B.O.A.T – Bring Out Another Thousand

We have been in Falmouth for nearly three months – hard to believe, considering it has been raining for most of that time!   My amazing sister, Bea, and brother-in-law, Andy, have welcomed us into their home and we have become one very happy family living together while respecting each other’s space and needs.   For me, at least, this has been a special time for me to be able to re-connect with my UK family while we work hard on the long list of jobs we need to finish on Cerulean.

The boat has been out of the water since mid-October and in that time she has been stripped of everything that made her a home as well as almost everything that made her a boat!   We took everything – and I mean everything – off and out of the boat, including the old engine!   If it could be carried, lifted or unscrewed and removed, it was.   We stored most things in Bea and Andy’s garage and what wasn’t needed any more, we sold or threw out.   The old engine was sold and shipped to it’s new home in Scotland along with many spares, manuals and fittings that will not be needed on the new engine.    We took our sails to be cleaned and serviced at SKB, a nearby sail loft who we had already contracted to make us a new sprayhood and main sail bag, called a stackpack.   After lots of deliberation we are changing the colour of our canvas from beige to blue as it will hide the dirt better!   The team at SKB were fantastic and agreed for us to be present when they inspected and assessed our sails so we could learn more about sail repair and future maintenance.   We took five sails to the loft and discovered that three were past their use-by date, meaning the material was starting to disintegrate and stitching was becoming compromised due to UV and age.   We had not anticipated getting new sails immediately, but had expected to replace them before crossing the Atlantic in 12 months.   New sails were added to our shopping list.

The wooden grating on the floor of our cockpit had slowly fallen apart over the summer and needed to be replaced.   We received a toe curling quote from the boatyard to have one custom made.  I went in search of a local carpenter who quoted a much more acceptable price.  We added a new grate to our shopping list.

Our new engine arrived in the same week as the old engine was removed and we immediately started cleaning the bilges to get rid of years of grease and oil build up.   Gary, who removed the old engine, announced it was the dirtiest engine and space he had ever worked in – not a great badge of honour for us to wear and I vowed I would never let it get that dirty again, particularly after spending four days cleaning the engine space until it gleamed!   Due to a communication breakdown somewhere along the lines, the new engine had to be returned as our boat runs a 24V system and the one we were sent was for a 12V system only.  This led to a delay in the new engine being installed – not a major issue as we have plenty of time up our sleeve – but does mean we have to live with a mess in the main cabin, making moving around the boat difficult when trying to do other jobs.   A new engine is already on the shopping list.

Continuous rain meant our attempt to remove, clean and re-bed all the through deck fittings, was strung out over a period of about a week.   Our daily bike rides from Bea and Andy’s to the boat were getting wetter and less enjoyable for me, in particular, and I often suggested Steve take the journey on his own while I found other work to do at the house.   During these short days I made a missing cushion for the forward berth which meant the two berths can now be made into one big double.   I also made fitted sheets for our oddly shaped bed which will mean making the bed will be much easier.   I sewed a hanging toolbag for the back of the passage berth door so the regularly used tools can be kept in one place, and started sewing flags for the many countries we hope to visit next year.   In addition I started making covers for our fenders to protect them from UV damage and the boat from grease and dirt.   Sewing things were put on the shopping list.

Andy is a marine electrical engineer and he designed a new battery management system for us.   It will be essential for us to be able to keep the batteries topped up and generate enough power to drive all the electrical items on the boat, including lights, navigation equipment and fridge.  New solar panels, battery charger and battery monitors are in the shopping list.

In early December, the riggers came and removed our mast.  In addition to checking all the rigging, the mast needed some attention.  The survey we had done while purchasing the boat, found several points of corrosion and chaffing on the mast and these repairs could only be undertaken with the mast down.  We were also getting a lot of water entering the boat from the side of the mast and this needed to be addressed as it was impossible to keep the boat completely dry.   Once the mast was removed we were able to clean under the mast itself, an area that had become choked up with all sorts of dirt and grime.   A new mast collar, new halyards and replacement cleats are on the shopping list.

A small break in the weather meant we could finish rebedding the stanchions (poles) that held our safety lines in place.  The safety lines are like the fencing that surrounds the outside of the boat and are an essential barrier between you and the ocean when moving around the boat.   Twenty years ago, when Cerulean was built, it was thought that a plastic coating over the top of wire was a good way to prevent corrosion and help avoid chaffing as well as making the wire more comfortable to hold.  However, it is now considered bad practice to have a coating on the wire as it is hard to see whether the wire is rusty or breaking thereby making it unsafe and possible to fail when you need it most.   We started to remove the plastic coating and found many broken threads.   New safety wires are on the shopping list.

A few months ago I made contact with Peter Snow, the first owner of Cerulean who had the boat commissioned and built in 1994.  Peter has provided us with lots of valuable information, including providing us with the name and contact details of the original boat builder who still lives in Falmouth.   I was very excited to be able to get hold of Phil and talk to him about Cerulean, obviously stirring up some very happy memories of his time building our beautiful boat.   Sadly, lockdown meant we were not able to meet up immediately, but we arranged to do so in the New Year and, as Phil was still working as a boat builder, we discussed the possibility of him coming to do some work on the boat helping us reseal the windows and hatches which seem to be leaking.  We are going to attempt to do one on our own and see how easy it is!

As you can tell, we have been busy and have a lot of work, and expense, ahead of us.  While some of these jobs and expense could be delayed, we have decided to press ahead.  We have a long journey ahead of us and we consider it important to have a safe, seaworthy and reliable boat, regardless of the expense at this stage – we consider it worth it!

When we’re not on the boat we are making the most of being in a beautiful part of the country.  We are extremely lucky to be in Falmouth, not just because of it’s beauty and history, but also because there are lower Covid cases here than any other parts of the UK.   Life for us has continued pretty much as normal during the lockdown.   Apart from cafes, pubs and restaurants being closed we were still able to work on the boat and buy the necessary tools and equipment to keep forging ahead. 

Now it is a few days to Christmas.  We celebrated early with Bea and Andy before they left for Northern Ireland to spend time with their daughter, Fay and her beautiful family.  We have been left in charge of the house and chickens for a week and will have a quiet Christmas together, just the two of us.  

As 2020 comes to an end and we reflect on the last year, we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have been able to continue with our adventure in spite of the lockdowns and restrictions.  Our hope is that things improve in 2021 and restrictions are lifted so we can start our journey back to NZ in the New Year.  In the meantime, we are continuing to improve and prepare ourselves and Cerulean and look forward to getting her back in the water in March.