Antigua Slipway, propellor on.
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Fri 3 Nov 2017 06:00
Propellor ON
First thing we do when we lift-out, is remove the propellor and rope cutter. Both are multi-component pieces of fine engineering, but because of their complexity it's always a bit of a relief to get them off without losing anything or resorting to specialist tools like hydraulic pullers or seized screw removers. Thankfully they came off easily and were cleaned and stored for an easy, trouble-free replacement. EASY did I say? The problem with the lovely, just poured, concrete "stand" where we are stored is that the back of the boat is hanging over a rock strewn sloping breakwater, leading into a small marina. Not a problem, unless you are trying to assemble a multi-part propellor and rope cutter with lots of unique components only available from the UK or Italy. I had taken the precaution of purchasing spares of the most fiddly components, in case some clod dropped something.
Finally all those team building weekends came to some use and with barrels, planks, a tarpaulin and some rope we managed to span the gap and ensure that anything dropped would not be lost forever.
New Cutless Bearing fitted, rope cutter and prop. reassembled and bags of expensive spares remain unopened and un-returnable. As I used to say to my Chinese friends "it's only money" a concept they found so alien they thought it hilarious.