JULY went by in a blink of an eye as we ploughed through the boat projects one at a time with the goal of launching and moving our sailboat from B&V Marine to Telaga Harbour Marina. We both were very ill in June and for a two week period we slowed down to recover. With the guidance from some special friends we started our marine engine on the hardstand and learned to service it ourselves. This was a major achievement for us as we want to learn new skills.

Our galley foot pump leaked just when we thought we were finally on top of all our stuff to do. That took us a day to sort out. I was in charge of the removal and Rene the fixing. To get it out we removed the front face of our galley cabinetry under the sink. Sounds like a lot of work but actually it was quite easy because Petr and Janna, our sailboat’s previous owners designed the cabinets in such a way that it is simple to dismantle and reassemble.

The foot pump’s rubber diaphragm had small cut in it from wear and tear. We decided to use super glue to mend the cut and test how long this would last us until it really gives way. We also bought a spare service kit just incase. It is August now and so far so good!

WATER PUMP SERVICE & REPLACEMENT

This wasn’t too difficult but like everything else we do on our boat – it takes some education. Reading of manuals and countless hours on Youtube sourcing the right videos to guide us through. Rene found that our impeller was broken so we changed that and also changed our water pump. Seeing as we had a brand new spare we installed it and sent the old one for repair. There is a family run machine shop in Langkawi and they can pretty much fabricate almost anything!

RUSTY CHAIN WASHED WITH VINEGAR

Our chain really needs to be galvanised but the only place that does that is in Penang. This we will do sometime in the near future when it’s time for us to make a trip down to KL, along the way we will send our chain to the factory that does galvanising.

POLISHING OUR HULL

Rene insisted on spending 3 days polishing our hull by hand! This is extremely labourious and it was made even harder by the uncorperative weather. Every time he took his tools out, dark clouds appeared and of course this was stressful because polishing can’t be done after the launch.

DECALS

It is a Jabatan Laut requirement to have Decals for our sailboat. Inexpensive to do this here in Langkawi, cost us RM80 for the decals and the design I did using Canva.

RESEAL BOB STAY

This was a difficult job to do because of where the bob stay chainplates are located. My arm had to extend and twist its way up and inside the area of our bow. Up a tiny opening where only my camera could show me what was there. I had to practically feel my way around. Rene was stationed on the outside standing on a tall ladder with a giant screwdriver holding the bob stay screws in place whilst I fiddled the nuts open with a wrench. Once removed, we used BUTYL TAPE by V-TECH to reseal them.

We had a choice of either using Sikaflex or Butyl Tape. Sika would require at least a week to cure but butyl doesn’t need curing time and it is extremely easy to use. We will be using this for our hatch windows too and in future to reseal our deck fittings. It can be reused over and over again. If you’re wondering where to buy the Butyl Tape we used – here’s the Shopee link –https://shopee.com.my/product/116704496/3033140553?smtt=0.190830549-1661326809.9

THE DAY BEFORE LAUNCH

The day before our launch date we sent our dogs to Chicken Rice Joe’s house to stay a night because we didn’t want to have our dogs onboard incase we had any issues with our engine. Joe is a friend we made when we first arrived in Langkawi back in April. He loves dogs and always saves us chicken for Roxy and Bo. He’s become a close friend and whenever we need a baby sitter for our dogs, he helps us out.

The travel lift came to put UJUD in slings a day before the launch date. This gave us the chance to prepare our sails for the journey. A good friend Eric came to stay the night and that evening, we decided to climb our mast and bring down our halyards. That evening, we all sat in the cockpit and discussed the launch day plans. Eric briefed us on what to expect and what we needed to get done.

On the launch day, we woke up at the crack of dawn and prepared our sheets and lines for our sails to go up. The travel lift operator was Ryan, the owner of B&V. He is a little camera shy but I managed to get a quick shot of him driving the travel lift.

We want to say thank you to everyone involved in helping us get to this point of time. There is still plenty for us to learn and do before we can sail away. Now that we are in the safety of a marina, we can continue the next chapter of this wonderful adventure we call life.