Flag staff finished

Final coats on the wood, fittings fitted, flag raised..ready for adventures.....

Getting ready for the season

Launch day or rather lift in day went according to plan last week and the quay at the club is now clear of over wintering boats. Esso, quite surprisingly, issued an extended licence for this to happen. An extension I took advantage of to get some work done. The lease has been seen, signed and returned and is just waiting final agreement from Esso HQ before we are truly back in business.

With the extended licence I dashed straight down from work on Monday last week and rigged the boat so that I could take her off the trailer, which I did, and then on Tuesday morning rushed the trailer to Fawley Trailers in Badminston Lane, where I left it in the capable hands of Adrian to do a service, courtesy of some persuasion by Sharon from Churchouse.

Whilst Daislebee was in the water I gave her top sides a thorough clean and fitted the batteries properly. I was joined by Tony during the afternoon which somewhat delayed too much progress..... but the next morning, when I got the trailer back, running very nicely, I was able to get on with rigging and other bits and bobs.

Rigging ...grrrrr....up went the mast with all the halyards attached...only to come down again to put the wind vane and lights on.....up again......down again...a rope had come unsheaved....up again...only to discover the peak halyard and the topping lift needed to be swapped over...wrong blocks...it was about that time I gave up,,,,,and set off for home.

But most of the work is done and I have a list of new jobs to to next time I am down.

Back at home I am giving a few finishing coats to the flag staff I have mad to replace the one I snapped last year.  £30 odd from most chandlers...just a bit of broom handle surely....well it is now.

Just need to put the fittings on and its ready to go with the new ensign I got for Christmas.

I have also been lurking on E bay...dangerous place isn't it. The result, amongst other items, is some dyneema line on order , a hook and a snatch block.

The idea behind it is based on a successful trial a fellow sailor, Nick Payne, has had making the winching process easier by using a turning block to reduce the pulling load. I'll take some pictures of the arrangement when it's fitted and provide links to the items used...assuming it's successful.

Other items on order are the service kit for the engine, some car back seat tidys' to store items along the side of the cabin. LED bulbs are also on their way to me, to replace the standard bulbs with brighter, less current hungry navigation lights.

The mast lifter has been used quite a lot and is reasonably successful but needs some tweaks. When I'm happy with it I'll post some pictures.

All in all, once she's been to Rock for her hull re furb she is going to look cracking for the new season...can't wait.

Good news at Ashlett

Together with several Drascombers, and of course other boats owners, including I'm glad to say two other Shrimper owners, I have kept my boat at the sailing club at Ashlett Creek for the past couple of years.
Very much a self help club, and extremely tidal it is a delightful backwater just north of Calshot in Southampton Water.

It's history is that  it was the sailing part of the larger Waterside Sports and Social Club based in Holbury, the village up the hill, which used to be the Esso Sports and Social Club.

As time went on and social clubs became less important to business's, it was signed over on a lease agreement to a committee of members, with each sub club, sailing, tennis etc being run by it's own sub committee.

Shock horror at the end of last year when it was announced that the 'Top Club' at Holbury was going into liquidation and therefore, by default, so were all the small sub clubs........ This was just after the end of season lift out, and left members and their boats quite literally stranded. Doom and despair abounded and the end of the world was forecast........

However, a few forward thinking people on the current committee , and others, had taken the precautionary step of creating a dormant company, and through their diligence and hard work, Ashlett Sailing Club Ltd has been able to pay a satisfactory amount to the liquidator for certain club assets as well as take over the lease, having reached agreement with Esso.

So, the Ashlett or perhaps possibly to be renamed -  Phoenix Sailing Club
has risen for m the ashes and opens it's door on Sunday...well done to all concerned in the negotiations and hard work that was required to achieve this.

Ashlett Regatta 2016

Wind and rain...go away

On the way to the Drascombe dinner at Chichester at the weekend I dropped in at the boat to collect some bits so I could start some of the projects I listed in my last entry.
So the batteries are home as well as the bowsprit , the rudder, tiller and I have the measurements for the Mast lifter arrangement.
I even have the wood to make it from as well as some of the bits - hinges and eye bolts courtesy of J Clarke Marine and eBay.

The only thing I don't have at the moment is the right weather - cold, wet, very blustery. So frustrating when you want to get on with things.

The batteries seem to be way past their best, so time for replacement but with my expanded solar project the new batteries should stay in tip top condition

The great bit of news is that I am cutting my work hours by half. Having retired once already and been persuaded to go back I have decided that enough is almost enough and time is more important, so , with both boys through Uni, I can take more time to devote to things I enjoy and this season looks to be going to be absolutely fabulous. The trip to the Morbihan and the Drascombe Golden Jubilee will be high points no doubt but I am sure there will be many other memorable adventures along the way.

Plans pre season 2017

The days are getting longer...possibly warmer, but thoughts are definitely turning towards preparation for the new season.

There's lots that needs to be done, and lots I want to do.....some of which amount to the same thing...others....well

There are several priorities :-

1. I need to have the trailer serviced, certainly for the trip to Morbihan in May but also for the journey to Cornwall in April.

2. The batteries need to be checked - 6 years old now and perhaps time to replace them.

3, The bowsprit and rudder need to come home for a good sand down and refurb after 6 seasons

Perhaps less important but nonetheless on the plan are :-

4. Upgrade the solar charging management unit to run to both batteries - a bit of a elementary mistake and I should have bought the right unit at the time but easily rectified.

5. Build a mast lifter. Having looked at examples on the Shrimper forum and looking at this seasons plans raising and lowering the mast will feature quite a bit - so I will put together a blog entry about the construction as well as, of course, the successful use of it.

In addition to this there are several grp nicks in the topsides that need attention and over the winter I brought back the step are from the boat and filled a couple of voids and nicks that had appeared, so the practice, in the warmth of the kitchen, will stand me in good stead.

The trip to Cornwall is grp refurb on a grander scale. Crabbers are going to refurb the hull, to a condition that apparently "I won't recognise". After several season and some deep scratches she needs it so I look forward to the finished result - before and after pictures, of course.

In addition I have bought a small drone, particularly for the Golden Jubilee Celebration, but I hope to be able to produce some good footage of the adventures we get up to. We'll see how it goes......