Preparing the Boat

The pre purchase survey revealed that there is quite a lot to do on the boat. To begin with, the moisture in the hull is priority one, well together with the new issue emerging on the trip up from La Manga, that the boat has a leak, and is taking in water.

We know what is required for drying the hull. Below the waterline, the hull needs to be peeled all the way down to the fiberglass, the blisters must be removed, and the boat must dry until the level of moisture is satisfying low. Then the layers of primer and finally antifouling are reapplied. When buying the boat we requested a quote from a yard for doing this work, and then we used that when negotiating the price. This means, that instead of using the entire summer on this, the yard has already started the work, and there should be a good chance of us going sailing in the summer.

I have been at the boat a couple of times, as there are other issues to deal with:

• VHF is not working
• GPS is not working
• Compass is not working
• Manual bilge pump is working, but can break any time.
• We need to install holding tank for the toilet, as we are not allowed to empty the toilet directly into the sea within 12 nautical miles of the shore.

These are all required for safety reasons or legal requirements, so they must be solved before sailing anywhere. We are not sure where to sail to this summer, but there will be a separate post for these considerations later..

An advantage of being at the boat is to keep an eye on the work being done on the boat by the yard, and talk to the person who has been assigned the work. Currently, most of the time the boat is just drying, and only needs a fresh water shower to rinse away acid from the hull due to the moisture.

There are quite a few bank holidays in Denmark, of which almost none exist in Spain. This means I can be at the boat while everything is open, and which makes it easier to achieve good progress on the work. When the boat was in La Manga, there was not a good chandlery close by. Here in Torrevieja, there is a good one 100 meters away, which is perfect.

At the time I write this, the VHF is working again, the GPS has been exchanged to a new. Measurements for exchanging the compass are done, and the installation of the holding tank is well on its way. We bought the holding tank in Denmark, bringing it down in a suitcase, and stuffed with clothes. The bilge pumpt has been changed to a new as well, so we are able to pump any water out of we should get in a situation where this is required.

At home, June has repaired the Bimini so we can use it a few more years. We need to get shade during the summer. She also made new pillowcases for the cockpit cushions – a very good job she has done on these.

All in all things are going as planned, even though there are plenty to do until we come back to the boat for the summer vacation.

It is now late spring, and in this climate the drying of the hull goes fast. This means the primer and antifouling is back on, and the boat is ready to relaunch..