Bill enjoys some quality time on board and does a spot of planning

If only ‘The Admiral’ (also known as the Wife) had suggested years ago to purchase a boat cover to protect and keep the boat clean when not in use. On receipt of the brand-new cover, we spent an honest few days work getting our pride and joy sparkling clean.
This was made that much easier due to the Spring Clean I wrote about in May. After a week of strong offshore winds I was dreading returning to the boat knowing the good condition she would have been in before. You can only imagine my sheer delight when I untied and removed the cover to find her in the same pristine condition, we had left her in. Confession time – I think I love the cover maker.

With no more work to be done before we headed out for a long overdue coastal trip, I spent a week reloading all the equipment I had taken home to clean and service over the winter. I am always staggered as to how much ‘stuff’ the cockpit hatches and lazarette hold – from buckets and mops to the tender and spare fenders; not forgetting the extra-long emergency mooring/towing lines.

With fuel and water tanks cleaned, treated and filled – we were finally ready for our shakedown cruise down the coast. With forecasted winds continuing to be predominantly offshore, we decided to relive our long distant past and opted to anchor up at night rather than making use of the marinas. We do love the peace and tranquillity afforded by the water gently lapping at the hull and the evening breeze softly whistling through the rigging.

After a magical first day’s sail we arrived at our first anchorage at about 4pm – a perfect time with plenty of day light hours to ensure the anchor was set and get the boat settled for the night.

So organised was I, that I even got the tender inflated and we had a mini sojourn ashore to partake of a few well-deserved beverages. In such a perfect setting all I could think of to ruin this perfect ambience would be the anchor dragging later into the night. Thankfully this didn’t happen, and we had an event free night.

Now, I only had to find a manufacturer that offered the build quality, fixtures and fittings as standard and safety features we had been looking for…

Or so I thought – utter dismay flashed through me the following morning as I glanced astern to see my trusty 15-year-old tender looking rather deflated and barely holding herself above water. Luckily, I had removed the outboard engine. If only I had followed good seamanship practice and used the spinnaker halyard to hoist the tender out of the water and strapped it alongside the hull. Old age had finally taken its toll on the tender – with minor lifting of the glued seams she was just not holding air as she used to.
Just when I thought my research projects were completed for the year, I now had to start looking into the various tenders on offer. This would have to wait until we returned home. Although she complains vehemently about the time I spend on my ‘boating research’ projects, I honestly believe The Admiral secretly enjoys the peace and quite she gets when I am busy.

With no shortage of tender manufacturers to choose from, it would come down to quality of manufacture and a boat that had all the required attachments fitted as standard at production. I have never been a fan of buying a basic boat then trying to add all the required extras – towing eyes and davit points etc – as an afterthought. I always prefer to pay a little extra and get peace of mind that all items were fitted by the professionals. Not urgently needing a tender for this season – I have decided to continue my online research and use the Southampton Boat Show in September as a time to view the boats and hopefully get an amazing ‘show deal’.

We have made the decision that the new tender should have an air deck as opposed to the old wooden slatted floor we had before. The reason being that we believe this would provide a drier and more comfortable ride as well as making embarkation and disembarkation from the yacht easier.

Now, I only had to find a manufacturer that offered the build quality, fixtures and fittings as standard and safety features we had been looking for. I am excited to have come across the new AquaMarine tender that apparently will be making its show debut at Southampton. With larger than average tube diameter and crucially having hot air welded seams (rather than glued) and already fitted with davit points and towing rings it looks very likely that we may have found our new addition to the fleet.

The already extensive list of exhibitors and products to view at the show for season 2020 upgrades covers toilet manufacturers, sailmakers (I must find someone to talk to about HSX-P sailcloth), rope manufacturers and a host of others. Next month I will share my Southampton Boat Show itinerary with you.

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