Dinghy Repair ... not one you'll see in a magazine.

 

This is a not so good patch.

I had a very slow leak in the starboard tube, and had hunted diligently for it. Soapy water etc. I could not find it, and decided to try to seal the tube from the inside using a latex sealant. These usually work well for very small leaks.

As an aside, I'm not that happy with how many times I've had to fix leaks in this dinghy - it was very expensive (Zodiac 2.4 m), and I thought it would be more robust. It hasn't had rough treatment.

Anyhow, I removed the valve body and squirted in a good helping of latex fluid - more than would normally be necessary. Maybe half a litre. After sloshing it around a good deal ('tumbling' the fully inflated dinghy) I noticed a tiny scratch that was bubbling faintly. What I couldn't find with soap was revealed by the sealant ...

I painstakingly prepared the area (cleaned with solvent) and the patch - three thin layers, five minute gaps between the first two, fifteen minutes after the third, and applied it. At first, everything seemed fine.

Then it became clear that the pressure in the tube was driving air into a bubble under the patch. I immediately opened the valve and tried to press out the bubble, but it was too late. The adhesive was setting up well, but the blister looked like it might progress.

I carefully lay the dinghy in a position that made sure the latex was flowing into the leak. Then I had a think. I really needed to get rid of the air bubble, and it wouldn't be persuaded to go back where it came from ...

I decided to puncture the bubble carefully from the outside - near the edge, with a needle, at a very shallow angle. I put two small holes in and got rid of the air. Unfortunately, the adhesive in the centre section wouldn't grip properly now - either because it had set up, or because the latex was lubricating it.

I reinflated the tube and put it in back in the position that let the latex flow towards the puncture. After an hour or so, it was clear that the latex had filled the bubble and was coming out through the pin holes. No more air.

It all now seems to have set up, and the tube is still firm after 24 hours.

This is definitely not a technique I would recommend, but it seems to have worked. We'll see.

Since getting the patch off again would probably do further damage, I don't have much choice.

The mucky finish is from an excess of rubbing and manipulating.

Repairs and modifications...

The nice weather meant I could fix the Aries (again). I had a nasty night at anchor in the Dornoch Firth towards the end of last season, and the violent movement somehow made the gear between the vane mechanism and the pendulum jump. I'm still trying to figure out how this happened - I couldn't 'force' it back.

Anyhow, I pressed the pin out in situ (see earlier post on this method) and got everything working again. This involved a lot of leaning over the stern and reaching out through the pushpit, tying tools to pieces of line in case I dropped them, trying not to swear ... I'm getting a bit stiff and old for these contortions and anxieties. It's good to get it working again though.

I also fitted a separate fuel tank for the Webasto heater:

It used to have a feed from the main fuel tank, but the line was quite long & the pump seemed to be making hard work of it. The heater would flame out or become smoky as a result. It took me a while to figure out what was happening but when I tried running it directly from a fuel can all the problems went away ...

You may wonder at the odd angle. I wanted the filler cap at the top, to avoid slopping fuel into the 'dry locker' (which has become a bit of a 'dirty store'). It all seems to have worked perfectly. Except I now have less excuse for putting '60/40' on my red diesel form. Power generation might count ...

Spring (?) Sail

At the end of January I had a two night trip to Portmahomack. It was cold, but the weather beckoned.

On the way back I had more wind than I (or Windy) anticipated.

After rounding Tarbat Ness I had a very fast reach over to Lossiemouth. Hard on the wind for the first hour, then 50-60 degrees off for the rest, not too much sea running.

I wasn't reefed, but would have put one in if I'd realised it was going to be so breezy. Mostly 17-20 apparent.

When I tied up in Lossiemouth, I had covered 22 nautical miles in three and a half hours - about 6.3 knots through the water

For more than an hour as I was approaching Lossiemouth, my boat speed stayed consistently above 7 knots. The conditions were ideal - a new wind, with little fetch (from the S, SW) meant there wasn't a sea running.