A day sail towards Hoy

 Alex is off in Shetland for a day, and Alison did all the important work yesterday so today we were free to do anything we liked. We did want to come back to Stromness, to make it easy for Alex when he gets back tonight.

 We've never been to Hoy, and I would like to go. I looked at the anchoring options. There is a museum at Lyness but no easy anchor age and I didn't fancy lying against the pier, I'm not sure why.

 Pegal Bay looked good. The tides were ideal, into Scapa Flow all morning and back out again from 14:30. The wind was against us but not too strong.

 The sun was shining!

We had a lovely beat into Scapa Flow and the little rosts made it really feel like Orkney.

 Heading straight down the coast of Hoy felt like too short a trip so we beat out around Cava.

We were joined for a while by a great skua. It sat beside us on the water and then flew to catch up, repeating about 5 times. 

We were also passed by a work boat, probably from one of the fish farms off Hoy. It altered course to pass behind us, in perfect compliance with the colregs and very politely. Nice.

 Between Cava and the Barrel of Butter are many wrecks, there were at least two big dive boats out, Valhalla and Invincible. Some of what we thought at first were crab pots were actually divers. We kept well clear, but not well enough for the boats, which moved purposely to shield their divers from us.

Heading in between Fara and Rysa Little we found ourselves on a collision course with one of the ships that had been berthed in Stromness. Following the colregs we held our course. Not following the colregs, so did they. It really felt like we were going to be run down. In the end I let loose the sails and pointed at their midships and they steamed past.

Not always much use, these colregs. 

I was a bit frazzled by this and when Alison said she didn't fancy anchoring, I went along with that thought.

The area is also full of fish farms.

 It was late enough to catch the tide home, and that's what we did.

 It was a lovely day, but not the day I'd hoped for. Scapa Flow was way too busy.

Scrabster to Stromness

The route into Stromness from Scrabster leads through the Sound of Hoy, and the tides there have to be treated with extreme caution, especially as we were just a couple of days off spring tides. The wind was expected to be favourable, but changeable, and they might be against us when the tides were with us through the sound. That meant we should plan to get to the entrance of the Sound of Hoy at slack water. Trying to find out exactly when that was proved difficult. Our initial calculations from the Clyde Cruising Club suggested 16:30, but the tidal stream diamonds on the Navionics charts leant to up to 40 minutes earlier.

We set off from Scrabster at 09:00, having planned our passage on 3 knots. The tide would be trying to push us into the Pentland Firth as we crossed it, so we took that into account. Unfortunately everything went too well... We had a lovely sailing breeze for the first three hours, which bowled us along at 4.5 knots, and even when the wind went lighter we were still doing 3.5. That light wind was a problem, as the swell pushed us around uncomfortably, and Alex, not as used to sailing as Julian and me, was sick. We had to put the engine on to help keep Robinetta steady, so we kept getting ahead of our schedule.

The Northlink ferry passed us on its way south, then on its return trip north. Julian checked, and its next departure from Stromness would be at 16:00, so we might well meet it in the Sound of Hoy. The wind came back again from a good direction, at a perfect strength for Robinetta to sail at her best; we had to put a reef in to slow us down.

We started off in bright sunshine with great visibility, but this dropped when the wind did, and the cliffs of Hoy were too hazy for photography as we passed them, although Julian did get a good picture of a fulmer in flight, with the Old Man of Hoy lurking only just visible in the background.

Our attempts to slow down were partially successful, and we entered Hoy Sound at 16:05. The swell was rolling into the Sound, but the tide was still slightly against us, meaning that the seas were quite confused. Luckily the wind had died totally at this point, so with our main sail centred we did not need to worry about it. Robinetta dealt with the overfalls in her normal calm fashion: rocking and rolling, but never feeling out of control even when our speed dropped to 1.5 knots. We kept expecting the ferry to appear round the corner from Stromness, but luckily it did not make an appearance until we were in calm water again, and could easily turn to avoid it into the shallows on the Mainland side.

It began to rain as we followed the coast round into the harbour approaches, and by the time we were tying up it was pouring down. I dug out the main sail cover, and once that was on the cockpit cover went over the top for the first time this season.

When we were moving Worm to a safe berth I noticed a worrying line on the floor plank. It looked horribly like we had a hole. This was quite close to the bow, and as we had been towing Worm bow up with our speed most of the day the sea had not found its way in, but inspection revealed that we have indeed holed Worm for the second season in a row. It might have happened on the beach at Skullomie Harbour, but there is no way to know as no damage was visible then. Julian pulled Worm up onto the pontoon, and placed her upside down to stop her filling with rain.

We stripped off our sodden outer layers, and headed off to the Ferry Inn for a much needed dinner. We will deal with Worm's damage another day.

 

 

Skullomie Bay to Scrabster.

Today’s forecast was a much more reasonable one, with S or SE 4-5, variable 3 or less until later in the West (our area). Yesterday evening, with strong winds still obvious in the anchorage, I had let out another 10m of chain on top of the 20m we already had out. We lay to it peacefully all night, but hauling it all in took Julian a while, and the engine was well warmed up in the 20 minutes it took him. We don’t have a windlass, let alone an electric one, and at times like this it feels like we are missing one.

We were clear of the anchorage by 07:50, and by 09;00 we had motored out of the Kyle, going through the sound between the mainland and Seal Island. The wind came in perfectly there, and the engine went off to let us sail on a broad reach at 4-5 knots on a flat sea. We had the no.2 jib up, and Julian decided we would be better with the no1. Changing jibs took time as we needed to re-run the furling line for the Wykham-Martin gear, but once that was done we we sailing along perfectly balanced.

Unfortunately the wind died at 10:25, and the engine went back on. George went on duty to steer us straight, and stayed on the helm as we passed Strathy Point. At 14:35, when the wind came back from ahead, he was relieved by Julian, who reset the sails and turned the engine off.

The float switch worked to turn the bilge pump on at 10:05, 12:57, 15:30, 15:45, and 16:04. The last three were worrying close together. We were hard on the wind, with a reefed main sail, but by then we were following the curve past Holborn Head into Thurso Bay and it was time to put the engine back on to get the sails down and enter Scrabster Harbour.

I called up the Harbour Master, as requested in the pilot book, and he said he would find us a place on a pontoom. Ten minutes later as we entered the inner harbour he called us up to apologise that there were no empty berths, but told us to moor up against a survey boat on the hammerhead. This was perfect for us, and we were happy with his choice.

The harbour mast was very obliging, giving us the key for the ladies loo (the gents was already open), and the code to get into the shower room. A single pound coin gave 10 minutes of hot water; very good value for money!

There were a couple of places by the harbour we could have eaten, but we walked into Thurso for the evening since we were meeting our son Alex from the train at 22;20. After a a quick bit of shopping in Lidl we had a pleasant meal in a Sri Lankan restaurant, a walk by the river, and a dram in the Station Hotel. It was then time to collect him. We did not want to walk back to Scrabster with his luggage, but luckily the only Taxi waiting at the station agreed to come back for us after taking their pre-booked passenger home, and we were aboard Robinetta by 22:50.

Robinetta was designed to take 3, and with the table relegated to the cockpit there was plenty of space for the 3 of us to sleep. Julian and my clothes bags ended up in the sail locker, but one of the advantages of the new deck is the whole of the cabin and forepeak is dry. No need to worry about rain leaks!

Better to go back

We had been planning to stay put at Skullomie for two nights, but the forecast this morning made us think that we might be able to sail along to Scrabster. The met office said 4-6 SE from Ardnamuchan Point to Rattray Head, but XC weather suggested 4-5, and Windy made us think the stronger winds were elsewhere. Julian hauled up the anchor and we headed out into a flat sea. The calm was an illusion.

Julian hoisted the no2 jib, which unrolled itself as the Wykham Martin Gear was set to furl the opposite way. Julian brought it back on deck, but the time it was up, very badly set and with no other sail, made Robinetta almost uncontrollable. The Met office was right, and we had a force 6. I called Julian back from the foredeck, to tell him I wanted to go back to the anchorage, and he nodded, and said he had been thinking the same thing.

45 minutes after raising anchor we reset it in nearly the same place.

After an hour’s break to set things to rights and check the anchor had set properly we got into Worm, and I rowed us ashore for a lovely walk to the Kyle of Tongue Causeway with a lunch stop at the Norse Bakehouse. A much more sensible way to spend a bright and windy April day than pushing ourselves and our boat into a potentially risky trip along the coast.

Kyle of Tongue

 We had a more peaceful night in Talmine Bay than Alison feared but this morning the wind was getting up and the forecast was for stronger east winds. Talmine isn't the best anchorage in the Kyle for easterlies. Scullomie is recommended. It's on the east and although it looks OK at high water to go straight there, the charts don't say what the drying heights of the sandbanks are. It looks like the latest Antares charts have the anchorages, but not necessarily the passages between them. Ours are older and don't include the Kyle.

So we motored out passed the Rabbit Isles and back round. 

We had a go at fishing but didn't catch anything.

As we neared the anchorage, but still couldn't see it, Alison asked me urgently to open the starboard fuel tank tap.  I wasn't quick enough. The engine died and wouldn't restart.

We had emptied the port tank.

*******

We got the mainsail up, deeply reefed, and Alison pottered about while I went down to bleed the engine.

Luckily, that sorted it.

I'll leave it to your imagination how we felt about running out of fuel with a perfectly good full tank when we had checked both the previous day and discussed opening the tap on the starboard one.

Scullomie turns out to be delightful. It's an old drystone harbour, built to ferry people to the ships during the clearances. It's ruined near the entrance but the skerries outside provide good protection from the swell and it's in the lee of the cliff to the east. Perfect for today.

And you can see the phone mast on the hill. Great for my tutorial.

We got ready to go ashore for a walk. But I kept hearing the bilge pump. At first it seemed like the float switch was stuck, but then the outflow fell to a trickle.

A bit of wire wool had got stuck in the pump. For a while it seemed the pump was damaged, but eventually it started behaving normally again. Whew.

We got our walk. We met Charlie, a local retired fisherman. Lovely chap, helped us secure Worm so we would be able to get her once the tide came in.

Grand views and lovely walks in the glen by the burn. We played pooh-sticks.

Robinetta in the distance

View of the Rabbit Islands

Robinetta at anchor at Skullomie

Walk up the Glen

Skullomie Harbour

Round the Cape again

 We have not been setting an alarm, and today we had already decided we would not leave harbour until 9a.m. However it was a shock to wake up and discover we had slept right though until 8.

Julian put the kettle on, but we got the bed and bedding stowed while it boiled, and Julian dashed off to the harbour master’s office before the tea was poured. I was a little more leisurely in my dressing , but by the time Julian phoned to ask what we needed from the shop I had drunk my tea.

The deserted visitor pontoon was explained when Julian got back from paying for our berth. We were the first yacht to visit this year. That felt a bit of a shame on a lovely sunny morning, with a forecast that would take us (and therefore anyone) safely round Cape Wrath.

We got the engine on as soon as Julian got back, and motored off the pontoon at 09:00, just as planned. The fact that we had put nothing away, not even the cover on the staysail, did help us get ready quickly!

The light wind was right behind us as we came out into Loch Inchard. I got the staysail up and Julian laid in a course to the Kyle of Tongue, 35nm away. We then discussed breakfast and decided that using up our bacon and black pudding would be an excellent idea. Julian went below to cook and do some duo-lingo, while I stayed on watch. Eating a cooked breakfast while helming can be difficult, so I set George to work, and sat enjoying the cold sunshine. Julian brought the breakfast plates into the cockpit and suggested putting George to work, only slightly late!

As we cleared Loch Inchard and set our course to leave Am Balg to port the wind came into a usable point of sail. We raised the main, and set the no 1 jib, and the engine went off for a while. Then Julian made the mistake of saying, “You do realise this wind will be against us once we reach the Cape.” The wind took offence at this and five minutes later, as we passed Am Balg, the wind died.

The engine went back on, and stayed on all the way to the Kyle of Tongue.

Duslic Rock left safely to starboard

 Going round Cape Wrath was easy. We left the Duslic rock to starboard and although the swell increased there were no overfalls. The only place that made us bounce around was off the headland between Loch Eribol and the Kyle of Tongue. We had cut too close and found overfalls, but we motored further out and the confused water soon settled back into regular swell.

We did discover one bit of deck fittings that Tim had got wrong. There has always been an air vent in the heads area, just to port of the mast and facing backwards. Tim had restored this facing forward, so now, when a wave splashes the foredeck we get some of that water splashing into the forepeak. Julian went forward and tied a plastic bag over it, and problem sorted, although we will turn it the right way round at some point.

I had given George’s mount a coat of white paint in Ullapool, and as I sat and watched him work I saw a black line come and go with the swell where the two parts of the mount were joined. I realised that the bolts holding the mount together were beginning to bend with the forces on the tiller, so George came off duty and I began to hand steer.

The wind was virtually on the nose, too close for the jib too work well, but the staysail and main gave the engine some help all day. We dipped the fuel tanks to find out which was being used, and discovered it was the port one, which was still a quarter full, and we did not think to switch the other tank until use as well. The port one took us all the way to our chosen anchorage of Talmine Bay, where we dropped anchor at 19:50.

The anchorage felt a bit exposed to me, but once the anchor settled in it held firm, and we did not rock too much as we settled down to dinner.

Making progress, Lochinver to Kinlochbervie

 Our aim today was to reach Kinlochbervie, 25 nm away. We had thought about being very leisurely as we had been last time we were in the area, but the weather made us feel we should get a bit further. We put the engine on at 08:35, and by 09:05 we were clear of the harbour area, and sailing on full main and no1 jib. We were close hauled, but only needed a single tack to clear the islands and headland before letting off the main a little and reaching along the coast in a straight line for the Point of Stoer at 4 -4.5 knots. It was a lovely sail, with the swell not too big, and the sun bright enough for me to need my sunglasses.

We knew it would not last. The current S or SW2-4 wind was due to go NE3-5 in the evening, so sometime around lunch time we would loose the lovely wind. And so it proved; we had to come onto a near run to clear the point of Stoer and once we gybed to get closer to the land again we were not making very good progress, so after a couple of gybes we centred the main and put the engine on at 13:10.

Meanwhile we had other problems. Almost as soon as we gybed round Robinetta began to pump. Lovely clear water, which means it was new into the bilges. 45 minutes later she did it again. Julian went below to see if he could find the source of the ingress, and traced it to a number of seeps around the mast foot. This is good news in a way. She is probably just taking up, and with full sail she often pumped every hour in previous seasons. We had hoped the new floor bolts would have fixed the problem, but apparently not.

The bad news was that to find this out Julian had taken up some of the lead. There are 5 big ingots closly packed and obviously cast to fit. Once up he could not get them back in again. I had a go, and could not do it either. We decided to leave the floor up for a while.

With the engine on we put George on the helm and he coped well with the swell, and we were now making good speed towards Kinlochbervie. The sun was still shining, but the wind that began to come in was northerly, although still light. None the less we needed a change, and Julian began to look at Handa. We had thought about anchoring there when we were first planning the day, and the tide would help us through the Sound, so we changed course to do this.

As we passed the empty Portean Eilean anchorage Julian decided we should definitely stop, so we got the main sail down, and motored in to drop the hook in 5m. As we were on a falling tide, and only intending to stay a couple of hours, Julian laid out 15m of chain.

I rowed us ashore in Worm onto a lovely fine golden sand beach, where we were greeted by 2 young wardens who agreed that we were allowed to land. They led us up to the information hut for a briefing. Right next to this was a composting toilet (the only toilet on the island). Julian had put his walking trainers on, but I had come ashore in my sea boots which are not great for walking. I walked about a kilometre with him, then turned back, while he went on to do the whole circuit.

It was absolutely wonderful weather for visiting Handa; bright sunshine and a warm breeze. Julian and I both stripped down to tee-shirts, and I regretted having a warm layer beneath my jeans. The seabird nests were all on the cliff side of the island which I did not reach, but I saw many small land birds, and a crow being mobbed by a Great Skua ( or Bonxie as they are known locally) I startled a common lizard that was sunning itself on a rock, but the multitude of rabbits were much less worried by human visitors.

 I did a bit of beach cleaning while waiting for Julian to finish his walk. Mostly small bits of twine, with a couple of longer bits of rope all mixed in with the sea weed at the top of the beach.

Once Julian got back from his walk we got the anchor up and motored to Kinlochbervie, going through the reefs to the south of the entrance to Loch Inchard rather than giving them an offing. Coming into Kinlochbervie Harbour felt like coming home. We had left Robinetta there for 3 weeks a couple of years ago so it felt very familiar.

This time the visitor pontoon as totally empty, so we pulled Worm up onto it, and connected our electric hook up without any problems. Then it was time to get the lead put back into place (which we did not quite manage) before refitting the floor boards. We now have a shaped lead ingot lying on its side in a slightly different part of the forepeak; still doing its job, but not as tidily as before.

Motoring in fine weather

 

Robinetta was rock solid on her anchor all night, and the only disturbance came when Worm started gently rocking in the slight swell, that made her mooring rope creak. The swell soon died away, and I went back to sleep until 06:30 when Julian put the kettle on. Occasional fluffy white clouds dotted the blue sky, but there was no wind, and the air was cold.

We got the engine at 07:20, then Julian went forward to pull up the anchor. I had been afraid that we might have problems getting the anchor free, as we were in an area with rocks on the foreshore, but it came up easily, with only a little kelp on the flukes. I had plotted a course to Lochinver last night, so this morning it was just a case of following it under engine. Once we were through the sound between Isle Ristol and Eilean Mullagrach I put some porridge on to cook, while Julian rigged our tiller pilot “George”. The sea was glassy smooth, but with a noticeable swell.

We did get a little wind by 10:00, but when we reduced engine revs we soon discovered that most of it was of our own forward motion, and the swell discouraged us from trying to sail with the little that was left.

As we approached Lochinver we were totally sheltered from any wind, and the sun began to feel hot. Julian took off a couple of layers, saying he felt warmer as soon as he took his coat and jumper off.

We were tied up on the pontoons in Lochinver by 11:00, after an uneventful, but rather beautiful, motor.

First Sail of the Season

 We are off! We keep thinking that we have done all the little jobs, and then we find another. But they aren't critical. I did make one gromit for a mast hoop this morning.

 We got away about 11am. Too late to easily make Lochinver, but early enough for a good day on the water.

Alison headed up the Loch to keep out of the way if the ferry left. A good plan as it came out right behind us.

 The sails all went up smoothly and we had the engine off at 11:30 and broad-reached towards the Summer Isles. Both the experimental plastic mast hoop and the rope gromit work.

The wind was light so we changed up to the no. 1 jib. Alison realised the bowsprit lines weren't right and re-ran them all inside the traveller. I had to re-do the turns on the furling drum too, but the new bearings are working nicely.

 We have anchored by Ristol Island, right at the corner of Loch Broom. It's busy with fishing boats but there is room for us, and a pub in walking distance, but we probably won't bother.

We had a bit of fun tricing the bobstay. The bobstay tensioning purchase wasn't tied on. Alison went to the end of the bowsprit in Worm and retrieved it.

Nearly ready to go

Julian and I got back to Robinetta on Friday afternoon after a slightly fraught bus journey. The Glasgow-Inverness bus got in 25 minutes late, which was a minute after our connection to Ullapool was supposed to leave. We rushed across the bus station and found our next bus still standing. “You’re lucky we were late,” was the bus driver’s response as she let us on, but as she was also happy to wait for everyone else to change busses as well.

We had tickets for a concert in the Ceilidh Place, so after eating pizza on board we went out again and had a very enjoyable evening listening to The Ape House, a 3 piece traditional music group.

We had visited Gael Force Marine on the way home, and bought a few bits and pieces we needed. Julian’s first job of the morning was joining two pieces of piping in the bilge pump run. They had been joined by a garden hose connector last year, but this had got broken over the winter, and we did not want this to happen again, so splashed out on a stainless steel one. Not cheap, but hopefully a permanent solution.

His next task was fettled the Wykeham Martin gear (see his own post) while I tidied up the wiring for the new cabin lights he fitted on our last trip.

 

After that we turned Robinetta round in the berth so our hose would reach the tap, and refilled the water tanks. We have not disinfected them this year, so our drinking water will come from a bottle rather than the tanks, but we are happy to use tank water for washing up and cups of tea, so we should not run out.

 

In the afternoon we tied on the mast hoops on the main sail, and tightened up the boom and gaff outhauls, as well as checking all the halyards, and the Wykeham Martin gear were working properly.

We might be heading off sailing tomorrow, which would be lovely,

Servicing Wykeham Martin Gear again

 One of my most popular posts is from 2014 when the roller furling failed on the way to Brightlingsea.

It wasn't in top form last season and I bought new bearings but never got around to fitting them over the winter.

I got the lower drum apart without too much trouble this time and the ball bearings don't look too bad after 11 years. But the washers were in a poor state.

One fell to pieces and the other one is very thin.

Luckily, the local hardware shop in Ullapool had washers for 12mm bolts that are OK for the 1/2" drum.

But they are too thick. I've used one new and one old one and the new ball bearings. It should be OK for a season. I must look for some thin ones.

The New Wiring

 I've significantly simplified the wiring for this season. Hopefully, it will be more reliable. So far, the indications are good.

I bought a proper crimp tool for the SuperSeal connectors. It's wonderful. I also got a box of connectors with 1, 2, 4 and 6 way versions. This gave me some ideas but if I do it again I'll simplify even further.

We should finally have a reliable anchor light. I just tested it and it's working and all the transitions have really good crimps on the SuperSeal connectors. I used a 6 way SuperSeal to unify the running light and anchor light wiring. But it needed a pair of 3 way gel crimps to split the port and starboard feeds and the whole thing would have been simpler using just gel crimps in the cabin and SuperSeals on deck.

I've replaced the trio of motorcycle accessories with a single unit. It has two USB A, 2 USB C and a voltmeter. I've re-used one of the existing cables for most of the run but re-purposed some thick single core for the rest. It's too thick to crimp so I've used chock blocks. It didn't work at first. I used the provided cable with spades and an inline fuse and the fuse holder wasn't making contact with the fuse. A bit of bending bits inside sorted it 

The new cabin lights are really bright. Good for reading. We have one over each bench, something we should have done years ago.

I rewired the cockpit wiring to the stern light and tiller pilot. The stern light is minimalist, bell wire replaced cat5. The tiller pilot uses thick mains wire directly to the chock blocks by the battery switch with a new 2 way bulkhead socket and inline plug on the tiller pilot flex. We lose all the NMEA stuff but we have no intention to use it. This way it should never crash due to lack of voltage.

The bilge pump was working but the float switch was not. The wire had broken at the chock blocks. I replaced that with a 2 way gel crimp to join the float switch to 12V and a 3 way gel crimp to connect the pump to both the float switch and the manual switch. I had to file down the insulation on the float switch wires to fit the crimps but it should be more reliable, both mechanically and electrically.

Afloat in Ullapool harbour

There is always more to do once a boat is afloat, and once again Julian was head down with the electrics. By the end of the day we had practically all the electrics rerun, new working cabin lights, and the float switch working properly again.

I did a bit of plumbing, empting the water tanks, then removing a mysterious small tank which has been on Robinetta since we bought her. Once I brought the foot long and 6" in diameter rusty metal ovoid into the light we were finally able to read that it was a hot water expansion cylinder. Why it was there, on a boat where hot water only came from the kettle, is a total mystery. Loch Broom Hardware provided a short length of water pipe to connect the pipe work back together, and the old tank was donated to a mystified harbour master to add to the metal recycling.

The throttle and gear lever had seemed very stiff yesterday, and the clutch button would not move. A squirt of WD40, followed by a careful clean and regrease made them work smoothly again. I should clean this more often!

Bending on the main sail was the next task, and after that we needed a break, so visited Ullapool Museum which is now open for the season, before going to collect the car. The glorious spring weather meant that the two mile walk along the main road from the harbour to the yard was surprisingly pleasant. Although it seemed quite busy most times when I drove along it, when walking the cars are spaced far enough apart that birdsong dominated the sound scape.

A trip to Tesco to provision Robinetta for our trip north was followed by a Fish and Chip supper eaten in the cockpit. We needed our coats on as the evening was chilly, but the view meant we did not want to go below.

We are heading south tomorrow to take the car and trailer home, but hope to be back aboard on Friday.

Launch Day at last

I woke quite early at the sound of yard machinery in motion, and after a cup of tea I got dressed and down the ladder to see that another yacht was being launched on the morning tide. She got off without problems, and it was interesting to see the procedure before doing it ourselves. Every yard we have been in has a different way of getting boats into the water and it is impossible to know what to expect.

It took a while for the yard to clear the machines out of the shed entrance so Robinetta could be loaded onto the trailer and pulled out. The first thing to leave the shed once the way was clear was the mast, and then there was a pause while Tim cut back the bulwark so we could get the bowsprit in place without damaging it. The bowsprit has lost quite a lot of varnish over last season and this winter, and the wood is also damaged. We will have to make this good as soon as possible.

Robinetta was out of the shed by half ten, and I made good the anti-fouling where the props had been. We had used up all of out Teamac D last Friday, so Tim found us the tail end of a tin of red antifouling he had left over. This was a hard anti-fouling, rather than an eroding one, and we will have to have a look at the end of the season to see what a difference it makes.

Once the mast went in Julian and I got on with untangling the ropes and tying the shrouds to their dead eyes. Mast dressing errors became apparent, as always, but this time we had the luxury of Julian being lifted up on a pallet by a forklift to sort things out. Tim also came on board and put in the mast wedges, which was very helpful.

When rigging the boom with its roller reefing we realised we were missing an eye bolt in the deck fittings. Julian trawled though his pictures to find evidence of its existence, and Tim found where the old bolt went, then fitted it. A quick job for him, but a problem for us if we had delayed working on the rigging.

Rain rolled in at lunch time, so we ate in the cabin rather than going for a picnic, but the sun soon came back out and I headed outside to fit the mast boot while Julian got on with wiring up the radio and AIS receiver.

By mid afternoon we had had enough, and went to Ullapool for a cup of tea and cake, and to use the toilet. Unfortunately the public toilets are out of action due to vandalism, but there are enough eateries with their own facilities that the lack of toilets at the yard does not matter too much.

We were back in the yard by half four, and carried on getting Robinetta ready to go back in the water until 7pm. By then the tide was high enough to launch, and since Robinetta was ready there was no point waiting.

Tim came aboard as we went into the water, and checked that the seacocks that he had fettled were not leaking. He was impressed with how tight her planking was after a winter in the shed, with no obvious leaks along the seams. I will have a good look in the morning in case there are any slow seeps, which sometimes happens.

The engine started on the first push of the button. Hurrah! We had the fuel tank switched one in, one out, as I had forgotten which let the fuel through. I will have to look it up again.

Worm was also launched for us, with her painter being passed over the bow before she was pushed in. She was actually needed today, as Tim sculled himself ashore in her, after he finished his checks. I then pulled Worm back to Robinetta, as the trailer was pushed deeper, then Robinetta floated off, and Julian put her into reverse. The gear controller is very stiff, so we need to grease it.

A short motor to Ullapool harbour in the evening sun shine had both Julian and me smiling. Being on the water was lovely. We called up the harbour on the main radio, and got no answer, but they responded to the handheld. We could hear them on the main radio, but they could only hear us on the handheld. Something to investigate for the morning.

Once we were moored up we went out for a curry, accompanied by a bottle of celebratory Cava bought from Tesco.

Today was a good day.

Working on Robinetta, Day 7

First job of the day was going into Ullapool for a cooked breakfast. We had a leisurely one at The Bothy, before heading back to Robinetta, where we got the anchor and its chain back on board.

Julian spent the rest of the morning sorting out the stern light and tiller pilot power sockets in the cockpit, then after lunch he refashioned the bulkhead mounting that originally held the Seafarer depth gauge. Last season this held a 12v car socket, together with 4 USB charging sockets, and a voltmeter for the batteries. This has now been replaced with a much smaller installation, that does not have the 12V car socket which we never used. This required Julian to cover the hole in the mounting, but luckily there were plenty of bits of spare wood lying around. The navigation lights were also reconnected.

In comparison I did not feel like I did much. Lots of miscellaneous tidying up, getting the blocks sorted out to go on the horse, and setting up the bowsprit. In the course of doing this I realised that the hole in the bulwarks that Tim had mended fouled the bowsprit as it went through, making it very difficult to bring in. I need to ask him to free this up tomorrow when he gets back from holiday. The wind got up a bit late afternoon, so I closed the shed doors to stop them banging.

Julian and I decided to go to film night held at the ferry terminal in the evening. We miscalculated the timing, arriving before the venue opened, so went to the Ferry Inn and had a pleasant light meal of a starter portion of mussels each, with a single portion of chips. We shared a table with an Australian couple on a car tour of Scotland and had a pleasant conversation about good places to visit, before we headed over to see the film.

Climbing the ladder in the shed to get into Robinetta’s cabin when we got back in the dark is something I will be glad not to have to do again, but not really a problem.

Working on Robinetta, Day 6

Julian declared that I would stay as the project manager, so after we arrived in the yard at half nine I put him in charge of dressing the mast while I got on with sorting out the cabin. He occasionally called me to have a look at what he was doing and this seems to have worked well as a way to make sure things are in the right place. Monday, when the mast goes in will be the proof of the approach! It would be good not to have to go up the mast this year. We had a picnic lunch, then headed back to Ullapool mid afternoon for a cup of tea to celebrate the mast dressing being complete.

mast head with additional AIS reciever

The cabin is now ready for reoccupation, just as well since we are sleeping aboard tonight.

The only electrics that got completed before we stopped for the night were the reconnecting of the port and starboard navigation lights, so we went to bed by the light of battery lanterns rather than Robinetta’s own lights. Not a problem.

Working on Robinetta, Day 5

 Alex's last day working on Robinetta. He used the rollers to paint on a full coat of antifoul on Thursday. That took three quarters of a 2.5 litre tin, so this morning he just put a second coat on the rudder, before using the remainder just below the water line, where more weed grows. He also covered the patchwork of prepared areas above the water line with blue paint. Robinetta is not getting a complete paint job this year, and the fresh paint is slightly darker than what is already there, but the difference is invisible from a couple of metres away, and will be gone by the time the sun has been on the hull for half a season. He also patched the white paint where it needed it.

The mast varnish needs time to harden, so no more coats went on there after Thursday, but the tiller did get a layer. Alex then passed up the fully painted toilet bowl and support, and that completed his part on the fit out and I drove him to Inverness, and put him on a train to go home.

I had planned to go to the chandlers while in Inverness, but failed to check when they closed; Gaelforce Marine close an hour earlier on a Friday, at 4pm instead of 5pm, so they were closed by the time Julian and I met up there. Very annoying, but my own fault.

Julian and I then drove back to Ullapool. We have one night in the cottage, then will move on to Robinetta; in the shed before her launch, then properly aboard.

Working on Robinetta, Day 4

Tim had removed the heads pump to get access to refix the bits, and when I went to put it back I realised that a couple of the screws had failed, and would need replacing. This gave me the impetus to resited the heads pump by about an inch. This should stop the pump handle from fouling on the edge of the storage shelf as it had been doing for a couple of years. Alex has been repainting the floor support for the toilet bowl, and once this is dry I will be able to put the whole of the forepeak back in working order.

Rebuilding the galley is not going so well. I had real problems reconnecting the sink drain with the thru hull. Once I put the storage shelves in place access will get even worse, so I needed to get the drain fixed ASAP. Hopefully it is now done, and won't leak. We rarely use the sink, and always keep the thru hull closed, so I refuse to worry if I can't use the plug hole.

I also needed to refit the gimbals for the stove. I thought it was done, then tried  to fit the stove in place, and the gimbal supports pulled out. I need longer screws! The  rest of the galley went back with a little cutting needed on the crockery shelving, due to the doubled rib behind it.

The anti fouling is mostly done, just needing a second coat to the areas that get most heavily infested which will happen tomorrow.  The mast varnishing has has a lick and a promise, while the tiller may get up to five coats before we need to use it.

I have installed the cabin cushions, so everything feels a lot more comfortable.

You will notice a lack of any mention of electrics. That will be Julian's task once he gets here tomorrow evening.

Working on Robinetta, day 3

 This set of posts is mostly to keep a record of what we have done to get Robinetta ready to go back in the water, and how long it took, so I suspect it is not of general interest!

The cabin ceiling is now painted, and the cabin sides washed down. They will not be getting painted this year. The galley is ready to refit. The mast has had one coat of varnish, and the tiller 2.

The underseat locker lids have had a new coat of white paint. They look lovely, but really show up the rest of the installation. However everything will be hidden beneath the seat cushions when in use.

The last thing Alex and I did before leaving for the evening was putting on a full coat of metaclor primer. Tomorrow is antifouling day.

Working on Robinetta, day 2

 There comes a time in every project when there is a feeling that it will never be done on time. That was today.

Alex has made good progress on the hull, but it is all prep work. By the end of the day the bare wood on the lower hull has a coat of primer, but the patches needs another coat before the full tie coat goes no. The same is true for the patches on blue hull, so it still feels like there is a long way to go. The wooden plinth for the heads has one coat of primer, so needs another before it gets its final coat before being installed.

I had been working on the interior, washing, filling, and painting. The floor boards are now clean, and sitting outside so they do not get paint on them. Nowhere is ready to be put back together, although there is some progress on the galley.

Working on Robinetta, day 1

View from the "wash station"

Constant flowing water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather makes a huge difference to the experience of working on a boat, and we could not have wished for better weather. Warm sun and a slight breeze meant that the lack of mains water at the yard was irrelevant. A culverted stream runs under the boat yard to discharge clean water onto a pebbled beach. Sitting on a convenient rock, surrounded by beautiful scenery, made washing a year's accumulated grime off the heads and the floor boards more of a pleasure than a chore.

 Alex is concentrating on the exterior of Robinetta, and with 5 days of guaranteed time undercover she should look lovely by the time we launch (hopefully Tuesday). My tasks on the interior might take longer. We have not been able to do a deep clean since we left Tollesbury back in 2021, and the inside of the boat is filthy. That means the painting has to be delayed, and some of it might be put off for yet another year.