Thursday, April 21, 2011

Getting my fix

Yep its that time of year again. Time for the highly addictive sailing bug to kick in! And it has. I spent perhaps the shortest time ever preparing a boat for the new season - no more than 10 man days of work, quite possible as few as 7. And it shows. Not the best paint job, not the best varnishing (mind you I think some of that is down to the new 'Compass' varnish) but she looks ok and ... well.... I just want to get sailing so as longs as she is protected from the elements all will be well. The Boat cover did get a good waterproofing treatment which it desperately needed. Unfortunately I did it in the back garden and the grass now has what looks like a giant cloths iron burn on it - I really should believe the warnings on the tin but hey it'll grow back!
One thing I did notice was the rise in the cost of paint and varnish! Wow has it gone up! I estimate a 15% jump in a year. However I think it is still a relatively cheap sport/hobby, Insurance £50, club membership £150, Enterprise Association £25, and maintenance cost approx £100, total approx £275 and that should keep it on the water all season. No doubt there will be other costs but not a great deal.
I took Goosey down to the club yesterday late afternoon and rigged her up and had a quick sail in the very calm conditions. A few little things to tweak but she's in good shape for the season. I won't be doing much trailing this year due to financial and time constraints but we hope to do Norfolk week in the summer.

2 comments:

Mick said...

thanks for the info, im uk based aswell so its good to see some of the costs that goes along with this.

Tim Coleman said...

Hi Mick,

its not too bad is it? Mind you the cost goes up if you start doing open meetings. Not only is there a cost of entry fees but the cost of trailing a boat around really adds up especially when fuel costs £1:30/Ltr.

Since this posty I have added a new manisheet and block,a new set of jib sheets and a burgee. However this has been offset by selling a set of sails (I had 3 sets). I've also had to do a few minor repairs which haven't cost anything as I already had the materials.
Tim