeve and epoxy resin to fix the rudder blade.

The latter choice came first, since I have the best access anyone could have to a precision engineer. Enter, my dad once again to find a solution. He worked out the flex and strain capacity of the stainless sleeve, and although an expensive lump of metal and heavy, it works out to be stronger than the original stock, he machined a matching pair of bearings, upper and lower to resin into the boat and epoxy resined the rudder back to the shape it once was.

the result is a vision of beauty to my eyes. The machining was absolutely spot on, despite the bearing being sent in advance and the sleeve being machined afterwards.

Once the rudder was slid back in place, with the bottom bearing epoxied into the rudder sleeve build into the hull, the top bearing screwed in place in the top bar in the cockpit, the rudder turned smoothly and effortlessley.

gimme a P, gimme a B, gimme a racket

2011-05-23T19:53:00.004+01:00

October 2010, I asked a man if he could help me sort my P bracket. he quoted and never came back to me after that.
November it snowed
December it snowed and was pretty cold
January 2011, it was cold.
February I had no motivation.
March, I got the chisels out and gave them to someone stronger than me. a pig of a job
the Pbracket was liberated from its 22 year home and went off for fettling. It was time to DIY-F-S, if the local business didnt want my business, then it was a sign that I should learn to do it instead and save myself £800

it was fettled. welded, polished and cutlass bearing replaced. (thanks Dad)

the stainless sleeve arrived too, but still has to be machined to fit the rudder stock and bearings. (thanks again Dad)

May arrived and I went off to fetch it, along with a fettled and polished prop and shaft.
Epoxy resin was fetched in from the Maldon branch of Marine store.
Its always important to line your surfaces with some sort of protection to keep them clean. What better than a newspaper article on the modern wonder that is the "side boob" and a rather tenuous story about whether it is the new "cleavage". hmmm. The Metro newspaper, it's not what it used to be.

after what felt like an age setting up the jig to hold the p bracket in place and all the tools to keep it in alignment, you can see its a complex set up... some band stands, an old passarel plank and some wedges scrounged from the floor where boats have been this winter and are now back in the water.

at the same time as hooking it all up, we had to fit the new stern gland... which I MUST remember to tighten up before putting the boat in the water. I have put a bright plastic clip around it to remind me.

and then onto the messy job of applying epoxy resin, in varying degrees of thickness, gooiness and runnyness.

we ran out of epoxy resin, so its left like that for the moment. The final shaping up and roving will hopefully be completed next weekend.

pull the rudder one

2011-04-21T16:15:00.002+01:00

with the boat rapidly becoming swiss cheese, the time came to finally drop that rudder and replace the bearings.

easier said than done.

first a hole had to be dug and with most jobs like this, there is always a foreman, a tea boy and a grafter.
I opted for being the tea boy, my dad stood propping his hands on his hips making sure the job went to plan and Mr X did the digging, because, as a building site labourer, he said "Im used to it"
I did the blagging part, as tea boy, and went over to the local builders who are currently constructing a new toilet block and laundry facility for the marina and begged for a spade.

I did wonder if I should ask first before starting to dig up part of the marina, but decided to just get on with it, asking questions shows doubt in ones mind. Doubt, is a sign of weakness and the last thing I want to show anyone right now is any kind of weakness. When it comes to DIFY, I need to keep a clear mind as to what I want, when and how Im going to do it.
Having secured the use of a spade, I quietly retired to camera duties (as well as putting the kettle on.)

with the rudder released, next came the bearing. It was glued in with a resin type of glue, araldite or something like that. It needed cutting and hammering and a bit of persuading to come out.

The last skin fitting was ready to come out after a little bit of preparation with some high prescision tooling.

the new skin fittings are in 316 stainless

The rudder is a sorry looking thing. A bronze collar has caused galvanic corrosion of the aluminium stock. Its not looking too pretty.

further investigation reveals the extent of the corrosion.

Im not exactly sure what Im going to do next. possibly retire to my chamber to contemplate my options.

hmm.

liberated bracket

2011-03-22T21:57:00.002Z

finally after more chiseling and persuading with a hammer, the p-bracket has finally been liberated.

its not looking very pretty.

then, i had a go at the engine skin fitting. its been looking dodgy since the last survey so I planned to change all of the skin fittings and ball valves.

As I tried to unscrew the ball valve from the skin fitting, the whole job lot snapped off in my hand. which made me laugh a slightly manic laugh, just the thought of it snapping so easily due to it being completely depleted of zinc, it's the stuff of my nightmares and I've jumped up in the night before now to go and check them for leaks or signs of anything wrong. To have one snap like this, well, I feel fully satisfied now that preventative maintenance is better than any other kind.

pig. job. of a

2011-03-13T17:41:00.000Z

todays work is the start of the worst pig I think Ive had to think about doing on the boat so far.
the P-bracket, the bit thats holds the propeller shaft, became wobbly after the long journey from Gibraltar. Although I'd guess that it had already had some rudimentary repairs along the way to keep it going and for the previous owners, or the owners before them to avoid having to do this dirty and fiddly job.

The way that the P bracket is mounted was a bit of a mystery as it was shrouded in a large grey fibreglass mound. This we (between my dad and me) decided to attack with chisels rather than a grinder to keep the dust down.

Its a messy job whichever way to attack it.

several hours of chiseling reveal a large bolt running through the top side of the p bracket and a chink of light shining through the hollow p bracket.
which isn't the best news, but I'm hardly surprised.

as I was peeling back the glass fibre wrap on the outside of the P bracket I removed several areas of filler, including the area which revealed a long crack in the p bracket weld.

so now i need to remove the shaft, remove the p bracket, get it repaired/welded and then find someone to re-fit and re-glass it for me.

When im cleanin windas

2011-03-07T20:09:00.027Z

There's only so long I can avoid making eye contact with the postit to do notes dotted around the boat.
This morning, stuck to the nutella jar, replace lewmar windows.
Damn it.

Another postit stuck to the toilet door, empty back cabin (to prepare for work)
Oh stop it.

Since my morning trip out to find some sailing action resulted in zero action and zero pictures taken except for evidence of mass over signage at bradwell marina, I had nothing to use as an excuse to avoid the inevitable.

The back cabin has been a neglected area, used for dinghy storage and vacuum packed blankets.
A large furry red cushion (what is it about women and cushions?) and a bag of odd clothes I cant make my mind up about keeping or not. Not sure what to do with a unionjack tutu and tail coat.

Back room emptied, cushions up and boards up, theres is water pooled in various areas, I can only assume from condensation. Mildew growing on the backwall had to be dealt with and then take a look at the back end of the prop shaft I need to remove.

O

Welcome to bradbury

2011-03-07T20:09:00.020Z

In search of some sailing action to photograph this weekend and with no signs of any white triangles around Burnham on crouch, I headed up north east towards bradbury which is on the blackwater and colne estuary. A short 7 mile drive.
The area all around burnham to bradbury is as quiet an area as any peace loving person could wish for. Smooth tarmac, barely any cars, birds singing, no noise pollution. A generally lovely place.

But then, when I pulled into the entrance to Bradwell marina I was suprised at the number or warning notices all over the place. At the entrance is a sign warning that its a working boat yard, please take care.

A little further down the drive, another sign, STOP, contact security. Which of course I didn't and discovered at the end, no where to park for free. The car park is protected by a barrier, a pound to go in! Welcome visitors, welcome and give us your money.

I parked my car on the driveway and abandoned it while I went for a look at the marina and its access from the river.
There was a nice grassy bank, beside it, a sign forbidding picnics.

As I wandered along a grassy bank, another sign giving rules for use of the slip way, banning jet skis, and a whole host of other water craft.

At the end of the grassy bank was a footpath linking across to another area with another slipway, accessed by the road. Thee gate was sporting a sign, all access forbidden. No entry.

Back up towards the control tower I wandered around for a moment, bouncing from one forbidding barrier to another. BRADWELL it seems must be some hive of criminal attention given the sheer amount of signs they have up forbidding everything but breathing. In such a sleepy place I cant imagine why they would have a pay for car park, when if we compare to the thames, there are plenty of places to park for free at the marinas along there.

I cant help but feel that bradwell marina is one of the most unwelcoming places ive visited. Sure, the people there are probably nice, but they should take a look through the eyes of a stranger at what its like to visit.

Looking but not seeing

2011-02-24T23:30:00.001Z

All around, everywhere I look I see there are people who are looking but not seeing. Walking around on autopilot or in denial.
I saw man today walk up to a cash machine clearly displaying an error message on its screen. But he simply tried to put his card anyway without even registering anything on the screen, only realising when the machine rejected his card. I thought of him as automaton.

Another example, I read part of a blog today of someone I dislike quite a lot. I read it because I am curious and in a self flagilation kind of way it gives me pain to read what she has to say about her view on the world because she obviously doesnt see it in the same way as others. She wrote about someone questioning her level of education. The reason was as she wrote, that the other person thought she had a chip on her shoulder. She thought is wasnt her at fault but him and proceeded to slight him by writing further criticisms of him in her blog. She cant see, despite writing the conversation down in her blog, that maybe she does have a problem that cant be solved by being signed off long term sick. She has terminal potato chips, but there's no cure for that. Not while she cant actually see it. Blindness.
But no. Blind people see more clearly. They feel it.

I rode to work through london a different route each day this week from the train station, no idea if I was taking the best roads, I just followed my nose. Always end up in the place I want to be.
I need to feel im not becoming a part of the machine, the human conveyor belt. Or if I am already part of it, I need to know that I can get off for a look around sometimes. What struck me was how interesting it is to cycle around london streets. Particularly the City. If we raise our gaze, the architecture is music to the eyes.

After almost a year of getting up, going to work, getting home and going to bed, I feel like ive been stuck in some sort of creative blackhole. Noone can feel productive in a thoughtful creative and unique way living a life of mechanical precision.
There needs to be a bit of niggly randomness chucked into the blender.

Where does this leave my own insight? Im sure I can see quite clearly what I need to do, my problem is that im averting my eyes and looking away, not wanting to face it.
Its a case of seeing but not looking. Which is almost the same thing as the post title but not quite.
If only I could focus on one thing at a time, I might see the light.

Or I might get varekai back in the water by easter?

The plan? Im pinning to-do lists in various places all around the boat.

Find a willing fibreglass expert to reglass the p-bracket.

Order and fit new cutlass bearing

Fit new prop shaft

Fit new anode

Order and Fit new skin fittings and ball cocks.

Drop rudder and fit new bearings

Clean and scrape the hull

Paint with fresh antifoul

Fit new windows

Fit new hatch glass

Make new canvas cover for winchbar

Repair main sail and jib

Wash all running rigging

Re grease and lubricate all winches and pulleys.

But im sure I will find a way to not look at each note stuck in such a way to be right under my nose. Because if I look at them, I will see that evidentaly I am rather lazy and find any excuse to be occupied with something, anything else instead.

Mobile blogging two

2011-02-17T22:41:00.001Z

Does the opportunity of blogging on the go as the thoughts form in my head of what i'd like to write about next devalue the experience? Does it make the thoughts any less sage because they are that bit younger and perhaps less well mulled over?
Not sure yet.
Having just performed a digital exorcism on my digital communicator I lost all of my digitally stored to do lists. Thankfully my non digital storage device, my trusty analogue brain and backup notepad in a bag still contain traces of such important lists of things that I must do.
As I eek out shadows of former ruminations, I realise that not many things on the lists actually got done. Mainly because they were hidden away on a digital device that needed activating in order to view said lists. Well, if one forgets the list, they are about as useful as a chocolate washing line.
The good old post it note, stuck to a door at reading height seems a sure way to get things done.
Making things achievable is also a way to get things done. Breaking them down into manageable nibbles instead of big chunks is also a good way to achieve the never ending list of things to be done.
In fact I rather like the rolling roadbook of the dakar rally bikes. I should perhaps have one of those stuck to the door.
And then I am reminded of the story of poor, rimmer. The simple minded space geek too stupid to pass a simple. Exam so spent all of his time creating more and more elaborate revision timetables, each one more elaborate than the last, until such time he completely ran out of time and had to sit the exam completely unrevised.
That is precisely how I feel about getting varekai ready to go back in the water. I've spent so much time actually planning and then doing creative things on the side that in fact absolutely nothing has been done since the boat came out of the water in early october 2010.

Still, at least my website looks nice ay?
Www.pushtheboatout.co.uk

blogging on the move

2011-02-17T09:39:00.001Z

It has taken months of trying and being entirely unsuccessful, until now that is. A newly updated app from the magicial never never world of geekery has produced this post of non biblical proportions. Is this the future? Is this already the past? Who knows.
I do know that varekai is still high and dry on hard standing. Awaiting a pbracket person whos happy to do some work.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

2010-12-22T19:34:00.000Z

Now then, I seem to recall us being in and trying to get out of a recession.
You'd think that this would spark off a little urgency in the working people, those who run small businesses and so on.

Well, ive been trying to get someone to come and have a look at a p bracket that needs 'a fixin' and blow me if they all can't be bloody arsed. Ive been told its because marine engineers dont take women seriously. I find thid hard to belive. My money and boat is no different to anyone elses is it? There's no hidden double x chromosome inside my money that makes it 2nd class. But this is the level of enthusiasm ive received thus far. I want a job doing. Have money, cash money to pay for it and noone seems to have any hunger for my business.

So, talking of business. There was a whole sorry episode in late August when I had my premier primo bellissimo uber dooper italian stallion swishy flashy bike stolen from a supposedly secure building in london. This sparked a change in my attitude and it left a large punctuation mark in my novel life. I decided to get on with things.

So I have. Ive started my own business.
Ye-bloody-ha

Www.pushtheboatout.co.uk

Its early days. But I'm practically in full swing already. My canvas sewing machine is poised, as is my domestic sewing machine and my camera equipment is already in regular action.

The services I offer are canvas repairs, canopy repair, canopy window replacement, boat curtains and upholstery.
I also do photography, although less interesting to narrowboaters I guess, as I head out to capture yachts in action, racing at weekends on the east coast.
I do all kinds of photography though, including portraiture au nature, sporting and social events.
Then there the retouching, I can restore old vintage photographs, digitally at least back to life.

Meanwhile, my poor boat is out of the water until such time I can find someone to do some work for me. I need someone to push my boat out. So to speak.

what've you got there then?

2010-10-15T19:42:00.000+01:00

The question I am frequently asked at my equestrian based magazine desk in London when curious brown packages arrive on the postmans trolley.

This weeks delivery was a new set of windows.
the fruits of my Southampton wanderings are being borne.

the old Moonlight hatches on Varekai are now 20 years old and if they were a person, they'd be looking more like 90 ish. They are extremely craggy and crazed looking due to the effects of being in the Mediterranean sun, which I wish I was currently still "enduring".

Everytime it rains, drizzles or gets a little bit moist on deck the forehatch drips. When laying in bed if I happened to have a bigger hairdo then I could wash my hair at the same time as sleeping. The drips silently plop by at just a quiff's distance away from my pillow. Fine, the floor is waterproof. Except the small carpet that sits in the recess isnt. Im a bit fed up of trying to walk around the narrow raised rim of the floor or simply forgetting and having to hang my socks up to dry.

Since I need to remove the hatch perspex to re-seal it, I decided to pushtheboatout.co.uk and buy some new stuff to put back in.
A quick visit to eagle windows stall at the boat show, (conveniently timed when I fancied ordering windows), with a printout of pictures of my hatches and sizes.
They've sent me the whole kit 'n caboodle to fit my new hatch perspex and Lewmar portlights.

Im quite excited about stopping the drip. But not as excited as fixing my own sails, canopies and covers with my new aquisition. A new sewing machine has been added to the collection. Not only can I make curtains and upholstery but now I can sew heavy canvasses, sail cloths and a whole manner of kinky textiles.
Bloody brilliant, I shall be in my eye'oles whatever that is. The saloon table will never be the same again.

Got crab?

2010-10-05T18:02:00.000+01:00

I was dying to get a look at the undersides of the boat now its out of the water.
I didnt get home until dark so I wandered around with a teeny tiny led light peering at the hull and fittings.

I need to replace my seacocks, but I wanted to look at them all the same, just so i can suck in air over my teeth and tutt, poke at the galvanic corrosion and worry about costs.

it was while I was tutting and peering into the gloom, that I saw a pair of eyes peer back out at me.

a small crab, trapped inside the antiweed cage for my engine seacock.

It was quite a feisty little thing, as I unscrewed the protective cover it wasted no time leaping out and landed with a light pebble sound on the floor.
Not at all happy that I was trying to save its ungrateful derier, I forced it to take a ride with me to the waters edge and said ta ta. hopefully it'll grow big and strong and tell its kids of its adventure when it was a wee nipper.

Fog

2010-09-22T19:25:00.000+01:00

It had to happen eventually.
I poked my head out of the companionway this morning and wondered which way I was pointing.
The fog was so thick I couldnt see the neighbouring boats.
It soon started to clear though, and by 8.15am I had this marvelous view as I headed ashore.

Food Chain

2010-09-20T19:26:00.000+01:00

It was during the trip a few days ago between Ireland and Wales that we hit upon an idea, a very small idea.
The food chain is a large pyramid with predators and prey, each one does its bit for the eco system. While people panic about vanishing tuna, we decided that maybe tuna aren't the beast we should be worrying about. They are quite a large sea creature, not many others higher than it on the predator list, save for the sharks and humans.
The really important ones, are the small ones.
They supply the backbone to the whole eco system. They prop it all up. If you take them away, then countless species would die out; including many land mammals who depend on fish or fruit de mer as their sole food income. Krill. Small but mighty.

So, I'm thinking of making tshirts. Not save a tuna, save dolphins, stop whaling. No.

Think of the krill.

retainer un retained

2010-09-18T19:27:00.000+01:00

Finally, after 8 months of waiting and moving and repairing and surveying again, the mortgage company accepted my new survey and have sent me the final sum of money they were holding back.
Its not a lot of money, but it is this small amount thatb makes a big difference to my winter maintenance programme.
The boat is due out of the water in early october.
Ive got a long list of things on my to-do list.
But first... The southampton boat show.

London to Ireland to Wales in a weekend.

2010-09-13T19:19:00.000+01:00

As one who had to deal with the expense of being weather bound this summer, I felt for Kieran the owner of a Twister 28 and a colleague. He had gone off to Ireland for a summer holiday and got weather bound.
Leaving his boat there for a month while he waited for the weather window was turning out expensive.

He enlisted the help of Dick Durham and myself to help him bring his boat back.

We dashed out of the office in London on Friday evening, caught a train from Waterloo to Alton in Hampshire where we picked up Kierans car. Drove to Basingstoke, picked up Dick who was fresh from the Southampton Boatshow. Straight down the motorway to Milford Haven. A little walk around and then in a taxi to the ferry port. The overnight ferry took us to Rosslare. Where we had to leg it to the train, just in time as it was the only train that day. We arrived in Waterford mid morning on Saturday.
A quick walk around the town to stock up on provisions and food for a good old fried breakfast, then we were off down the river to wait for the morning tide out of Dunmore East.

The forecast was looking very dodgy with possible 6's and 7's, but it turned out nice again.

we filled our stomachs with irish fish and chips before we set off at 3.30am from Dunmore East, southern Ireland, bound for Milford Haven in Wales.

this is Kieran the captain and skipper of Cleaver II

the dolphins are a bugger to photograph. meat torpedoes flying out of the water every second, but I couldnt seem to catch them on camera. Still, it was a beautiful sunrise.

not the best point of sail, but gull winging all the way, Cleaver II was very well behaved.

we intercepted a massive pod of dolphins who swam with us for hours and Dick had a better go than me at photographing them.

tea break. biscuits are a must if I am to stay sane at sea.

Kieran is a most splendid cook and prepared us a fantastic Irish beef stew for the journey to Wales.

a rough trip guide.

second viewing

2009-09-04T01:54:00.000+01:00

I asked a friend with a nice car (that works) to come and have a look with me at the Oyster in Cardiff.

She drove, I waffled on about all kinds of shit. When we arrived she lithely clambered down the vertical companionway that had been the subject of much discussion and looked around. "uh huh, yep, looks alright" she replied
and then we started poking and prodding all over again.
It is quite old, build in 1980, a lot of things will need replacing, but every boat I can afford is a money pit, the main thing is, I need to love the money pit otherwise it will all be a waste of time and effort.

So, I put an offer in.

The Oyster 41 I went to visit in Cardiff has the edge over all the boats I've seen.

Im just arranging the surveyor to come down to do the business...

exciting times.

Eject

2009-08-19T18:07:00.000+01:00

My airbed seems to have auto eject. By 6am it has lost enough air that my arse has gone numb on the hard laminate floor, so I just get up instead of pressing the snooze button. I guess its one way to stop me being late to work.

Watford is within cycling distance of central London. I think Im going to give that a go next week.

My airbed leaks.

2009-08-18T18:07:00.000+01:00

It feels strange to sleep with a ceiling so far away and such big windows.

Waking up without the smell of the fetid canal wasn’t too bad, but I miss the swans and ducks who used to come and say hello to me in a morning.

Goodbye old life

2009-08-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

Glorious sunshine and there I was, standing at the side of Limehouse basin, a jar of fois gras in one hand and some stale bread in the other. A small laptop bag at my feet. Honey Ryder, my 57 foot narrowboat and home for the previous three years cruised away with it's slightly accident prone new owner in the direction of central london. My French boyfriend, recently made an ex, gone back to france and my dog, sent away and being looked after by my mum 180 miles north of London.

As I wandered back to my car that was stuffed to the ceiling with schtuff bound for storage, it finally dawned on me that I’m homeless and utterly alone.

After dropping the remainder of my life in at a storage unit I drove to a friends house in Watford, hoping that he might be in. His spare room has a very small space set aside for me amongst his vast amount of things. Just big enough for an airbed and a chair, this is going to be 'home' for a few weeks until I sort out my next floating home.