How to fill a day off the water

The forecast today as I mentioned was for a windy wet day so I decided to do some jobs.

The first thing to do was fix the throttle which was sticking. I had a word with  someone at the marine engineers yesterday and he sucked his teeth and spoke of dire possibilities. Come on, I thought I should be able to work it. So with some encouragement from Dylan (he suggested WD40 and patience instead of the big hammer I was going to use) I took it apart and found that the handle had slipped round and I was trying to put it in neutral with the stick in the wrong position. The solution was a bit of electrical tape, some more grease and a new grub screw - thank you Peter at C&C Marine.

Ok this is easy - next job to clean the black marks off the port side after my brush with the DRB Marine pontoon. All I have to do is pump up the second hand dinghy I bought sometime ago and then float it down the side of the boat and get cleaning................

Today I have learnt how to fix holes in an inflatable dinghy!

Two holes one in the bow section about 3 mm across the second in the starboard section took an hour to find and lots of soapy water.
Then the patches...

Well that was it - the instructions say leave for 24 hours before inflating.

So I went for a walk to Fairlie past lots of anchors and mooring buoys - a sort of outdoor museum

Of course it rained but I did get a shot of a wonderful rainbow

Fairlie is a lovely village - its views across the water only marred by the Hunterston Power Station jetty. Sandy beaches, Old Red Sandstone outcrops and beautiful rain washed pebbles which shone when the sun broke through.

It seemed I was walking on part of the Ayrshire Coastal Path where I found this wonderful litter ditty.

Back on the boat, the wind howling in the rigging and gently rocking the boat.
Good night.

First solo sail

Got out today in a Force 4, and practiced the art of raising the main etc on my own.
Also tried out approaching a buoy with the engine and also reversing. Result is that the neutral button is stuck on the throttle. It made the arrival back at the pontoon quite exciting.

Managed a quick video of the sail - sunshine and a lovely breeze. Great fun.

However that is it for the moment as the weather is closing down for a few days the shipping forecast gave storm force 10! See the Wind guru chart below.


So it is batten down the hatches and find some small jobs to do inside.

Harmony with her new deck paint

Just spent the day sampling the public transport to go and retrieve the van. Two buses and a ferry and then a bus the other end.
Harmony was looking very smart when I got back this evening. Her decks gleaming in the sun.
Sadly I also noticed that she came off a bit worse for wear from mooring to the pontoon at DRB Marine. I shall have to get the dinghy out and spend some time polishing those marks out.

But not tomorrow as the weather is looking ok for a sail, so I shall hopefully get out and test my sailing skills.

Largs is full of surprises

I felt right at home when I went for a walk round Largs last night. I found a 'ghost' crop circle just like the ones at home - what do you think?
And then there is this art deco building and it is an ice cream parlour - wow!

I have just got to give it a try.
I rounded off the evening by having fish and chips at the Blue Lagoon in the company of a life size model of an astronaut.

 Great fish and chips but not sure about the guy in the spacesuit..............

Back in the water

Harmony was put in the water today by Donny of DRB Marine, Kevin helped me get the engine running and tuned up.
Thanks Kevin it ran beautifully all the way down to Largs.
Ran through squalls of Force 7 with rain and hail. Couldn't use the sails but did use the engine - lots er like for four hours!
The video was taken in a lull in the rain - sorry it is so windy you can't hear what I am saying but I think you can see from my face that I am enjoying it.

Largs Marina is packed with expensive boats - I ghosted my way down the lines to find my berth. Gently tied up and without mishap.
I think I'll reward myself with fish and chips tonight!

Where is Harmony?

Looking at my last post I see ! didn't explain that Harmony is on the yard at DRB Marine at Rosneath, on the shores of Gareloch just north of Glasgow. It was along drive up there and an even longer drive back!

The weather was truly awful and although I got plenty done inside the boat the outside will have to wait 'til the next trip.

Pre season tidy up

Sunday morning 12th April,

Drove all the way up to Gareloch on Friday leaving at 4am and arriving at 12.30pm. No problems, lovely weather, just fantastic. Probably the only trip up here that goes so smoothly.
Arrived to find lots going on in the yard and met some of the local characters and introduced myself to Jean - who is in charge. The weather was hot and fine, even worked in a T shirt.
Started by opening up the boat and moving the cushions out to air on deck then got down to cleaning a couple of months of mould off the vinyl, locker surfaces etc. That took the rest of the day. Cooked supper fell into bed.
Saturday carried on cleaning then painting out all the lockers and aft berths. The weather had turned windy overnight with rain and hail squalls coming in from the west. Luckily the boat is bow on to the incoming weather so it is relatively easy getting in and out of the hatch.
By keeping my wellys under the boat and only using deck shoes on the boat I have kept the inside clean and dry by changing footwear as I come and go. Not many people working on their boats I guess because of the weather.
I have cleaned the cooker, it is shiny,shiny - discovered my kettle leaks, not badly just enough to leave a puddle on the cooker over night.

Today I will explore the electrics and do some work on the outside of the boat - assuming the weather cheers up.
I'll post some videos when I get home.