Early Life Aboard

Monday the 2 March was the first day aboard.. The boat was still on the hard, I checked the water tanks and they were clean and water was ok so filled them up. Continued working on the boat,the batteries were charging so I was expecting them to be charged by Tuesday or I would need to replace them(I left the boat so I turned off the charger). I still had a bit of a challenge getting shore power going, but it worked.. A number of the light fixtures were damaged and some of the bulbs were broken, so that was added to the todo list.. 

Come sunset, I was ready to turn on the lights. I had turned off the charger as I was away from the boat and didn't trust the electrics. The batteries were still flat, so I needed the shore power to run the house lights.. That night, by process of elimination and under torch light,  I determined that the master switch on my panel was broken (this took till 21h00). I switched the hot water heater one for the master, since I didn't need hot water. 

Temporary Fix for Breaker

This temporary fix caused some confusion - I had to send a photo of the panel to the Dufour dealer and everytime, I asked for a 20A switch, they insisted I needed the 16A switch for the hot water.. In the end I didn't go for the switch provided by Dufour - they batch orders. I put the order early in March, they only got me a price end of March and the price was 100EUR. Out of frustration I looked on Digikey for a similar part (it didn't have the green light when it was on) I got a replacement switch for 30EUR..

After "fixing" the problem with the shore power,  I went to bed...

My cabin with new pillow and sleeping bag.

The first job on Tuesday was to seal the stanchions as I had been told that every 5 years they would need sealing. My expectations were that it was to be a 2 day job, with 2 people, so I started. I immediately noticed that some of the stanchions hadn't been sealed properly and were leaking.. So it was just as well that I started off on that job. I finished off all but the rear two stanchions and I called it a day. I was using sikaflex (marine sealant, a black rubber compound) - I figured it was like silicone sealant, so I didn't wear gloves... Boy was I *WRONG* - I  had black hands for about 5 days..

Stanchion in need of sealing

Not the best of repairs...

I finished the remaining stanchions the next day. I removed the pushpit and  paid to get reinforced as it was loose and I didn't like the current arrangement.

Not the best of attachments

After the reinforcement

The previous owner had paid for some work to be done on the boat - the pulpit had to be reinforced, a few of the through holes and stop-cocks had to be replaced and there were some screws missing from the bowsprit. The repairs were started on the Tuesday and would take some time.

Two new through hull fittings TBC.

I continued busying myself with disassembling and fixing the remainder of the boat interior. There was a common trend, most of the screws on the wood fixtures were loose or some were just missing, so I fixed that up. I had to re-do the saloon seating as it creaked like cray - turns out that half the screws were missing. This butcher job had either been done by the people responsible for the water maker installation or the repair of the grounding. Regardless a day and a half later the saloon was re-assembled and it didn't squeak and was properly attached to the galley.

On the night of the Thursday, March 5, the winds picked up an boy did they blow.. The whole boat was shaking even on the hard, before I went to bed I looked at the wind speed and I saw 35 kts.. I had received my new LED lights and promptly set about installing them, this is what it looked like with the red ones on (these are used for night sailing, not for suplementing income;-))..

Ready for night sailing

In the meantime, I met Waz and his crew, they had just bought a 42ft Juneau - "The Pearl". They were from San Francisco had just bought the boat same time as me and were planning on doing a crossing to Caribbean enjoying some nice weather and dropping off the boat at Texas and back home. They got put in the water on the Saturday.

Waz and the crew from the Pearl

I had ordered a sewing machine as the lazybag had to be fixed - 500 repairing and 1000 for a new one. So that arrived on the Saturday and propmply se about making a new lazybag. It took about 2 days and then I ha to stop as I was planning on re-using the zip, but upon closer inspection I had to order a new zip, so I did that and ordered more material in preparation for having to redo my dodger.. I was expecting to re-use most of the hardware on the bag, after closer inspection, I noticed that the zip was messed, so I had to order another one..

The sewing workshop

The new prop and rope cutter I ordered arrived on the 11th of March and after a bit of cutting and some filling she was on..

New Kiwiprop and Ropestripper

Finally ready to be put in the water

On the 12 March We were put in the water and a BIG thank you to Waz and the crew from the Pearl we managed to leave the crane and dock the boat.. Leaving the cradle was an experience, the wind was blowing us onto the docks, to it took a bit of work to get off the wall.  Waz and the Pearl, thanks for your help.

Finally in the water Pontoon G20 - Port Nap

On Friday the 13th I had a farewell dinner with Waz and crew and the on Sat the 14th March "The Pearl" and her crew set off on their adventure, first stop was Barcelona.. 

The Pearl and her Crew

Farewell "The Pearl"

For the remainder of the day I worked on finishing the lazybag, at 18h00, I took a break to go and watch the England France game....