Another week, more bits and pieces done.

First up, the forward cabin, storage area and aft head needed new doors so after borrowing a van and picking up some 18mm sheets of 8x4, we had them cut out and fitted relatively easily. Other than a light trim, locks and a lick of paint, they're ready to go.

Next, the boat jumble dorade vents needed fitting and after a bit of faffing around with locations and hole saws, we had them in and providing a breeze throughout the boat.

The aft helm steering cables needed a box built to keep them secure so we made a dent in that. We're getting some great weather this October so once that turns rainy & grey, I'll get the cables and sheaves run and connected to the rudder stock tiller.

Last up, the Aries blocks and new line were run and the BBQ stored away for the winter.

I then spent the weekend knocking off the last of my Day Skip which now allows us to get an ICC, which will make transiting through Portugal and Spain a lot easier. It was an interesting few days out in the Solent, including a cracking night passage to Gosport and watching a helicopter rescue near Cowes, and has also given us a few ideas on how to tweak the rig to make sail trimming a bit more effective.

Anyway, another week down, November this coming week and we'll be under 7 months to go....

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Weekend update.

Quite a few jobs to get done before I head back to the office (and before winter sets in). First up was fitting the new steering wheel and connecting the Aries wind vane wheel drum.

After that, the steering cables needed to be run down into boat. This week we're set to build a box to house them, and I'll connect them up to the steering quadrant.

The Aries wheel drum then needed connecting to the Aries wind vane, which took a bit of imagination and some line.

And the SSB aerial finally got connected and tested. This will allow us to receive basic emails and weather updates from anywhere in the world.

 

I then had to take the weekend (1 of 2) doing my Day Skipper as Portugal and Spain now require an ICC licence. 30kts of breeze made the Solent quite choppy but we got some sailing in and this time next week, we'll have all the qualifications needed to depart.

So that's this week's update. Planning on spending the next few days connecting the aft deck steering and fitting doors within the boat, then Day Skip weekend #2 and a few days off.

28 weeks to go....

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Having headed up to London for the night for another week of the welding course, it was time to head back to the boat to crack on again.

We've been due some high tides for a while and this week didn't disappoint - the yard flooded for a couple of days which meant my wellies got a good workout.

We also had rain predicted for a few days so I cracked on with some indoor jobs. First up - reinforcing the wheelhouse table. We've had it temporarily held with g-clamps since the Channel Islands to see if it's positioning was right - it was, so time to bolt it in and add a couple of lower supports to lock it in. Verdict from crew - it works. Good.

Next - fiddles in the galley. We needed to fit some to stop things sliding around at sea so after a visit to our favourite hardwood supplier, they were screwed and glued in and just need final trimming and finishing.

The sun eventually came out so I got on with fitting our Garmin external instruments. We've gone with an secondary autopilot and wind speed / depth and the pod was made up from a sheet of spare 0.6mm stainless I had sitting around.

Another outside job was fitting the stainless railings to our back deck boxes. Annoyingly, we waited 6 weeks for them to arrive, only to find the 900mm railings were actually 950mm - doesn't seem like a big deal, but meant we had to fit an iroko piece below them to extend the seat top. Ah well, they look great and make the seats very comfortable.

 

We also needed to fit a connecting piece between our pulpit and the railings around the rest of the boat. A bit of 14mm multibraid and some stainless fittings later, and all done.

 

After all that work, I figured it was about time we took the dinghy out for a run so on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I plugged it all in, primed the fuel and.... nothing. The o-ring had perished in the fuel connection so after rowing to the ramp then walking to the chandlery (and spending another £13), the outboard fired up and we spent an afternoon tearing around.

So that's it for this week. The new circuit breaker for the SSB has been installed, as has a securing bit for the cooker to stop it swinging in rough weather. I've done a big clean up of the boat and put a few things on ebay, all the bits have arrived for the aft helm steering and once the new ring is soldered onto the backstay aerial, we'll have that connected as well. The next two weekends I'm off to do my Day Skipper course so progress will slow a bit, but by the end of October, we're still on track to have the boat ready to go, apart from a repaint and re-rig (which will happen next April / May).

29 weeks to go....

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With work finishing up last Thursday, it was time to get down to the boat and crack on.

First up on the list - fit the Aries self steering. As with anything, the install didn't quite go to plan but it's now attached and ready for use. We're not sure whether to ditch the davits or just keep them there in case; a decision for winter really.

Next up, the external helm. All fitted and ready for the cable install beneath the aft cabin floor. We also fitted the aft winches so once the steering wheel arrives from NY, we are almost ready to go.

Sunday brought about another boat jumble - who doesn't love looking for bits? Our requirements list was pretty small and after a few laps, I was getting worried we wouldn't find a wheel drum for the Aries. Someone had tried to sell me one on ebay a few months back for £300 but lo and behold, after much walking around, someone put one on their stand and we managed to snap it up for £100. I wasn't even going to haggle on the price.... Anyway, we also bought three dorade vents (£25), two trolling rods (£60) another tether (£5), super comfortable reclining seats (£20 pair), morse controls for the aft deck (£80), and waaaaay too many sugar donuts.

Yesterday (Monday) was terrible with rain and 40kt winds - a perfect day to hide in a cupboard, installing the watermaker. I've put a pretty big dent in it so far, just need another miserable day to do the final connections.

What else... we also fitted a replacement solar regulator (still not getting much charge out of them though) and starting making the stand-offs for our SSB aerial. Our propane locker now holds 3 x 4kg bottles which should see us through 1/3 of a year in one hit, and the aft lockers survived their dreary day - always a good sign.

Depending on the weather this week, we're hoping to get a few more internal jobs done and the dorade vents fitted - more to follow.

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