Friday, April 22, 2005

The Boat is Ready

Today saw the completion of all the major jobs to make ‘Bumper’ ready for her summer cruise. If the Boatyard is as good as their word, she should be craned into the River Crouch at a time between two hours either side of high water on Monday, 25th April.

The team who operate the crane have it all worked out, since they use the crane most days when the tide is suitable - that’s because a fair number of boats are taken in and out for racing.

All that remains for me to do is to put some extra gear aboard, but that will probably have to wait until the boat is on the water, because the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday is for heavy rain.

I just hope everything goes smoothly on Monday as I’m looking forward to being there when the boat is launched. It’s always good practice to check for leaks immediately after launching - especially the newly serviced seacocks. They look OK to me, but I can’t give them the thumbs up until they have been tested.

It’ll be good to sail the boat most days next week to check everything thoroughly. One item I particulary want to test is the new stowage system for the second anchor, which is in a compartment under the cockpit. Another item to try is the computer navigation consol. I also want to test the pneumatic floatation bags for the Seahopper dinghy. These are designed to keep the dinghy buoyant and afloat in rough conditions, but they also act as fenders.

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