Tractor Training, Sealing Leaks, and Stuck Winches

 Another solid weekend of progress on the Achilles 24. This time, it actually started on Friday.

The day started with the removal of the corroded remains of an ancient brass seacock - the valve that allows the onboard sink to drain overboard and can be closed to prevent seawater ingress. It had been left open, and fell apart in my hands when I tried to close it. Thankfully, the bronze skin fitting is still in good shape, so I only had to order a new valve. I’ve opted to use a composite valve from Trudesign out of New Zealand. The valves are very highly rated and being plastic, won’t corrode. I also ordered some stainless steel jubilee clips to reconnect the sink drain.

After last week’s disruption thanks to the industrial estate fire, I was finally able to complete tractor training at the club. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. Not just so I can move my own boat around, but also so I can help out with launches and recoveries. Big thanks again to Alan Thomas for taking the time to run through it all with me. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel a bit more useful around the yard, and a bit less like someone who’s just constantly borrowing tools and asking questions.


Friday evening was the last sundowner session of the year. A sundowner is an after-work sailing session followed by dinner and drinks in the club house. Friday’s session was the last because the tide times aren’t favourable. Being on the tidal Thames, everything we do is at the mercy of the tides. The tides are strongest 1-2 hours after high water. In this time period, a lull in the wind can see you drifting off towards the Dartford crossing, so we need high water to be around 7pm to give everyone time to finish work and make their way to the club, get some sailing in, and then exit the river before the tide gets too strong. High water next week is expected at 21:30 - far too late!

I didn’t sail, as I expected to be working on the boat and driving tractors all day so didn’t have my sailing gear with me, but I was on site so I launched the safety boat with my newly acquired tractor-driving skills, helped launch the dinghys and pulled some trailers back up the slipway.

Saturday was all about leaks and lumps of old grease. I sealed the cabin windows, which had been letting in water for quite a while, leaving everything mildly damp and annoying, and over time has ruined a lot of the interior of the boat. Hopefully that’s stopped now, though I’ll keep an eye on it next time we get rain. It’s one of those jobs that feels small, but makes a massive difference to how liveable the boat feels.

Next on the list was the winches. I was planning to remove them, give them a deep clean, re-grease, and get them turning properly again. The boat is fitted with a pair of Gibb 575 bottom-action winches with integrated handles, providing a 7.6:1 power ratio. The spec sheet says they’re good for sails up to 180 square feet, which is massively over spec for a little 24 ft boat like mine. The instructions were simple - remove one screw from the top, then slide them off the shaft.

What actually happened was me spending far too long trying to remove them, only to discover they were so gunked up and seized in place that they weren’t going anywhere without help. At some point, I stopped trying to prise them off and accepted I’d need to do it properly. I put in a click-and-collect for a bearing puller and called it a day. At least the screws weren’t seized!

On Sunday morning I picked up the puller from Screwfix and got back to work. With the right tool, the winches finally came off without a fight. I stripped them down, cleaned out yet more spiders (yes, they were living inside the winch mechanism) and made the call that these needed some proper attention, so I've taken them home to give them a proper scrub. The shafts need some attention with emery paper to deal with the corrosion, and the pawls will need scrubbing with a toothbrush to get all the gunk off.


To cap the weekend off, I headed out on the water with Paul, one of the club’s instructors. He’s in the process of renewing his instructor certification and needed someone to play the role of “student” for an assessment session. I was more than happy to oblige. Any excuse to get out on the river! It was a good session, and a great reminder of how much I’ve picked up since joining the club. A year ago, I wouldn’t have understood half the instructions. This time, it just felt like another day out sailing.

The boat’s still a long way from finished, but she’s slowly coming back to life. Every job ticks off a bit more of the list, and it’s getting easier to picture the day she finally touches the water again.

More soon, probably with some kind of mildly unexpected problem that turns into a learning experience. As usual.

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