The bunks on Blue Mistress are narrow. Being a relatively small boat this is natural. The problem is, I am used to wider beds at home and tend to turn over expansively. In the boat, that would mean landing on the cabin sole.
refit
An image from Crete
Refit, Kissamos/Kastelli, n-w Crete.
(posted via my mobile)
Folksong: the answer – a plank of wood
I had spent the afternoon kneeling on the cabin sole, cleaning first the bilge then the lockers and getting frustrated because every time I tried to put something down, it either fell into the bilge, or into the open locker. I wished for a working surface to put tools on and to hammer/screw/cut on, one that would be easy to manage in a relatively restricted space. Too wide and it would be difficult to stow, too narrow and I wouldn’t be able to attach a vice, too short and it wouldn’t fit across the cockpit/cabin sole.
Folksong: below decks
If this is your yacht – or a similar size to yours, then you need read no further as this is a short post about the space below deck in a small boat with no standing headroom. This post is for Folksong owners and anyone interested in small boats. I would welcome feedback and tips. Feel free to use and improve any ideas you find helpful here.
Shakedown sail – in the way, bodies learn then need to relearn.
We were away at the weekend so yesterday, belatedly, was my first sail of the year. There were a couple of problems, so, while it’s still fresh in my mind, here’s a short description for Folksong owners and anyone else who might be interested. If, by my not keeping quiet about my mistakes, it sounds as if I have no pride, you’d be wrong, I have lots of pride, but as I get older I find I can take it or leave it . . .
Coming alive
Yesterday I experienced what everyone who has ever owned a boat must feel – that moment when the elaborate and expensive shed you have spent the winter accessing via a wobbly metal ladder reenters the water and comes alive. Continue reading
Ready to go back in the water
Blue Mistress is due for relaunch this morning – complete with a new teak rubbing strake.
Brush strokes – good enough – sometimes
Blue Mistress is slowly coming together.
Because we won’t be back in the water before Easter, I have had time to tackle the planned jobs and some unplanned ones as well – like painting the floors of the quarter berths.
I now know why I avoided this for so long. It meant forcing my 42 inch chest five feet down two 38 inch holes – cleaning, sanding and then one, two, three coats – shoulders hunched, arms outstretched, pushing an open paint-pot before me, having to work out how to use my right hand accurately and then how to worm my way backwards without touching the fresh paint.
Winter refit 4/4 – new hatch fitted – lifelines rethink
The new hatch (Gebo Houdini replacement hatch) and ventilator (EC Smith Tannoy Ventilite) were fitted yesterday.
3/4 Winter refit – the list builds: electrics – safety
Just before we lifted the boat, I noticed the cockpit speaker was cracked. I don’t remember doing it but I must have kicked it in a frenzied moment. Worse, it had become loose in it’s fitting – alarming because water could get in and the fuse box etc is located perilously close inside. It had been fastened with four very short screws. Continue reading
Beyond Steeple Point 