Independence - Updates | Maintenance & Care

[Vaughan]

On 12/23/2017 at 16:35, socrates said:

(Stand fast Griff)

In the days when the Navy had a rum ration, the "master" was responsible for the issue of the daily "tot" at the appropriate time, usually 7 bells in the forenoon watch. The pipe would be made "Up spirits!" Some wag would always reply - "Stand fast the Holy Ghost!"

Tomorrow will be a rest day in the Navy - known as a "make and mend". The Master would put it like this :

"For six days shalt thou labour and do all that thou art able".

"And on the seventh day thou shalt holystone the deck and chip and scrape the anchor cable!"

[LondonRascal]

Well, it has been a while - I have been spoiling myself with 11 nights on Broad Ambition - some with Shiela and I and then with my Mum and Simon - her husband. However, while away a call came in from the boatyard down in Plymouth they want to get a look on the boat before she is taken to their yard, they are also trying to figure ways out of sorting issues without putting fuel into a tank on the hard and instead do it on the boat.

So back to London I go, 24hrs rest and then a train to Plymouth and here I am on board. She has faired well after the storms - I was told 40ft waves off the coast here, the Marina also emailed owners to come down and check their boats. So what was the damage to Independence? Loose screen cover, sea gull scare tape missing and that about it.

I have done a video of things and will update over the weekend, but having read through the replies to my previous posts it really is hard to explain to others about this boat, why I did it, what will happen and so on - she won't get out and about too much on the Broads she is very large after all, but then like over Christmas that is what Broad Ambition is for - the practical go anywhere Broads cruiser so I guess I have all bases covered one way or another..

[Polly]

You don't need to explain to anyone, Robin, it's your adventure, your way. Happy New Year.

[grendel]

I cant wait to hear the next update on matters technical, its the sort of detail that I find really interesting.

[High6]

18 minutes ago, grendel said:

I cant wait to hear the next update on matters technical, its the sort of detail that I find really interesting.

In which case you will surely be interested to follow this ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263419192564?ul_noapp=true 

[grendel]

OOh I would just love something like that (apart from the fact she is on her side and not floating, and her engines have been immersed in the salty stuff and had not been run in 25 years).

One day I would love to live on board something like that - though I think it might just be a pipe dream

I am still trying to figure how a leaky tap sunk her though, unless she was plumbed into shore water, I would think righting her could be achieved by pumping out the water and attaching an airbag along the downward side though.

[Snowy]

48 minutes ago, High6 said:

In which case you will surely be interested to follow this ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263419192564?ul_noapp=true 

Wow, I’ve added it to my watched list, for no other reason than I’m a dreamer

[grendel]

I see from the water pipe leading on board that it was hooked up to shore water, the more I look at it the more I want to give it a go. (I think it would take even more work and money to fix up than Robins Independence though.)

[Lulu]

Plus mooring fees! 

 

Think it was £940 when I first looked. Now its up to £3,100

[grendel]

Robin, when you do finally travel up to the Broads I expect you will have a sailing plan, if  so could you post it so that those of us around the coast can wave as you pass (and if you overnight in any of the ports en route we could come and share your hospitality on board / at a local hostelry).

[vanessan]

2 hours ago, grendel said:

Robin, when you do finally travel up to the Broads I expect you will have a sailing plan, if  so could you post it so that those of us around the coast can wave as you pass (and if you overnight in any of the ports en route we could come and share your hospitality on board / at a local hostelry).

Or you could come and share our hospitality. 

[BroadAmbition]

The big day of the move from Plymouth to Norfolk is drawing ever closer.  Robin will in due course reveal all.  In the meantime we have a mammoth maintenance weekend planned in for this month at Plymouth.  Six of us for four days, including sea trials and the like.  Exciting times ahead once more

Griff

[Chris1986]

Good luck guys with the maintenance weekend, hope all goes to plan 

[JamesLV]

I said to Robin I’ll try and get down and see you all and say hello if you overnight at Brighton as I’m only 20 mins/half hour away

[LondonRascal]

Having spent 11 days on a very different type of boat on the Norfolk Broads over Christmas and the New Year, I had a call from Mount Batten Boathouse in Plymouth. They wanted to send a couple of guys over and inspect the engine room on Independence to see what they would have to do with regard to the generator being serviced, a set of spares to have to hand for the Yanmar main engines and the fuel system and balancing of the three fuel tanks.

And so I found myself hurriedly leaving Norfolk for an overnight stop back home in London before the following day off to Plymouth and the joyful times of rail fare increases and yet the same old delays. Leave London Paddington at 14:08 arrive Plymouth 19:15 – compensation claim duly filed it was off to the Marina.

Storm Elenor had been through a couple of days previously and I knew the area had seen some pretty high wind gusts – but thankfully the only evidence was the fact my ‘seagull scare tape’ had vanished, the windscreen cover had two loose fasteners and my open array antenna of the Radar was no longer in its usual parked position.

It was however very wet so other than popping out for a Curry it was an evening of feet up and a DVD. The following morning I was up early anjd got set to taking apart the Ocean Air branded ‘hatch blind’ over the forward double berth. The blackout part roller spring no longer retracts the fly mesh part is frayed and sags – what a faff about it was only to find there was some more issues with the small plastic runners that fit between the metal tracks, I got everything back in situ but if I want a working blind I will have a new unit, for the time being it looks as it should but is not functional.

Other points have been my monthly Marina electric bill reached new heights of £85.00 (495 units used) I have no idea how that happened, that I have a leak in the port side aft wardrobe from the deck above - and it is not a deck drain as I said in my video.

I then made the beds ready for the arrival of ‘Team Indy’ on 18th January which will see 6 of us onboard for a few days and tackling a host of issues, I have a plumber who is also a diver, a carpenter, an electrical expert and a tiller that just leaves a former Policeman and myself as not representing a trade. However my bed making all ground to a halt when I found that I was missing the flat bed sheets, having mistaken pillow cases for them – the mind boggles. It would therefore need to be a trip to town for more bedding.

The engineers had still not arrived so I got on with sorting out curtains – prior to the Teak Blinds the boat had some very nice, fully lined curtains but these had be put in plastic bags and stowed for a few years getting damp. The result is all the hooks have rusted away – almost embedding themselves into the actual fabric and naturally caused a right mess. I am not sure if these are able to be salvaged but it would be nice since curtains in the winter time do add some extra insulation at the windows compared to blinds and because the blinds have been put in front of the old runners for the curtains you could have both.

The engineers duly came, had a chat and a look round and are ‘confident’ they can sort the issues – I am not sure how they will with full fuel tanks, but that is their call and I will allow them to start work when not on the boat come this Friday. They are also going to flush through the air-con/heating system and run this up and supply new Racor filter elements so we have nice clean ones in with the spares I already hold. After the meeting I popped into the town and rectified my bedding issue and also got some wood polish and restorer so the galley floor is now spotless and has a lovely lustre to it. I also got the seagull scare tape back up (it really does work even if it looks a little garish).

Once that was all sorted out it was time to head back to London, and joy of joys that would be even worse going back as a would be a Coach from Plymouth to Tiverton Parkway then train but it all is worth it and I get a real sense now of things cresting a mountain and the last push before we sail on 2nd February.

I’ll be at the London Boat show this Saturday which will be nice and I am sure a few more bits and bobs will be bought there so currently things have a real boat vibe to them.

[Jovril]

Hi Robin

I noticed the YouTube blog before you managed to post this update and could not resist watching. Enjoying following your adventure but too late for me to brave enough to follow suit, however we are looking to have a boat on the Broads in the future.

Will be at the boat show on Saturday also so will lookout just to say hello.

Trust all goes well when “crew Indy” descend later in the month and look forward to future updates as well as seeing “Independence” in Norfolk

John

 

[grendel]

a couple of things - re theelectric, you can get wireless monitors for consumption, a clamp goes around the incoming cable and communicates the power used to a meter unit - I picked one up for a couple of pounds at the boot fair, and can tell you that currently i am using 1.208 kW of electricity. it also provides a readout of power used (just over 12000 units since I fitted it).

Alexa - I can just imagine the command - Alexa, take the boat to Norfolk.

those wood pieces, they dont bridge a gap over a companion way to fill in a section of shelf maybe. you will probably find where they were meant to go the day after you cut them up and replace that rotten wood in the galley.

[BroadAmbition]

Cracking update there Robin. I shall enjoy instructing Alexa to play Sandstorm by Derude at Full volume!

The keen eyed amongst you forumites will now know we are due to sail from Plymouth on the 02nd Feb bound for Gya and her new home berth on the Broads.  More details forthcoming in due course

Griff

[Siddy]

When is a door not a door - when it's in the bilge. Had me laughing telling that tale.

[grendel]

well, maybe what is needed is a bar of wood across the front, just to stop those doors joggling loose and dropping down into the bilge - oh yes - there was one....well at least you have learned what can happen if its removed.

[Guest]

Have to admit Mr G I would have done the same, curiosity would have got the better of me 

[grendel]

16 minutes ago, Jayfire said:

Have to admit Mr G I would have done the same, curiosity would have got the better of me 

me too, I would want to know every nook and cranny and how to access it if I owned a boat too.

[ChrisB]

9 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

Cracking update there Robin. I shall enjoy instructing Alexa to play Sandstorm by Derude at Full volume!

The keen eyed amongst you forumites will now know we are due to sail from Plymouth on the 02nd Feb bound for Gya and her new home berth on the Broads.  More details forthcoming in due course

Griff

As long as it is not Crosby, Stills and Nash "When You See The Southern Cross for The First Time" and you end up in the Marquesas!

French Polynesia can't hold a candle to Great Yarmouth!!!!

[LondonRascal]

Passage Plan

For those who are following this thread I have some rough times for you with regard to bringing Independence to Norfolk.

Firstly there is a good chance that we will have suitable reception from shore for data (if not all the time then at some times) and using an App for AIS tracking could then provide websites like http://shipfinder.co/   with our position and so on so people would able to follow our progress. 

However, I may well end up with a new VHF set after the Boat Show this Saturday that has AIS built in, and as a result of that would mean that our live progress would be plotted through coastal repeater stations in range to us over VHF and to other shipping which is how AIS works likewise this data would be shown on http://shipfinder.co/  and show ourselves and other vessels overlaid on a Google Map.

Presuming all goes as it should and the weather is being kind  this is the passage plan as of 11th January:

• Friday 2nd Feb sail from Plymouth to Weymouth (85Nm)
• Saturday 3rd Feb sail from Plymouth to Brighton Marina (92Nm)
• Sunday 4th Feb sail from Brighton Marina to Ramsgate (alternatively Dover) (79Nm)
• Monday 5th Feb sail from Ramsgate/Dover to Great Yarmouth and onto the Broads (81Nm)

We must book Haven and Breydon Bridge lifts 24hrs in advance and we really need to be coming in on a rising tide or close to high water so we have good depth under us. High water at Great Yarmouth on 5th Feb is 13:45 so that means an early departure from Ramsgate or Dover on the 4th - most likely a night navigation to begin.

While I am not able to accept more crew for the passage, any Forum members who might find themselves close to the above harbors would be welcome to come down on board for a drink and tour of the boat.

Forum members who might wish to join us for a 'Cruise in Company' as we make our passage over Breydon and along the Yare would be welcome to do so. You now have a good idea of the time in which we would be making our way into the Broads at Yarmouth.

We will also have PMR Radio's on board set to CH4 so you know in advance how to make contact with us if on your own boat and do not have VHF when on the Broads.

I'd encourage people to keep an eye on the Forum Facebook Group where making posts and updates on the fly will be much more easy when we are underway with more detailed reports coming on the Forum each evening as we tie up in the respective harbor.

More to follow in time..

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, LondonRascal said:

Passage Plan

For those who are following this thread I have some rough times for you with regard to bringing Independence to Norfolk.

Firstly there is a good chance that we will have suitable reception from shore for data (if not all the time then at some times) and using an App for AIS tracking could then provide websites like http://shipfinder.co/   with our position and so on so people would able to follow our progress. 

However, I may well end up with a new VHF set after the Boat Show this Saturday that has AIS built in, and as a result of that would mean that our live progress would be plotted through coastal repeater stations in range to us over VHF and to other shipping which is how AIS works likewise this data would be shown on http://shipfinder.co/  and show ourselves and other vessels overlaid on a Google Map.

Presuming all goes as it should and the weather is being kind  this is the passage plan as of 11th January:

• Friday 2nd Feb sail from Plymouth to Weymouth (85Nm)
• Saturday 3rd Feb sail from Plymouth to Brighton Marina (92Nm)
• Sunday 4th Feb sail from Brighton Marina to Ramsgate (alternatively Dover) (79Nm)
• Monday 5th Feb sail from Ramsgate/Dover to Great Yarmouth and onto the Broads (81Nm)

We must book Haven and Breydon Bridge lifts 24hrs in advance and we really need to be coming in on a rising tide or close to high water so we have good depth under us. High water at Great Yarmouth on 5th Feb is 13:45 so that means an early departure from Ramsgate or Dover on the 4th - most likely a night navigation to begin.

While I am not able to accept more crew for the passage, any Forum members who might find themselves close to the above harbors would be welcome to come down on board for a drink and tour of the boat.

Forum members who might wish to join us for a 'Cruise in Company' as we make our passage over Breydon and along the Yare would be welcome to do so. You now have a good idea of the time in which we would be making our way into the Broads at Yarmouth.

We will also have PMR Radio's on board set to CH4 so you know in advance how to make contact with us if on your own boat and do not have VHF when on the Broads.

I'd encourage people to keep an eye on the Forum Facebook Group where making posts and updates on the fly will be much more easy when we are underway with more detailed reports coming on the Forum each evening as we tie up in the respective harbor.

More to follow in time..

I'd love to come and have a nosey around Robin, unfortunately I am unable. I hope to see you around Norfolk in the future though, I have even been known to get a round in if I happen to be in a pub.

Enjoying your progress on the blogs as ever.

Good Luck with it all mate.