Preparing to take to the water
We shall miss our beautiful Fairey Swordsman, Saltwater Lady, which has finally headed south west to her new owner in Totnes.
But the next Saltwater Lady has arrived in Poole and work is underway to get her spick and span for the coming season.
She’s a Fairline Phantom 38 which we bought through James and Sian at Ancasta, in Plymouth, to whom we give considerable thanks for their assistance and patience. We had the choice of either bringing her up by sea or by road and, as it was winter, opted to put her on a truck. She now rests at Cobb’s Quay, where she will be cleaned polished and fitted out.
First launched in 2002, at a time when Fairline was a Saltwater client, I wonder if we may have been aboard her at the London Boat Show that year! She needs a fair bit of work and Steve, our engineer from Triton Marine, will be spending a lot of time crawling around the engine room. However, by April, we will be dropping her into Poole Harbour for the start of the season.
While ashore, we will be stripping her bottom of old antifouling and applying Coppercoat. We are working with the online magazine Motorboat Owner to follow the application process and monitor the success of Coppercoat over the next couple of years, which should be an interesting project.
We have also pulled out the old chartplotters and radar and fitted a new Raymarine Axiom system with a 12” touch screen at the lower helm and 9” on the flybridge, as well as a Quantum Radar and new multi data and autopilot heads. This will provide a great opportunity for the Saltwater team to try out our client’s products and see them working afloat.
Elite Signs in Poole, who do all our office signage, are trying out a new lettering style for Saltwater Lady’s stern and I will publish photos of this when available. Marine Options in Poole are working on several cosmetic GRP and trim problems and will also be applying the Coppercoat.
Well that’s about it for this first blog, can’t spend any more time on the keyboard, April is nearly here and I have a hull to polish with my new electric buffer!
