Come Sail with Me on Delta

summary details of the cruises to summary details.

Come Sailing on Freedom 33 'Delta'

Luxurious, comfortable cat rigged ketch sailing craft, one of the easiest cruising boat to sail short-handed and superbly equipped for cruising. Measuring 37ft l.o.a. including the rudder, this American designed boat is classed at 33ft in the U.S. whilst all European boats built from the U.K. builders of the same class were sold as Freedom 35 because the British agent John Oakley added the 2ft anchor bowsprit to the 33ft hull length to give the impression of better value for money. 'Delta' was registered as a Freedom 33 when Mike Flint changed the registration of ownership certificate to his name in '97. This same class of boat has crossed the Atlantic many times and George Tinley's Castaway of Lymington, a boat built next to Delta in Western Approaches Boatyard in Penryn, sailed 80,000 n/miles in ten years between 1988 and 1999. Mike day sails the boat single handed because of the Windvane self steering system allows him to work the boat without need to hold the wheel all the time. However when crew are on board they like to helm so he only rigs the windvane for night sailing on a 2 on watch, 2 off watch system.

Accommodation - Is in three cabin areas. There is a double cabin aft so if there is a single lady in a mixed crew, we would offer her this cabin. There is a foreward cabin which enjoys the benefit of French made, transverse wooden lathe springs which allows air under the mattresses making them very comfortable & condensation free. There are two single bunks which can be converted to a double berth. Then there is another berth in the dining salon area where two people could sleep but generally we restrict the number of overnight crew to a maximum of four adults so Mike makes up this berth. He can from this berth reach out to the electrical control panel and switch off the anchor light, turn on the radio 4 for the 05.35hrs shipping forecast, turning it off afterwards, or turn central heating on without getting out of his bunk. The dining area can only comfortably accommodate four adults around the table due to the longitudinal centreboard case. However this centreboard case comes into it's own in heavy weather when it provides good hand holds and superb support for anyone working in the galley. We can accommodate five or even six if the extra berths are for under 14 year old children as they take up less space around the dining table.

Cooking - Some crew like cooking, some don't. If you wish to pre-cook a main meal at home and bring it down with you you may and some adjustment made for it in the cost you pay for consumables, food etc. that we buy. Mike likes cooking but he will not totally object if someone wishes to him give him a break. He will happily cook a full English breakfast or go along with the those 'healthy types' who simply want a bowl of muesli, yogurt, some fresh fruit, filter coffee, herbal or English tea. We have a two shelf small gas oven with double burner hob. In the cockpit Delta enjoys the benefit of having what must be about the most practical barbecue ever fitted to a yacht. So it is rather pleasant to sit out around the cockpit table in the evening sipping wine and enjoying barbecued fish, lamb, steaks, pork spare ribs, or sausages and burgers with onions cooked in silver foil accompanied by an excellent salad followed by cheese or desert with your choice of music quietly playing on the hi-fi system.

Superbly Equipped Yacht - Mike has spent over £37,000 on professional shipwright & electrical refitting work on the boat first launched '89 which was purchased by Mike in mint condition in July'97. Out of date equipment needed to be replaced (i.e. Decca) and essential systems added:- 3 solar panels, renewed all batteries - trebling the amp/hrs from 120 to 360 to make solar panels more efficient, opening deck hatch replacing a fixed skylight, wind vane self steering, liferaft with teak deck cradle and a fridge which is capable of making ice, U.S. made Carbon filtered drinking water tap. Delta came with original all over teak decks, GT racing sails, main, mizzen, narrow staysail, asymc. spinnaker, 29hp 3 cyl. Volvo 2003 diesel (with only 750 hours on clock in 10 yrs., after 5 more years it is only 1650 hours), Foruno radar, quality Stowe electronics and electrical systems, Maxi feathering 3 bladed propeller, AquaDrive® flexidrive coupling on transmission, leather bound steering wheel. Hot water calerifier, Locata Navtex weather receiver & basic fridge (both now replaced). Shore supply cable and Invertor for 240v. supply when on marina shore power permits use of mains 13amp. mains hair drier.
A high quality digital battery condition/voltage meter, beautiful teak interior joinery, 3 Wempe brass marine clock, barometer, & hydrometer/humidity gauge, Avon® Redcrest dinghy, 35lb CQR anchor - since replaced with the Award winning Tunisian Spade® anchor, 70ft chain spliced to 75ft 16mm nylon multiplait. Whilst the original hull had the female sockets to accept Yacht Legs® Mike brought a fully adjustable pair which the boat did not have. These allow the boat to be kept upright when the boat dries out. Ideal for those secluded up river, quiet, remote places away from crowded anchorages or for use against an uneven quay wall.

Weekend Crew - Whilst some sailing experience is needed to go cross channel on a 5 or 6 day trip centred around Bank Holidays, where the four crew have to be split into 2 on and 2 off watch through the night. As long as you are agile and fit non sailors can be accommodated for normal 2 day weekends. You do not need to have had larger boat experience for such a trip so it would be better for novices to begin with one or two 2 day weekends to get to know the boat. If you have dinghy expertise which is where Mike began sailing in the RAF in Egypt, you have quicker reactions which can prove useful. Age is of no importance as long as you are fit and agile. If you are studying for an RYA Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster exam you would be welcome to clock up the hours at sea on board.
'Delta' is a non smoking boat but if anyone simply has to take their dose of cancerous nicotine then they must smoke out on deck ensuring no hot ash falls on the all over teak decks. No smoking permitted down below or in the 'heads' (w.c.)

Cost - the only cost to each crew member is their outward and homeward travel to the boat and an equal share of the cost of consumables on board. i.e. food, beverages, beer, wine, Gaz for cooking, any overnight marina charges whilst away from our Medina river home base, diesel fuel (the engine uses so very little - 2Ltrs an hour @ 25p. Ltr. at max. revs. less fuel at lower revs.).
In 2002 this worked out @ about £13 to £14 per day (£26 per 2 day w/end). This included a bottle of wine with evening meal on board, soft drinks, fruit juices and two or three beers during the day. It excludes eating ashore in restaurants, if the crew wish to do so, we can, but it is outside the daily cost of consumables. For 2003 this ought to be raised slightly because the owner has ended up paying out for a lot more on consumables than his equal share. So in 2003 the day cost will be £15/day. I not only contribute my full daily contribution but I have already provided a huge reserve stock of beer, food that keeps well like snack bars, dried pasta, jams, marmalade, honey, tea, herbal teas, coffee, Cadbury's hot chocolate, various tinned food like salmon, tuna, sweetcorn, baked beans, tomatoes, powdered milk, condiments, spices, tinned fruit, various bottled sources and pickles, etc. which only get renewed with the normal w/end shop when an item runs out.
On two day weekends Mike does the all shopping before you arrive at the boat and brings receipts where possible. Small greengrocers who specialise in selling local produce and bakeries rarely offer receipts, to save crew spending time shopping when they should be enjoying themselves on board.
N.B. It would difficult to spend a lesser daily amount simply eating out just for lunch and an evening meal without the wine, let alone breakfast and the use of such a luxurious boat within the daily cost!
The rate for chartering a 33ft to 35ft (bare boat - without food, beverages, fuel, gas etc) in the Solent varies between £220 to £320 per week according to season which divided by 4 crew = £55 to £80p.p./week p.p. plus consumables cost. With the daily cost on 'Delta' being only £15/day x 7 = £105 a week incl. consumables.
Pretty good value would you not agree?
The boat is fully insured for £70,000 and £3m. third party insurance. All damage to Delta is paid for by the me, not the crew. There is a £100 excess on each insurance claim (£150 when on French west coast) which I pay. The Medina river pontoon mooring is paid for by me. Each winter the boat is taken out the water and fully upgraded like new for the next season. Any gelcoat damage is made good, all teak on deck is restored as new and interior varnish brightwork kept up to a very high standard. New equipment may fitted during that winter so the owner provides the boat in the best possible condition with all the necessary safety equipment required before relaunching 10 days before Easter.
I am not chartering Delta. Just asking you for a fair share of what we all consume.
The boat is provided ready to sail. Any damage or losses however caused during the trip are paid for by me, quite apart from the wear and tear on sails and equipment which incurs substantial replacement cost at some future date purely in the interest of sailing with a group of people with a GSOH who hopefully become friends and the camaraderie enjoyed together.

Communications - I always carry a fully charged mobile phone # 0044 7966 523 919 both with me on land during the week or on board whilst sailing. He will only be contactable through this website whilst I am at home. Salt water atmosphere makes having computers on board a boat rather expensive in replacements.

The Skipper - I hold Certificates for RYA First Aid Course, (Delta carries a very comprehensive First Aid kit), RYA Diesel Course and RYA VHF Radio course. Semi retired, fit, active, swim 1Km. three times a week. Can sail 'Delta' single handed because of the thought he has put into the way he has fitted her out. RYA Day Skipper with 40 years sailing experience including being a keen racing helmsman in Nat. Hornet and Solo dinghies, Squibs O.D. day boats - finishing in the top four in four consecutive National Championships, 30ft Y.W. Diamond keel boat class 'Black Diamond' to cruising a 31ft catamaran sailing mostly on the east coast. Is one of only six Life Members of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club - Burnham on Crouch (and Cowes) which are now no longer available to new or existing members. Born & lived in Ilford, Essex until 18yrs. when he entered the RAF on a 3 year engineering engagement .
Now grateful that I avoid Ken Livingstone's Congestion Traffic Scheme charges but miss my regular Saturday visits to those Leicester Square half price theatre agencies for matinee tickets that afternoon and memerable lunches in China Town - Hot & sour soup followed by hot crab cooked in ginger and spring onions.

Safety - Delta has some of the latest electronic aids - EchoPilot® foreward looking echo sounder & log, full set of Stowe electronics including a second back up echo sounder and seperate log, Foruno radar, Firdell radar reflector, Foruno Navtex, GPS chart plotter with electronic chartlets from Biscay to Eire and whole of English Channel. Copious amounts of paper charts - large and medium scale, covering the French coast down to the Bordeaux on the Gironde river (Delta spent 7½ week summer cruise on the west French coast in 2002, a superb trip it was too) We have charts & electronic chartlet cartridges for both coasts of the English Channel, Scilly Isles, Bristol Channel and southern Eire coast.
A back up portable Garmin 48 GPS mounted convenviently on the central cockpit deck which can be grabbed in an emergancy and taken into the liferaft, full set of flares, man overboard retrieval equipment, webbing jackstays along each deck for use with any of the four adult lifejacket safety harnesses. 25lb. main Spade® anchor, & 2nd 35lb. Bruce 2nd anchor. Crew will not be shouted at but in noisy conditions you sometimes will be shouted to, particularly when safety is involved.

What to Pack - Each crew member must bring their own sleeping bag and a pillow case because these are such personal items. Mike supplies pillows for everyone to save you the need to bring such a bulky item with you on the passenger ferry as hand luggage. There are 4 adult automatically inflated (almost new) XM lifejackets and safety harnesses for each adult crew member on the boat. However we have no children's life jackets so if bringing children you must provide each with these. We have a superb Radio/C.D. player on board so you are welcome to bring your favourite C.D. If you are bringing a mobile phone and it is not a Nokia which Mike has himself, you will need a 12v. car cigar lighter plug charging unit, as normally used in cars, to fit into our chart table cigar lighter charger. Ski gloves are generally water and windproof and keep your hands warm at the wheel.
Experienced crew can ignore the rest of this paragraph but for those inexperienced, you need a bath towel, sensible warm clothing - pure wool sweater and spare woollen socks. Natural fibres keep the body much warmer than synthetic fibres. As mountainers will tell you, a woollen or wide brimmed hat to protect your neck and face from sunburn, with under chin strap and preferably and around back of neck strap, to avoid it being lost in a wind gust is essential because you lose up to 33% of your body heat through your head. A decent set of waterproofs and ideally two pairs of deck shoes in case one pair gets sodden or one pair deck shoes and a pair of wellies. Sunglasses, preferably on neck restrain- ing leash to save them falling overboard, sun blocker and after sun creme, all in a soft bag. Phone or E mail if you need more specific advice or info.

Itinerary - We like to try depart for weekend sailing on Friday either during the day if previously agreed or evening. If the weather is truly unpleasant on arrival, those arriving here on the Island are collected by me and we all stay here on Friday evening in his four bedroomed home, departing early the next morning in the vervant hope that the weather has improved and we have avoided getting soaked the previous evening rowing 150m. out to 'Delta'. As you will have to bring a sleeping bag with you Mike would appreciate it if you used the sleeping bag on beds provided in his house to save him having to strip them after only a single night's use. If we row out to the boat during the day on Friday we hoist sails to get away but if you arrive on Friday evening we then have the choice of a short evening sail to a convenient anchorage if the wind direction offers a quiet night or staying on our comfortable pontoon mooring on the Medina river and departing early the next morning so we make that day of reasonable length and spend time ashore somewhere or in a quiet anchorage Saturday evening. On weekend trips we all agree beforehand the ideal time of return to the mooring to get everyone back to their ferry or Hovercraft departure time. For those coming via Red Funnel Hydrofoil to West Cowes terminal or Red Funnel car ferry to East Cowes terminal Delta is taken into the Thetis Wharf Visitors Pontoon to pick up/offload crew so thet they catch an earlier ferry after walking across the river on the chain ferry, than would be possible if they come back to the up river pontoon and be rowed 150m. ashore. We must have the boat deck, cockpit ropes, cabin interior and all sails stowed neatly under their sail covers before anyone departs the boat, as Mike should not be left to do this alone. So this must be accomplished in the Solent before we arrive at Thetis Wharf because Delta is only permitted 6 minutes free pontoon time to refill fresh water tanks for the following weekend and crew changes or we incur a 'rip off' one hour £2.50 short stay charge. If everyone departs here I am able to berth Delta singlehanded on her up river berth after you have assited me refilling the water tanks via our hose. I will take any crew not already departed at Cowes Thetis Wharf onto their terminal in Ryde from our up river mooring.

Longer Summer Trip - On the longer 6 or 7 week summer vocation not everyone can take time off for the entire holiday so for those wishing to sail for part of the trip only, we have to decide where each crew member wishes to rendezvous with Delta which is decided during the planning stage. If we are going to France (Buzz now RyanAir, fly to Brest & La Rochelle from Stanstead) Bournemouth and Eastliegh airport routes are in a state of flux as I write this but both fly to France and Eire. The French TGV train service serve all the main west coast towns in France, are superb and even single tickets are cheap on the net or when booked well in advance) If we go to the Scilly Isles and southern Eire then pick up venues are best at places with good rail, coach or air connections. Delta went to the beautiful Scilly Isles in 1999, lovely isolated anchorages and he would not mind returning there. The best crew collection points en route would be the Royal Lymington Y.C. quay pontoon, Poole Quay(Town centre quay), Weymouth, Topsham (catch the bus - 4mls.from Exeter), Torquay or Penzance all of which have excellent rail connections from Waterloo or Paddington. National Coach Service runs all along the south coast as well as from London Victoria, is comfortable and cheap if return tickets are purchased, about 10% dearer than a single ticket, and you have the return ticket should you need to use it? It would be quite possible to extend the trip to southern Eire with such beautiful harbours as Crosshaven, Cork, Kinsale, Baltimore and Bantry Bay. Shannon and Cork have airports if prospective crew indicate they wish it. RyanAir fly from Stanstead and other airlines fly from regional airports. Cut price flybe British European airline fly Southampton to Dublin, Southampton to Guernsey, Exeter to Guernsey or Dublin.
Such a trip involves a huge amount of organisation and planning on Mike's part. In the winter of 2001/ 2002 he wrote 200 individual letters to fill the crew berths for the 2002 7½ week trip to La Rochelle, yet on August 23rd because three crew who had promised to rendezvous with Delta cancelled their arrangements at short notice, he faced being alone in Benodet with no crew. Thanks to friends, two complete strangers came out and we got Delta home on Sept 9th but had those two crew members not joined him Mike would have been faced with either living on board until a couple of crew could be arranged or leaving Delta in a west France marina and coming home and then be faced with paying the fares and expenses of two crew members to travel out with him later to get the boat home. The only alternative being leaving the boat out there laid up, for the winter. So all crew berth bookings for this special longer summer cruise must be accompanied with a 10% non refundable deposit based upon time booked at £15/day divided by 10 to offset extra costs when anyone fails to materialise. Until the deposit is paid the berth is NOT confirmed. If Mike finds himself short crewed through being let down and have to pay expenses for someone to come out at short notice to help me progress the boat along the planned route, this is an unfair burden on him. Whilst he is sure you, the reader of this would not do so, a chef who worked in a school in Hastings last year, had genuine holiday time covering our whole trip, he promised in writing twice and later by text once, to come with us for the entire 7½ week trip. Having let Mike down twice, once having only phoned him 30 minutes before an agreed rendezvous at where Delta's dinghy was kept, he then failed to turn up for the third weekend sail in the Solent just 2 weeks before our planned departure for France. This meant that we lost one berth for the entire 7½ weeks with that person's contribution to the helping us both to crew the vessel and a portion of his kitty money to pay for marina overnight visits and diesel costs where necessary were lost. Needless to say that chef was not on Mike's Christmas card list in Dec 2002. Mike prefers not to handle the kitty on board because he does not wish to be seen to be making any money out of it. A crew member is voted the task of reconciling the kitty float on these longer trips.
As Mike Green, a Manchester policeman, said in Aug 2002 after he had spent a week sailing with us around La Rochelle, 'Anyone who did not take up the offer of coming on this trip really missed out. It has been an absolutely superb week's sailing visiting Ile d'Aix (an island south of La Rochelle) where we walked around the whole island and Napoleon was held here for 3 days by the British before shipping him out to St. Helena and St. Martin on Ile de Re where in 1928 Pappilon was held before shipment out to Devils Island'. He then said before leaving from La Rochelle railway station, 'Mike if you need help getting Delta home I'll take unpaid leave and come out at my own cost and sail her back with you'. Fortunately I didn't need Mike Green's generous help because two guys came out on Aug 23rd and we spent 2 weeks leisurely getting the boat home. Another crew member John Shenton, a Laser and Dart 15 racing man, and ex-Commadore of Shanklin S.C. sailed with me for a week in 2001 to Lyme Regis and Topsham. Upon leaving with his friend Roger on arrival back at Yarmouth he said, 'Mike I have never eaten so well on a boat ever, thanks a lot for all the cooking you did'. He also spent 10 days with us in 2002 on west coast of France trip and wants to come again this year now he is retired from NTL. John was very helpful sorting electrical wiring problems now fully resolved in last winter's refit.
My mobile phone # ensures you can contact the boat to confirm times and pick points.

Aspirations - Mike will rarely hog the helm. He will be quite happy to tweak the sails, sheeting them to gain the greatest efficiency, do some whipping or back splicing, soak up the sun, navigate or if competent crew aboard, concentrate on preparing the next meal down below. He will give every crew member the chance to helm, allowing that all crew must be offered the opportunity to helm.
It is Mike's sincere wish that those coming sailing on Delta enjoy themselves hugely and that we have a few laughs and pleasant memories to recall when we next meet up. It is hoped that you will want to come several times rather just once because after the first couple of trips you become used to how to hoist and lower sails, how all the ropes and sails work, how the boat behaves under various situations including manoeuvring in pontoon situations (i.e. in reverse gear the prop. kicks the boat to starboard) and so make for more enjoyable, quality time for everyone aboard.

Six Golden Rules Proven to Lead to Harmony on Board
1) It is agreed by everyone coming on board that we do not discuss politics or religion.
2) Anyone who cooks or prepares a meal should not be expected to wash up after that same meal.
Mike does not mind doing either but for anyone to do both for the same meal, it becomes a chore.
3) That everyone treats the boat as if it were their own property, with the respect it deserves, leaving their berth area, galley,(having run the engine after lowering sails our Calorifier will provide hot water to wash up) fridge, toilet/shower and main saloon area clean and tidy when leaving the boat, as it was when we arrived.
4) Mike only has as much say in where we go and what we do as any other single member of the crew. He will have the latest shipping forecast and point out the tidal situation bearing in mind we have to get back on specified time for crew to get back home after a weekend or reach a certain anchorage or marina on our longer summer cruise. What we decide to do is a majority decision. The only time Mike takes 100% of decision making is in respect of safety for which as skipper he is legally responsible under Maritime Law
5) Nobody except Mike is permitted to load new Weypoints into the Garmin 230 GPS. This is because there are so few characters allowed as an abreviation for each weypoint on the scrolling index so Mike must be person to decide how each weypoint is indexed or he will be unable to find a specific weypoint when it is wanted in a hurry. Crew wishing to use this unit may do so, they may not however enter new weypoints into the unit. (in Aug'02 Mike had clear away all weypoints loaded into the memory by various crew who had loaded in new ones without asking Mike how they should be indexed. Mike found 25 weypoints in the index which he could not identify. He had to clear all out of the memory because there is a limit of how many the memory holds and then reload every single one (144) again so he would know how each one was indexed and this took him 6hrs.)
6) The central heating programmer and on/off control is susceptible to 'crashing'. This happens when the buttons are pressed too many times in a random fashion. Ask Mike if you want the heating on and he'll do it and show you how to do it without the system going down. To cure the problem in Oct'02 it cost Mike £50 to have an Eberspacher engineer come and sort the programmer out. It was found to have been set accidently, for the heater not to be on at all!!!!! As a result, a few nights on the French trip when we needed some heat, we had none. Some of these digital programmers are too clever by half! You can have the heat on whenever you want it but let Mike do it please.
Looking forward to you contacting me.

For the Technically Minded - New Equipment Fitted Since 1997 Purchase:
# Both masts removed, inspected and serviced before restepping in March 1998 after hull refit
# 10yr. electrical system totally rewired by David Wroath of Cowes Marina who also wired in solar panels below.
# Removing fixed skylight in main saloon - fitting Goiot® opening hatch c/w 10w. solar panel wired exclusively to engine battery, fitted with hinges aft for better ventilation when boat at anchor. Makes life aboard much more comfortable in hotter climes.
# 2 x 21.4w. solar panels, to provide enough electrical 12 volt power to make us almost independent of marina's shore power supply. If we go into a marina for an overnight stay we do plug into shore power to boost batteries and ladies can use 13amp. plug 240v. mains for a hair dryer
# Replaced 2 x 60amp/hr 12v. batteries with 4 x 90amp/hr batteries thus trebling battery bank from 120 amp/hrs to 360amp/hrs and providing 3 x 90amp/hr batteries for 'service use' only instead of the previous one 60amp/hr service battery.
# Poor performance fridge replaced with new Italian ice making fridge - essential for cruising.
# New Sinclair smart, digital voltage booster/regulator fitted.
# New Garmin 48 portable GPS fitted on new teak central cockpit deck - to assist helmsman
All above electrical equipment wired in professionally by David Wroath Electrical of Cowes
# Decca removed & replaced by Regis Electronics of Cowes with new Garmin 230 map graphics/GPS fitted below, above full sized chart table
# Locata® Navtex replaced because spare parts no longer available, by new Foruno Navtex by Regis Electronics of Cowes
# New U.S. made Seagull® carbon water filter tap fitted on galley sink by H. Hayles - for really superb drinking water
# New Eberspacher central heating system which heats all 3 sleeping areas - fitted in 2000 by Krueger of New Milton main Eberspacher agents
# Volvo engine removed in Oct 1999 and resited 25mm further forward with better engine bearers by H. Hayles main Volvo agents, which made engine much quieter after this work.
# Cockpit teak table, cleverly designed, made by H. Hayles's shipwright (detachable - so it stows below alongside the centreboard case, out of the weather for less maintenance) seats 5 people around it with use of extra flat space on central cockpit console so a lot of space available apart from just the com- pact table top
# New cockpit sprayhood, higher than original to make companionway access easier to cabin
# CQR anchor replaced with award winning Tunisian Spade® anchor for better holding power in kelp in which the CQR was notoriously poor, during many magazine anchor tests
# New teak deck cradle made for (new in 2002) FBA German made very high quality liferaft
# A much stronger Whitlock® steering linkage mechanism was fitted as original linkage was very poorly designed, putting huge stress on rudder when manoeuvring in reverse under power. Approved by Whitlock, this upgraded our system by two higher systems than before
# New German made, highly recommended WindPilot® windvane self steering fitted
# New Honda 3hp outboard purchased for Avon, new storage bracket fitted on the aft rail
# New 500Kg. lead filled g.r.p. better finished centreboard fitted with stainless shoe to reduce g.r.p. c/board maintenance each winter, after a season testing depth by rubbing board lightly on stony shoals in new anchorages which happens however much you study our echo sounders
# All six Vetus coachroof opening ports removed and reseated with more modern sythetic sealant and new rubber portlight 0 ring seals, to cure leaks, a v/long job to avoid breakage
# Purchased fully adjustable pair of Yacht Legs® and shipwright at H. Hayles fitted storage plywood brackets on port cockpit locker right out under the side deck to use space otherwise unused
# Removed 8 obsolete very basic 1980 design rope stoppers, New teak central cockpit deck, fitting to that new deck 16 new modern Rutgerson® surge clutches for all the rope controls coming back into cockpit. All above fitted by H. Hayles's shipwright Brian Grist who has carried 90% of total work on Delta since 1997
# New 35lb. Bruce® anchor purchased and stowed in side cockpit locker as second anchor. Ideally I would like to have this stowed over stern on teak chocks but design not finalised
# New light weather 2oz. rip stop nylon staysail made in 2002 by Paul Newell of Bembridge.
# High quality radio/CD player with 2 pairs of speakers with independent volume control in saloon and in cockpit, so on nightwatch you can have silence below & music of your choice quietly in cockpit.
# New 20" T.V. Mainly for better graphic weather forecasts than radio forecasts, but also for films on wet evenings when not everyone wants to take dinghy ashore in the rain.
# Mobile Orange phone (cigar) charger socket, bring your own cigar socket adapter if not Orange
(We have 3 pin 13amp socket but this only works when on shore power in marina)
# New AquaDrive® fitted 2001 due to corrosion of original unit. Source of corrosion - water dripping from binnicle engine control cables. Problem remedied to avoid it reoccurring
# New foam cushions fitted in main saloon dining area with new Teflon® stainproof gold velour upholstery by Shirlaws Upholsters of Cowes.
The main social seating areas are the cockpit & dining area below so should be really comfortable.
# French curved wooden transverse spring system fitted under bed mattresses in forw'd cabin berths, making these berths very springy & condensation free due to air flow under cushions
# Foruno radar replaced with another better Foruno radar October 2002 by David Wroath.
# Firdell radar reflector fitted under radar dome in March '01 in consultation with makers
# EchoPilot® digital forward looking echo sounder/distance log fitted in 2003
# New Jackstays made by Ratseys (to which you clip your lifejacket's safety harness) on deck, fitted 2002 .

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