Making the Most of a Minimal Budget. Contact me at: skintsailor@yahoo.co.uk or on Twitter: @skintsailor

Monday 6 April 2020

Costs for 2019 and a Review of the Year.

Here's the yearly roundup of costs, which this time are pretty meagre:

As usual first are the basic expenses.

£142      Mooring Fee

£170      Insurance.

The only new stuff this year was the fuse box and rewiring.

£9.39   Fuse box (eBay).

£13.99 Battery Switch (Amazon).

£7.45   10m 11A red/black twin wire.

£5        Terminal Blocks.

£14      LED Stern light (I bought the Nav lights a few years ago).

The only additions apart from the electrical stuff were:

£18.41 Water Pump Impeller for Outboard.

£20      Laminate dinghy mainsail.


Total for the Year: £401-ish.

Sailing in 2019 was again thwarted by something cropping up instead of actual sailing. In this case it was the electrics not being fit and requiring a new fuse box, which took a few visits to make and finally install. 

It seems I've fallen out of the habit of going down to the boat on a regular basis, especially after the conveyor belt of storms over the winter. I need to change that hopefully when the restrictions are lifted.

2019 was marked by the loss of not one but three mooring buoys. The second one was padlocked and chained to the mooring chain and the third was definitely securely shackled with seizing wire, but still went missing.

I'm not sure what security measures I can put in place for the next one. Short of using a longer bolt and bending it or welding the thing closed, it looks like someone wants my mooring buoys.

In 2019 I also tried to improve the sail, but the cheap laminate dinghy sail was actually too big! 
It's now sat in the shed while I think about what to do with it. I'm still on the lookout for a flatter mainsail.

The highlight of 2019 was the floating picnic. Daughter and Granddaughter enjoyed the day even though we didn't sail.

That's about all for 2019. Not as bad as some years. If 2020 allows, hopefully I can get an oak sleeper and fashion it into a mast beam. Then next on the list will be the window rubbers. 
Both of those have been on the to-do list for a number of years now. They need sorting. 

It seems there's always something else the boat requires before I can get to the big jobs. Or is it my own procrastination?



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