Returning to Norfolk for launch of the Paxton Princess after she had her propellor shaft tubes modified for the fitting of the rope-cutting Spurs
Returning to Norfolk for launch of the Paxton Princess after she had her propellor shaft tubes modified for the fitting of the rope-cutting Spurs

Returning to Norfolk for launch of the Paxton Princess after she had her propellor shaft tubes modified for the fitting of the rope-cutting Spurs. I also had the chance to polish the hull and rub down and varnish the two lower mahogany rubbing strakes before she went back in the water.

After lunch, I re-fitted the mast, aerial and canopy and then hooked up the power so that I could try out the P.C.Wayplan system again with less success this time. I then left the vessel for them to fit the emergency steering and davits.

I was tired as I drove home and, after chasing architects about the Heronshaw plans to no avail, settled for an early night

It was another very early morning, as I was woken at 6.00am and set off in the thick fog towards Norfolk. At least the mornings are better than the night journeys as the daylight comes to relieve the visibility. Arrived about 9.00am, the fog and traffic adding about an hour to the minimum time that I achieve in the summer. By this time "Bobby", the experienced marine engineer with a Yorkshire accent, had already removed the starboard screw and was fitting the phosphor-bronze collar onto the fibreglass-covered propeller shaft tube which seemed to be a much better way of securing the spurs holding blocks.

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I set about polishing the hull with fibreglass polish - a job that is normally very difficult to do when the boat is in the water - and then rubbed down and varnished the two lower mahogany rubbing strakes as I had the time. It was lunchtime by now and Bobby had finished work and I was satisfied with what he had achieved. I took a number of photographs of the hull and underwater equipment for future reference and then walked into the Hoveton part of Wroxham for a cup of tea and sausage roll. After the boatyard staff had finished their lunch, they launched the Paxton Princess and then a half-dozen other boats behind her from the boat sheds.

It is quite remarkable how they manage these large boats with ease and the riverside boatshed has doors back and front with the rails set across the road so that access can be made through this to the other boatshed over there. I was moored up in a neighbouring cut, glad to get away from the dirty and muddy spot that had led to so much mess being walked all over the boat these last few days. I re-fitted the mast, aerial and canopy and then hooked up the power so that I could try out the P.C.Wayplan system again. The new software and charts are fine but still it would not log the craft's position from the navigator.

In fact, even by regressing to the old software and charts the self-same thing happens and so I deduced I must either have cable problems or that the configuration of the Amstrad had been altered. Mathew Thwaites brought his other fitter, "Dougy", a middle-aged balding and portly fellow, around the boat and showed him what I wanted to have done about the davits and emergency steering. I told them that either they would have to finish the work by Friday, or keep the boat for two weeks because of my nose operation.

Then the trek home; this time for the last time in a while for which I was glad as all this driving and physical work becomes too tiring. This evening, I chased up my architects and friends about progress on organising my new boatshed for Heronshaw and was disturbed by the lack of progress. Not much in the post or on the answering machine and the TV news is all about the political dogfighting in what is described as a "pre-election campaign". So tired, I just relaxed and then went to bed early with Diana.