Back in her natural home
01 May 2013 | River Crouch, Essex, UK
Nichola / sunny, cold east breeze
Last Friday Emerald was launched back into her proper environment after 18 months of sitting in mud or on the hard. It's a good feeling after a lot of hard work.
We have a few little jobs to finish and some stowing to sort out before we head off.
Then it's a long slog across the Thames before working our way along the south coast. A little while in Cornwall before Biscay to Spain and Portugal.
We've got a lot done over the last 18 months and some jobs we didn't get round to. New genoa tracks should help us set the sails better, non leaking water tanks so we aren't wasting water, new batteries and battery storage and scuppers instead of deak drains which has the double benefit of getting rid of water quicker and getting rid of 2 more seacocks.
Unexpected jobs waylaid us such as the leaking water tanks under the galley floor, leaking diesel tank and problems with our rudder.
Cosmetically we have new acrylic stone worktops in the galley which are so much better than the stained, cracked Formica, the aft head has been removed and converted into storage and there's our luxury washing machine!
Countless little jobs and little fixes are complete and we're almost ready to point our nose seawards again.
The hull and deck didn't get painted but can wait to be done in warmer places. We still need to commission our water maker, sort out our solar panels and install a homemade solar water heater.