Bit of photo sorting out to bring the web albums up to date has resulted in two new albums ...
Mar 2012 Maintenance Weekend
which adds the missing photos from the first working weekend of 2012
May 2012 Fitting Out
being photos of the latest excercise in frustration and not quite getting as much done as planned!
The entire collection of photos amassed since the beginning of our oydessy with Brigantia is at
SV Brigantia's Gallery
Enjoy!
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
YAFT - Conclusions
Overall a very successful trip. It was, however, a definite benefit having her lifted out for all sorts of reasons.
Firstly, and critically, the two of us would have struggled to get her scrubbed off and antifouled on the hard between tides and although we'd have managed it the time and energy expended would have cut down on the other work we could get done.
Secondly, if we'd been afloat I suspect we'd have lost at least half a day, once again, due to the boat bouncing up and down when the river gets choppy. It's not a big problem when we're sailing and tolerable when moored up and relaxing (you just lay back and read or listen to music or whatever) but when she won't sit still it makes maintenance jobs difficult!
Jane having to stay home due to an ear infection meant a lot of the work we'd hoped to do below decks couldn't be tackled (although in hindsight I think we'd have struggled with three of us trying to work around each other given the jobs list) and Rik being ill on Friday doubtless cost a job or two carried forward but I'm pleased with what we achieved.
After testing in the fading light of dusk on the way back from the pub one night, I'm mightily impressed and pleased with the new NASA LED combi-light at the masthead. Hoisting a hurricane lamp as an anchor light is all very well but it's a lot easier to flick a switch and the result is a lot higher, brighter and clearer to passing vessels without putting undue strain on the limited electrical supply.
Anyway, jobs ticked off the "to do" list were ...
Scrub bottom and antifoul (2 coats)
Repaint boot top 2" higher
Repair starboard rubbing strake
Sand, prime and paint rubbing strakes
Dispose of 2 stroke mix from main fuel tank (donated to local commercial fisherman!)
Fit engine fuel connector to fuel hose
Fit engine electrics lead
Repair washboard runners
Modify and refit engine well side panels
Replace mast wiring socket and plug at mast base
Wire mast socket back to control panel
Reconfigure control panel switches to work with new mast lights
Fit new VHF antenna cable plug and socket at mast base
Run new antenna lead back to nav station, fit RF plugs and sockets etc.
Fit LED light above navigation table
Install housing for log impeller in well under cockpit floor
Jobs carried forward which we'd hoped to have done were ...
Setting up the standing rigging
Fitting the log impeller
Re-marking the anchor warp
Mousing various shackles
Sorting out the boat tool kit
Checking galley stores
Sanding down and re-varnishing the galley unit
Tidying up below decks
Measure hull for possible trailer purchase
Jobs added to the list which occurred to me over the weekend ...
Clear the cockpit drains and check the seacocks
Make up lanyard for life buoy light
Rewire power to the nav table area to separate switch now available on control panel
Label up control panel switches to match new configuration
It's nearly five weeks before we are back on board and in the meantime there's this years big festival to attend to so I won't be doing much in the way of boaty thinking for a while now
Firstly, and critically, the two of us would have struggled to get her scrubbed off and antifouled on the hard between tides and although we'd have managed it the time and energy expended would have cut down on the other work we could get done.
Secondly, if we'd been afloat I suspect we'd have lost at least half a day, once again, due to the boat bouncing up and down when the river gets choppy. It's not a big problem when we're sailing and tolerable when moored up and relaxing (you just lay back and read or listen to music or whatever) but when she won't sit still it makes maintenance jobs difficult!
Jane having to stay home due to an ear infection meant a lot of the work we'd hoped to do below decks couldn't be tackled (although in hindsight I think we'd have struggled with three of us trying to work around each other given the jobs list) and Rik being ill on Friday doubtless cost a job or two carried forward but I'm pleased with what we achieved.
After testing in the fading light of dusk on the way back from the pub one night, I'm mightily impressed and pleased with the new NASA LED combi-light at the masthead. Hoisting a hurricane lamp as an anchor light is all very well but it's a lot easier to flick a switch and the result is a lot higher, brighter and clearer to passing vessels without putting undue strain on the limited electrical supply.
Anyway, jobs ticked off the "to do" list were ...
Scrub bottom and antifoul (2 coats)
Repaint boot top 2" higher
Repair starboard rubbing strake
Sand, prime and paint rubbing strakes
Dispose of 2 stroke mix from main fuel tank (donated to local commercial fisherman!)
Fit engine fuel connector to fuel hose
Fit engine electrics lead
Repair washboard runners
Modify and refit engine well side panels
Replace mast wiring socket and plug at mast base
Wire mast socket back to control panel
Reconfigure control panel switches to work with new mast lights
Fit new VHF antenna cable plug and socket at mast base
Run new antenna lead back to nav station, fit RF plugs and sockets etc.
Fit LED light above navigation table
Install housing for log impeller in well under cockpit floor
Jobs carried forward which we'd hoped to have done were ...
Setting up the standing rigging
Fitting the log impeller
Re-marking the anchor warp
Mousing various shackles
Sorting out the boat tool kit
Checking galley stores
Sanding down and re-varnishing the galley unit
Tidying up below decks
Measure hull for possible trailer purchase
Jobs added to the list which occurred to me over the weekend ...
Clear the cockpit drains and check the seacocks
Make up lanyard for life buoy light
Rewire power to the nav table area to separate switch now available on control panel
Label up control panel switches to match new configuration
It's nearly five weeks before we are back on board and in the meantime there's this years big festival to attend to so I won't be doing much in the way of boaty thinking for a while now
Monday, 14 May 2012
YAFT - Day 5
Today was all about finishing up jobs and tidying up loose ends.
I got a final coat on the boot top and later on removed the masking tape - a few wobbles but it'll do for this year! Meanwhile, Rik cracked on with some making good jobs refitting the woodwork either side of the companionway which had come loose and refitting the engine well side panels.
We tested the VHF with the old antenna and concluded that it's the unit that's duff, not the new twig. It's receiving but on transmission, even with a known working antenna, the internal PSU is switching in and out violently which suggests the output stage on the transmitter has turned up its toes.
After some cogitation, discussion with Rik and a telephone conversation with Jane I took the decision not to have her craned back in this afternoon. Instead, we'll go back in next month when Jane and I are on board for a week.
We'll lose a couple of days on the water at the beginning of what is the first of only two longer trips to the boat this year but we'll gain two days on the bank to finish off the winter work programme and set her up properly ready for sailing.
There's no point in getting peeved about it but it's clear that we are now paying a hefty price for the mistake of staying in the water over the winter. We gained nothing in terms of extra usage and lost several days of maintenance time due to foul conditions with a particular problem being the untenable conditions on board, from a working on the boat perspective at any rate, in strong winds which have been a feature of every trip to the boat over the past few months.
With the pressure off and everything we wanted to achieve achieved, I suggested a pub lunch of a pint and a jacket potato which we duly consumed after which it was tidy up and sort out time. I ran Rik up to the station just before five and then nipped back down to pick up the ladder (there wasn't room in the car for both Rik and the ladder!) before setting off home.
Almost dead on two hours later I was home and thus ended this episode in the saga of Brigantia
I got a final coat on the boot top and later on removed the masking tape - a few wobbles but it'll do for this year! Meanwhile, Rik cracked on with some making good jobs refitting the woodwork either side of the companionway which had come loose and refitting the engine well side panels.
We tested the VHF with the old antenna and concluded that it's the unit that's duff, not the new twig. It's receiving but on transmission, even with a known working antenna, the internal PSU is switching in and out violently which suggests the output stage on the transmitter has turned up its toes.
After some cogitation, discussion with Rik and a telephone conversation with Jane I took the decision not to have her craned back in this afternoon. Instead, we'll go back in next month when Jane and I are on board for a week.
We'll lose a couple of days on the water at the beginning of what is the first of only two longer trips to the boat this year but we'll gain two days on the bank to finish off the winter work programme and set her up properly ready for sailing.
There's no point in getting peeved about it but it's clear that we are now paying a hefty price for the mistake of staying in the water over the winter. We gained nothing in terms of extra usage and lost several days of maintenance time due to foul conditions with a particular problem being the untenable conditions on board, from a working on the boat perspective at any rate, in strong winds which have been a feature of every trip to the boat over the past few months.
With the pressure off and everything we wanted to achieve achieved, I suggested a pub lunch of a pint and a jacket potato which we duly consumed after which it was tidy up and sort out time. I ran Rik up to the station just before five and then nipped back down to pick up the ladder (there wasn't room in the car for both Rik and the ladder!) before setting off home.
Almost dead on two hours later I was home and thus ended this episode in the saga of Brigantia
Sunday, 13 May 2012
YAFT - Day 4
I should finish the saga of day 3 first! After the days labours in the yard, we repaired once more to the Ferry Boat to meet up with some fellow members of the East Coast forum. A most pleasant evening ensued with good food, good beer and most importantly good company.
After a less than perfect nights sleep, this morning dawned all to soon. After sausage butties for breakfast, we set to work. Rik cracked on with the mast base wiring whilst I put a second coast of antifoul on the hull.
Having blagged some milk off Harlequin I was able to put off the needed trip to Asda until later in the day after which I polished the upper hull sides, masked off and painted the boot top line and painted the rubbing strakes, which if primed first thing this morning.
Meanwhile Rik had fed the masthead and VHF cables through the lockers and wired in the new switches. Happily the new masthead led Nav light worked a treat and the existing deck level and steaming lights are all working too
We were a bit miffed to discover that the VHF will receive but not transmit. Suspicion is a dodgy connection in one of the new plugs and sockets - most likely caused by a useless soldering iron and useless lead free solder! I'll have to look at that next time with the right tools for the job.
After a busy day with plenty acheived, we have, of course, ended up in the pub again!
After a less than perfect nights sleep, this morning dawned all to soon. After sausage butties for breakfast, we set to work. Rik cracked on with the mast base wiring whilst I put a second coast of antifoul on the hull.
Having blagged some milk off Harlequin I was able to put off the needed trip to Asda until later in the day after which I polished the upper hull sides, masked off and painted the boot top line and painted the rubbing strakes, which if primed first thing this morning.
Meanwhile Rik had fed the masthead and VHF cables through the lockers and wired in the new switches. Happily the new masthead led Nav light worked a treat and the existing deck level and steaming lights are all working too
We were a bit miffed to discover that the VHF will receive but not transmit. Suspicion is a dodgy connection in one of the new plugs and sockets - most likely caused by a useless soldering iron and useless lead free solder! I'll have to look at that next time with the right tools for the job.
After a busy day with plenty acheived, we have, of course, ended up in the pub again!
Saturday, 12 May 2012
YAFT - Day 3
Did something you don't do every day today - drilled a big hole in the bottom of the boat! :O
Its all right though because it now has the housing for the log impeller inserted into it.
Other jobs tackled today were graving in a new piece of timber (recycled from the waste bonds in the yard) into the starboard rubbing strake and running the new wiring for the mast electrics.
Progress has been a bit slow as everything seems to have been a tricky problem and trips to both the chandlers and DIY store have been required but we're getting there
Its off to the pub in a bit to meet up with some of the East Coast forumites over beer and grub
YAFT - Day 2
Not a good start to the day. Rik awoke feeling ill and within half an hour was very ill indeed. Not nice in a small boat but couldn't be helped.
Odd cos we both ate and drank the same stuff last night. It left him out of it and sleeping in his berth for most of the day.
Meanwhile, Toby and Paul arrived around 8:30 and set to with the pressure washer and a cunning garden hoe scraper - why didn't I think of that? She was nowhere near as fouled as I'd expected and the lads expressed surprise as well. Still took about an hour to clean her up but by the finish she was all but ready for a fresh coat of jollup.
Toby and Paul put her down on blocks in the yard ready for us to set to work ourselves. My first job was to scrape and scrub the strips of hull that had been under the lifting strops. That was enough to make me glad I wasn't trying to do the whole job on a muddy slipway!
Next mission was a shopping trip for fresh antifoul. We'd got most of a tin of the Flag stuff left from last year but it wouldn't be enough for two coats and one might not be sufficient. So I headed down to the oft recommended Dauntless chandlery on Canvey Island.
Its an Aladdins' Cave of a place crammed full of boaty bits and for sure there are bargains to be had (if what you want happens to be something they've got a good deal on) but overall the majority of prices on the stuff I'm likely to buy looked roughly the same as I'd pay online ordering from Seamark Nunn or Force 4.
Given that its about an hour and a half round trip using a gallon of diesel I'd need to be buying something unusual and big such as my own mooring tackle or a power winch otherwise overall we're better off sticking with the internet for planned purchases and Marinestore at Burnham for odds and ends
Anyway, I left without spending too much money with a 3 litre tin of XM antifoul (which I have my doubts about as I've heard its not much cop but it was leas than £30), a long roller handle and some 4" rollers and a tin of white boot top paint which cost half a much as the antifoul for a fraction of the quantity!
Back at the yard eventually, having ducked and dived around the back roads to avoid a long queue of traffic getting off Canvey Island, I set to with the roller and by the end if the afternoon she had the first coat on. In the process, I'm raising the boot top line by a couple of inches all round - we got it about right when she's sitting level but wind induced heel on the mooring meant that for long periods the water would be lapping up over the boot top allowing weed to get a hold on the topsides paint.
During the course of the day I ticked off a number of odd jobs from the list - the engine electrics connecting lead is now connected, the external fuel tank has been drained of 2-stroke mix ready to receive unadulterated unleaded and the fuel line engine connector changed for the correct type for the new engine.
I crashed out and dozed off in my berth about five-ish. Meanwhile, a somewhat revived Rik did some investigation work on cable runs before heading for a shower. He woke me up at well gone 8! The pub, of course, beckoned although Rik wisely decided to avoid the beer for the night.
We ate and I had a pint and a coffee but left by around ten as the bar was full of noisy blokes getting noisier. They'd done a good job of clearing the place as we were the only other customers apart from them. Otherwise though, the pub hasn't taken a turn for the worse under the new management as we'd feared.
Fan heater on tonight when we got back on board. Neither of us felt like a nightcap so we hit the sack early.
YAFT - Day 1 part 2
After a fairly horrible drive down in heavy rain, I arrived just short of 5pm to find Brigantia had not long been lifted down at the yacht station.
The lads will pressure wash the hull fist thing in the morning so for now we're sitting in the slings. I offloaded the ladder and some kit to make a bit of room in the car, put the kettle on and exchanged texts with Rik to check he was on schedule.
Just after six, I drove up to North Fambridge station to pick Rik up off the train and then, having chucked what needed to be chucked on board on board, it was off to the pub for Cajun chicken and Abbots Ale.
Back on board well before closing time, coffee with a slug of scotch in it made a pleasant nightcap before we snuggled down I'm our bunks for the night.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
YAFT - Day 1
YAFT ... Yet Another Fitout Trip!
We ought to have been a-sailing this weekend instead I shall be setting off to Essex shortly with a long list of outstanding fitout jobs which need to be completed plus an even longer list of outstanding general maintenance, repair and upgrade jobs which it would be nice to reduce to a slightly shorter list
Jane should have been coming with me but due to a nasty and persistent ear infection she's got to stay home to keep a doctors appointment tomorrow.
Rik is arriving this evening by train by which time I should be sorted out on board - I'm hoping she'll have been hauled out by the time I get down there (if not, I shall be asking why not as she could have been lifted out any time in the last fortnight!)
We ought to have been a-sailing this weekend instead I shall be setting off to Essex shortly with a long list of outstanding fitout jobs which need to be completed plus an even longer list of outstanding general maintenance, repair and upgrade jobs which it would be nice to reduce to a slightly shorter list
Jane should have been coming with me but due to a nasty and persistent ear infection she's got to stay home to keep a doctors appointment tomorrow.
Rik is arriving this evening by train by which time I should be sorted out on board - I'm hoping she'll have been hauled out by the time I get down there (if not, I shall be asking why not as she could have been lifted out any time in the last fortnight!)