After
a fallow period I finally feel as though I might have something to
write about. We seem to have spent the last 6 or so weeks being swept
by wind and rain with Hannah pinned to the jetty as 40 knots or so
came blasting across the river knocking us over. The winds, mostly
out of the SW or S tend to hit us on the beam and despite weight and
draft we could feel the boat leaning heavily on the jetty. As we're
tied up on the outside we tend to act as a breakwater for all those
tied up downwind of us, few of which have anyone living aboard.
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| The next marina down from us.... |
One
evening at the height of the spring tides, with the shipping forecast
giving out Storm Force 10 conditions just about everywhere, the
pontoons floated to within 40cms of the top of the piling. As the
wind was out of the south we might reasonably expect it to limit the
amount of water that could ebb out of the river so that the next
incoming tide would have more water to build onto. The 40cms we had
the night before could easily be swamped and we 'd find ourselves
tied to a jetty that had floated free. Didn't happen of course but I
spent some time considering what our actions might be. Particularly
as we had drained the engine of oil and water prior to removing
it....
Aah
the engine! It exists. We change the oil and filters but by no
stretch of the imagination could we be described as engine friendly
people. Anyway with 5100 hours on the clock it needed some work doing
on it. The first step was to get it out of the boat. Previously we
hoiked it up through the companionway hatch using the boom (braced),
a chain hoist and muscle power. With a fixed doghouse that wasn't an
option anymore so Bee patiently removed the sealant we had used to
make the base of the skylight watertight and then we set about
gathering materials to make the hoist possible.
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| Almost clear, the stains are from a burst water hose I think |
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| Safely up. |
Easy enough in a
boatyard and before long we had a couple of towers, a willing helper(Andy)
and away we went. It went smoother that we thought helped, in part,
by the removal of the gearbox, alternator, starter motor etc to both
lighten the load and make it as small as possible.
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| About to start the run across the planks and onto the flat bed. The skylight sits on the garage. |
We dragged it
across the boat, over the capping rail and onto a flat bed trolley
where we left it until the following morning when high water and
daylight would make the job of getting it up the ramp easier.
We
looked at rebuild versus new and though very tempted with the rebuild
(cheaper) the cost eventually would have been 60% of a new engine and
that really didn't make economical sense. Particularly as dealers are
offering deals at this time of the year on new engines. Although we
considered several we were limited in choice by what would actually
fit in the space available and we soon found that most were longer
than the engine bed permitted so a Yanmar it was then. It arrives at
the end of the month giving us time to clean the beds and the engine
area. The Ford should go to its new home this week so things are
working out.
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| Awaiting a new owner |
Southampton