Making the most of Escapade being out of the water, we had a list of jobs to complete that were easier on the hard.

Skin Fittings

Hopefully, no more leaks

With many of the systems on board a boat, there is a need for sea water to be taken on board or waste water to be pumped out. This obviously requires there to be holes in the hull; not great if you still want to float! The holes need to have special through hull fittings.

When we bought Escapade, the skin fittings were all original and the survey had recommended that we have them replaced. We spent many hours removing the old ones, including cleaning off the sikaflex (special sealant for boats). When it came to putting the new ones in, we decided it was best to get Fox’s Boatyard to put them in; we didn’t feel skilled enough to do this ourselves. The yard did a great job, but, over time, two of the fittings turned green around the base. On further inspection, we realised that they were weeping very slightly, so while Escapade was out of the water, Fox’s removed and resealed them.

Hatches

On the deck of the boat, we have several hatches. These are the original ones and, over time, the sun had damaged them, crazing the acrylic. This makes them more fragile and prone to breaking. We wanted to avoid having to replace these once we leave the UK, so decided to have them refurbished. We would have liked to do this ourselves, but Lewmar (who make them) will only supply the parts to registered companies. This is to ensure that they are fitted correctly and will stand up to ocean conditions.

We managed to find a local company (Eagle Boat Windows) to change the acrylic for us. All we needed to do was remove them from the boat. Not as easy as it sounds! I don’t think that they had ever been removed or serviced and the fittings were completely seized on. This required drilling out and purchase of replacement hinges and fittings – more expense!!

Refurbed hatch with mushroom vent

Anchor chain

100m!
Ready for marking

When we head off, we will obviously spend time in marinas and harbours, but we are hoping to spend much of our time ‘at anchor’. As we will be anchoring in different conditions and weather, it is important that we have suitable anchor and chain. Escapade has an anchor and 60m of chain, but we feel that it is not enough for where we will be anchoring. We will invest in a slightly larger anchor later in the year, but while out of the water, we wanted to replace the chain for 100m.

Again we used a local firm (EYE Marine) who delivered 100m to the yard. First job for us was to measure and mark the chain in 10m lengths. This is important when anchoring  as we need to know how much chain to put out in different conditions. The next job was to attach the anchor to it. Finally, find a way to get it up into the anchor locker at the front of the boat.

Anodes

On a boat, electrical current flowing between connections and different metals can cause galvanic corrosion and damage to the hull and other boat parts. To minimise this damage, sacrificial anodes are fitted in various parts of the boat: keel cooling plates, sail drive, propellor, hull.

When Escapade was hauled out, we could see that the anodes needed replacing. This can be done while the boat is in the water (with dive gear), but is obviously easier out of the water.

Damaged anodes
Corrosion
Replaced