New owner, boat now in Geelong

[derekb]

Derek : Congratulations, but What's on the transom?

Hi Ron, yes, she has a propane tank on the pushpit rail (we call it LPG - Liquid Petroleum Gas - here Down Under) and a fold-down swim platform attached to the transom. Not sure when this was added, but it sure is handy.

It's supported by two wire ropes, one each side. I'll be adding some form of step or ladder to get down onto it, as its a big step down from the transom to the swim platform. I'll send more photos shortly, as I'm doing some cleaning, and the platform is coming off for painting.

Regards,
Derek

[derekb]

Well I have to say I've been very excited to receive my first hard copy of "Mainsheet", and was I thrilled to see a C34 MkI on the cover, seeing that I own one now!

I've confirmed that Esprit is indeed hull #29, and we had an eventful sail from Williamstown to Geelong just after Christmas (no riser loop in the bilge pump line, and a non-functional bilge pump, so we took on some water in a following sea). The photo below shows her in her new home at Royal Geelong Yacht Club just after we arrived, back on January 27th.



Since the photo was taken, I've checked off all the items on the "critical upgrades" list (luckily the previous owner had already completed most of these), replaced all the lifelines, removed some non-functional equipment (like a rusty home DVD system, etc), replaced the raw-water pump impeller and started cleaning and maintenance on 100 things that were neglected while she wasn't sailed for about 5 years (according to the broker).

I've also started staying aboard for several nights a week (to eliminate 2-3 hours of commuting between Melbourne and Geelong each day), so that's been very enjoyable. Esprit is the only C34 in Geelong, but there are several other Catalina's in our marina.

All in all a very enjoyable summer.

Regards,
Derek