Winter jobs!

There's nothing like a jobs list to get one motivated for the coming season. We began by taking Grebe outside and rigging her, using the manual that had helpfully been passed on to us.

It's lovely to be able to move a smaller boat around by hand, and we had a very enjoyable day fiddling with Grebe, and adding to the list...

We found that, although she has two jibs, she is not in fact rigged as a Cutter. She has a larger jib, pictured, and a storm jib, the tack of which attaches to the bow.

Spars

These all needed varnishing, with the mast needing to go back to bare in quite a few patches. The other spars and tiller were all in good condition and needed just a few coats.

Before removing the several fittings from the boom, I shot a short video in which I identified them, only to discover I'd taken a video of my lunch from inside my pocket!

We have tried other varnishes, but came back to Epifanes, which is long-lasting, flexible, looks beautiful and, unfortunately, takes 24 hours between coats!

Here are the finished tiller and bowsprit...

Seating and deck

The seating and deck had previously been finished to a very high standard by the previous owners, using Deks Olje D1, which we have used before. We found that there was a nasty yellow patch where a damp rag had been left underneath the tie-down strap.

I emailed the helpful people at Olwatrol, who make this lovely product, and was advised that the best thing to do would be to remove all the existing D1 in this area and re-apply.

Deks Olje D1 - results of damp rag left under tie-down strap

We were concerned that the new D1 might not blend in properly with the previous, but we need not have worried, as it looked really good.

Photo to follow....

Marine sealant

The transom is constructed of two layers of Iroko (or similar), screwed together, with a black flexible sealant at the join. Some of the sealant had disappeared at the top of the join, so I scraped away the old sealant with a sharp edge, then applied masking tape either side of the join

Next I applied our sealant of choice - 3M 4200 FC (FC is for Fast Cure), which we've used with success for deck fittings on the Cape Cutter we had beforehand. The tape was recommended to me by a friend who repairs boats for a living, and has saved me countless headaches and sticky fingers!

Sealant applied and one piece of tape removed

Removing the tape was done immediately, as I've discovered that if I leave the sealant to set, the stuff on the top of the tape tears the sealant away from the join.

And here's the finished result...

Gelcoat Repair

There were a few spots where the gelcoat had been damaged, such as...

We obtained the RAL number for the hull colour from Martin Dooley of Character Boats, the original manufacturer (it's colour 6005, if you're interested!). East Coast Fibreglass supplied an excellent kit with the gelcoat, activating agent, acetone, sanding paper, release film, polishing compound, polish, cloths and instructions. How could I possibly go wrong?

I started by cleaning out the damaged areas with acetone, then mixed the coloured gelcoat with the activator....

The respirator mask is one that prevents vapours from affecting me; I couldn't smell a thing!

I applied the mixed gelcoat to the damaged area, leaving it a little proud, then put release film on top of it, which stops the mixture sagging.....

After leaving the release film on overnight, I took it off to reveal....

It didn't look to pretty to start with, but after sanding it down with ever finer grades, then polishing compound, and finally polish...

She looked much better!

Boat Name

We finally added vinyl lettering from http://www.funkymonkeyboatnames.co.uk  The kit and instructions were foolproof, even for me...

...and all was finished!

A new boat, a new start

Grebe the Lune Pilot P58

This is a blog about a beautiful 14ft 6” Lune Pilot that we bought in January 2018. My father and I have sailed together since I was a baby, in all sorts of boats from a Silhouette and Mirror to a Vancouver 27, with a host of Drascombes.

We most recently enjoyed having a Cape Cutter 19, which we sailed at Kielder in Northumberland, England, with excursions to the Netherlands and Falmouth.

Unfortunately, it is a known fact that a) masts become heavier every year, and b) trying to varnish outdoors in Northumberland during what we call 'Spring' can be a challenge.

We felt it was time to look for something we could keep in the garage and enjoy day sailing together.

So, why a Lune Pilot?

We wanted a boat that would be stable and seaworthy, with the ability to undertake estuary sailing. We wanted to be able to potter with her during 'off' season in the garage. This restricted the length to around 15 feet or so. We drew up a short list, and did quite a lot of internet-based research, as well as talking to sailing friends.

We heard that the Lune Pilot sails a bit like a yacht, with its heavy displacement and long keel. One came up for sale that looked ideal for us.

Here she is, being sailed by her previous owners in Coniston....

Our first project was to tidy the garage, no mean feat. We cleared a space which should allow us to move around the boat. Now we await the new boat with baited breath and will no doubt end up taking the classic ‘rigged outside the house’ photo, followed by a long, long list of jobs to do!