This has been a busy month. Simon and the yard hands have been trying to clear up the yard to get ready for laying up, but just as they get started another job arrives and this seemingly mundane, but essential job, has got more and more delayed. The sun continues to shine and the days are long, so perhaps there will be plenty of time to do this before boats queue up on every tide for a lift.

Simper’s Silver Harvest has finished her gearbox repair and tidy up and returned to fishing in the Deben and local waters.  A 38’ Halberg Rassy ‘Loon’ has arrive for removal of antifouling followed by a re-launch, so she can return to her yacht club on the Thames for overwintering.  We launched a 28’ classic wooden yacht and monitored her as she took up in our marina. Once water ingress had slowed sufficiently she was lifted, her mast stepped, covers fitted and rigged ready to sail.

Our large workshop on the quay was extended to nearly her full capacity with the arrival of ‘Second Simo’ an Oyster 47, who was lifted out and given a light grit blast to remove antifouling, before being placed inside for new epoxy coating and a deck paint. ‘De barra’  a 45 foot De groot motor boat came to us for a survey and is currently awaiting space in the workshop to fit new holding tanks and epoxy coating. The workshops tend to be booked months ahead, so it is always a good idea to let us know early if you need a job completed that needs to be undercover.  ‘De barra’ is on our waiting list for January.

It was a day of celebration when we launched ‘Mist’; a classic wooden yacht that had been saved from the bottom of a lake about 10 years ago.  She has been lovingly and expertly restored by her owner on the yard for the past eight years, receiving a complete rebuild and a beautiful finish.  She looks like she is brand new – just out of the workshop – and is adorning our marina with her graceful lines.

A moment of welcome humour occurred this month, when a well drenched customer walked up to Simon with the words, ‘I’ve capsized my dingy in your marina’. The day was warm, the sun was high and only the dignity of the customer was bruised.  A sympathetic moment tinged with hilarity followed.  A hopeful look into the water at high tide revealed no clues as to the whereabouts of the dingy and, as nothing could be done immediately, it was left for nature to pull back the screens to expose the Deben’s catch. A quick look over the quay at low tide revealed its whereabouts and a sodden dingy, with engine attached, were slowly lifted ashore to bask in the sunshine.