Tense Times Ahead....

Last Saturday the toilet was removed to enable us to dig out the old silicone in the toilet recess and replace with new. 
Whilst the toilet was off the boat the opportunity was taken to strip, clean and service it ready for next season. The inlet pipe was replaced so that all the pipework on the waste system has now been replaced for new.

On Friday Peter took both outdrives down to I.V.S.S Marine in Sandwich, Kent for overhaul.  The owner showed Peter around his workshops, and he was very impressed with the workmanship of some completed refurbished drives and overhauled engines.  Our outdrives will be going for shot blasting later this coming week after they have had an initial inspection to make sure the gears etc are ok...it is uncommon, but it was the owners duty to advise us that if the gears were chipped then this would add a considerable amount onto the repair bill.  Hopefully the gears will be ok, but we are now prepared for the worst should the situation arise.  The timescale quoted would be 4 to 5 weeks.
He did state that they had been repaired before, but reassembled very badly with items such as spacers on the steering swivels missing. However he did also suggest that this was most probably where our recent overheating issues lay, as air can be drawn into the swivel when the boat is planing as it is no longer submerged. Tense times lay ahead until he rings us this week with the verdict....

Legless

On Friday Moonshine was pulled out of the water for her annual winter maintenance programme.

 

We have also removed both outdrives, which are to be overhauled, leaving Moonshine 'legless'.  We have been putting this off for the last two years due to the cost, but Peter hopes to take these down to I.V.S.S Marine in Kent next Friday.  This will be an expensive job but one that is well overdue and will be very worthwhile and cost effective in the long term, and will be as good as new once fully refurbished. 

 

A few weeks ago on our final cruise of the year we discovered the Raymarine C80 MFD chart plotter screen had decided to start playing up. After checking the dash connections the unit was taken home and dismantled and after a quick check of the ribbon tape connections to the screen (which has been known to play up on this type of plotter) were made secure, and  since the unit is well out of warranty it was a risk worth taking. Luckily after refitting the chart plotter it is still working, but if it decides to play up again it may be on a return ticket to Raymarine to be fixed.

Winding Down

Over the last few weeks we have been winding down our boating activities, and taking home any unnecessary items in anticipation for Moonshine's winter lift out i.e. dingy, outboard, generator, bbq and large ball fenders, along with a good clear out of the food and wine cupboard which was also undertaken. The new lifejackets and tv remotes are also going home to a nice warm dry environment...every little helps as they say, and we hope Moonshine will be a tad lighter for her winter hard standing period.  We have also replaced during the week the engine lubricating oil and filters so that the engines are stood with fresh new oil over the winter.
On Saturday lunch we ventured up to the moorings at Sykehouse Lift Bridge to give Moonshine her last run prior to lifting out in the next few weeks, and after a very cold and frosty start we enjoyed a pleasant run with the sun coming out gracing us with her presence.
The Raymarine C80 MFD chart plotter screen decided to start playing up whilst underway, after a quick check of the connections there was still no joy but miraculously the screen decided to function fully on our return back to our mooring. However airing on the side of caution we have removed the unit from the dash and will delve inside to make sure there isn't a loose connection such as the tape ribbon connection to the screen which has been known to play up on this type of plotter, and since the unit is well out of warranty we can investigate further when we have time. Annoying as this is it could have been in the middle of the boating season when we needed it most. 

 

After our main holidays the old stainless steel holding tank was cut away and removed as this had become porous and had started weeping.  We decided a much smaller tank would be better suited, so after a lot of measuring and further investigation we decide on a 110 litre Vetus nylon tank. This particular tank can be used for a variety of purposes i.e. drinking water, diesel and in our case waste water. 

  

 

We took the opportunity to create a storage rack, which can hold 4x 25 litre diesel containers. This sits above the new tank, which is straddled by a wooden frame which supports the rack and holds the tank securely in place.
 

The Wema level sender unit from the old tank had failed, so we sourced a new (old stock) Osculati level indicator panel and sender for considerably less than a Wema sender unit alone. The only problem we encountered was the loom was about 4 meters too short so a new loom was made.
 

Finally, on checking the log, we have worked out Moonshine has logged  a very respectable 1401.8 nautical miles this year....only 23 NM less than last year.

The Call

Rather frustratingly last week we had been awaiting a call confirming Moonshine's month long incarceration was at an end and that repairs had been completed.  Unfortunately, this wasn't received until the latter end of the week, which in turn had spoilt our plans to have the half term week away after being promised she would be ready for our holiday at the start of the week. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and discovered Kildale Marine had not yet completed the additional wiring required for the new anchor winch, so we left them to it and was finally free to board Moonshine at 4pm. We had been itching all week to get away on her, however we would rather the job be done properly, and it did allow us to complete a few involved jobs on the house namely replacing two upstairs windows, but once these were completed we had been sat twiddling our thumbs some what unable to make any firm plans.

 

On the Friday pm tide we departed Hull Marina for a few hours downstream for sea trials to test the new anchor winch, and anchor and roller set up.  The new winch has a combination gypsy which can deal with chain and rope, which handles the job very well and is very powerful. The new winch is also incredibly quiet in operation, unlike the old one.  We anchored off Brickyard Chimney upstream of North Kilingholme. 

 

 

 

After a successful winch trial we had a speedy return back to Hull Marina, and penned in with another sports cruiser. 

 

The outdoor amphitheater in the old Ruscador dry dock also known as Central dry dock next to the River Hull has recently been completed ready for Hull City of Culture 2017.

 

 

 

We departed Hull on the late pm tide on Saturday to return to our home port of Goole.  We had a very calm fast run back until Blacktoft, where we reported in to Goole Docks and were told there would be a bit of a wait whilst they despatched two outward ships. At this point we slowed down to displacement speed and trickled up to Goole, where at this stage we had just a short wait whilst 'Vastanvik' had enough water to set sail.  Once through Ocean Lock and South Dock Bridge Moonshine's mast was raised to get benefit from the remote spotlight to assist entry into our mooring at Goole Boathouse. 

Forget Me...Not!!!!

We had started to forget we owned a boat, but since we have only been parted company for the last 2 weeks which in practice feels like an eternity, we decided to have a run to Hull in the car to check on Moonshine's progress.

She is coming along nicely, with most of the fibre glass work completed.  The winch has been partially fitted, however the fitters are unsure at the moment as to whether the existing cabling is up to the job as the new winch has 200w more power.  A new bow roller has been fabricated ready for fitting (the fitters had ordered a replacement Lewmar bow roller but considered it far too flimsy, hence the new fabrication which looks fantastic!), and the new Lewmar anchor is ready and waiting on the workshop floor to be fitted.   Moonshine's names on her bow are being removed to accommodate her new names port and starboard to replace her damaged ones.

We are hoping she is ready to be relaunched by the end of this week for a week away during the half term holidays, however this may be scuppered if the repairs over run or we need to approach our insurance company due to any additional costs....fingers crossed....

Dropping Off

On Sunday morning we awoke to a bright and chilly start, which was in stark contrast to the previous mornings fog. We enjoyed a good uneventful run to Hull Marina in a NW3, as Moonshine is booked in to undergo repairs to the damage a Dutch yacht caused to her anchor and winch whilst moored in Brighton Marina back in August.

Moonshine is provisionally booked in for repairs for the next three weeks, hopefully she will be ready for our week away at the end of the month.

Bargain

Whilst browsing the internet earlier on in the week, we came across a genuine listing for a Volvo Penta Triangular Pennant 49cm x 20cm at a price of £2.50.  The listing stated "Unused Surplus stock item - new in plastic bags - have been in storage and may have musty smell".  These were definitely worth the risk of purchasing since they are very difficult and can be expensive to get hold of, so we ordered 2 as they appeared to be a bargain!.  They were delivered the other day and are as good as new, however we shall wait for the spring time to fly it, the additional one we shall save as a spare.

Pulling Teeth

The last three weeks have passed quickly with little time to spend aboard Moonshine, with work commitments along with university open days to attend for Laura our weekends have been very busy.

We have had a few projects on the go during this time, new toilet curtains have been made. The old curtains were starting to look very tired and were mildew stained, and after much deliberation we have settled on replacing them for shower curtain material so time will tell with this as to how these fair.
The stainless steel holding tank has also been removed as this was starting to corrode from the inside and had started to weep. The large tank is positioned vertically to the side of the port engine and was obviously installed prior to the engines going in at build stage. Due to the confined space to work in to remove it, the tank had to be cut away a section at a time using a fine blade on the angle grinder.

The large base you can see in the above photo, had not corroded as this section always had (for want of a better word) liquid in due to not being able to be thoroughly emptied due to the location of the waste extraction pipes, this meant air could not get to this area to make corrosion worse.  We have cut away the central baffle to make a shallow tank, this will be used for a future project if we replace the rubbing rail. A few inches of water will be put in the tank and a gas burner placed below to make the hard PVC rubbing rail sections supple for the bends around the bow and quarters...there is method to our madness most of the time!
In the mean time holding tank wise, we are going to replace this with a smaller Vetus nylon tank which will after careful measuring fit in the space past the engines.

It has been just over six weeks since Moonshine suffered impact damage caused by a Dutch yacht whilst moored in Brighton Marina.  During this time we have sought estimates as instructed by our insurance company for repairs.  Finally, last week we got the go ahead to have the repair work done in Hull. This was after a bit of toing and froing and the insurance company requesting road transport estimates as the estimate from Eastbourne had come in £1,000 cheaper than the Hull estimate. Not to mention the lift on and off transport charges at either end, we couldn't quite fathom how this would make economic sense, and felt at times like we were 'pulling teeth'.
Moonshine is now booked in for her repair work to commence on 2nd October, allowing 3 full weeks before our autumn term holiday...fingers crossed.

The South Coast it ain't!

At the start of a four day bank holiday break (Friday to Monday) we departed Goole Docks with three other vessels of which were all bound for York and us for Grimsby.  The above photos are courtesy of a friend of ours taken from Ocean Lock. 

We had a very good run down to Grimsby on a westerly F3, however it did get a bit lumpy upon the aproach to the Humber Bridge.  It was quite busy with shipping off Immingham, and we had to alter our course to go around the stern of a freight ferry.  We took our usual route across the Burcom Flats from the Humber Power Intake Beacon to Novartis Beacon then into Grimsby Fish Docks, as it was shortly after high water there was plenty of depth to take this route. 

Upon arrival 'Crambeck' (Peter's dads Aquastar 33) had arrived half and hour before us. That morning he had come down from Scarborough, to make his way back to his mooring at South Yorkshire Boat Club. He had been as far as Hartlepool on his 2 week summer holiday, however the weather had beaten him for the 2nd year in a row in his attempt at making Amble, but to say both him and his crew member are well into their 70's and on a semi displacement boat they did do very well. 

When we undertook Moonshine's engine room checks upon arrival at Grimsby, we found the starboard alternator pulley had come loose, but had stayed on its shaft resulting in the spindle hole wearing and the belt chafing. When Peter reassembled it and put a new alternator belt on he discovered significant wobble on the pulley which could result in transmitting shock to the circulation pump, as it has been known to snap these shafts.  We therefore decided to take the alternator and belt off so as not to risk any more damage, and will rely on the port alternator to charge all the batteries on the return run back. 

We have ordered a new pulley from Keypart at around £21.00 incl delivery and will have to sort a new alternator during the week as there is wear on the shaft of what appears to be the original alternator.  

It was a beautiful end to Friday in Grimsby, and after a good nights sleep we awoke to a very mixed day on Saturday.  We thought the showers had abated after lunch, so ventured on foot into Cleethorpes via the river front and ended up getting drenched. A very wet evening ensued, the South Coast it ain't but whatever Grimsby can throw at us we still  love it!  On the plus side after checking our emails today we now have one estimate from a firm in Eastbourne for the damage caused to Moonshine whilst on holiday several weeks ago, so we can pass this onto our insurance company.  We just require another which we hope to receive this coming week from a firm in Hull to start moving forward...fingers crossed.

 

We had a decent run from Grimsby to Hull on Sunday afternoon on a westerly F4. Upon arrival on the visitor pontoon we were told the shore power was playing up, most probably to do with someone having a faulty installation, this appeared to soon resolve itself only to go off again on Monday.  Upon arrival we met up with a couple on the same pontoon who remembered us from Wells next the Sea two years ago, along with a Birchwood 370 Commando which was also at Wells that same year, and three other South Yorkshire Boat Club boats.  

 

On Bank Holiday Monday we called the lock at Hull Marina at 3pm and got swift service penning us out. Blowing a westerly F4 it was quite choppy in places, and heading into the sun we had to be vigilant as there were lots of debris floating which was very difficult to see.  We planed to Old Goole where we had a short wait for Ocean Lock to be lowered off in our favour.  We planned it nicely to be at Goole an hour and a half before high water before any inward ships arrived. We made very good time from departing Hull Marina Lock to standing off at Goole in a respectable 1 hour and 3 minutes. After the usual engine room checks and shutting Moonshine down, we heard over the vhf the South Yorkshire Boat Club boats arrive off Goole as they had left Hull on the following pen after us. We believe they had to wait whilst the 'M.V. Paper Moon' penned in, and they would still have another 2 hours up the canal back to their base in Heck Basin, something we certainly do not miss at all when we arrive back on a later tide. 

We have been caught on camera again by a friend on the Humber Shipping Movements Facebook group, a few more rare photos to add to our collection of Moonshine under way.

After a great weekend with mixed weather and Moonshine running very well apart from the alternator falling off, we are now looking forward to our next trip out, but with work and family commitments coming into play this may not be for a fair few weeks....

Feeling Frustrated!

In order to progress with the claim for the impact damage a Dutch yacht inflicted on Moonshine whilst moored in Brighton Marina a few weeks ago, we are required by our insurance company to obtain two estimates for repairs. This is easier said than done in the north east....

We have sought estimates from firms in Eastbourne and Hull Marina over the past few weeks, neither of which have been forthcoming as of yet. At the moment we are feeling rather frustrated by the slow progression of things, and through no fault of our own we are in limbo until then. We just want the damage rectified as quickly as possible, with the anchor 100% safe and readily deployable, but at the moment it feels like getting 'blood out of a stone'!

Winging It Back Home

Day 13.  Ramsgate

It has been very gusty these past few days stuck in Ramsgate. Being moored on the end of the visitors pontoon just within the mouth of the harbour entrance wasn't the best decision made, as at high tide the incoming swell bounced Moonshine all over the place snagging her lines tight persistently and seesawing her back and forth until low tide... Until today that is, as the wind has now changed direction.

We took the opportunity today to drop the dingy (as we are moored stern to) to enable us to take more photos of the impact damage to send to our insurance company.  A return email was then compiled and sent to them with a statement of fact, along with the third party details and 26 photos which all had to be compressed prior to being sent as we could only attach a limit of 15mb to the email. 

On our evening walk with the dogs we spotted Timothy and Shane Spall's boat Princess Matilda, a celebrity in her own right from the tv documentary Somewhere at Sea, nestled within the inner dock. 

Day 14.  Ramsgate to Suffolk Yacht Harbour (River Orwell)

Today we had a small weather window in which to cross the Thames Estuary.  We left it until mid afternoon to depart Ramsgate as the winds were forecast to ease until early evening before breezing up again for the next few days in the south east.  Upon departing Ramsgate we were surprised that there was a ground swell running from the north east, however this soon eased once past North Foreland.  Once in the Thames Estuary we headed north to the Outer  Fisherman, then cut through Fisherman's Gat, and along the Black Deep to North East Gunfleet, then the Cork Sand Yacht Beacon, before heading west into Harwich using the recommended yacht track keeping out of the deep water channel.  We had to give way at the mouth of the River Stour to let a coaster depart and let the ferry 'Capucine' enter for Parkeston Quay.  We had a steady run up the River Orwell against the ebb tide to Suffolk Yacht Harbour logging 50.8 nautical miles within 3 hrs 4 mins.

Day 15.  Suffolk Yacht Harbour to Lowestoft

Today we departed Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the River Orwell bound for Lowestoft.  The sea was fairly smooth until Orfordness, but then gradually got worse the further north we went.  A large swell rolling in from the N.E, with short sharp seas on top which made for a very confused sea state off Lowestoft.  We still managed to plane all the way at sea, only reducing speed slightly 7miles off Lowestoft in a vain attempt at giving us a smoother ride.  Suffice to say hind sight is a wonderful thing and we would not have set off today had we known what the sea state was like...moderate seas are not nice at all!  We did walk the dogs along the sea wall 2 hours later, and the swell appeared to have died down significantly with very little chop and the wind had eased and gone south.  We have logged another 46.7 nautical miles in the space of 45 minutes in the River Orwell at displacement speed and 2 hours at sea. 

Safely tucked into Hamilton Dock for a few days, the winds are forecast to blow from the west over the next few days which we hope will smooth the sea for our last sea leg home. 

Day 16-18.  Lowestoft

We spent three uneventful days here in Lowestoft in the Hamilton Dock waiting for the winds to die down whilst recovering from the pasting we endured the other day.  The Hamilton Dock is a friendly but busy little place, and a good alternative to the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk across the way when it is their regatta week as it is very busy in there with all the racing yachts...plus we didn't want to risk another bump as things can get a bit chaotic in there.

Day 19.  Lowestoft to Hull

We departed Lowestoft on calm seas, however the seas did become a bit lumpy off the Norfolk coast and crossing The Wash.  We had been meticulously monitoring the weather leading upto today's departure, and with a very light    f 3-4 N.E breeze forecast and with a maximum wave height off The Wash being 0.6 metres but calming off to 0.2 metres just off Skegness upon checking  http://wavenet.cefas.co.uk/Map  we knew we wouldn't have the pasting we had endured the other day.  Logging 113 nautical miles in just under 5 and a half hours the pressure is now off and we are now back on home turf at long last.

Day 20.  Hull to Goole

Our final day! Got another estimate for the damage a Dutch yacht inflicted on Moonshine in Brighton, before catching the afternoon tide back to Goole.  On passage we spotted a Birchwood 370 Commando high and dry on Read's Island, it's going to have to wait a few days until it floats off.  Logged another 22.0 nautical miles making a total of 615.5 nautical miles covered during this trip, with Moonshine performing well throughout.  Skipper and Crew are all packed ready for home, and Moonshine can now have a well earned rest for the next few weeks.

South Coast. Taking a severe beating in more ways than one!

Day 6.  Eastbourne to Brighton Marina

 

Having observed the unfavourable weather conditions forecast for the next few days, it was decided to make the short 23 nautical mile hop to Brighton Marina. This Marina is on a massive scale, with lots of shops, cafes, bars, restaurants etc on the complex, quite a good place to be weather bound for a few days. 

Day 6-9.  Brighton Marina
 

We spent the next 4 days weather bound and taking a severe beating from the wind on the reception pontoon at Brighton Marina. More like winter gales, the wind was that bad on our first evening here we had to secure Moonshine with additional ropes.

The wind continued in its strength and did not abate until late Thursday evening (day 9).
 

We have, over the last 12 months, been toying with the idea of replacing our XM Quickfit life jackets. Whilst weather bound at Brighton and having plenty of time to kill, we decide to not put this off any longer and have invested at £70 each in the Seago Active 190 life jacket. An additional re-arming kit was also purchased to keep in stock. These new life jackets feel a bit lighter in weight around the neck area and have twin crutch straps. These will be put to the test on the return trip home. Incidentally, upon checking the older lifejackets it appears that the CO2 cylinder in my old life jacket has worked loose again, this only goes to show how wise it is to check each time it is worn. 

 

Also on Thursday evening calamity struck at 21.00 hours. A 37ft Dutch yacht was attempting to leave the berth immediately in front of us, with the prevailing wind blowing it back onto the pontoon.  After several attempts at departing, said yacht heavily collided with our bow with such force that it bent the bow roller to port, bent the anchor and damaged fibreglass where the bow roller had been forced into the toe rail as well as some hull scratches. The Dutch yacht snapped two stanchions clean off and bent all his push pit rail in (it was this that inflicted most damage to us).  As per Premier Marinas rules Peter reported the incident to the Marina staff, who have logged this and taken photos. A phone call will be made tomorrow (Friday day 10) to our insurance company. 

 

Day 10.  Brighton Marina to Eastbourne

The wind had shown no sign of abating until Thursday evening. All week whilst holed up at Brighton Marina we had been itching to take on more fuel, but thought it unwise due to the strength of the wind. The decison to leave this until the wind died down has obviously been compounded with the events from the previous evening.  After ensuring Moonshine was anchor ready for going to sea on Friday morning we awoke early and ventured around to the self service fuel berth to take on bunkers in anticipation to start our return journey home. We had following seas to Beachy Head after the previous few days blow from the south west, but it was lovely and calm once we turned the corner into Pevensey Bay logging 21.5 nautical miles.  

 

Once in the Marina at Eastborne we called the insurance company who took a statement and requested two estimates for repair to include any moorings/fuel costs etc. Since the incident happened in a marina we have no excess to pay in this instance. Whilst at Sovereign Harbour we enquired at a local marine engineer/fibreglass specialist for an estimate. We have been advised that we need a new anchor winch, anchor, retaining pin, bow roller, fibreglass repairs, polishing to the port light surround and new ships name to port and starboard bow to match, also the rubbing strake has been damaged.  We were further advised that we have been extremely lucky as the deck rails have not been damaged, as these are very costly and time consuming and very difficult to get the contours right if damaged!

We met up with a yachtsman who is based in Newhaven at Sovereign Harbour whom we had previously met at Brighton Marina. He remembered us as Peter had assisted him departing Brighton Marina on our pontoon with the prevailing wind blowing him back on, and was grateful for the help. In conversation we told him what had happened to us after he had departed, he was fuming as he stated that the marina is now becoming a wind tunnel due to the high rise flats at the western end of the Marina, so much so that throughout this past week at checking wind speeds on the internet you could possibly have added another 10mph onto those values, as they bore no resemblance to the actual wind speeds within the marina. 

Day 11.  Eastbourne to Ramsgate

We departed Sovereign Harbour for the 10am pen half an hour ahead of our planned schedule. Entry to and from the marina is via twin locks that operate on the hour and half hour, and vessels can be safely moored on the floating pontoons either side.  Pevensey Bay was lovely and calm, however off Dungeness the fresh SW breeze had got up, and due to the fact that we were running ahead of our planned schedule it was wind over tide which made the seas very choppy.  We made Ramsgate in 2 hours 50 minutes after logging 61.7 nautical miles. 

A bit closer to home, we plan on staying here for 2 nights as the wind has yet again been forecast to get up strong tomorrow.

Day 12.  Ramsgate

Spent a day in Ramsgate today as the wind was blowing fresh from the SW, which wouldn't make it a pleasant experience crossing the Thames Estuary as we will be well out to sea.  Got some bbq food from the shops and had our first bbq this holiday on the Weber.   

Not sure if we will leave tomorrow at this stage but in reality we only need 2 good days at sea to get back to Grimsby, but hopefully it will calm down enough for an enjoyable trip back next week.