Walton Backwaters and new tent, 19-20 July 2026

 

Walton Backwaters, 4/5 July

I met up with some sailing chums for an overnighter, based at Titchmarsh Marina.  The boat was still on her trailer following the Coniston event in June, and also some further mid-season maintenance.  And I had Kizzy with me.  Otherwise, I would have sailed round.  But it was fun to trailer sail once more.  Fresh from a temporary repair to her keelband (see previous entry), we launched on the Saturday morning at thus ever welcoming Marina.

Herewith some video of the event.

Again, my failed electrics meant that I was unable to record my tracks from this event.  Again, for the ship's log, I have entered an estimated trip length of around 10nm.

Coniston Water

 

We attended the Coniston rally, 22-25 May.  Unfortunately, the electrics on the boat had failed, so I wasn’t able to record tracks.  My estimate (from previous visits) is that, over the two days, we went about 10nm.

As seems to have been the way with this season, this trip resulted in some damage, this time to the stainless steel keelband. When launching, unbeknown to me until hauling out at the end of the trip, I managed to catch to keelband between a fissure in the slipway, which resulted in the keelband peeling off at the stern and doubling back on itself.  Consequently, we spent the entire trip dragging water around with us rather than slipping through it with more grace.

Initially, I managed to bend it back to this position, since it had been bent back on itself, pointing forward.  
I haven’t pictured the final repair, but it is now more or less attached to the hull, thanks to two longer screws and lashings of Sikalflex…

On our return, I managed to bend it almost back into position and applied sealant to hopefully plug any holes.  Alex, at Anglia Yacht Brokerage, said that the best solution is to pull it off altogether since he'd come to the conclusion that steel capping on the keel was more trouble than it’s worth.  That might be a close season task.  Hopefully for the remainder of the season, my repair will hold, but I shall have to return to this issue at some future point…

Early trips and repairs…

 I ran a little behind with the maintenance of this blog, so have lumped together various trips into one post, which I'll backdate to May.

Six sails happened during this period, prior to the boat coming back off the mooring for some mid-season maintenance, and preparation for a few trailer trips which will feature on subsequent posts.

Between the first and second trips, I had to indulge in some unexpected maintenance.  The mooring strop became tangled around my centreplate and the centreplate uphaul snapped.  To cut a long story short, the boatyard helped me run the boat onto the Hard, they then winched her up onto one of their slings and I had a weekend to put things right.

Centreplate woes.  Daisy IV hanging ready for necessary repair work!

At this point, a new strop has been fitted, but the plate is incorrectly positioned - the plate shouldn’t hang down vertically like this since this impacts negatively on performance.  I needed to haul up on the strop so that the black bead just disappears up into the case, at which point the plate is angled at around 70 degrees to the horizontal.  To get this positionally correct, single handed, required some patience, but I managed in the end!

Which subsequently happened, although it wasn’t an easy job.  If I find the time and the patience, I might get round to writing it all up in due course!  The important thing is that, for the most part, the repair has worked, although later in the season I have had to change the rope I used for the uphaul, since the initial one was too stiff and wouldn’t spool around the wheel effectively.

The following video was from my trip on 18 April:

I also took some footage when I dry-recovered the boat back onto the trailer.  Which means I've now launched and recovered the boat onto the Hard at Pin Mill.  Who needs expensive slipways!?

Finally, a list of the trips, with colour links to the ensuing map:

20th March: White track, 4.3nm

2nd April: yellow track, 6.7nm

6th April: red track, 8.2nm

18th April, green track, 8.7nm

3rd May, orange track, 5.7nm

25th May, pink track, 0.4nm (!)

Total length of tracks: 34.0nm

Fitting out, 2026

 

Daisy IV hibernating!

It has been a busy Spring.  Daisy IV had been rather neglected at the start of last season due to us moving to the coast, and having so many other things to do.  I never really caught up with the various things that needed doing.  So, late in February this year, I brought her, from her winter hibernation at the boatyard, back to the house to do a number of much needed pre-season jobs.

One was to replace, once again, the auto bilge pump.  The bilge pump is an absolute necessity since, unlike previous boats, the boats design means that the bulk of any rainwater, when n her mooring, generally doesn’t drain out through the scuppers, but rather gathers in the bilge.   The one I purchased last year, a Whale Supersub, was frankly next to useless.  The auto function never really worked properly and either didn't come on when required or, when it did work, forgot how to suck out the bilge water and, having sparked into life, refused to turn off...  So, this season, I purchased a new manual Rule pump and linked it up to a 'Waterwitch' float switch, and this finally seems to have worked well.

Waterwitch float switch

 Time will, of course, bear true testimony to this claim…  

Meanwhile, I am trying to regenerate a cover which came with the boat and might potentially be useful in diverting rain away from the bilges.  More on that in due course…

Whilst working on the bilge pump, I took the opportunity to overhaul the modest electrical wiring in the boat, building and installing a wooden mounted box housing the fuse box, so that all the wiring is now hopefully kept better organised and safe from any accidental problems - such as aforementioned water gathering in the bilge!

I also spent some time working on the centreplate downhaul which, when removing the cover for inspection, turned out to be showing alarming signs of wear.  This will be covered in a separate post since the saga continued post-launch.

The next thing was to fill an alarming number of deck holes which had been deliberately, one might say recklessly created by the previous owner, with his various mad projects.  So, making use of a fibreglass repair kit, these were made good albeit that I have erred on the side of functionality rather than cosmetic finishing - the looks of it all can wait for another day - but I couldn't wait until the start of the new season.

The final thing was to fit a brand new sprayhood and tent.  Unfortunately this hasn't been quite so successful as hoped since the tent Anglia Yacht Brokerage had ordered for me was incorrectly fitted, and so has had to go back for some important changes.  I remain ever hopeful that this will return in time to get some serious usage later in the summer.

And then there was the usual wood treatment, cleaning and polishing, prior to the first launch date which is due to take place on 20th March, well within my notional target to be afloat before All Fools Day.

Launch day!

Late Autumn trips

 

red track, 7th October, 5.8nm; yellow track, 19th October 7.7nm

These were the final tracks from the 2025 season.  Soon after the final one, the weather took a turn for the worse and 'named' Autumn storms started to increase in number.  Just before one of them, the boatyard took pity on Daisy IV and hoisted her ashore, despite me not asking for this.  Whilst it brought a rather abrupt end to the season, I wasn't overly concerned since it saved me the bother.  I brought her back home for some cleaning before taking her back down to the yard and covering her up for the winter.

Lots of Spring jobs in mind...

Late August and September tracks, and dinghy repairs

As ever, the weather has cycled through various events, some of which were conducive to sailing, others not.  However, I have managed four brief sails over the past five weeks.

A blustery sail up to Ipswich Docks, where the weather did its worst…

28th August, white track, 2.8nm; 8th Sept, red track, 4.4nm; 23rd Sept, green track, 8.5nm; 27th Sept, yellow track, 8.5nm.

In the meantime, I was able to do some repairs to the tender which I picked up in a bit of a hurry early this season, and which spends its year at the boatyard at Pin Mill.  Chief amongst the issues were a damaged keelband and two 'watertight' buoyancy tanks, fore and aft, which were decidedly not watertight!  So this was a good opportunity to practise some fibreglass repair work.  Herewith, some pictures of the process:

Practising calligraphy…(badly!)

The keel area just forward of the rear 'skeg' of the keelband was badly damaged.  As per this picture, I was able to grind this back to the original wood and epoxy a number of layers of fibreglass repair tape, which can just be seen in the picture and which seem to be holding up well.

The bit right at the end of the skeg needs some reinforcement and tidying up but it looks basically watertight, despite appearances so can wait till late in the year.

Here's the bow buoyancy chamber.  I had to remove and the the reseal the white watertight inspection hatch, using sikaflex.  I then dug out the loose and cracked bonding between the bottom edge of the thwart and the inside hull, epoxied a layer of fibreglass repair tape right across the join and then painted the whole section in grey Danboline bilge paint.  I could have made much more of this, and tarted-up the whole interior, and indeed the exterior but don't want to get too carried away and make the dinghy to be too attractive to anyone looking to 'borrow' this fine ship for any extended period of time…!

Similar repairs done with the stern chamber.

While I was at it, a few dings and scrapes were mended on the hull, which I decided at this point not to paint again for security reasons.

Deben Lugger rally, 22-24 August

 It was great to be able to attend this event, particularly by making the passage round from the Orwell to the Deben.

I left the mooring at Pin Mill at 0345 on Friday 22nd, and arrived at Waldringfield on the River Deben at 1015.  It was a fabulous passage, involving all sorts of sights that the iPhone camera just won't capture!

But I particularly enjoyed these:

For the rally, Daisy IV was joined by five other Deben Luggers.  The video above gives a flavour of the weekend.  Much fun enjoyed by all.

Unfortunately, neither tides nor winds were quite right for a safe passage to home waters by sea, so I have arranged to pick up Daisy IV later by road trailer.

41.8nm, including yellow track 23.2nm from Friday, red track 12.2nm from Saturday, and white track 6.4nm 

Mast issues and repair

The excitement of the past week has been a breakage in the rigging system.  One of the eye bolts which run through the top of the mast sheared open, and the mainsail and yard came crashing down on the leeward deck.  Sally and the dogs had been aboard at the time and, in quite spicy conditions, I had only moments earlier asked her to come and join me on the windward side, thus avoiding any injury...

Sheared Eye bolt at the masthead which previously held a block facilitating the yard uphaul.

Fortunately, the unstayed mast stayed firmly in place.  Nevertheless, the mast had to be transported home for some repair work.

Carbon fibre damage, mainly caused due to the incorrect mounting of the eyebolts - some penny washers might have helped...

Closer inspection showed that the previous owner hadn't mounted the M8 bolts correctly, neglecting to use penny washers and meaning that the underlying carbon fibre had been compromised.

The advice from Alex at AYB was to remove any carbon splinters, glass round a section of fibre tape.  I did this both inside and out for good measure.  I then redrilled the holes.  

I'd never previously used glass fibre tape, but had used epoxy.  Having previously watched plenty of videos only, the repair was managed with ease and I'm quite pleased with the strength of the repair.  For good measure, I put fibre tape both inside and outside the masthead.

Finally, a job which certainly needed doing, the mast was clothed top to foot in shrink wrap - lucky I had a heat gun to complete this job.  This not only enhances the look of the mast, but offers some really helpful UV protection for the carbon fibre - hopefully significantly adding to its longevity.

It's necessary to leave the bottom section unsheathed since this is the bit that goes down into the deck.

I sourced this through Hilltop Products.  5m of 101.6mm Inner Diameter tubing (before shrinking), with a 2:1 shrinking capability - more than sufficient for this 80mm diameter mast.

I sourced some brand new M8 through bolts from s3i online - two were required - since the originals had been bent.  I also sourced appropriate penny washers at Fox's which will hopefully prevent further damage to the mast - at least spreading the stress across a wider area.  I also took the opportunity to epoxy the top bung, which is now rather more firmly wedged in place.

The repair was tested out yesterday with a gentle sail from Pin Mill.  

I also took the opportunity to change a few aspects of the rigging, most notably a piece of cord which is designed to hold the boom to the mast and catch it when it falls.  I have now copied the rigging from a few other boats to see if it improves matters.

Daisy IV at the jetty at Pin Mill.  Repaired mast fully rigged and tested.

Sail up - it all works...!

Red track 3.7nm - this was from August 9th, when the rigging broke.
Yellow track from August 14th - 4.7nm - a successful test of the repaired rigging

River Blackwater rally, 1-3 August

 

I joined the rally organised by the Drascombe Association based at Bradwell Marina.  It was a good excuse to make a first extended sea passage in Daisy IV, in this case along The Wallet.  I'd made this trip many times before in my previous boats - fourteen return trips, as it so happens - so was looking forward to seeing how Daisy IV managed for her first but my fifteenth.  In the event, conditions were absolutely ideal - NW winds to help me down there, and SW winds for the return trip.  Except for the final stretch home on the Orwell on the return journey, the whole journey was managed without having to tack!

I had intended to stay for longer, making more of the return trip and joining a few other boats for a cruise, but storm Floris had other ideas, forcing me back home a day early.

Outward trip, 1st Aug, yellow track 28.6nm; sailing the Blackwater, 2nd Aug, green track 23.6nm; homeward passage, 3rd Aug, red track 29.2nm.  Total track length 81.4nm

Deep down in the darkest recesses…

 Deep down in the darkest recesses of any boat lies a place that few dare to venture.  It's an unforgiving space, full of rancid smells, foul gunge and, all too often associated with things which, at best, haven’t been operating as should well be the case.  Anyone who finds themselves here is visiting the boat's bilges. 

I had reason to poke around here over the past few days since the bilge pump, which is necessary for pumping out water that habitually accumulates here, wasn’t working properly.  If there is a weakness in the Deben Lugger design it is the fact that much of the rainwater doesn’t run off through the scuppers, and finds its way into the bilge.  A decent rainstorm, whilst on the mooring, will lead to a significant accumulation of water which, if left unchecked, could eventually lead to the hull being submerged.

Following this week's storms, Daisy IV found herself  many litres of water in the bilges, and reaching over the floorboards.  A subsequent inspection of the hull revealed a Rule bilge pump connected to a Rule-a-matic float valve.  Previously this has only been used in its 'manual' mode of operation, since the thing wouldn’t switch off once the hull was emptied, as it is intended to do.

The problem seems to be with the float valve which was incorrectly installed at a level which was little higher than the bilge pump, so that the water level could never quite reach the depth required for the float valve to sit sufficiently low to switch off the electricity supply.

Eventually I managed to remove the float valve, and have now added a centimetre of supporting wood so that it sits high enough to operate as intended.  So, we shall await with interest the outcomes of the next deluge…

Following this piece of maintenance, it seemed the only sensible thing to go for a little sail.  The tide was in its early ebb, so it was good to beat upstream against a F3 NWW breeze, before a run downstream as the wind increased to F4.

9.4nm

Ipswich Docks

 A pleasant afternoon sailing up to Ipswich Docks.  I hadn’t been up here for a number of years!

Sally managed to catch a few distant snaps of me from the shoreline just upstream from Pin Mill!

11.4nm

Weymouth 100, 3-6 July

This rally was something of a reprise of one I attended several years ago with Daisy II.  On that occasion, we were celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Drascombes.  On this occasion, rather more poignantly, we were paying tribute to the late Sharon Geary Harwood who had organised that previous event.

On this occasion, roughly 25 boats attended, including two Deben Luggers.  The forecast for the Saturday and Sunday wasn't promising, but the Friday afforded the opportunity for a wonderful sail along the Jurassic Coast - a return trip to Durdle Door.

I put together this video clip of the whole weekend, including my walk around Portland Island on the Saturday, when it transpired that the wind would be too strong for safe sailing.

Kizzy posing in view of Durdle Door.

Deben Lugger, Deben Lugger (!)

24.2nm