Winter maintenance continues with a leaking turning block being re-bedded, the heads and the galley being thoroughly cleaned up, in conjunction with normal annual maintenance! A lot of work went into replacing the oil and filter of the Lewmar Commander 20 hydraulic pump. Some previous mechanic had tightened the drain-lid at the bottom of the motor to such an extent that it proved impossible to undo it. Fortunately another opening in the motor was available for an oil extractor to remove the old oil. But filling the Commander remains a slow and finnicky procedure. At the end of the operation the forwards looked like a war zone and required a lot of extra work to re-establish neatness and order...

Always expect some surprises: what is this? A cable with an RS232 connection for heavens only knows what - a beautiful surprise from Christophe who works at Aqualift and has taken 10 years off the boat with his polishing skills - Trying something new (strips of butyl tape) to stop water leaking into the fridge from the gasbottle box - a box with small goodies from HR Parts delivered by Fedex. This box also contained some extra ceiling material that I use to cover the wooden discs that HR uses to cover holes drilled in the ceiling to get to the backing plates of blocks and clutches fitted on deck. A bottle of Veuve Cliquot can come in useful as a weight to ensure good contact when gluing the material to the discs :-). Nothing like a touch of class for our Hallberg-Rassy!!!

Little things are important too and on board Ngahue IV all light switches have now been modernised to the latest Berker model that the HR Yard uses these days (although ours are predominantly brown and white in the Heads; not silver/chrome). A big job looks like actually replacing the rudder skeg bearing: a hefty (20kg) part in bronze. The job is a little bit like a dentist preparing a crown for a sawn down tooth. The skeg stub will need fine 'sculpting' to make a perfect fit...

The final jobs linked to the electric deck winch: fitting the halyard bar further forward (the winch used up the bar's original position); and the last two holes drilled to fit the soft turning blocks (for bringing the mast halyards to the e-winch). A befriended HR53 has burned through the electro-motor of his hydraulic auto-pilot drive. By chance, Ngahue IV carries a spare, so we are looking for a new spare so that our friend can quickly proceed with the repair of his drive. Although very similar drives are still being used and sold today, our parts date back to the 1990s and their availability could be compromised... Nevertheless, a replacement part was found for him with Holland Nautic in Bruinisse - great people! Easter time and time to go and collect things for the boat: a genoa and a gas bottle filling up the car boot very neatly...

From then on our nautical life entered into a maelstrom of events: boat finalised and launched; sails bent on and tried (seen here goose winged with an Elvstrom main and a North Sails genoa); a visit to the UK and a highly wonderful dinner with friends who also sailed the "Lost ARC" in 2019/20; and a return to Nieuwpoort via Brighton and Dover!

In May, I should have taken Ngahue IV solo to the HRC event organised at the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club. For once there was an issue with our Volvo Penta: a leaking water circulation pump. When this was repaired and passage to Dover was just about possible, the bowthruster lost traction as I reversed the boat out of her berth. The two screws holding the motor to the coupling had come off so that the motor whirred (ineffectually). This too was repaired quickly (many thanks to Aqualift). Only for the weather to suddenly turn very thundery and lightning-esque. In the end I attended by car - thanks to DFDS carferries from Dunkirk!

We went to Aire-sur-la-Lys to Fendertex to collect our new, light-weight fenders; picture here one side for the boat. These fenders can be inflated and deflated with a special pump to take up less space. They are extremely durable and strong - now we just need to decide to start using them (such a shame as they're so clean at the moment! Whilst using the generator, I discovered a fuel leak: not good to mix diesel fuel with electricity. Further investigation was needed to end the leak (the generator performed well throughout!!). A fuel filter was not connected tightly enough, and although several attempts at tightening the filter holder did indeed stop the leak, it always came back after a minute or so - best left to the professionals this coming winter. Frustrating was that these two fuel leaks (Volvo-Penta and Westerbeke) filled the boat with a smell of diesel fuel - an abomination given that for the past 10 years we have kept our boat smelling sweet. Grrrr!!!!

Jo Jo Navarro, a local photographer, caught Ngahue IV motoring out to sea, apparently ghosting along with nobody on board. A few weeks later the Raymarine Smart controller, a remote control for the autopilot, appeared to break down completely. It resumed normal functioning afterwards but this served as a wake-up call to replace it with a new generation remote controller this coming winter. Whilst helping our friend Bernard to prepare his boat Anna II for launching (she's Mr Rassy's former HR53, Bamsen) he ordered an extra set of hydraulic hoses for the mast motor - to be fitted this winter...

... this page will be added to throughout the course of 2026