What a wonderful life

lanason

lanason

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Malvern, Worcs
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Yesterday I hired a 7.5 tonne lorry and went down to Milford Haven to fetch Kelisha.

Bit of a false start when I got to the Hire place in Worcester the lorry had the "pin" missing from the tow hitch. After trying for a bout 3/4hr to get one out from another lorry - I went to Cheltenham dept to get another one.
After getting stuck on the A40 because of an accident the trip went great.

On the way back i stopped for a "Little Chef" whcih was just what I wanted, as I sat looking out the window the sun was shinning, Kelisha was bathed in sunlight, Star Trek was on the TV above the counter. Just ben made redundant and found a new job paying more in a few weeks. I start on Tuesday

Does life get better than this ???






Adrian

I got a new Job !!!!!!
 
Great News on the job front

Well done. Pleased for you.

So you unscrew this, and put it safely here, then oopps...
All - IMHO, BTW, FWIW and NWGOI
 
Re: What a wonderful life - FOLLOW UP

When i got back I tried to reverse the Boat back onto the drive but the outfit was too long as with road outside is quite narrow and the lorry long..

So a mate who is a farmer came down with his massive tractor and popped her back in no problem. So Kelisha is now safe and sound, so with Boat, Caravan and three cars the drive is now full !!!!

Off to make a phone call to get a BSC done on her .. so I can use her on the river .... can't wait.....

Adrian

I got a new Job !!!!!!
 
Re: What a wonderful life - FOLLOW UP

Hi Adrian
Would you let me know how you get on with the BSC == as Iam in the same boat?
Mike
All the best.
 
Re: What a wonderful life - FOLLOW UP

Yep - It booked for a week tomorrow. The guy is coming to my house to do it. all the reports I've had suggest that the Fairlines were one of the most "professionally" constructed. Things like separate Gas locker with high sides and an external drain for any loose gas to escape outside.

Still we will see .................

Adrian

I got a new Job !!!!!!
 
Re: What a wonderful life - FOLLOW UP

Adrian

I am also in the same boat and would also like to know the ins and outs of the BSC when it done.

Congratualtions on the job aswell

Ultrarep
 
Glad to hear that you have found a new job; congratulations.

I picked up the new Antares 760 (Arctic Fox) in Anglesey last Wednesday and sailed her back to Preston. Getting into locks with other boats made me glad I spent the extra £2.5k on a bow thruster, just saves so many engine movements when wanting to go sideways with a single screw.

We had the opening of the Ribble Link Navigation last weekend (and glorious weather too!), seems hard to believe that it is now open. After 18 years raising the £6M it is going to be quite boring now.

The only grey spot in the weeks boating was that the C-Map cartridge from Polar Fox does not fit the Raytheon Chartplotter, so the trip back was leave Puffin Island steer 070 till I saw the Douglas Platform, then 080 till the Hamilton Platform, then 050 till the Lennox Platform and finally 040 till I could see Blackpool Tower. I know that if I had taken all my charts and Waypoint Table I could have programmed the Ribble Waypoint straight into the GPS, but there is only so much that one can carry to new boat when getting a lift in friend's car. So now I have to spend another £233 to duplicate my Irish Sea charts with a Navionics Cartridge.

Learned one lesson on the way home though, as it was a bit choppy decided to anchor off the Ribble whilst waiting for the tide and catch a few mackerel, which I did no problem. However, as I was single handed , and the meagre 12m of chain that Beneteau supply was near end (I had left the last metre on the gypsy to make it easy to recover), the chain jumped the gypsy on a big wave and ran onto the rope. Not having anyone to take the helm whilst motoring ahead to take the weight and get the chain back on the windlass, I tried to DIY but in the potentially finger amputating transition from capstan to gypsy managed to nick the warp, cutting one strand and next wave .....twang .....there goes £250 worth of anchor and chain.

So, from now on, no single handed anchoring! Anyway, it was a glorious weekend and I still have all ten fingers, so maybe someone will learn from my folly and save an anchor.

I know where it is, so if it is calmish on Friday I have a friend to come out with me whilst I try and hook it and then I will have the unenviable task of making a very quick dive to get a rope on the anchor. The last time I dived the Irish Sea was about 15 years ago, reserved diving for warmer climes ever since. But for £250 it is worth risking a 5 minute dive in 8metres, even though I had sworn that I would never dive in the UK again, the fact that I only have thin tropical wetsuits will no doubt reinforce that.

Just a normal weekend's boating really. What would make it perfect would be if someone came along wanting to buy Polar Fox especially now that I have brought the price down.

I now have 20 hours on my shiny new TAMD 41, and I am still well pleased with it, no doubt others will bring me down to earth.


Chris


www.impact-computers.net/boat/cruiser.htm
 
Got a new job and sitting in the sun. Couldn't have had better news. Realy pleased for you.
Say hello to all the clan for me.

Chris

What do you mean the sea gull in front's walking !!!
 
Chris,

Dunno hjow big your boat is or how heavy your anchor, guess if you need a windlass my suggestion wont work but look at my post on the anchoring etiquette thread.

BB

SSHG - Soltron Self Help Group. Member number 1.
 
Anchoring

BB,

Arctic Fox is 27ft overall and about 3 tonnes. The bottom line is that it was too rough to anchor and hope to get it back single handed, just have to admit it was my own stupid fault. The anchor was a 12 kg Danforth with 12m of 8mm chain.

The holding ground off the mouth of the Ribble is exceptionally good, soft silt and anchors bury really quickly. If it is flat calm it is not a problem to break it out, also with two people it will break out in choppier seas if you run ahead up tide right over the top and take up the slack as you run ahead. But on my own it was stupid to try and do this manoeuvre single handed especially as I have not fitted the autopilot yet, which may have given me a fighting chance if the boat's head had remained in approximately the correct direction when I put her into gear ahead and tried to take up on the windlass.

I suppose that we can all make rash and ill advised decisions on the spur of the moment and repent at leisure. If someone else learns from my lesson, then all is not lost.

Chris


www.impact-computers.net/boat/cruiser.htm
 
Re: Anchoring

Chris,

I like the attitude of sharing mistakes to help others learn. I should be a genius by now if we learn form our mistakes....

I was on a committee boat for Hamble River winter series last year, a fishing boat, the guy had a really big round fender on the foredeck with a shackle bout 5 inches round, he put the shackle round the anchor line and chucked over board, then motored in a circle around the anchor pulling further outwards till the bouyancy of the fender pulled up the anchor and the anchor hooked upside down into the shackle, then he pull it on board, clever eh?



SSHG - Soltron Self Help Group. Member number 1.
 
Re: Anchoring

BB,

All I need now is a really big round fender and somewhere to keep it. I think the initial plan will be to get about 25m of chain which should save me a lot of problems.

Got the Sport Pilot out of the attic this evening, if I can resist the temptation to go boating too much in the next few days I may even have it fitted by the weekend, it is amazing how much I've missed it this last week. Never really realised that I use it almost all the time normally.

I cannot believe that I have not had any words of wisdom from Haydn, is he off boating? I'd have thought he'd have grabbed the opportunity to confirm my folly.


Chris

www.impact-computers.net/boat/cruiser.htm
 
Re: Anchoring

Oh. I am taking in every word, but just speachless!! You are doing and enjoying all the things I used to do. When up in gods country! Now down in Cornwall. Well it's a long drive but after that.????????? Dont mistake it though. There is plenty of crap down there. But you dont have to read every book and look at ever changing tide tables. The P35 goes through everything you chuck at it, even if just a bit slower. Then the sun comes out eventually. Not sulk for a fortnight like in Lankshire.

I have just the same problem with anchor. About 20 metres of chain, then drop onto rope, which is a pain to get up. So no matter what depth just drop chain till big red line appears. This is because noboddy ever counts little red lines! Must admit though. twenty metres of chain is a good handbrake in most things. It aint moved yet!!!

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn
 
Re: God\'s country

I'll let you into a little secret Haydn, I was born and brought up in Plympton,used to go fishing in the Barbican as a lad before they put that lock across the piers and started out as an apprentice raggie racing a fireball in Saltash passage under the bridges, and sometimes out in the Sound.

As a poor student I could not afford engines or diesel, so I did have an excuse for being a temproary raggie. Later I moved to Hampshire and saw real boats.

Now with need to be near main airport it just makes sense to continue living in Lancs and 40 minutes from Manchester Airport which I have the dubious pleasure of using every month.

Just hope it is too rough to go looking for my anchor on Friday......then I won't have to go diving and freeze my thingies off....but will still preserve honour by saying it was too rough.

I still get to Plymouth every couple of months as mother still lives there, though sadly in April she had to go into a home.

Chris

www.impact-computers.net/boat/cruiser.htm
 
Re: Closet Raggy.

Oh. I to am a closet raggy. Used to own a National Osprey. Bought it so the two short people and the dog could fit in it. This was of course before I learned that it was quite a fast boat!!

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn
 
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