Goshawk didn’t leave her mooring today but, as we’re heading home today, I spent some time pootling, tidying and sorting.
The first task was to take a multimeter to the batteries to establish whether the problem we had starting the engine was due to lack of power in the batteries. Thankfully both of the batteries registered as fully charged. This is good news, because I had thought they should have plenty of power and was really confused if this wasn’t the case. It does mean that the mystery surrounding the engine remains. It seems really odd that there was power at one point, but then an hour later, nothing. I’ve asked about this on the Westerly Owners’ Association Facebook page and the consensus seems to be that there’s a dodgy connection or wiring somewhere between the batteries and the engine panel, so this will be my first investigation when I return to the boat.
For now I’m relieved that I don’t have to lug the batteries off the boat to charge them!
Next up, having established that Goshawk is now on the correct mooring, I checked over the ropes to ensure that she is adequately secured. The last thing I want is for her to break free! I can now relax knowing that she is properly secured to a decent, well-maintained mooring.
My next task was to try to establish why there was so much frapping around the mast. I managed to tighten all the ropes I could find, and turned the main halyard around the mast a couple of times before tightening it on the cleat. This, I think, has reduced the frapping a little but I think there’s something in the mast (probably the electrical cables I guess) that are still moving around. Hopefully this won’t irritate people on the shore too much. (Personally I really like the sound of halyards frapping – it always reminds me that I am by the water!)
I then moved onto the jib sheets. I wanted to tighten them a little, but this was also a great opportunity to play around with the self-tailing winches. I think I’m getting closer to understanding how they work, but I’ll have another good look and a bit of a play before I take Goshawk out again.
Finally, I did a quick check of the seacocks and gas, packed up anything perishable, and did a quick clean and tidy so that the next time we head out, the boat isn’t a complete mess.
And that was about it!
It really was lovely pootling around on the boat today. It was relatively warm and very sunny, with just a gentle breeze. Goshawk looked great, the river beautiful, and sitting in the cockpit listening to 5Live whilst carrying out trivial tasks was just wonderful.
I have told Claire that I won’t make her a boat widow by constantly sitting on the boat undertaking trivialities, but I have no doubt that I will be able to while away many an hour this summer aboard Goshawk!
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Posted: by Simon
