Back in the water

Detail of rudder fitting

I got to the yard at half nine, and had a look round Robinetta prior to launching. The state of the rudder fitting is a concern, but I was assured by Slava that the wood inside the cockpit where the fixing goes through is sound.

We will have to see what it looks like at the end of the season to decide if repair is an urgent concern.

Bubbles beneath the paint in the cockpit

The paint in the cockpit had looked really good on Friday, but problems manifested over the weekend. The paint used here is water based, and when the covers were lifted to let us have a look on Friday snow got onto it. It seems that the cold weather had slowed down the drying time to such an extent that the damp got underneath and raised blisters. The whole cockpit will have to be repainted.

Horse replaced and new beading on bulkhead

The cabin top and foredeck paint is oil based, and survived without problems. The block bearing horse has been refitted, new glands put in place for the electrics, and new beading fitted at the base of the bulkhead. Slava also put new bulb fittings in the nav lamps, and made it possible to remove the lamps from the fittings. I have not had a look at this yet, or checked they work.

When we had a gas cooker our insurer demanded that we should have a gas locker that drained overboard. We had one fitted, and an opening put in the hull. This had to be quite close to the water line to ensure it drained, which sometimes led to water getting into the locker when we heeled under sail.

Now we have an alcohol stove the gas locker is used for other things and the drain hole is unnecessary. We decided to have it closed up to prevent the water getting in. There is no sign it was ever there on the outside, and only a wooden bung visible in the locker. We will keep it obvious, in case there is ever a need to put a thru hull in that position again.

Our old spice bottle masthead light stopped working two years ago. We have replaced it with a commercial one, since the cost of LED lights has come down hugely. Julian checked that the wiring was not the problem, and hopefully this one will last well. I really don't want to have to go up the mast to fix it!

Lifting Robinetta off her blocks

The marina operators came along with their 20 ton hoist at about 11 am and lifted Robinetta off her blocks, before carrying her very slowly down to the dock. The slowness was due to the remote control for the hoist. The engine cut out every 5 metres, so it was a stop start progress until the operator changed to using the controls on the hoist itself, which was not easy, but at least kept the machine moving.

Lowering Robinetta into the water

Once in the yard Robinetta was transferred to the main hoist, which lifted her into the water. The weather was quite good at this point, about 7 C and dry.

I went to the car and got some extra mooring lines, since springs were needed to keep Robinetta still as the mast was lifted in. While the Rolt's guys and I rigged the lines, the Bristol Marina workers hoisted up the mast then lowered it into position.

This is when the whole process went west. No one had done a final check on the mast before it was lifted. I had rigged the ropes on Friday, but not thought to check that the wire loops that hold their blocks on the mast were in the right position. They were all labelled and should have been replaced as they were removed. However what the labels could not say was which loop lay on which side of the mast.

As a consequence all the loops lay in a single direction, which made getting the shrouds, forestay, backstays, and topping lifts into the correct position a nightmare. I had tied the ropes together into loops to make sure nothing got lost up the mast, but these got undone, and the gaff throat wire headed up the mast with no gaff attached.

Isaac  heading up the mast

Isaac headed up the mast to collect the gaff throat wire, and to try and sort out the lay of the shrouds. This proved impossible, and in the end the mast was pulled out again, and the tangle sorted on the ground. This also made it possible to unhank the burgee halyard, which had been left in a bundle right at the top of the mast.

By the time the mast was back in and the shrouds positioned it was 16:45, and the end of the yards' working day, but Isaac very kindly stayed on board to help me move Robinetta onto her marina berth. I checked the oil, turned the handle on the raw water inlet valve, and turned the key in the ignition. The engine coughed, but there was obviously not enough juice in battery 2, so I switched the batteries to "both". The time it turned but did not start. Giving more revs solved that problem, but no water came out of the exhaust. It turned out that the raw water inlet had been open before I moved it...

Robinetta arrived in her berth just as the rain started to hammer down. Isaac very sensibly left as soon as the bow and stern lines were on as he had no coat. I wanted to charge the batteries a bit, so left the engine on, but the gear release push button, that had worked without problems only quarter of an hour before, would not depress. Charging the batteries does not work well in idle, but I left it running while I sorted out the mooring lines. Then the engine fuel cut off cable pull would not move. I had to take up the cockpit floor to get at the cable. Not difficult, but it was getting dark, and I was cold and wet....

I wanted to put the solar panel on, but it had been cut off, rather than unplugged, when the yard needed it out of the way. It is simple to fix, but needed more mental energy (and light to see by) than I had. The yard had not finished installing the mast, and would be doing it in the morning, so there was no point putting the covers on. Water would get into the bilges, and the batteries (which I could not charge) will get drained when the float switch turns on the bilge pump.

I left Robinetta at 18:20, having to get home for Tuesday. I will be driving down again on Wednesday to get the battery charging situation sorted out and the covers on. She might be closer to home than for the last few years, but three hours there, and three back is a lot of driving....