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..