30th August 2012 - Bumper Boats & Anchors

Jeff's blog of his life living aboard a yacht, at anchor, in the UK, with his wife, a dog and a baby.

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Jeff
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30th August 2012 - Bumper Boats & Anchors

Post by Jeff »

Some things have happened! I knew they would!

I went to change out a gas cylinder and then smelled gas. Turned on the gas alarm. It beeped. Had a big panic about gas leaks for a while. Turned out there was no leak.

I went to check the engine oil and the level had risen - well, I think it has. This can mean one of three things:

1. We have a water leak into the oil. Not likely. It is not frothy or emulsified.

2. We have a fuel leak into the oil. Possible. Potentially expensive. Fingers crossed it's not this.

3. When I checked the oil on land and it was exactly perfectly at the "full" level, we were canted back a little, reducing the oil level at the dipstick. Now we're in the water, the level has accordingly risen somewhat.

I sucked out 2l of oil using a vacuum pump, this brought the level down to exactly ON the FULL line. I will check oil level religiously henceforth and cross fingers and touch wood each time.


At the same time all this was going on, we were at anchor in the main anchorage off Dartmouth. I was working away on the net for a client when BOOM we hit something. Turns out another boat in the anchorage who had arrived after us had anchored too close. No obvious major damage done, but the owners of said boat were not aboard so we had to stand guard and repeatedly fend them off until they returned and moved. Occupational hazard I think.


Apart from that nothing exciting going on really, oh except that it's now the Dartmouth Royal Regatta and there's air displays, fireworks, fairgrounds and general boaty mayhem. We've moved onto a pontoon to get out of what apparently will be total madness in the anchorage, and we're getting rafted up (other boats tieing up to ours) more and more as more people arrive.

Oh! And! I couldn't stand it any more and I bought a Rocna anchor! I went for the 25kg one as the 33 is total overkill - I will no doubt regret that in the future when the wind is up - but it has arrived and is waiting for me to collect it from the chandlers - but we'll have to do so in Towser and not in the dinghy so will collect it next week when we leave this pontoon. I think I have a 50:50 chance of it fitting on the bow roller. But where there's a will there's a way. I went to stroke it the other day and it is mahoosive!

Here's dinner time shenanigans:

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