Tuesday

The rolls from Maasholm bakery are simply great, I can fully recommend them. a great breakfast of bacon rolls ..I decided the only way ahead was to motor and  sail back down the Schlei..The forecast was now for rain and storms for the rest of the week and after such a crap 36hours I decided I was not going to bother with trying to get out on the Baltic.

I cast off and motored against the wind and waves down to Kappeln passing under the bridge again..there were quite a few boats coming back this way.I had decided to pass Arnis under motor and then set the sails and sail down the long stretch of water to the next bridge around 5 miles away.  I turned the last corner in Arnis and saw the white water that was ahead of me with the wind howling through my rigging.. mm not a place to be. I turned around and ran into Arnis yacht club to await the weather front passing over.3 hours later saw me under motor again..the wind had died a little and was not enough to power me with any speed over the waves..
I stayed on the motor now all the way to where I met Ulli with his little boat on the GroßeBretie.. we then sailed back together.. the wind died at about 2100 and i started the motor again.. clunk..the shear pin for the prop snapped and left me sitting there in the middle of nowhere..Ulli bless him towed me back to my mooring. I dread to imagine what would have happened if it was 24 hours earlier.. Toy Box would now be a pile of matchwood and fiberglass on the beach !

Ulli´s little boat..! 

Another lesson learnt.. I am even after all these years still learning and spending my life with good luck following me. I hope it never runs out.

Monday..no sun day

Waves were sloping over the deck in the morning as the wind had gone all the way around to west leaving me open to the force of  the wind and waves.. The anchor held well and I was not too worried the wind was going to die down later.. So I was led to believe..I spent the day reading and planning what I was going to do for the rest of the week ahead..Wondering where it would take me.
Time flew by and I was still sitting there awaiting the wind to abate.. the Anchor alarm (depth sounder) told me that I was dragging the anchor towards the shore. Decision made I was going to weigh anchor and motor around to the harbor itself and take shelter there.. I should perhaps have gone sooner the waves by this time were reaching over 1 meter in height.. I went forward and dropped the anchor ball and started to raise the anchor, the wind was strong and tore the ball away from hands as I tried to secure it.. Bugger another 10er gone..The anchor was really deep.. how come my alarm went off.. I was not thinking straight and simply raised and stowed it quickly before getting back into the cockpit.. I was knocked of my feet by one wave and felt rather small in all this power of nature.20 minutes later I was safely at a mooring having given all the big boats a bit of a shock seeing me coming in..Toy Box being so small in comparison.

Oh well I learnt a lesson ..it can be too late..if you think about it do it ..or it may be too late..! I will admit to scaring myself a tadge..we all learn from our mistakes next time I will be more careful. It was late and I was now tired and simply wanted to use the loo and go to bed.!!

Saturday eve..at anchor

At Anchor..Sunday eve saw me tucked in behind Maasholm the wind was now from southeast and I was safe here for the night.. Forecast was for more of the same weather. My plans for a trip out onto the Baltic itself were slowly diminishing as the wind was definitely not that I was expecting, what ever happened to those balmy days in July as I was a child and youth ? I seem to be simply plagued with bad luck in my attempt to sail to Denmark again.
It was only last year that I sailed from Flensburg with Toy Box to take up her new mooring here on the Schlei, was I never to leave the entrance again ?

I settled down to a peaceful night despite there being a 25knt plus wind howling over the peninsular in front of me.. the water around me  was calm, I was only 100meters from land. Around me was several other yachts all thinking the same as me and saving the mooring fees in the Maashlm harbour..It sarted to rain..and I mean rain..it came down in buckets

This was to be the way ahead for the next 24 hours..!

The Sun day...

I awoke after a good nights sleep to the gentle rythm of Toy Boy as the bow  rose and fell with the waves.. Waves ? I was surrounded on 3 sides by land and the forecast said I should be ok .. Instead of the said southerlies it was blowing out of the northeast.. Exactly in the direction I wanted to sail..I anchored in a small bay with a long sandspit along the southeasterly side and had expected to see even more of it as the southerlies uncovered it... Now it was a case of  beating to windward for the rest of  the day. So off we set close hauled in a  freshening breeze. I thought I had seen a friend of mine passing under the bridge on his way home.. I was to think of him later that day. After sailing past the larhe ships moored there I passed under the next bridge at Kappeln

Summer sailing ...I laugh !

I had been planning this trip for weeks and looking forward to it for months. Perhaps that is the thing one does wrong, anticipation being better than the real thing.. What ever, I had 10 days to sail to my hearts content my intention was to use then to the best.
So plan was sail as much as possible without motor..Friday was a day of little wind with Saturday being the same until midday..So Saturday midday I was aboard with provisions for a 4- 5 days with the intention of a resupply underway.I sailed with a light wind northeast towards the Missunde straights and passed under the lifting Lindaunis rail bridge at 1945hrs. I decided I was going to anchor in a small bay I knew a mile or so north of the bridge. this I did in 2 meters of water. Safe from all directions apart from the northeast. The forecast was for southeast/south winds so I slept well. I took time to tidy up the boat. As always I seem to generate a large amount of "mess" everywhere.

I spent a while contemplating the weather forecast and it´s affect on my trip. the following week was set to ba a great one with light southerlies to southwest and sunshine. i looked forward to getting over to Denmark again with Toy Box. With this thought I went to sleep feeling satisfied and happy...

Back onboard

It has been a strange few days without the boat. I awoke 10 days ago to feel dizzy and nauseated, and felt very unsure as to what was happening, it was so bad that I had to hold onto the bed whilst laying on it as i thought I was going to fall off ! After a weekend of worry and fear for the worse I was diagnosed on the Monday afternoon as having an inner ear problem, this after a CT scan to make sure I had no brain..tumour..I was advised that the only way around it was to carry out a special manoeuvre which entails throwing ones upper body and head into different states of repose holding the pose for a minute and then doing the same again on the other side.. the problem is getting better.

I left Toy Box to her own self for the whole time. I returned Saturday and fitted her with the new solar panel I had purchased with 20wts it is double the capacity of the old one.The weather was not as fore casted...again and so I decided to make the most of it and went window shopping instead.
Sunday lunchtime saw me on board and I actually went for a short sail around the local harbours, a bit daft as the dizziness is only being suppressed with drugs. I am to see a specialist tomorrow I hope he can help clear this problem once and for all.
As you can see from the picture it was a little bit dark at times even in the middle of the afternoon, though it never rained.
I did my good deed for the day by rescuing this lovely toy for a chap who said his rudder had stopped functioning.. Seems it shot off into the distance and simply stopped working.

I reunited the owner with his expensive model declining the cash reward.. I can be nice sometimes.. I now await 1, a favourable visit at the Doctors and 2, favourable weather for the weekend, being a public holiday thursday I have taken friday off to elongate the weekend.!

Sunshine and a light breeze..!

I returned Sunday afternoon to find all well apart from the howling of wind through the stays and lines of every boat moored. Weather for Monday was promised as being a Northeasterly which was going to be great for the trip back down the Schlei, it runs roughly Southwesterly from its start all the way to Schleswig..I slept well on board and was getting used to being on board. It is nice to get back on the water and meet new people I find boaters especially sailors to be friendly bunch in Germany with less of the snobbery one finds in England. this is reserved for the "new rich" here, or at least that is how it appears to me.Maasholm is originally a fishing village.
The Statue is a reminder of how Eels were caught in the winter months to help them get over the long winter months. They were simply skewered with the fork in the mudflats.

Long winter months .. to the south there are summer like temperatures but up here in the north it is still chilly at the present with 10 deg C..Monday is going to be 15 deg so keeping fingers crossed.

  Monday morning and the wind from last night was gone and instead the sun was shinning at last..After a leisurely breakfast I sailed away from Maasholm with a following wind..Slowly.as the breeze was light.It was to be the same for the remainder of the day  under a blue sky I sailed down the Schlei untill I dropped anchor in a small anchorage and simply watched the day end with a meal of bacon and mushrooms..luverly grub

 Here a few pictures seen from my boat as the evening drew to a close.The young couple were simply passing through and I thought it looked too good a picture not to take it.

.

The sun sunk behind "Burg" the hill top used to be a "Viking" settlement and still shows traces of the fort etc if you take a walk around. The whole of the Schlei is steeped in history I would love to write more on the subject from a laymans point of view. I think I shall have to do some serious research for that.

Tuesday morning I awoke at 0530 as the boat was swinging around on its anchor as the wind had increased causing the water to reveres it´s flow or something . I actually felt dizzy laying in my bed with the view constantly changing so swiftly. I decided to get up and make a move back to my berth in Schleswig. Mike Fish or who ever it is had forecast a stiff breeze and at 0630 it was already blowing a good F4 and I didn´t want to risk being stuck in the Anchorage all day through too much wind even if it was from the right direction. Under main alone we were swept along at 4,5 knts and quickly made it into the berth.. I am not too pleased at the German style of berthing with poles and jetty.. bloody difficult to jostle around with 4 lines at the same time with a stiff wind from astern trying to shove the boat at an angle to the berth.
I took the idea this trip not to use the motor unless really required and that plan i stuck to. Apart from Saturday morning when wind rain etc made it a must i only used the motor to give me steerage way through the bridges and at anchoring up when I had to test the depth the old way.. I must get the transponder sorted asap.. All in all I am pleased with the way things went.. Costs were 5 liters (actually a little less) and 16 Euros berthing fees for the two nights in Maasholm. So not an expensive trip by any means I and I have left enough tinned food and water on board for another trip later this month should the weather allow.!
Thanks for reading the blog.. drop me a line or leave a comment.. cheers.. Jim

April showers

I managed to get away a little earlier than planned for and arrived at the berth a little after 1300 on Friday afternoon. It was dry but was blowing half a gale from the west. Micheal fish must now be working for Windfinder.com. I was caught out in the gales that hit UK in the late 80´s I was windsurfing in northern Holland and had a fantastic time..! Back to the present ..i took my time packing all the gear on board, do I really need that much food and stuff for 4 nights away ? Finally with everything stowed in the fashion of what has become a case of "junk on bunks" I sat down and had a cup of coffee whilst contemplating the situation.. There was no other boats getting ready to sail..mm what to do ? Strong westerlies meant that the water level at my berth were becoming low, if I did not sail soon we would be sitting on the bottom if the wind kept up. Because of the shape of the fiord the prevailing wind acts like a tidal machine pushing the water in and out. So decision made I was going to set sail.. First of all a reef was required.. I was reminded by something Steve wrote to me, "if you are thinking about it, it´s too late.".So reefed down and nr 2 Jib set I left the berth under motor for the first 200 mtrs. to windward. Then Helm over sheets in and off we went ! Flat water and a beam reach.. with F6 of wind ..wow exhilarating to say the least.. swiftly passing Gull island I headed NEast and on a broad reach was soon up to 6,8 knts ..without a tide ! Toy Box was low in the water due to all the stores but she seemed to really like it. We flew towards the first navigation point which is the " Enge" it is a sandbank that reaches left and right into the deep water channel making it a maximum of 40 meters wide at this point. We slipped through here with a current that pushed us through despite being in the wind shade of a stand of large trees. I passed the sandbank about 15 meters of my port side. Then followed a quick crossing of the open water and into the small winding stretch of the fiord the Missunde Enge..

 Still under sail we carried on nort east with the plan to drop Anchor near the small island that would shelter us from all directions.. Fishermenn seemed to have taken a last resort chance to lay nets along every stretch that I thought suitable to stop over.. A quick look at the Chart and decided to go for broke at the next cove ahead.. Forecast was westerlies becoming south and then strengthening from the east. Dropping the hook with its new ground tackle in what was to be an ideal place to stop over.. The wind died down and apart from the sounds of nature I was alone with several million mosquitoes.. This was not discovered until I arose at 0530 to find the boat covered in them.. I had not one single bite though... do the things metamorphose or something..into biting machines.?
I slept well with the knowledge that the anchor was going to hold no matter what.. The forcast Easterlies were not there.. it was blowing strongly from the Northeast and looked like rain.. I decided to get under way on motor and see what the day brought me..

I managed to stay under motor for the next 4 hours with rain and wind becoming more severe as the morning went on. I passed the SS Alexandra as she left her berth in Arnis for the trip back to Flensburg.. Steam and the smell of coal filled the air..
I simply carried on and decided to stay over at Maasholm untill the weather cleared on Sunday afternoon.I am now in Kiel and will return to Maasholm tomorrow afternoon.

Other Owners..

I have just finished packing my kit for "The Cruise" .. I am off from Friday sailing until Tuesday..Forecast has changed once again.. it is going to be a case of suck and see..

I have today received Emails from two other Jidzo owners, one from Germany the other from UK .. I am hoping they will contribute a few pics and stuff to the  "Jidzo" site" as well as exchange ideas and experiences with our boats.  Perhaps if interests grows I can add a simple forum to the site. I wish both of you safe sailing and a "hand spans water under the keel" ..

This is Cheap Cheap owned by Alex in the UK.. I really like the way the nonslip areas are in blue.. I am tempted to follow suit but with grey once I get around to giving Toy Box a facelift..A nice looking boat Alex.. If you have any more pics I would be pleased to see them.. How is the cockpit drained on your boat? I need to look at the way mine is set up.

My new Anchor chain is fitted, 6 meters of 6mm (1900kilo breaking strain) weighs about 6kilos  attached to my 5 kilo Bruce and the rest with 12mm (2400kg) line.. I used 8mm stainless shackles which are rated at 3200kgs ..so Toy Box is going to be pretty safe sitting at anchor in future..Nothing like being sure when sleeping aboard to be still in the same place when you wake up. I have a Fisherman's anchor as a spare on board but do not like the bloody great thing with it´s flukes. But a kedge anchor should be carried...

I was asked about weight distribution on board.. I have all my kit placed either in the centre or as near as possible to it. with toolbox etc under the V bunk to balance the outboard out.. I feel she is fairly good balanced and even with all my cruising gear she still makes a good speed..( I logged 6knots last weekend).

So Folks next posting is going to be over the weekend when I get into a harbour with WLan.. If you are out sailing take care..

Weekend Sailing

I spent yesterday (saturday) out on the water after first fitting a few bits and bobs to Toy Box, main one was a bungee strap to hold the GPS unit in eyesight instead of swinging about. Under the Nr jib we managed 5,7 knots in a light breeze and I was pleased with the result of the other job I "botched" the depthsounder still requires the transducer to be fitted propery again.
Today I was out on the Schlei again .. just another day on the water really to get used to the boat again after the long winter break.I have ordered a new anchorchain this should be here this weekso will fit that on Saturday before setting out for my cruise.
The weather forcast for next weekend is looking really good  .. I have Monday and Tuesday off so I will attempt to cross over to the Island of Langeland about 25 miles of the German coast.I have invited a friend along for the trip. I like to have company on board and it also keeps the costs down going 50/50 onboard. So keep your fingers crossed for me on this .

Sailing with my son

I have my son visiting me this weekend and as the weather was good it was decided a trip on Toy Box was called for. we set sail under a cloudy sky with a fresh breeze from the west. Toy Box romped along with over 5 knots under full Mainsail and Jib.and we quickly crossed bot the "Kleine & Große Breite" and into the narrow straits towards Missunde ferry. We simply upon reaching it turned around and had a spanking sail back to the berth. Although we did change the head sail for the Gennny, it was not really needed and Toy Box simply heeled a little more rather than gathered speed. it was nice to try it out though.
Ulli was on his berth when we returned and I helped him rig his sails, lending him a jib sheet in the process. His little boat looks a lot better on the water than out of it.! I look forward to sailing in his company this year.

Motor recoil unit

Well Lutz Clausen managed to repair my recoil unit and I refitted it to my motor this afternoon. I then realised I had a complete spare set of mooring lines in 8mm on board I had considered these as not strong enough at the time of taking Toy Box over and so they will now have a life aboard the little boat of Ulli´s, as it is less than half the weight of mine they will suit him well.

 I managed a quick look f the boat this afternoon, with a few jobs to do still she will be a nice little vessel when she is finished.I look forward to seeing him out on the water later this month.

A decent sail at last

I managed to get out on the water today the sun was shinning and the forcast was for a light breeze out of the west.
I fitted the new Tiller extension I had made from Larch before setting out, I also had to visit Lutz Clausen before setting sail as my Starter rope on the outboard had snapped causing the reciol spring to unwind in it´s housing. I have "borrowed " a complete unit from him untill mine can be repaired,after fitting the borrowed reciol unit the motor started straight away.
 I sailed out and simply enjoyed the afternoon whilst not really going very far. I was pleased with the extension it makes ballancing Toy Box a lot easier as sitting in the stern makes her drag and stops her from picking up speed. Despite her weighing over a ton she is still "tender" to weight distribution.I have even considerd stowing the outboard inside but decided it was too time consumming and probably damaging as well.

As you can see I sail under a German tricolour.. I assure you it is not my choice. I do however fly a Red Ensign from the Port Spreader...
I made a short video today whilst sailing and have added it to You tube my first ever..Jidzo on You tube. I shall have to make a few more of  my travels.
The forecast for the rest of the week is dismal.keep you fingers crossed for better weather. !
I managed to snap the starter chord for my outboard..unable to fix it myself I turned to Lutz Clausen at
CL Boots Service Schleswig and he promptly offered to lend me a starter unit untill he could repair mine.. Which he has now done..I was able to pick up the replacement unit on Sunday from his home and can collect my orignnal unit tomorrow (Wednesday).. What a brilliant service.! I can recomend him for any outboard issues you may have.I know at least one of my friends has also bought a motor from him and is more than pleased with his work..!

Harbour day ..

I drove to Toy Box today to check that all was well and pick up a sail. I am going to sell my spare set of sails they are the ones that  came with the boat and are a little on the small side and I assume from another boats model. The money raised will be added to purchase a new mainsail. I have had a very good offer for a cruising mainsail and wish to get one before the season gets underway. I can sell the other mainsail i have once the new one arrives.
A new working jib would be nice as well but that will have to wait.
I have been thinking of selling Toy Box this season and getting something a little larger.This would open up other destinations to me. We will wait and see what the season brings.The forecast for the coming Easter weekend is pretty drab.Oh well I can hope things change quickly as I am itching to get sailing again.

Over the winter I have been in contact with the chap in this picture. He sailed his Jidzo from the west coast of France to the Mediterranean with a couple of friends and also wrote a book about it. He has kindly sent me a signed copy of his book which unfortunately is in french!  I am struggling to get through the first chapter still.
I will add more info reference this book at a later date.

Olympic Harbour Kiel

The wind is still strong out of the North East and I decided to take a walk along the seafront and harbour. I was pleasantly suprised to see another Jidzo parked on the hard. I looked closely at her stern as the drainage plug for the cockpit had been enlarged to allow a quicker emptying of the cockpit..
This now brings the total I have knowledge about in Germany to 6. I am going to have to open a German column if this keeps up.One Jidzo is even on the Schlei where I sail.. I must get to visit him one day this year, i was in his neck of the woods a fewtimes but didn´t get to see his boat anywhere. Perhaps he was out on the Baltic.

This one here is in Kiel direct.

I have been on contact with an owner of a Jidzo from Bremen and he is refitting his boat at present.

She requires a coat of paint as well as other work.His intentio is in August to sail via the Northsea/baltic canal to Kiel as part of his holiday.. I wish him luck


It would be nice to meet the owners of these boats and chat over their experiences with the boats.

This one was recently put up for sale I have tried to contact the owner but it seems he has either sold it already or his email system has an antispam as the platform it is shown on does not show the sellers email address.

The forcast for Sunday is also not so great I will drop in to spend a couple of hours on the boat to relax before the week ahead.. Easter is next weekend and the forcast is for cool weather Forcast at berth. Oh well it is still early in the season and for many the season has not even begun, I watched today as dozens of folk were scurrying around to get thier boats ready for the start and launch.

It seems that Goldfish are a local treat here.. lol..

Strong winds

I have this week refitted the battery and solar panel onto Toy Box as well as repaired the depthsounder. Now that was a simple job to do. When the unit was fitted, by a boatyard professional ( its a NASA Clipper unit) he managed to leave a small hole in the bonding so that the oil had leaked out over time.. I have a through hull sender. What a bunch of plonkers the firm must be to get that wrong ! I made a tempory repair and will finish it off when it gets a little warmer. Instead of using oil I used washing up liquid..lol it works and will make less mess when I reattempt the job !
I sent a mail recently for a quote for a new mainsail.. I have had a very reasonable... that means lowcost offer for one from a small local firm. I am now going to raise the cash to order one.! It will mean selling off two of the sails I already have and do not use. i think they are from a Flying Cruiser so should be ok to get rid of at a good price.
I have decided that the Coachroof must come back off and be refitted.. another warm weather job. what else was there that needed doing ? seems a never ending list of jobs none of which are life threatening ! I ought really also revarnish the woodwork and paint out the lockers soon. Oh yes and start looking at how I am going to fit the halyard jammers. and other deck stuff.
Oh and the Strong winds in the title.. it has been blowing a gale since wednesday and forcast is for more at the weekend. So I shall go to boat sunday lunchtime, but not go sailing...I can´t wait for a long sail again..!
If anyone wants more information on the Jidzo or has one please feel free to contact me.. 

Quick sail.

Sunday found me on the way to the boat looking forward to getting the most of the good weather. I set sail and simply sailed around the Schleswig area. Ulli, a friend of mine who had just sold his boat a "Liss" rang me and asked where I was, I then sailed into Schleswig harbour and picked him up. We then sailed aimlessly around enjoying the afternoon. Toy Box looks now she has had a scrub more like a boat instead of the building site she looked on Friday. Our next sail will probably be on Wednesday afternoon. I also need to fit the battery and charging panel !

 Schleswig habour

Please feel free to visit my website at Jidzo.com

First sail of 2012

After a couple of hours sorting everything out this morning whilst wondering where the sunshine and 14 deg C were that the met boys had forcast. I decided not to sail out untill it was warmer. Suddenly the sun came out and things looked good. I set sails and we went for a quick sail around the Schleswig area, Just to get my hand back in as it were. The Bouys were not in thier proper places so it was a bit of touch and go on a couple of tacks. I was suprised to see what I had at fist thought a trick of the light in the fog. There has appeared just outside of Schleswig harbour where there used to be a sandbank an Island.. I am not sure what exctly has been done but it seems that a dredger was also in the harbour so I assume they have simply dredged the harbour and dumped it on the sandbank. that should please the boat owners there when the gulls find and colonise it!
Back to the sailing .. The "new" forsail pulled in the light winds well and I am pleased enough with it. I have come to the conclusion that Toy Box requires a complete repqaint as is looking a little tatty. I will have to think about this in the season. As always money money money.!
1630 saw Toy Box back in her berth with all ship shape and ready for the start of the season in ernest.Once again she was the only vessel underway on the water, I could however see the yacht club members longingly looking our way as we sailed past. They were regelmented by the german way of it starts in April tied to not being able to launch before a certian date.! I have enquired about leaving Toy Box ashore near her berth and it is "doable".costs are roughly the same as up untill now.

Launch 2012

Friday morning arrived and it was foggy and cold where was the weather that had been forcasted ?

I had a very long day getting Toy Box ready for and then finally launching her. I had the impression that everything was set against her actually getting wet. I shall cut the story short but I will not be taking her back to her winter berth near me again. It caused me more work and hassle than ot was worth.

Toy Box was afloat at around 1230 friday. I had several problems with stepping the mast as the harbour master was very keen. Still we finally got it finished late that afternoon, or at least I thought I had. The freshly serviced motor started on first pull. I was pleased with myself untill I realised there was no cool water comming from it.. I then had to strip the leg down with the basic tools and try to find the problem. It turned out that when I put the leg on last week I had managed to misalign the rubber hose conection to the rest of the system.. Duh.. It´s one of those jobs that requires 3 hands and an eye on one index finger.

I finaly berthed her in her own berth at around 1830. We were the only vessel moving on the water ! Looking forward to sailing her again.

Antifouling

I managed Saturday to finish the antifouling and also serviced the outbourd, it started on third pull, not bad after sitting there since last October. I did however seem to have a small amount of water in the gearbox oil. At least I asume it was water, the oil was thick and quite light coloured as if it had been turned into margerine! 

I was given...well for a bottle of Whiskey the frame for a canvas dogder . I will have to see how it fits when I have the mast stepped I can sew the canvas myself !  ..So all in all Toy Box is once again almost ready for launching !

22March 2012

Late this afternoon Toy Box was  hoisted out of her winter cradle to allow me to antifoul her under the supporting posts. I left her hanging from the rafters to dry out. I have organised everything so that she can be slipped tomorrow in Schleswig. I was going to go for flensburg and then sail around but I do not have the time to do it all myself and I would also like company on the trip. A shake down sail is arranged for Saturday. I need to wash the boat and get the crap of 5 months dust etc off her as well as remove to brown water stripe she gained from siling in the brackish waters of the Schlei.

I am really looking forward to being back on the water !

Refit progress

I managed to do quite a bit of work yesterday as the sun was shining and the temperature went into double figures for the first time this year. Toy Box now has a new blue Waterline in 2 part paint and I have done the prep work for the Antifouling that I intend to het started today. The coachroof is back on her,stuck on with Silkafex and screws. I am not really happy with the result of my handywork there and can see me taking it off again in the summer and making a better job of it ! I was simply in a bit of a hurry to get it all done.
I must adimt I was suprised to recieve a packet with the outboard parts yesterday. That is what I call a quick service from the the firm which is in Dusseldorf half way down the country from me. I shall be servicing the outboard today as well.
I need to get a bottle of "antigilb", the Schlei is brackwater and leaves a terrible brown stain on the hull over the course of the season that is not so easily removed. I am informed that this stuff will do it with ease..We shall see if it is worth the 10 quid a bottle next week !

All I need now is a couple of days of good weather and then she is in the water !

Refit

I have over the winter removed the "top" of  Toy Box to allow me to clean the debris of many years of leaves etc. that seems to have collected there. This was the cause of all the black watermarks down the decks after every rainfall.
A new (secondhand) Jibsail was purchased last month so am now looking for a "new" Mainsail..

Luff 6,35 mtrs x Foot 2,40 mtrs if anyone has one laying around ?

The Yamaha 4ps I bought did well last season and I have ordered a new Impellor and Sparkplug for it´s service I already have enough oil for the gearbox. So that will be ready for the season as soon as parts arrive.I have found that servicing prices are ridicolous for the simple job it is. I did it last year and she ran well all season so I think I will be ok to do it again.. The outboard bracket is on a sprung system and the spring has broken, I am able to use the system still but the lift assitance is not there..Trying to source a spring is rather like ordering Rockinghorse droppings. Oh well I am sure even this problem is solvable..

I intend to get Toy Box into the water as soon as possible now the weather is improving. Perhaps as soon as next weekend.! I must first book the trlr and harbourmaster with his crane to launch her and step the mast.

End of season summary..

I realise it´s a little late, but laziness and the depression have seemed to have stopped me from writting anything for months.. Toy Box had a good season on the Schlei and we even took her out onto the Baltic proper a couple of times for a short sail. I have made little records of how many miles we sailed all together but it must have been in the region of around 500.. Not bad for a season that for me started so late and was spent on a Fiord. I enjoyed the company of several people on these trips and look forward to doing roughly the same again in the comming season...A few things have been changed on the boat, ie. I have cut the salon table down and fitted it now so that it can stay in place during a sail further forward between the two midships fittings. which keeps the Portaloo out of sight as well..