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 BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING BOATING MAGAZINE

No. 657 OCTOBER 2020 £4.85

GEAR REVIEWS · PROJECTS · SEAMANSHIP · CRUISING · MAINTENANCE

READER RESTORATIONS
THE SAILOR The 13-year-old
WHO BEAT who restored a
LOCKDOWN wooden classic
Surprise AMAZING ADVENTURES
arrival after Trailer-sailing
92 days at sea in Scotland
21 Pacific crossing
PAGES OF Caribbean to
D IY Chesapeake Bay
How to...
EXPERIENCE
Replace valves on inflatables
I made my own
Inspect a water impeller mainsail
Repair your gooseneck
Aground and
Make your own keel bulb out of options

START SAILING
Teaching tips
for all ages

USED BOATS
The worst boat
I ever surveyed

SAIL SOFTWARE
Buyer’s guide to
nav instruments

NEW SERIES

NEW SERIES GREAT

BRITISH BOATS
Twister review and test sail
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 Contents 22
42 44
Welcome to the October 2020 issue
68 38
21 84
80 62
72 76

82
34
52 28
Cover: boisterous sailing fun for the Swift 18 Tyger.
Photo by David Harding/sailingscenes.co.uk

PRACTICAL
David Harding

21 Check a water impeller

The Twister, a great Tips for impeller maintenance
British boat – page 28
22 The 13-year-old who
restored a classic
REGULARS BOATS, CRUISING How Katie McCabe rebuilt a
26ft Morgan Giles sloop
& SEAMANSHIP
28 Great British boats
We sail and explore the history of
Kim Holman’s popular Twister

34 Worst boat I ever surveyed

Jam jars for nav lights and kerb
Sailing the South stones for ballast – and that wasn’t
Pacific – page 38 the worst of it, recalls Mike Coates
62 DIY mainsail
38 Pacific crossing
5 Waiting for the tide Jasna Tuta’s emotional voyage from
Bob Tuckwood learns how to
make his own mainsail
6 News Mexico to the Marquesas

10 Regional news 42 Sailor who beat lockdown

SAVE A New Zealand town is enchanted
12 Readers’ letters MONEY AND
SUBSCRIBE by the surprise arrival of a visitor
16 Dave Selby !
Great offer
page 79
on 44 Trailer-sailing in Scotland
18 Sam Llewellyn Meeting the best and worst of
Scottish summer weather
20 Marsali Taylor
68 Valves on inflatables
50 New Gear 52 Buyer’s guide to nav Service leaky dinghy valves
instruments
80 Practical projects How sailing software can improve 72 Make a lead keel bulb
safety and take hours off a passage Moulding and casting keel
82 Ask the experts bulbs for a small yacht
58 Fife Sailability
90 Sketchbook Proof that enthusiasm can make
sailing accessible for all

76 Aground and out of options

Why shortcuts aren’t a good idea –
and how to escape from a grounding

84 From the Caribbean to

Chesapeake Bay
Matt Vance

A long-term liveaboard cruising 80 Repair a gooseneck

The sailor who beat
family were in for a shock when they Don’t bin it – mend it!
lockdown – page 42
left their Caribbean lockdown idyll

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 3

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 EDITORIAL
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Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 5

 News SEND US YOUR STORIES
Email news editor Katy Stickland at
pbo@futurenet.com, tel: 0330 390 6738

News and current affairs from the world of boating

UK Coastguard to invest £170m

in new radio network
The reliability of communication LEFT The new radio network will
transmissions between boats at improve the reliability of
sea and the UK Coastguard is transmissions between boat
set to improve with a new £170 crews and HM Coastguard
million emergency radio BELOW LEFT The drone trial is
network. taking place in North Wales
Existing copper telephone
wiring will be replaced with what role drones could play in
modern fibre-based technology search and rescue operations.
to each of the HM Coastguard’s The Camcopter S-100s have
155 remote radio sites, which a flying range of just under six
monitor VHF and MF radio hours but the MCA’s aviation
transmissions from vessels. technical assurance manager,
The new network will be built Phil Hanson, said a larger
and maintained by Telent drone would be tested in west
Technology Services, with the Wales in September with Elbit
replacement work expected to He added that transition to Systems UK. It has a 20-hour
take a minimum of three years. the new network would be flying range – longer than a
Towns and villages close to the “seamless”. standard search and rescue
remote radio sites will also be HM Coastguard is also helicopter.
able to utilise the new network, looking at other new Hanson said drone use in
improving Internet connectivity technology, and is currently search and rescue scenarios
MCA

for residents. trialling drones for search and would certainly be a factor in
The Maritime and Coastguard rescue operations. the procurement of the next
Agency (MCA)’s commercial service transmissions and The trial in North Wales search and rescue helicopter
and programmes director, communications, the network involves Bristow, the providers contract, which will begin at the
Damien Oliver, said although requirement was fundamentally of the UK’s privatised search end of 2020.
the current network, X21 low bandwidth, which is why it and rescue helicopter service. Current regulations state that
Kilostream, was 100% reliable it has lasted so long. As HM It owns two Schiebel air space used by drones has
was around 40 years old. This Coastguard operational Camcopter S-100 systems, to be closed to other users so
makes it expensive to run, services have evolved, we now which are being used by HM the trial in North Wales is also
especially after BT withdrew it require a high bandwidth Coastguard at the weekends to helping the Civil Aviation
from the market, making spare network that can deliver supplement the helicopter Authority to develop the
parts difficult to source. enhanced capabilities,” service on maritime and regulations which will allow the
“HM Coastguard historically explained Oliver. These include mountain operations. emergency services to operate
only used the network for radio tracking shipping through AIS. The trials will explore exactly drones in a time critical manner.

Speak up if you’ll sail Baiona in Spain: UK sailors

visiting the EU after Brexit will be

in Europe post Brexit restricted to 90 days out of 180

The RYA is trying to find out UK’s negotiations with the EU.
how many cruisers could be The RYA believes this “will
Peter Cumberlidge

adversely impacted if the UK have a significant impact on UK

leaves the EU without reciprocal citizens’ rights to travel in
visa-free travel arrangements. Europe after the end of
At present, the UK is offering transition, particularly those
EU citizens visa-free travel for who wish to spend the summer,
six months out of 12 from 1 and possibly longer, in the
January 2021. The EU is EU27 on their boats.” asked to complete questions Schengen Area cruising plans.
offering the standard Schengen The survey aims to gather on topics such as the It will be available until 13
arrangements of only 90 days statistics to clarify the breadth frequency of their boating trips September at www.rya.org.uk,
in 180. Improving access is of the issues involved. abroad, the type of boat that with findings published in the
also not currently part of the Survey participants will be they use and their future autumn.

6 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 NEWS

Farewell to legendary
cruiser Larry Pardey
Larry Pardey, who with his wife, 1983, the couple took Taleisin
Lin, inspired generations of around the world via the South
bluewater cruisers through their Atlantic and around Cape Horn.
sailing books and cruising Eventually they settled in
adventures, has died, aged 81. Kawau Island on New
Together the couple sailed Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf where
over 200,000 miles in their two Larry set up a small boat repair
famous wooden engineless business.
boats, Seraffyn and Taleisin, They also continued to write,
circumnavigating the world and went on to make
both westabout and eastabout. instructional films about
They also won numerous cruising; their mantra was
accolades for encouraging always ‘Go Small, Go Simple,
ocean cruising in small craft Go Now’. Between them the
including the Ocean Cruising couple have penned 12 books
Club’s Lifetime Achievement including The Self Sufficient
Award. Sailor and Cruising in Seraffyn.
Originally from Canada, Larry Their last voyage was from
was a professional skipper California to New Zealand,
working in California when he when Larry’s health was
met Lin, and together they built starting to be affected by
their 24ft Lyle Hess-designed Parkinson’s disease.
cutter, Seraffyn, which was Lin cared for Larry for five
based on the long-keeled years before he needed 24
Bristol Channel cutters. hour professional care; he
Larry Pardey and his wife, Lin, sailed over 200,000 miles together
They lived aboard Seraffyn for spent the last year of his life
11 years, sailing the world and living in a hospital-level care not only because he was a ready to offer, it was me.”
writing about their cruising home after a major stroke and wonderful partner, lover and A fund to expand the Larry
lifestyle before Larry, a master died on 27 July 2020. husband but also because, if Pardey Memorial Observatory
boatbuilder, built the 29ft Paying tribute to her anyone can be said to have at Kawau Island has been set
Taleisin, which was also a Lyle husband, Lin wrote: “His gained the most from the up to remember Larry. www.
Hess design. Launched in memory will always be with me generous help he was always facebook.com/lin.pardey

Garmin hack: more protection for nav systems needed

Sailors should keep traditional doing more to mitigate the
navigation skills up to date and threat to navigation systems, a
be aware of common threats to view shared by Sweeney.
online systems to avoid “If history is any indicator, it
becoming a victim of a cyber will take a much more
attack, according to a security significant event than a
expert. ransomware attack to trigger
Jonathon Sweeney from Red change in this field. If a cruise
Sky Alliance, which is a cyber ship were to be stranded in the
security partner of UK maritime middle of the ocean without
security firm Dryad Global, any navigation systems
spoke to PBO after Garmin, because of a cyber attack, that
which owns Navionics, was a may trigger people to pay more
victim of a days-long cyber attention,” said Sweeney.
attack in July, disrupting many Garmin hack: chartplotters were still operational during the Garmin He said cruisers were unlikely
of its online services. outage, but charts could not be downloaded to know if their onboard
Sweeney said that any online systems were being attacked,
system was vulnerable to were all affected; products but you couldn’t upload or although one sign was systems
attack, including GPS receivers, couldn’t be bought directly via download anything. The operating abnormally.
satellites and ground stations, the Navionics website. Charts chartplotter still worked as a The best way for sailors to
although potential hackers couldn’t be downloaded. standalone device. I have a mitigate a cyber attack was to
would need a “high level of Garmin has said it had “no Garmin smart watch which “learn to navigate offline” using
skill”, making attacks unlikely. indication that any customer controls the autopilot too, as traditional techniques. He also
The attack meant Navionics data was accessed, lost or well as linking into my advised keeping all online
customers were unable to stolen”. chartplotter; that still worked, systems up to date with the
access the Navionics server via Rob Watt, who sails the Maxi but again I couldn’t upload or newest updates and software
their log-ins. The Navionics 95, Peggy Rose, and uses download anything.” patches and being aware of
Boating app, Chart Installer, paper charts as backup, told He believes governments and common threats to these types
and Navionics Chart Viewer PBO: “Navionics still worked private companies should be of systems.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 7

 NEWS

Sailing skills for young people in care No Round the

Island Race
A new non-profit sailing
organisation has been set up
Declan Cox (right) will be
working with director of
for 2020
specifically to provide sail sailing, Amelia Ralphs This year’s Round the
training to young people who Island Race has been
have experienced the care cancelled. Initially, the
system in the UK. Island SC, which
Based in Glasgow, Care to organises the annual
Sail is run by 22-year-old event, postponed the
Declan Cox who believes his race from May to
life was saved through sailing. September due to the
Having suffered abuse as a COVID-19 pandemic.
child, Cox was put into care, Race director Dave
and spent some of his teenage Atkinson said: “With
Care to Sail

years homeless. He also fears of a second wave,

attempted suicide. the growing number of
“I was lucky enough during restrictions on overseas
this time to have a couple of travel as well as the rise
good people in my life that Care to Sail will offer sail for Care to Sail. There are also in local lockdowns, our
would take me out sailing. It training, including RYA courses, plans to offer a round the world hopes of staging this
was sailing that saved my life, and intensive support voyage on a Challenge 72 for 12 year’s race have been
helped me form positive programmes to help young young people who are aged 18 dashed. As sailing
relationships and grow to be people address issues like and over and have experience restrictions have eased,
the person that I am today. It is mental health difficulties. of the care system. Each will it appeared that safety
my own story that has made Amelia Ralphs is the director undergo five months of training. on the water was
me so determined to help of sailing, while former Clipper To help fund the project, a becoming less of an
others who have had a difficult Race skipper Nikki Henderson crowdfunding campaign has issue; but sadly, with
start in life,” he said. has become an ambassador been set up. caretosail.org.uk Round the Island being
one of the UK’s largest
sporting events,
achieving shoreside
Smallest ARC for years to go ahead Covid-19 compliance
within current
November’s ARC transatlantic also have to pay €160 per government guidelines,
rally from Gran Canaria to St person for COVID-19 testing to is simply not achievable.”
Lucia has been given the go ensure crews are virus free
James Mitchell

ahead by the authorities on before putting to sea, and can

both islands. meet requirements for entering
Organisers World Cruising St Lucia. Crews will also have
Club said there would be some to ‘bubble’ seven days before
changes to the 2020 rally due the start.

Paul Wyeth
to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Cruising said ARC crews will have to have a
including no split starts which uncertainly over freedom of COVID-19 tests before crossing
would normally spread arrivals movement through the the start line
over a longer period. Caribbean has meant many
All ARC (direct) boats from entrants have postponed until not be appropriate in This year’s Round the
Gran Canaria will have to start 2021, resulting in one of the November, and crews should Island Race entrants
on 22 November; the start for smallest events in nearly 20 expect to be flexible to make will be rolled over to the
all ARC+ Cape Verde boats will years. It also stressed that sure the ARC complied with 2021 event
be 8 November. Entrants will measures required now might COVID-19 measures.

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8 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 NEWS

Campaign for cleaner harbours DIARY DATES

A campaign to raise awareness The campaign
Q Cowes Spring Classic
of discharging toilet waste from will focus on
2020, 4-6 September,
boats has been launched by Poole, but
subject to COVID-19
the community group Litter applies to all
restrictions, at Cowes,
Free Coast and Sea. boat owners
cowesspringclassics.com/
The group will initially focus Q Island SC Nab Tower
efforts on Poole Harbour and is Race, 5 September, from
collaborating with the Poole Cowes to the Nab Tower
Harbour Commissioners (PHC), and back, islandsc.org.uk/
Natural England and the Dorset page/at-sea
Wildlife Trust on the Love Your Q Normandy Channel
Harbour project. Race, 10-20 September
Like many harbours around subject to COVID-19
England, Poole is covered by a restrictions, at Caen, with
byelaw which makes it illegal Class 40s racing in the
for boaters to discharge waste English Channel to
within the commissioners’ England, Ireland
jurisdiction. For Poole that and France,
includes the harbour and parts normandy-race.com
of Studland Bay. PHC said Q Little Britain Sail for
those breaking Byelaw 37 can Charity Regatta, 11
face a maximum fine of £1,000 September, leaving from
plus court costs, and where Port Solent, with a 3-race
there is evidence, it will take format, littlebritain.co.uk
boat owners to court. Q Carey Olsen Jersey
It is recommending that at pumping stations or (RCD) has required all new Regatta, 11-13 September,
on-shore toilets should be used sewerage facilities. For those vessels with toilets to have at St Aubin’s Bay, Jersey,
when a boat is berthed. who can’t, the acceptable provision for a holding tank to info@jerseyregatta.com
Holding tanks or a chemical practice is to flush at least three be fitted. Poole currently has a 01534 732229
toilet should be installed on miles offshore. Since 2006, the pump-out facility at Poole Quay Q Boats 2020 presented
board, which must be emptied Recreational Craft Directive Boat Haven. by Southampton
International Boat Show,
11-20 September,
Mayflower Park,
Replacement for Reboot for Southampton, £12.50 per
Nicholson 32 ticket. Booking essential,

Southampton Boat website

The Nicholson 32 Association
boats2020.co.uk
Q Ocean Village Boat

Show announced has refreshed its website.

Long time Nicholson 32
Show, 11-20 September,
Ocean Village Marina,
Southampton. Tickets free
owner, Tristram Woolston, has but booking essential,
Boats 2020 will feature 90 boats added new content to the site
from 30 sail and power brands mdlmarinas.co.uk
including details about the Q Deacons Used Boat
model’s history and boats Show, 11-20 September, at
currently for sale. The secure Deacons Marine, River
members area also features Hamble, whyboats.com
dozens of articles on Q Open Days at St
maintenance and upgrades Pancras Waterpoint, 19-20
and technical drawings. September, at St Pancras
www.nicholson32.org.uk Yacht Basin, London,
British Marine

canalrivertrust.org.uk
Q Christchurch Bay Race,
26 September, at Isle of
Wight, islandsc.org.uk/
Rupert Holmes

page/at-sea
Boats 2020 – an alternative 40 marine equipment
event to the cancelled exhibitors. British Marine has
Southampton Boat Show – is stressed that the health, safety Send your diary dates
to pbo@futurenet.com,
expected to take place from and security of exhibitors,
see more online at
11-20 September at Mayflower visitors and colleagues will be Between 1962 and 1981 there www.pbo.co.uk/events
Park. Organisers British Marine the “number one priority, and were 382 Nicholson 32s built
said numerous COVID-19 the show’s layout will reflect
measures, such as social this.” It added that it will be www.pbo.co.uk
distancing and extensive monitoring and responding to
cleaning routines, would be in any last-minute changes in the Visit the PBO website to find more free practical content, find the
place for the event which will ever-evolving health situation. latest subscription deals, or wade into the reader forums and get
feature over 90 boats from 30 Tickets are limited and cost your questions answered.
brands. There will also be over £12.50 from boats2020.co.uk

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 9

 Regional News
Send us your local news stories. Email PBO news editor Katy Stickland at
News from your cruising area pbo@futurenet.com, tel: 01252 555213, or write to the address on page 5

SOUTH COAST AND CHANNEL ISLANDS

Horizons Plymouth
GUERNSEY DRONE
GUIDANCE
An increase in unauthorised
drones being flown within
restricted areas in Guernsey
has led Guernsey Ports to
update its guidance. It now NEW HORIZONS
includes areas within the Sailing has restarted at
Bailiwick where permission to Horizons Plymouth
Beaulieu Enterprises Ltd

fly drones is required. following the easing of

www.harbours.gg/drones COVID-19 restrictions.

Westend61 GmbH/Alamy
The inner city children’s
sailing charity has an
action plan to minimise
New pontoons at the risk of infection
Buckler’s Hard including the use of PPE
and restricting the
numbers of cadets.
BUCKLER’S HARD PROGRESS
The first phase of a £2 million The second phase of the
redevelopment at Buckler’s redevelopment will begin this
Hard Yacht Harbour on the autumn, providing an extra 66 CASH FOR CLUBHOUSE new building at the entrance to
Beaulieu River has now berths and additional large Flushing SC is looking to raise the Penryn River, and has
opened. Newly installed moorings by March 2021. £60,000 so work can begin on raised most of the money
walk-ashore pontoons feature The Beaulieu Estate is building a new clubhouse for needed for the £430,000
upgraded electrical services as collaborating with agencies the Falmouth club. project. It is hoped the new
well as deeper berths. including Natural England and Its old headquarters is now clubhouse can open by May
The bulk of the work is being the Environment Agency to not fit for purpose and can’t 2021, in time for the club’s
carried out during the off ensure the protection of the accommodate the club’s 200 100th anniversary.
seasons to avoid disruption to Beaulieu River’s unique members. Flushing SC already www.flushingsailingclub.
visiting vessels. habitats and species. has planning permission for a co.uk/appeal.htm

WEST COAST, WALES AND IRELAND

LIGHTHOUSE LED SPARKS ANGER

The Commissioners of Irish Republic of Ireland, argues that
Lights has defended its LED lights will save energy,
decision to install an LED light and it is looking for contractors
at St John’s Point Lighthouse to do the work. The liquid
Bangor University

in Ireland’s County Down. mercury bath on which the

Campaigners claim changing lighting mechanism rotates will
the light will reduce the also be removed. LED lights
“quantity and character of the would reduce the lighthouse’s
beam”. But Irish Lights, which beam from 25 miles to 18 and
manages lighthouses in give a slight blue-white tinge to
MTB 539’S LAST RESTING PLACE REVEALED
Northern Ireland and the the light.
The wreck of the Anglesey- Royal Navy boat, which sank
built fast sea raiding vessel during an Irish Sea gale while
SAFETY CONCERNS OVER SWING BRIDGE MTB – motor torpedo boat – under tow, was found off Point
539 (pictured) has been Lynas by staff from Bangor
A new swing bridge is to be
discovered. University’s School of Ocean
installed over the Leeds and
The UK’s first all-aluminium Sciences.
Liverpool Canal at Skipton in
the spring. The Canal & River
Trust has deemed Gawflat NEW SLIPWAY FOR WHITEHAVEN
pbpvision/Alamy

Bridge unsafe after part of the Work has started on a new £3.6 million coastal activities
mechanism was damaged. It centre at Whitehaven Harbour in Cumbria. A new slipway will
is now closed to road traffic, also be built. Sellafield Ltd and the Coastal Communities
but the bridge will be left open Fund are funding the project, which will be finished by 2022.
for boats in the meantime.

10 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 NO UE CTO
IS 1 O
S
VE ON BE
M SA R
Next

BE L
R E
month
SCOTLAND

SHOP TO SHIP MARKETPLACE PLANS FOR BANFF DRY

BERTHS EXPANSION
Cruisers visiting Scotland are Shop to Ship to find out about
being encouraged to use the shore-based food and craft Plans to build a new repair
new web-based Shop to Ship producers in the areas they are area and create more dry
berths at Banff Harbour have BOATS
Marketplace to buy local food cruising before making
and crafts. arrangements for safe been announced. Drascombe Drifter 22
Sail Scotland has developed purchase. This will include Aberdeenshire Council, which ■ Peter Poland reviews and test
the platform which aims to help selecting safe drop off and owns the Grade A listed port, sails this trailer-sailer from the
remote rural and island collection points via quays, has applied for planning popular dayboat builder’s fleet
locations recover from the ports and harbours. permission for the project,
COVID-19 pandemic. www.sailscotland.co.uk/ which would see the boat
Sailors are asked to use shop-to-ship/ compound extended into part
of the nearby public car park
P Tomkins/VisitScotland

David Harding
and gas works.
Repairs to the railway jetty
and east pier will need to be
carried out before any work
can start.

John Bracegirdle/Alamy
PRACTICAL
Installing cabin LEDs
■ Zoran Glozinic describes a
cheap and effective replacement
for halogen interior lighting
Peter Sandground/Scottish Canals

Businesses in Lerwick in Shetland have already signed up to the The project would see more Jester Challenge 2021
Shop to Ship marketplace scheme dry berths for Banff ■ The under-30ft offshore ‘race’
has an illustrious history
THREE SCOTTISH CANALS REOPEN TO NAVIGATION DIY ship’s wheel
Following the easing of & Clyde Canal has reopened ■ Chris Mardon makes his own
COVID-19 restrictions, Scottish from Kirkintilloch to The Kelpies wooden wheel
Canals has reopened the Crinan and from The Falkirk Wheel to
(pictured), Caledonian and parts Edinburgh. Weed clearance work NOVEMBER PBO ON
of the Lowland Canals. The Forth is also under way.
SALE 1 OCTOBER

EAST COAST AND SOUTH-EAST

Cahow Photography/Royal Quays Marina

TRIBUTES PAID TO TYNEMOUTH’S TERN COLONY AT ROYAL QUAYS
BARBARA DARLING Over 60 breeding pairs of
common terns are nesting at
Barbara Darling, who helped Royal Quays Marina in North
develop youth sailing in the Shields. The first pair arrived
north east, has died after a 12 years ago, and since then
short battle with cancer. marina staff have installed a
Born in 1937, Barbara was a specially converted pontoon
former teacher. She learned to on the north-west corner of
sail through school outdoor the marina basin which has
education trips, and joined allowed the terns to flourish.
Tynemouth SC in the 1960s.
She was involved in the
National School’s Sailing
Association for decades, and ORFORDNESS
Darling family

played a pivotal role in Ripon LIGHTHOUSE GONE BUT

NOT FORGOTTEN
SC, where she focused on
youth sailing. Orfordness Lighthouse
After retiring in 1996, Barbara (pictured), one of East Anglia’s
moved back to the north east most iconic landmarks, has
and became actively involved Series. Barbara received the been demolished. It’s hoped
in both Tynemouth SC and RYA’s President’s Award in parts of the Grade II listed
Derwent Reservoir SC. She 2003 in recognition of her decommissioned lighthouse,
Will Kerry/Alamy

helped set up the Yorkshire & contribution to youth sailing which was deemed unsafe due
Humberside School’s Traveller development in the north. to continuing erosion of the
Series and the North Youth www.justgiving.com/ shingle spit on which it stood,
Traveller Series, now the North crowdfunding/barbara- can be used in a permanent
East Region’s Youth Traveller darling memorial nearby.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 11

 Letters Email pbo@futurenet.com
or write to us at the address on page 5.
Photos are appreciated, letters may be edited.

Readers share their thoughts and opinions

Excellent electronics BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING BOATING MAGAZINE

Get a second

PBO 653 SUMMER 2020

opinion...
No. 656 SEPTEMBER 2020 £4.85

Thanks for another great mistake, and I’m sure those GEAR REVIEWS · PROJECTS · SEAMANSHIP · CRUISING · MAINTENANCE
I write from Franklin in
issue, (September 2020). of us who still have trouble EASY INSTRUMENT
EXPERT ADVICE
Get more from Tasmania to share a tale of
33
REPAIRS your mainsail

Just the job now we’re with cables and fathoms will PAGES
OF DIY
Track down leaks
Weather apps
woeful mechanical
starting to get afloat forgive you! CRUISING
Round Ireland inadequacy.
GEAR REVIEWS · PROJECTS
The £10 fix that saved £££ with friends

again. Richard How to...

New Zealand’s
Bay of Islands I needed to shift marinas
Fit toerails and handles USED BOAT TEST

I’m sure you’ll Clutterbuck, 


Troubleshoot engines
Climb the mast
Dependable
Devon Yawl after winter and fired up the
Install hot water

get lots of EASY INSTRUMENT via email TRADITIONAL SKILLS

40hp Nanni in my Martzcraft
Clinker repairs
messages Editor 35, Anneliese. I’d run the
REPAIRS
33
DIY brass gimbal

about this responds SOS DEVICES

EPIRB, PLB or AIS? engine for approx two hours a
[Ed: we S (to everyone
PAGEIY week through winter at
OF D OWNER’S EXPERIENCE
did!], but I who noticed): ‘The wheel jammed and
the rudder was locked!’ FAMILY
different revs to avoid glazing
ADVENTURE
think you Mea culpa! DIY RIG OVERHAUL
Raising children
on board and carbon buildup, keeping
need to Check, fix and tension your rigging
Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 1 the tank relatively full to avoid
clarify the The £10 fix that saved £££ I had a similar bacterial buildup.
capacitor values problem with my and packaging was about As I proceeded down
in David Berry’s ten-year-old NASA £10 but they returned it with channel, though, I became
NASA clipper repair Clipper wind instrument as a new connector block for concerned about the engine’s
article. You described the David Berry. I sent mine back the display. I’ve always found performance, refusing to rev
capacitor as 220pF or 0.22uF. to NASA Marine who their repair team very helpful. up to full power.
I think you really meant repaired it promptly for the Dick Brown I thought I had rope and/or
220nF or 0.22uF. An easy princely sum of £9. Postage Tavistock, Devon netting wrapped around the
prop – but it was clear. I then
decided to hove to and have a
quick tinker with the flywheel
to re-check compression, oil
levels and water flow. All
seemed fine so I continued on
for the last 40 minutes of the
trip, but resolved to investigate
further once in her new berth.
I asked a local marine
engineer to have a look at the
engine and he quickly came
back with the diagnosis:
“Mate the engine’s stuffed. I
didn’t even bother to start it as
it has no compression. I can
get you a new Beta and install
it for around AUD$24,000 plus
prop/shaft...” blah blah etc.
Heavens! I thought. If it has
no compression then why
does it fire up so easily?
I asked an old diesel
mechanic in the area to have
B.A.E. Inc/Alamy

a look with me and the engine

appeared to be quite sound,
but the lack of power...
As I turned around aft I
casually glanced at the fuel
filter: full of custard-like fuel!
Working aloft in shorts? Eureka! Two clean filters and a
drained and clean fuel tank
Andrew Parker/Alamy

I read the article ‘Working aloft’ shorts. A good pair of jeans will later I was both annoyed and
(PBO September 2020) and protect the legs from the relieved. What a ridiculous
thought only one thing: three grazes, cuts and bruises that maintenance lapse from me,
pictures with mast climbers come from mast work with but what kind of diagnosis
wearing shorts! I have been up bare legs. was that from a ‘fully qualified’
a few masts over the years and Philip Linsell, engineer?
rue the one time I went aloft in via email Richard Meyman, by email

12 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

A second use for locked up for 23 hours a day
during the pandemic. He has Channel hopping
old PBO issues asked me if I can obtain some Essential monthly highlights from the world
I am the Buckinghamshire back copies of your magazine of online sailing channels with Kass Schmitt
branch secretary and prison which he used to enjoy before
in-reach caseworker for the his incarceration.
charity Soldiers, Sailors, If any of your readers would
Airmen and Families be willing to donate up to a
Association. One of my clients year’s worth of back issues,
is a former Royal Marine now we’d be very grateful. Send to:
serving a long sentence in SSAFA c/o Trevor Chrich, 10a
HMP Grendon. He and the The Green, Cheddington,
other inmates have been Leighton Buzzard LU7 0RJ.

Heat alarm point where the inlet pipe

softened. The exhaust hose
Malcolm Southern’s letter fitted onto the widest band of
about a melting Vetus the stepped inlet hose, but the
waterlock (PBO Summer 2020) two smaller diameter steps had
reminded me of a similar not been trimmed off. The heat
problem I had on my Sadler caused them to fold back and Wheels to keels Not in Kansas
290. After an uneventful trip
back to Neyland from Solva I
block the flow, the pressure
blew the hose off and filled the
Q Some learn to sail before
becoming boat owners, while
any more
discovered water creeping over boat with exhaust cooling water. others learn as they go. Q Dylan Megaster initially
the cabin sole. It seemed to be The problem was solved by These three vloggers are all found YouTube success
spraying from the back of the trimming off the melted inlet well-practiced visual documenting his own and
engine and the flow ceased pipe, leaving only the correct storytellers with large others’ experiments in off-grid
once the engine was stopped, diameter stub, and clearing the subscriber bases, many of living in small spaces. In this
so we continued under sail saildrive inlets. whom will be tempted to try video he explains in a very
until at the marina entrance. I’ve since fitted a NASA sailing themselves. entertaining fashion how he
Safely back on berth after a exhaust temperature gauge, went from living in a van to
tow from the staff dory I found set with a conservative alarm cruising the Mediterranean in
the problem stemmed from the threshold to give an early his 1982 Morgan 382
exhaust hose detaching from warning of fouling. These (above). He spent lockdown
the waterlock. I think mid- alarms should probably be on the hard in Tunisia, but
season fouling on the saildrive regarded as essential if you has just relaunched his boat.
inlets caused reduced water have a plastic muffler. From VAN DWELLING to
flow, which allowed the exhaust Mike Spencer-Harty, LIVEABOARD
temperature to increase to the via email Nikki and Jason Wynn of youtu.be/0siHdmAdzcI
Gone with the Wynns are

Tap with a heavy spanner

the most successful example
of a sub-genre of ‘Van Life’
She floats!
YouTubers who have moved Q Dana and Lou from Wild
Further to Bruce Jacobs’s with the commutator. My from open road to high seas. We Roam spent three years
article ‘Troubleshoot your daughter performed this trick at With over 300,000 touring Europe by camper
engine electrics’ August 2020, I a motorway service station, subscribers they rank just van before returning to the
have found that badly worn much to the amazement of behind Sailing La Vagabonde US east coast to search for
brushes can stick. A tap with a bystanders and her boyfriend. and Sailing SV Delos in their dream boat, choosing a
heavy spanner will often free It sealed their romance. popularity. After vlogging 1976 Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus
the brushes and make contact Geoff Spelling, via email about roaming North America 35. After refitting in
in their 33ft recreational Massachusetts, they get
vehicle, in 2016 they bought afloat in this episode, with
SEADOG OF THE MONTH a Leopard catamaran, took Dana joyfully exclaiming that
sailing lessons, and set off there is no water coming into
Warren Ward has shared this photo of around the world. the hull, to which matey from
his ‘little pirate Ziggy’, a Miniature Travelling back from the the yard dryly suggests boats
Schnauzer, aged four. Ziggy is always Miami Boat Show to their are ‘generally designed like
keeping a good lookout aboard Este, boat in Tonga when the that’.
a Jeanneau Sun Light 30, around the pandemic hit, they had to WE BOUGHT A 50 YEAR
Solent. Warren says: “To be honest improvise a temporary base OLD SWEDISH SAILBOAT
though, he’s not much good at being in Fiji. youtu.be/aHLruK1Bbug
a pirate, unless the boarding includes In a recent episode they
plenty of hugs and cuddles.” reflect on the what they’ve
learned, and what they might
Send us your seadog

£30 photos for our web

gallery www.pbo.co.uk/seadogs and your pet may
become Seadog of the Month and win you £30
do differently, if they could
start again.
REALITIES of BOAT LIFE
youtu.be/2wBvVqAQuQw

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 13

 www.twitter.com/p_b_o www.facebook.com/practicalboatownermag

Med mooring
Gilbert Park’s article ‘Mooring
in the Med’ (PBO May 2020)
brought back memories from
our charter in Greece in 2019.
Gilbert and crew were on their
own boat, which was set up for
the mooring arrangements in
the Med. Charter boats are not
necessarily set up in this way,
and consequently what follows
are some points which may be
of interest:

Clive Thompson Greece/Alamy

Q The lazy or ‘slime line’ are
unlikely to be found except
where charter boats are based.
In all other instances we were
faced with anchoring as we
approached the quay in
reverse. This was not easy Stern-to mooring in the Med,
when you are not familiar with even in a motorboat, can be
the boat characteristics. fraught with problems
Lesson: experiment/practice
before you try to berth. we witnessed someone else can’t do this and it is safe, swim reverse into a non-existent gap
Q Arrival can be difficult, but so with the a similar problem (one down for a look. alongside. There is no solution
can departing a berth. Out of boat had to pay for a diver to Q Even if you think you have to this poor behaviour.
ten nights we snagged sort out the problem). Lesson: managed to just squeeze in Q Assistance from marinas was
someone else’s anchor twice. if possible look from your between two boats to moor, we non-existent, so be prepared to
On five of the remaining days dinghy at your anchor. If you found another boat would berth yourself.

keep clear of the drying banks

either side!
Richard Stone, via email

Neil Trathen, Deputy

Queen’s Harbour Master
Plymouth, adds:
The River Lynher lies within
the Dockyard Port of Plymouth
and is covered by the
Dockyard Port of Plymouth
Port Order 1999.
Securing to or interfering
with a navigation buoy/aid,
except in an emergency, is an
offence under the Port Order.
Ultimately, a skipper could be
fined and receive a criminal
record.
In short the practice is not
permitted. Navigation aids are
there for a reason and any
action which potentially
obscures them, or mooring/
anchoring so as to impinge
on the safety of other vessels
navigating in a narrow
channel, is poor seamanship
and demonstrates a lack of
Harbour anchorages, as many boats
have remained in UK waters
mark on the River Lynher. It’s a
simple solution to avoid others,
consideration for other water
users.
hazards rather than head over the but not so good for those of us For information on legislation
Since lockdown it has been Channel. However, I came unfamiliar with the narrow visit: www.legislation.gov.uk/
difficult finding space in many across one yacht that found a drying channel as we try to uksi/1999/2029/contents/
of the remote South Coast quiet spot, tied to a port hand spot the next buoy in order to made

14 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 1(:
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 Dave Selby Dave Selby is the proud owner of a 5.48m (18ft)
Mad about the boat Sailfish, which he keeps on a swinging mooring
on the picturesque Blackwater estuary in Essex

“Just say we didn’t my associate Jay. When he rang off I

notice the owner explained: “Jay’s not coming, says he’s
wasn’t on board...” tied up.”
I’ve no idea why anyone would want to
tie him up, but it didn’t put off big Mark,
who just growled: “Let’s do it anyway.”
And that, your lordship, on my life, is
how it all shook down. Next thing Mark is
breaking and entering, a delicate
procedure normally performed with a
jemmy, but on this occasion it’s a deal
more tricky as we only has a key, which
was hidden exactly where Jay said it was.
It’s not looking good, is it? But I don’t
think I’ve said anything to recriminate
myself as I only told Mark out of politeness
and never imagined he’d use the key.
Next thing you know we’re in the
middle of some river somewhere. Only
trouble is we weren’t drifting, if you get my
drift, which like I just said we weren’t. It
transpires that although there’s lots of
water all around and about there isn’t any
under us, which is very perplexing and
confounding and leads to an altercation.
Well what do you know? All of a
sudden we float off and by means of
moving the tiller to and fro and pulling

A perfect crime ropes – stop me if I’s getting too technical

– we find the Leisure 17 is a right perky
little sailer. In fact we are very impressed.
Anyway, presently and in due course we
return it whither to whence from it came,
Yes, we might have taken the boat, but it and tie it up nice and tidy.
Normally I’d plead the fifth
wasn’t exactly stealing, Your Honour commandment, but I’m going to come
clean. The Leisure 17 belongs to our
associate Jay, who acquired it with money,
m no expert in maritime law, but Big on account of being 6ft 3in, which is which I know seems a little odd and

I’ I don’t think it’s necessarily

stealing if you untie a boat and
go for a sail when the owner’s
not around. Now hear me out.
If, by way of example, you undertook
such a venture under cover of darkness
on a moonless night... well, that might, on
handy for looking over fences without a
ladder; and the other Dave, who goes by
the moniker quiet Dave, on account of him
not saying much, not even in the witness
stand, I hope.
It goes against my
code of honour to ‘As a result
irregular. And that’s not the only thing he
hadn’t thought through.

of
Turns out Jay forgets he’s never sailed
before. And this is where I come in, ‘cos

earlier
out of the goodness of
my heart I take him
under my wing and
the face of it, look a bit suspicious and grass, but Mark was the misdemeanours I’d offer to show him the
you could get banged up. But that would ringleader. Quiet Dave ropes and what’s knots
be a terrible injustice, as in this particular will, under oath, if you avoided a custodial and what’s not and wot
case it’s the boat’s owner who should can get him to talk, but I not, so to speak.
have gone down for criminal negligence. don’t rate your chances.
sentence by going The problem is I
You see the boat in question had no You might ask what on a course’ opened my big gob
nav lights, so we were forced to borrow it we were doing about it and when big
in broad daylight. I know that’s how the innocently standing on Mark found out he said
law works because as a result of earlier a pontoon with a can of petrol, but all you that me teaching Jay would put him off
misdemeanours I’d avoided a custodial get from being inquisitive is a reputation sailing for life, so that’s why Mark took
sentence by going on a course. It was for being inquisitive, and no one likes that. over the whole caper.
worse than prison but I did get a Day Comprende? As for the outboard motor If that’s a crime I hope you’ll go easy on
Skipper certificate. we’d lugged down the pontoon, that’s me ‘cos buying a Leisure 17 for £300 is
What’s more, I know it’s hard to none of your business. the real steal.
believe, but I wasn’t the brains behind the Now this is where it gets complicated, If word gets out that boats are so cheap
operation. There were three of us: yours because there was supposed to be four of everyone will be buying them, and that
truly; my mate Mark, who’s known as Mr us, but just then my phone rang. It was would be bad for business.

16 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 10M
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E A S T B O U R N E * B R I G H T O N C H I C H E S T E R S O U T H S E A P O R T S O L E N T G O S P O R T S W A N W I C K F A L M O U T H
*Winter berthing ends 31st March 2021; time ashore is deducted from your winter booking. ** Based on 6 month winter package - paid in advance, selected locations.
 Sam Llewellyn Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers and
Flotsam and jetsam edits The Marine Quarterly. He is currently
patching up a 30ft ketch

to the Ashley Book of Knots.

The mark at the Ashley is sound on Turk’s heads, as on
amidships point on everything else. There is, however, a
a yacht’s wheel
problem. When leafing through this
majestic work it is impossible not to run
aground on (for instance) the Round Turn
and Two Half Hitches, the Round Turn and
Buntline Hitch (similar, but snugger), the
Lobster Buoy Hitch (just as good but more
easily opened), and the Fisherman’s Bend
(no better anchor bend). By the time you
have navigated your way to the Turk’s
heads you are half man half string and
definitely in the mood, though the sun is
appreciably lower in the sky.
After all this preparation it seems a bit
feeble to go for something simple. So we
page on, and arrive at something that
looks in the book like a Chinese puzzle.
We commence operations on the wheel,
and arrive after an hour’s work at
Anna Omelchenko/Alamy

something that looks like a mess of old

string, plus the buzzing in the ears is now
practically deafening. So off it all comes,
and is dropped in a pool of tea on the cork
deck, so gets filthy and cannot be used.

‘You’d be amazed at the

length of string your
Turk’s Head consumes’

Mark the middle Ashley goes back in the shelf, and out
comes the phone and YouTube, on which
people with doubtful manicures are tying
Doing things properly doesn’t always work out Turk’s heads in closeup. We will go for
something easy, because this process has
now been going on for a couple of hours,
and the sun is a red ball on the horizon,
ne of the joys of the supermarket carparks. Anyway... and the buzzing in the ears is blotting out

O season has been Dahlia’s

new cockpit fitout. There is
the experimental cork
deck, currently under test
from boots, tea, Scottish wine and
diesel – full report in later issues. There
has also been a modification to the
What was going to set off the new
cockpit, the committee decided, was a
Turk’s head to replace the pink tape.
During the Winter of Knots a few years
ago we used to tie some big ones. In the
intervening years the process has slipped
the mind. Still, we told ourselves, knots
passing fast jets. We will use the last clean
bit of cord to tie the three-lead four-bight
version known to Scouts as the woggle.
Humiliatingly simple, but hey.
On it goes, and pretty stupid it looks. All
right, then. Double it, which you do by
following the string round the leads and
steering wheel, an object made of hand- are purely a matter of maths. bights of the original knot. Doubled, it
chilling steel, which we have clothed in looks a bit chunkier, but it still does not do
a leather cover. The cockpit is now a Tied up in knots justice to all that leather and timber. All
symphony in pale blue 1970s gelcoat, Turk’s heads are made of leads and right. Double again. Over one, under one.
cork, leather, and, alas, the pink bights. A bight, if I understand this Much more convincing...
insulating tape that marks the midships correctly, is the number of crossings the Reader, you would be amazed at the
point of the wheel. rope makes as it goes round the cylinder, length of string your Turk’s Head
This is horrible. But such a mark is vital and a lead is one of those scallopings on consumes. With three bights to go, it runs
on a ketch for detecting how much the outside of the knot. By all accounts the out. So you have a knot twice doubled
weather helm you are getting so you know number of strands is the greatest common and partly three times doubled. And it
how to trim the mizzen. divisor of the number of leads and the looks dreadful. So off it comes.
It would also be handy for reversing into number of bights; the knot may be tied It is now late, late, late, and midships on
marina slots, except that you might as well with a single strand if and only if the two the wheel is still unmarked. Rootle around
wave a wren’s feather as try to steer numbers are coprime. At this point the jaw in the box, heart thudding. And alleluia, all
Dahlia astern, and besides, marinas are became slack and a buzzing in the ears is not lost, because there is still some of
nasty things, with the funk and soul of commenced, and we turned, as so often, that pink insulating tape left on the roll.

18 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

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 Marsali Taylor Marsali Taylor sails an Offshore 8M, Karima S. She’s a
Living with the sea dinghy instructor and author of The Shetland Sailing
Mysteries starring liveaboard sleuth, Cass Lynch.

up the voe, avoiding the dangerous waves

Perfect sailing weather is in the open-to-the-Atlantic Røna, and
important for taking out hove-to in a convenient bay for the bribery
your non-sailing spouse component: a picnic of rolls and paté and
chocolate biscuits, eaten out of earshot of
the school janitor mowing the football pitch
for the second time this week. I pointed out
various birds and swapped tacks when we
started fore-reaching too close to the
shore, and, momentarily, he relaxed.
Giving NSSs something they like doing is
good too. This year’s excuse for Philip
coming out was that I needed photos and
videos for my new website. This gave him a
Alan Sands / Alamy

reason to ignore all that watery stuff and

potter up and down from the cabin,
changing lenses and messing about with
interesting angles, while I got on with
sailing. Last time he got a new tablet he
actually volunteered for a sail, so that he
could test the Navionics app. He stayed

Non-sailor’s day
below, on the grounds that it was too bright
for the screen up in the cockpit, and came
up every so often to show me where we
were on the chart.
He likes electronics too, so when he’s up
Mastering the gentle art of sailing gently in the cockpit he can have fun pondering
over the odd behaviour of my instruments.
The log used only to register speeds over 4
he golden autumn days of especially when he was on the helm and knots – accurately, according to the GPS.

T 2019 were the last chance for

my non-sailing spouse (NSS
hereafter), Philip, to have his
annual sail.
Taking out NSSs isn’t as easy as you’d
think – taking them out for fun, I mean, as
distinct from them crewing at the regatta,
(he thought) in charge of the boat.
Waves or swell of any kind is out too.
When I come back from a trip out into the
Atlantic, ie five 500 yards past the Muckle
Roe light, I enjoy telling my NSS that the
waves were up to the cabin roof, with
exaggerated gesture and voice, so that he
‘I enjoy telling my non-
sailing spouse that the
waves were up to the
cabin roof’
which Philip only does as a Husbandly doesn’t believe me. Actually they were, and
Duty and for the spectacularly good lunch. Karima and I were having great fun among The depth sulked until I gave it new
For a start, the day has to be carefully them, but I’d never take Philip out that far. cooking oil in its tube, and every so often it
chosen: a light wind, enough to keep the He starts saying dubiously, “Aren’t these goes back to its default setting of 0.9m,
boat moving, but not enough to tilt her, waves a bit big?” at the first ripple. which would mean my keel was buried
which makes it strictly under 10 knots in the Given these restrictions, our 2020 0.6m in the seabed. The wind speed drops
gusts. Direction matters too; cold excursion was only technically a sail, in that to 0.0 from time to time, and then has to
northerlies or easterlies are best avoided. the sails were up and we were moving hurriedly work its numbers back up to
West means a nice reach both ways, and a under their propulsion. We drifted two miles where it should be – all of which keeps
southerly means I can hoist the mainsail in Philip happily entertained
an orderly fashion in the marina berth. working out why.
Philip in film
Sunshine is also good, but here in The final bribery is the
director mode
Shetland your chances of both sun and a ship’s Medicinal Rum,
southerly-westerly practically flat calm are which is only doled out
low, so it’s optional. Any suggestion of rain when we reach the berth
makes it a no-show. again. I leap around putting
Coloured sails are also out for NSS on sail covers and tidying
excursions. In our early days of sailing ropes while he gets out the
together, I made the mistake of taking an glasses and pours us a tot
extra pair of hands as an opportunity to get each, then rings the ship’s
out the spinnaker, since it wasn’t easy to fly bell to let me know it’s ready
it when I was by myself. I soon realised that for us to sit in the cockpit
watching me messing about on the and drink to another escape
foredeck (happy, perfectly safe, and still from a watery death.
aware of what was happening in the Sometimes I’m not sure
cockpit) made Philip very nervous, who’s humouring who...

20 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

If the impeller is missing

any bits, these will need to
be chased down and
removed from the
water system
Intact O-rings or a gasket
are essential for the pump to
create enough suction to
force water through the engine

have paper gaskets) and while you’re

there, check the drive shaft seal at the
back of the housing – a leak can
seriously damage an engine.
Is the cam plate worn,
corroded or loose?

FITTING
How to 1
New impellers usually come with
some grease or lubricant. Put that
around the fins and then slide it in,

Replace a taking care to put it in the right way

round – it has a front and a back – and
that you bend the fins in the direction
that the engine will turn – normally bent

water impeller towards the engine side and away from

the sea-water inlet. Smear a little grease
on the O-ring or gasket and replace the
face plate.
A well maintained impeller pump should prevent a
If it’s an emergency and you don’t
failed impeller, says Bruce Jacobs of Rubicon 3
2 have a spare gasket, you may be
able to reuse the old one if it’s in
good condition. Otherwise there are
some sealants you can smear on the
inside of the face plate, but only to get
One of the key checks when you start Impeller you home.
up your engine is that your raw water To take the impeller out, best practice is to
cooling system is working properly. You use an impeller puller, which lifts the Good practice is to replace your
should see water coming out of the
exhaust. The water and exhaust gasses
will have travelled from the engine
impeller out from behind, avoiding
damage to the housing. In reality, many
people use a pair or two of fine-nose pliers
3 impeller before it fails. If you do
the proper checks when you start
the engine – raw water seacock open,
through a reinforced rubbed hose via – not ideal, but fine as long as you’re water strainer clear and water coming
various water traps and loops to the careful to pull straight. Give it a good out of the exhaust, it shouldn’t fail. Look
skin fitting. You need to see a good inspection, looking for cracks and wear. on the packet of the impeller to see
flow of water, though amounts vary what the recommended service hours
from engine to engine. Missing bits are, and make sure you change it
If you don’t see exhaust water, you Inspect the before it fails.
need to locate the raw water impeller rubber impeller
by following the hose from the raw for damage or Q Watch online: youtu.be/-sMh3MZLEvw
water strainer. Some impellers are wear on the
belt-driven, while others are gear-driven blades. If any
straight from the engine, but the bits are missing
principle is the same. it is imperative
to check these aren’t stuck in the cooling
system as they can prevent proper
R E M O VA L cooling. Trace the water system and undo
Faceplate the hoses and heat exchanger to check
Close your raw water seacock then for bits. There is some fragile copper
undo the faceplate screws taking care tubing in the heat exchanger so with soft
not to lose them in the bilge. Put a tray electrical wire very gently push out any
or tea towel down before you start, and rubber you find.
ensure you use the right tool so you
don’t damage Corrosion
them. As the Another problem you might encounter is
Images: Matthew Sheahan

faceplate wear or corrosion in the housing, face GJW Direct offers some of the most
comes off, a plate or cam plate – the cam that forces comprehensive and competitive boat insurance
small amount of the splines to bend, creating the pump’s policies on the market. With more than 175 years
in marine insurance, when you insure your yacht
water will drain lift effect. Held in place with grub screws, with us, you’re dealing with the boat insurance
out – have a this can be replaced. Check the rubber specialists, leaving you free to enjoy your time on
sponge ready. O-ring seal for the faceplate (some just the water. www.gjwdirect.com

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 21

 READER RESTORATION

Saving
Falanda
A new life at sea beckons
for the rebuilt 26ft Morgan
Giles sloop Falanda and
her owner and restorer,
13-year-old Katie McCabe

MAIN Looking good: fully restored and

back on the water on the River Exe near
Topsham, the classic wooden sloop
Falanda with 13-year-old owner Katie
McCabe
at the helm
INSET Katie
applies the
finishing
touches to
the saloon
paintwork

22 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 CLASSIC WOODEN SLOOP
y name is Katie, but I

M prefer to be called Sade

(pronounced Sayd). I am
13 years old and over
the winter and spring, through the
pandemic, I have been restoring
a 1950s Morgan Giles-built West
Channel One Design sloop.
I have spent my whole life on boats. In
2000, my parents bought an old fishing
trawler, Ros Ailither (see panel, below)
which they spent five years converting ABOVE Katie
into a motor-sailer. They lifted the whole helping hoist sail off
deck, fitted it out below, installed an Peniche, Portugal
engine and two masts and set off across LEFT The McCabe’s
the Atlantic. This is the boat I grew up on. floating home, the
I sailed back across the Atlantic with them converted fishing
at the age of 14 months, learning to walk trawler Ros Ailither
on the way. We still live aboard today on under full sail
the River Exe, Devon.
As a family, we have taken two individual
years off on sailing trips. The first we
spent cruising down to Morocco and
around the Canary Islands, and the
second sailing around Spain and Portugal
(my brother Reuben and I joined a
Spanish school for four months). Although wooden sailing boat so I started saving up wheel at sea, feeling seasick, I would
I sometimes felt seasick, I loved the sailing money by doing odd jobs for people locally dream about the day when I could be sick
and helped out a lot with hoisting sails in Topsham and selling painted shells and over the side of my own boat!
and keeping watch. hair wraps on a stall at the Quay. As a family we go to lots of classic boat
About four years ago, after our first trip My dad and I would walk round festivals in France – Paimpol, Douarnenez
away, I decided that I wanted my own boatyards, him explaining about the and Brest – but last August, we went to
different keels and bottoms of the boats the Charlestown Classic Boat Festival in
there, and I would come home and draw Cornwall. While there we met up with the
out a new design idea, only for my mind to owner of the boatyard in Polruan where
change at the next boat I saw. It was on my parents bought Ros Ailither and he
one of these walks that I decided on a told us he had a little boat for sale. So at
folkboat or something similar. I wanted a the end of the festival, we locked out of
small yacht (24-28ft) that I could sail Charlestown at 0700 and headed for
around the world. I didn’t know when, or Polruan to have a look.
with whom, but I knew that I definitely On first sight, Falanda was a rickety pile
wanted to try. of moss rotting in the boatyard. She had a
So, with this in mind, I spent the entire plug hammered in one side, which we
second trip away studying all the small removed to let water pour out onto the
Katie helps swap the ice packs boats we came across. Even sitting at the ground, then drip... drip... drip...

Meet the McCabes

David McCabe, 53, is a self-taught The engine was originally mounted near
David, Hazel
boatbuilder with several wooden boat the bows, with a 30ft-long prop shaft!
and a young
restorations to his name, including a So we found an old 6-cylinder Gardner
Katie mid-
Herreshoff, a Riva and a Chris Craft and engine and mounted it transversely in
Atlantic
is currently involved in restoring Thames the stern, then installed a V-drive to take
Sailing barge Vigilant alongside Topsham a short prop shaft directly below the
Quay. engine. This gave maximum living space
He bought his first wreck at the age of in the whole rest of the boat.
15, fixed it up in his parents’ garden and We have a double cabin at the bows, a
was living aboard from the age of 17. bathroom (with bath!) and a twin cabin
He used this boat Sea Dream for fishing behind, then a large open living and
trips, then converted it to run as the About Ros Ailither dining area in the centre of the boat.
Topsham to Turf Ferry, which he ran with Ros Ailither is a 50ft fishing trawler, built We’ve since added one more cabin on the
Hazel until they sold up and sailed away in 1954 in Killybegs. ‘We bought her as a starboard side after Reuben came along.
in 2005. bare hull in 2000, in Polruan, towed her We made a sizeable but traditionally-
Hazel McCabe, 47, loves travelling and back to Topsham and spent the next five shaped wheelhouse that gave us shelter
woodwork in all its forms. She has her years converting her to a motor-sailer, from the weather, and made it wide
own business Topsham Wood Carver says David. enough to sleep along the bunk seat. We
making hand-carved wooden signs for ‘We took off the old deck and built put the main mast (52ft spruce) through
boats and houses. She also works as a a new one 18in higher, at the top of the deck and mounted the mizzen behind
painter/decorator and designs murals the bulwarks. This gave us headroom the wheelhouse, and had a set of sails
and business signs. throughout the whole boat. made by Patrick Selman in Falmouth.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 23

 READER RESTORATION

ABOVE A
restoration project
not for the faint
hearted: Falanda
at first sight in
Polruan
RIGHT Well, at
least she floats!

Somehow though, after a big inspection where another midnight bailing session I like learning about boat work more
inside and out, I decided I could see took place, and we carried on the next than I like normal school work!
beyond the mucky bilge water that filled morning and safely arrived in Topsham, I started off by giving things a big clean,
the interior, and told my dad I liked her. He where we craned the boat out and stored just wiping off and scrubbing with a
completely supported me, as he knew I her in my dad’s shed just up the road. sponge and soapy water. By the end of
would put in the time and money to the first month I had burned off, scraped
restore this old yacht, and I knew that she Restoration and sanded the entire hull, which to me at
was the right boat for me. We had a quick Throughout the winter, I worked on the time seemed like a major job. Once
discussion and after he confirmed that this Falanda several days a week after school, while burning, a bit of gloss bubbled up
boat could be worthy often in the cold and and spat out at my eye which actually
of ocean crossings, my dark. I burned, burned my eyeball and so the next day at
mind was made up.
So we turned round
‘My parents got me scraped, sanded, filled
and faired; we
school I was squinting at the board before
resuming my scraping that evening.
to bargain with my a new alternator replaced rotten wood, Next, my dad and I started looking at the
mother, who had and spent about £275 engine: a Volvo Penta 2010. First we
different views. I for Christmas’ on the engine. refitted the gearbox (which, thanks to the
listened to her half-hour Quite a lot of the previous owners, had just been completely
lecture about taking on too much techniques were new to me, and so after a rebuilt). We took the old exhaust manifold
responsibility too young, but even after long day of school, dad would teach me off as it was rotten and frost-damaged and
that, she still hadn’t convinced me not to how to replace a rotten board, or find the dad made a new stainless steel one. We
leave this opportunity behind, and I right pad for sanding. tried starting the engine but it wouldn’t go.
headed back to the yard with a bucket in
hand and a smile on my face. My brother
came to have a look and mum even
helped bail out a bit because there was so
little time to prepare for the trip back.
One and a half hours later, we headed
out of Fowey harbour towing a 26ft
Morgan Giles, and I was a proud boat
owner at last!
The wind began to pick up just off
Plymouth and we watched as the
waterline started to disappear slowly
beneath the waves. My dad and I went
back in the dinghy to bail out and as he
stepped inside, dirty water began sloshing
around his knees! Three hours later, in
much choppier conditions just off
Salcombe, we had to bail out again, but
this time there wasn’t so much water.
We stopped in Brixham for the night, New cockpit coamings were required Bailing mucky water from the bilges

24 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 CLASSIC WOODEN SLOOP
LEFT Setting to work painting the cabin
BELOW Messy work: sanding the forecabin

ABOVE Hull scraped back to bare wood

ABOVE RIGHT New coamings being fitted
How to replace a plank
and the cockpit is taking shape again First I cut and chiselled out all the rot under the gunwale so was straight and
from the hull, making sure to get 6in or easy to shape, but because there was
Dad explained there was no diesel coming
8in into the good wood either side. a stringer behind it, we couldn’t get in
out of the top of the injection pump. We
I found a strip of good wood (I used to rivet it. We made two bits of wood at
had to take the pump off and have it
larch) bigger than the hole and planed either end – butt blocks – so we could
rebuilt because the rack had seized. We
it down to the right thickness with my fix the butt blocks onto the existing
reinstalled the injection pump and it burst
dad’s electric thicknesser. Hand planes plank and then screw the new plank to
into life. My parents got me a new
and electric planes also work. the butt blocks.
alternator for Christmas, so that was
I measured out the shape and size of So after using polyurethane expanding
exciting to fit as well.
the hole onto the new plank, but cut it a glue to stick in the new wood, I used
The bilges are always one of the worst
quarter of an inch bigger than the hole around 14 silicone-bronze screws to
places on a boat, the place no one wants
itself, before using a hand planer to make sure it would stay there. It was
to have to deal with, so they just slap on a
shape the edges of the plank to get it to then a case of fill it, sand it, fill it, sand
thick coat of paint. Well, after many years
fit exactly. it, fill it sand until it was completely
of this treatment I had to scrape all the old
The plank I was replacing was just smooth.
paint off, which was a rubbish job. You
have to wedge yourself around the engine
and tiny bilge compartments just to fit the metal strip and honestly I took weeks was a lot of fun, and once finished the
scraper in there, and actually doing any scraping and rubbing down the rail. I think coamings looked great. I doubt they’d
work once you get there is a different mentally that was the worst time. I’d find have looked that good if I were doing the
matter, especially when your boat is only small, unnecessary jobs to do – anything repair alone! The right side of the bulkhead
26ft and very narrow. to avoid scraping down that fiddly rail. (near the companionway) was slightly
After two weeks of laying wedged in the Then, in February, Dot came to help, and rotten as well, and had to be taken out
bilges, they were finally ready. I bought the work began to get more fun. Dot is a and replaced with sapele, but other than
some new bilge paint and brushed on a family friend who arrived just as I’d that there was no other major rot.
new coat, before starting with the bilge finished sanding the rail, and from then on Next I worked on the sides of the
section underneath the berths, which isn’t I had a very willing worker to help out with coachroof. Luckily there was no rot here
a fun job either. the varnishing and painting. so it just needed a long sand down after
Replacing the rotten hull planks was burning off the old varnish, and then on
something I really wanted to learn how to Replacing coamings went the first coat of new varnish. When it
do, so I was happy when my dad showed The coamings around the cockpit were all was dry I’d give it a light sand down,
me just before Christmas. Dad showed rotten, so dad showed us how to cut them before once again varnishing. I did six
me how to chisel and cut out the rotten out, using a saw, chisel and grinder. I coats outside and three or four inside.
parts and we measured for a new piece of particularly enjoyed using the grinder on Then it was time to paint the outside of
wood to put in. Once it fitted perfectly, we the loose nails – very destructive! We the hull. First the primer on the bottom –
glued the new board back in and screwed replaced the old mahogany with iroko and up to the waterline – and then marine
it into place. stained that down to match in better. I primer, and then the antifoul (painted on
The toughest part of the whole project learnt how to measure everything out, and two days before the launch). Above the
was the rubbing strake. We removed the epoxy the new wood in again neatly, which waterline, we painted on primer,

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 25

 READER RESTORATION

Katie and her

mum mixed
dark green, blue
and white paint
to achieve the
turquoise hull
colour Katie
wanted

ABOVE Paint and

varnish work
transforms the
cabin

SPECIFICATIONS
Falanda is a West Channel One Design built in
1950 by the Morgan Giles yard in Teignmouth
Construction mahogany planking on oak frames
Original sail number W11
Falanda emerges from the shed
LOA 8.01m 26ft 3in
undercoat and gloss, with lots of time Waterline length 6.48m 2ft 3in
spent between coats filling, sanding, Beam 2.13m 7ft
filling, sanding. Draught 1.28m 4ft 6in
My mum came up to the shed to help Displacement 3,260kg 7,172lb
me mix my dark green gloss with some Thames tonnage 5 tons
blue and white, and create the turquoise Sail area (main + no.1 jib) 28.34m2 305ft2
colour that I wanted. This was the first time
in seven months that she came to see the
boat in the shed. After her lecture in on 27 March, but on 17 March we heard Dot washed down the green aluminium
Polruan she told me she would be having that Trout’s boatyard in Topsham was mast while I finished painting the engine
nothing to do with my work on Falanda, likely to be shut down by the government compartment. I was feeling the pressure
and that everything done in the shed before the launch date due to COVID-19. to get everything finished on time, though,
would stay there. So until Dot joined us in We brought forward the launch and so I made a complete mess! After cutting
February, it was just me, dad and the arranged to be craned in two days later, in neatly around the gearbox, I stupidly
boom box sharing the comforts of the so that evening we were at the shed until put the full tin of bilge paint on one of the
mouldy old shed. 10.30pm antifouling the bottom and cockpit seats, and managed to not only
However, she did soften up a bit and, screwing on the rail for the rubbing strake. knock the tin of paint over the gearbox,
seeing me so excited about my new The next day at school was my last – the electrical pipes and the actual engine, but
project, even carved me new signs for the school was closing for the pandemic, also brush a really important pin into the
boat and agreed to teach me the basics of which meant I was going to be able to pool of white paint, in a crevice between
chart work late at night after we returned spend the following morning – the day of the gearbox fitting and engine.
from the shed. the launch – working on the boat. Everything I had just done had been
Falanda’s launch was supposed to be But we still had a lot to do. That evening, ruined, and it was the night before the

David McCabe’s tips for selecting a project boat

To me, a wooden boat feels more alive, that’s been kept in salt water is a lot
more natural than a fibreglass boat. It better than a boat left in fresh water as
is also cooler inside in the summer, and the salt water protects the wood.
warmer in the winter. For a boat to live on, I’d look for nice
Most wooden boats rot from the inside lines and head height inside. If you
out: the biggest mistake most people haven’t got full head height, you won’t
make is not putting in enough ventilation. keep the boat very long and it’ll be a
Keeping air flow through a wooden boat waste of time doing the project.
is vital. For evening/overnight sailing, I’d choose
Every wooden boat I buy has to be something with nice lines, something that
David McCabe’s appealing to the eye. I look to see if it makes you feel good. Something shaped
classic yawl Amaryllis is iron fixed or copper fixed – copper like a square box would never make you
fixings last a lot longer than iron. A boat feel happy when you come into port.

26 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 CLASSIC WOODEN SLOOP

A big thank you!

I couldn’t have made Falanda whole
again without the help of lots of
people, but three in particular: a big
thank you to dad for the tow back
from Polruan, the use of his shed,
and most of his tools. Thanks for
the advice, and help when I ruined
things – I obviously wouldn’t have
done any of this without him.
Thanks to Dot for the help sanding
– I will try to stop your boat sinking
now in return.*
Thank you to mum for eventually
accepting that the boat was real,
and forgiving me for going ahead
and buying Falanda without your
agreement. Thank you for carving me
wonderful new signs, and making a
brilliant sail cover
*Dot has been inspired by Katie
and has taken on Falanda’s sister
ship Tess of Teign as a project!

Falanda out on the

water, Katie at the helm

RIGHT Falanda sailing in company with

David McCabe’s classic yawl FAR RIGHT
Name plates painted by Hazel McCabe

launch and all I could think to do was

shout to my dad that I had wrecked the
boat completely and try and fish out the
pin with a screwdriver. Luckily, all was not
lost, and we managed to scoop almost
half the tin of paint back into the pot, and
wipe off parts of the engine which were
coated in paint. After that I continued couple of minutes, and by the next that I glossed the whole front cabin,
sanding the bilge under the middle bunks. morning the planks had swollen up and varnished the middle bulkhead (so on
On the morning of the launch, Dot and I Falanda was no longer a sinking ship. went the clock and barometer), sterilised
scraped and sanded under the bunks, the water tank, fixed a broken wire on the
and in the front bilges while my dad fixed Work continues mast, replaced the leaking sink waste, and
on most of the handles and cleats that Afloat at the boatyard, I worked all day my mum made me a sail cover out of an
might be needed. scraping, sanding and undercoating the old sun cover from Ros Ailither.
As the boatyard tractor arrived, I was still interior middle cabin, and painting on Finally, the river was opened and my
painting the front bilges. I had ran out of another coat of varnish in the cockpit. dad and I began to go out for races. It
paint as a result of the spillage the night Then dad and I sailed her round to turns out that my boat is faster than his
before, and I had to finish with a dark grey Topsham Quay, alongside our own boat yawl in lighter winds, doesn’t heel as
which dad had found just in time. But all where I could work all day. much, and points higher to the wind!
went well with the launch and Falanda The river was soon closed for leisure After a few trips up and down the river
looked beautiful sitting in the water. activities so I could no longer go out with we spent an amazing few days staying on
Jumping inside, we expected the boat to dad on his 1937 classic yawl. But I was board off Exmouth, trying out the bunks,
weep after so much time out the water able to use the time to work hard, fitting in and playing on the sandbanks in the
and we were right! I had one bilge pump, sanding and varnishing with schoolwork. wonderful weather.
which broke just as the water rose above Before long, the inside was glossed, the Eventually we ventured out to sea, doing
the floorboards and dad ran up to Trout’s hatches varnished, the handrails rubbed a couple of local sailing trips with the boats
boat shop and bought me a new float down and varnished, the top of the and it felt wonderful to finally be out on the
switch. By evening, the leaks had slowed coachroof painted the tiller varnished, and water, sailing on my own boat after so
down, with the pump running every the bronze porthole rings polished. After many cold months working in the shed.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 27

 BOATS

Twister time
to be built. Many of the early wooden
one-offs were so successful that they were
built in large numbers, while the later GRP
models were series-produced. So there’s
no shortage of Holman cruiser-racers
available on today’s market.
Holman went to Sherborne School then
Peter Poland reviews and test sails the popular joined the Navy during World War II. After
a spell of sail training in 32ft cutters at
classic Kim Holman-designed Twister HMS Ganges on the river Stour he later
became the youngest officer to captain a
coastal minesweeper. Then, after the war,
im Holman was one of the As one of his many fans succinctly put it: he attended Bristol University,

K most successful British

yacht designers of all time.
His elegant creations were a
dominant force in the UK
offshore racing scene from the early
1960s, and his designs had an uncanny
knack of fulfilling the old adage that
“He was incapable of designing an ugly
boat”. From the little Stella to mighty
Admirals Cuppers like Fanfare, every
Holman design is a joy to behold.
Over his relatively short career as a
designer – first on his own and later in
partnership with Don Pye – Holman
commenting that – like many of his
contemporaries – he “didn’t get a degree
but did learn to drink and have fun.”
His career started in earnest at the
Waldringfield office of Jack Jones, a
successful East Coast yacht designer.
While there, Holman had built his early
‘what looks right is right.’ produced around 70 designs that went on ‘solo’ design Phialle and raced her

28 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 Twister on test

P Poland
LEFT Twister class
secretary Peter
Mulville’s ‘composite’
Twister Viveza shows
off her gleaming
wooden coachroof.
See more on youtube.
com/watch?v=OBJqR
44N1Yk

ABOVE Wide side

decks and outboard
Twister Class Association

chainplates make
deck work easy on
a Twister

David Harding
RIGHT Twister of
Mersea was a winner
on the East Coast
racing circuit

‘As one of his many fans succinctly put it: “He cruise estuaries or pop across the North
Sea in comfortable safety.
was incapable of designing an ugly boat”’ Tucker Brown built Bird’s prototype in a
hurry and La Vie en Rose was ready just in
time to race at Burnham Week, going on to
successfully from 1956. Then he bought and blight the true cruiser-racer that I, for win all seven races in her handicap class.
a share in Gowen Sailmakers, whose one, so much enjoyed. These more Holman had designed a winner and other
products went on to adorn a succession modern yachts may have more builders soon joined in the party to satisfy
of successful Holman designs. accommodation, but it’s often to the the instant demand. By the mid-1960s
Holman’s instinctive ability to draw a detriment of easy handling, directional around 100 had been built and, to this day,
pretty yacht that sailed fast and stability and a sea-kindly motion. large numbers of Stellas take part in classic
comfortably was well suited to the old The ever-popular Stella class was regattas run by Suffolk Yacht Harbour.
RORC handicap rule. This was the Holman’s first move into a series- The equally pretty wooden Sterling 28
pre-IOR era of the true cruiser-racer; when production design, albeit a wooden one. (19 built; mostly by Holman’s brother Jack
moderate and well-ballasted yachts won AE Bird, commodore of Burnham’s Royal at his JW & A Upham yard in Brixham)
offshore races one week then cruised Corinthian Yacht Club, wanted a one- carried on the tradition of an ‘overgrown
comfortably back to base the week after design cruiser-racer that would follow the Folkboat.’ With its raked transom,
with a family crew on board. The wide Folkboat’s lead – but with the increased sweeping sheer, low coachroof and long
sterns, broad beam and lower ballast accommodation of a 26-footer. The design keel it performed well and further
ratios that accompanied subsequent should be able to race successfully but enhanced Holman’s reputation.
handicap rules had yet to hit the scene also offer East Coast sailors the ability to Holman moved into the world of GRP

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 29

 BOATS
LEFT The pretty
Elizabethan 29 was
Holman’s first GRP
production boat
RIGHT Our Twister
test-boat Fly of
Beaulieu snapped
from another Twister
on the Île de Bréhat
race during the
Classic Channel
Regatta
BELOW View astern
as James Stock sails
his Twister Fly of
Beaulieu single-
handed on the AZAB
David Harding

in 1960. Lymington boatbuilder Peter

Webster saw a place in the market for a
pretty and economical cruiser-racer and
headed straight for the Holman design
office. The result was the exceptionally
pretty Elizabethan 29.
She had a long keel and graceful
overhangs that included a counter stern
rather than Holman’s customary angled
transom. The split height coachroof
provided headroom around the galley and
navigation area and good space in the

Ann Musgrave
saloon, amidships heads and forecabin.
The internal finish on exposed GRP
surfaces was not as pretty as on a
wooden yacht, but it did its job and kept
the price competitive.
I was lucky enough to crew regularly on tailing the Twisters that he eventually needed. Out came my pencil and 45° set
cross-channel JOG races on my uncle’s bought a share in Holman’s original square and the transom was moved
Liz 29 and, despite my tender years and Twister of Mersea, by then owned by forward 6in, something I had always
limited offshore racing experience, Gerald Hulme-Wright. wanted to try.
enjoyed every minute. Our runs ashore in Holman designed the Twister in 1963. “This did the trick. The calculated rating
French ports in search of duty free fags, He wanted a new and competitive yacht to was now the same as the Stella but, with
lively bars and elusive ladies were a race offshore – something with longer legs the great increase in displacement, would
highlight of every JOG race; even if my and greater comfort than the Stella; and she perform? In fact under nearly all
uncle abstained from such frivolities. something the ordinary sailor would be conditions Twister of Mersea was so much
The Liz 29 was able to afford. faster than the competition on the East
invariably near the
front of the fleet. In
‘Some say the name Some say the
name Twister came
Coast it was no contest.”
Holman’s most revealing comment –
those days, Twister came from the from the “Drastic action was needed. Out came my
spinnakers were off contemporary pencil and 45° set square and the transom
the menu in JOG chart-topping record chart-topping record was moved forward 6in, something I had
races, but the boat ‘Twist & Shout’; always wanted to try” – casts light on his
flew downwind “Twist & Shout”’ others reckon it intuitive design philosophy. If he came up
under a boomed out originated from with an idea, he immediately gave it a go;
genoa as her Holman’s uncanny which invariably paid dividends... often in
counter dug into the following seas, ability to ‘twist’ the handicap rules. spades. What could now take hours on a
increasing her waterline length and speed. He said he aimed to design a yacht that computer was achieved in seconds with
She was also close winded and quick to “was a small cruiser with more comfort Holman’s rubber, set square and pencil.
windward in light to moderate breezes; but and space than the Stellas and H26s that Holman’s imaginative approach to
we needed to pile the liferaft and heavy were dominating the Class lll East Anglian
gear on the saloon floor to keep up with offshore events in the early 60s. I allowed ABOUT THE AUTHOR
our deadly rivals – the Twisters – when the an extra 18in of LWL, but the rating had to Peter K Poland crossed the Atlantic
wind blew hard and the sea got up. be similar to give close competitive racing; in a 7.6m (25ft) Wind Elf in 1968
My uncle and his crew cursed these new or so I thought. and later spent 30 years as
Twisters, especially when faced by a long “The beam and depth of the hull were co-owner of Hunter Boats. He
beat in heavy winds. On a reach or a run increased but when the design was is now a freelance journalist
the Liz could hold them, but upwind we advanced enough to calculate the rating, and PR consultant.
suffered. My uncle got so fed up with it was too high. Drastic action was

30 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 Twister on test

design also bore fruit when he noticed Once launched Twister of Mersea entered (out of eight races) in Cowes Week.
that waterline beam aft was penalised and comprehensibly won the Brixham In the words of owner Harry Croker
under the American rules of the time. So regatta. Brother Jack said: “We’ve got when he got back to the East Coast:
maybe an increase here would be something special here.” And he was right. “We marmalised them.”
beneficial to performance? Since it wasn’t In 1964 Twister of Mersea won the East Twisters continued on their winning ways
penalised in England, Holman said “it was Anglian racing circuit. Sister ship Bandit of for many years until new rating rules led to
worth a try.” And indeed it was. Mersea repeated this feat in 1965 then in lighter and more radical fin and skeg
Being a keen racer, Holman needed this 1966 Cheetah of Burnham (reputedly the designs with lighter ballast and reduced
new boat for the 1963 season and his fastest ever Twister) won her class in the wetted surface areas – which effectively
brother Jack promised a quick delivery. Round the Island race and took six firsts put paid to the concept of the genuinely
competitive yet sea-kindly cruiser-racer.
Around 40 wooden Twisters were built
before Holman drew a GRP hull. This had
minor changes to the lines (to simplify
moulding) and 6in was restored to the
transom. The Tyler Boat Company
moulded the robust GRP hull and deck to
which the builder added a wooden cabin
top and cockpit. Many say that these
composite Twisters are the prettiest
models. Then came the all-GRP version
that was less expensive to build so soon
ruled the roost.
Around 50 Twisters were also finished by
their owners from either a GRP hull and
deck or a complete set of mouldings;
saving many thousands of pounds but
entailing many hundreds of man-hours.
P Poland

My experience of selling kit Hunters

showed that home finishers derived great
satisfaction from their labours and the end
Saloon looking aft. The working area beside the companionway is practical and seamanlike result was invariably as good as the

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 31

 BOATS
BELOW Fine example of an attractive classic-style wooden coachroof
on this Twister. RIGHT Twisters are regular and successful
participants in the Classic Channel Regatta including the Round
Bréhat Race off Paimpol in Northern Brittany
David Harding

P Poland

factory finished boat... and sometimes comfort below, lack of condensation and
even better. traditional finish. The interior is varnished ‘In light and heavy
I discovered that many owners of in satin finish. We also love the high gloss
composite Twisters love the combination varnished trim on deck and the elegance
winds she’s an utter
of a robust GRP hull and charm of a
wooden coachroof and cockpit. Peter
this gives.
“There is an overhead in ensuring that
delight to sail’
Mulville, secretary of the excellent Twister the deck to coachroof joint is well
owners association (twister.org.uk), told maintained but this is offset by the
me: “The prettiest ones are those with a pleasure of its traditional appearance. years. Composite Twisters look like other
wooden cabin top. This is high Once this joint is properly done with classic offshore cruiser-racers of their era
maintenance but, from my personal epoxy, the cost of long-term ownership but benefit from the strong Tyler hull.”
experience, I’ve seen more than one is quite modest. The timber coachroof is Mike Cherry, owner of Rompa, told me
person walk along a pontoon and only strong with a good glass and epoxy much the same. “The composite Twister
turn a head to look at my boat.” covering on the top. The timber cockpit requires more annual maintenance than
Philip Colcutt agreed, once telling me: requires the same level of maintenance as the GRP alternative but you can join the
“we have owned our 1970-built Sea Miste, in any timber boat ...[our] cockpit well is parade of sail at a classic regatta and
a composite Twister, since 1993. Our love the original ply and has had only one nobody knows that you have a glass hull
of composite Twisters is based on their small panel in the sole renewed in 45 with encapsulated ballast!”
Whether you opt for a wooden,
composite or all GRP Twister, you will be
in good company. Peter Mulville told me:
“As Secretary I am overawed by the
number of owners with serious
professional marine qualifications. We
have captains, naval architects, retired
fishermen, yachtmaster instructors and
others among our Members.”
A gaggle of What’s more, he said Twisters excel in
Twisters raft up at classic regattas. A recent Cowes Classics
Paimpol in North Regatta “was won overall by a Twister. The
Brittany for the five-race event was run in very light airs,
Classic Channel disproving the thought that the deep
P Poland

Regatta’s race displacement hull was slow in light airs.

around the Compared to their contemporaries, they
Île de Bréhat are more close winded.”

32 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 Twister on test

P Poland
ABOVE This Twister’s forecabin has plenty of room. Note the anchor
chain led down into the bilge to put the weight low
BELOW Fly’s galley is compact and easy to use in a seaway

P Poland
But the Twister’s prowess extends low saloon sole, the Twister does not need
beyond racing. Mulville continued: SPECIFICATION a high roof to achieve full standing
“Twisters have circumnavigated, A GRP TWISTER headroom. Once below, the saloon feels
number have done the Atlantic Circuit. LOA 8.61m 28ft 3in snug and cosy rather than palatial. Fly’s
One went to Cape Horn so the artist LWL 6.55m 21ft 6in beautifully crafted woodwork is warm.
skipper could sketch the coast. One has Beam 2.46m 8ft 1in Large lockers lurk behind the settee
sailed between Australia and Peru.” Draught 1.54m 5ft 0in backrests. Trotter boxes for feet give
Displacement 4,521kg 9,968lb ample sleeping length.
Test sail Ballast 2,099kg 4,628lb Ahead of the bulkhead, a conventional
The Twister I sailed once took her owner amidships heads has a loo, basin and
James Stock on the single-handed AZAB locker space. V-shaped berths take up the
race. I joined her for a leisurely Solent test forepeak, divided (on Fly) by a hawse pipe
sail and later on two ‘Round the Île de that sends the anchor chain deep into the
Bréhat’ races. In light and heavy winds bowels of the boat; where its weight does
alike, she’s an utter delight to sail. the most good. Many Twister owners
In a moderate Solent breeze, I relished cruise ‘two up’, so the forepeak is often
being back on board a pedigree long used for stowing light and bulky items.
keeled yacht after so many years sailing The galley, equipped with cooker, sink
modern fin keelers. Fly of Beaulieu slipped and ample stowage areas, and the large
to windward at a speedy but restful gait, chart table are aft and both practical and
lifting in the gusts and easing off in the lulls. user-friendly in a seaway. Water and fuel
She seemed to know where to go without live in stainless steel tanks located under
being told. Unlike a modern and lighter the saloon settee berths and in the deep
boat, she was not twitchy and didn’t nod bilge. Like any good designer, Holman
or bounce. Fly knew what she was about, strove to put weight low and amidships,
P Poland

and needed little more than a steadying adding to stability.

hand. Rounding up or broaching don’t Passages on wide, flat-bottomed charter
seem to feature in a Twister’s repertoire. yachts – especially when slamming
On the return trip, a fair following breeze upwind in a seaway, either under sail or
gave us a reach then a run. Fly settled to rather than ‘on’ it, letting the helmsman power – have taught me the price you can
her task and surged effortlessly along with relax and enjoy the experience; the very pay, in strong winds, for extra beam and
never a hint of bad manners. The helm felt essence of satisfying sailing and all I ask accommodation. By contrast, the Twister
firm but predictable. All I had to do was from a proper yacht. feels seamanlike and sensible in heavy
keep her on course. Like any well- Down below, the first impression is one winds, which explains its enduring charm
balanced long keeler, she felt ‘in’ the water of depth. Thanks to her hull shape and and appeal.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 33

 BOATS

Buyer beware – all that

glistens is not gold!
Jam jars for nav lights and kerb stones for ballast! Mike Coates
recalls his astonishment when asked to survey a new motorboat

ack in the 1970s I used to do a as insurance companies were fighting for freshly completed by a yard whose forte

B small amount of yacht surveying

while working in a boat yard.
Insurance companies in those
days didn’t require qualifications or
third-party liability cover other than for the
new clients in this relatively new sector of
their business. Few questions were asked
about a new vessel; they were all too
ready to accept your business!
When I saw it I understood why. I
was steel canal boats: this was their first
foray into fitting out glass hulls. The
24-footer was based on a renowned hull
and deck moulded by a company with a
good reputation for producing yacht and
surveyor to be ‘qualified by experience’. thought I’d seen it all as far as poor motorboat designs aimed at the rapidly
I received a call from one of the construction goes, but this was to be a expanding home-build market.
insurance companies I dealt with, asking real eye opener! She was in a mud berth, so rather than
for a survey within the next four weeks on We’d actually recently launched the tramping out through the mud at low
a new motoryacht, before they’d continue motorboat at the owner’s request. It had water to start my preliminary inspection
with insuring it. This was slightly irregular arrived by road and was a new-build, (I’d lift the boat later to inspect the
Cartoons: Jake Kavanagh

34
 BOAT SURVEYS
more than sufficient to sink the boat in
A professional survey less than 24 hours should anyone
can save you time and inadvertently forget to close the valve
money in the long run after use!

Conti Board disaster

Inspection of the woodwork forming the
forward vee berth showed, with some
surprise, that it had been constructed from
Conti Board. For those of you not familiar
with this material it was a popular DIY
material used in the 1970s for DIY
cupboards, etc. It was manufactured from
veneered chip board; a totally unsuitable
Louise Heusinkveld/Alamy

material for marine use. In its short life it

had started to swell at the edges at an
alarming rate where it had drawn moisture
from the bilge.
Having found this major defect, I
decided to abandon my checklist pending
an inspection of some of the major
structural items. A couple of the main
structural bulkheads were also found to
propeller shaft, and rudder, etc), I waited The forehatch itself had been be Conti Board, bonded onto the hull on
until the tide had flooded then rowed out constructed from a hardwood frame one side only using the minimal amount of
to take a look. glazed with standard domestic 5mm glassfibre mat and resin, the visible sides
My first impression was a neat and tidy (3⁄16in) glass, neither toughened nor not hidden by lockers, had been neatly
vessel – as it should be given it was only laminated. It did have some thin timber bonded using a fillet of silicone. Again the
four weeks old – which would no doubt strips optimistically serving as protection bottoms of the bulkheads had started to
give lot of pleasure to its new owner. I did bars; highly dangerous from the point of swell alarmingly.
decide, however, the hull form would look any one standing on it from the deck and Lifting the floorboards in the cockpit
more appropriate on an inland waterway it shattering. made my hair stand on end. The boat had
rather than on the North Sea. The portholes in the cabin topsides were been ballasted using concrete kerb
I always carried with me a pre-typed of similar construction with timber stones, none of which had been secured.
form, which I normally worked through to surrounds holding Witness marks on
ensure I didn’t miss anything important. the glass in place. ‘Lifting the floorboards the bilge paint
Today was no exception. As usual I Working aft a showed where they
started in the bow. marine toilet was in the cockpit made my had been sliding
The first item I noticed was the anchor set midships back and forth
and chain. Lifting the anchor out of the partially enclosed hair stand on end...’ across the boat
locker I noted a large piece of concrete by a lifting ply when the boat had
too heavy for me to lift had been dropped cover set between been at sea.
into the bottom to aid fore/aft trim. the forward vee berth. The first thing I Movement of the starboard ballast had
Resembling a porcupine, it had been cut noticed was that the inlet and outlet pipes been restricted by a standard piece of
from a piece of reinforced concrete and disappeared behind the bulkhead. I could copper domestic plumbing pipe bonded
painted to cover the ends of the steel only presume they were plumbed directly through the hull to form an engine cooling
reinforcing rods that stuck out and were from the seacock with no anti-syphon water inlet. There was no valve on the inlet
already starting to bleed red rust. loop in either. I couldn’t see the seacocks pipe meaning the engine was
The anchor had been a fabricated copy themselves as they had been hidden permanently connected to the seawater.
resembling a flat spade anchor. behind the built in woodwork. Opening a Similarly, the outlet for the cooling water
Unfortunately the constructor hadn’t fitted wheel valve that protruded from the returned to the sea via a similar piece of
the pivoting blades with any means of surrounding woodwork produced a copper pipe bonded into the hull. Either of
them completely inverting. In the event steady trickle of water into the bowl – these pipes could have been sheared off
the anchor dug in, the blades would by a sliding kerb stone resulting in a fairly
almost certainly invert as soon as any rapid sinking.
load was placed on them, releasing it from
the ground.
The chain, a sturdy 3⁄8in (10mm) link
appeared to be a piece of used
hardened lifting chain. Laid out, it had
been given several coats of red oxide
primer before being given a coat of
silver paint. Alarmingly it was less
than 5m long; I doubted it was
even sufficient for a canal, let alone
the much deeper North Sea.
Despite there being a hawse
pipe there was no way to
deploy the anchor other
than by opening the
forehatch to throw the
anchor over the side.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 35

 BOATS
There are many
reasons for a boat to
sink: a survey before
you buy will at least
give peace of mind the
vessel is seaworthy at
time of purchase

Chris A Crumley/Alamy
The engine beds bonded into the hull by The diesel tank for the ex-Transit van the steering was a push/pull rod system
the moulders had been slotted to take engine consisted of a large plastic jerry which was by a manufacturer I’d not seen
flexible engine mounts so the engine sat can with a feed and return through the before. Initially, I couldn’t understand why
level fore and aft. To meet up with the filler cap. When getting low on fuel it had it should have 22 turns of the wheel from
angle of the prop shaft, a universal joint to be assumed – as there was no deck lock to lock – far too slow a response to
system from a motor vehicle front axle filler – the whole can would be lifted out of allow the boat to be quickly manoeuvred if
drive shaft had been modified and fitted to its stowage and taken for filling. required. Examination of the steering
connect it to the prop shaft. The galley was little better. A non- system revealed the reason; the
gimballed two-burner gas ring without mechanism consisted of a modified shop
Aghast by the galley flame failure device was fed via a flexible window blind operating system to give the
Two batteries sat in the bilge, one each hose to a large gas bottle and regulator in fore/aft push/pull required to the rudder
side of the engine with no means of its own dedicated locker below and to one steering arm. Ingenious but totally
restraint. One was dedicated to engine side of the cooker. unsuitable for what it was being used!
starting, the other to the domestics. An attempt had been made to ensure
The port side had a lead from the any gas leakage would be vented Not fit for purpose
positive terminal to a through-hull bolt; overboard by a lower through-hull fitting A cursory look at the electrics showed
presumably an anode. Similarly the though the side of the locker forming the domestic 240V switches had been used
starboard had its negative terminal vent. Unfortunately the vent was below the throughout, as had a domestic fuse box.
connected to a through-hull bolt: possibly waterline. The locker always had water in No further inspection of the electrics
some new way of electrically killing any it to the level of the sea outside ensuring it were carried out, except for the navigation
potential fouling – or perhaps just was useless as a vent! lights – which turned out to be inverted
flattening the batteries? It was noted when checking the bilge, jam jars, the lids used to mount a bulb
holder, the interior being painted to the
appropriate colour.
I didn’t bother to go any further with the
survey. Needless to say I had to report
‘this vessel was not fit for purpose and
should not under any circumstances be
used, especially at sea.’
The owner was up in arms about it, and
the builders said they’d make good any
remedial work necessary. Taking my
advice, he insisted he should get his
money back and walk away from it. The
boat was duly lifted out and collected by
the builders. I received court threats from
the builders about my report. I told them
to get on with it as any court hearing
would no doubt be very detrimental to
their business.
Remember next time you buy a boat: all
that glistens is not gold. Seek the advice
of a professional surveyor, who should
find any hidden defects. It may save a
whole lot of heartache later.

36 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 CRUISING

Sailing in
the South
Pacific
Jasna Tuta recalls an
emotional voyage from
Mexico to the Marquesas

38 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SOUTH PACIFIC ADVENTURE
he magic of the ocean has

T occupied my thoughts for as long

as I can remember. I grew up
close to the sea, and the
sparkling blue horizon was a constant
draw. Even when I could not actually see
it, simply knowing it was close by was a
huge comfort. For me, the sea represents
an escape route. Freedom. A reason for
living. It was always a question of when I
would sail across an ocean, not if.
I met Rick in 2010 while travelling in
Australia. We started sailing together then
he sold his boat and we looked for a new
one. We travelled far and wide – across
Australia, Thailand and Indonesia – and
finally found Calypso, a Union 36, in
Mexico. For three years we sailed her up
and down the Mexican coast, getting her
ready for our first ocean crossing.
We got to know Calypso intimately
during this time. We learned about every
system, explored every corner, looked
under every floorboard and exposed all
her strengths and weaknesses. Only after
pushing Calypso to her limits could I finally
trust her to safely carry us across the
South Pacific, from La Paz in Mexico, to
Hiva Oa in the
Marquesas Islands,
and beyond.
We rarely hired
professionals to
work on the boat, ABOVE Rick checks
unless the job the lines for the
required specialist downwind sails
equipment. This LEFT Route from
wasn’t just for La Paz to Hiva Oa
financial reasons
RIGHT Provisioning
(though every
for an ocean voyage
second spent
working meant more pennies saved) but Setting sail
so we could learn the skills ourselves. We There is always an element of excitement
could also be sure that the work we were as you set the sails of a small yacht and
doing was of good quality. After all, head towards the open ocean. But the
nobody has more of a vested interest in very first time is especially unforgettable,
the quality of a repair than the person infused as it is with anticipation of the
whose life depends on its integrity. totally unknown.
It was often back-breaking work, but it After all our preparations I had every
didn’t matter because we never lost sight faith that Calypso was sturdy enough to
of the ultimate dream. A dream that took see us the 2,600 miles to Hiva Oa. But on
the shape of a white sandy beach, with me 1 April, 2014, as Baja California slowly
gently swaying in a hammock between faded into the distance and we headed emotion: pure happiness. It was almost
two palm trees holding an icy cocktail, into the depths of the South Pacific 3pm, and time for my afternoon watch. I
surrounded by perfect turquoise waters. Ocean, my trust crumbled away. I found got out of bed, grabbed my headphones
myself experiencing constant worry and and headed to the cockpit. I looked
ABOUT THE AUTHOR fear. Little did I know that there would be around and for the first time there was no
several times over the coming weeks land in sight. I was surrounded by nothing
Jasna Tuta took when these fears would be realised: from but blue as far as the eye could see. I
her first sailing an electrical fire to a spinnaker under the smiled as I realised that I was exactly
course at the keel; from a broken steering cable to the where I wanted to be. I closed my eyes
age of six and news of a friends’ boat being scuttled not and took a long, deep breath. When I
has been bound far away from us. reopened them, I was greeted by a school
to the sea ever There are so many things that could go of over 200 flying fish gliding elegantly
since. She spent wrong, which, if they do go wrong while across the whitecaps. Their green wings
her 30s sailing coastal sailing would at worst result in a unfolding over their flashing silver bodies
around the Pacific and writing about call to the coastguard. In the middle of the like marine dragonflies.
it, ultimately publishing two books: A ocean, however, there’s no-one around to In that moment, my senses heightened
Drop in the Ocean and All the Colours help and you learn what it really means to and I became acutely aware of every
of Polynesia. Jasna now lives in Italy, be self-sufficient. detail – the sound of the wind filling the
where she teaches sailing and lectures It didn’t take long, however, for my sails, the warmth of the sun on my skin
about life afloat. www.jasnatuta.com worries to be superseded by a different and the sight of the endless ocean,

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 39

 CRUISING

‘If a plane had flown Freshly caught

past, the pilot would mahi-mahi is
destined for supper
have seen a small
floating shell with a
crazy, naked woman
gyrating and
cackling at the top
of her voice!’

allowing me to feel the indifferent rawness Toasting the

of nature. I went on the boomkin and achievement
started to dance. I was a tiny dot in the of crossing
middle of a vast ocean. No-one could see the equator
me and no-one could hear me. I could
scream and jump as much as I wished. If
a plane had flown past at that moment,
the pilot would have seen a small floating
shell with a crazy, naked woman gyrating
and cackling at the top of her voice!

Terror
The joy you experience at sea is so much
greater than on land, but then so is the
fear. There were times during those weeks
Calypso is a
when I genuinely thought I might die.
Union 36 long
There were times, while swallowing down
keel cutter
bouts of seasickness, when I genuinely
wished I could die and end the seemingly
eternal misery.
During a spell of bad weather, I we had a spare. Phew! But nothing could gruelling period of hard sailing when the
remember the waves slamming into the be done until the weather calmed, so we world seems most beautiful. After a storm,
boat with such a force that Calypso replaced the wind vane lines and hoped especially, the sunsets become more
sounded like she’d break into a million they could withstand the heavy forces in exquisite, the Milky Way appears brighter
pieces. Wind roared through the rigging the meantime. and the bioluminescence seems to glow
and I could only imagine the forces she The world, raging and screaming around more intensely.
was enduring. As my watch ended, one of me, became even scarier after dark. I tried to photograph the
the lines for the wind vane snapped, Guiltily, I’d squeeze into my bunk in the bioluminescence several times, only to get
causing the boat to head up into the wind evening waiting for fatigue to take me to a result that looked like somebody
and violently lurch to one side. Rick my only place of escape. Without vision, sneezed on a blackboard. The scene
immediately jumped to the helm to steer sounds dominate; creaking, beating, becomes even more unreal when
manually. Soon after that, another huge blowing and roaring. Chills ran down my dolphins whoosh past the boat like
wave crashed into us and a second later spine with each deafening crash. It was glittering torpedoes. Even at anchor the
the helm turned freely. We had no overwhelming. water can be full of light. I enjoyed stirring
steerage! Nothing. We looked at each During bad weather I promised myself the water by hand to make it shine.
other: “What’s wrong?” that I’d never set foot on a boat again if Sometimes I’d grab handfuls and pour it
I set up the emergency tiller and, thank only I survived. But when the winds from one hand to the other and admire the
goodness, we had control again. A quick abated and the sunshine returned, those diamond dust. I also liked to submerge a
inspection of the steering compartment thoughts were immediately forgotten. At line in the sea, because it would glow with
revealed a broken steering cable. A sea I learned that nothing lasts forever, fairy dust for quite some time after I pulled
problem that could be easily fixed, since including the dark times. In fact, it is after a it back on deck.
One morning, feeling rejuvenated, I
wasn’t at all fazed by the enormous dark
squall virtually on top of us. Rick and I
furled the sails in record time, before the
heavy downpour and 30-knot gusts
reached us.
Water is one of the most precious
resources on a yacht and we conserved it
religiously. This intense downpour was the
abundance of fresh water that we’d been
dreaming about for weeks. Rather than
cowering down below, we shed our
clothes and headed straight to the cockpit
LEFT Even squalls can be fun at sea! RIGHT A booby hitches a ride on Calypso’s boom with soap in hand. It was one of the most

40 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SOUTH PACIFIC ADVENTURE

BELOW Rick at the mast, hoisting

Calypso’s mainsail

ABOVE The company of dolphins on a

voyage is always a joy

enjoyable showers of my life! We sang, the news that the couple and their two tropical islands claiming that ocean
laughed and soaped each other without a children had been evacuated by the Navy passages are easy. When it comes to
care in the world. Once the squall calmed after their youngest child needed medical offshore sailing, you can never be too
and we’d sunned ourselves dry, we attention. Unfortunately, they had to prepared, and even then, things may not
headed back down below. scuttle the boat. always turn out as you had hoped.
But wait… the door was locked. From I was shocked. I forced myself to calm As the dawn gloom lifted on our 32nd
the inside! down before telling Rick the sad news. day at sea, the silhouette of a huge
We laughed at the absurdity of our Out of almost 100 yachts that crossed the forested island hovered over me, at the
situation. Locked out of our home, in the Pacific that year, Rebel Heart was the only end of which was a rainbow and a calm
middle of the South Pacific, completely boat whose owners we knew well. I was anchorage.
naked with not even a handkerchief to truly heartbroken for them. Rebel Heart “Land Ahoy!”, I hollered to Rick to wake
cover ourselves. was not just a boat, she was a home and him from his slumber.
Rick had installed a deadbolt the a dream. A dream that now rested on the The sound of the waves crashing into
previous year so that we could lock the bottom of the ocean. It’s almost the black rocks in the distance was a
companionway from the inside. It must unthinkable that she now resides in Davy sweet sound indeed. As Rick helmed, I
have slid into place during a big roll to Jones’ locker while many crews on far went to the bowsprit and absorbed the
starboard and now there was no way to less seaworthy boats are drinking rum on sight of the tall green peaks protruding so
unlock it. The only way back inside was to far into the sky that
climb through the tiny cockpit locker, over they touched the
Popular
the engine and through the quarter berth, anchorage at clouds. I don’t think
which, at the time, was filled with heavy Hiva Oa in the I’ve ever felt such an
spare sails. Fortunately, an opportune Marquesas overwhelming
moment came along when a big wave sense of pride and
rolled the boat to port and allowed Rick to love for life.
kick the deadbolt out of place. We were Before this
saved the embarrassment of being crossing someone
discovered naked and dead from said to me, “At the
starvation in our own cockpit. end you’ll not want
it to be over.” For a
A sad day whole month I
The saddest day of the voyage came as thought, “What
we received news from afar of the nonsense!” But after
struggles of our dear friends on a boat 32 days at sea, I
called Rebel Heart. After checking into the finally understood
Amigo Net on our SSB radio, we heard those words.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 41

 CRUISING

The sailor who

beat lockdown
A small New Zealand town is enchanted by the great pandemics.
It started calmly enough with courteous
arrival of a surprise visitor, reports Matt Vance customs officers sorting out the legalities,
a batch of fresh scones and a couple of
bottles of beer for a parched sailor. There
was a slight hesitation as folk tried to work
n days gone by when cruising out if he was crazy – then jubilant relief

I sailors arrived from overseas they

were treated like royalty. They were
such a rare and adventurous breed
that in every port they were a celebrity.
The locals would sweep them up in
when they figured out he actually was (in
the best possible way). Bill had not used
his voice for a long time and, having
consumed a few beers, appeared to be
incomprehensible. It didn’t matter his
their embrace and lavish assistance, enthusiasm was infectious.
open their homes and take them on In July last year Bill retired as an
forays into the hinterland showing them anaesthesiologist in Calgary. Forty years
proudly around their place in the world. of putting people to sleep, and as Bill
A cruising sailor’s arrival seemed to Bill has spread joy to the people of Lyttleton stressed, “waking them up again,” was
spark a warm hope in people who lived about to become part of his past. With his
a predictable landlubber existence. kind of nautical gypsy. That was until Bill wife, Cathy, he had previously completed
Time moved on and visits by cruising Norrie turned up aboard Pixie one a five-year circumnavigation in Terrwyn,
yachts are now so commonplace in New Thursday afternoon off Lyttelton Harbour their 37-foot Pacific Seacraft.
Zealand that people barely notice, or after a 92-day solo sail from Cape Town, “Terrwyn was an excellent boat but not
worse treat them with disdain as some South Africa, during one of the world’s for what we had in mind,” said Bill. With

Bill Norrie aboard Pixie

in Lyttleton Harbour

42 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 LOCKDOWN SAILOR

ABOVE Inflatable
globe is part of
Bill’s back-up
navigation kit
LEFT Pixie is a
Lyle Hess-
designed Bristol
Channel Cutter
Photos: Matt Vance

plans for a solo circumnavigation of the

globe via the five great capes of the
‘Bill’s back up navigation system included a
Southern Ocean they chose the 28ft Bristol small handheld GPS and an inflatable globe’
Channel Cutter designed by Lyle Hess.
“We went from a 28ft waterline to a 26ft
waterline and everyone thought we were
crazy but there is not a more seaworthy was again knocked down. Arriving at the good theory. Bill has a theory on dragons.
cruising yacht out there.” hatch just as the wave broke, Bill’s cabin In ancient times they were drawn on maps
Bill set out from Port Renfrew, British was inundated with green water, to denote unchartered seas with ‘There be
Columbia, last September. He sailed destroying the electrical equipment and Dragons’ printed next to them.
south at such a rate that he had to rest up turning his navigational charts into mush. “Occasionally you run into one out here.
in the Gambier Islands in French Bill’s back up navigation system included Pixie and I found one off Tasmania with
Polynesia to time his run at Cape Horn for a small handheld GPS and an inflatable that wave that knocked us down.”
peak summer. He rounded the Horn and globe, which got him around South West His positivity is admirable: “I’ve only got
drank a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Cape, the last of his Great Capes off 6,482 miles to sail to get home to
He stopped at the Falkland Islands briefly Stewart Island and northward to Lyttelton. Vancouver Island,” he says, skipping like
before being knocked down in the South The 92 days from Cape Town was a child on the night before Christmas.
Atlantic. He later showed me the dings on remarkable as it took place in what is At Te Ana Marina Pixie is front and centre.
the cabin roof where the water bottles in considered the start of winter in the Nearly everyone has to walk past her to get
the sink had launched themselves across Southern Ocean. Even more remarkable to their boat. Bill thinks nothing of talking
the cabin. was that while he was at sea the world for an hour or four with anyone who
He stopped in Cape Town for repairs was plunged into a great pandemic. News ambles by. The boat is a hive of activity
before setting out for New Zealand on 11 of the troubles sweeping the world came with new electronics being installed.
February. Somewhere off Tasmania he through satellite text messages from While Bill was talking I noticed the faces
Cathy back in Canada. of people walking by all hoping to have a
“It was a bit unreal, chat. At about a 20m radius from us they
Bill’ had to dry out his
even though I was the would go from their passive neutral face
charts after they were
safest man on the to lighting up with a smile. It seemed
soaked through when a
planet,” said Bill.“I went whenever Bill moved, his smile radius
wave went down the hatch
six weeks and I never moved with him.
saw a sign of a human, When Bill was on his 92-day voyage
not a boat, nothing. Not from Cape Town, we who live on land
even a jet trail. It’s a were isolated in our homes, and
virgin world out there confronting the realisation that the world
and it’s big. It’s magic to was no longer the same. It was
be in such a wild place.’’ frightening. The usual sources of comfort
Before he was a sailor had deserted us, so when a Canadian
Bill was a mountaineer. sailor turned up on our doorstep, taking
There is nothing us back to the days when cruising sailors
mountaineers like more were dragon-slaying adventurers arriving
than misery – that and a to give us hope, we smiled once more.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 43

 CRUISING

Trailer sailing
in the sounds
Paul Daltry meets the best and worst of Scottish summer
weather on a voyage along the stunning West Coast

Kivu safely tucked up in

Acairseid Mhor, Rona

44 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SCOTLAND’S WEST COAST

ast summer my wife, Jean, and I the first night with old sailing friends on Sunshine at last

L decided to trail our boat from

Cumbria to Scotland for two
weeks sailing off the West Coast.
We settled for the beginning of June – the
month the wise guys told us is best to
Loch Fyne. The following day, as we
wound our way through the mountains
and passes, I heard an intermittent sound
that bothered me. It came and went as we
went round corners so I wondered if it was
After two days, sunshine was forecast, so
our friends joined us for their first sail on
local waters. The winds were light as we
motorsailed out towards the Crowlin
Islands just three miles west. In the tiny
visit. Hmm! During this time we were to a wheel bearing issue on the trailer. channel between the two islands, we lifted
discover the very best and worst of trailer We arrived at the strait of Kyle Akin in the centreplates to scrape into the central
sailing in our homebuilt 23ft Norwalk north-west Scotland and found a place to pool and dropped the anchor.
Islands Sharpie, Kivu. park and launch. As I went astern the After lunch we scrambled up the bare
The drive went smoothly, and we spent outboard engine failed. I tried again. It wild hill to the top of the western island,
stuttered, died, and opening up fabulous views around the
eventually started area, even though the Cuillins still kept
Launching in
with more throttle their tops hidden.
Kyle Akin
just long enough to There still wasn’t enough tide to ‘thread
reach the pontoon. the needle’ out to the south, so we
I played with it in returned to the north, the way we came in.
neutral and could A much fresher Force 3-4 breeze had
get it to start but it picked up and we had a good romping
ran irregularly. sail out on a broad reach to the west, over
We’d had the halfway to Raasay, before turning back for
engine (a Yamaha a close hauled return to the south of the
4-stroke 6hp twin Crowlins and into Toscaig. It was a
cylinder) for 12 magical day and a huge thrill for our
years and it had friends seeing their area from a new
been superbly perspective.
reliable and was The next day the weather was looking
serviced annually.
We loved it – but not now! ABOUT THE AUTHOR
We were due across the bay at Toscaig
to meet some friends, so decided to have
a go despite the engine issue. We
puttered out, and thankfully managed an
easy sail with the wind on the beam under
the Skye Bridge and across to an inlet on
the south of the Applecross Peninsula,
seven miles away.
We picked up a mooring, but on
inspection it looked far too frail so we
moved to another. I’m glad we did; that
night the weather turned ‘Scottish’! The
wind came up, and we were invited to stay Paul Daltry is a retired Vicar and has
in our friend’s beautiful house. Force 8 been married to Jean for over 40
winds whipped the sea outside the bay. years. They started sailing on the East
Kivu was safe and we were safe. We even Coast and bought their first dinghy in
managed to spot otters, a pine marten, Rwanda in the 1980s. They built Kivu
sea eagles and golden eagles from our in 2000 and their sailing was mostly
friends’ house. In between squalls we based at Pin Mill in Suffolk. They have
went walking, enjoying glimpses of the trailer sailed in many different places
Cuillins and other mountains. including the Morbihan in Brittany.

We anchored in the central pool of the Crowlin Isles

45
 CRUISING
better, but I was concerned about the To avoid a long beat up the east of The next day turned out to be magical.
trailer. So we left, the engine behaving Raasay, which we’d never have done in The mountains were more visible and the
better than before, not perfect though! We the time, we changed our plans and clouds had allowed the sun to show its
sailed back to Kyle Akin and rafted up on headed for Churchton Bay on the Isle of face so we set sail for Rona or maybe
the pontoon. I jacked up the wheel on the Raasay. I was getting colder and colder at further north.
trailer and spun it – definitely that nasty the helm despite woolly socks and many We gently sailed up the Sound of
grinding sound; action needed to be extra layers. Jean survived better as she Raasay, past ever-changing scenery with
taken before the return journey. We sheltered behind the sprayhood out of guillemots and puffins. We passed the Old
struggled to find a garage that could do the wind. Man of Storr on Skye to the west with the
the work in time. Seventeen miles later, cold and wet, we splendid Torridon Mountains appearing to
My grey hair was going greyer! Then I arrived in the bay and dropped the the east. The wind was too good to miss,
had a brain wave; we were members of anchor, which thankfully held well in good so rather than setting into Rona we sailed
the RAC with a special policy that covered sand. We were reasonably well protected on to Gairloch heading for an old
our trailers. They directed us to the first and, with cups of hot tea inside, life childhood haunt, the wonderfully
garage we’d already visited, who were returned. The clouds lifted and the foot of protected little harbour at Badachro. That
contracted to provide breakdown support the Cuillins appeared close by. That 28-mile sail was the best of the trip. It is
for the RAC. Now we were officially evening we discovered the new Isle of truly an amazing cruising area – when you
‘broken down’ and authorised by the RAC Raasay distillery a short walk away – can see it!
they agreed to do the work. They were safely shut so we couldn’t be tempted To make the day even better, we visited
true to their word. One big weight off our (mind you, we did have a bottle of Talisker the little pub in the bay and warmed
minds! on board). That helped us feel more ourselves with a hearty meal. It was still
human. The night was relatively calm, so cold – very cold for June.
Heading north we slept well. To our surprise, the following day the
The forecast was for predominately
northerly winds for the rest of the week. RIGHT Jean on the
We decided to go north, and not try to slip summit of Rona
through to southern Skye with the danger BELOW Heading
of getting stuck the wrong side of Kyle up the Sound of
Rhea. Strong tides and overfalls would Raasay, the
only have been made worse by wind over Cuillins to stern
tide. It proved a wise decision. Having
shopped at the Co-op just over the bridge
in Kyle of Lochalsh, we left Kyle Akin, and
headed for the Isle of Rona. There was a
fresh wind from the north and it was cold
with occasional rain showers hitting us.

46 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SCOTLAND’S WEST COAST
temperature actually rose to well above
10°C – the average daytime temperature
of our cruise so far! Needing to provision
and find a shower, we motored just a mile
across the loch to the pontoon in
Flowerdale Bay.

Warm at last
Being the warmest day of the trip so far,
we enjoyed the strange sensation of being
comfortable. As we arrived, someone
shouted: “I know that boat!”.
Well, we are pretty distinctive, there is
only one other 23ft Norwalk Islands
Sharpie in the UK (which in fact, PBO
tested back in 1997).
Though we were in a brand-new cruising
ground hundreds of miles away from our
usual haunts it turned out that Tim Allen
had worked in Suffolk at Woolverstone,
next to Pin Mill on the River Orwell where
ABOVE Pontoon
we’d kept Kivu for 16 years. He’d moved
Flowerdale Bay,
north a few years before to take on a small
Gairloch

‘The wind was too RIGHT Commercial

fishing boats
good to miss, so moored to the sea
Wall Flowerdale
rather than setting Bay, Gairloch

into Rona we sailed

on to Gairloch. That
sail was the best
of the trip’

glass bottom tourist boat in the summer. good way into wild Loch Torridon. explore Torridon. So, after a leisurely
We found we knew many people and Time was now pressing so we went to breakfast, we upped anchor and gently
boats in common from Suffolk. an anchorage to the south of Eilean Mor, sailed on a run up the loch.
Being Saturday, the sailing club was a rocky island with lots of sea birds. The Showers and clouds scudded across
open, so we made good use of their bottom was very deep but to the western the towering mountains, adding to the
showers and the local shops. side we managed to get the delta anchor majesty of the scenery.
We filled the water tank on the pontoon into something – good strong kelp I The formidable Liathach kept its head in
and Tim gave us a lift to a nearby garage suspected – and it seemed to hold. No the clouds but more curvaceous Ben
to top up on fuel, as the engine was using strong winds were forecast, so we relaxed Aligin deigned to show its top. In between
more than usual. after our 18-mile trip and had supper in the showers the sun popped out, but oh
In mid-afternoon we set sail and left the the long evening sunshine. boy it was cold with a forecast northerly
tranquil beauty of Gairloch for a close fetch A sudden increase in the volume of bird outside the loch.
up to Longa Island hoping to see some calls and explosion of activity over the little
cetaceans that Tim said he sometimes island caught our attention. In the midst of Engine bother
saw around there. No luck, so around this flurry of birds, two sea eagles had We sailed through Loch Shieldaig and the
Longa and on south, then south east on swooped hoping to catch some supper, narrows on a rising tide into Upper Loch
a dropping wind forcing us to motor for a but no luck this time. They were simply Torridon and found a spot on the southern
magnificent. This shore to anchor for lunch. That’s when the
was wildlife trouble really started. We’d had problems
watching at its very starting the engine all along, and it felt all
best, equal to what out of sorts, but now it seemed as if one
we’ve seen in cylinder had shut down. There was very
African game little power in it and we were near the
parks, but this is head of Upper Loch Torridon, miles from
Scotland and so any help. The nearest place we knew of
much closer. with an outboard engineer was back in
That night we Gairloch at Flowerdale Bay. So we started
slept comfortably the sail back.
and well. We tried sailing, but only made 2.5 knots
François Guillet

Next morning the beating in light winds, so had to hope that

Kivu proved quite weather was much the engine would do the trick. Well, it was
capable of sailing more cloudy but better; we managed 3.5 knots motor
Scotland’s west coast we were sailing, which was pretty slow for us. It
determined to was noisy, vibrating and I feared we

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 47

 CRUISING
were permanently damaging the engine,
but we couldn’t think of what else to do.
We ploughed on.
The hope was to pick up more wind as
we came out of the loch so that we could
sail to Gairloch, but it was one of those
rather cruel things, as we came around
the curve of the northern shore the wind
turned all the time onto our nose.
Trying to beat all the way up to Gairloch
in our small boat, with a gently rising wind
and waves building would take ages and
time was running out. We decided to
head instead for Rona and so plotted a
new course.
The sail turned more interesting and we
made up to 5.5 knots on a close reach
across the Inner Sound, but as we came
round the north end of Rona the wind
began to die. We refuelled the tank and
puttered gently down the western side of
Rona. Using our small Garmin chart

‘We flew on an
exhilarating broad
reach with white
horses all around us’

plotter and the detailed chartlet from seemed now to tick over OK, but once the That evening Bill came out to see us and
Antares Charts on my tablet, we found our gears were engaged it just didn’t drive we came to the conclusion that the engine
way into the delightful safe anchorage of with its usual gusto. would probably be OK. A shower in Bill’s
Acairseid Mhor where we anchored in the That afternoon we went for a lovely walk wonderfully rustic homemade shower
north part of the anchorage, near to the to the top of the highest point for restored our humanity.
quay after a trip of 30 miles that day. The breathtaking views of the Outer Hebrides. That night the wind got up. Thankfully
engine had got us there, but what now? There were jagged mountains all around we’d moved onto a mooring, but we were,
Next morning we went ashore, paying us from well north of the Torridon range all as usual for a light boat, spinning around.
our landing dues and met the wonderful the way round to the Cuillins, all The pine trees on the slopes above were
Bill Cowie, the custodian of the island. We wonderfully all clear of cloud. bent over. Sleep wasn’t good. We were
explained our engine problems and he We climbed down a steep cliff path to a concerned about what we would face in
kindly leant us a few tools we hadn’t got cave that the local population had used as the morning.
and some alternative spark plugs. a church for many years, marvelling at The forecast turned out to be a northerly
I had both of the plugs out and, yes, one how some of the elderly had managed the Force 5-7. We try to avoid anything more
was oiled up and so I cleaned it but walk down and up. than a 5, and from the sound in the
neither seemed to have a strong spark. The view from where the congregation anchorage and what we could see, it
I tried a couple of the plugs that Bill had sat was straight up Loch Torridon. I’m not looked more like a 7 outside!
leant us, and they seemed no better. We sure I could have concentrated on the After much thought and prayer, we
just couldn’t get any power out of it. It sermon to be honest, and I’m a minister! decided to have a go. The forecast for the

From the top of Rona

looking across to
Torridon Mountains

The shower at Rona – with a curtain made

from a sail – that returned our well being!

48 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SCOTLAND’S WEST COAST

About Kivu Length

Beam
7m
2.2m
23ft
7ft 2in
Draught 0.3m-1.3m 1ft-4ft 3in
Displacement 950kg 2,094lb

Acairseid Mhor harbour on Rona with the

Northern Skye beyond Kivu is a Norwalk Islands Sharpie 23, and then a sabbatical came into view
designed by Bruce Kirby. She has twin for the summer of 2000. The planning
next few days was for the wind to increase unstayed masts – now made of carbon started in earnest.
to Force 8. We came out again using the – and the hull is of ply/epoxy In the end Kivu turned out to be
little chartlet to avoid the many rocks, and construction. We built her ourselves unique. She has twin asymmetric
into the wind. The engine thankfully did its with some help in 2000-01. plates rather than one central
stuff and had enough grunt to keep us Jean and I first sailed a Drascombe centreboard, clearing the cabin to
away from any trouble. We set the main Lugger then a Drascombe Longboat, make it more spacious. Other features
with a double reef and the mizzen with its both of which we had refurbished. include an outboard well and twin
one reef, then radioed the Ministry of We’d learnt that trailer sailing was what mainsheets, all different from the
Defence for permission to transit the Inner we wanted to do, but for our next boat majority of the boats that have been
Sound and set off. we wanted something bigger but that built in Australia and the USA.
could be easily towed by a large estate She was launched in 2001 and
Riding the surf car. At the time there was little in the mostly kept on a half-tide mooring at
We flew on an exhilarating broad reach market that met those needs until we Pin Mill on the River Orwell, with
with white horses all around us. We made read about the NIS23 in PBO (February summer trips to the Golfe du Morbihan
seven miles in the first hour! The plotter 1997). We investigated; time passed. in Brittany, but also Italy and Corsica,
recorded us surfing at over 9 knots at We contacted the agent in Australia, Pembrokeshire and the Solent.
times. The wind seemed to be
strengthening so we took the mizzen
down and that certainly slowed us a little, narrow 23ft boat. back from the garage and doing a bit of
but gave us an easier ride all the way back The forecast for the next few days was sightseeing on the south of Skye.
under Skye Bridge and onto the pontoon for strong winds, minimum Force 6 and up Looking out across the Sound of Sleat
at Kyle Akin. In just over three hours we to Force 8. No place for a small boat. We and round to the many islands to the
had covered 20 miles, not bad for a small, spent the following day getting our trailer south made us realise just what this area
has to offer cruising sailors.
Yes, you need to be flexible, you need
the right gear, but as an area to visit, I
would put it as the most beautiful area I
have ever sailed in.
We’d aimed to sail for the whole
fortnight, but in truth it was only eight
days’ sailing by the end. Without trailer
and engine problems, without gales and
unusually low temperatures (according to
the locals) it would have been idyllic.
Instead it was an adventure that will long
live in our memories. I think I can
The final sail back – Red and Black Cuillin on Skye persuade Jean to try again!

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 49

 New Gear
Rupert Holmes details some of the latest boating gear

Windy gets CleantoGleam

even better teak cleaner
For the past few years Windy.com has This was developed as an ecologically
been one of the most useful websites and friendly but effective teak cleaner by
apps for weather forecasting. It provides CleantoGleam, a company that cleans
clear graphics, plus fine grain data for around 100 boats per week and sells its
specific points, along with easy products to boat owners. It’s easy to use:
comparison across a number of models, pour on, then scrub with a stiff brush taking
including the excellent ECMWF (European care not to damage the grain and rinse off
Centre for Medium-Range Weather five minutes later. Stubborn stains may
Forecasts) and the high-definition French require the process to be repeated.
Arome models. Price: 1 litre £18, 5 litres £55.
A recent feature available to Windy Pro Q cleantogleam.com
users is the addition of weather fronts
overlaid onto the graphics. To date a key
disadvantage of app-based forecasting
and downloaded GRIB files is that they
don’t show fronts – instead wind shifts,
gusts and periods of rain are often
interpolated between time steps, a process
that can conceal a short but intense feature
such as a cold front.
Part of the problem is that fronts are not
part of the raw model output data – they clearer isobars and wind barbs that show
are added at a later stage by a human forecast wind direction and speed. The
forecaster. Windy has therefore engaged latter show only direct model output, with
meteorologists to do this for forecasts no interpolated data, and are available
based on data from NOAA in the USA and across ten different weather models.
Germany’s DWD. Price: subscriptions from £54 per year.
Graphics in the Pro version also include Q www.windy.app

Lomo Compact BC
Safety Knife
Having a knife to hand is always useful in
case of the unexpected. This is an
attractively priced compact model from
Glasgow-based watersports supplier
Lomo. The 7cm blade is plain on one side
and serrated on the other. Neither feels
super-sharp if you run a finger across it,
but both are effective at cutting ropes,
particularly those under tension.
The blade clips securely into a holster for
storage. This has belt loops, but could
also be taped to a tiller, on to a solid vang,
or screwed to the boat near the
companionway. prevent fingers slipping forward on the Verdict: A good low cost compact knife
The knife is available with either a handle feel a bit small, as does the handle for smaller boats.
pointed tip or a blunt one – we tested the itself – but that’s a compromise inherent in Price: £16.95.
latter. On the downside, the guards that the compact design. Q lomo.co.uk

50 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 NEW GEAR

Eco-friendly
Dyneema
Running rigging can be one of the biggest
sources of plastics that are discarded as a
normal part of boat wear and tear. Few of
us would want to return to the natural fibres
of previous generations in order to reduce
use of plastics, but fortunately Marlow
Ropes has a long term strategy of reducing
the amount of new plastic material it
creates across its product range, without
compromising quality.
The company’s Ocean Blue Dockline,
made from recycled PET bottles but with
exactly the same properties as
conventional polyester mooring lines, has
been so successful that Marlow was able
to withdraw many of its conventionally
produced mooring lines earlier this year.
It’s latest move is a bio-based Dyneema
On board safe that has the same technical characteristics
Keeping essential valuables secure while means it’s best suited to safe storage of and performance as conventional
cruising is a worry for many. The Vecta wallets, passports, jewellery and the like. Dyneema but the primary raw material is
Personal Safe is intended to solve this issue The safe has UK Police Secured by Design waste from the pulp and timber industry.
in a similar manner to the safe of a hotel accreditation and meets the Master In addition, the production of each tonne
room. It’s designed to be installed on any Locksmith Association’s Sold Secure criteria. of Marlow’s Bio-based Dyneema reduces
bulkhead and has clean, modern styling Price: £149. carbon emissions by five tonnes compared
with no sharp edges, though its small size Q vectasafes.co.uk with a tonne of conventional Dyneema and
by an impressive 29 tonnes compared to a
tonne of generic HMPE rope.
Price TBA.
Walk ashore sandals Q marlowropes.com

Regatta’s Harris walking sandals, available

in men’s, women’s and children’s sizes
and styles, are easy to stow on board, yet
ideal for exploring ashore.
And thanks to a 50% discount for online
sales until late September, their prices
won’t break the bank.
Prices: adult sizes: £24.95; child sizes
£14.95.
Q regatta.com

ProStart update
When first launched the Velocitek ProStart
was widely adopted by racers of all levels
seeking to improve their performance on
the start line. A significant upgrade sees it
look much the same as the original and the
slick user interface has been retained, but
there are many changes under the surface
that improve performance. These include a
high speed internal GPS that gives more
accurate measurement of distance to the
line. There’s a new magnetic compass that
maintains calibration across a wide
temperature range, while other features
include a bar graph showing heel angle and
the bearing square to the line.
In the final minute before the start a
graphical indicator shows the distance the
boat will be from the line at the gun. There’s
an anti-glare screen and a new back light,
while battery life is increased to 75 hours.
Price: US$895.
Q velocitek.com

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 51

 GEAR

Electronics
for sailing
Rupert Holmes looks at the development of sailing-specific software
tools that can boost safety and shave hours off a difficult passage

lectronic solutions to the the effort associated with unnecessary Emerging competition

E specific problems that sailing

boats encounter – such as
navigation at low speeds
relative to tidal streams, and judging
where to tack to clear a headland
tacks, or speed up passage times,
sometimes by an appreciable amount,
were mostly out of reach of the cruising
skipper on a typical boat owner’s budget.
Fortunately, we’re now in the middle of
The established big players in the sail
navigation market are Garmin, B&G and
Raymarine, all of which have been pushed
to continue developing their sailing
specific software by the emergence of
or reach a waypoint – are no longer a slow but steady revolution for sailors on some brilliant apps for smartphones and
cutting edge technology. a number of fronts. And if you haven’t tablets. At the same time some innovative
However, investment in sailing-specific looked into the latest multifunction smaller players, such as NKE, Sailmon
software tools offers the big companies displays, apps for tablets and phones and and A+T Instruments are pushing
limited returns compared to the enormous networked instrument possibilities for a continued development at the high end
markets that exist for sport-fishing devices, few years, it may surprise you what can which, given past trends, is likely to filter
especially in North America. now be achieved. down to more affordable products in the
So new sailing software was historically next few years.
INSET TOP Raymarine Axiom 12 MFD
developed via complex and often custom This emergence of genuine competition
products aimed at top-end racing teams. BELOW Raymarine’s Lighthouse MFD has led to a succession of upgrades to
This meant that tools capable of taking the software is updated quarterly with MFDs and software, particularly by B&G
guesswork out of where to tack, eliminating significant user benefits and Raymarine, introducing new features

Raymarine

52 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 BUYER’S GUIDE TO ELECTRONICS
LEFT Garmin is
one of the ‘big
three’ in the sail
navigation market
BELOW Engine
management
function
displayed on a
Garmin MFD
Henrik Ljungqvist/Adstream AB

that are more powerful, yet also more Dean Barker. This gave Garmin access to
intuitive for sailors. It should be noted that, sailing-specific software that could
while Simrad and Lowrance branded MFDs display laylines that show where to tack
have the same hardware as B&G units, to make a waypoint or clear a headland,
their software is optimised for cruising providing wind data is available.
with a motorboat and fishing respectively. At the same time hardware –
Garmin’s acquisition of the Swedish processor power – that could handle B&G was also in a good position thanks
Nexus brand of marine instruments in the much more than the essential functions of to its long-standing position at the top end
early part of this decade helped to kick a chart plotter was becoming available. of the sport of sailing, including the
start an ongoing improvement in the Processor power had been a historical America’s Cup, and both the Ocean Race
sailing tools embedded in MFDs. Nexus problem for MFDs. In order to be properly (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race) and the
had been at the forefront of the top end of waterproofed they have to be sealed units, Vendée Globe. CEO Knut Frostad is an ex-
the racing scene – indeed one of the but that means it’s impossible to use a fan Volvo skipper who went on to become
shareholders was America’s Cup supremo to cool a fast processor. CEO of the race itself and is an experienced
cruising skipper. The company’s Zeus
Touch MFDs in 2013 incorporated
Disruptive innovation functionality I’d previously only used on
expensive and complex PC-based software
Can disruptive apps, handheld purpose, but requires an investment for high-level race navigation.
devices and high-end developers of time to learn the system. Raymarine has also been steadily
really unseat the big electronics Q Breton company NKE has its roots improving its sailing tools and the free
companies in the sailing market? firmly in the French short-handed quarterly updates for its Lighthouse
Q Ruggedised tablets are an offshore racing scene. It’s a operating system seek to continue
interesting alternative to a comparatively small company, but development year-round.
conventional MFD or chartplotter, produces top-notch equipment. Much of the driving force behind this
without the problems associated with Q Sailmon is a Dutch firm that started within the company has been from Will
using a conventional tablet on deck. out with the aim of making the best Sayer. He’s a long-standing Sigma 33
Displays are clear in bright sun, they possible displays aimed at big budget owner, who won the 2008 OSTAR
can be dropped, are waterproof, and race boats and superyachts. single-handed transatlantic race on
they can run a host of different apps. Q A+T instruments based in corrected time, took first overall in the
Examples are the Mesa2 (pictured Lymington initially developed Solo Offshore Racing Club’s inaugural
right) and the SailProof Rugged Tablet products to replace legacy B&G 600 mile Round the Rock race, and
(see PBO July 2020). equipment, to avoid owners having to successfully completed a year’s cruise to
Q Savvy-Navvy is a phone/tablet app replace a complete system when one the Caribbean and back. He knows from
that figures out the most efficient item fails, but has since grown to experience what and how data
route for a passage based on forecast produce its own range of can be used to make
weather. There has been a lot of screens, processors and passages quicker
development within the app since it other products. and safer.
was first launched, but it’s still very One of the more
easy to use. RIGHT Mesa2 recent changes
Q SailGrib WR is a more sophisticated ruggedised was to add hundreds
and powerful tool for the same tablet of different boat
performance profiles as ‘polar

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 53

 GEAR
data’ to the system. There are currently
around 400 design profiles in the
database, with a further 60 added in each
quarterly update, meaning the likelihood
of your boat’s calculated characteristics
being pre-programmed into the plotter are
improving all the time.
Polar data provides a full performance
profile for a boat, which both helps when
passage planning and can be used to
diagnose lack of speed.
Polars are also used in connection with
the upwind and downwind graphical
apparent wind display of Raymarine’s
latest software (Lighthouse 3.11 Cannes
for eS/gS series units and Lighthouse 3.12
Dartmouth for the Axiom family of MFDs).
This display includes a dynamic notch that
gives the optimum apparent wind angle
for that wind strength from the boat’s
polars – it helps inexperienced helmsmen
to steer an efficient course to windward
simply by aiming to keep the arrow in the
right place on the notch.

SAILING-SPECIFIC TOOLS
Laylines
Assuming you have wind data wired into
your NMEA 2000 network, there are now
several MFDs that will show you the ideal
point at which to tack to clear a headland.
(Important: this tool does not provide a
Rupert Holmes

waypoint, nor does it show you how to

beat an adverse tide.)
One issue with the laylines of earlier
systems was that they moved with every
wind shift. Therefore, while they helped to
decide where to tack, a degree of
interpretation was still needed. Calculated tide vs if the waypoint is in shallow water where
That’s solved on more recent systems predicted tide the stream runs at a different speed.
from B&G and Raymarine with the use of a When calculating laylines in tidal waters Tidal stream plug-ins are available for
cone for each layline, which takes account most MFDs use the current they calculate sophisticated PC-based routing software
of the maximum wind shifts in each by comparing speed over ground (SOG) such as Expedition and Adrena, and tidal
direction. Essentially the middle of the cone and course over ground (COG) derived data predictions are also used by apps
is the layline for the mean wind direction, from the GPS with the boat speed through including Savvy-Navvy and SailGrib.
while the outer edges indicate the laylines the water and heading measured directly Looking ahead, we can expect to see
for the maximum extent of the wind shifts. using the boat’s instruments. progressively more onboard systems using
If you want make the waypoint in one This means that layline accuracy is tidal stream predictions to calculate more
go, you tack just beyond the further dependent on calibration of the log and accurate laylines and optimal routing.
boundary of the cone. But if you want to electronic compass. Equally, laylines will
get there faster, you play the wind shifts, be incorrect if the tidal stream changes as Great new MFD features
while aiming to tack well before reaching you approach the waypoint. This might The development of significantly faster
the nearer boundary. The trade off is happen if it will take several hours to reach processors with low power draw (and
making more tacks in order to sail a the waypoint and the tidal stream therefore easier to keep cool) has
shorter distance. therefore changes before you get there, or speeded up displays and made data
Mike Jones/Waterline Media

ABOVE Split screen functionality on a B&G Zeus3 MFD

RIGHT A neat B&G Zeus3 helmstation setup

54 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 BUYER’S GUIDE TO ELECTRONICS

Split screen displays

One of my favourite displays has the graphs show that the breeze rarely
screen split in three parts. The chart is increases in a smooth linear fashion.
on the left, with in this case the B&G The familiar patterns of gusts and
SailSteer graphic and the wind plot on lulls continues as the wind builds,
the right. At first sight the latter may with these phases often lasting two to
not seem important, but I use the wind five minutes or more. Choosing a mini
plot all the time. Choosing when to lull in which to reef, before the next
reef is a great example – we all know higher peak, makes the task far easier
of the tendency to delay reefing until and places less wear and tear on sails
after the optimum time. But wind and rigging.

This screen grab is from a relatively low cost B&G Vulcan MFD

TOP MFD displays at Lighthouse user interface for Axiom and

the helm are looking eS/gS series MFDs (but not the budget
increasingly like Element range) enable any parameter on
digital dashboards the screen to be changed or edited simply
RIGHT Other vessel by making a long click on it with a finger.
movements on There are also side bars that slide out
display via AIS data from the side of the screen. These include
data boxes and menus, plus access to
specific modes including sailing tools and
start line functions.
It’s also possible to overlay instrument
data such as boat speed, depth and wind
on a full-screen chart display. This is a neat
feature that maximises chart size, while
allowing key data to be displayed at the
same time. The size of the numbers can
be changed so that they are the optimal
size for the distance from which they’re
presentation more flexible and adjustable. as a yellow dot on the compass ring) and viewed from on your boat.
B&G’s Zeus 2, for instance, added polar the calculated tidal rate and direction.
data to the wind plot, layline and tidal It also shows red and green cones, Screen quality
stream graphic functions that were representing the port and starboard The best of today’s MFD displays are
incorporated in the original Zeus Touch. laylines to the waypoint, and both true almost twice as bright as a decade ago
B&G’s SailSteer screen, which and apparent wind directions. In addition, and therefore significantly easier to read in
continues to be refined on the latest instrument data can be displayed in the bright sun. Night modes have also become
models, presents a lot of information in a margins on each side, or it can be used in more sophisticated. Raymarine’s most
simple graphical format. When sailing a split screen configuration that also recent software upgrade, for instance,
upwind it shows the boat’s heading, COG, includes a chart and/or wind plot. includes four brightness modes that cover
bearing to the next waypoint (appearing Recent versions of Raymarine’s from bright sunlight, low-level daylight,
dawn/dusk and full night, although again
this is not available on the Element range.
‘The best of today’s MFD displays are almost Tablets and smartphones have also
improved in this respect, but still lag well
twice as bright as a decade ago behind the best marine equipment.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 55

 GEAR

Hands-on with a B&G Vulcan 7

Rob Melotti joined former PBO deputy editor Ben Meakins, now at B&G,
aboard Ben’s Impala 28 fitted with a B&G Vulcan 7 so Ben could demonstrate
the sailing tools built in to a multifunction display that retails for around £680.
Rupert Holmes

Route: Portsmouth Harbour from Hamble River

LAYLINES
usually the best option for a tiller steered “The thick [green] line
boat is to position a MFD at the forward is where we should tack
end of the cockpit currently [ideal
true-wind-angle
settings, known as
targets, for close-hauled
sailing (eg 45°) must be
set up for your boat in
advance]. The dotted
Rupert Holmes

lines illustrate the

tacking angles that the
wind shifts have been
cycling through. So if you want a conservative layline you can tack on the far
one; if you want to risk it you can tack on the near one.”
With the Oceanis 30.1 Beneteau figured
out a way to keep an MFD at the front of TRUE WIND DIRECTION
the cockpit clear of crew members’ knees
TWD (left hand side of the
image) is rolling from the top,
The unit for measuring display
so the middle and bottom of
brightness is often referred to as a nit,
the graph is historical info
which equates to one candela per square
going back 30mins. This can
metre. This is most useful as a measure
be set from 10min to 60min.
by which to compare the brightness of
“This image is showing that
different screens. The old iPad 2 from
we’re on a right shift, so we’re
2011 was rated at 350-400 nits, whereas a
getting knocked off the wind at
current generation iPad Pro is 600 nits. By
the moment. If you were racing
contrast, B&G’s new Zeus3S MFDs are
you’d probably tack right now.”
significantly brighter at 1,200 nits.
Raymarine’s latest Axiom+ units have a
maximum brightness of 1,500 or 1,800 SAILSTEER
nits, depending on screen size. “This puts everything
The touchscreen functionality of MFD on one page. The most
screens has also become progressively clever part is the total
better in properly wet and salty conditions. sailing time to
waypoint [TTW-S to the
Connectivity waypoint on both
Connectivity not just to other devices on tacks]. Most other
the boat’s network, but also plotters just do a
communicating data off the boat, is another simple ETA to the
trend sure to accelerate over the next few waypoint. So the top
years. Systems already enable you to plan right [inside the orange
passages at home and download them on bounding box] that’s
the boat’s equipment, and give access to ETA on each tack. So
a huge amount of user-generated data. to get to the waypoint we’ve got 8 represents the ideal course for us at
B&G Zeus3 and Vulcan displays minutes 50 or so on port, then about this windspeed. The cone of red or
include the ability to pair the unit with a the same on starboard. And it also green represents the shifts that have
phone, which enables the MFD to be used gives you distance to the waypoint been recorded in recent period. The
to send and receive texts – a useful sailing [as opposed to straight line, ‘T’ is green which means we are
feature if you want to keep your phone or motoring distance]. So the sailing at the optimum true wind
safely below decks in bad weather. waypoint is only 1.5 miles away, but angle, turning red or yellow if you
we need to sail 1.9 miles to get head up or bear away too much.”
Compatibility there. Basically it just makes it more
Interfacing components from different accurate.
manufacturers used to be a fraught “On most plotters, the ETA is This is a matching
process. However, the NMEA 2000 calculated by going straight upwind SailSteer screen
protocol that has been around for a and the time just gets longer and on a Triton2
number of years makes this more of a longer as you tack from one side to instrument. It’s a
straightforward plug and play process. the other. The laylines are displayed simplified version
Having said that, it’s still essential to check [on the compass rose] and they are of SailSteer on the
that each and every aspect of a proposed showing that we are slightly high plotter.
new item’s functionality will be compatible [pinching]. The dotted line
with your existing network.

56 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SPECIAL

Buddy sailing with

Fife Sailability

The search for an

accessible boat
What boats are best suited for disabled sailors? Ian Cameron recounts
Fife Sailability’s exciting journey from trimarans to powerboats

’m a member of Port Edgar Yacht Club, heard of the organisation. So he raised area. The loch, with a surface area of

I and like most clubs and recreational

sailors, our default position regarding
charities has always been to support
the RNLI. Everyone loves the RNLI, and
some of us have had the misfortune to be
awareness of the club and started a
journey for me that began with a visit to
see them in action, which ultimately led
me to becoming a trustee of the charity
and then its chairman.
about 110 hectares, is shared with many
other users, from families to St Andrews
University students, who row and
match-race on the water. The prevailing
westerly provides an onshore breeze at
towed back by them. For me, nothing Fife Sailability, based at Lochore the pontoon. By inshore sailing standards
life-threatening, fortunately – just a rather Meadows, was founded in 2012 by it’s quite true, steady and well suited to
embarrassing engine failure on a strong Merrick Yates and Neil MacDougall with sailing our Challenger trimarans.
ebbing tide when there was no wind to the purpose of teaching disabled people
enable us to sail to safety. It’s hardly to sail. It attracts people from Edinburgh Testing the trimaran
surprising that proceeds from our jumble and the Lothians as well as Fife, Perthshire While the club now has considerable
sales, raffles or donations of any kind went and beyond. assets including a powerboat with a
straight to this wonderful organisation. The area was home to several coal 100hp engine, Neil and Merrick started out
So when one of our members mines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with just two hired Challenger trimarans.
suggested that the proceeds of the raffle and after the last of these closed in 1966, The Challenger was designed by Rod
go instead to Fife Sailability one year it restoration work to create the country park McAlpine Downie in 1979 to allow those
came as a surprise. Most of us had never began. Today it’s a beautiful recreation with disabilities to sail and race on equal

58 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 SAILABILITY
Rolling aboard the ro-ro Wheelyboat

terms with able bodied sailors. With a

Portsmouth Handicap of 1185 it has more
of the sailing characteristics of a monohull
than a catamaran, though it’s still very
easy to get stuck in irons if you don’t get
the tack right.
The Challenger is ideally suited to
wheelchair users or those with balance
issues as it doesn’t heel over or capsize.
Some wheelchair users can slide aboard ABOVE The Hawk
unaided while others are transferred with 20 Kitty means
a hoist. Once aboard it is rather like sitting groups can get on
at a desk with all the sail controls in front the water
of you. I believe they can be fitted with an LEFT Kitty can
electric sheet winch for those who lack accommodate up
upper body strength but we have no to six
experience of them. Cleverly, the boom
vang is kept out of the way and the boats
can be gybed with no risk to the
helmsman. Those who can sail just need
push off from the jetty and away they go.
Getting back alongside is sometimes a
little tricky and we usually have someone
standing by with a long boat hook.
Less experienced sailors and beginners nicely in 20+ knots of wind. The whatever level suits them.
can have a co-driver along on the buddy helmsman gets quite a wet ride as they sit Some members, because of complex
seat. The buddy can do as little or as low in the water; even on a small inland medication needs, have to accompanied
much as the helmsman requires; some loch they tend to have wave penetrating by carers at all times so Kitty gives them
will just need to be given advice while characteristics. this experience. Often they are non-verbal
others may need a little extra muscle to and take no part in sailing the boat,
help with the sail trim. Fun with the Hawk though many enjoy watching the carers
This is great fun but not a job for the We had a lot of fun with the Challengers, take a turn on the helm.
faint hearted. You sit on a specially and many people did things they never Initially it’s hard to tell if they’re enjoying
designed seat that fits between the main thought possible, but the boat is the experience. However, parents and
hull and one of the sponsons, which essentially a single-hander so they missed carers help us to communicate and then it
somewhat unbalances the boat so it’s out on other important aspects of sailing becomes clear that we all get the same
also useful not to be too heavy! It also such as teamwork and camaraderie. The thing from sailing: a feeling of peace and
makes you pretty exposed; people have search was on for a boat that would allow relaxation that can last for hours after
been known to fall in and have to be family groups to sail together and those stepping ashore.
picked up by the rescue boat while others accompanied by their carers. The search Wheelchair users can be hoisted on
have had a crack on the head from an for funding attracted the attention of Port board using the same mechanism we use
unplanned gybe. Once going, the Edgar Yacht Club. The solution was a for the Challengers. Once aboard, they
Challengers are exciting to sail and with a Hawk 20 called Kitty – a long, fully can supported by a special seat. Because
deep reef in the main they skip along ballasted day boat, which was donated by the boat is so stable the crew do not need
a local family. Very to change position on the tacks so it’s
thoughtfully designed quite possible for a wheelchair user to
Gently does it... a
and easy to sail helm or assist with sail trim. With lots of
hoist helps
single-handed, the Hawk opportunities for teamwork and
wheelchair users
can accommodate up to communication, Kitty brought a whole new
get aboard
six people and, with a dimension to the club… then someone
deep reef, can sail quite suggested we expand into power boating.
happily in a Force 6. She
suits us very well and the A powerboat?
class is being widely Most club members are there because we
adopted by Sailability love sailing, so the suggestion that we
clubs across the UK. The acquire a powerboat wasn’t an immediate
on-the-water experience winner. Sure, we can mostly drive RIBs,
is now available to many and we accept that engines are useful for
new people who can getting in and out of harbours, and for
engage with sailing at getting home when the wind drops.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 59

 SPECIAL
But we relish the moment when the
engine goes off and everything becomes
peaceful as the boat is then driven only by
its sails.
So we never viewed powerboating as an
end in itself. But we were wrong! With the
help of the Wheelyboat Trust and some
serious fundraising over a two-year
period, we acquired a Coulam
Wheelyboat V20 complete with a 100hp
engine. Delivered in October 2018 she
was named Merrimac in honour of the
club’s two founders and we invited
Annabel Ewing, our local MSP, to carry out
a naming ceremony for us in the spring of
2019. Again, we’d brought a new
dimension to the club.
The bow door drops down like a ro-ro experiences to our members. A breezy day and a deep reef in the
ferry so the wheelchair users can roll on In 2017 the RYA launched a new training Challenger sail on Loch Ore
independently and the powerful engine scheme called Powerability, which makes
means she can carry up to eight people powerboat skippering accessible to all help with hoisting people in and out of
and reach a planing speed of 25 knots. with the opportunity to do recognised RYA boats. The shore coordinator directs
Many of the people who used to be hoisted training. We hope many of our members operations and we have a designated
onto Kitty now enjoy their trips on Merrimac will take part. safety spotter who keeps an eye on
and it’s not just about high-speed boating. We hold club days every second things, and a safety boat on standby.
She potters along happily at two or three Saturday throughout the sailing season It’s not just about being on the water. It’s
knots and enables people to visit parts of and with a lot of teamwork and help from a great social occasion where we gather
the loch they’d not seen before. the staff at Lochore Outdoor Centre they around our picnic tables and enjoy each
The sailing craft have to stay within line usually run very smoothly. The centre other’s company before or after the sail.
of sight of the safety spotters whereas handles all our When the weather’s
Merrimac does not have this limitation. bookings for us. settled we’ll fire up a
She’s free to explore the islands and reed Members who want
‘It’s clear we all get barbecue.
beds while viewing the nesting swans and to sail on a particular the same thing from We welcome new
other wildlife. Many of our existing day phone in people and anyone
members continue to enjoy sailing but we advance and book sailing: a feeling of can book a taster
have opened a whole new range of themselves a slot. session before
We also have a peace and relaxation’ deciding whether or
Weta trimaran, which not to join. Donations
can be sailed solo or are welcome but we
with a buddy, but we tend to reserve that realise many of the people we take sailing
for more experienced people. It’s the only are on limited incomes. Outside our club
one of our fleet which has been capsized days we hold sessions for all sorts of
and righting her again does require a bit groups from special schools to care
of know-how. homes. The Wheelyboat is especially
The booking sheets are collected by our popular with care home residents.
vice-chair, Ann, who matches people to We have a core of dedicated and
boats, all the while making sure we’re fully passionate volunteers but many of us are
staffed. As well as buddies and helms, we no longer in the first flush of youth and we
Annabel Ewing takes the helm of the need shoreside helpers to get people in are always looking for new people.
Wheelyboat and out of lifejackets and a jetty team to Let’s all continue to support RNLI and
hope we never have to be rescued by
them but let’s also spare a thought, and
the odd fiver, for all the Sailability clubs
and the amazing work they do.

Contact
Q Find out more about the RYA’s
Sailability and Powerability schemes
at www.rya.org.uk
Q If you wish to help out with Fife
Sailability contact Ian Cameron,
jiancameron@googlemail.com or
find them on Facebook, www.
facebook.com/fifesailability
Q Find out more about the
Wheelyboat Trust and how they can
help you secure funding to buy a
boat at www.wheelyboats.org and
in PBO January 2020.
All smiles after some time on the water

60 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 MANAGING FUEL QUALITY

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 PRACTICAL

Windhorse
and her new
mainsail in
silhouette
Bob Tuckwood
working on the lofting
floor at Moatt Sails in
Portland, Dorset

How I made
my own
mainsail luff curve to sails. At the end of the
session, Steve surprised us all with an
exciting offer: for someone to make a sail
alongside him. He would demonstrate the
Bob Tuckwood spends four days in a sail loft processes and provide his facilities, skills
and assistance for free – charging only for
designing, cutting and sewing his new sail materials.
I thought this was a brilliant proposition
and asked Steve to put my name in the
t’s a 225-mile drive from our home this doesn’t work well for short visits and hat. He soon contacted me to say the

I in Nottingham to the Weymouth and

Portland National Sailing Academy
where my wife, Debbie, and I keep
Windhorse, our Ebbtide 33.
We are lifelong dinghy sailors, mostly
so I was pleased when one of our quick
trips coincided with an event that the
Weymouth and Portland Cruising
Association had organised with Portland
sailmaker Steve Moatt.
opportunity was mine and we set a date to
begin.
At the time, Windhorse had a rather old
and weary mainsail and so I tentatively
asked if I could choose that sail for the
inland, so how we came about buying The evening visit to the sail loft was project. Steve agreed and said we’d need
Windhorse and sailing ‘big boats’ is a little active, interesting and informative, with four days in total and would work on:
convoluted. In a nutshell, though, we saw Steve introducing us to the benefits and QComputer design and customisation
her for sale while sailing in the Fireball drawbacks of the range of sail cloths and QMarking out and cutting of panels
Nationals at WPNSA and have kept her construction methods, as well as the QStitching and assembly
there ever since. As you might imagine, technicalities of adding broad seam and QFinishing

62 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 HOW A MAINSAIL IS MADE

The design process ABOVE With

When I turned up at the Moatt Sails loft I sail dimensions
was made welcome with a mug of coffee entered, computer
and Steve introduced me to Richard software will
Bowers, the loft’s sail designer. The two of design a sail to
us took the short walk to Windhorse to suit your type of
size up the challenge. After Richard had sailing
cast his experienced eyes over the rig and RIGHT Machine
taken down a few notes, we carefully stitching the
measured all the critical dimensions and panels of
headed back to the loft to discuss the Windhorse’s new
findings. mainsail
Windhorse’s existing mainsail was fully
battened and we decided this was also
desirable in the new sail as a powerful sail
is required with her heavy steel hull. To
save money we’d utilise the existing
hardware with the exception of the slides.
An issue we had with the old sail was
raising and lowering it. All’s fine when
Windhorse is head to wind with the
mainsheet loose but if there’s any
pressure in the sail the plastic sliders stick After discussing various requirements direction they are laid on the cloth. This
in the mast luff groove and make the task and inputting the measurements, we was important to ensure the warp of the
impossible. This becomes a more serious selected an appropriate shape profile and cloth ran at right angles to the leech, as
issue when cruising if we need to reef panel layout which allowed the design this direction has the least stretch.
when the wind increases and the sea software to produce the panels. We then I then needed to position the hundreds
becomes lively. What should be a refined the design further by adding of patches that were needed. There’d be
straightforward task is difficult and specifics, such as the number and five slightly different sizes for each stress
unpleasant when needing to go head to position of reef points, how many battens, point on the sail: the head, tack, clew,
wind and having the boom waving about. the pocket style and their position. three reef points on the luff, three on the
To overcome this with the new sail we leach… so 45 in total. Well, it seemed like
decided to reduce the friction by replacing Choices, choices hundreds! This was like working on a
the plastic slides at the batten cars with With the design parameters set we jigsaw, ‘nesting’ each patch to get the
roller bearing ones. Richard did some needed to decide on the sailcloth. Debbie most economical position and the warp
research and managed to find some roller and I dream of cruising Windhorse to direction correct.
bearing slides that would match the Portugal and Spain and Richard described Once he’d checked my work, Richard
groove in our ageing mast. the options available to us. We discounted set the plotter off. The pen whizzed
laminated fabrics due to their relative around the table in what appeared to be
Computerised sail design fragility and cost, and instead favoured a random directions but very soon each
Next, Richard showed me the sail design low-aspect woven polyester for its panel and patch was drawn out.
computer software. Working with an increased lifespan, softer feel and The next job tested my hand-eye
extensive library of design information the mid-range price. Another important coordination as I used a pair of scissors to
process was surprisingly straightforward. consideration was it being resistant to the cut out the panels and patches.
destructive effect of UV, which is more This was where I discovered how much
pronounced closer to the equator. more convenient it was to work in the pits
built into the loft floor.
Marking out and cutting Standing below floor level and being
Sail cloth selected, we moved up to the able to lay out large areas of sailcloth and
mezzanine floor, rolled out the fabric and cut at a convenient height made the task
positioned it on the plotting table. After a feel much easier.
demonstration by Richard, I used the Once I’d completed the cutting I had to
nesting programme to position each of the hot-seal the edges to prevent any fraying.
panels on the virtual representation of the Then Richard demonstrated how to layer
table. I had to take into consideration not the patches and keep them in place using
Sailmaker Steve Moatt only the size of each panel but also the double-sided tape, ready for sewing.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 63

 PRACTICAL
BELOW Fine trimming straight edges to
sailcloth is a skilled job

Bob gets to grips with

using the industrial
sewing machine

Assembly and stitching

This is when tasks became more
challenging for me. Controlling a pair of
scissors was in my skill set but using a
super-size sewing machine was very
much not! I had been watching the people
around me stitching all sorts of
complicated shapes and sizes – sails,
canopies, sprayhoods, upholstery, etc –
but I now had to embark upon this new
task which would test my hand, eye and
foot co-ordination.
Using some waste sailcloth, Steve gave
me an introductory lesson to the wizardry
of the sewing machine. My, it went fast! It
took some time to get used to the
acceleration, which went zero to 60 in a
blink! When I felt confident-ish sewing a
straight line with the zigzag stitch, I
decided to go for it and tackle the sail.
Staring hard at the needle, I began
manoeuvring the cloth to keep it on the
seam. All was going well until the bobbin
ran out – another technical challenge to
sort out – but then I was off again, slowly
ABOVE Working in a loft pit allows for
gaining more confidence as I pushed the environment. I enjoyed the repartee
easier handling of the large quantities of
more metres through the machine and the between Steve, his crew and customers
sailcloth
sail started to take shape. while sewing machines were buzzing
I struggled where the sail was wider, and away and a variety of playlists were These were then covered with folded
became even slower when trying to sew in broadcasting over the sound system. strips of slit sailcloth which were not an
a straight line while managing the huge easy sew, especially on the luff where the
bundle of sailcloth. Finishing bolt rope was positioned.
At this point I handed over to Steve who After sewing all the panels and reinforcing The batten pockets and cars, together
sewed the long lengths while I helped patches, we then moved onto the many with their reinforcements, were added
manoeuvre the sailcloth. individual elements that are needed to next, followed by the cringles for the
This day had stretched out into the late complete a sail. intermediate luff sliders.
evening but it had been great, with Steve One of the important tasks is trimming Stainless steel tack and reefing rings
working with me long after the crew had the edges of the luff, leech and foot. Steve were then pressed into holes that I had
headed home. marked the cut lines with precision and punched through the reinforcing patches.
Everyone in the loft had been deftly trimmed the waste areas leaving The clew ring was next, hand sewn to
encouraging and my ears were tuning into neat flowing edges. three pieces of webbing, and also hand
sewn ‘spectacle’ rings (previously known
to me as reef rings).
‘The pen whizzed around the table in what Another tricky undertaking was to attach
small plastic cleats for each leech line, an
appeared to be random directions, but very apparently straightforward task that took
me an age because I struggled to get the
soon each panel and patch was drawn out’ cleats and the leech line in the correct

64 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 HOW A MAINSAIL IS MADE
A test sail of the new
mainsail showed
everything was
working beautifully
for Windhorse

TOP Photos of the staysail and jib taken

during the test sail of the new mainsail
ABOVE Roller bearing batten cars are a
big improvement over the previous sliders

the sail, even when Windhorse wasn’t fully

head to wind. This was very promising.
I also noted an important detail – the sail
fitted!
We set off across the harbour and, to my
eyes, the sail looked great. Richard was
soon in action, taking photographs from
the deck before jumping into a RIB to take
more. When we finished the trial and it
came to dropping the sail, I found that I
could pull it down even with some
pressure in it. I felt that this was very
position to hand sew them. Time for sailing encouraging for the reefing issue.
I was now getting familiar with hand There is a special feeling when hoisting a We headed back to the loft feeling
sewing and continued trying to emulate new sail but the anticipation this time was pleased and took a look at his photos over
the neat stitching that both Steve and different, with nervousness added to the a cuppa and several biscuits.
Richard had demonstrated, but I would excitement. It was a beautiful day, with a
need to sew many more cleats and clews clear, blue sky and a light northerly breeze Afterthoughts
before I could master it. blowing in Portland Harbour; perfect for By the end of the four days I’d had a great
At this stage I was on the last lap and trying out the new sail. Richard and I time and felt that I had accomplished
could see the finish line. No more sewing rigged the sail and prepared for a trip many things. My knowledge of sails and
– just rivet the headboard, stick on the around the harbour. sailmaking had, of course, increased
numbers, sail label and – hey presto! – a The hoist went to plan, without any enormously. I now appreciate the amount
new mainsail! issues. I noticed how easily I could raise of time and effort that goes into specifying,
designing and crafting all the details of a
sail to ensure it is strong enough and
shaped correctly to perform well over
many seasons.
It was extremely generous of Steve
Moatt to offer me this chance to make my
own sail, but I believe he and Richard
were pleased with the end result. It was a
wonderful experience that I will appreciate
every time the main is hoisted.
We have used the sail during the
Job almost summer season and are extremely
finished – pleased with it. We’ve found Windhorse is
applying the now pointing a few degrees higher,
self-adhesive sail moving a little faster and reefing is much
numbers easier and safer than before.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 65

 HOW A MAINSAIL IS MADE

12 steps to making a mainsail

Richard Bowers shows how sails First cuts of the cloth, starting with The individual reinforcing panels
1 are designed with software.
2 the smaller reinforcing panels.
3 then need to be assembled in layers.

Taping the sail’s main panels Aligning the reinforcing patches to Steve Moatt demonstrates the use
4 together in preparation for sewing.
5 the luff of the sail.
6 of the industrial sewing machine.

Making progress – the speed of the Steve takes over for the big stuff A hydraulic press is used to press a
7 machine takes some getting used to.
8 which requires more machine skills.
9 reefing cringle through the sailcloth.

Sewing reinforcing tapes into the Hand sewing cleats – doing a neat Windhorse’s new mainsail laid out
10 clew of the sail.
11 job takes practise.
12 in the loft, job done!

66 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

A n ew tr avel site made for people who love to tr avel by pe ople w h o l ove to tr avel.
Specialising in l u x ur y, f amil y and adventure tr avel inspir a t ion.
 PRACTICAL

Pump up the volume

Roger Hughes services the inflation valves on his yacht’s 10ft RIB
’m a firm believer in the old adage,

I
LEFT This type of Halkey Roberts air
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and valve is quite commonly found on many
had never serviced the three air makes of dinghy
valves on my old 10ft Caribe RIB
dinghy. I’d bought it second-hand and The most obvious thing to look at first
had kept it for over a year, unattended, were the inflation/deflation valves. There
on the davits of my schooner Britannia. are three separate chambers in my
As with most old dinghies it was dinghy, each served by a Halkey Roberts
necessary to re-inflate it from time to time, air valve. These type of valves are
but just lately I’d noticed the bow section commonly used on other makes of
needing more air than the other dinghies.
chambers, so it was time to find out why. I used the age-old soapy water testing

Roger Hughes’s
inflatable tender lives
on davits in all weathers
at the stern of his Down
East 45 Britannia. Here
it’s partially deflated

68 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 DINGHY VALVE REPAIR

LEFT A very simple

method to test
for air leaks is a
splash of washing-
up liquid in water
that’ll show a leak
with telltale bubbles

RIGHT The two

main halves of the
valve are the inner
holder and outer
valve assembly. The
cap keeps debris
out of the valve

method to find out if the valves leaked. certainty of a leak. Surprisingly, no air was dinghy/liferaft repair shop, to pick their
I mixed a splash of washing-up liquid in an escaping from the inside of the valve itself. brains. On seeing a new complete valve it
old spray bottle, and sprayed them. Sure Unfortunately this meant the valve had to was obvious how the thing worked. It
enough, there they were – tiny bubbles be removed, to be at least cleaned, or consists of a threaded holder inside the
emerging from round the outer ring of the more likely replaced. I hadn’t a clue how actual dinghy chamber, and the outer
bow chamber valve, indicating the to do this, so I paid a visit to my local valve which screws tightly into the holder.
An airtight seal is formed by trapping the
dinghy material between them then
tightening the two together, hard. There is
also a cap which locks on top of the valve
to keep water and debris out. I was told I
needed a special removal wrench to
unscrew the two valve halves, which
would be very tight, but this could easily
be made from a short piece of ¾in plastic
irrigation tube.
BELOW This very simple tool I came away with a new valve, and made
can be home made from a short my own removal tool in a few minutes in
length of 3⁄4in plastic pipe my garage. I did this by cutting a slot in

ABOVE With the outer valve loose, the next problem is holding the inner valve
to stop it dropping back into the tube

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 69

 PRACTICAL
one end of a short length of plastic tube,
and a hole in the other end to accept a
long screwdriver as a lever.
The cut-outs engage in the inside of the
valve, which indeed proved to be very
tightly screwed together. I certainly
needed the long screwdriver to loosen the
two halves. It is a normal right-handed
thread and best started with the tube fully
inflated, when it is more rigid, but once the
valve came loose I found it could be
unscrewed by hand – but this is where it
got tricky...
The holder inside the dinghy is not
physically attached to the inside of the
tube, therefore, before the valve is
unscrewed completely it’s necessary to
grip the holder round the boat material to
stop the valve falling back into the depths
of the tube.
Once the outer valve was unscrewed I
slid a screwdriver through the holder to
stop it disappearing into the tube – or at
least that was the plan. tube material was also dirty. I used Zylene This powerful little battery air compressor
It’s worth noting at this point that the liquid to remove all the ingrained dirt from will inflate a car tyre to a much higher
inner valve holder cannot be pulled the valve. pressure than the dinghy ever needs
through the hole in the tube either. The The circumference of the hole in the
hole in the tube is much too small, tube was more difficult to clean. The A soapy water test proved I had solved
therefore the holders must have been screwdriver need to be removed and the the valve leak on the bow chamber and,
installed when the dinghy was loose holder held in place with one hand apart from the temporary inconvenience
manufactured. This also made me wonder to stop it dropping into the tube while I of losing the inner holder, it had all been
why I needed to buy the inner holder at cleaned round the hole. fairly effortless.
all... but it seems that’s how they’re sold. Naturally the inevitable happened. The I therefore decided to ignore my old
On close inspection of the circular flange holder slipped out of my fingers and adage “if it ain’t broke…” and take the
of the valve it was obvious why it leaked. It vanished inside the dark tube. other two valves apart for inspection and
was extremely dirty, with bits of grit most After a lot of fiddling around I managed cleaning. Indeed, they were both just as
of the way round the seal. The to feel where it had fallen and waggle it dirty, not only on the outer sealing ring,
circumference of the hole in the Hypalon back up to the hole, then line it up to but also two internal rubber O-rings. One
reinsert the new valve. It is on the valve stem forming the actual air
certainly would make things seal and the other on the cap, Both can
easier if dinghy makers be easily prized off with fingers and
could somehow attach the cleaned. On reassembly I even managed
inner holder to the tube. this time to not let the inner holder fall into
However, I was told under the tube again.
no circumstances to be Neither valve leaked and should now be
tempted to use any sealant as efficient as the new one.
on either of the valve This was all quite a satisfying new
flanges – they need to be maintenance/repair exercise, and I am
screwed together dry. now a little bit more knowledgeable about
another part of my boat.
Reassembly
Once I managed to get ABOUT THE AUTHOR
them level, screwing the two
together was quite easy and
I wound the new valve right
into the holder until it was
finger tight. Then I fully
inflated the chamber using a
small but powerful
Roger used a
battery-powered
screwdriver to
compressor. I then
support the inner
tightened the two halves
holder while he
together as hard as I could,
cleaned the valve
with my plastic pipe Roger Hughes is an Englishman
home-made wrench. living near Orlando, Florida, USA.
He has been sailing for nearly
half a century as a professional
‘It was obvious why it leaked. It was captain, charterer and restorer of
boats. He has just completed a
extremely dirty, with bits of grit most five year restoration of his Down
East 45 Britannia.
of the way round the seal’
70 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk
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Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 71

 PRACTICAL
sailing) and a modified hatch to give some

Make your standing headroom in the cabin.

During a Channel crossing, I noticed
what a big difference proper ballasting
could make. On arrival in France, we filled
the Corribee’s forepeak up with ten cases

own keel bulb of our favourite wine. This bought the

nose down by several inches and with a
longer waterline we gained a full knot
going home under the same conditions.
Looking round the local boatyard I
noticed that many modern yachts hung
If you have a relatively small boat that needs the ballast as low as possible by using a
keel bulb. Some of the profiles were quite
a bit of extra ballast, how about literally flattened, giving a good base for drying
out and better resistance to leeway when
sticking it to the keel? writes Jake Kavanagh heeled.
Back in 1979, the May and June issues
of PBO featured a single-handed
y fin-keeled Corribee 21 pronounced. This was probably my transatlantic crossing (and return) in a

M had always felt a bit tender

and rolled a little more
than expected but this
tenderness had recently become more
fault, as I’d added a lot of extra weight
to the superstructure.
These included a goal post gantry, a
heavy outboard engine (raised up when
boat identical to mine. The skipper, army
sergeant Alan Toone, had increased the
internal ballast by 70lb using lead instead
of cast iron. This allowed Corri-Bee to

The addition of a gantry, large

outboard, raised hatch and extra
mast had made my Corribee 21
a bit more tender than when
originally built

72 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 DIY LEAD KEEL BULB
Modern bulb
keels are often a Getting stuck in
flattened profile
for greater The use of factory-set calibrated
efficiency pumps makes dispensing the right
when beaching ratio of epoxy to hardener a breeze
or sailing to
windward

carry more sail in stronger winds, and so decided to attach the ballast externally to Adhesive companies often claim that
improved his average speed. However, in the bottom of the keel instead. their products can be ‘stronger than
such a small boat, internal ballast can take The Corribee Owners Association the materials they are bonding’.
up some useful bilge space and could suggested that the fin keel was made of The sealant I used for the keel
possibly shift unless glassed down. I encapsulated iron. I didn’t fancy drilling was 3M’s UV4000, a non-sagging,
through metal to introduce retaining bolts, non-cracking one-part adhesive that
so instead explored the adhesive options. is claimed to withstand forces of
Modern adhesive sealants are incredibly up to 250lb/in2. The UV resistance
powerful and long lived, and a 3M rep had also makes it ideal for external
told me they were sometimes used to applications.
stick metal bulkheads to the inside An alternative I have used
of steel hulls. This allowed for a more recently was Sika 291i
greater degree of (the i denoting marine.)
compression when flexing. S A FETY NOTE You can find it in most
I decided to mould the Do not attemp good chandlers as a
bulb in four symmetrical t this if standard-size sealant-
your boat’s ke
units, and bond them to e l is gun tube in either
through-bolte
the outside of the keel d to the white or black. Based
hull! If in doub
using a combination of t, on a PU (polyurethane)
consult a surv
West System thickened eyor. formula, this powerful
epoxy and 3M UV4000 adhesive can be used
adhesive sealant (Sika’s 290i is for applications below the
a similar product). waterline and is saltwater resistant.
After a couple of false starts with the As a ‘belt and braces’, I also used
bulb design, I hit on a simple ‘half an the legendary adhesive power of
elephant tusk’ profile and the project went West System epoxy. The resin and
well. Several years later the bulb remains hardener are mixed together in
solidly in place. Now with around 56lb of exactly the right 3:1 ratio (calibrated
ballast deep down, the yacht is far less pumps make this easy) and then
tender – despite the owner adding a few a thickening compound is added.
more stone to his own mid-sections. This can be either silica or a special
Here’s how I made the ‘stick-on’ ballast. cotton fibre, but the result is a paste
the consistency of peanut butter that
sets absolutely solid with virtually no
shrinkage. As with Sika’s 291i, this
also resists saltwater.
I could in theory have simply made
a lead bulb without encapsulation
and stuck the metal directly to the
keel with an additional epoxy fillet
along both joins, but the flanges of
my GRP design gave some extra
surface area for better adhesion.
I use adhesive sealant for a
multitude of jobs around the boat
now but bear in mind that if you
want to take something apart later,
such as a seacock or window, then
you are best to use a non-adhesive
My design copied the most efficient sealant instead. Even these will stick
shape and was made up of a total of four when cured, but nothing like the
identical sections that only required me to power of either epoxy or Sika 291i.
make one mould

73
 PRACTICAL

Making the mould

Step
by
step
To obtain the profile of the keel, I These marks were transcribed to a I experimented with the design of
1 laid a long strip of plywood
2 thicker sheet of plywood which was
3 bulb, including this ‘winged keel’
alongside the base and used a pointed then cut out to make a template. It was effort which included a lateral fin.
stick to mark the distance to the keel at almost symmetrical, which would turn out Eventually I went for the ‘Keep It Simple’
regular intervals. to be very useful. approach.

I used the plywood profile as a base

4 guide to cut plywood laminates to The final shape was sculpted with Due to the symmetry of the keel,
make a wooden plug. These were then
5 an angle grinder and then epoxied
6 one half-length plug would provide
stuck to the base and clamped together to a backing sheet of hardboard. This all four bulb sections, so no need to make
with epoxy. would mirror the shape of the keel. plugs of different shapes and sizes.

The whole thing was them sanded The plug was first gelcoated and
7 and painted, then waxed when the
8 then laid up with glassfibre tissue to The plug was withdrawn to reveal
paint had fully hardened. The flange take the shape, followed by heavier
9 the mould. This was then repeatedly
would increase the surface area to be chopped strand mat and ply formers to laid up with gelcoat, polyester resin and
glued to the keel. make a more robust mould. glassfibre to create four external blisters.

74 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 DIY LEAD KEEL BULB

Adding the lead

With the idea of encapsulating the

10 lead in resin, I experimented with Eventually I opted to simply melt The lead settled easily into the
the best way to introduce the lead dry,
11 scrap lead in a saucepan and
12 lay-up and the cross-linked
including using fishing weights and lead literally hot-pour it into the mould. polyester molecules didn’t scorch, sag or
strips, but each proved either more Goggles, gloves, a mask and good crack. Cooling of the lead could be
expensive, fiddly or less dense. ventilation were essential. accelerated, when safe, with water.

Once cool, the lead was sealed into

13 place with a coating of resin and Meanwhile, the base of the keel had The abraded backs of each section
glassfibre, and then the mating surface
14 been prepared by grinding back the
15 were cleaned with acetone, and
was abraded. The four resulting blisters gelcoat. Epoxy can’t adhere to a shiny then both adhesive sealant and thickened
each weighed about a stone (6.3kg/14lb). surface, so a good ‘key’ was essential. epoxy applied in alternating piles.

Edges can then be smoothed with

18 an epoxy filler, and once everything
has set, it can be abraded into a single
bulb shape and painted over. If the ballast
Using a flexible timber support and The sealant and epoxy both cured in sections are prepared in advance, the
16 some long clamps, the sections
17 a few hours, reaching full hardness whole job of fitting and fairing can be
were then held against the keel for the 3M about a day later. Any early squeeze-out done over a weekend during a mid-
UV4000 and West System epoxy to cure. was worked back into the overall profile. season dry out and scrub-off!

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 75

 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

Hard aground
hen we left the yacht mainland. About half a mile in front of us

W club that morning, my

friend Ante and I were
looking forward to
another fine day of
sailing. The evening should find us in
Ceilidh’s cockpit with sundowners in
hand, anchored in our preferred cove on
were two lateral buoys marking the
entrance to the La Passe channel to our
left. If we continued on our present course,
we had only two more miles to sail before
coming to the north-western end of the
lake and reaching the lock at the village of
Ste-Anne de Bellevue.
Ante on
Ceilidh

Dowker Island in Lake St Louis in the St We quickly agreed to take the La Passe
Lawrence River. Little did we know what instead. This one mile long channel runs
was in store for us that afternoon! between the islands of Dowker and Perrot
As soon as we cleared the harbour we and is flanked by shallows on both sides,
raised the sails and turned off the strewn with rocks and small boulders. This
outboard. The weather was great and the route would bring us back to the wide open
wind just perfect. waters of Lake St Louis and allow us more
Early afternoon found us entering the flexibility in case the wind shifted later on.
Lynch channel between Dowker and the Ante was on helm and he decided to

76 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 HARD AGROUND

QU EBEC
St Lawrence
Laval Seaway
l
ne Dowker
h an Point Ste-Anne Montreal
hC -de-Bellevue
N nc
Ly
DOWKER Lake
ISLAND PERROT St Louis
ISLAND
Salaberry-de- Q UEB EC
DOWKER Valleyfield C AN ADA
ISLAND

Cellidh La
aground Pa La ke
ss St Louis
e

0 0.5
PERROT nautical mile
ISLAND

Megapress/Alamy
ABOVE Red circle
shows where we
ended up aground
LEFT Quebec’s
Baie-D’Urfé
overlooks the La
Passe channel
where Zoran
and Ante went
aground

sufficient water levels all through the St danger of the hull being damaged, as the
Lawrence Seaway and to ensure operation two boulders were not very high and the
of hydroelectric stations. one on the port side was not touching the
On this particular day the water level was hull. However, the rudder blade was
lower than normal, so the risk of running almost touching the bottom. We wrestled
aground was much higher. When we the rudder up from its fittings and removed
realized that bottom appeared to be it from the transom.
unusually close, it was too late. I went back aboard and checked the
The boat suddenly shuddered, leaned to bilges – no water there. Ante passed up
port and came to an abrupt stop. I grabbed the rudder and I secured it in the cockpit.
both sheets and released them. Ante was We wondered what to do next.
so surprised that he just sat there with the The weather was fine; it was mid-
tiller in his hand. I went up to the deck and summer and the lake was not too cold, so
released both halyards. I bundled up the no danger of hypothermia for us.
genoa and secured it on the foredeck. One option was to call someone – we
Ante pulled the boom in and tied down the had a mobile phone on board. I wondered
main sail. We both sat in the cockpit for a aloud how calling another boat or our club
moment looking at each other. The boat manager would help: I didn’t believe that
was still, leaning to port at almost 45°. another sail or motor boat would be able
Ante took the boat ladder out. We both to pull us off that rock. There are no tug
waded around the boat trying to figure out boats in our club or anywhere near on the
take a ‘shortcut’ by turning toward the what mess did we get ourselves into. The lake, as far as we knew.
channel a few hundred yards before bottom here was hard, creating a kind of The only other option was to figure out
reaching lateral buoys marking the small plateau, with some larger rocks here how to get the boat back to deeper
entrance to La Passe channel. We knew and there. Ceilidh’s keel was wedged
from experience there should be enough between two big boulders, which were ABOUT THE AUTHOR
water under our keel here except in now holding the boat from both sides. If
periods of extremely low water levels. we’d tried on purpose to park the boat this Zoran Glozinic is
That was the mistake. way, I doubt we could have done it! a retired business
In our defence, it’s almost impossible to We tried to rock the hull and it did move professional who has
judge the water level there as the shore is a bit which was good: the keel was sitting been messing around
coming down in very gently slope, so a on rock, but it was not tightly wedged. with boats and old cars
one or two foot drop in water level is not The Tanzer 22 has a cast iron keel, so we all his life. He currently
easily noticed by looking at the shore were not too concerned about keel lives in Laval, Quebec,
features. The water levels in Lake St Louis damage but we did not know if the where he divides his free time
are affected by changes in St Lawrence keel-to-hull joint was compromised or if the between a good old English bilge-keel
River flow which is managed by Canadian keel bolts were damaged on impact. boat and an 18-year-old Saab car.
and USA authorities, in order to provide We realized there was no immediate

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 77

 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

Lake St Louis, a part of

the St Lawrence River, is
usually teeming with boats
in the summer

Megapress/Alamy
water by ourselves. We decided to look at I was slowly letting go the anchor rode When we arrived back at our club we
this in a positive way: the situation while Ante went with the anchor toward quickly arranged for Ceilidh to be lifted out
presented an unexpected opportunity to deeper water, retracing our course before of the water. Although there were no signs
transform some theoretical knowledge into we ran aground. I was almost out of rode of water in bilges, we wanted to check the
action, and to see if it would work out. when the water reached his shoulders. He keel damage and see if any separation
The St Louis Lake is not tidal, so we spent some time wedging the anchor would be visible on the hull-to-keel joint.
could not wait for a high tide. We could not under some big rocks. I pulled the end of Much to our pleasure, there was almost
hang something from the mast head and the rode through the bridle block and took no visible damage to Ceilidh, save for a
lean the boat more – in order to reduce the a few turns on the winch. I slowly few deep scratches on cast iron keel. The
draught – because the keel was wedged tensioned the anchor rode. next morning, before Ceilidh was lowered
between rocks at permanent angle. That back to water, we did some quick sanding,
means we had only one option to try – to Winching off filled the scratches with epoxy filler and
free Ceilidh by kedging her off. Ante came back and went in front of the applied antifouling paint to areas where it
We went back to the water to find out if boat, just in case the rode would snap. I got scraped off. The proper repair and
we should try to pull her by the bow or asked him to hang on to the bow, to metal protection was done that same fall,
stern. It was soon obvious there was only counteract the tendency of the stern to when the season was over.
one way out and it was not the best one. squat – as I started pulling the boat
Going forward would not work: even if we backwards. I started to winch slowly. The
managed to pull the keel forward between rode got really taut and suddenly lost LESSONS LEARNED
the boulders, the plateau on which we tension. The boat rocked a bit. Ante went
were aground was getting shallower in that to check what happened – the anchor got Q Running aground can happen in a
direction. We had no choice but to pull free. So he again wedged the anchor wide spectrum of circumstances:
Ceilidh backwards. under some rocks and came back. from gently coming to stop on some
Ante volunteered to wade out with the This time the anchor did hold. Inch by shallow sand or a mud bar to really
anchor. Meanwhile I rigged a rope bridle inch I winched Ceilidh toward deeper hard grounding on a rocky bottom.
between the two stern mooring cleats with water. She was slowly getting more and The weather often plays a role in
a single block in the middle. My idea was more upright, until the moment when she such an event, resulting in outcomes
to try to keep the pulling effort along the finally floated free. Oh, the sweet smell of from no hull scratches at all, to
boat’s centerline as much as possible. success! witnessing your boat being broken to
Ante went to dislodge pieces on a rocky lee shore. We were
the anchor but returned very lucky in many ways: the weather
Ante Jeric’s empty-handed, unable to was nice, the lake was warm and the
Tanzer 22 Ceilidh move it. So we lowered wind not too strong. We successfully
the rudder down the stern proved that one can manage to float
and had it back in place a small yacht after running aground.
without much trouble. However, the lesson learned here is
When Ante was back to be more careful and to pay close
aboard I slowly pulled on attention when navigating. And don’t
anchor rode until we were take any shortcuts
over the anchor. Ante
lowered the outboard leg
*Send us your boating experience story and
and started the motor. if it’s published you’ll receive the original Dick
The anchor was freed Everitt-signed watercolour which is printed with
and we motored back to the article. You’ll find PBO’s contact details on
our club. page 5.

78 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

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Practical projects Email your projects and tips to pbo@futurenet.com
Great ideas and tips from PBO readers or write to us at the address at the top of page 5.
We pay at least £30 for each one published

Repairing the 10mm pin and

worn boom
end casting

gooseneck
James Brooking fabricates and fettles
a complicated set of loose joints
A rigging inspection report metric size is 12mm but the
informed me that my boat’s imperial size 7⁄16in is 11.11mm. I
gooseneck toggle and boom’s found that a 7⁄16 bolt would not
forward-end casting were fit into either part, which shows
worn. I enquired about how little wear it takes to make
replacement parts but was told a lot of movement in a complex
they were likely to be joint.
unobtainable. For the vertical pin I chose a
No single element in the 7⁄16 UNC stainless steel bolt with

system was worn to excess, a long enough plain shank to

but in combination there was a accept the toggle. Then I cut it
lot of slack. to length. I could not find a 7⁄16in
Side-on view of boom-end fitting showing how little wear around
The only DIY solution in eye bolt so purchased a 10mm
the pin it takes to start creating problems
cases such as these is to eye bolt and a 7⁄16 UNC thread
replace the fixings with slightly tap and tapped a 7⁄16in thread in
larger diameter pieces and the eye bolt. To secure the carefully reamed the boom- refitted it upside down. I used
then ream out the receiving completed fitting the eye bolt end fitting so the pin would be nylon washers around the
parts to as tight a tolerance as was drilled for a split pin (and a tight sliding fit within it. toggle on the vertical pin to
possible. thread lock will also be used). Both holes of the toggle remove any play. The worn
The toggle connects the A length of plain 7⁄16in bar were reamed to size. lug, of course, is now at the
vertical pin with the horizontal was cut to make the pin for the The mast fitting was worn top and no longer taking the
pin in the gooseneck joint. horizontal (boom-to-toggle) due to the weight of the boom weight of the boom.
Both pins were 10mm joint. I then drilled for the resting on it so I drilled out the The total cost of materials
diameter. The next realistic securing split pin. I then rivets, filed the casting flat and and tools was about £25.

Original and new

gooseneck bolt.
Note the ‘eye’
was 10mm and
required retapping
to accept 11.11mm
(7⁄16in bolt). Also
a split pin was
inserted into the
base of the eye
to go through the
new bolt and out
the other side of
the eye.

Old (above)
and new toggle
pins. Note
slight increase
in diameter of
the new pin

Reaming the boom-end fitting to increase diameter of holes from

a loose 10mm to a tight 11.11mm (7⁄16in)

80 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 The restored and
refabricated gooseneck
assembly Split pin in
eye bolt

Mast fitting was

turned upside
down, note
worn lug is now
at top

New vertical
bolt is
11.11mm
(7⁄16in)

DIY flopper stopper

Michel Gellert sent us this photo from Béhobie on the right bank
of the River Bidassoa – which marks the Franco-Spanish border.
Have you tried this to reduce rolling?
Toggle
reamed
vertically and
horizontally

Nylon
washers
New 11.11mm
to remove
horizontal boom
vertical play
pin in the newly
reamed boom-end
fitting

Refurbished
boom-end
fitting and
toggle Deckwash
Ray Smith keeps it clean
During lockdown I knocked
together a deckwash to wash
mud from the anchor and
mooring ropes. I fitted a 16lt/
min submersible pump to a
piece of waste pipe I had in
the workshop.
Reaming the toggle to fit
the new size pin
I fitted a length of clear
flexible pipe as water sprayer Ladder feet
and an electric cable long Mike Williams finds a
enough to reach the power use for old fenders
socket with a fused plug.
UNC and UNF are symbols of Unified Screw Thread Series, Now I just hang the “Fed up with your
a set of standards agreed on by the USA, Great Britain and contraption on a convenient aluminium ladder
Canada in 1949 to obtain interchangeability. UNC is the cleat, switch on and spray. slipping and scratching
symbol for Unified coarse pitch threads, while UNF is for I usually give it a quick rinse your topsides? Here’s a
fine threads. Source: Yamawa.com in fresh water after use to use for old punctured
clear the salt. fenders.”
Total cost about £30.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 81

 Ask the experts Here’s just a selection of the latest questions from
Got a question? Email pbo@futurenet.com PBO readers. Email or write to the address on
page 5 and our experts will answer your queries

TRAILER-SAILING

Which Reader lee

Dowell plans to
trailer’s weight is to assume
that it will be about 40% of the

trailer- sail on Ullswater

in the Lake
weight of boat it carries –
though this does not apply to
rare aluminium trailers. If the
sailer for District
trailer only has one axle, the
total weight on the axle must
Ullswater? not exceed 1,800kg.
Another arbiter affecting
I am gathering your choice of trail-sail boat is
Q information on trailer
sailers and small cruisers up
the VIN plate in your car that
indicates the maximum trailer
to 23ft LOA with a view to weight the car can begin to

Malkin Photography/Alamy
buying one for use on move up a specified incline.
Ullswater. Can you offer any Likewise, your driving licence
information or advice? may prohibit you from towing
Lee Dowell, via email a trailer with a 23ft boat on it.
If you do not have any
COLIN HAINES RESPONDS hands-on experience with a
If you are seriously trail-sail boat, it may be worth
considering boats at the top thinking of your first purchase
end of your maximum LOA of as a test-bed for your ideas.
23ft, then a membership at the With the weight of a 23ft when there are fleets of After a season or so, you’ll
Ullswater Yacht Club would yacht on a trailer probably perfectly sound 20 to be much wiser about the sort
probably be advisable. being around 1,750kg or 30-year-old boats for sale at of boat that will actually meet
Members enjoy racing and greater, the shingle beaches much lower prices. your needs.
cruising and it possiblu has would offer a severe test for GRP trail-sail boats kept Old trail-sail boats in good
the most useable slipway on even a serious 4x4 ‘tractor’ inland, under cover (in a shed condition barely depreciate,
the lake’s shore line. attempting to move the trailer. or a barn) will fare the best. so acquiring an opinion based
If you’re looking at boats that This is because wheels If a suitable boat advert on a season’s personal
you can launch and recover bearing that sort of weight will catches your eye, try and find experience will not be overly
via one of the public beaches readily sink into the beach. out what the builder stated as costly.
you’d be well advised to look New or second-hand? The the boat’s displacement, but
at smaller and lighter boats. 1990s were probably the last assume that the boat’s true Colin Haines
Note: ‘trailerable’ boats travel time that most builders could weight is greater. is a design
on trailers that lack recovery make a small profit when The weight of a trailer is engineer who has
winches, and need the selling trail-sail boats for proportionate to the size of trailer-sailed for 25
services of a boatyard to be affordable prices. It’s not easy boat it carries. A reasonable years
launched and recovered. to sell a new trail-sail boat ‘rule of thumb’ guess about a

GUEST EXPERT Margaret Norris, senior dinghy Instructor

I learned to sail in my forties age you are) if you still have instructions and advice but I also get
and became a senior sailing good mobility, enough to towards the end of the asked: ‘How
instructor at Hengistbury move easily around the boat. course, he and another pupil can I get
Head Outdoor Education The oldest person I’ve taught were competent and my child
Centre in Dorset at 55 and is a man of 82, who had had a confident enough to sail by interested
RYA Senior Instructor of the lifelong ambition to learn but themselves with the instructor in sailing?’
Year at 60. Now aged 72, I’m had only, for lots of different now in the nearby safety boat. We offer children’s courses
still enjoying teaching others reasons, just made the time to He was able to sail on all starting when they are 8 years
this wonderful sport. One of give it a go! He started his points of a triangular course, old, which is old enough to
the questions I get asked is: RYA L1 course of 16 hours in upwind, downwind and balance super enthusiasm with
‘Am I too old to learn to sail?’ a Wayfarer (a 15ft dinghy) with across the wind and could the ability to concentrate, while
The answer is no (whatever the instructor on board to give help to rig and derig the boat. strong enough to help with

82 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 ENGINES THE PBO EXPERTS
To ask a question email
Marinising starter motors pbo@futurenet.com and
include your address.
Any ideas as to how to swift and sudden. protector: it is I believe mostly
Q make a marine inboard
starter less likely to rust up
In my experience marinised
(whatever that means!)
made up of white spirit which
evaporates, so good for short
BOATBUILDING
Tony Davies has been
building and repairing
and stop working? I have a electrical components for our term use and removal of boats for more than 40 years
Nicholson 38 with a Perkins engines are the exception dampness but not long-term
CRUISING
4108. The starter recently rather than the rule. The only protection.
Stuart Carruthers is the RYA
rusted up enough to stop difference that I have ever Kurust? Depends where the
Cruising Manager and has
operating only three weeks seen as a sop to the marine rust is. If on the outside sailed extensively
after being professionally environment is that on some casing, yes, followed by
cleaned. No water inside the Volvo Pentas they used a Hammerite. Internally I’d use ELECTRICS
bell housing either. My non-grounded earthing 3-in-1 spray or similar that has Duncan Kent tests yachts
Femsa may be an old starter, system whereby the alternator a light lubricant in it. Do not and equipment and writes for
but it’s surely marinised. and starter motor had a use a heavy lube, it will the marine media
Any ideas as to any negative lead instead of using eventually jam the sliding
ELECTRONICS
marinising I can do myself? the body as negative. This is solenoid bits.
Andy Haines is a retired
Kurust? WD40 etc? to isolate the propulsion gear Also I am not impressed by director of Greenham-Regis
John Tyler in the sea water electrically. the lube sprays that have marine electronics company
by email So to your issue. A few years flooded the market that
back I know that starter contain silicone. ENGINES
STU DAVIES REPLIES: motors were getting hard to Stu Davies has a background
Electric degreasing agents find for the 4 series Perkins. in engineering in the coal and
Stu Davies has
that are used in cleaning Your Femsa starter is, I oil industries
a background in
starter motors can strip off assume, an after-market item, engineering in
GAS FITTING
protective oils, which means which perhaps appeared as a the coal and oil
Peter Spreadborough of
that when put in to our salty result of the shortage. WD40 is industries
SoCal has 20 years in the gas
environment rusting can be no good as a long term industry

MASTS & RIGS

BATTERIES Mike Coates worked in the
spar and rigging business
for many years
Solar set-up: series or parallel? PAINT & ANTIFOULING
Richard Jerram is former
In the May 2020 issue
Q a reader’s letter from
John Epton in Lincoln
8 PANEL WIRING: 4 SERIES PAIRS TO PARALLEL
UK technical manager for
International Paint

described how he had PANEL 1 PANEL 3 PANEL 5 PANEL 7 SAILS

installed his eight solar Wilf Chaplin of the
panels in such a way as to International OneSails loft
combine the benefits of PANEL 2 PANEL 4 PANEL 6 PANEL 8
group is an expert on sails
series with the benefits of
parallel connections. SEA SAFETY
Could your electrics expert Keith Colwell is the author
Connecting pairs of panels in of the RYA Sea Survival
create a diagram? series, then paralleling the pairs has Handbook
Kim Harman CHARGE been a good working compromise
CONTROLLER for one PBO reader
Algarve, Portugal SEALING AND BONDING
Gareth Ross is Sika UK’s
marine market field specialist

SURVEY & CORROSION

Colin Brown runs a marine
survey and consultancy
holding equipment for rigging. You’re
company, CB Marine Services
There isn’t a structured RYA never too
course for this age group (that old to start TOILETS & PLUMBING
starts when they are 10) and dinghy Karl Sutcliffe of Lee
the emphasis is on water sailing
RYA/Paul Wyeth

Sanitation knows all about

confidence and enjoyment. plumbing on boats
Unlike adults, who generally
like to be on top of the water TRAILER-SAILING
and fear capsizing, the Colin Haines is a design
engineer who has
instructors’ problem with
trailer-sailed for 25 years
children is trying to keep them
out of the water long enough three, or even four in a boat age for company and support YACHT DESIGN
to teach them to sail! At depending on their size and and the more timid get great Andrew Blyth is a naval
Hengistbury we teach them in the weather conditions. They confidence from watching architect with interest in
Hartley 10’s, with maybe two, love having others of their own how others cope. stability and buoyancy

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 83

 SECTION

Cruising Notes We pay for your published cruising stories and

Readers’ cruising destinations, near and far harbour updates. Email pbo@futurenet.com or
write to the address at the top of page 5

Palm Harbor
Marina at West
Palm Beach,
Florida

Finding Florida
The Pattison family were in for a shock when they
left their quiet lockdown Caribbean island behind

hat a month this has been! We bedtime reading. the renowned Chris Parker. As a family

W are now 30 miles south of

Cape Hatteras and about to
pull in to Moorhead City, North
Life became much more relaxed once
we’d made the decision to join the
American Salty Dawg rally from Antigua
boat with two young kids we were
permitted a few ‘rest’ stops through the
Bahamas, which we took and enjoyed. It
Carolina, for a pit stop. up to Florida. They were fantastic at was a shame not to be able to explore
After spending lockdown on a desert organising our transits through the further, but it has whet our appetites for
island in Barbuda with eight other boats Bahamas (an otherwise bureaucratic
(see PBO August 2020), it was time to nightmare) and provided other valuable
move on. There were many teary resources such as weather routing from
goodbyes, as cruising friends departed on
their long journeys back to Europe. For
some, this was always the plan, but others
had to make this tough decision in light of
recent world events, no doubt making this
gritty journey harder to prepare for.
Tracking our pals through the Predict
Wind tracker, where boats can upload
blogs via sat comms, made tough reading ABOVE Under
lucky-photographer/Alamy

at times. The frustrating wind and weather spinnaker in 3m of

conditions made us feel lucky to still be water in the
this side of the Atlantic. Bahamas.
On board Alisara, our Moody 47, we LEFT The beautiful
decided to head north to the USA for Bahamas were a
hurricane season. The prospect of great rest stop
exploring the Chesapeake Bay and
perhaps further north made for exciting

84 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

 CRUISING NOTES
BELOW Cape Lookout, just south of Hatteras, North Carolina RIGHT A runaround and
stretch at Hogsty Reef in the southern Bahamas BELOW RIGHT Tuna for dinner

next season. What we did see blew our clothing, which had
minds. The clear water, the wildlife, the become so tatty. We were
deserted beaches! having shoe dramas as
The 1,000-mile sail from Antigua to West nobody has worn
Palm Beach in Florida was pleasant and anything on their feet
luckily uneventful. Sailing in 3.5m of water apart from flippers for the
whilst trucking along under spinnaker was last three months, and
exhilarating. We had the most brilliant the last time Arthur had
welcome into West Palm Beach from our new underpants was in
friends who live there. An escort through Florida four years ago on
the inlet and supper on board with plenty our last trip! The poor
of news to catch up on from the last two things looked like street
years. Perfection! urchins. A reflection of my
Robert Harding/Alamy

frugality probably going a uncomfortable and miserable ride, hence

Shock to the system bit too far... the stop. This means that we will try to cut
Our week in Florida has been such a With the availability of new parts, out the cape altogether by going inland
shock to the system. The buildings, cars, Douglas replaced the pumps on our up the Intracoastal Waterway. The only
endless people and bustle despite social watermaker, increasing the output snag is that the guidebook states the air
distancing and lockdown. That said, after dramatically. This is very exciting as we draught of the bridges is 65ft. Our
months in the wilderness we were can recover our daily water usage in a handbook says our air draught is 64½ft
incredibly grateful for luxuries. We had couple, rather than several hours. We also – eek!! Tomorrow’s job is to go up the
some boat parts to order (of course!) and invested in new jib sheets and fixed our mast with a tape measure to check
the provisioning was wonderful. I nearly spinnaker pole. exactly. I am not sure my nerves will be
whooped for joy when Douglas returned Our aim is now to explore the able to take such a small clearance. Even
from the shops with kale and asparagus. Chesapeake Bay and possibly head going up the mast to eyeball our way
We must have looked a sight though, as further north if time and weather permit. under might be too risky, so we will let you
our friend bundled me into the car and We were going to head straight around know what we decide to do. If we cannot
dropped me outside a clothes shop to Cape Hatteras, however the breeze is cut out the cape, it is a 200 mile sail
replace various items of the children’s turning to the north so it would be an around into Norfolk, Virginia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dodging squalls –

radar helps keep
track of them

Hermione Pattison is sailing around

the world with husband Douglas and
two children Alice (6) and Arthur (8) on
board their Moody 47, Alisara.

Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk 85

 MARINE DIRECTORY To advertise call +44 (0) 7989 428596 or email:Chris.wilson@ti-media.com

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86 Practical Boat Owner October 2020 • www.pbo.co.uk

To advertise call +44 (0) 7989 428596 or email: Chris.wilson@ti-media.com MARINE DIRECTORY

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Practical Boat Owner October 2020 • www.pbo.co.uk 87

 MARINE DIRECTORY To advertise call +44 (0) 7989 428596 or email:Chris.wilson@ti-media.com

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88 Practical Boat Owner October 2020 • www.pbo.co.uk

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Practical Boat Owner October 2020 • www.pbo.co.uk 89

Dick Everitt’s tips for anchoring small motorboats
A. Tiny side decks can make carrying the
anchor forward quite hazardous in choppy
conditions.
A B. To avoid using the side decks, some B
designs have a small forehatch so anchoring
can be done more safely through that.

C. Shiny decks with small pulpits can be

made more secure with stanchions, wire
and some non-slip paint.
C D. If it’s too awkward to fit a pulpit, why not
copy some workboats and rig a central grab D
rail down the foredeck.

E. Or anchor from the cockpit. Rig a short

line from the bow and attach it to near the
end of the anchor cable. Keep the tail end of
the cable in the cockpit and ease it out from E
there until the bow line takes the load.

F G H

F. A small cathead keeps the anchor off the stem and lets the anchor self-stow.
G. Special rock-and-roll stemhead fittings can be made to do the same thing.
H. A heavy pawl on the bow roller will hold the chain while you catch your breath.

I
I. ‘Walkaround’ deck layouts lose a bit of cabin space but
make anchoring and mooring much safer.

J. If you rig a kedge anchor to keep you off the beach, mark the cable to warn people
who might pass close across your stern.
K

K. Some motorboats yaw about at anchor and snatch at the cable. A steadying sail
should reduce this and maintain a constant pull on the anchor so it stays well dug in. Of
course, a mast only suits some designs, but it does make a good home for things like a
radar and lights – and the boom could make a handy crane to lift heavy kit aboard.

90 Practical Boat Owner • www.pbo.co.uk

PERFORMANCE HYBRID
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