Work Finnishes

This is always a lovely time for Sal and I as the last job to be done means that we are nearly ready to go sailing for the summer. We have about 7 boats here in Morlaix that we look after for the owners. It gives them peace of mind to know that there is someone on the spot to keep an eye on their investments. This is a Westerley Konsort that had the usual winter crud on and the owner wanted us to get her ready for the season so we Pressure washed, degreased and the polished her. Sally repaired the sprayhood and now we think she looks alot better.

Visitors

You just never know who is going to arrive here in Morlaix. Just the other day we heard an American accent and thought Dutch and Brenda who bought our old Falmouth Pilot had arrived early but no. In came a 30ft sailing yacht from Champaign Illinois USA.
So we have now made friends with the owner Jim a lovely character. He shows all the signs of a man who has been places and knows how to save money. He saw a pair of riggers boots in a shop for a good price and bought them as they were a 1/4 of the price of yachting boots. But the next day we saw Jim with a hacksaw and an angle grinder. I know, you shouldn't ask but I had to. What are you up to Jim. Well Jims says the soles and heels stick out too much and I catch my boots on all the deck fittings so I am cutting off all the surplus and then grinding it back to get a good finnish. Where have all the people that used to think like this gone. Today it is too easy for people to just pass over the bucks and get what the chandlers want us to buy.
Good on you Jim.

Repairs

This year we decided to just make repairs to Feels Good and Paint her next year. The problems is the gel coat has been in the med for a long time and has faded to different colours in different places. So I repaired the star cracks and then degreased the hull and gave her 2 coats of Polytrol varnish. So she looks ok for this year. All we have to do now is go to Guernsey where we dry her out on a pad in the Victoria Marina (£10 per day) pressure wash and antifoul and then we are off again. We are hoping to go to Dielette on the Normandie coast so will get some shots. Then to Jersey Guernsey's sister Island and then to Granville also on the Normandie coast. So watch this space

Mud,Mud,Mud

Well here we are with Morlaix facing yet another year with the problem of Mud. It runs off the fields at the top of the river and gets into the marina and silts it up. So every year they have to pump it out so we can get out to sail. Here is the pump arriving with all the pipe work. The mud is pumped up to a field 2 kilometres away where the Mud and Water are seperated then the water is sent back to the marina and the mud is spread over the fields. One of the problems is bits of trees and bushes that come down the river and get stuck in the mud so as you can see now and then we have to remove them before thay get stuck in the rudder or prop. But its all part of the fun of the boating life and gives spectators a laugh.

The Season Starts 2009

Well the 2009 season has started. We have washed the topsides with Carolin Ultra Degreasant which removes all the old polish and ALL dirt. After this Sal and I polished the topsides with Starbrite P.T.F.E (Teflon) We find this gives us an all year protection form the elements so less work in the season when we will be enjoying ourselves sailing. Next job was the hull. We moved Feels Good to a side pontoon to do the gel repairs on 4 star cracks we have just below the rail (These were on the hull when we bought her in 2005). The repairs went well but we couldnt match the green so we now have 4 spiders on the hull. We decided to varnish the hull again this year as its cheap and lasts for about 2 years and with the cash situation we have to watch it. So we washed the hull the same way as the topsides and applied a coat of varnish. We find that as the boat is 32 years old she looks OK but there are few patches of colour change in the hull so will Paint her in the next 2 years. Next is the wood work but thats another story so keep looking.