I put in a few hours hard yakka giving Little Dragon a general spruce up. Thanks are due to Savaad who dropped round and tightened the nuts on all the deck fittings - a task that could only be done by someone able to crawl into a very small space. Then I reckoned I was ready for a new sailing season. But I hadn't counted on a series of "happenings" on my season-opening sail at Harwood. My sincere thanks to both Peter Barnes (who never charges) and my insurance company APIA - without whom I would certainly have had to shell out more thousands.
When I was towing Little Dragon down the Pacific Highway to Harwood I felt her start to wobble. It turned out that the starboard skid had broken off. It is hard to see how it happened but it did. Luckily no serious damage to the boat. One can't just go and buy a new skid. It has to be custom made out of hardwood, covered in carpet and fixed in place with the correct brackets. Peter you are a saint!
Peter then decided that while he was working on my trailer he should even up my rollers, some of which needed raising or lowering. More effort.
That led onto my jockey wheel. I hate my jockey wheel and it urgently needs replacement. Peter said "no worries, easy". He suggested I purchase an Ezi-Walker model. I was delighted to find one in a Father's Day sale. I should have known. It is never easy. Peter put it on and it was seriously defective so off it came. Next I purchased a 10" swing leg jockey wheel to replace my old 6" one. Peter had to fabricate little plastic blocks as the U bolts didn't quite fit my trailer. Job done, but no - the new jockey wheel wouldn't go low enough to fit onto my tow ball. So Peter had to put the old one back on again while I work out what to do. I have tried to buy a Hayman Reese adjustable height tow tongue (I am learning new jargon all the time) on E Bay but now find that they are only made with 5o mm shanks and I only have a 40 mm one. Still thinking...
Next Peter almost dismantled my outboard engine. The problem was that despite the recent service it wouldn't lock down when in neutral. Unfortunately even Peter was defeated - it seems to be a flaw in my the design of my 5 hp 2 stroke Mercury.
In the meantime I have been going through the tiresome process of an insurance claim for the vital repairs to the hull. Now the boat is with the shipwright and just the repainting remains to be done. The shipwright has just rung to say that 2 pack is no longer made in Fire Red but only in Rochelle and heaven alone knows what colour that is...
Perhaps I should own up to the last minor drama on my season-opening sail. I got the forestay caught beneath the mast base and it was seriously kinked when I lifted the mast. OK - a bit of new stainless wire is quite cheap but I drove all the way to Ballina (28 km away) and found the Bolt Barn closed for some damn annual horse race. I returned the next day. They were open but said they hadn't got and wouldn't order the Ronstan toggle ends. The nearest place to buy them is Whitworths which is in Southport one and a half hours drive away. I have organised for these little bits to be mailed to me then it will be back to Ballina to have them swaged on.
Rob has pointed out to me that I really should cover the battery terminals to prevent a possible accident. When I was on Intention in Fiji Jim showed me neat little plastic terminal covers specially designed for that job which he buys in the USA. More internet research and I managed to track some down at Ballina Bearings. But (quite predictably) they are designed to fit round terminal leads that are different to mine. Maybe it can be modified. Thinking...
Next week I plan to replace my 27 meg radio with a VHF one. Another "simple job" - well may be...
I wish that Byron Bay had a chandlers, but I knew when I moved here that it is a surfing not yachting centre.
It would be far better if I had trained as a fitter and turner like Peter. My legal training is of no use at all. He can do almost everything himself in his well equipped workshop.
