I arrived in Malta yesterday but it already feels like I’ve been here a month.
Jetlag and the oppressive heat of Malta in July have amplified the boatyard blues, but still can’t stifle the sheer excitement of actually being here, being onboard our Moody 425 sailboat after so much dreaming, saving and waiting.
The past few months have gone so quickly as we have tried to get as much ready as possible from afar in Sydney. Drawing up lists, packing all our sailing gear, trying to figure out what we should bring to Malta and what we can just buy over there.
Now I am here I have a couple of weeks to get her ready and back into the water before the rest of family arrive and we head to Italy. Getting to know a new boat can be overwhelming. I took the approach of starting with a simple methodical task. Open every locker and clean her front to back. You know the boat is clean, but also it gave me a chance to look in every locker and nook, figure out where spares were hiding, what was missing and to get to know the boat and gather my thoughts.
After that I spent a good couple of days staring at the engine. She is the original Thonrycroft T98 that came standard with Moody 425’s. However the engine has been well maintained by the past few owners and with just over 5000 engine hours I hesitant to sink considerable money into buying a new engine immediately. So I tightened hose clamps, replaced some coolant and read manuals and notes left by her previous owners.
Wanting to make the boat feel more like ‘home’ and give her our own personal touch we have spent the past couple of weeks before I left sewing cushion covers and pillows. It was one thing we could do in Sydney and bring to the boat to instantly lift the interior. Barry from the Moody 425 Sumer Wine through active Moody Owner’s Association forum kindly measured his cushions and was able to assist us from afar!
While not a professional job by any standards after $200 and about 20 hours sewing we are happy with the results after I spent this afternoon fitting them and making notes of a couple of small nips and tucks!
Tomorrow ……I will begin the AIS install and do a bit of restitching on our bimini!
