Summary

Early in 2008 I bought a little, old wooden Folkboat called Valmik. I was going to spend a few months on repairs and begin sailing her around Europe, with Australia being the final destination. As my knowledge of boats improved, so did the thoroughness of the restoration. I decided to become very involved in every aspect of construction, doing almost all of the work myself: making my own sails, doing the fit out and all woodwork, splicing my own rig and wiring in the 12 volt electric circuit. Self-reliance, I suppose, is the goal. Follow the link to my photo albums for a detailed documentation of the work and some videos.

For a long time now, I have been striving to achieve my goals and begin an adventure. I had planned to complete a circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in the summer of 2015 with my wife. Unfortunately, this will not be possible and I went back to work. Valmik is ready to sail, however, and I am finally in a position to start enjoying her for what she was designed for. Of course there is a never ending list of modifications and enhancements with a small section for repairs. I will be sailing as much as possible and documenting my adventures on this blog.

My plan is to build up to a epic solo sailing Adventure.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Fully loaded with equipment

I have finished work and have been living back on Valmik now for two weeks. The progress is going a little slower than expected but do not worry we are on track. If you were wondering how much stuff I can fit on a 26 foot yacht check out these two pictures, And the stores are still to come.

Can you see the monkey?

There is definitely a floor in there somewhere!
 So In two weeks I have managed to filter out/edit a lot of this stuff. At this stage I have everything nicely organised and tightly packed away and there is actually still plenty of room for food and water in the bilge. Consolidation is essential in a small boat! What I had trouble with is relinquishing my supplies of equipment that I may need. But as you can see in the above pictures there has to be a limit. As I find the confidence in my boat I might even be able to do away with even more. But I have found a nice place for my sewing machine which I really want to take with.


 Also in these last two weeks I have completed my VHF DSC short range marine radio licence. I made some sail covers which I have been trying to get around to for ages. I have fitted two solar panels and worked a little bit on improving my bilge pumps. Kate came down for a week and started making some new covers for my cushions. I had four outboard engines onboard, but only one worked. I might be getting one more, maybe

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