While in Plymouth
a quick look at 'Bogey Knights' site on EBay showed that he was selling some
epoxy exactly right to re paint the bottom of Ti Gitu so we went alongside the
little quay near the store and it was delivered to us.
The only problem then was where to store two 20 litre drums
and associated tins of hardener. It 'shoe horned' under the forward cabin
berth.
The next day we left Plymouth
for Dartmouth
and had light winds which meant motor sailing all the way.
We had a nice visit with Tom and Lorraine who are building a perfect motor
boat. We take out hats off to them.
Spent just two nights in Dartmouth
and then headed for Portland .
Light winds but sailed most of the way. We anchored in the North of the harbour
and as Ti Gitu's speed had been about 20% down started to look for somewhere to
dry out and scrub the bottom.
We noticed there is a sand bar which totally dries out at
the North end and on my birthday we put Ti Gitu on the sand and had an
unpleasant time scrubbing. As it was my birthday I'd got a bottle of amber
nectar which helped with the aches over the next couple of days.
Took the bus into Weymouth
on the Monday but still think that it isn't somewhere we would want to stay.
Much too 'kiss me quick' in the summer and dead in the winter.
A few days later made the move along to Poole
harbour in light winds but Ti Gitu slipped along as designed with her freshly
scrubbed bottom.
We anchored East of Brownsea Island .
With the marinas wanting enormous amounts anchoring is a good option and we re
found a hole in the mud flats where we could stay afloat.
We noticed some strange noises from the engine when we had
motor sailed and traced them to the engine mounts. These were changed about
seven years ago after the originals had done about seven years, so as soon as
we are in for the winter these will be changed. For now we are just trying to
be gentle with the engine.
Ti Gitu is nearly 15 years old and I have changed all the
other plastic and rubber parts on the engine but didn't give the mountings or
the flexible coupling a thought. This sort of thing, like the camshaft belt,
need writing in the maintenance log, highlighting in advance when they need
changing. This can save many problems when sailing.
Why is it so expensive in the UK? With the strength of the British pound it really makes cruising the UK a rich mans destination.I imagine the further north you go the cheaper it gets?
ReplyDeleteCheers
Drew
Hi Drew, I guess it is so expensive because the Brits have just put up with it and now local councils are seeing yachties as money cows. To answer your other question about bead blasting. When you purchase pre blasted steel it will probably have been through a blasting machine and these use beads rather than grit. If you want to discuss it further my email is paul @ faymarine.com (without the gaps.
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