Spring at last

It feels like a long winter, but is time at last for preparing the boat for the season.  When the covers came off there was still snow lying around and the scaffold for the covers ways frozen into the ground.

Now,a couple of weeks later, the sun is up and it is a please to be in the marina working on the boat.

Last season we changed anti-fouling to the new low copper version.  One side effect of This is that the new paint is not as soft and sends in much better shape after the season. So This year we are trying a new approach and just touching up the existing layer instead of painting a whole new layer ( or two).  Apart from saving several hundred crowns it's hopefully better for the environment.  We will see in the autumn if it is actually still effective in inhibiting growth.

Apart from that, high up on the last is rubbing and polishing... as usual the hull is quite faded after a season in the sun.  But, after a few hours with rubbing and polish she now has her old shine back. Step one done

Old tat

January and thoughts are already on getting the boat ready. Apart from how I'm going to stow the new tender and whether to buy a new genoa there's also the galley to look out for.  I have it in mind to find a few seventies bits and pieces to add to the folkboat feeling.

Yesterday at a vintage shop in town I picked up this small melamine tray. Not sure how old it is but it should come in handy once the sun has gone below the yardarm...

Feeling inclined

Just fitted.

As you can see the boat sits a bit lopsided.... The outboard and anchor sit on the same side

In the pit

In diving they talk about the incident pit, a series of small decisions that end up putting you in a place where something serious happens.

That is how it was for of this year with putting the mast up. The mast crane was partly blocked by a moored pontoon. But I thought I could get the coat close enough to do the job.  When it got tricky we tried to stabilize things by getting a shroud down.  From there it was a step to overtightening . And a bent spreader.

Worse, it put a twist on the mast fixing and a long moment of despair.

That was in May.  I now have a new spreader- and a mast fitting of the right profile and a man booked to fit it. A long slow season, climbing out the pit...

Hanging around

Today's the day. Back in the water for another skärgård summer. The marina has a snazzy new trailer for launching but we still end up hanging about waiting for it to arrive...

Playing tag

From Björkskär we head off in company in fresh northerlies beating towards Stora Nassa. Sunny and blowy... that's what we like.

We have a bit of trouble with the halyard when we hoisted sail so we end up playing catch up, but they have a quicker boat so we are forcrd to work on our pointing to keep up.

When we get there there are boats all over and we motor round... checking out a sheltered lagoon we'd picked out on the chart. Taken.

So finally we settle on nice sheltered cobb just west of the main sound. High cliffs and deep close in.

It proved not to be quite as good as we had hoped. As the wind got up it came round the bluff not giving as much lee as it promised. But enough at least.

The following day is still blowy and we set springs to offload the mooring lines. A quiet day with a book before a quiet night in in good company.