It is not a great feeling seeing your yacht being lifted out, but it is a necessary one because the anode needs changing plus a host of other tasks needs doing just to keep our home in tip top condition.
Before we even started life in the yard, we were busy because we had to remove the sails off Salty Lass. This is a precaution because in high winds, a sail can unfurl and while a boat is in water this can lean the boat, but in the air that would be enough to topple the boat. So for this reason the sails are down and on the deck.
So for the first job of the day we decided to service the engine, now realistically we did not need to service the engine but with practically emptying the diesel tank and just using the engine a lot with motor sailing, we just thought lets get it done now, we can buy all the parts and just make sure that we are in as good a position as we can be. On top of this we wanted to sort out our sea water pump, it was still leaking oil even after putting in a new oil seal, so we decided to get somebody to look at it for us. So the first thing that needed to be done was remove the old sea water pump. As well as the oil seal being damaged, it was clear that the salt water seal had also gone. This is to be expected as the salt water seal only lasts for two years and although we were less than that time, it is not by much. To remove the sea water pump, we needed a short spanner, so we took a long spanner and cut it down the middle just to make two short spanners, well once I had the right tool, a lot more swearing and cursing occurred but the job was done. Once removed we found that the gasket that we had, had actually dissolved, so no wonder it leaked, but now it could go to somebody who could fix it.
Another job that needed doing was washing, normally we just keep our clothes washed on a regular basis, but with being in the yard we took the opportunity to wash all our bedding as well as the carpets, curtains and other soft furnishings. In the end I had several bags of washing, so with the pile of washing plus a life raft that needed to go for service, I got a lift just so that I could get it all sorted.
Meanwhile Beverley decided to tackle some of the jobs under Salty Lass, one of which was the patch on the rudder. At the last lift out we had this weird patch on the rudder, which we left alone while this time the jet washing dislodged it to reveal a perfectly round hole, which was clearly and inspection hole. So what we needed to do was get the water out of the rudder that had soaked in. This we did by using a rag that we poked into the hole, this drew the water out of the hole and let the water evaporate in the wind and the sun.
Another job that Beverley did was remove the small solar panels from the roof. They are something that we have wanted doing ever since we bought the boat, but they are finally gone. This meant that I had the task of removing all the silicone and other stuff that was used to stick the solar panels to the coach roof. I decided to give WD40 a go as that can be used to remove silicone. It did melt it, but that just meant that the silicone smeared, while mechanical methods worked much better.
In between working upstairs we finished doing the filters on the engine. We had to, for once in UK history it was actually too hot to work out side so I was glad to have something to do inside. This time I made sure that I was the one to do the engine service, that way both Beverley and I know our way around the engine. The other thing that came in was the new impeller pump which I had a go at fixing but I struggled to get to the really difficult bolt, so Beverley had to do that but at least I had a go. The other thing that we removed from the engine was the sea water cock, but we would have an engineer to fit that, because we wanted insurance on that particular component.
Underneath as well as fitting a new anode we anti fouled the prop with a Trilux paint. Last time we were advised against anti fouling the prop, but this lead to loads of barnacles quite close to the central shaft. So this time we decided that we would anti foul it, now the spinning of the prop will shred the anti foul, but to our reckoning that will only be in the high speed areas where the barnacles don't go, but in the low speed areas the anti foul will stay on, or at least this is what we think and we are willing to give it a try.
Up on deck we removed our old UFO vent, the previous owner had a love affair with silicone and the installation of the vent was a right mess. The vent itself was a right mess too and in the end we decided to replace it, so a few days later we fitted the new vent. To go between the decks we wanted a plastic tube so we made one out of a lemonade bottle. It looked like it did a good job, certainly something we were willing to give a try.
Another job on deck was to remove the traveller so that we could remove the garage roof so that we could remove all the old webbing that was used to keep the lift raft in place. If I thought that the hatch cover was in a bad state of repair, then under the hatch cover was really filthy with old menus and other accumulated dirt, but it was good to clean it up and remove all the old webbing that secured the life raft.
After all that work, we took a personal day and we got or second COVID jab done. It was just another job to get crossed off the list.
