It's been quiet on here - too quiet. Lots happening behind the scenes. The way ahead's been laid out.

First off: heard from the insurance. The damage to hull, keel, prop shaft and rudder is covered. A great relief. Had it not been, it might very well have pushed us over the edge and postponed the whole project by at least a year. GJW - way to go. Very pleased, especially when you consider the only reason I went with them was because they were cheap. They really come through for you when you need them.

Family day out to Southampton Boat Show. Lots of work required, so I was anxious to cut as many deals as possible in one go. The Boat Show was the obvious place to do it.

Fox's quote to Coppercoat and Awlgrip the hull was quite competitive, so I did not hesitate to award them the job. Propulsion was a more competitive business. Yanmar prices (my first choice given previous boat experience) are out of our league now. Vetus and Sole proved 'not cheap' too - Volvo is out of the question. That left Beta and Nanni - both Kuboto based, both at a price we could afford. Talked to quite a few Beta and Nanni owners, and I decide to go for the Nanni... provided they can beat Beta's price. More on this hopefully soon.

I want a feathering prop too - in light winds Guapa's not that fast and the extra drag of our fixed prop means we motor more than I'd like. First choice was a MaxProp - proven but at a price. So when we came across a similar, but 30% cheaper, alternative I smiled. Consulted with Fox's - 'Yes, they fitted them to Oysters in the past' - another £700 saved. Our new prop's going to be a Darglow Featherstream. Looking forward to giving the world's poorest Oyster owner a run for his money.

Fox's rigging quote seemed to be a roundabout way of telling me 'go away, we're busy'. Nigel's (RigMagic) quote was a lot lower, and since he's been good to us in the past... Still, the last word on this his not been said yet. Fox's have said they would look at their figures again to see if they can match RigMagic. We'll see how it goes.

If and when we get new sails, they'll be Dolphin sails. Spoke to them once already and was impressed by the way they handled my enquiries. Kalik's not exactly a common brand so to a certain degree our sails have to be bespoke (one off). They're not the cheapest, but when it comes to sails I'm afraid there is such a thing as a 'false economy'. It's got to be just right and last years.

So, there we are - if they don't do anything silly, and submit a reasonable and realistic quote Fox's will have secured the whole lot for themselves (maybe even the rigging). Looking forward to next year. Things can only get better.