Plugging Through-hulls, Galley Refit

Well, I apologise right up for blogging about what many people would see as mundane matters, but of people watch tv shows about other peeps watching tv, then I cam right about messing about in my boat.

In my effort to  become a blue water sailor, I occasionally download books about storm sailing. The latest is by Hal Roth and while he's a grand sailor and excellent writer, reading his book makes me sick. The photos of gigantic waves and ships that have been lost, and the  Tzu Hang off Cape Horn. Twice! And I get to feeling nauseated, and then eve  the thought of reading the ebook  makes me feel clammy. But I must, that's what sailors are supposed to do and besides,, I have this theory that of I read every storm sailing reference and ship all the gear, that the storms will just pass me by.

Here's hoping.

Today, as the mindless holiday period comes to a close,  I drove in heavy fog and arrived on the waterfront to a beautifully clear, calm morning. The fog still hung about the trees, but the sky over Bohemian' s mooring was clear and a soft sunlight sloped in making silver sparkles in the foliage and rocks about the shore.

A glance across the moorings revealed, first, that yet again   I was the only mooring owner present and that a large cruising ketch had anchored in overnight. She was a long way off so I have no detail other than that she was over forty feet, was white with blue trim and may have been ferro. Her decks were littered with clutter, so she was most likely a liveaboard cruiser and was fully crewed.

A stormy change had been forecast after lunch, so   had no time to dally about when there were preparations to be made. One of my aims with preparing Bohemian for cruising is to  minimise the number of holes in her hull. From eight originally (cockpit drains, engine inlet and exhaust, stern tube, sink drain, toilet inlet and outlet), I now have down to three but the cockpit drains are not really negotiable. Today,  I would address the sink drain.

Actually, it would be a part of a galley refit. The sink, although stainless steel, was corroded and without a drain, would be of no use. When removing the sink I noticed that a shelf below showed signs of rot and was poorly bonded to the hull anyway. One thing Roth does state in that sailors need to have access to all parts of the hull in case of a holing at sea (several thousand partly submerged shipping containers and dozens of ships and yachts are added to the vast array of fixed navigational hazards each  year). The thought of having a dead space against the hull was fairly chilling, so out she came. For the sake of providing a level storage space, the shelf will be replaced by a shelf that is easily removed for emergency or routine access.

Now, to designing a galley with footballing Origo stove and removable tub sink.

Fair winds!

That storm did hit all right with torrential rain all  through the afternoon. The wind was equally, but not destructive or too much for a well-prepared sailor ;)