22ndOctober around the bay

I'd promised to take someone out sailing - a very old friend from my school days - who was willing to trust himself to me for a first trip in a sailing boat !

He's into the canal boats - ( www.captainpugwash.org.uk ) so I suppose his water is a bit more stationary.

Late in the year - but the day turned out somewhat warmer than it seemed earlier. Managed to get on to the river by about 2 pm - for a 4.30 HW - pretty much a low neap.

By the time we sorted out the boat and had a coffee we got down the river about 3.00.

Very slight sea in the Bay - and little wind at first, but had quite a little squally spell for about 20 mins, with the wind coming in all directions about 20 kts - but all pretty gentle stuff mostly - so I don't think I scared him to death too much !

I know exactly how he felt. Hopefully I've got another potential crew member for nex year. We want to do a trip to Watchet - as the other member of the trio from all those years ago, now runs the Bakelite Museum in Williton, nearby. So it will be a reunion of sorts - I'm not sure the three of us have all been together for perhaps 35 years or more.

Although I really do enjoy being out on my own - arranging to go out with someone else definately gets you out there more often. Left to my own devices, its so easy to put it off.

Where's them oars

So we had a pleasant couple of hours - got up the river about 5.00pm. Moored her up first attempt - then the day was somewhat spoiled by my Suzuki outboard absolutely refusing to run. So it was an oars job - and with two in a small dingy and no seat - its not that easy to efficiently row an inflatable. Thankfully we were going downstream - but even gaining a foot or two against it, trying to hold our own to get it alonside the Club pontoon was difficult.

Made me realise that just ' having the oars' in the dingy is better than nothing, but not too much use really - we couldn't have rowed it against the stream and the wind and got very far.

And today my back knew it ! - aint getting no younger.

Suzuki problems solved ( sort of )

I was dumbfounded really why it should suddenly fail - I'd only recently cleaned and checked the carb, new plug etc. So as soon as I got home - I dragged the plastic tressel into the kitchen and took all the covers off to have a quick look ( joys of being single - outboars in the kitchen ! )

It was soaked with water all around the plug. I dried it out - and popped off the prop and dumped it in a bucket outside the back door. It fired and ran first time - but there was water spraying out all over the place where I'd bodged the water jacket leak.

Bodge No 3

Scraped off all the old 'Nail and Seal', which had done a good job, in that it had stayed as a solid hard rubbery layer - but had again parted company from the engine casing. This time I took a different approach. Took it back to bare alloy with a dremel and a wire brush - inc the old casing bits - then sprayed the whole lot with etching alloy primer I had.

I've now done a new thick layer of 'nail and seal' - but have layered it right up around the top of the casing and down the other side. If its going to leak, it needs to leak downwards - maybe I should just put a bit of tube in and let it leak.

Anyone got a spare Suzuki DT2 for spares ? - looks like it may be new engine time next year. I'm a fair way up the river and it can run pretty fast. Its not just that - if I'm going to be cruising the boat and anchoring off - then a dodgy outboard for the tender could be much more serious.

Never mind - all part of the joys of sailing, so they say !