The poor rudder, stripped bare
That time has come round again, and Hurkur is in the yard for more maintenance. This year the rudder needs repairing, something we have been putting off for a while, as big bulges have been appearing on it. Water has got inside and it is de-laminating, so needs all the fibreglass taking off back to the core material, dried out, then re-fibreglassed. An expensive job unfortunately. As the rudder is off, Eddie has decided to replace the cutlass bearing as well, as it’s been there since 2008. That proved harder than expected as the first one we bought was too big with a lot of play around the shaft, so we bought a different make and that fitted well. Now we have to return the original, which should have fitted in the first place! Apart from all that, it is just the usual cleaning and upkeep. They have moved us three times in the yard, as they juggle the boats around, but I think we are now nicely settled in the corner at the back, and quite sheltered. Re launch is booked for 20th April, so we have plenty of time to get things done.
We haven’t made any hard and fast plans for cruising this year, except we aim to be in the Solent in June, for the WOA 50th Anniversary celebrations, which looks like it should be good fun. Plenty of events are arranged for the week 22nd to 28th June, including rallies, races and a celebration dinner in Portsmouth. So, beforehand, if the weather is good in May we’ll be off somewhere, depends which way the wind blows!! Once more we hope for a good Summer.