Pre Voyage Maintenance Excitement!

Toucando and I relocated from Kemps Quay to Shamrock Quay on 1st April... a voyage of approximately a quarter of a mile.  The idea was to have a month of maintenance at a marina where I would have water, electricity, a walk ashore pontoon, easy access to a chandlery and all the necessary marine trades.  On 2nd April the mast was unstepped with help from Spencer Rigging and the Shamrock Quay crane crew.  The weather was not kind.

I was grateful for the help of Kevin in looking at the mast and making a start on preparing it for "re-varnishing". The first week was bitterly cold, with frequent snow showers.  Some progress was made, although by no means as much as I had hoped because of the dreadful conditions.

The second week was warmer, but puctuated by showers - not ideal for varnishing.  The third week was characterised by strong southerly gales.

I was joined by Jem for a few days.  We did some further work on the mast and looked at the other spars.  This brought a moment of horror: it proved that some dark patches on the boom were more than dark patches: rot had set in.  Jem was of the opinion he would not want to rely on wood in that condition at sea... I couldn't disagree.  There were problems with the bowsprit too.  With less than three weeks to go before Round Britain we had found some major problems that were well beyond my competence to sort out.  I began to rehearse a series of phone calls in which I had to tell the crew that the trip was off, or at the least badly delayed, but before starting that I phoned Greg the Boatbuilder and asked for some ideas.  He gave me a list of people he thought might be able to help. I started making new calls.  Ian offered to loan me a boom - one that was conveniently lying around his yard doing nothing: a very kind offer, but it might not have been quite the right length, and the bowsprit also needed attention, so I rang Collars the people who make spars and oars for traditional boats of all chapes and sizes.  As it was early evening I expected to get an answerphone, but at least my message would be taken.  Instead Jeremy Freeland the MD answered and immediately showed a great interest in the problem.  He said he would bring the truck down from Oxfordshire and have a look at the boom for me. (collars.co.uk)

On Wednesday 17th Jeremy turned up.  I met him in the yard where he had found the mast which he was expertly tapping with his car keys.  "This looks fine," he pronounced.  I was relieved: a dodgy mast really would have been the end of sailing for the year.  We went and looked at the other spars. Unfortunately the car key went right into the end of the boom.  This is not a good sign. Fortunately the greater part of the boom was in excellent condition, it was just a small length at the outboard end where there was a problem.  "That's not too difficult, we can just scarf a new end on from about there... it's only a few hours work."  An impossiby complicated piece of repair from my point of view was mere routine for Collars.  That was reassuring.  Jeremy was a bit more concerned about the bowsprit.  There was a small patch of damage, but his main concern was that water could be inside the hollow structure.  "We'd better take this away and have a look at it in the workshop."  We carried the spars to the truck and put them on the roof.

I got back to work on other tasks with the help and advice of Jem.  The pinrail and various pieces of woodwork received our attention and significant progress was made, despite the howling winds that continued throughout the week.

The weekend brought the kind of weather I had been hoping for all month... bright sun, not too much wind and no rain.  I kept on sanding and scraping and sorting out things.  On Sunday I was joined by Colin who helped get the pin rail finished and get the glazing in the butterfly hatch resealed.

Unfortunately the news from Collars about the bowsprit was not good... it was very wet inside and would take "months" to dry out.  It was ok to use, if the visible damage was repaired, but underlying problems would remain.  With a little regret I asked Collars to make a new one... I could see this would ultimately be the outcome and might as well get on with it now so that the crew and I could have full confidence in the whole rig.  All this could be done and the spars returned the week before we set sail.  I was very grateful for the prompt attention from Collars and for all the help received from Kevin, Jem and Colin.  Maintenance month had not quite gone as planned, but a great deal had been achieved.  The mast goes back on Thursday, the spars arrive next week. We should be ready in time.... just!