End of Season surprises - 2016

[willk]

Today was the day the willkcraft ran out of mooring insurance and had to be recovered for the winter - which was a bit sh1tty but there you go. I had taken the trailer for a service and general tidy beforehand. It is an Indespension Super Rollercoaster 10 with bearing buddies. After three seasons the bearings are still pristine and went back on (again). It needed two wheels worth of brake shoes replaced due to delamination but the various braking components were good. It also needed two bearing back seals replaced - my bad.

So anyway - when we got out to the mooring we dipped her and discovered that she had waaay too much diesel in the tank for shipping so we took her for a last hurrah trip up the Swilly and out to sea. A very nice couple of hours with rainstorms, rainbows, sunshine and dolphins...

Such dolphins! Thank you dolphins for a Grand Finale to 2016. Photos as usual by donegaldan.

[jambo]

A great way to finish the season. Better than us last week got battered with rain so it was a wet final recovery and it only stopped when we git to JWM in Greenock where she was going for a pressure wash before being tucked away for the winter. How long till April ??👍😄

[willk]

Originally Posted by jambo

How long till April ??👍😄

Too long Billy, too long.

But when the winter comes, it's good to be home and dry - Sayonara 2016...

[lakelandterrier]

And my season's only about to start!
might be a very short season

[Fred.]

Brilliant photo's - Completely Jealous !
Where abouts in Ireland ?

[idsebby]

Way to make the best of it!

[islandflyer]

Originally Posted by willk

Thank you dolphins for a Grand Finale to 2016.

Obviously not an NFL fan

Curious as to the too much diesel to ship?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by islandflyer

Obviously not an NFL fan

Curious as to the too much diesel to ship?

I think the willkcraft is too heavy to be Road legal when her tanks are full. Therefore he had the "chore" of finding a way to bring the weight down with a long run. I suspect he's only slightly more likely to get caught than you in the Bahamas!

[Last Tango]

I'm not understanding this "end of season" thing. It seems like a self imposed sentence of misery.

So your boats out the water sitting on a serviceable trailer......this is where I start from every week.

It's nice being on the trailer because you can keep up with all the we jobs that need doing and you sleep better when it's blowing a gale out there.....down side, you have to spend an extra 5mins putting it in and another 5mins pulling it out, down at the marina.

We've had some cracking runs out in November and December, February & March can be difficult, but I've steamed the water pump to thaw the ice and dragged the boat out over two inches of snow in the drive.....was it worth it, probably not, but even Loch Lomond can be a nice run in the winter when it's quiet.

Come on guys.....need more of a "can do" attitude

[Jabamusic]

Originally Posted by Fred.

Where abouts in Ireland ?

Trawbreaga Bay, with Malin Head in the background? - as a guess

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

I'm not understanding this "end of season" thing. It seems like a self imposed sentence of misery.

So your boats out the water sitting on a serviceable trailer......this is where I start from every week.

It's nice being on the trailer because you can keep up with all the we jobs that need doing and you sleep better when it's blowing a gale out there.....down side, you have to spend an extra 5mins putting it in and another 5mins pulling it out, down at the marina.

We've had some cracking runs out in November and December, February & March can be difficult, but I've steamed the water pump to thaw the ice and dragged the boat out over two inches of snow in the drive.....was it worth it, probably not, but even Loch Lomond can be a nice run in the winter when it's quiet.

Come on guys.....need more of a "can do" attitude

Quite right ,,,, this was a couple of years ago preparing for a weekend in Largs 11th Dec - well worth it

[willk]

Originally Posted by Jabamusic

Trawbreaga Bay, with Malin Head in the background? - as a guess

As a guess it is very VERY good, in so much as that is the view and the direction, but we were just south of Fanad Light - about 30 metres from the Swilly Rocks, which was exciting

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by willk

Too long Billy, too long.

But when the winter comes, it's good to be home and dry - Sayonara 2016...

Wuss!

Hey you'll be in trouble when Pikey Dave sees that photo, you've got a strap over the tubes! In fact, a whole gang might come along and mug ya!

Nice dolphins. Funny you should thank them, I thanked a mum and baby porpoise for coming by in the Minch in the summer, I got laughed at...in a nice way, of course.

[Henby]

Great dolphin pictures, it's amazing how the unexpected meeting with dolphins or a whale can transform a good trip into an unforgettable one. Certainly a life time moment.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

Come on guys.....need more of a "can do" attitude

Your right - why would I be lying on a warm beach in January when I could be on an icebreaker searching for the Legendary Dolphins of Loch Lomond?

[willk]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Hey you'll be in trouble when Pikey Dave sees that photo...

I won't you know - the straps don't go under the trailer - just around the hull. And the contact points are padded.

So there.

:-p

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by willk

Your right - why would I be lying on a warm beach in January ?

Luskentyre ?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Wuss!

Hey you'll be in trouble when Pikey Dave sees that photo, you've got a strap over the tubes! In fact, a whole gang might come along and mug ya!

Nice dolphins. Funny you should thank them, I thanked a mum and baby porpoise for coming by in the Minch in the summer, I got laughed at...in a nice way, of course.

Now now!😄


Lions led by donkeys

[jeffstevens763@g]

Brilliant photos not easy to capture and two at once a bonus , I had the good luck to dive with a wild dolfin many years ago with his nose on my mask and his sonar rattling my fillings it was fantastic never forget that.

Cheers

[willk]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

Brilliant photos not easy to capture and two at once a bonus

donegaldan was ragin' 'cos he'd left his Nikon at home.

The Gruinard will be down in the dumps again too...