We are currently tied up at our local yacht club pontoon in George Town. (See photo)
We will head up the Tamar River to Launceston this week to have the mast taken out and some rigging replaced. There is nothing obviously wrong with it but it hasn’t been inspected since we bought Freya so it’s better to be safe than sorry. We can fix some annoying inmast noises, fix the spreaders, as captain is not happy with them, and install a tv aerial.
We had a great sail back from Kettering although very tiring as the autopilot tends to lose rudder response regularly. As we can’t trust it Tim was on the helm all the way. 27 hours straight then another 10 hours after a rest at Fosters Inlet. After speaking to B&G we ran a diagnostic program, emailed it through and are waiting for their reply. Hopefully it will just be a driver update and not a new linear drive to fix the problem.
After installing the new motor in December, although it is running beautifully, the tacometer wasn’t reading as it should. Rather than having to get the prop repitched it ended up just being an electronic calibration. Thank god!
The head has been squeaking terribly and getting a foul smell. The quote for a replacement pump and seal was over $500 so Tim installed a brand new Jabsco throne.
Our secondary sheet winches were not suitable so we bought new ones at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival. They were a little low so a fellow yacht club member has made some lovely huon pine bases for them.
It’s nice to be home for a bit and to catch up with family and friends. We plan on being here for about 3 weeks so come and say hi either here or at Tamar Yacht Club in Launceston this week.
Sea Freya Afloat 