River Orwell rally and East Coast cruise, August 2026

 

Exiting the Walton Backwaters

72.4nm

The story here is that I had to end my involvement in the cruise a couple of days early.  The O-bolt, by which the lower block on the mainsheet connects with the hull, pulled out of its housing.  I rigged a temporary set up in light airs to get me back to Pin Mill.  The fix was to source a new bolt, nut and associated washers, reach down and along through the bilge with a nut and washer and connect with the new o-bolt going through the hole, and then tighten.  That’s the theory.  The practice was devilishly fiddly, but I somehow managed to get there in the end.

Mended, with new bolt and penny washers included both on top and on the underside.  The worrying thing is that no nut was found in the bilges from the previous fitting.  So I have no idea how it has taken this long to break.  This component copes with considerable forces.