Valentine's Day

On a joyously sun filled Valentine's Day, I load a heavy wooden crate into the farm pick up.

Four days earlier Stargazer was craned out of the water under leaden skies. A lone sunbeam glinting off the glass of the dockside apartment block behind her. In a mechanical ballet, the crane gently lowered Stargazer into a cradle before swinging its boom clear; a tractor reversed in, with an hydraulic jacking trailer; Stargazer and cradle were whisked off to a waiting space.

Kevin, the engine mechanic, meets me down at the yard, screwdriver in hand. He sets to work dismantling the crate. Stargazer's gleaming new engine emerges into the spring sunshine, like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.

Kevin has been working, for the past 6 months, trying to cure the original engine's thirst for coolant. This first emerged during last season's cruising. In the autumn, all the ancillary systems were stripped off and pressure tested. No leaks were found. However, once the engine was rebuilt, the coolant was still disappearing. The symptoms pointed to a fracture in the block or one of its internal galleries. The engine had reached the end of its life. Over Christmas, friends from Poole came to the rescue with the offer of a replacement engine at 'mate's rates.' Thanks Mike and Gary!

I fuss anxiously as Stargazer is manoeuvred back under the crane for the engines to be exchanged. Will the new face plate fit onto the saildrive? Will Stargazer's immaculate internal joinery be scratched by the lifts? The starter panel is an updated design - is there room for it in the cockpit alcove? I realise that I'm not contributing anything to proceedings, and am probably impeding progress. I return to the farm. Kevin calls 6 hours later to say that the engine is safely in and filled with fluids. Just the wiring to do.

Two days later, amid the turmoil of a saloon filled with the contents of the aft cabin and cockpit locker, our first snag emerges. Stargazer has a sophisticated  battery management system (Merlin 'SmartBank Advanced'). This allows battery charging at tick over revs and has served us well on extended 'off grid' cruises - the kind we love the most! However, there are problems linking the new alternator to the original system. Its time for me to get phoning and Googling to find the solution...