We hauled Maunie out in November so she's happily sheltered from several winter storms (and January's seemingly relentless rain) under her winter covers at Baltic Wharf in Totnes. We took the decision to stay in a holiday cottage for 5 nights immediately following the lift-out so were able to get most of the routine maintenance jobs, plus a couple of one-offs, ticked off early.
Of course, we discovered a couple of unexpected issues but we're pretty happy with progress and will launch early, in late March, in the hope of better spring weather.
The routine jobs included:
- Engine service, with oil and filter changes
- Sails removed and cleaned at home
- Cockpit cover removed, cleaned and re-proofed (with a few minor repairs)
- Seat covers cleaned
- Seacocks serviced
- Lockers emptied and deep cleaned
Meanwhile the more serious one-off projects have taken more time and effort. First on the list was to remove the 28 year-old diesel generator; it was a handy piece of kit but, was being used for less than 10 hours per season now that we aren't doing long ocean passages, so it didn't really justify the annual maintenance costs. These machines need regular use and ours had become less keen to run when requested. The Farymann diesel engine at its heart is no longer in production and spare parts are getting hard to find, so we took the big decision and spent more than a few hours removing it, plus all the associated fuel lines, pumps and filters, plus a lot of electrical cables.
 |
| Stage 1 - the generator is man-handled out from its locker under the pilothouse seating |
 |
| The yard crew and their huge crane were called in for the next bit! |
 |
| We've gained a large and very handy storage space (now cleaned and repainted) and Maunie is about 100kg lighter and significantly less complicated |
We were delighted to be able to sell the generator on a 'spares or repair' basis to a chap who intends to renovate it and install it into his canal boat.
Next on the list was to finish the upgrade of the cabin sole (floor) that we started about 3 years ago. We'd completed the addition of new laminate to all of the floors except in the pilothouse so its seven floor panels were brought home for treatment.
 |
| Gluing in progress |
 |
| The completed panels, trimmed and ready to go back aboard |
 |
| The finished result - our combined OCD traits made it imperative that the stripes are perfectly lined up from bow to stern |
Having sorted the floor, we couldn't ignore the ceiling any longer. The headlining panels in the pilothouse were in dire need of an upgrade as the old upholstery material had badly degraded over its 28 year life. We found a local business who would fit new headlining material but we saved some substantial cost by removing the old stuff ourselves and then refitting the panels. It turned out to be a bigger job than we expected, naturally, but we are very happy with the results.
Of course, Graham has done a short video of the project - click HERE
Finally (we fervently hope!) the cause of the vibrations from the propeller that were becoming increasingly hard to ignore was identified. The cutless bearing in the p-bracket directly ahead of the prop was worn so this meant removing the prop, releasing the coupling at the back of the gearbox and sliding the prop shaft out. Thankfully the old bearing came out without too much of a battle and we brought the prop and shaft back home for servicing, polishing and, for the prop, the application of antifouling paint. We've yet to find a product that works perfectly on propellers and avoiding barnacle growth (which really reduces their efficiency) is vital - so we are now trying a product called Velox. Time will tell if it lives up to its reputation.
Anyway, the drivetrain is now all back in place, with new gland packing seals to keep the water out, so we are edging ever closer to being relaunch-ready.
