After we pulled up in Brighton, we had a bit of a busy old evening, pulling out all the bedding etc, taking a trip to the marina launderette to wash and dry it, emptying lockers out to dry, wiping etc... (which was to continue through the next day). Not great fun, but got to be done. Looking at the offending hatch, The seal didn't look too healthy - but that wasn't the major issue. The hatch showed the typical issue that it is a flat hatch screwed to a not-quite-flat deck. That's just never going to work! Water will always find its way in.







We hadn't really done much 'hatch testing'kind of sailing,so we hadn't really noticed all that much of an issue up to now.

Also, the engine bay hatch was not at ALL waterproof and let streams and streams of water in and into the bilge from the cockpit. It flowed down the hatch corners and back quicker than down the cockpit drains, I'll swear!

So, shopping time. Lovely sunny day. First up we visited SMR chandlers where the manager, Mike was very helpful in tracking down the replacement for our hatch (so old it's not made any more). We didn't really want to be cutting a new hole. That wouldarrive tomorrow before lunch, so then we hot the town for more 'pods' as we call waterproof drybags.We've been calling them this since before buying one whose brand name was actually 'Pod'. I don't quite know why, but maybe cos they kind of look like some alien critter might hatch from them any minute. We have tons as they are handy for dividing your clothes within a larger bag or bin. Most of ours were form Cotswold Leisure outdoor shop. I have a sturdier PVC Ortleib dry bag for the laptop

Brighton Marina is a place of contrasts, from a large population of motorboats of all sizes, to the fleet of small fishing boats to the boats that have not sailed for some years, kept afloat as cheap accomodation for the free-spirited by a constantly running bilge pump... It's not cheap, but it has all facilities and you get your own washroom with sink and mirror not just a shower stall. There's also a hairdryer - at least in the ladies! There's a bank of 'touristy' reastaurants just above the marina and a huge Tesco's within 5 minute walk. The best place to eat looks like the Yacht Club though. We didn't indulge, being fully stocked with food. Also spending £467 on a hatch means economies really should be practiced! The old one was crazed and didn't prop open properly any more, so it's all gain I suppose. Still...(sigh)







The wind continued from the NE - it's not the best sign when the marina is full of boats from where you are headed TO - there were lots of Dutch boats, a couple of Germans, a Danish boat and a Finnish one.

The next day, the hatch arrived, and was duly fitted by Goopmeister Steve and his big yella gun. The idea was to bed it lightly in enough goop to flatten out the deck curve. We were not carrying enough hardwood to build a proper new supporting frame. Got tons in the shed at home....

Various other clean/mop/dry tidy up jobs were done by me. It's amazing just how long things take sometimes - I get quite frustrated with it myself- not good, must chill! I tried using foam tape make a better seal on the engine hatch but it wasn't really doing the trick. It only dogs in 2 places in the center of each side which isn't at all ideal as you can imagine.

18th and we got our thinking caps on to sort the engine hatch and settled for a 'seal' made from bungee cord (bends roudn conrners without twisting) bedded in Sikaflex. I got some 'non-slip' strip and put it on the new hatch. It doesnt' look very good in terms of its non-slip abilities - we shall have to see.... We also got the mounts for the dinghy oars installed (we'd made them at Wicor but had no stainless screws long enough to mount them. Fortunately SMR provided.

After all that I got stuck into the passage planning for the next leg...