A sailing blog about a skipper and his yacht
Sea Bear now has a rear arch fitted. A process that started way back in April has now come to fruition. I had a local fabricator make me up a stainless steel tubular structure which is now fitted in place.
New rear gantry fitting
Next step is to mount a solar panel on it.
At last after much work over the winter Sea Bear is back in the water. The stormy weather of the early part of the winter had delayed progress a little, but now just about all jobs were done. As well as the usual maintenance, the old standing rigging had been replaced, a new furlex fitted, and whilst the mast was down I had mast steps fitted and some clutches to make halyard control better, the old jammers on the coach roof which had proved not so good at jamming, were also replaced with clutches.
The refurbished cockpit
The teak laid cockpit seats had been refurbished and looked like new. The CQR anchor had been relegated to backup duties by a new Mason Supreme anchor, we were getting all modern and up to date you see. Below decks, the old engine mounts, one of which was well and truly shot, had been replaced. I had fitted a new AIS transponder and replaced the depth and log instruments with more modern versions and all internal light bulbs replaced with LEDs and finally a water filter fitted for the drinking water.
In the boat yard ready & waiting for launch.
It was now just a matter of getting her put back in the water. I’ll confess I find launch day about the most stressful day in the sailing year. It’s not just the hoist but what the weather will be like, the waiting and have you remembered everything.
Craned into the dock
As with any new to you boat there is bound to be some work to be attended to. Some you enter into purchase knowing about, some brought to your attention by the surveyors report and some are just things you would like to do.
With Sea Bear the two major jobs were to replace the stern tube rubber and strip off the many old layers of anti-foul. Having scraped off the anti foul on my last boat by hand, this was not a task I wanted to repeat. So it was a just a case of paying a contractor to do the job for me. Easier on the labour, harder on the pocket.
Replacing the stern gland I did myself. In theory a relative straightforward job, but like any job on a boat its ease or otherwise is dictated by access. To gain access on a Vancouver means either removing the engine or laying over it to reach the stern gland. This I discovered is not much fun.
Once the old stern gland was removed I decide to replace the whole thing. Accordingly I had a new stern gland/stuffing box made up for me. Maybe I am a little old fashioned but I prefer the traditional stuffing box over other shaft seals. This I fitted with a remote greaser.
