A busy weekend but not so much on Ciao Bella.

Friday and Saturday had me tied up with duties at the sailing club, I make it sound like a chore, it really wasn't.   We are applying for funding to get two dinghies for club members to use.  We had the opportunity to borrow some dinghies from Laser, Topper and RS.  Despite the water temperature in April I was more than happy to don my shorty wet suit and spend the two days trying them out and ensuring members where able to get out in them if they wanted.

Topper Argo and Laser Bahia

 The option are Topper Argo, Laser Bahia or RS Vision.  They are all great fun but my favuorite  was the Topper.  It seemed to be the best all rounder.  The RS Vision was great but a bit tippy, the Laser Bahia was a fabulous family boat, it would carry 5 people but felt a bit to big and heavy for one or two people to use.  The Argo seemed stable, room enough for three adults and also able to put a smile on your face.  It comes with a spinnaker but I didn't get involved in all that :)

Three men in a boat - Even the RS Vision was good for three adults.

 Meanwhile back at Ciao Bella it was time to crack on and do a bit.   The  rudder blade needed epoxy and chopped / milled glass pushing into the gaps to seal the ends where the stock sticks out and another layer of epoxy over the repaired areas. When it is fully cured I will rub it down and paint it before refitting it.

 Not something I've done today but while I was on the subject of rudders I thought I'd share the rebuilt somewhat robust lower pintle.  This has been made with a piece of the rudder tube, my favorite Lancastrian (You should have heard the grief I got for calling him a Yorkshire man)  welded it up for me a week or so back.

I forgot to take some before pictures of the cockpit locker lids but here they are after first two coats of epoxy.  The first coat was a little blotchy but it soon glossed up with the second coat.  They will need a final coat before getting a few coats of varnish to protect from the UV, 

 The undersides will need doing as well, there is a bit of rot underneath but that can be dug out and filled with an epoxy mix.  The underside will be painted rather than varnish.

Now for a bit of blatant product placement :)  I have used Oxalic for cleaning the hull before but Roger had kindly donated some Silky Marine bright for me to try.  It is a premixed ready to use Oxalic mix suspended in a gel so it doesn't just run off the boat.

 As you can see from the photos the staining on Ciao Bella is quite bad.  Before hearing about Oxalic for cleaning I'd tried all kinds of cleaner and nothing touches these stains.

 The gel brushes on easily stays put,  I agitate the gel on the worst bits as per the instructions, left it for thirty minutes then washed off before having a final wash with normal car wash and wax.  She's starting to look loved again.