Fabulous February – back aboard for testing!

So February came around very quickly and we started with the boat jobs we were planning to do in January but didn´t get round to! High on the list was fixing the autohelm (the autopilot for the boat). The polarity was wrong and the fix involved a fair bit of investigating the tangle of wires under our dashboard. It was a good opportunity for skipper to tidy everything up. Round 1 of changes didn´t fix the problem but we had fun going out and testing it with a relaxed Tines aboard too

Round 2 did fix the problem and we had a nice outing to test the fix, albeit on a hazy calm day since we needed to be able to run the tests without the interference of too many waves or too much wind.

We now have working autohelm and one very happy skipper 

After fixing the autohelm we turned our attention not so much to a boat job but to the purchase of a new outboard motor. We had the opportunity to buy an electric, battery operated motor which is extremely lightweight and after much discussion we went for a test run. Luckily for us it was our friends who were selling it so we enjoyed a great couple of hours testing it and learning how it works – flying round the marina on our dinghy.

The decision to buy it was difficult since there is absolutely nothing wrong with our current outboard, however, it is (and obviously always has been) extremely heavy and lifting it on and off the boat onto the dinghy has always been a chore. On reflection we haven´t used the dinghy as much as we might have because of this difficulty. The torqueen electric motor that we now have is really, really light and comes in 3 pieces so it is possible for 1 person to put it on the dinghy and assemble it. Now we can´t wait to start using it once the weather improves.

Anyone want to buy an outboard motor 😉 ??

Obviously the next big thing in February is Valentine´s Day – this year my wonderful husband and I won´t be together since I am heading off to the UK to spend half-term with family. Suffice to say, he´s off the hook, no roses or chocolates to buy! However, I am going to use this blog space to say HAPPY VALENTINE´s DAY Mr Heard
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Wherever the sea takes you,
I´ll be there too
xxx