Battered Boats at Connel

[Nick]

This country is uninhabitable in January.

[Gardenshed]

going to visit the boat tomorrow morning when, hopefully, the wind has died down
jan this year has been so mild that it's lulled us into the false impression that spring has almost sprung. The grass has actually started to grow and there is some blossom on a few of the local cherry trees...but no longer

[Nick]

[Gardenshed]

Good to hear my boat is ok. Thanks.
I want to check the lines for chafe and make sure there isn’t too much water in the bilge
Still not sure whether it’s better to winter in the water or in shore

[SteveN]

I'm immune to the weather this winter - boat under cover in heated indoor storage.
Not from choice, it just happens to be where the boat was when I bought it a couple of months ago.

It's a very different experience to the Argyll boatyard winters of the past 30 years of boat ownership.
Thursday was a work day and I was down to a T-shirt and still much too warm at times - they maintain it at 18 degrees.

I was thinking that once I leave in March/April I wouldn't return next winter but I'm not so sure now..

[DaveS]

Hi Nick,

I'm trying to clear the report, but the available options are "close report" and "delete report". Am I correct in thinking the latter is correct?

Dave S.

[stevepick]

Is that a knocked down boat in the middle of the last picture?

A few boats knocked down on the hard at Kip in pictures in the Sunday herald.

[aquaplane]

Unlike Kip or Largs, which are piled fixed pontoons, Craobh is an anchored system. I have been at Kip, in 100kt winds and the pontoons were twisted at 45 degrees from the horizontal in some places, but they stayed in line with the piles. How would an anchored pontoon survive in such winds, maybe better? I don't know. With Global Warming likely to result in stronger winter winds, is shore side safer than water side?

Something to think about.

Tarbert has pontoons secured by Teleflex (I presume chains) and the new ones are secured to piles.

The Harbourmaster moved resident boats from the older pontoons to the newer piled pontoons for winter berths. He obviously thought that piles were more secure for winter weather. It's several years since Seminole was there but I assume its the same now.

Seminole stays afloat on a serviced mooring with a chain strop and I'm not worried, its very sheltered where she is.