Yes, it was like that one day, but the rest of the time it can be cold, uncomfortable, frightening, annoying, frustrating and not at all like the dream most people have when they buy a boat. Then there is the maintenance, and the cost of ownership. Every time you look at a boat, something breaks, and every boat owner thinks it's just them that has a major failure every time they go out. I think this is why you see so many neglected boats on moorings and in marinas - the reality can be a long, long way from the dream.
So, maintenance. We keep a list in the back of the log book. It never gets shorter. Items at the top get crossed off at the same rate that new ones are added to the bottom.
Last weekend it was repairing two sails, ripped during a blow. This weekend it was
1. Oil and filter change.
2. Primary diesel filter change.
3. Secondary diesel filter change.
4. Gearbox oil change.
5. Sort wiring problem making Eberspacher heater malfunction.
6. Redistribute weight to stop boat being nose heavy.
7. Refuel at Milford.
8. Fit new Autopilot after failure of old one during blow.
Yeah. Boring. Dull post. Who wants to read about that? Show us the sunset pictures........
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Dale Sunset"]
[/caption]We refuelled at Milford. An hour's sail up, and hour back and an hour or so there, in and out when the lock was on freeflow. Called into the Griffin for a beer and met a chap called Adam, with a 17ft Silhouette called Watermint - she'd sailed in the 1979 Fastnet race, and he'd been to Lundy and Waterford in her.
We'd picked up a reconditioned Autopilot at Neyland, with assurances it would fit without modification. Apart from drilling a 21mm hole, 4 2.5mm holes and running in a new cable, that is.
Louise set off early on Saturday, to take Tigger ashore, and pick up some drill bits:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Drill bits?"]
[/caption]Whilst Louise was gone, I changed the fuel filters. Two hours covered in diesel, bent double reaching into the engine room. Still, it had to be done.When Louise returned, I drilled out the holes for the new autopilot. Louise did the wiring - her eyesight is better than mine:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Wiring the autopilot"]
[/caption]Louise changed the gearbox oil and I got ready to change the engine oil. Oops. No filter. That would have to wait. 15:00. We'd spent nearly all day fiddling with the boat. There was a light SW wind. We thought to head out of the Haven, find a bit of sea room and try our spinnaker. I'd flown it on a friend's boat, and was happy with the cruising chute, but we'd never flown the spinnaker on Ishtar. 3 hours later, off Freshwater West, up she went:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Spinnaker on Ishtar"]
[/caption]Only to collapse after just 10 minutes as the wind finally gave up all together. Ho Hum.
Could be worse, Angle lifeboat were out rescuing another yacht. Engine failure and no wind had left them floating.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Angle lifeboat towing"]
[/caption]They went straight back out to bring another boat in. Seems teh hot weather had brought all sorts out. We headed for Castlebeach, a secluded anchorage!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ishtar from Castlebeach"]
[/caption]I don't know who buids these wooden sculpture things, but I've seen a few. Maybe it's the blair witch.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Kinky boots"]
[/caption]We did manage a short sail on Sunday - I noticed the boat wasn't sailing as fast as usual. Maybe the weed I'd noticed below the water was sllowing her. Anyway, we spotted a few nice boats, maybe arriving for the festival of classic yachts next week:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Classic"]
[/caption][caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Another"]
[/caption]All in all, not a particularly enjoyable weekend. It all needs doing though, and it is important to remember how much work goes into running a boat. Still, the next time out should be more fun.
