Some injudicious yard work with the travel lift led to a bent ProFurl yesterday afternoon. We cancelled the launch so we could dismantle the foil and straighten the bent section Mercifully, the bend was round and fixable and all went well this morning. The yard felt bad about things and brought in a cherry picker to save me going up the mast. They have also offered to buy me a new foil section.
I can recommend Skattøra Marina as a place to overwinter. George, Bjørn and Stig are hard working, professional and very friendly. I have another connection with Tromsø – when I first went to sea in 1966 I was in “Norbu”, a Norwegian coal ship built in Tromsø and crewed by locals. I mentioned this to Bjørn Jacobsen, the yard manager here, who told me that Norbu had in fact been built and owned by his father. A small world.
Norwegian customs have removed constraints to laying up in Norway and the customs permit is easy to get. Last winter in Tromsø cost me around $4,000 including travel lift, water blasting and snow clearance. The only problem is the 10km haul into town. There are few buses and no local services other than fuel, water, gas and an engineering facility. No shops.
My new little Brompton folding bike has earned its place on Tainui. If my bum stops hurting I will give the bike a “gear that works” plaudit.
We’re back in the water at the top of the tide tonight. At last! The only uncertainty now is whether we’ve fixed the coolant problem. If not, it’ll be off with the head and the exhaust manifold. Sentrum Diesel have been good, albeit a bit preoccupied with bigger ships. I know they’ll rise to the challenge if the leak continues. Maxine arrives tomorrow and we should get away a couple of days later. Touch wood
One thought on “Back into the Water”