De-rigging
Typical for me - when there comes time to finish the season and pick the boat from water I suddenly want to sail. Last weekend didn’t work out: there was rain almost constantly and hardly any wind. But today, Monday, the weather was perfect: sunny, chilly with moderate wind.
I left work early, pick the kid from school on my way home with a plan for nice evening sail. With hard time at work I wanted to chill out with Meritaten, especially that the season for mahogany boats is ending very soon.
By the time I arrived at the waterfront the wind was gone. Motoring to open water - where probably was some wind - is not fun on my boat. 8HP Yanmar-san is noisy and hardly strong enough to give 4 ton hull any decent speed.
Neighbour sailor was packing his sails, he will go up in a few days. We chatted a bit and I was considering what to do. It was still sunny and not cold but the evening was coming and there was no chance for any wind today.
I took his advice and packed my sails while they are still dry. Removed all running rig and prepared the boat for lifting on land.
We planned with Jim to remove antifouling paint using the old trick with paper-wall glue mixed with caustic soda (NaOH). I did that on Motoko but she was GRP boat. I have some doubts if we really should do that on wooden hull: sodium hydroxide is damaging wood and making it spongy. If one keeps the mixture too long on the hull the wood will be damaged.
I also remember that while doing that on Motoko I made a mental note to never attempt it again: it is a messy and risky job, with concentrated NaOH splashing all over the place when one swooshes the mixture with Karcher. I think I will stay with traditional labour: steel scraper, gas mask and elbow grease.
What do you think Jim?
While working with the rig today I added a few more items onto ToDo-list:
I need to make adjustable outhaul for the main. Right now the clew is fixed with a piece of rope. In lighter winds the sail is unnecessarily flat.
I need to make or buy a proper mast collar. Taping the mast before every season is a bit lausy although it works quite OK
VHF installation on mast top. I will try to thread VHF cable through the mast while it is accessible on land. Last year it was raining cats&dogs so I skipped it. Maybe this year I will have more luck. Handheld VHF works for much shorter distance and I already have all parts (saved after I sold Motoko) of the system
Autopilot installation. Let’s face it - I almost exclusively sail alone. Having my trusted Ray(marine) holding the tiller frees me to do work on deck or prepare food while the boat is keeping her course. I need to make a holding arm and pull electricity closer to the tiller. All parts are lying in my storage and wait since a few years
Cockpit coaming on starboard - I need to change the board there. I will also make a storage space there more seaworthy - now it is open to sea
Engine room covers / cockpit sole. These boards are just sitting with gravity. I want to secure them with bolts or lines running below them so that they cannot be lifted should we get lots of water in the cockpit. With my sailing this is very improbable but… it needs to be done
Fo’c’sle sole: mahogany to match the rest of the cabin
Encapsulating toilet in mahogany box so we don’t need to see this plastic thing
Permanently closing unused sea-cocks in fo’c’sle
Reinforcing sea-water intake in engine room - the one which failed after launching
Changing the remaining 2 seacocks which drain the cockpit and kitchen sink. They are massive but I never changed them. I think previous owner didn’t do that either. Their life-time is not indefinite
Additional bilge pump / crash pump. So that I feel better.
Varnishing shelves in the cabin. Someone before me oiled them with linseed oil. When it gets warm they become sticky and leave stains on clothes or books. A coat of diluted varnish should seal them all right
Battery box. I need to secure it better - it kind of sits well but moves a bit when the boat is lying on her side.
All the rest I have on the list - too long to write here. Wooden boat is never completely finished, there is always something to fix or improve. That’s part of the charm.
Fanny booked me for coming Friday. We will lift the mast and then, hopefully, also Meritaten. End of season and the winter fun starts!
