Maintenance April 2004

Date: April 2004
Boat: Fizzgig
Trip:
Maintenance Weekend

Days: 2
Skipper: John Alden
Crew: Guy Fowler


A weekend spent scrubbing and painting the hulls of various club boats on a cold and damp April doesn't immediately hit that "wow count me in" spot. However it is a chance for the crews to "give back" (as my former employers IBM would say in that trendy new management speak). In actual fact its an enjoyable weekend assuming you don't mind getting covered first in mud and then by your own coat of anti-foul paint. (Not a single barnacle has attached itself to my warm sailing hat since) From a sailing point of view mooring between piles is not something we do very often along the South Coast so there is also a learning or practice opportunity for both skippers and crew.

Everyone chipped in eagerly as we needed to scrub 4 hulls and apply the paint with sufficient drying time before the returning tide threatened to wash away our efforts. Of course it turned out that John didn't have as much paint as he thought he had so Fizzgig was left with an interesting below waterline colour scheme.

Left: John and Guy contemplate how to remove one of those deck fittings that just won't come off.

In the evening we took the dinghies ashore for a meal at the local pub. By the time we emerged it was pitch dark and very cold as we all huddled on the pontoon awaiting our turn in the inflatable taxi back to our respective boats.

Due to the tides this weekend it was decided to head back to the marina immediately. Fizzgig was to lead the way in the dark through the often confusing maze of boats moored in the river channel with Summer Song and Lucrece following. The only slight flaw in this plan occurred when Fizzgig's stern light promptly failed just as we pulled away. It fell to yours truly to stand on the stern in the freezing wind holding a torch for Summer Song to follow.

Below Left: Summer Song, Below Right: Lucrece & Fizzgig prepare for painting






















Below: Pam supervises work as Linda contemplates life in a sailing club.