2012: Hot for the Rock

Repairs & Upgrades Underway: Gibraltar

Great, we've made it in time for the Rugby finals!

Passerelle/Gangplank.   I don’t know if I’ve spelt it correctly but, in effect, it’s a gang plank, walkway that you attach to the bow or stern of the boat, depending on whether your boat is bow on or stern in to a jetty, pontoon, etc.  In Gibraltar everyone had a plank except us so we had to climb over the pulpit and then step out boldly to get onto the (fixed) jetty – not for the faint hearted.  I made a passerelle out of an aluminium ladder with a ply plank bolted to the rungs (plank sourced from a local wheely bin).  At one end, where it lay on the jetty, I bolted a couple of wheels on (to allow for movement from swell, tide, wakes made by various passing traffic).  It was a draw bridge arrangement so that the wheeled end was elevated when not going ashore, which was most of the time.  The boat end of the passerelle was attached, with ropes, at right angles across a sturdy piece of timber that I had bolted (with u bolts) to the base of the pulpit – it had to take the full weight of me with groceries, etc.  The ropes acted as hinges allowing the plank to be raised and lowered quite easily.  The jetty end of the plank also had a bridle attached to it (separated a bit just over head height by a piece of plastic conduit) and the top end of the bridle was attached to the end of the spinnaker halyard.  Pull on the spinnaker halyard and the bridge rises – lower the halyard to let the wheeled end down on to the jetty.   To assist to make lowering and raising easier I attached a jerrycan of water to the bottom end of the halyard so that it became a one handed job  to raise and lower the plank.  It works well and the whole thing cost (ladder, wheels, bolts) about 80 GBP.  Alternatively you can buy very nice folding ones from a chandler for about 350 GBP.

Our new passerelle - works very nicely, thank you

Television and Movies.  In Gibraltar, with time on our hands, again due to my crook wrist, I purchased and installed a television and DVD player.   I also purchased an extendable bracket to mount it on the bulkhead so that I can hold the screen immobile against the wall while sailing but can also extend the screen and rotate it when viewing it from the comfort of our saloon table while at anchor etc.   It was pretty simple really.  Televisions generally only came in 240 volt or 110 volt (which I needed).   There was a 12 volt car model available but it was expensive, and very small – ie the screen was about the same size as an aircraft one that sits on the back of the seat in front of you.  For power I ran the power cable to the nearest 110 volt power point.  The DVD player simply plugs into the TV, however, we never use it.   We have been given a heap of movies on a hard drive which I have installed in a plastic bag that simply hangs on the back of the bulkhead mounting bracket.  All controls are done through the remote, which came with the TV.  I don’t know why I didn’t do this a long time ago.

We found, the hard way, that the screen can swing about in a seaway so we put two SS saddles on either side of the mounting bracket, covered the screen with a towel and use a bungee strap to hold the screen securely against the bulkhead so it can’t leap around anymore.

Why have TV with views like this?

Digital Weather Station.  In early days we purchased and mounted a Plastimo brass barometer and a clock on the bulkhead – very shippy and they look great.  The barometer has been a little disappointing for us, however, since it hardly moves – it only shows major changes in pressure which is obviously better than nothing but still limited when compared with other barometers I have used in the past.    We were impressed by the results demonstrated by someone else who had a portable digital weather station plus we had one at home and, after a quick check of Amazon, a new one – LA CROSSE TECHNOLOGY – battery operated – arrived soon after purchase.  It’s great – very accurate and shows pressure variations constantly, plus a whole lot of other information.  I still like the brass meters on the bulkhead, however!!

Shelves in Port Locker.  In the port quarter guest room, which we have converted to a storage room, there is a hanging locker that wasn’t been used to hang anything, only for storing things.  It was an inefficient use of space.  I installed some shelves and now it holds twice as much as before.  Good idea provided by the Galley Slave (GS) who took one of the shelves to expand her galley holdings.

Solar Vent for Compost Loo.  After several years of being on constantly, our solar vent exhaust fan/motor gave up.  The battery is still okey but I couldn’t source a spare motor.  So, I am now using the little computer exhaust fan that came with the compost loo wired into the boat’s lighting circuit while still venting via the solar vent.  I can unplug when I need to empty the compost bin.

We had no trouble at all filling in time in Gib

2012: Up the Sleepy Guadalquivir

Repairs & Upgrades Underway: 2012

Porto Gelves, Seville

Heading off for repairs to the outboard, Porto Gelves

Outboard Repairs.  Outboard worked fine initially in the season but then started to overheat when I really powered it up (no water coming out at the back) and of course I didn’t find this out until we left Gibraltar.  We spent most of the season powering along very slowly which outboard seemed not to mind and water duly pumped out the back.  To cut a long story short, when an opportunity finally presented itself I had a professional check it out and he simply replaced the water impeller and spark plugs.  My spare impellers and plugs, purchased some time before and where I can’t remember, were the wrong types apparently.  Anyway, outboard has performed superbly since this act of TLC by a Spanish mechanic near Seville.

We did have to wait so put the time to good use at the marina bar
(BCK is our first, brave visitor)

On anchor, early morning at Porto Gelves

 

2012: Year 5 - Work in Lagos

Sopromar Boatyard:

This was not a big year for much at all other than some cruising around the local area – lots of real relaxing.  The Captain’s wrist gave major problems when it started to seize up (from old age?) and so not a lot of work was done on the boat while we were in the Sopromar Boatyard (highly recommended), except for the following:

Feathering Propellor.  I had decided some time ago that it would be nice to have a feathering prop as most other cruisers have them but moreso in that they are much better when sailing than a fixed prop.  The Sopromar boatyard fitted it for us and it was there on our arrival for this year’s cruising.  It has worked very well and there is now very little prop walk when reversing.  It’s a German made …..

Shiny, new & it works a treat!

Fair Weather Awning.  While couped up in the Sopromar boatyard waiting for my wrist to right itself there was an opportunity to do some sewing.  Captain and crew decided to make up a light weight awning – easy to put up and take down, something we tended not to do with our much bigger and heavier sunbrella awning, while at the same time keeping the sun off us and the boat.  Light weight shade cloth seemed suitable and, within a few days on ‘the thumper’ , we had our new light awning .  It immediately made life on board much more comfortable as the boat became much cooler inside while also allowing unimpeded movement around the deck. 

Keeping cool under the new awning

Topsides, Coachouse and Cockpit Polish.  I lashed out and paid for a thorough polishing by the yard.  Young blokes got stuck into it and did a great job, better than I could have done in four times the length of time.  They have all the right equipment, expertise and youth to do a great job.  Highly recommended and it was a reasonable rate, plus they also carried out some odd surface repairs to the gelcoat on the topsides. (I’ve just found out, since I’ve been here in 2013, that it’s much cheaper in Turkey!!!)

Bruce/Dinghy Repairs.  Bruce, our erstwhile RIB with 15 hp Yamaha 2-stroke outboard, has been fantastic.  Not surprisingly, after some four years use now, it had developed a few leaks.  The fibreglass floor had some hairline cracks in the gelcoat, which were temporarily repaired in Trinidad some three years previously, but these repairs had started to leak water into the void between the bottom of the boat and the floor.  I determined to fix this permanently so fibreglassed some tape to the areas that needed attention.  I determined these by inserting the air pump into the bung and blowing air into the void – one can quickly identify the leaks by the air leaking out the cracks in the bottom gel coat.  I marked them and then fibreglassed them, sanded them, followed by some sticky paint.  All good and Bruce’s bottom looked patchy but quite presentable.  It certainly hasn’t affected Bruce’s performance at all – planes like a beaut.

At the same time there was also a leak in the tubing, aft portside.  I stuck my finger into it and enlarged it a bit, I guess, but with a view to inserting a piece of repair material/patch  on the inside, as well as a patch on the outside.  For the inside, I deflated the  tube, inserted a  patch (lost it but found it again after digging around inside with my finger) and covered it, and the edges of the hole on the  inside of the tube, with glue using an ice-cream stick.  After a short while (it was a hot day) and when the glue was dryish to touch I pressed the patch and the tube together.   I also partially inflated the tube to assist the inside patch to stick to the inside of the tube ie air pressure forcing the patch against the inside tube.   I then did basically the same with a patch on the outside.  It has never leaked since. 

Bruce was feeing a bit down in the dumps & needed a make-over!

Gas Conversion.  We had been on propane since we purchased the boat but, in Europe, they don’t use it.  Each country has its own gas system, with various bottles and fittings, or there is the ubiquitous ‘camping gas’ that is available all over the Mediterranean.  We went for the camping gas solution, had the appropriate fittings professionally installed, and then purchased four bottles (they’re not very big)  – one each for the stove and the barbecue, plus two spares.  It’s not expensive – about 15 Euro per refill, except for Gibraltar where it was 30 Euro, until I found I could slip over the border to the middle of La Linea where it was half the price and easier to purchase. The guy in Gibraltar you have to catch when he’s there at his warehouse, which is unpredictable.

Another Great Awakening.  While in Lagos I had an opportunity to assist a 70+ gentleman to  take his boat from boatyard launching around to his permanent berth in the next door marina.  I had visions that I might have to do this myself so I was very pleased to be offered this opportunity.  The yacht was about 40’ or so and had power operated  furlers as well as a bow thruster.  He berthed his boat in a strong wind, albeit almost bow on, with familiarity and dash.  I was impressed.  I complimented him on how well he had the boat set up and on his skippering, of course.  He replied, quite simply with  words to the effect, “I love this life and want to keep doing it for as long as I can, hence I’ve set the boat up as best I can to help me manage it”.  Duh, why didn’t I think of that?!!!

We even had time for a few afternoon swims this year