A couple of weeks off saw trips to the IoW and Cowes and the Folly, overnighting in Newtown Creek in the sweltering heat. We experimented with making her a cutter and got the trailer revamped with fancy new suspension and flush hubs.
There were seals, big fish and some exciting sails across the Solent. We camped in the boat and tried out the packraft – getting Nancy and the dog ashore for walkies.
We found some damage to the newly refurbished mast at the end of the week so off to Drascombe she must go for a spot of repair to stop the ironwork slipping down underload.
Winter this year saw the boat home and back under it big green tent – working off a lovely block floor rather than slabs and wet earth this year.
The mast suffered some damage this year. Some self-inflicted with the peak halyard shackle the wrong way round, which, during a deep reef, rubbed hard against the mast, and the shroud band started to slip down the mast, indicating there was some issue either with the fixing or perhaps rot underneath.
It was dropped off with https://www.drascombe.uk/, who looked after it, stripped it clean, and refurbished it. Seems it was just a weedy snapped screw and no manky wood!
The bowsprit was stripped along with the gunwales and inner combing of all varnish, and Deks D1 was applied instead. Nancy valiantly battled the leaky lockers under the seats with new sealant, sealing strips and padding foam. The lockers are recessed and flat, so any standing water seeps in.
The spars were stripped, varnished, the wood floor oiled, and the covers reproofed. The trailer was cleaned and wheels painted, and the antifouling reapplied.
Some items that are now firmly boat fixtures, like the paddles, emergency box and a boat hook, are finding forever homes with straps to hold them in place. The new item for this year is a sapele crutch for the boom to enable the mid boom lazy jacks to be swept back and a tarp cast over the full boom.
The last sail of the year saw us head directly across the Solent to Cowes and hide behind the baffle wall to get lunch and chill. A fine sail to end the year though it did require leaving the creek with only 50cm and ploughing through the soft mud of the bar.
The mast seems to be having some issues around the hounds where the shrouds and forestay attach – the fitting seems to be drifting down a bit , so it’s time to get the mast down and in for some checking and attention. Get those black marks sorted too.
Not happy with the boats name, we took the decision to rename her. After much debate we took Nancy’s grandfather’s boats name – the ‘Odd Times’ and carried on the tradtion – it also works a pun ‘Odd Times II’ but it isnt really meant as that. The Ship Registry was dealt with and a new name added to the transom.
We also needed a name for our new dinghy – an Ebay bargin – and Sparklefarts was christened.
There was much more garden rigging and measurements, lists made of work to do.
