Another weekend of fantastic fitting out weather. And while in February there were only a few diehards labouring away at their boats, now the crowds were out as the combination of warm sunshine and the rapid approach of Easter prompted a flurry of activity.
There were quite a few boats out sailing, too, enjoying a good (if rather cool) breeze. They looked so enticing in the sparkling conditions that they added an extra sense of urgency to the work.
Thanks to the loan of some proper staging, we managed to get the hull polishing finished without breaking any necks, and began the last and best bit of fitting out: putting the gear back on board.
We were pretty well disciplined about cleaning and sorting as we took things off when the boat came out. But we did discover one shameful omission. The fenders had been hung up in the garage and forgotten. They looked rather sad, with winter cobwebs added to end of season grime. And they'd gone pretty soft, too.
It's amazing what a bucket of soapy water and a bit of Cif can do. It's not a question of being over-fussy or excessively “boat proud.” There was no question of hanging grubby fenders on our gleaming hull. If you don't keep fenders clean, they soon transfer grit and dirt to the topsides, acting as a kind of revolving rubber stamp.
Do fender socks help? There are two opposing schools of thought. One says it's better for your hull to be rubbed by gentle cloth then unforgiving rubber. The other argues that fender socks merely act as a trap for abrasive salt-crystals etc and effectively turn into sand paper. But there's no getting away from the fact that they do look smart!
We'd always belonged to the no-socks school, but our boat came with a set, and they looked so good that we left them on the first season we had her. I took them off at the end of the year, intending to wash them and put them back, but they had all succumbed to ultra violet decay, and fell into shreds, so I chucked them in the skip.
We've been debating whether to replace them ever since. Is it worth spending that much money just on looking smart? Or do they really offer worthwhile protection? We're still not convinced.
Anyway, we managed to find the kit of adaptors for pumping up fenders we'd bought ages ago, but couldn't work out how they could be made to fit the new style bicycle pumps we have acquired since they were last used.
So we went into the chandlery, where they kindly offered us the use of the giant pump they use for inflating new fenders. Sadly, it did not fit the valves on ours (presumably they are from the continent like the Italian boat). But Jenny Mummery, the chandlery manager at Suffolk Yacht Harbour, does not like to be beaten.
She pointed out the mini pump they offer, again with a range of adapters. And she insisted on establishing that it had the right adapter before she would sell it to us. Fortunately, it did.
Pumping up fenders sounds such a simple thing, doesn't it? It turned out it needed four hands, because the adapter in question is the long thin one, which bends and threatens to break unless held completely immobile, and fenders, by nature, want to roll away.
Anyway, it's done now. And we can thoroughly recommend the neat little pump, which is just 20 cm long, so can be carried in a locker for use as required (and thanks to its range of adapters can also be used on onboard bikes, balls, inflatable mattresses etc.)
It's one of those clever pumps that works both ways, so despite its diminutive size, it didn't take long to get the fenders back in shape. And at £10, it's an awful lot cheaper than new fenders.
The question remains, now they are clean and plump, should we finish the job with a new set of smart navy fender socks?
