I spent time measuring up, thinking and planing. Most decisions were easy but not the issue of whether to change to a roller furling headsail or not. The arguments for are all based on convenience and safety and the arguments against based on sailing efficiency, particularly when going to windward in a type of boat not famous for its pointing abilities.
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| Antal Winch Size W6 |
I went to the London Boat Show with the mentor who had guided and helped me through the renovation of my GP14. The main objectives were a new engine and to source material suitable for the cushions in the cabin.
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| The old cushion covers, rusty cooker and broken portaloo |
The boat came with an engine and the cushions had recently been covered by the previous owner and his mum. My logic for the changes were:
I wanted an engine I knew I could rely on, one that had more power and a four stroke instead of a two stroke so that fueling it would be more straight forward.
The new engine came in the form of a Honda 5 that had the benefit of being able to charge the battery. I had a prospective buyer for the old engine, which would offset the cost, as did the boat show price which was £110 off.
I could have used the logic of not having an engine at all, Pardey style, or to stick with the one I already had. But I believe that it is prudent to be able to avoid or extract yourself from a problem situation rather than cause others to help, which could involve them taking risks. I had researched where I would be able to keep the boat in the summer months at a reasonable cost and Exmouth, on the South coast, looked like a good compromise between expense and travelling time. Given the size of the Alacrity beating out to sea to gain sea room if conditions got bad may not be the preferable course of action. In fact it was likely that I would always be relatively close to the shore with all of the hazards that involves. I would not have the luxury of time if the wind died and I did not want to get flushed up or down the South coast in the wrong direction in the tidal streams associated with the Channel.
As for the cushions, they were pleasant enough but I wanted them to be pleasant and waterproof. I did not want to imagine what the existing ones would be like when wet clothing yet alone a wet dog had been in the cabin for any length of time.
I found the material I wanted but surprisingly this took a lot of time and effort and was the only material of its type I found in the whole show. The sample was on the stand of an upholstery maker, whose presence was clearly to get orders for furnishing superyachts. After finding that the boat I was talking about was not the tender for something superior the staff left me alone. I found what I wanted and they gave me a sample in the hope I would go away and stop making their stand look untidy.
I took all my sails to the person who had cared for my GP14 dingy sails. He used to be a sail maker but now produced exhibition stands and the like but still did some sail repairs. He put all the sails in good order and added a second reefing point in the main. By happy coincidence he came into the free possession of some nearly new sails via a widow who was looking for a good home for her husband's things while I was there. From these he cut me a new genoa. He also sourced the suppliers of the material I wanted for the covers and made them up for me.
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| Unfortunately I don't have a record of the type of material used for the cushion covers |
After the winter had passed and I was able to get on the boat without chipping the ice off, nothing compared to what was to come but I did not know that yet, I found that I did not have the time to work on it for all the personal and work reasons discussed in a previous post, only more so. I don't wish to bore you with this personal stuff other than to illustrate that working on the boat was not a realistic option. I had a boat and all this stuff sensibly researched and bought at reasonable prices, at an unreasonable time. My sons had even bought me a new VHF arial and windex but it, me and the boat were going nowhere; then I had a brainwave.
The shipwright who had mentored be through the refurbishment of my GP14 was semi retired; would he be able to have the boat at his home and work on her there for a suitable payment? The answer was yes and as I watched her being towed to his home I thought my problems, as far as refurbishing the boat was concerned, were over. I was wrong.
