Haul out in Geraldton
After a few days of recovery from our big passage, we started preparing for our haul out to complete a bunch of maintenance tasks on Singularity, the biggest being new anti-fouling. It is always hard to plan for these events - we knew we needed to do the work but didn’t know when we would be in Geraldton, and, combined with a lack of internet in Shark Bay, this made planning a little hard. So, now in Geraldton with great internet, access to two different boat lifters and all the trades we require, we were kept busy putting solid plans in place.
With feet for transport, we spent a few days walking back and forth from town out to the commercial harbour, located at the west end of Geraldton. There is where all of the commercial boats live and where all of the key trades and services are. We have always liked to do things face to face so there was a fair bit of door knocking and speaking with local marine chandlers to see what was available locally and then ordering in our anti-foul and a few other bits and pieces. Our walks also gave us an opportunity to explore some of the sights we hadn’t managed to get to on our previous visit.
We caught up with a couple of our Gero friends - Steve and Heather Beso dropped us off some fresh vegies from their garden which was much appreciated. One of Pete’s old police buddies, Deb, picked us up and we went back to her place for coffee, cake and sour dough - her specialty - before borrowing her car for a Bunnings run to pick up all of our personal protective kit and equipment required to both anti foul and detail Singularity. Having a car for these things is heaven sent and much appreciated. We also appreciated the opportunity for cuddles with Deb’s two Westies; Lockie and Jockie. After saying goodbye to our much loved pooch, Jazz (she was 16!), roughly six months before embarking on our new lifestyle, we have found we really do miss having a dog around the place.
With the boat booked in for a lift in a few days, we hire a few bikes from the local bike shop for a week which will allow us to travel to and from the boat yard and do our errands around town. Then it’s off to the accountants to complete our tax, a long overdue haircut for Pete (according to Nicky and the many who commented on our Insta page), IGA for some supplies then back to the boat. Then off again to drop our bikes up at the boat yard - Geraldton Fishermans Co-op - so they are ready for us to use when we arrive in Singularity tomorrow. Last of all, a walk back to town, stopping at Max Marine to pay John for our anti-foul paint and organising him to drop it down the yard for us. A BIG day…Always plenty to do!!
Next day, it’s an early start with a couple of trades lined up to look at a couple of issues before the boat comes out of the water. Glen, a diesel mechanic is helping us deal with a leaky oil seal on our sail drives and another Glen, an auto sparky, will be looking at an issue we have with the alternator on our starboard engine. Both these jobs need us to be able to run the engines so it is a case of tying up at the fuel jetty and giving them access. Glen, the sparky, will also be completing some other jobs when we are on the hard, including putting in additional solar capacity and installing a light bar on our transom.
After the two Glenn’s had finished their respective tasks, the lads on the boat lifter were giving us the nod to come over. We had met a couple of guys sailing a Bavaria 34 yacht who had seized their engine 70nm south of Dongara and had to return to Gero for repairs and were on the lifter after us. It was going to be a tight squeeze going in - boat lift is 6.9metres; Singularity 6.67metres - so we wanted a few extra hands on board just to help out if needed. Turned out we greased it in perfectly and after some pulling and adjusting of the slings, before long we were ushered off the boat and out of the water she rose!
It is quite a process lifting a boat - the slings have to be just right to ensure the boat is balanced, and, for us, it was an extra challenge coming out of the water due to being so wide. The main issue being that the small concrete pen that the lifter drives out onto to pick you up is literally 6.9 metres wide - so very tight! Getting the slings in the right place is important - we have stickers marking the lift points from the lift we did when we surveyed the boat - but the guys still need to move inch by inch. For the front straps, they need to be aware of the forward facing transducers (echo sounders) on each hull and at the rear there are the sail drives and rudders. It is a methodical process and involves a lot of communication between the lift team as the guy driving and controlling the lifter can’t see what is happening with the straps etc. Once out of the water, the lift team of three pay constant attention to the boat to make sure all is ok and then start the slow process of lifting to a height to clear the dock and then come onto the hardstand from the lifting pen. First order of business is a high pressure wash. This cleans the hull and removes all of the growth and slime off the existing antifoul and also removes any antifoul that is above the base coat. What would take a long time by hand is achieved with 45minutes of blasting! This is done in a special washdown bay to ensure the antifoul and other nasties don’t go straight back into the water. From here, the boat is then moved to our ‘bay’ within the hardstand and lowered onto supports. Again, the lift guys are very careful and meticulous about the lowering process and making sure the boat is settled correctly and won’t move. Once happy, the boat is lowered and the slings removed. Then the fun starts!
To make things easier for us, we have compiled all of our boat jobs onto stick it notes and put them up in the saloon. As we complete a task the stick it note gets moved to the completed area and we move on to the next thing. We can’t stay on the boat in the yard, so have booked a small unit up behind the marina. We plan to ride back and forth everyday, with a few errands to be run amongst it all. Antifoul is our major job, but we need to let the hull dry out after the wash so we get going with some different tasks. Before we know it, the day is done and we are on the bikes and heading back to our unit.
For the next ten days it is all work and not much play. Rising at 6.30am, on the bikes for a 15minute ride to the boat yard, brekky and a cuppa and then get stuck into the jobs at hand. Pete is a hard task-master and, if we were being paid for the work we were doing, a case could have been put forward to the fair-work commission to investigate the very brief work breaks throughout the day. Luckily, the toilets in the boat yard were an all male affair and Nicky wasn’t too keen on sharing these facilities. When nature called, she would hop on her bike and head to the public toilets in the harbour. A good excuse for an extra break or two throughout the day which was also helped by the location of the coffee shop nearby :)
We have to sequence our tasks as some had to be finished before others can start and then it is just a case of methodically working through them. Knock off by 4pm and back on the bikes to head home. Some days we needed to head to Bunnings, Repco and other local businesses to pick up things we needed - which just added to the overall adventure - but also the fatigue! In saying that, we both really enjoyed the bike riding aspect (something we did a lot of when we were land dwellers) which provide an awesome way to begin and end our day.
A week in and we have the boatyard blues…. and we are counting down the days to being back in the water. The boatyard is dusty, hot and noisy! We were hoping to be in the water Friday, but a delay in seals for our sail drives has meant they won’t arrive until Friday. Glenn, our diesel mechanic from Seacat Diesel, will have them fitted by lunchtime but the problem is we then need to apply antifoul, better known as Propspeed, to our sail drives and propellers which need at least 12 hours to dry properly. So it looks like Monday morning it is… Bring it on!
Friday arrives and it’s Pete’s birthday. 55 laps around the sun! Surely this was an occasion to justify a day off? Unfortunately, Nicky’s powers of persuasion don’t quite hit the mark and it’s off to the yard at 7.30am with a plan to knock off just after lunch with a celebratory dinner booked. Everything goes to plan, and, after a quiet afternoon at home, we walk down to Skeeta’s restaurant, located at the marina. Date night with excellent food and a couple of beers overlooking the ocean. Happy Birthday, Pete!
Saturday is back to work all day and with most of our jobs done, we decide that Sunday morning we will go mountain biking up the Chapman River. Great to get out and ride off the beaten track, enjoying the sense of freedom you get when exploring new and interesting places. Our ride was followed up with some brunch on the foreshore; a lovely morning that provided a welcome break from the grind of the yard.
To make sure we’re fully prepared, we head back to the boat yard after lunch and tidy up Singularity in preparation for the lift in the morning. We can’t wait!
Monday finally arrives and we are at the boat by 7am. We want to give her a wash before she goes back in the water - as already mentioned, the yard is very dusty and so the boat is covered in dust and dirt. Once she’s looking the goods, we give the nod to the lift team and the lifter is soon making its way across the yard to pick us up. Same process as the initial lift - just in reverse…. and soon we are stepping on and backing Singularity out of the slings. Not quite as smooth, but we are free and head across to the fuel jetty to refuel and also for Glenn, our diesel mechanic, to check the sail drive oil levels once back in the water and having been run.
No problems and soon we are motoring back around in front of the port to the anchorage in front of the yacht club. We are super happy to be back on the boat and back on the water!! Living in a unit, on land, for 10 days was a novelty at first, but we soon realised we both missed being on the water with the sense of freedom that it provides. It is pretty cool taking your house with you wherever you go!
Now we just need to wait for a favourable weather window to enable us to keep heading south.