The garden is full of snowdrops, daffodils are opening, and after a week of reasonable dry weather it has been possible to start preparing the boat. Once the cover came off the grime soon followed and now Pepsand is clean again, though not yet polished. With the mast down it had a good going-over and a thorough check revealed no problems. All winches have been cleaned and greased, likewise seacocks, and the underwater hull is ready for antifouling.
At times like this the boatyard hums with activity as owners emerge from hibernation and go about their business with quiet satisfaction, mainly, and only occasionally is the happy atmosphere rent with an exasperated curse as yet another washer or spanner finds its way into the bilges. Pepsand's design has great advantages during the lay-up period as she stands on the hard, needing no cradle and with every part of the hull easily accessible. When cruising it is very useful to be able to stand on the bottom alongside a quay in drying harbours like Rye or Lyme Regis and not worry that the boat could topple over when the water goes. Drying out like this also enables one to inspect the rudder, propeller and water intakes from time to time. Another welcome aspect of this design is that the twin keels are integral to the moulded hull, and not bolted on, so there are no hull-keel joints to leak and no keelbolts to corrode. All this makes for one happy sailor.
Now for a Clarkson moment : "They say ......that the Countess 28 is the only boat larger inside than out!" There is an astonishing roominess in this yacht. Many thirty-footers have less space. There are six berths, and whilst that does by no means translate into "room to sleep six", all the berths are full length, and stowage space is generous, as is headroom. The cockpit is very roomy. Pepsand is tiller steered, and in port, with tiller hinged up out of the way there are seats for many. Some years ago I built two boxes which stand in the stern quarters, and apart from stowage for hoses and emergency gear they provide forward-facing seats. These significantly reduce fatigue when one is sailing for long periods and also raise one to be able comfortably to see forward over the sprayhood
