Marica goes clockwise

Vessel Name: Marica
16 December 2017 | Slipper Sailing Club
08 November 2017 | South coast
07 November 2017 | Newhaven
06 November 2017 | Beachy Head
05 November 2017 | Rye
04 November 2017 | Rye
03 November 2017 | Rye
02 November 2017 | South Coast
01 November 2017 | Thames Estuary
31 October 2017 | Harwich
30 October 2017 | Southwold
27 October 2017 | North Sea
25 October 2017 | Lincolnshire Coast
18 October 2017 | Yorkshire Coast
17 October 2017 | Bridlington
16 October 2017 | Flamborough Head
15 October 2017 | Whitby
12 October 2017 | Yorkshire coast
10 October 2017 | Geordieland
09 October 2017 | England!
Recent Blog Posts
16 December 2017 | Slipper Sailing Club

Epiblog

I met fellow Westerly Centaur owner Tom Bedford in Milford Haven. As it turns out we also share a fondness for real ale and the band Steely Dan. Tom is a freelance journalist and when I got back to Emsworth he suggested writing an article about my trip. I agreed without too much reticence and he sent [...]

08 November 2017 | South coast

From Shoreham

I checked the live wind at Chichester Bar this morning on the Chimet web site. Force 4 northerly. Hey! we could go somewhere, Little Hampton (LA) or even further. I might just make it for the 9 o'clock lock out. I called them and they said I would be going out of the smaller Prince George lock. I had [...]

07 November 2017 | Newhaven

From Newhaven

On Tuesday morning we wake to a southerly force 6. The sea state was expected to be 'moderate' and waves were crashing over the harbour breakwater. George and I had porridge and reviewed the situation. He decided caution was the better part of valour and I walked him to the train station.

06 November 2017 | Beachy Head

From Rye

My dad joined me on a frosty Monday morning for our leg from Rye. His name is George so he is the original George according to my sister, or he is George V for this trip. I thought Eastbourne would be a suitable port to make for, and could be completed in daylight hours. Dad had suggested Newhaven so [...]

05 November 2017 | Rye

More water problems

I started the engine this morning, whilst Marica was afloat, to check the repair on the throttle linkage. It was fine but there was no cooling water flowing through the engine. I assumed that mud was stuck in the inlet pipe. All the boats settle in this soft smelly stuff to the top of their keels. So [...]

04 November 2017 | Rye

Bailing Out

This morning (Saturday) I found the cutlery drawer full of water. It's just underneath the cooker. I was wondering where the water had come in last night. The boat had obviously been heeled over at a bigger angle at the top of the tide. There had been water in the washing up bowl, that I had not tested [...]

Milford Haven still

05 July 2017 | Engine Bay
Hot and sunny
I've not added to the blog for a few days. I met an interesting journalist called Tom on another Centaur. I also had a call from the owner of Cygnus, the Konsort I hit coming in. So both of their boats had been renamed by them, even if it's supposed to be unlucky. I had a nice chat with the Konsort owner. He had been to check the damage and said it was only superficial and I agreed to leave him some gel coat filler to sort it out. Result!
I've been working on the new engine to try and get it going. On Monday I took the starter motor out and tried to run it only connected to the battery. It worked fine so I then proceeded putting it back in and reconnecting the electrics one system at a time to try and diagnose the problem. I also spent some fruitless time trying to rewind the starter spring on the Evinrude outboard. It's a pig.
Yesterday I had the new Volvo running by eight in the morning. I'd bodged a pipe and return for the excess fuel to a can figuring I could do that and then pour it back in the main tank. It has a lot of excess fuel and so this is not a viable option. I tried Windjammer, the local boatyard/chandlery, for a proper banjo connection rather than the bit of hose I was using. They recommended and called a place Tom Smith's for me and they have the parts I need.
I wandered round towards a pub called the Kings Arms across the marina last night. On the way I found a freehouse called The Heart of Oak. It appeared shut, but a notice in the window said open form 4 until closing. The door was locked and one of the owners came out and advised the Kings Arms. There were five other people in and no real ale. I opted for a Worthingtons, 3.6% but only £3, my cheapest pint yet. It was OK. The other guys and landlady were very chatty, and I had an enjoyable hour.
Today one of the owners of Windjammer (Myrag?) drove me with a Cockerpoo named Dodgy on my lap the 3 or 4 miles to Tom Smiths (an agricultural parts place) to get the parts. Fantastic service for a chandlers and they didn't charge me for the favour. Also Dave, one of the guys in the chandlers, wants to buy my old tacho from the MD11C. The new one runs off the alternator, the old one from the flywheel.
The bad news is I need to try and sort a fitting to the tank for the fuel return. This probably means taking the tank out and finding a metal mickey who works with stainless steel.
This afternoon I was starting to drain the tank to get it out. Easy to drain, just run the engine and collect the return fuel in cans. There appeared to be a bit of water leak near the water pump. I checked the exhaust and no water was coming out! I turned off the water inlet and started getting the impellor cover off. The water kept coming, I'm putting containers underneath and emptying them in the sink. At this point the drain in the sink stopped working completely. I suspect some old porridge has congealed down there. The water inlet valve is not closing properly, another job for the winter or when I am dried out. I got the impeller cover off and it was a sorry state behind. The impeller was in several bits, some lodged down the inlet. I recovered as much as I could. I have a number of spares for the old Volvo. They looked the same diameter, but are not as tall, so it's back to Windjammer tomorrow for a replacement.
Some people on a boat on the pontoon behind me had dropped keys into the marina. I checked they had a magnet to search for them. It's deep round here, around 7 meters and 10 with the gates in free flow. After an hour they had not found them so I thought I might be able to help locate them with my waterproof camera. We were just giving up when Tom's keys were caught, some distance under the pontoon.
Back on Marica I decided to make fine adjustment to engine mounts to align with the prop shaft. I undid the Allen keys and measured the gap between the two plates at the top, bottom and both sides with a feeler gauge. The engine needed to be slightly higher at the front and lower at the back. Much frustration and adjustment, but I am now happy that the two plates are parallel to within 3 thousandths of an inch. Hopefully no more adjustments will be required.
I went to Matha's Vineyard tonight for a beer, my usual haunt round here. John and Nicky, two people who had been helping on the key hunt were there. They have been doing up a boat and John mentioned a local stainless man. I got his number, super timing. John has also offered to drive me if I need to get anything, boaters are ace! Coors Light tonight, I needed a night off the Doombar and Guinness.
I've not managed to clear the sink blockage yet. It has resisted a hose, air pumped down and hot water and sterilising tablets. I'm going to try Marshall's patented fox deterrent tonight.
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