2011: Year 4 - Work in the Boatyard

Deltaville Boatyard: Part 1

Let me begin by saying that I arrived back to a sweet smelling boat – our winterizing last year had worked well and there was no mould.  Also the teak oil we used (Starbright) was more robust and has really made all the internal wood work look much improved.

I Don't Think I Need Any More Stuff.  Now, I think I’m approaching the point where I just can’t put anything else on or into the boat.  June 2011 has to be the turning point where I’ll finish adding stuff and only look after maintenance, or may be occasionally replace some thing with a new better thing.  Also we have plans to sail from the US to Portugal via the Azores, so I’m doing a check of all our safety and storm gear before we leave.  Of course, all you Old Salts out there will know that there is always more gear to be added to a boat and so I have to eat humble pie here.  Read on to find out about "new better things" I've since added.  (Ed. No more stuff?  Hysterical laughter begins....)

Home Preparatory Courses.  I started our preparation at home by having us all attend a Sea Survival course with Gerry Fitzgerald, Offshore Marine Training.  Further to this I also did a radar course to try to understand my electronic system better.  Both GS & Boy Wonder decided to get their Marine Radio Licences and then do a Marine First Aid Course to cover any eventuality. 

We ordered this at the Annapolis Boat Show

Sails.  We didn’t ever set our new 2010 spinnaker or attach the hanks to the storm trysail, but we will this year.  I have new sheets for the spinnaker and a deck line for the tack to be adjusted from the cockpit.  The trysail has its hanks attached and had a trial hoist before we leave the Chesapeake for Europe.  Meanwhile, I purchased a storm jib – the Storm Bag, which came from France.  This sail comes, with its own sheets, in a saddle bag arrangement which you place around the furled jib/genoa.  You then attach the (spare) halyard to the head, clip the tack to a bow deck fitting and make sure the sheets are clipped together at the clew, and hoist away from the safety of the cockpit, then trim to suit.  Seems a simple solution to setting a storm jib over furled sails, provides a reserve sail in case of damage to the genoa and/or staysail, and minimizes the amount of time on the foredeck in high winds.  I ordered one that was a size smaller in area (not in sailcloth weight) than recommended because I have the staysail which I will use for as long as I can before resorting to the storm jib.

Winterising Decisions

Grand Designs: 2010

We tossed and turned about our 2010 winterising location and did quite some research into leaving WJ3 in Nova Scotia.  This would have meant a more relaxed, thorough trip north from Chesapeake Bay to Maine and Nova Scotia.  We had even hoped to make Prince Edward Island too.  However, we ended up returning to Deltaville largely due to the commitment of winterising that far north.  This saved us the hassle of finding a wooden cradle, taking out the mast, covering WJ3 in plastic shrink wrap (friend Paula reckons they look like oversized Steggles frozen chickens!) and/or leaving her in heated accommodation.  We would then have further problems of sailing through ice on our way out to the Azores. These cold weather solutions did not appeal to us at all and our concerns were well-substantiated when a friend (who loves cold water sailing) did leave his boat with associated costs to the tune of some $17000. Mind, that did include some work done to the mast whist it was out.



Chilly on the Chesapeake in late October

Back in Deltaville, we allowed a good ten days to get those chores done before leaving WJ3 to Virginian snows and icy blasts – and as we were later to discover some rather too close tornadoes. 

After last year’s mould problem, we still washed the hard areas down with a vinegar/water solution and left baking powder in the fridges to keep them smelling sweet.  GS put a generous quantity of closet camels throughout the boat and sprinkled lockers liberally with moth balls.  I consulted Herd’s Hardware (a great local repository of gadgets, knowledge and advice) as to a better solution to our teak oil problems.  Finally I set up one dorade vent just behind the mast (in a purpose built fitting) and left the small solar fan that vents the compost loo (disconnected) to extract stale air from the boat. Let’s see if that works!