Cobbs Boat Yard - Busy, busy, busy

With many jobs to do on Magnum there was a desperate need to get her lifted and into the boat yard. So in one hand we were in really keen but on the other not so keen as we knew this would lead to great expense, hard work and days of inconvenience.


The first step was for her mast to be lifted, we had not had the mast out since buying Magnum in 2006. The mast is a keel step mast which basically means it goes through the deck into the cabin and bolts into the base of the boat, so there are numerous fittings inside the boat. Then in the deck all of the rigging it attached to the deck, so all of this must be released. This is in addition to the fact that Mark had already removed the sails and the boom and disconnected all of the instrument wires that run down the boom. It was quite daunting watching the mast being removed and swinging around in the crane.

The crane getting ready to lift

The mast is out and being held by the crane and guided by the busy workers

Next step was for Magnum to be lifted and whilst still in her very large swing for a powerful jet wash removing all the growth which had accumulated in the last year since she was last out if the water.

Magnum  looking very odd without her mast

In need of a spray off

The growth was actually less than we had thought but this was probably because Mark had been in scrubbing on a few occasions in the last couple of months – not very pleasant getting in the water around New Jersey and New York even in a wetsuit.

From the sling Magnum was propped up and this would be her home until the jobs were done.

Mark taking a look at the prop

Once this was done we could start on the other jobs, just some idea of what these are:

Antifouling - 3 coats of paint all over the hull/bottom of the boat, after spending over a day  preparing it! Back breaking work.

Polishing the topside - wax on, wax off along both sides of the boat, on a ladder by hand.

Polishing all fibreglass and stainless steel - your don't realise how much there is until you start but if you look at the photo you can see some of this.

Cleaning fenders - scrubbing and polishing over 10 fenders.


Bleaching lockers/bilges - removing any sign of mould, sounds simple but often they are covered by a sofa and used for storage!

Another major job was coating all of the teak in a product to help protect it from the weather and more wear and tear.  The teak needed cleaning, sanding and in lots of places bungs that cover screws removed and replaced plus replacing the caulking (which is like a sealant) between the strips of teak, this took days of really hard work by both if us but where it is complete we are really happy with the results.

Making a start

Most of the middle has been sanded, still lots to go!

Starting to apply coating to cockpit

Looking good with 2 coats, only 2 more to go!

Central panel has had 2 coats, only the side decks to go!

 It was like having a full time job, working by 8.30 and finishing by 6pm, filthy dirty, worn out and really glad to make use if a hot shower!  It us never easy on the hard, you have to limit water usage as it drains below the boat, you have to go up and down steps to leave the boat (even to go to the loo) and everything in the boat gets covered in dust.

Busy boatyard can be seen from the cockpit

But as we were there for over a week which is a long time to stay in one place we did meet some nice people and it always helps to be able to commiserate with others who are encountering unexpected costs! Mark, Kathy and Timmy are also heading south and came out the water on the same day and went back in the water on the same day, it was great to get to know them and by the end of the 12 days Timmy the dog had started to get used to us rather than barking frantically every time we approached the boat, shame to say goodbye to the nice people you meet but hopefully we will catch up in the Bahamas.

Mark, Kathy and Timmy

We also met a great young couple, Emma and Gavin who were delivering a beautiful Catamaran from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale, so there stop was brief but it was the first British people we have seen in months so it was really nice to have a chat. 

We also managed to catch up with some of the lovely people that we had met in Portsmouth in the summer, they all drove over on a Sunday to meet us for breakfast, it was really lovely to see them again and made us a little homesick and John and Sue had recently returned from their 6 weeks trip to the UK where they spent some time of the south coast and even visiting Portsmouth.

Mark along with John, Sue, Tom, LT and Patty

After 12 days in the yard we were finally back in the water.