Looking back over the last week, I feel it's better to focus on the result rather than how we got there, it was a tad stressful and touch and go to say the least! The good news is that Lively Levante is now safely moored in Chichester marina as we had hoped and in time for a week's holiday we've planned starting from the bank holiday next weekend.
We knew it was going to be challenging as everyone in the yard has been under pressure from owners to get their boats back in commission and in the water by the weekend to catch the tide to be ready for the bank holiday weekend, just like us. Due to the bad weather during March most owners had given up trying to get the season started with an Easter cruise so the yard was jammed full. Boats had to come out in a pre-defined order and if one had problems...
The start of the week was relatively calm with the engine being craned in which happened
without too much trouble. Having been cleaned up and with new ancillaries in a refurbished engine bay it looked like it should do with everything in good shape and in sharp contrast to it's original state. Paul managed to finish off fitting the cooker and to install the anchor winch; he also managed to fit the collar for the mast on the coachroof by Wednesday.
The difficulties then started with the mast when Barry, the rigger, identified a number of additional items that had been missed out; fortunately he had been able to get a mast coat which could have sunk our plans, without that we would have been in trouble. With all the halyards rigged and the mast dressed he was ready for the hoist which should have been at 11am on Thursday.
Unfortunately the crane was stuck on another yacht that had problems with the fitting of a new keel that wouldnt fit. Eventually in mid afternoon the new mast was raised into
position and, just as it was about to be lowered, the crane came to a halt! Barry requested valium, other jobs were slipped and after more sitting on hands the crane eventually got re-started setting the mast in position on top of the keel. Naturally much of the work that need to be done to set the mast up had to slip to Friday, the day she was meant to be going into the water.
Although many boats were being queued up for launched our slot came up on time just after mid day and Lively Levante was gently lowered into the water with the rigging still being completed. This was just as well as there's less than a two hour window when there's enough water to take her to a berth. It was a wonderful moment to see her back in her element at last as she was towed away to her berth, looking just resplendent in the bright sunshine. Seeing her from astern her beamy hull was deep down in the water, so different from more modern yachts that seem to sit on the water rather than in it.
That afternoon the plan was for Dale to run up the engine and make sure she was ok for the trip, yet another emergency intervened and despite the best of intentions
Dale didn't arrive. Soon the water had disappeared and there was no chance of completing this task, it would have to be done just before we left on Saturday.
Barry finished off his work as far as he could without parts such as the fitting to take the strut for the boom; we'd just have to manage with an improvised kicker. It was now up to us to set the sails and flush out any issues before we were due to sail away the next day. Naturally enough there were surprises such as a lack of mast slides and a boom that would not accommodate the stack-pack; however after a quick dash to the Marine Super Store we got on top of them. The more significant problem was that the shackle on the Furlex was much higher above the deck that the old Hood furler so we couldn't tension the genoa, not much sailing tomorrow, it would be for emergencies only!
The following day Dale arrived just as the water was flooding in and soon got the engine running sweetly. Re-assuringly it started with the first flick of the switch and water was soon splashing out of the exhaust, showing all was well. After a few more improvisations and safely stowing everything on board we were ready to go the moment there was enough water to leave the berth. Impatiently, we tried an hour and a quarter before high tide but couldn't get out, 15 mins later it was a whole foot deeper and enough to clear the mud around the berth. I was pleased to have Clive on board who knew Mill Rythe well as we followed the narrow, shallow channel out to the deep water mindful of the yacht, Sparkle, that we'd watched go aground the previous day.
We were free of the Yard at last but this pleasure was tempered by the wind suddenly piping
up from 10 knots to 25, not exactly as forecast! Despite this It didn't take long to motor round to Chichester which was all we could do really and with the lock in free flow were soon in the marina. The gusty northerly winds made mooring a final challenge but we got there in the end. It had been touch and go all week but thanks to the many players who had helped us overcome a succession of problems we'd stayed on track, she was now afloat and safely in her new home at Chichester.
It's a bit muddy out at Mill Rythe where Hayling Yacht Company is so with a deep fin keel we need a spring tide to be able to get out into the main channel. The next full moon is on Thursday the 25th so the following weekend is ideal to get Lively Levante over to Chichester; the high tide is 5 metres at 1pm, perfect!
The only difficulty is that there is still rather a lot to do before we can get her into the water and seaworthy. I've managed to finish off the electrics and electronics, so we have an echo sounder now which is highly desirable. The instruments all worked immediately on switch on, the NMEA 2000 bus is fantastic compared with all the faffing about that was needed to make the earlier systems work. The yard need to finish off the installation of the cooker,
install the anchor winch and re-spray the stern; good job the weather forecast is for dry conditions so this should be complete in the next couple of days.
The main priority though is to crane the engine back in together with the mast. The engine should be straightforward as all the ancillaries are there, it's just a matter of shiming up the engine mounts to get the shaft alignment right so that the SureSeal will do it's job and keep the water out. The Mast is more problematic with several key parts we still need that could delay hoisting it. The first problem was the furlex, which was in short supply; fortunately some prompt intervention by Richard, who runs HYC, in the form a sprint over to Hamble, seems to have solved the problem. Hopefully all other bits and pieces needed, in particular the mast coat, the kicker and the highfield lever for the inner stay will appear whilst the mast is being dressed over the net couple of days. A brief meeting with Barry the rigger and Paul the shipwright the previous week turned out to be invaluable in planning what's needed to set the mast up; it was only then that we realised how much work was needed to fit the collar to the deck that made this mast different (but much better) than the original. It's all nail biting stuff but we're optimistic that the she will be in the water by the end of the week.
The new floor and a couple of coats of varnish has transformed the interior from a building
site into something altogether more civilised. II'm really pleased we did take the floor out and refurbish it as that was the only way it was going to become really solid again. There's no dodgy give now when you stand on it and it looks really smart and appropriate for her age, shiny but with a few imperfections to give the "patina of age". I'm equally pleased with the varnish work which has now sealed the woodwork and put an end to all that dust from the sanding. The two pot varnish has been a great success as it meant that it was possible to put four coats on over the weekend. The saloon is now starting to look warm and inviting; hopefully the surface will be really hard wearing too. The only disappointment was the main bulkhead where some marks are left from the various bits and pieces that had been tacked onto it over the years. We'd sanded it as far as we dared go but there is a limit, we didn't want to go through the veneer, so we'll just have to find something to fit on it and cover it up!
There's change in the air, thank goodness the cold spell has been broken and we've had a bit of sunshine for a change. The boatyard has become much busier as everyone who didn't get their boat in the water for Easter scrabbles around to finish off the antifouling whilst they can. Last Saturday the riddle of the mooring at Langston was solved; in the autumn all the boats suddenly disappeared, why? Driving past it all became clear, the owners club together to get a crane for a day and have a hauling fest; suddenly it's a hive of activity and they're all back in the water.
On Lively Lady it's been a bit of a slog to get all the systems installed but now there are real signs of progress which is just as well as time is slipping away so quickly. The Hydronic heater is now installed neatly in the engine bay and just about up and running apart from a few problems with air in the pipework. It's just like a home central heating system really with two fan assisted radiators (like car heaters) from Kurunda installed, one in the saloon and one in the forepeak. They're both connected to the tiny eberspacher heater unit using car heater hose and a gazzilion jubilee clips. You can just see one of the blowers on the right under the port bunk all boxed in so that the air gets sucked in from the saloon ducted to the blower, nicely warmed up and out again. Can't wait for a chilly evening out on an anchorage to try it out for real!
This is also where the domestic pressurised water pump, the accumulator to smooth out the flow and the piping for the tank has now been re-instated. It's been a bit of a faf to find sensible places to locate and fit everything in but this arrangement seems to work alright. As the water tank has osmosis which will taint the water we've installed two filters under the galley, one standard one and a ridiculously expensive one that's apparently guaranteed to take the taint out of the water. The remainder of the installation is in the forward end of the sail locker where the little calorifier (the blue hot water tank in the photo on the right) sits at the bottom surrounded by pipework and ancillaries. I can't get over how many jubilee clips were needed, we're now over 100, I always seemed to be at the ABC chandlery next door to get more. At least there are plenty of drain and venting points which should help long term, hope they don't leak!
The other systems that have taken an age to install are the electrics. All the heavy current and charging equipment is now installed so the switch panel is live which was cause for celebration. On the left you can see the new battery boxes for the starting and domestic batteries, the 110 amp/hr battery here is paralleled up with another in the forepeak which should give us plenty of capacity. It's all industrial strength, fused and switchable to avoid any problems later on; hopefully this will all just stay under the covers and never need to see the light of day. Next it's finishing off the low current wiring from the panel and the NMEA network; the end is in sight!
The change of the seasons has been really noticeable, especially as the evenings are now so much longer. The geese seem to have noticed too, they were around in huge numbers a little while ago but have now left for the summer. It was quite difficult to concentrate on one day when there must have been a thousand or more geese feeding on some unfortunate farmers land adjacent to the yard. In desperation he set off a maroon to scare them away; it made a mighty crack and sent them all up in the air, at least for a while, an amazing sight!
