4th August

Just a quickie.  Been watching the weather for the next adventure.  Done all the repairs and mods and ready for the next test.  I want to test Nuts in a bit more wind than the last sail.  There has been a big high pressure system over the Azores for several days with light winds. 

 Tropical storm Dexter is going to pass to the North of Faial in a few days so I am planning to head North West for a few days to get some influence and a bit of wind to see if all is well.  

Planning to leave Wednesday midday to be at sea for 5ish days.  Will take provisions for 20 days just in case.  (which means 30 days)

Will update blog tomorrow with pics of repairs and modifications.  

Got to find some good books to read!

 25 th July

Some news at last.

I decided to set off on a 400nm sail the same as all entrants in the SAC within the rules of the adventure.  I have purchased a Starlink Mini which I would like to use for weather and Orca tracking for the trip to mainland Portugal so I can not use that voyage as a qualifying sail.  Also I thought it was a good idea to spend some time at sea to learn the boat and what modifications I would like to make before leaving home base. (and my workshop).

Another thing I wanted to test was myself.  I did many transatlantic voyages of which some were single handed but that was many many years ago and I wanted to find out if I still had what it takes in the mental and physical field and did I really want to go ahead with this adventure.  Better to find out sooner than later.  There is no maybe - it is yes or no.

I decided that the sooner the better.  After an afternoon maiden sail with a reasonable breeze so I could check the reefing system, the home brew selfsteering vane, and a few beats and runs I decided the best thing was to go for it.  I knew the boat is built like a tank and was sure it could not sink or fall to pieces.

I stocked up with 40l of water and enough food for 3 weeks and plenty of tools and spare bits.

 Day 1

Departed Horta Marina midday on Thursday 17th July.  The weather forecast was for NW becoming N then going NE winds 10 to 12 kts. My planned route was to leave Sao Jorge, Terceira and Sao Miguel to starboard and return to Horta Faial.  Doing a route on Navionics made it 401nm in nice straight lines.  

The wind was at least 12kts and decided to put a reef in the main.  The wind vane is happier when sailing more upright and balanced.  There were gusts going over 15kts to start.  I could lay the west point of Sao Jorge with a bit to spare for most of the beat there but when I got within maybe 4 miles from the point the wind headed me and I had to tack upwind.  What was interesting is there was another yacht -Belgian flag running downwind close towards  me.  After passing me they dropped their running pole and beat after me to ask what kind of boat Nuts was.  They had heard of the 5.8 and thought I was one.  I educated them as to the roots.  I got around Sao Jorge as the sun was setting but could not free off the sheets as the wind kept heading me.  I could lay Terceira though.

Rounding Sao Jorge and sunset a little later.

Had very smooth and relaxing sail towards Terceira Island with wind vane working very well.  Still beating but wind slowly dropped and had full mainsail.  I kept heading as high as I could to give lots of searoom to the island.  Got lots of sleep and read my book.

Day 2

Wind had eased off and speed dropped but spent the day creeping up to the north of Terceira Island and after a nice evening rounding with a cocktail and peanuts watching the world go by I was blasted by a big sperm whale spouting maybe 50m away.  It did big breaths for a bit then arched its back and put its tail up and disappeared.  The wind picked up overnight and finally aft of the beam.

Day 3

Got some trade wind type weather with wind and waves behind on the way to the east end of Sao Miguel.

Fast fun sailing.  The wind picked up  to about 12kts apparent.  I put a reef in to help the wind vane.  Later I put a second reef in for the same reason as the wind picked up a bit more but was going between 5 and 6kts with  a surf every now and then.  The wind vane was working like a champion.  I experimented with the transom tabs and it was much more stable with both tabs down.  Very relaxed - was a big mistake.  I was down below and a wave slapped the side aft and filled the cockpit and sent some buckets of water inside. It took ages to clean out all the water and dry things.  There was not a lot but it got into the lockers under the bunk on the port side as well as my food lockers above the bunk.  Just enough to make things wet.  Big lesson learned.  When wind and waves aft of the beam keep the lower washboard (at least) in position even if things seem fine.

As I approached the turning point on the east of Sao Miguel the water depth went from over 1000m to 70m deep in a very short distance as well as the wind acceleration around the point made the waves very steep with lots more wind. I had 2 reefs in the main and was surfing every second wave without touching the tiller.  The wind vane was working overtime and it was a good test for my heart (and the vane).  After I spun out for the second time I dropped the mainsail and everything went calm and was still doing over 6kts.  Another lesson learned.  Dont be a hero.  Just reduce sail and chill.  

Once around the corner and in the lee I got some good sleep in calm water and fading wind.

Day 4

Spent the whole day trying to move in no wind.  I had phone signal so could check Windy Weather.  There was a high pressure that had moved directly over me but other than that it was useless.  It was hot and sunny and was getting sunburned.  I spent as much time inside as possible to escape the sun but with the non existent wind we were moving too slowly for the trimtab to be effective.  I was resting inside when there was a bang and went out to discover that the windvane had been damaged.  The rudder had been pushed over to 90 degrees and that pulled on the connecting rod to the vane and broke the mounting off.

Had to scratch through what I had on board and this is what I came up with-

Gave it overnight for the sikaflex to cure and it worked like new the next day.  (1 more thing on the job list).  I didnt loose any distance as was not moving anyway.

Day 5

Spent the previous night and today tying to get into little ruffles on the mirror sea to move westwards -ish.  One thing about the Setka design is that if you have 1knot of wind it will start to move.  I finally managed to wiggle my way to Ponta Delgada where there is a gap in the mountains and got moving again.  Close reaching at 4kts in flat calm seas was a pleasure.  It went calm for a while at sundowner time as there is another high patch of land just before the west end of Sao Miguel Island.  Managed to get through the calm area and  into  maybe 8kts of north wind for the night.  Nice sleep with happy windvane.

Day 6

In open sea again away from islands and wind slowly fading away.  Had plenty water so had good wash.  First salt water using Johnsons Baby Shampoo as that lathers in salt water for hair and body and then a salt water rinse off and finally a fresh water rinse off to get rid of the salt.  If careful can get away with only 500ml of fresh water.  It makes you feel really good for at least a few hours before you start sweating all over again.

Saw lots of dolphins on the way to Pico.

Had a dolphin very interested in the rudder tab combination and followed 1m behind Nuts for a long time just looking. Unfortunately no camera handy.

As I got closer to Pico the wind disappeared completely.  Jib down, tiller lashed and main sheeted tight and a good sleep.  Ais on watch!!  Did have a ship pass close.  My alarm went balistic till I switched it off.  A tanker with 60m beam - that is 12 Setkas bow to stern sideways on that ship!!! 340m length.  What was interesting though is I was monitoring them from 20nm away and was thinking about calling them on VHF to alert them that I could not move but noticed the COG (course over ground) was changing and they had altered course to pass 2 miles behind me.  As soon as they were past they resumed their original course.  Good seamanship.

Very nice sunset

There was a green flash but difficult to capture.

Day 7

This day was a struggle.  Sea like a mirror with tiny patches of ripples which indicated some slight windy patches. I spent lots of time trying to tack or gybe to aim for a patch of breeze.  Was kept company by dolphins from time to time but could not persuade them to push me in the right direction.  I eventually wiggled my way to the west of Pico where the forecast NE winds showed up and suddenly Nuts came alive.  Well NE winds ended up more N to NNW which was where I wanted to go so a brisk beat with a couple of tacks to get up the channel to Horta

The last tack into home port at 9pm 24th July.

This is a screen shot from my Garmin Inreach Explorer App

Did 789km (426nm)

So what did I learn.............

My body is not as young as it used to be.  Nuts is a very lively box of tricks.  It does not sit still.  Moving about inside when moving fast in waves needs to be planned. You need to be able to do squats from very low down.  Pouring boiling water into a coffee mug or your dehydrated meal has to be planned and done carefully to avoid burns.  The best place to sleep is on the floor.  When calm you can sleep on the leeward side to help the set of the sails.  Forget sleeping to windward when there is a lot of wind.  Have lots of hand holds inside and near the companionway.  Always clip on your harness when the wind is above 5kts.  Keep a lower wash board in the companionway at all times when wind and waves aft of the beam even if it seems dry. A Windex always points to where you want to go.

Other things I discovered.

I still love sailing.  50w of solar is plenty for a Setka.  AIS is a marvel. Navigation on a tablet is so easy it is cheating.  Garmin Inreach Mini 2 is a must and works very well.  Our homemade dehydrated meals are just fine (tested meals made in February)

Job list before next excursion.

Fix wind vane and strengthen.  Now I know it works - make a spares package and a single lead weight.

Fit hand holds on each side of companionway inside.

Look at putting flaps on cockpit drains as got water entering cockpit from breaking waves hitting transom

Fit tiller extension.

Some kind of towel holders near galley.

Fit catches on bunk locker lids to keep them closed when upside down

Connect second VHF antennae 

Cant wait for heading off again.  I have rediscovered my love of sailing. ( even though my body is getting a bit bashed up)

 23rd July

Ian has still not made it back yet.  The wind has been very light to non-existent.  We have been out of contact , apart from Garmin messages, for 2 days but this morning he was close enough to Pico to get a mobile phone signal.  

Pico on the horizon early this morning

Over the course of the day he has done about 12 nautical miles, and what wind there is, is coming from the west so he can't even steer a direct route for home.  He says it's been extremely hot.  But he is eating well, and getting enough sleep although in these very light winds the wind vane does not work well and he has had to do a lot of hand steering to try to reach the small patches of ripples where there is a little more breeze.  When he's had enough of sitting at the tiller in the sun he lashes the helm amidships and goes for a snooze.  

Yesterday a huge tanker passed quite close to Nuts.  He saw it heading his way, was wondering if he should call on the VHF to inform that he was becalmed, when he noticed the tanker changing course to pass about 2 miles astern of him,  He has also seen a lot more dolphins and a hammerhead shark.

The weather forecast is for the wind to pick up a little early tomorrow so hopefully he will get back tomorrow.

 20th July

It has been cooler yesterday and today with quite a bit of cloud cover.  He saw a whale surface 3 times, and a pod of dolphins cavorted around him while he was having breakfast. Yesterday the wind picked up and he made good time, reaching 6 to 7 knots.  The downside is that the sea also picked up and one wave slapped against the side of the hull, dumped into the cockpit and down the hatch so he had some bailing out to do.  

But he had tough night.  He was close to the coast, the wind died and he had lots of ships all around him.  And something on his self steering broke so he had to helm all the time unless he could get the boat balanced to sail unaided.  He didn't get any sleep last night.  At about 7.00 in the morning he furled the sails and went to sleep.  He drifted south a bit, east a lot, north and then south again for an hour an and a half before he woke.

Today he is going along the south coast of Sao Miguel, there is a bit more wind and lots of sport fishing boats and whale/dolphin watching tourism boats.  At one stage a lot of dolphin watchers were heading in his direction and the dolphins were too.  They surfaced all around him and he was surrounded by the whale watchers.

He has manufactured a "jury rig" for this self steering and pumped it full sika flex which he hopes will hold till he gets home.

The break

The fix

But the wind is really light, to non existent.  Tonight he is going around in circles waiting for the wind to fill in

 18th July

I spoke to Ian a couple of times today when he was in range of a cell phone antenna. Santa has brought him all the presents on his list.  Except, his arse is bigger than his poo bucket so balancing in a bouncy boat on a small receptacle is challenging to say the least. The wind is very light, he is moving at only 4 or 5 kms/hr, at this rate it will take him 10 days to get home. It is really hot and sunny, and no shade so he stays inside the cabin most of the time.  He is already burnt to frazzle just from working at the marina on the boat for the last few days so he is trying to avoid the sun. But the upside is that the battery is fully charged by the solar panels.  Tomorrow the wind should pick up a little and he might even get some rain to cool him down .

One very interesting thing is that, yesterday evening, a Belgian yacht sailed past while he was beating towards the north tip of Sao Jorge,.  They were going down wind but turned and beat back to him just to ask "is this a Setka 5.8"?  He explained it is the Setka 5.0.  He was amazed that in our far flung corner of the world a passing yacht knew exactly what a Setka is.  Kudos to Janusz.

 17 July, 2025

Mrs Nuts reporting in on Ian's behalf.

At midday today he left Horta to complete a 400 nautical mile non-stop sailing trip, a requirement to take part in the Setka Atlantic Challenge.

The wind was light when he left and he had to beat out of the harbour.

4 hours later he was half way between Faial and Sao Jorge on a close reach

As he approached the island the wind veered and he had a hard beat to clear the northern tip.

But by sunset he was able to ease the sheets and enjoy a glorious sunset

He is as happy as child on Christmas morning and thoroughly enjoying the experience of sailing on his Setka.

 15th July

Been a bit busy with stuff and neglected updating the blog.  Camera been in hiding but things have been happening.  Mast got put up with the help of Graeme just before his departure to Captain a Mega Monster Motor Yacht - 86m I think.  Had big party for his farewell on Saturday to wish him well.

Nuts ventured out on Sunday afternoon  for her maiden sail.  Wind was light to start -6 to 8kts - and it went like a rocket.  I have a hand held wind speed meter and was doing 4kts in 8kts apparent wind speed on close reach. Smooth like silk and super well balanced.

My home brew wind vane on a trimtab worked very well from a reach to upwind but lacked power going down wind.  Vane too small I think - but that is what all the tests are about.  Also adding a bit more feedback for next test.  I have now made 3 different pushrod systems to achieve different feedback levels.

Wind picked up to 14kts later in the afternoon and I tested my single line reefing system.   It took maybe 10 seconds to put a reef in and worked much better than expected.  Nuts didnt slow down and just sailed a bit more upright .

Decided that the best place to sleep will be the floor.  Being a small boat it is very sensitive to where I put my weight but was surprised at how little spray on deck and how quick to accelerate.  Being a hard chine boat though there were some very loud bangs when in choppy waters and the waves slapped the hull.  Just a big dinghy! - and slightly more comfortable than an Optimist.

Next mission is to do a 400nm sail to qualify for the Setka Atlantic Challenge.  

Nuts loaded up with 3 weeks food and water and planning to leave on Thursday some time.  Im very confident in Nuts - just got to see if I can handle it.  I was pretty knackered after just one afternoon sail but I think that most of that was the built up stress and worry of getting it all going.  I cant wait to get offshore and chill.

Going live on Garmin tracker on Thursday so if you are interested in following the voyage the link to follow is - http://share.garmin.com/MJEXV

Cheers

8th July

Did nothing today (well almost).  Decided to take a break from the frustrations and worry of the delayed transport promises etc.  In the Azores 10am tomorrow actually means sometime in the near future - maybe.

Well - Nuts is floating in the marina.

Going back in time - 

Getting loaded at home.  Then offloading in marina park.  Trailer with keel was delivered a few days before. 

Then it was time to lift onto the keel for sticking the whole catastrophe together.

All got aligned up well and bolted together.

Keel and rudder fitted and touching up antifouling around keel join.

Thanks to my buddy Clive for supplying a tow to the crane at Clube Naval da Horta.

Had to wait till after 2pm for crane driver.  He was not available in the morning as hoped.

Waiting

Got slings into position and went for lunch.

Crane driver arrived and hooked up.

Only just enough height on the crane for the lift.

Sadly no still photos of the christening and bubbles on the bow but Nuts was named and blessed and got a drink of "champers".

It Floats 

Looking from aft - and fwd -

Seems to be spot on the waterline even though she is loaded up with almost all the equipment already.  Only heavy things missing are the anchors and chain.

There is my little fishing boat which was lifted out and put on the trailer.  Sad to take it out but can only use one boat at a time.  Can still go fishing from a Setka though!!

Off to my berth under trolling motor.  Works like a charm in no wind.

I hope to put up the mast tomorrow.

Many thanks to Clube Naval da Horta, Ruben the crane driver and Fernanda who keeps everything going smoothly.

I will post some more info on bits that I did before launching with pics -  like the rain dodger, extra bouyancy - rigging stuff, solar etc but off to sleep now.

 4th July

Just a quickie.  Very late and tired.  Nuts finally got transported to the marina park and lifted onto its keel.  All bolted down and sealed.  Rudder on and waiting for antifouling paint touchups.  Lots of photos and video but late and tired and off to bed so they will be shared soon.  

Lots of thanks to Bryan, Graeme and Bernd for helping with the messy stuff and many others with moral support.

Building up an iceblock supply to keep bubbly cold for Monday!!

 23 rd June.

Still ticking along.  Done a few bits and pieces on Nuts.  Added another 50kg approx of foam buoyancy under cockpit.  There is still space for 2 small bags of chain and at least one anchor.  Got strong U bolts to secure them.

I made up a stainless steel hoop to make a small dodger over the companionway so the top washboard can be left open when it is raining.  Mrs Nuts still has to do some sewing to finish it off. Pics will come soon.  I cant get on board at the moment as Nuts is balanced on 2 little car supports aft and a gas bottle on the tip of the bow to do the antifouling and dont want it to fall over!!

Just finished the second/third coat tonight.  Leaving the antifouling to the last moment as I dont want it to be on land for too long.  Going for 3 to 4 coats on the waterline and under the stern area.  2 over the rest.  Ablative being used.  On previous boats the  barnacle problems only appeared under the stern and above the antifouling - especially aft.  I am painting the antifouling quite high above the waterline.~

Putting keel onto trailer.

My mini tractor was at its limit to lift the keel at its furthest reach to position it in the middle of the trailer.  Was a bit iffy as the back wheels wanted to lift off the ground when I got off.

Made it!!

All tied down and secured for transport to the marina.

Transport truck has some issues.  That is why going a bit slowly at the moment.  It is going for its inspections this week so has been out of action for service, inspection etc.

Crane for lifting at the Clube Naval has been organized and everything is just waiting on the truck.  Mast is all dressed with rigging,  halyards, topping lifts etc.

Hopefully towards the end of the week all the bits will be transported to the marina and I can mount the keel.  Clube Naval is closed over the weekend (for the club crane) and dont want to launch on a Friday so looking at Monday.  Weather is a bit iffy over the weekend so we will see!!

 4th June

1 month since last post!!  Bad me - but you dont need info on garden work and tree felling and log splitting.  Had crappy weather for most of the month but summer has arrived in the last week.  When Nuts is in the water I wont be spending much time in the garden so got to keep Mrs Nuts happy now.

Bits for the trailer arrived (eventually) from Vevor.  Most packages take about 1 month to arrive here except from Amazon which can be from 3 days to 3 weeks.  Temu about 1 month but free shipping to the middle of nowhere which I think is a good deal.

I ordered 4 acrow jacks which I had to cut down as they were too long.  I welded bases and support struts so I could bolt them onto the trailer or use them as a cradle on the ground.  My trailer is not street legal so the plan is to load it onto a car recovery lowbed for transport to the marina (and bring my fishing boat home).  I also plan to load the keel onto the trailer first and position Nuts above to be lowered down for the bonding.  Maybe it will be easier to lift the keel up to the bottom with threaded rods to be removed once the main keel bolts are in position.  I went down the road this afternoon and measured the heights of overhead wires for clearance.  There is 1 electric wire and 1 internet fiberoptic cable that might be a problem but can push them up while passing underneath.

Finished splicing the guardrails and fitted this afternoon.  6mm Dyneema. Pullpit and stantion bases got their overdrilled holes epoxy filled and re drilled before fitting with SikaFlex.

 I reprogrammed the Victron MPPT for LiFePo4 charge profile as recommended by the battery manufacturer.  Now I just have to swap out the battery.  They are the same size so my mounting does not need to be changed.

My buddy Lex had lots of fun fishing on my little boat.

Ive been out a few times and off to sea again tomorrow with Sister Nuts to try some deep drop (250m) to see what is lurking down there.

 4th May

Just a quickie.  Pullpit and bow cleats mounted and drilled and removed for epoxy saturation in the mounting holes.  Epoxy cured.  All shiny and ready to Sika Flex on.  Stanchions all bent and mounting pads and supports cut and drilled - just waiting for me to weld, fit, polish  and drill for epoxy coating on mounting holes to be ready for final fitting.  Then a bit of Dyneema splicing for the rails and done.

Old friend Alex here from Netherlands for a fishing holiday with a friend so checked out my little fishing boat - Eco-  for him to use.  Also been painting garage floor and doing stuff in garden - including destroying my ride on mower - so have more repair jobs to do!

Still waiting for trailer parts to arrive.  Spent my remaining pension fund on antifouling!!

I wanted a white bottom and the only available white antifouling on the island was from a UShip outlet here in Horta.  They have a very good selection of marine equipment and charge the same prices as in Europe even though we are in the middle of nowhere.  I get a small discount as a local boatbuilder and grateful for that -  still scary on every purchase though.

Going with ablative which is easy to remove if  it doesnt work out. Nautix A3.

 23 April

Finished and painted the gas storage box.

It ended up pink because it is what paint was left over.

The inside is yellow as ran out of pink and had a bit of yellow left over!  All epoxy coated before 2 coats of epoxy primer and 2 coats of polyurethane topcoat.  Should last longer than me.  The box is on a teak slider and can be removed.  Plenty of space for butane canisters for my cooker plus a separate space for other goodies.  Each butane canister is vacume bagged and sealed to prevent rust and check for leaks).  Took many days to finish but not many hours of work.  Paint and epoxy takes its time to cure!!

The stern is complete.  Everything bolted and sealed.

Got busy on the pullpit.  With lots of help from Mrs Nuts holding the tubes at the "correct?" angle under my misguided instructions while I pulled on the pipe bender.  Was a bit of a mission to work out the angles but made many templates and got it close enough.  

Welding the bits together.  Tomorrow job is to weld the mounting pads on the end of the legs after final fitting and the loops for the guardrails and start the fun job of grinding, sanding and polishing. 

Inside is pretty much done.  Just got to stock the bar!!

Looking aft.  Been fitting fixing points for leeboards, washboards, and bungees for holding stuff in position.  A 5m boat is not going to be a smooth ride.

Looking fwd. Sail storage up to port with general storage below.  Below bunk level is filled with foam buoyancy in the fwd half and  storage for water bottles in the aft half.

Mrs Nuts made me a bunch of beanbags.  They are filled with polystyrene balls inside waterproof fabric.  I think Im going to ask for some more sewing.  (Got to be nice to Mrs Nuts!!) I bought 200 liters of foam balls so might as well use them.  I think Im going to fill the aft lkrs in the quarter berths  with foam filled bags for extra buoyancy.  A bunch of small bean bags weigh nothing but might be useful to jam me in to stop me getting smashed up in a storm.

My target is to finish the pullpit and stantions by the end of the month and have them bolted on.  Only got 5cm clearance on my workshop door to wheel Nuts out once pullpit etc is bolted on.  I have to remove the windvane mount though.

This is the last major job to do other than fitting the keel and antifouling.  There will still be plenty of small jobs to do though - like connecting solar panels, second VHF antennae, etc, etc.

Parts for making the trailer are on their way and should be here in a week or so - Azores time.

Most of the skippers (including me) entered in the SAC were hoping to use LiFePo4 batteries which were outlawed under the lithium ban due to fire risk.  Because of the advancement of the safety of LiFePo4 batteries and minimal fire risk they have been allowed provided the batteries are of a sufficient quality and have good protection.  

After a lot of research and reviews from reputable people (Will Prowse etc) I have gone with  Li Time Trolling Motor 50Ah Bluetooth. The reviews from independent teardowns with extensive testing of the BMS have satisfied me.  The inside protection of wiring and connection insulation against vibration looks excellent. It is not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. With Bluetooth you can monitor the balance between cells and the status of the BMS.  That should give you a warning if things are going sideways.  I have ordered battery terminal fuses that mount directly onto the battery ( 30Amp) that should open  before any overload issues.

I am going to be using a trolling motor for getting in  and out of marinas so need a battery that can deliver a bit of power for a short time.  I have several 100Ah AGM batteries but they weigh a ton - non starter. (over 50kg -ex submarine)  The 32Ah Marathon AGM batteries (got 2) are OKish but can only use 1/2 the capacity before doing damage to the cells. They could keep Nuts alive but only just.  LiFePo4 - can use the full 50Ah without doing damage (and they weigh less).  I will have 2 x50Ah LiFe Po4 batteries on board.  One for the boat supply and one for the motor.  I will only have 2x25w solar which will be used for the boat power which is in keeping with the SAC philosophy.  I dont want to take petrol onboard.  My dinghy will be an inflatable canoe and if the shit hits the fan I will use the paddle to move.

 15 th April

Tick tock - summer is on its way.  (I hope)

Port side aft is done.  Welding, bending, cutting, grinding and polishing stainless steel is almost as bad as sanding fiberglass.  My welding skills have deteriorated with old age so required more finishing / patching up .  Fitting the nuts and washers on the very aft corner was a mission.  Had to tape the nut and washer into a ring spanner and hold it with a vice grip to reach.  Mrs Nuts on the outside to screw it in.  All fitted and nice and tight.  (got a long handled socket on the nut once it was threaded on) Also got mounting ladder brackets sealed and bolted on.  All home brew bits.  I added a U bolt on the cockpit edge for using as a tiller fixing point to lash the tiller or add a bungee for self steering as well as main sheet fixing option.  Maybe when running under two jibs I can fix the boom to one side to stop me banging my head when climbing out of the cabin.

Aft compartment refilled with flotation foam and closed off.  Mrs Nuts sewing skills on show.  Had many complaints about the fact there was a frame butting into the cushion but she did an amazing job even though the slot is at an angle.  Lee boards and spray dodger still on the cards (but dont tell her yet - got to keep her happy!!) 

Opened up the Stbd side and removed some of the foam so I can seal and bolt up the Stbd tab holder, outboard mount and the railing.  Tomorrow job and then can refit foam and close up.

Running out of jobs to do.  Cockpit gas storage box (plus space for other goodies) just needs its topcoat.  It might end up pink as I have some pink paint left over.

Been going through navigation stuff.  Printed up a bunch of plotting sheets (only A4) and the almanack for sun Dec and GHA.  Still have my sight reduction tables for air navigation and going to take a plastic sextant.  Hope I dont need it but if the shit hits the fan and GPS goes down Im fine. (or total power failure).  Have to motivate the brain to go back in time but it could be fun.

 4th April

Spring a bit slow in showing its face.  Dodging hail showers today.  Still ticking along here though.

Bolted some hand holds in the cockpit (also inside).   Epoxied two support/sliders for a box to be slid against the transom.  The box is for gas cannisters for the cooker as well as whatever I decide. It will be well secured and also easily removable.  It will be on runners so even if upside down it is not going anywhere.

Box under construction.  8mm ply .  200mm fore and aft and 350mm deep and the width of the cockpit.  Will be able to store plenty of gas canisters as well as other goodies.

In the process of bolting the tab brackets.  So far only the port side finally fixed.  I had to remove all the buoyancy foam through the hatch at the foot of the quarter berth and bolt on extensions to my arms to reach the eyebolts to fit the nuts and washers.  Mrs Nut outside to hold the eyebolts in alignment.  Sikaflex 291i all squished out so should not leak. 

Tab fits very well.  After glassing the mount and even after 2 coats of epoxy primer I was not happy with the fit.  Even though it was snug it was not tight.  I decided to grind off all the primer and glass another 5 layers of 200g/m2 with the trailing edge clamped a bit closed without the tab inside.   After curing for a few days I did a test fit and it was nice and tight.  Then slapped on a couple of coats of epoxy primer and with a 2 day window of nice warm, no wind and low humidity weather gave all the bits a couple of coats of PU paint sprayed on.  Also gave an old aluminium tube I had a couple of coats of epoxy primer after a good sand and it also got the spray treatment.  I will have 2 running poles - one  50mm dia with proper end fittings and one 38mm(od) with homemade delrin end fittings.  Both poles are 2.4m long just because that was the length that I had.  If they are too long it is very easy to shorten.  3m was recommended by a skipper that has already crossed the Atlantic but got to go with what I have. 

This is the hatch Im working through.  So far the first layer of foam as been refitted.  I forgot to number those pieces so it was a bit of a jigsaw.

This is the rest of the foam for the port side aft.  I decided to do each side separately so there is no chance of mixing up the foam pieces.  Still got to finish the boarding ladder mounts and the pushpit so they can be bolted on before closing up the port side and moving over to the stbd side.

 15 th March

Crappy photo but trimtabs got their final epoxy glassing and a coat of peel ply.  Keeping warm next to our fireplace  which is off to sleep for the night.  Down to the last 1/2 m of peel ply from a 100m roll.  My best investment.  Now got to do finishing and painting. Still waiting  for Amazon to deliver the 8mm 316  mounting eyebolts.

Miserable weather here and big storm forecast for Sunday.  Off to marina tomorrow (today) to put extra lines on my little fishing boat.