A second major project that we completed while in the yard at Southampton was to rebuild our crane. It was in remarkably poor condition. The ram-to-extension bolts were siezed due to lack of Tuff-Gel application on the stainless screws in the aluminum casting; the linear winch had worn away all its bearing material, damaging the…
Heatstrip Patio Heater
While in Brisbane, Australia in 2014 we installed a Heatstrip patio heater and just love it. A key advantage of the Heatstrip is a nice, even warmth with no red glow. You can’t tell it’s on and it doesn’t change the lighting at night. Spitfire appreciates the heater too, and usually finds a spot underneath…
Muffler Replacement
We had a long list of projects to complete during our Southampton haulout at Saxon Wharf. One of the bigger jobs was to replace the muffler. Our old one turned out to not be in bad shape, and might have gone a few more years. But we couldn’t really know the state of the muffler…
Control Systems on Dirona
We run Dirona like a small apartment with little regard for power consumption, power load or power source. Right now we are moored at St. Katharine Docks in London plugged into 32A/50Hz power. But we run the same way whether we are plugged into 50A/60Hz power in the US or if we were anchored off…
On the Hard at Saxon Wharf
Boats have been damaged or destroyed during lift operations, so we’re always nervous whenever we haul Dirona out. We were impressed with the care Saxon Wharf took in the lift, including asking for exterior hull photos to could assess where to place the lifting straps. The operation went smoothly and by mid-morning we were safely…
Trip to Gros Place Marina, Four Mile Bayou, Lake Verette, Louisiana Feb 26- 28, 2016
Friday Feb 26, 2016We hadn’t been out in the boat for a good while so we decided to take a short trip up to Gros Place for the weekend. It is on Four Mile Bayou on the south end of Lake Verette. We left the home slip at 9:30 on a cool clea…
Trip to Gros Place Marina, Four Mile Bayou, Lake Verette, Louisiana Feb 26- 28, 2016
Friday Feb 26, 2016We hadn’t been out in the boat for a good while so we decided to take a short trip up to Gros Place for the weekend. It is on Four Mile Bayou on the south end of Lake Verette. We left the home slip at 9:30 on a cool clea…
Portland to Southampton
Storm systems rolled through Portland, UK for four nights before the forecast showed a gap just long enough for the 60-mile run to Southampton. On our approach to Southampton Waters, we transited the narrow and current-swept Needles Channel, passing the dramatic chalk cliffs and Needles Lighthouse off the southwest tip of the Isle of Wight….
Portland, UK
After spending New Year’s Eve in Falkmouth, UK, we were booked into the yard in Southampton on Jan 8th for routine maintenance. You would think a week would be plenty to travel the 200 miles from Falmouth to Southampton, but big weather systems, some with 50kt winds, were forecast for most of next week. We…
