Betty

Betty
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

She floats!
We launched our Ebbtide last month. After seven years out of the water, we were enormously relieved to see her settle into her gorgeous lines. Our present project: cutting out the old ports and replacing the frames and windows. Then- moving aboard, and the mast!

Mayflower Marina

Mayflower Marina
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

From our newest Ebbtide owner, Lee:

Well first blog is a whinge at the local Beta Marine agent. Having
bought the yacht whilst she was out of the water, I thought that
I'd save time ashore by paying to get the surveyors comments on the
engine all sorted. I have a Kubota 1505 with Beta marinisation
kit...

I decided I'd get my first engine service and thorough checkup by
the local Beta rep here in Plymouth, what a waste of £1000...

They have made so many mistakes and cockups that I will have to do
the entire job again myself, as I dont know how many other suprises
are waiting for me. With 20:20 hind sight, I should have done it
all myself in the first place...!

Top Tip to any yachtsman:
If you're in Plymouth, England, DO NOT use "Marine Wise" Beta Rep
to overhaul your engine. Just my opinion but the service and value
for money I received was very very poor, although they didn't
quibble about getting the saloon cushions cleaned after they
managed to get grease on them.

Well I'm looking forward to my first cruise from Plymouth to the
Med, via Paris....
More Blogs to follow,

Happy sailing

Lee

Mokusiga

Mokusiga
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

This just in:

I'm Lee from Plymouth in the UK.

I have just bought an Ebbtide 33, called Mokusiga, (It means
"Wasting Time" in Fijian)

I have just been made redundant from my job designing superyachts
and now I'm off to New Zealand, a trip I'm hoping to make over the
next 18 months.

ellen- Another one on the open seas. Looking forward to updates!

Ebbtide in Africa

Paddy and Conachair en route to Dakar: http://www.youtube.com/user/Yachtconachair

Ebbtide in Africa

Conachair is in Dakar, Senegal. Read about it on Paddy's site: http://www.conachair.co.uk/
His full narrative is the in the "Yarns" section of the site. Enjoy!

Meanwhile, John is busy replacing our rig- all new Hi-Mod fittings and wire, new chainplates to be welded externally sometime this month. Once the mast is up- we're floating!!

Taken aboard an Ebbtide 33. We watch it whenever we need inspiration to get aboard again.

New Stanchion Bases

New Stanchion Bases
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

They will eventually have a stainless rod that goes from the pipe to the deck, just like the original below.

The Old Stanchion Bases

The Old Stanchion Bases
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

We are alive and well and finally hard at work restoring our Ebbtide 33. I hope to get photos of all the little projects John's tackled up on the blog later today. We have wonderful stories of boats that have been fully restored and are cruising all over the world, but none of the painstaking and small details that go into these transformations. That's the phase we're in now.

Stanchion bases: this is what we took off the boat and John is replicating them in stainless, so we won't have to worry about lines and shackles rubbing and deteriorating the paint, causing rust spots. We spent a great deal of time tracking down the specific dimensions of stainless, pipe, plate, and rod, not to mention the welding wire he'll need to fabricate each. It has been an adventure in doing-it-ourselves, but above is a picture of the new base in progress.