New In-Store Offers at P&B as the B14 Project gets underway!

by Ben McGrane, P&B 9 Feb 2014 21:22 GMT 9 February 2014

MORE IN-STORE OFFERS AS WORK STARTS ON LUCILLE!

Last week we introduced Lucille, my latest dinghy purchase! Conscious that the new season is approaching we have pushed on this week with getting her back to her bare minimum to assess the job list. In this case we have gone to the extreme in order to make sure nothing is missed.

The first job was a leak test, this showed up a mass of fittings which weren’t air tight, I also went round with a screw driver and found a lot of the holes no longer had threads. These are two things that I always feel are something you want to get right from the very beginning, making sure the boat stays as light as possible and that no fittings detach themselves while racing. Making sure all holes have a thread you can confidently tighten regularly is an important task that takes very little time.

I’ve also taken the time to check the fittings and many of the blocks were past their best, the outcome has been to remove all the fittings from the deck so that the holes can be filled and the threads re-cut. Fittings can then be replaced as required and I will know as each fitting goes back on that the holes have been sealed giving us a hull with no leaks. On the whole this is a time consuming task but will guarantee the fittings are all in working order, not going to fall off and we won’t be taking on water.

Before we get to to re-attaching the fittings she is currently upside down having the areas that need addressing sorted. All dings and scratches are a negative, my advice with this is to stay on top of the jobs at the start of each season, while it’s a bill each year which no-one likes, it is no different than servicing your car. It means that your boat will be at its best each year and when you come to sell her the hull will fetch its maximum resale value. Key in the case of our B14 is the trailing edge which was badly damaged and split, this has been filled and the underside will be brought back to as new condition. A sharp trailing edge is important to hull speed!

The foils like the hull are in need of some work, damage to the foils will not only cause drag but has a direct impact on the amount of lift they can generate. Keeping them in immaculate condition is a must!
So to recap things that you want to check for this season;

All fittings are in optimum working condition.
All fastenings are tight and holding in good threads.
The boat is water tight.
The hull condition underside is scratch and dent free.
The trailing edge is chip and scratch free, ideally sharp.

That pretty much covers the jobs list this week. Looking forward to getting her back up the right way and starting to focus on the rig alignment and getting the fittings back on the deck next week.

IN-STORE OFFERS

GOOD NEWS... we're extending our 15% OFF all clothing offer in store for another week.

We are also now offering 15% OFF all hardware which will end 23^rd February 2014. Remember both these offers are in store exclusively at P&B South (Fareham).

SERIES 3 SAILING WATCH

£49.95
Normal Price: £55.95
You Save: £6.00 (11%)

Now available in white the S eries 3 Sailing Watch is popular with all sailors. The large face and buttons make it a perfect timepiece when out on the water.

GEL COAT FILLER

ONLY £11.66

The Gel Coat Filler is great for repairing holes, cracks or scratches in GRP and is a must in any sailors toolbox.

NITESTICK EXTENSION (1200MM)100

ONLY £67.40

The C2 Marine Nitestick extension has a parallel diameter along its full length providing consistent grip charachteristics which is one of the main reasons that this is becoming a favourite across many dinghy fleets.