Hauled out in Chaguaramas
Author: Shirlz
Saturday, 26 January 2013
I passed a tall ship in a floating dry dock as I entered Chaguaramas
After getting a good night’s sleep in Scotland Bay I motored round to Chaguaramas and picked up one of the convenient TTYA moorings, then a quick row to the Crewsinn dinghy dock to clear in and pick up supplies. There was more protective razor wire in evidence than I remembered from 2004 but otherwise nothing much had changed. I took a walk over to Budget Marine and feasted my eyes on all the expensive yottie gear. My galley hand pump for drinking water had been leaking badly despite umpteen attempts to repair it so I decided to treat myself to a new footpump. 10% off for cash and a great wad of notes changed hands. Soon it was installed along with a filter and I am delighted to have easily accessible water again without flooding the galley each time I fill the kettle.
Hauled out and getting cleaned up
Next, I strolled down the road checking prices at the various boatyards. I had thought of trying to do all the work that could be done while still afloat at peaceful (except for the weekends) Scotland Bay but realized that it would be a major disadvantage not being able to use power tools, vacuum cleaner, etc. So I’ll just have to bite the bullet and get things done as quickly as possible in an expensive boatyard.
I spent a day shopping around for the best deal but there was not much difference between the various yards. I decided on Coral Cove as it was slightly cheaper than the rest and fairly quiet but still convenient to the shops. No problems getting lifted out and now it’s just a case of getting stuck in to the awful reality of hand sanding the bottom to remove some of the thick build-up of antifouling paint. It’s a bit slow but using wet sandpaper with the water hose running to wash away the residue seems more pleasant to me than using an electric sander which would entail goggles, breathing mask and full protective gear. Very sweaty.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Sinbad takes it easy
Life in the boatyard labours on. Speedwell is looking bright and shiny again with a new coat of paint both top and bottom. I took the rudder off (with a little help from my friends) and had new Delrin bushes and washers made to take up the slack between gudgeons and pintles. I feel more confident with a rudder that doesn’t wobble.
Some help was also needed to lower the mast in its tabernacle but there were no mishaps once I’d figured out how to rig up the two control lines back to the cockpit winches, one to coax it into starting to move and the other to prevent it from crashing down once it started leaning over. There was quite a lot of chafe at the corners where the parrels strain against the mast but none had penetrated the fiberglass cladding so no real problems. Being able to lower the mast this way makes it really easy to do proper maintenance and I am eternally grateful to Pete Hill for doing such a wonderful job of constructing it for me.
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Fresh coat of paint, mast down, battens waiting
My battens had been looking a bit scruffy for a long time and now seemed a good opportunity to tidy them up. They are made of 38 x 1.5 mm aluminium tubing with a few wraps of unidirectional carbon fibre. At one time I had cut them and experimented with jointed battens but this was not successful and I had subsequently made them whole again with generously wrapped carbon ‘bandages’. The repaired joints were probably the strongest parts of the battens and over the years saw me safely through many bad weather experiences. But now I noticed that a few of the battens showed signs of corrosion which was forcing the carbon away from the aluminium tubing. It didn’t look too good. I was tempted to buy some new tubing and replace the lot but a closer look convinced me that they were worth saving. I removed the carbon cladding at the corroded sites and brushed away all the white powdery stuff before treating the damaged tubing with phosphoric acid. Then I coated it with an epoxy filling mixture to take up all the irregularities. A layer of 6oz glass cloth to provide a good base for a fresh layer of carbon fibre. The carbon went on today and is looking good despite a nasty little
rainshower just as I was finishing off.
I’m still hoping to be back in the water by the end of the month.
Tags: Battens, Mast tabernacle
