I am 39 years old and while for some this is no age at all, I do sometimes feel my age. On a broad reach I can still make 7 knots in a force three but under engine I can just about do 5 knots. As with most of my contemporaries, the list of jobs to be done never gets any shorter and varies with the funds available and the urgency of the repair.
Currently it is my back stays that need work. They are fixed to the transom through the upper molding and the fibreglass has started to break up. To cure this we tried putting more glass and resin in through the inspection hatches from the cockpit but this didn't work too well. The next alternative was to add inner and outer stainless steel plates but there was too much lateral load and the plates buckled under the strain. Next attempt will be to try chain plates that pull the load down further. Depending upon how this goes there will be a picture to show the final result.
Over this last winter the usual antifouling and routine jobs were done. In addition the comapnionway hatch was stripped down, repaired, veneered and varnished. When it went back on it looked great but we'll see how it stands up at the end of the season. Also carried out over the winter was a mini refit on the mast. New cabling and the addition of a steaming light on the elctricals and blocks for the lazy jacks on the rigging.
My owner had some valuable assistance from two of his friends but the mast came down and went up without a problem.
Where I realy show my age is in my gel coat. It is like the skin of an aging lady, it needs plenty of ointment and care, I like to think that it is beacuse I have been smiling too much.
This blog is the random accounts of a much loved and used Macwester Rowan on the East Coast of the UK from the perspective of Chantilly, the boat. Veneer and Varnish would also have been a suitable title for this 'account' of my life as a small boat living on the East Coast.
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