Finally, some painting!

Had a really good weekend on YM. It makes such a difference having her just 10 minutes away, and it's really nice to be able to check up on here every few days during the week too.

Saturday was pretty miserable, not too much rain, but it was pretty damp and the clouds threatened to open pretty much all day. I found a fantastic shipwright called Yin who came over to take a look. It was a great reality check and she's given me tons to think about and a load of good advice. I've had to rethink my timings slightly - it's really not going to be possible to do any fibreglassing or roof work over the winter, it's just too damp. Instead I'm going to concentrate efforts on building a better covering, then getting the cockpit and decks up to scratch, and of course, doing whatever below deck I can in between.

Finally, on Sunday, after weeks of rubbish weather, we had a beautiful day - windy, but dry, and quite warm. All that praying to the weather gods paid off...and I got an early start and finally got a first coat of varnish on the two panels either side of the companion way.

It's made such a difference and given me a major boost. Sanding is so demoralising, but the intensive preparation has been all worth while: just one coat has made all the difference. The colour of the mahogany has really come through and I am so excited to see the rest of the cockpit in the same state.

I hate British weather

Spent a fustrating weekend on YM - mainly under canvas. It was raining almost constantly. But, I did get lots of sanding done, and the forward side of the cockpit is looking pretty good.

I've taken apart a few bits around the companion way, which means I can get some work done during the week at home. I'm taking the hatch cover, along with the washboards, rails, and some of the other carpentry bits to varnish in the dry.
Not done much below deck yet, but I have started planning the new layout.

Big day - Ylva's arrived!

Really exciting day - got up at about 5 and got ready. At the new yard for 6. Ylva arrived at 7.

Fast-forward an hour, and after lots of waiting around, the arrival of Matt and Jo (who brought breakfast and a sanity check), a few false starts, we finally managed to get the hoist right, and lift YM off the lorry. (It really wasn't designed for boats with keels, but never mind...)

Finally, after three hours of just dangling around, we got her propped up and settled in her home for the winter. And I started to breathe again. The last job of the day was to lift off the mast (which to my naive surprise is extremely heavy) from the deck. I rigged an ingenious (if I do say so) piece of engineering, and craned it down using the hoist.

Bag of nerves

I can’t sleep... tomorrow YM arrives from Mersea on a lorry. I’m excited, nervous and scared all at once. What if she falls off the lorry? What if the crane drops her? What if the hoist in the new yard isn't high enough? What if...

Boat jumble

What to do on a quiet, damp Sunday afternoon? Go to a boat jumble of course! It was well worth the trip. (And, to be honest, I'd recommend hanging around to the very end - the smaller vendors really are keen to do a deal, rather than packing everything back up and lugging it home again). I bought all of this for about £150:

• Brand new pair binoculars
• Portfolio of charts covering all of the west coast of France
• Assortment of electrical fittings: deck sockets, nav lights, steaming light, electrical rails, tons of wire
• A cool bilge pump switch (no moving parts)
• Loads of rope - including jib sheets and some really nice warps
• Paint brushes
• Detail sander (best bargain of the day, just £2)
• Big pack of sandpaper
• Fire extinguisher (£5!)
• Assortment of deck fittings, shackles, bolts, chain

I'm looking forward to the next one, 8th November in Havant. See you there.

A weekend sanding...

Just come back from a gorgeous hot weekend on Mersea - where I spent most of the time with my head stuck in YM's lockers, having a good poke about, that and getting busy with my new electric sander.

It's a shame she's so far away - I'm dying to get back on board to carry on working. She's coming down on a low-loader next week to a local yard for the winter, however, so I just need to be patient for a few days more.

So far, I've made a couple of small(ish) decisions.

1. I'm going to get rid of the gas stove and bottle (which aren't very safely fitted anyway) and replace it with a paraffin one.
2. Her topsides are currently white, but I've seen some photos online of a P-28 with blue topsides, and I love the colour and the way it looks with the wood. So she's going to have a repaint in navy blue.
3. I'm going to build a new chart table because there isn't a proper one at the moment and that will drive me mad

Apart from those odds and sods, the 'to do' list is looking good, but quite long. I have a busy winter ahead of me:

• Sand cockpit and coach-roof woodwork, and re varnish/seal.
• Remove windows and clean, maybe replace some perspex and reseal
• Fix, sand, varnish and seal forehatch
• Fix and re-fit cockpit locker lids
• Sand and oil toe rail
• Strip, sand, prime and paint deck
• Re-wire from scratch (pretty much)
• Paint topsides
• Anti-foul
• Service diesel
• Clean sails
• Clean cockpit cover and other bits
• Clean saloon/forepeak and get new cushions
• Build saloon table
• Fit VHF set
• Re-plank below

I think that's everything major, but inevitably I've missed something. Wow. What a list!

Great letter from a previous owner

In amongst Ylva's paperwork I found a folded, yellowed letter from one of her previous owners to another. It's a great letter and I hope no-one minds me posting it here (I've removed the names just in case).

Dear C,
Thank you for your letter. I am glad you are discovering Ylva Maid and enjoying her. Such a long letter. I thought it might have been a demand for money back!

I knew she was a good boat - but who's going to believe the sellers praise? To buy an old wooden boat, without too much previous experience, has got to be a gamble in the purchaser's mind, and I am sure you did a lot of worrying. Very pleased that she turned out well for you.

You also seem to have got it worked out with South Dock. My mooring is ideal at West Mersea, in many ways, but I can't just pop out for the evening for a sail - and a quick sail up to Tower Bridge and back is something to bring into your after dinner conversations.

T (my sailing friend) brought his wife J along a Sunday or two ago. There was enough wind to become interesting and T likes a bit of sailing "by ear". J was doing "a Sylvia" - a little bit quiet, up in the corner - for a while. I like a bit of "close hauled" myself but I usually reserve the "rail down on the water" bit for male company.

Our trip to Holland was grand. We had to attend T's son-in-law's birthday party on the Saturday evening ("had" as in - J said so), so we got off to a leisurely start by late Sunday morning. Tide was against us but there was wind and we were off.

Journey to Ijmuiden was some 130-140 miles. Took some 29 hours. Not brilliant but we had, divided into 1/3rds, - good wind - no wind - too much wind. The last being a 6 or so strong wind with heavy seas. The approach into Ijmuiden harbour was a bit hairy - sail out each side with the wind behind - straight in (about 11pm) trying to work out the harbour lights from some 2,000 other lights. (Ijmuiden is an oil depot or refinery).

We picked out the night lights several times until they suddenly got brighter and steamed out past us!

As usual, though, once we were in the harbour, plenty of room - plenty of time - no cause at all for the growing panic inside.

A good holiday around the Ijsselmeer most of it is down to 2 metres - we drew 5'6" but were so blaze after the first day or so that we hardly ever checked the echo sounder.

Return - about the same. Started soon after daylight - good wind - dropping for night (and awkward direction) so we motored for a few hours, not noticing that with the main down and the boat wallowing, the steel mailsail halliard had quietly taken itself over the cross trees (starboard) through the upper triangle and lodged itself around the radar reflector (on the port side).

Tried to free this with clever up and down lines when daylight came but the boat was wallowing too much - wasted an hour or two.

Had a spell with the spinnaker but then the slight wind dropped. Finally the sea was steadier and I tried another method (after much thought) with boat hook hoisted high but steadied by me with a lashed-on beaming out pole. It worked. Just as well, my pride would have been dented if we'd arrived at the mooring in that state!

Lesson learned - don't leave halliards etc slack - especially at night (when of course you don't notice them) - all sorts of nasty things happen.

Thank you for the book vouchers. There was that small matter of your ticket at Victoria, but that was only pennies? Getting the boat ready and other odds and ends was a pleasure - perhaps again mixed with a little pride. I know you bought her as you saw her, but I couldn't just take the money and depart. She'd been a good boat, and it was some 12 years.

However, I know it was the thought that mattered and thank you.

Motoring in reverse? Easy-peasy! First work out the plan of action. Check all around you (perhaps check a little further around you?) - Engage reverse. See what YM wants to do, and then motor backwards and forwards in sheer panic until one end or the other shows some sign of pointing in the right direction. Kid's stuff eh?

I think I did reasonably well in the Dutch marinas and harbours with Maverick - usually by trying to anticipate what she was going to and then endeavouring to use that to assist towards where I wanted to go. No use trying to impose one's will and - most important - softly, softly - straight faced - allow a slight smile of satisfaction when we've arrived - "what I had in mind all the time".

I suggested to T, approaching one little confined marina - that he might like to have a go. We motored in gently - gear into neutral - glided up towards the visitors pontoon - spoke to the "Guvnor" without coming to a halt - were waved straight on to a berth some 20 yards dead ahead - just enough way on her to make it and stop - what a jammy b----r!

Finally - I knew I should find the engine manuals some time!

Thanks again for your enjoyable letter.

Regards to S.

Good sailing to you both.

B