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.
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.
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