Coral Moon

Coral Moon will be my fourth yacht.

She is an Elizabethan 29 with a somewhat underpowered Yanmar 1GM10. When I went to pick her up everything looked great with the exception of the waterpump not pumping water.

I checked the strainer, impeller to no avail then said I was only willing to pay £1750 rather than the agreed £1850 still an absolute bargain.

Coral Moons interior is somewhat dated but, I do like the classic look. So will give her a good clean and tidy her up.

She was completely full of junk

I had taken over 6 trolley loads out of the lockers to the bins and had to sort out the waterpump before going anywhere.

I really did have a lot to do.

Farewell Tallula

Farewell Tallula

My original plan was to sail Tallula over to France then enter the inland French waterways and bring her down to Southern Spain. But, I spotted a Elizabethan 29 going very cheaply on ebay and I won the auction.

The only problem was that I was in Spain and would soon have two boats with two lots of mooring fees to pay. The only photo's that I had were the ones on my phone. I needed to sell her quickly but, did not want to sell her too cheaply.

Coral Moon

I decided to do two listing on ebay to get as much interest as possible. I did an auction with a start bid of just £500 and a buy now with best offer of £2000. I also decided to add details about my blog so people could see what I had done with her.

Within day both listing had generated a lot of interest and I had received a number of acceptable offers that I decided to decline. The auction was going very well so I decided to remove the Buy it now listing.

It did not take long for the auction to go beyond the £2000 and the winning bid was for £2550 so I was very pleased but, she was in a bit of a mess and I needed to move my boat stuff from Tallula to Coral Moon.

It took me three car loads to clear my things of Tallula, The day the buyer decided to collect her I gave her a good clean and that took me most of the day. I had also forgot to start the engine and it had not been started for a couple of months.

To my delight the engine started first time from cold.

I had only just changed the belt.

The new owner come down to see her and take over the mooring he seemed to be pleased with her and I felt very sad to see her go.

Farewell Tallula 

Tinker Tinkeress in the Med

It was just over a year ago that I first used my Tinkeress in the Mediterranean little did I know at the time that I was going to be living in the same area a year later.

On the beach ready to go

I had only used the dinghy with an outboard to go around a bit in Fareham Creek. It was a sheltered area with strong tides and I did not go to far. I decided to go further out to sea as I am confident enough in the dinghy to do so.

Its a different world to the Solent

I took her about 4nm along the coast and it was a lot of fun and the views of the coast line were stunning. I did put a wet suit on as the sea is not as warm in the winter.

Strong winter sun

I tried a bit of fishing with a hand line but, did not catch anything not even sea weed. I would like to bring an anchor next time and try a bit of rod fishing. But, unfortunately all my anchors are still in the UK.

Amazing coast line

I found the little 2hp outboard was ok just a tad slow in the sea. I would like to try a larger outboard and according to the sales material she will take up to a 4hp outboard. I would also like to see how she performs with a British Seagull Outboard.

Calm seas

A short clip of me motoring around need to sort the date out on my gopro

Sevylor Tahiti Kayak

I brought a Sevylor Tahiti 2 + 1 kayak a couple of years ago. But, only used it a few times on the canal and once on Fareham Creek. It was ideal on the canal and easy to lift out to go past the locks. It was good on the Creek but, tides needed to be taken into account especially at springs.

Ready to be inflated 

I brought the Kayak down to Southern Spain on my boot rack on my Mazda Eunos so they are very easy to transport even in the smallest of cars. They are ideal Kayaks for taking on holidays or when storing a traditional kayak are not possible.

All ready to go

Yesterday the weather was really nice and rather than taking my other toy out I decided to take the Kayak out. It took me about five minutes to inflate and I was ready to go. The kayak performed very well and was a pleasure to paddle. I just need to sort the seat out a bit better for more comfort.

Going along the Coast

Heading out in calm seas

I did not go to far partly due to the seat and the paddle I had was not that good as I had lost one of the screws for it.

The beach I launched from

Fareham - Newtown Creek - Fareham

It was a very calm day

It was another very hot day and I decided that I was going to spend the night on the hook in New Town Creek. New Town Creek is on the Isle of Wight and is a National Nature Reserve it is a very peaceful place to visit and one of my favourite places in the Solent. For anchoring it is well protected and has good holding I would highly recommend it to anyone.

On the hook

Wind was almost non existent F1/2 at times I decided to raise the main to catch what little wind I could. It was unusually quite for the Solent that was until I entered New Town Creek. It was like a water park people swimming, playing on water toys. The place was packed with Sailing boats small and large, ribs, motorboats jet skies I had never seen New Town Creek as full before.

Exploring the Creek

I decided to take the tender to explore a bit I could only land on the beach due low water. I decided to go for a swim as it was very hot. It was very refreshing to take a dip. Later on I deiced to to land and have a look round. It was like going back in time very peaceful and just the odd tourist.

A perfect place to park

I went back and had my dinner and a drink as the day turned to dusk the day sailors and ribs, power boats departed it was a different world. Just two other yachts on the hook. I watched the sunset and shortly after went to my bunk ready for an early start.

Such a peaceful evening 

Time for bed

The next day I arose shortly before sunrise. It was a struggle to raise the anchor and it was covered in mud. The day was calm and sadly I had to motor sail back.

A flat sea

Always something to see while entering Portsmouth

Fareham - Folly In -Osbourne Bay - Fareham

The weather was very warm and the plan was to do some more work on Tallula but, the cabin was very warm and we decided to go for a sail instead.

 A reward for all the hard work

I noticed a big difference in how she performed and with full sails and the engine on tick over I easily exceeded the 5 knot speed limit in Portsmouth harbour. The difference from last time was profound. We decided to treat our self's after all the hard work to a glass of Prosecco. In years of sailing I have never touched a drop of alcohol while at sea but, on this occasion I decided  that a glass of Prosecco would be ok.

The Folly Inn moorings

The sail over was really nice not much wind force 3 at most but, with the clean hull and anti foul it was plenty. I was lucky to be able to get a walk ashore pontoon at the Folly Inn.

We had a lovely meal and a few drinks and yes they still dance on the tables.

The next day I decided to set of early to have breakfast on the hook I also decided to go for a swim the water was extremely cold and the moment I was fully in the sea I experienced cold water shock I could hardly move. I was pleased that I had a line to hold onto. I think I will put on a wet suit next time.

An early start

On the way back their was little to no wind so I motored back and the engine was running very well after the recent oil change.

Too cold for me

Heading back into Portsmouth

The Heads

While Tallula was out of the water I decided that I was going to sort the heads out. A smelly dirty job that I was not looking forward to. I found that the heads would flush the waste out. But, the ball valve for the inlet was completely seized. Well the handle had corroded completely. Luckily they were closed and not open.

The valve was completely seized 

Old and new one

The plan was simple simply remove the old valve and fit a new one. Well that was what my intention was but, one thing lead to another and the small job just got bigger.

I unscrewed the jubilee clip and pulled, twisted, tugged but, the hose would not budge. I decided to cut it of with a Stanley knife but that did not go though it. I decided to go in with the heavy stuff the hack saw and it worked.

I then tried to remove the valve but, that too would not budge. I decided to spray some WD40 on it and had a coffee.

The new valve 

I drank my coffee and went back to it and got it of. I was really pleased with myself and decided that that despite the horrible smell I would also change the old hoses. The inlet one was not too bad but, the outlet one smelt bad and my hands had become covered in dark coloured grime. I did not really want to think to profoundly about what it may or may not be. So I decided to have a shower.

Goodbye smelly one

While I was removing the hoses the chipboard shelf broke upon further investigation the heads were on a piece of rotten chipboard.

I refitted the new valve using PDF tape and was pleaded with what I had done.

I took these home along with the toilet. I used the old one that the toilet was stood on and made a new one with plywood that I stained and covered in expoxy.

New toilet stand

My girlfriend agreed to hover the area after I had given it a good clean. She then painted the whole area for me with Dulex wet and dry. The smell was finally gone and it all looked nice and clean

I cut a new stand and shelf as the old ones had become rotten. I refitted the toilet with the new hoses. The one had a slight kink in it so I will need to shorten it slightly.

Not a nice look

I decided to apply some self adhesive tiles so the area could easily be cleaned and wiped down without having to worry about the paint work. The difference was amazing and it was well worth all the extra effort I now have heads that I am pleased with.

Much better with fresh paint

Finally 

Time for a lift out

Last time I went out Tallula was struggling to reach hull speed let alone maintain it. In fact since I brought her she did seem a bit slow and I have no idea when she was last anti-fouled but, I suspect it was years ago.

The moment she was lifted out of the water it was clear that a scrub and anti-foul was overdue.

Out she comes 

As you can see she is really bad

The first thing I did was to give her a good jet wash to get of as much as I could. The yard turns the electric of after 17:00 due to noise complaints and it was already 16:00. After jet washing only one anode was still visable well what was left of it. I really did regret not bringing a change of cloths as I was covered in mud and barnicles. Next time I will bring spare cloths and wear protective eye wear as my eyes were hit several times from flying debris.

 I was shocked how bad she was below the waterline.

Getting the worst done before scraping

After the jet wash

It was nice to see that Tallula's hull was in good condition and the prop still sounded like a bell when I hit it with a key. I still had lots to do.