It seems like ages since the last post. We parked X-Pat at Gulf Harbour marina at the end of March and have been back to Sydney and doing other things for the last month.
X-Pat came out of the water on the 30th April for the annual service and antifoul and at the moment is still sitting on the hardstand! We had the hull soda blasted to take off all the old antifoul and get back to the gelcoat. This was followed by three coats of primer and three coats of antifoul and so we are hopefully protected from all those marine beasties that would like to make our hull their home.
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| Blasted and filled and ready for primer |
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| Primed and looking a lot better |
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| New anodes and coated with Prop speed |
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| Three coats of anti-foul and ready for re-launch |
We have also had the whole steering system dismantled and serviced. Anyone who has ever helmed on X-Pat would be familiar with the steering "clunk" which has been with us for years, but has been getting progressively worse. Driven by a fear that something might just fall apart we decided it was time for a closer look. It turned out there was nothing too sinister lurking within the gearboxes and auto helm which make up the system. It just all needed a good clean and lots of grease! The system all seems much smoother now, but the real test will be when we get back in the water.
We have also had a rig check and the engine serviced and new fuel filter system installed.
Pat got back on board on the 13th April and has been living aboard since. He has been busy checking all the safety equipment and doing a few running repairs.
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| Lifejackets all checked and serviced. |
It's never much fun living on the hardstand, but we are due to be lifted back in the water on Tuesday (22nd). Debi will be arriving from Sydney on the same day. The plan is then to provision and do a lot of cooking. Leanne, our new crew member is joining us on Thursday (24th) and then we will be looking for a suitable weather window to leave for Tonga!
We are looking forward to getting back into the cruising life.
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