Nerdiness Quotient: Quite high
Confidence Level: 9.75/10
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Day 47 Friday 29th May 2026
Sumara is still lying alongside in lovely Ullapool. Once my new 125 amp hour AGM battery arrives, and is successfully fitted, I will move the boat to a mooring up the loch kindly being lent to me by Johnson and Loftus boatbuilders.
I tried to order a Lifeline battery to replace my existing one. I was surprised (shocked) at the £770.00 cost. Luckily they couldn’t deliver it on time, so I changed the order to a Victron version at £250.00. On the minus side, my Victron battery seems to be languishing in the Fed Ex depot in Inverness and won’t be delivered until Monday which is very dull.
Joining the Luggerfest has been helpful to my plans. Apart from the fun of the festivities, it meant Sumara had to be ready to sail by mid-May so it could get a good shakedown sail from Oban to Ullapool. There is now plenty of time to resolve those niggling little problems before setting off north where sourcing spares etc can be tricky and expensive.
For a few years I have been concerned about my old air vent on the forepeak. The plastic had hardened and begun to crack and there was no way I could seal it off in rough weather. I also use the hole to pull through a thick hose to fill my paraffin header tank and that was becoming a real struggle. I kept hoping I would stumble on a beautiful bronze vent at a boat jumble but no such luck. I eventually purchased a Vetus Tramon with ring. It is silicon, rather ugly, but with a threaded ring so that a blanking plate and mosquito net can be inserted. Sadly it was a bit smaller than the existing one but Tim gallantly stepped in and made me a nice teak hoop to cover the old hole. It is now fitted but needs more varnish. I will wait for a dry spell.
My Autohelm Tiller Pilor ST1000+ has been playing up. It is very old and done great service. I lashed out and bought a new one (£450.00). I have cut off the plug with all those NMEA wires and replaced it with a IP68 Bulgin two pin plug. I always use a protective canvas cover to protect the electrics from the rain and spray. I now have two working autopilots. I only use them when I am motoring.
The sail up the coast gave the rigging a chance to settle in. I bought lock nuts for my chromed bronze rigging screws, so for the first week of sailing I just lock off the turnbuttons with the lock nuts. Then after a weeks test run, I can finally re-adjust all the tensions with my Loos Gauge and then finally add the split pins, kind of belt and braces but for a good reason.
A burner on the Taylors Cooker was burning with a partly yellow flame and the oven was weeping paraffin so I covered myself in soot repairing and testing everything. Taylors cookers are very much a Marmite product.
I have filled the paraffin header tank and topped up the diesel tank and bought an extra 20 L in cans.
I have also serviced the main winches and done lots of little jobs. I am now feeling very confident about the boat and really looking forward to the sail northwards. The only nagging worry is if jet fuel runs out and my crew can’t get to (or from) Iceland – hence the 9.75/10 confidence of sucess level.
But it’s not all been work.
I was invited to Tim and Alex’s amazing new house on the loch-side for supper. Their daughter Megan was there with two of her crew – Lara and Charlie. I say crew because Megan is also sailing to Greenland to climb a few mountains. She is also busy preparing her boat, so I hope to see that when I hook up on the mooring.
Adrian Morgan, who writes for Classic Boat, very kindly invited me to an evening at his house 7 miles north of Ullapool. The evening flew by as we discussed all things to do with Vertues and wooden boats in general.
Yesterday I had tea on board the drop-dead gorgeous Bristol Pilot Cutter, Cornubia. Josh and his crew are heading north on Saturday to the Orkneys. Wow, what a wonderful boat!
I was hoping to install the battery today but due to the delay I now I have three days to wait and it is raining and blowing old boots. No good for varnishing.
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