Bonita was designed by William Crossfield and built in his yard at Arnside, Cumbria in 1888. This occasional blog describes some of her adventures - including her 2013 and 2023 circumnavigations of Britain and her Baltic cruise of 2016.
Fine spring weather and good spring tides - it's time to get Bonita out of her mudberth and back on her mooring.
We took off her winter covers - they have gone back to the sailmakers for an overhaul and more patches to be sewn on. We reinstalled the spars and sails that have spent the winter drying out ashore and with Allan and Toby's help took her out of the creek into the open water.
Things are never quite as simple as they sound and I'm always looking for ways to simplify the process. Bonita's bowsprit can only be fitted or removed by sliding it in through the gammon iron - the round thing at the top of the stem: in our case the gammon iron is not iron at all but bronze. This manoeuvre is done by standing up in the dinghy a few feet in front of the bow and holding the bowsprit up at shoulder height to line it up and slide it gently into place. It's never easy and always rather precarious, though having done this often I have only ever fallen in once.
This picture taken in Holland last year shows the general arrangement.
This year I tried something different. Using a piece of scaffold pole fastened to the winch and suspended from the jib halliard as a crane, the bowsprit was lifted up at its centre of gravity and gently slid into place without the need for anybody to take risks in the dinghy. I was a bit surprised that it all worked so smoothly and sadly I forgot to take a picture.
So Bonita is not quite ready for her 137th season. There is still quite a bit of tidying up and painting to be done, but getting her back on her mooring is a big step forward.