What a Time To Be Spending Money

Apr/May/Jun 2008

The quotes had come in and we had made the decision to have the deck work done so now we just had to make our way from Langkawi in Malaysia, back to Phuket in Thailand. We felt like old timers as we made our third passage up the northern end of the Malacca Straits, island-hopping in familiar waters, keeping an eye out for fishing boats and the weather. For once we weren’t under any real time constraints and we enjoyed anchorages at Ko Taratao, Ko Muk, Ko Ngai, Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Yao Yai where we met up briefly in passing with Aquarius before finally arriving at Ao Chalong in Phuket.

More stamps in the passports and we were cleared for the first 60 days of our 90-day tourist visa. A few stores were bought and we left the anchorage for a short hop across the bay to Panwa Bali where we caught up with old friends on Crystal Blues for lunch and then dinner. A new day dawned and it was now the 10 April – time to get moving up to Yacht Haven Marina where we would spend the next two to three months having Tweed made over. We had lots to do before the work started in earnest on the 16^th. The shade covers had to be put up; the water maker had to be back-flushed as it would not be used while in the marina; the air conditioner had to be installed in the companionway; gear stowed on deck had to be removed to storage; deck equipment also had to be removed and stowed somewhere; plus we had to make time for friends we hadn’t seen for months or even longer – all this to do and it was so hot!! Thank goodness for the aircon!!

The boys from Boat Biz duly arrived on the allotted day and soon there was lots of noise, lots of dust and old teak being removed above decks. It was reassuring to see the results of all the work and know we were getting somewhere. The deck on the coachroof was in good condition so preparations continued for a few more weeks before the new teak would be put in place. The foredeck was, as expected, suffering from some rot in the balsa core. This was a result of water ingress around through-deck fittings for the anchor winch and the deck-wash. The damaged core was removed back to dry balsa and replaced with ‘plastic’ wood – a polyurethane board which is strong and waterproof and relatively cheap. This put the project back a few weeks but at least now we knew where the internal leaks were originating and no amount of re-caulking the old teak would have fixed them.

In the meantime, anti-skid sections have been pre-fabricated from fibreglass for us and these have been measured, cut and positioned on the side decks. They just need a bit more preparation and then the whole deck will be sprayed with Gelcoat – so it will almost look like new again! At least this time we will be able to see the results of the money we spend.

One diversion while here was celebrating another birthday with David from Taipan. We had a fabulous night out at Nai Yang Seafood where they serve the biggest oysters to be seen!!