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| Out with the old. |
The frenzy of work on the hardstand is now behind us so now we are winding down a little in anticipation of the arrival of Joan, Davids 89 year old mum, for a sailing trip to Langkawi. Joan has visited before and I understand she is really looking forward to the trip.
We are ticking off some of the items on a long list of jobs. They are never all "done". If we waited for that to happen we would never leave.
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| In with the new |
The major jobs we have done are the engine refit and all the attendant sundry stuff that goes with that like extra alternator and damage control pump, replace the whole exhaust system and all the fuel lines, instal the new control panel and run the wiring for it. All this is pretty time consuming in the confines of a small yacht, in the awful heat and humidity at Boat "Maroon".
The mast re paint was not quite as straight forward as we had hoped and as prices in Phuket have soared in the last year or so, we elected to paint it ourselves, after which we fitted some new halyards and sheaves before hoisting that back into position.
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| Huck hard at it. |
The inevitable bottom sanding and re anti-foulling was also achieved without too much outside "interference!!." Needless to say, after a month on the hardstand and all that work we were seriously needing a break.
Huck arrived and worked like a dog to get the engine installed in record time considering he had to start virtually from scratch inside. The engine beds were a little too high and had to be lowered and the rails for the mounts had to be designed and then built at Luk Engineering in Phuket Town. This involved hundreds of kilometers in the trusty old Honda CRV we had rented. The structure on the front of the engine which houses the second alternator and a large Jabsco damage control pump really should be in the Louvre. Its a work of art and painted silver on the top and red on the underside....should we ever see the red ...we know we are in a lot of trouble!!
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| Installed |
Huck and I were doing the final oil checks and filled the gear box whilst Taipan was in the lifter being carried to the water for re launching. It was a moment of great excitement and pleasure for Huck to hit the key after final checks and the new engine roared into life without a single splutter.... Huck always said it would!!!
After hauling on the 27th of Jan , Huck arrived on 8th of Feb, Karen arrived on the 15th of Feb and we relaunched on the 23rd of Feb so it was a pretty good effort considering three of us did all the work with the exception of the sanding of the hull.
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| Splash down |
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Never again will we go to Boat Lagoon and we would never recommend it to any one else. It was one of the most awful haul-out experiences we have ever had!
Never again will we go to Boat Lagoon and we would never recommend it to any one else. It was one of the most awful haul-out experiences we have ever had!
The only highlight of the whole experience was making the acquaintance of Sue and Rex Whistler, new owners of "ARIEL" the beautiful Morgan next to us. Thank you for the beers and for your endless good humor and for keeping us sane!!!
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| Time for a rest. |
The trip to Langkawi with Huck and Karen was uneventful if a little hurried and all systems worked flawlessly. It was often windless so the new engine got a thorough work out and we had a lovely restful time stopping at Koh Hong, Hen n Chicken, Koh Muk, Tatatao and then into Rebak Marina. A couple of days were spent enjoying the pleasures of Langkawi before they flew off to Penang for a real rest at the E & O Hotel, and then back to Perth.
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| Huck |
David and I then made our way back to Phuket to finish off a few projects and await Joan's arrival.
Since arriving back in Yacht Haven Marina Phuket we have installed the new fiberglass companionway stairs, refurbished the anchor rollers, fitted big chain plates on the stern to attach the Jordan Series Drouge if we ever need to deploy it...I hope not! Sundry sewing jobs have been started and finished and now the galley calls for provisioning. Marmalade made, vacuum sealing, freezing and drying in progress.
Since arriving back in Yacht Haven Marina Phuket we have installed the new fiberglass companionway stairs, refurbished the anchor rollers, fitted big chain plates on the stern to attach the Jordan Series Drouge if we ever need to deploy it...I hope not! Sundry sewing jobs have been started and finished and now the galley calls for provisioning. Marmalade made, vacuum sealing, freezing and drying in progress.
We hope to clear out of Phuket and head south next week. Joan David and I will all fly out of Langkawi to KL on the 16th of April before heading back to Perth for Tim and Vanessa's wedding on the 28th in Albany.
