Launch & return trip

Finally, it's time to launch the boat. It has been a long, tough procedure to get it all done, but now it's time to get paid for it; the pleasure of being able to sail in a boat that is in order and looks presentable.

In retrospect, I should probably have taken in smaller bites, but it is not easy to see in advance - some of the damage only appears when you take things apart, and then there's no way back. But now it's done, and it does not have to be done again - but the last few months have been very hard, and I certainly will not do anything similar again.

But now to what I really wanted to talk about, namely the launch. The crane company we have previously used has unfortunately stopped transporting boats, so I had to get hold of another, and I chose a company from Esbjerg. They have a truck with a rear-mounted 85 tm Palfinger crane, so they have no problems handling the 4½ tons Selma III weighs, and the rear-mounted crane makes it very easy to get the boat up on the trailer. The whole procedure, from the time the truck arrived, until the boat was fastened on the trailer, took just under 20 minutes.

The launch was to take place in Esbjerg, and I must admit that I had a portion of butterflies in my stomach. After all, the boat has been ashore for 3 years, and even though I have been watering it for a while, it would definitely take in water - but how much?

The launch only took 10 minutes, and the boat was relatively waterproof - there only came a small cupful in per minute at the start, so we could let the straps go right away.

Selma III fortøjet ved læssebroen (Ribe kammersluse)

But did not go completely without problems - the engine would not pump cooling water, and it turned out that the gasket for the seawater filter had mysteriously disappeared, so it sucked air. I had to temporarily mount a hose directly from the inlet to the gear so we could sail the boat over to the mooring place. We took a little trip around the harbor, and I could feel that there was a lot more power in the old Volvo engine. Before 2000 rpm was the absolute maximum with the propeller running, now it revs up to 2400 rpm without problems.

I really wanted to sail to Ribe right away, but there was a lot of wind and quite big waves, so I postponed it until today - the boat needed some time to draw water before it was exposed to waves.

But this afternoon we sailed towards Ribe, admittedly it wasn't calm, but we just took it easy so we didn't stress the boat in any way. The old Volvo drove like a well-oiled sewing machine, and everything worked as it should. The only thing is the stern tube bearing, which is worn out and needs to be replaced, but we can live with the vibrations this season.

On the way, we had the pleasure of seeing the schooner Maja at anchor right by the Ribe buoy. It is there as part of a number of events in connection with the Wadden Sea Regata, which will take place in the coming week.

Unfortunately, we did not completely escape the problems, because, on the way into the lock in Ribe, the engine began to run rough, and just as we sailed in, it stalled completely. Luckily we were able to stop the boat by hand without any damage.

I'm sure the fault is due to the fuel supply, maybe there's simply too little petrol in the tank. I tested the tank connection with just over 20 liters in the tank at home, but when the boat is in the water, it leans more backwards, and then the suction pipe, which ends approx. 10 mm above the bottom may not reach the petrol. And it may well be that we have used most of the 20 liters I filled up in Esbjerg. But I'll find out tomorrow.

Update: It was the old fuel filter that caused the engine to stall, it has now been replaced and the problem is solved.

More photos from the launch and boat trip: