Lift Out

I got to Robinetta just gone 9 a.m this morning, having left home at 5. She was floating higher on her marks than usual, having been almost totally emptied out on my last visit. Today I took out the toilet, and the toolboxes, plus the last of the ropes and virtually everything else movable.

With the toilet out of the way it was possible to see where water was collecting beneath it. Once I moped this out it did not obviously refill in the next couple of hours, which is a good sign. There were traces of dampness around the thru-hulls though, so they need to be checked.

The end of the gaff needs some TLC this winter. Julian is hoping to change the construction slightly to make the end more robust.

Moving Robinetta with no one to help with the ropes felt odd, but it was easy to set them up ready to use. It was only about 100m from the pontoon to the lift out dock, and with no tidal movement, and hardly any wind manoeuvring was very simple.

The mast is coming out to get stripped and revarnished. It has not been touched since 2014 and unfortunately we had to dress it before the varnish was properly hardened then. At least this time it will be done undercover!

Lifting out was slightly nerve wracking as it would reveal if there was any below water-line damage to the hull causing the continual water ingress.

The Teamac D antifoul worked well, and the hull was reasonably clean. Pressure washing did remove some of the anti foul though, not surprising since it is an eroding variety!

This may be the source of Robinetta's bow leak. Only raking out and re-caulking will let us know for certain.

Underneath the iron keel shows signs of damage. Probably a result of our grounding on Limestone Rock, in Strangford Lough.

One season has not made much of an impact on the new anode.

Every yard has a different way of propping Robinetta up. These bits of timber look huge!

By 15:30 Robinetta was securely in the Bristol Marina yard, in the care of Rolt's Boatyard who will be working on her.