Cairns to Hervey Bay February 2026...

Due to its location, new owner Brad wasn't able to attend to all the maintenance that was required to make this cat entirely up to scratch! The boat being 24 years old, had significant corrosion (not unusual for a boat in salt water environment) that had not been dealt with and some victims included the jib track which pulled out of the deck and broke and the screecher jammer handle which was previously broken and missing and the screecher furler  had a 1/4 inch bolt snap (see pics) which meant the sailed unfurled and due to its age, was significantly damaged. Other things such as circlips 'fell off' the throttle morse cables to both engines or perhaps they were never installed properly or at all?  I had asked that all engine hoses be replaced as they appeared to be original and although very common Yanmar motors, a replacement hose kit was elusive. In the end the local mechanics McGuyver'd up a solution which thankfully held together. All in all this delivery was looking like there could be ongoing issues. Thankfully due to our nurturing and continual checking of hardware, the screecher was the only significant victim. We identified prior to becoming unserviceable a very worn drive belt to the Raymarine 4000 wheel auto pilot and we swapped out with a replacement which thankfully was onboard. Yes, this one was a bit challenging but with Murray's assistance and cool head we left the boat safely in Hervey Bay Marina.