No sails! No engine! We've lots to do

Published on 06/04/2023

As our contract nears the end, we carry on with our preparation for departure

Departure day - 5

Beverley had visited a forcourt washing machine facility and got all the ropes washed. I have to say they looked clean and Beverley had paid an extra £2 to get fabric conditioner, so they felt great too. So the job of the day was to put all the lines back onto the boat. The reason that we use a knitting stitch to plait the ropes is that it is very easy to undo, so once we had snipped the cable ties which we use to tie the rope together, it was just a case of getting on with the job. I also had the job of cleaning all the lines that we could not remove by hand so I gave them a hand wash before spraying them with the hose, it did mean that I got wet, but when you are cleaning then that is normal.

Departure day - 4

We put the sail on. The weather was nice and calm, and what wind there was was coming from the nose, so it was time to get that sail up. Beverley had already cleaned the slugs and sprayed PTFE on then so that they would slip more, so now it was just a case of women handling the sail and hoisting it. We decided that the best way to proceed was to raise the sail then put the reefing lines on as we lowered the sail, so that is what we did. So first item on was the sail bag, which I had cleaned using a yard brush. It's not shown in the video, but this time we used what's called a rolling bowline to tie the reefs. It was an easier knot to do and it got the reefs very tight to the boom, so we will use this knot in the future.

The rest of the day we went over to Beverley's mums to finish all the DIY that we needed to do for her, so the freezer got de-frosted, the mattress turned and all sorts of wee jobs that she finds difficult to do.

Departure day - 3

We needed to put a splice on the back line so Beverley showed me what to do. I have to say a braid on braid splice is difficult and I got it wrong while Beverley's splice was perfect. That is why when it came to the job. Beverley got the job of braiding the real line while I had another practice. My second attempt was better, but still far from perfect.

Departure day - 2

Today we serviced the engine. So before we could do that we had to clear the back berth just so that we could get to the course filter for diesel. Beverley and I service the engine together so Beverley got the job of sorting out the oil, while I got the diesel. So after I turned off the diesel, I did that. This time we decided to change all the o-rings, and the o-ring we put on was slightly larger than the one removed which meant that there was a small diesel leak. We, found the correct o-ring and once we fitted that, the leak disappeared.

One of the things that we discussed was spares and the way we operate is we always have spares on board, so when we do an engine service, we have a spare to do the job, but we will also have a spare so that when things happen, we are sorted. Our diesel filters came out so well that we decided that we would keep them, but once we buy new filters at the end of the season, this is when we will get rid of these used filters.

Departure day - 1

The last item that we had ordered arrived and that was a new shower hose for our stern shower. Our last one the plastic had failed and the only place that we could get a replacement was SVB who sell all of the spares for Bavaria. It was soon fitted, so I used the hose to supply me with hot water so that I could clean the dinghy. I have to say I really rate the dinghy cleaner because Salty Sausage looked like new by the time I had finished. Once Salty Sausage was clean it was time to sling her.