Ravensdale becomes a penthouse apartment

Ravensdale is transported up the slipway out of the marina.

The lift out went ahead as planned on Friday and our boat is now propped up on chocks on the hard standing so we can carry out work to the hull.

The view of the marina from our aft deck

Our new location with the deck about 14ft off the ground means Ravensdale has been transformed into a penthouse apartment with a spectacular view over the marina.

And the fabulous weather we have had this weekend has meant we have been able to sit out on the aft deck and enjoy the sunshine during our coffee breaks.

Phil had a nasty shock when we set off from our mooring to the pump out on the way to the slipway for the lift out.

He checked the bow thrusters before we started to move and it was working fine, but it packed up and refused to work as he was pulling out of the mooring and went to use it to move the boat away from the pontoon.

Thankfully he was able to control Ravensdale using her two engines and got around to the pump out without incident. Strangely the bow thrusters decided to work again while out the pump out, but it is something else that we will be checking while out of the water.

Phil then had to drive her towards the slipway and the marina staff used a remote control to position the boat hoist underneath the vessel.

Approaching the slipway and the waiting boat hoist

Marina staff Reg and Mick make sure Ravensdale is in the correct position on the hoist

Reg uses a remote control unit to bring Ravensdale up the slipway

Giant slings were placed under her hull and she was manoeuvred up the slipway and onto the hard standing, where the hull was pressure washed before she was placed on chocks and a wooden framework was erected to hold her upright in our current parking place.

Adam pressure washing the hull

The boat ended up much higher than we had expected and the large wooden steps he had arranged to borrow turned out to be far too short so we called in a scaffolding firm to build a set of steps, which will be considerably safer than using a ladder.

The scaffolders building a 14ft flight of steps to Ravensdale's aft deck

The scaffolding steps provide safe access to the aft deck

Unfortunately, one of the fibreglass exhaust manifolds was damaged during the lift out so Phil removed it so we could clean it up and repair it.

That was my job today.

Sanding the damaged exhaust manifold

I scraped off all the silicone sealant and muck and sanded the edges ready for repair and then reattaching it to the side of the boat. I have also been scraping the area of the hull where it was attached, but ran out of time so will be sanding that down tomorrow.

Phil removing the vinyl tape stripes from the hull

Meanwhile, Phil has been busy removing the many vinyl strips that have been used to create blue and black stripes on the hull and superstructure with a heat gun and scraper.

We have not yet decided whether to replace the stripes in the same pattern or to change them and use paint instead of tape as it should make it easier to redo in the future.

We were pleased to discover that the antifouling was in better condition than we had expected so will not have to be totally removed. Those with more experience of these things than us have told us that rubbing it down, priming any areas that need it and then painting on the new antifoul over the top.

Also, the sacrificial anodes that were put on when we first bought the boat are still in good condition so that is another job that will not need to be done this time.

We are really hoping that we can get all the work done in a fortnight as we are keen to get back in the water asap, but have accepted that we will just have to stay out as long as it takes to get the job done properly.

Not only have we been very lucky with the weather during the day since the lift out, but we have seen some fabulous sunsets, which looked even better viewed from our vantage point above the marina.

Sunset over Maryport Marina