Indholdsfortegnelse for Jul-2018 i Practical Boat Owner

Sailors are being encouraged to visit Belgium this summer following the announcement there will be no fines or penalties for UK vessels visiting the country which have UK marine red diesel in their tanks – at least for the time being. The Cruising Association (CA) received confirmation of the move by the Belgian Finance Office, but stressed that 100% fuel duty must still be paid on all red diesel which is purchased before a trip to Belgium. Boaters must keep printed and signed receipts as evidence duty has been paid for Customs inspections. In its notice, the Belgian Finance Office said: ‘The policy of tolerance regarding red diesel in UK-flagged yachts visiting Belgium will be maintained until further notice. Any change to this policy will be communicated in due time.’…

Six years ago, Pete and Jan Dearden bought Twenty Twenty, a Gib’Sea 100 Serena, on ebay without a survey or any knowledge of how to sail. After a six-month spell cruising in France, they hatched a plan to cross the Atlantic as part of the ARC+. They let out their house and moved aboard in Portland Harbour to make final preparations before heading south, across Biscay, around Finisterre and then on to Portugal. The couple learned lessons along the way but crucially gained the confidence to handle whatever the sea could throw at them. Here, Pete takes up the story… To Porto Santo After 16 days’ enjoying the Algarve’s Mediterranean climate, and a visit from our son James, it was time to set sail once more – this time, to…

After many years of ocean sailing I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that on the open sea you cannot rely on anyone else to be keeping a lookout. After a number of close-quarters situations with commercial vessels in daylight hours, I am sure that on a couple of occasions there has been no one on the bridge of the other vessel or, if there was, they were immersed in some other task and paying no attention at all to what was going on round about them. I’m sure there are lots of well-run ships on which the highest standards prevail, but I am also sure that there are many on which they do not. It seems that now we are truly in the grip of the electronic age, radar…

A new range of lightweight, stylish jackets from Zhik is designed to keep the wind off while remaining stretchy and breathable. The outer layer features a breathable, light two-layer laminate fabric with fully taped seams. The sleeves are lined with taffeta to make the jacket easier to put on and take off. The interior features synthetic fleece for warmth in some areas and mesh to improve air circulation in others, while cuffs are lined with water-repellent Avlare fabric – a cross between neoprene and fleece. Stowage includes an internal and external chest pocket with fleece lined, zipped hand-warmers for comfort. Price: from £115. www.zhik.com…

Whitstable, a picturesque working harbour on the North Kent coast, had an established fishing and boatbuilding industry when the railways came in the 19th century, growing the population and adding to the holiday trade. Soon the community boasted three boatyards: Collars; Anderson, Rigden and Perkins; and R J Perkins established by Richard John Perkins around 1918 on Island Wall. The mainstay of Whitstable’s marine industry during the early 1900s was the repair and manufacture of fishing boats as well as the design and construction of various leisure craft. In 1937 R J Perkins was commissioned to build a 37ft pilot cutter using clinker construction techniques with oak frames and teak planking. Called Nayland, after a village in the Stour Valley in Suffolk, she was to be used in the waters…

The International 2.4mR class has been gaining interest worldwide over the last few years. However, many potential sailors are put off joining the class by the relatively high price of new professionally built boats. The designs previously available for home build featured round bilge construction utilising the strip plank method which is time consuming, and requires quite a high level of skill to obtain a fair hull. So the class proposed a set of criteria to encourage a design evolution, demanding a complete set of plans and documentation to ensure a fair and symmetric boat could be produced from sheet material (plywood, foam-core or anything else) on a small budget without specialist tools that would still be good enough for competitive racing. A chined design would make it easier to…

Having been almost run down by a container ship in the Black Deep, in the outer Thames Estuary, I’ve fitted an Echomax active radar responder plus an AIS transponder. The AIS is less for notifying ships of my position, more so I can see them and have details of their course and speed. It also tells my wife via Marine Traffic Online where I am. Ships have called me up from time to time, as have the coastguard and Dover port control. The Echomax has a switch which when turned on in less populated waters will bleep when painted by radar thus alerting me to the presence of another vessel. I have not found the need to place either unit up the mast, choosing instead to place them on smaller…

When Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki crew landed on Raroia in 1947 they met a very sick child. Six-year-old Haumata had an abscess on his head the size of a fist and was close to death. Heyerdahl’s team treated the boy, and he survived. Seventy years later PBO contributor Mel Parish landed on the atoll, and to his surprise met Haumata himself. “He was a bit of a local hero. The islanders like to fetch him whenever they have visitors,” says Mel, whose Pacific crossing is featured on page 38 of this issue. “He’s an old man now but really fit.” Heyerdahl (33 at the time) set out to prove that Polynesia could have been settled by indigenous South Americans. After a 101-day crossing from Peru on balsawood raft Kon-Tiki,…

Now’s the time to take advantage of good-value berthing at Alcaidesa Marina on the Strait of Gibraltar, says PBO engines expert Stu Davies. “It’s the cheapest around for monohulls and certainly good for cats now,” says Stu. “It’s where I’m berthed and is a good safe marina, clean and tidy and serviced pontoons instead of slime lines!” Located in La Linea, southern Andalucia, the 624-berth marina is at the foot of the Sierra Carbonera, and close to the Rock of Gibraltar. At the time of going to press, Alcaidesa Marina is offering annual berthing for catamarans at monohull prices. Prices start from €3,584 for a 6.5m vessel. For more information, see www.alcaidesamarina.com.…

Jude Massey, the world’s youngest person to row the Atlantic in a two-man team, made a return visit to Beaulieu in April to open the 41st annual Boatjumble. The 19-year-old opened the event by ringing a ship’s bell mounted on oak from the Beaulieu Estate in Hampshire. “I’m very, very excited to be here, because this is the first show we did during our fundraising,” he told PBO. During the 53-day crossing, Jude and his brother Greg Bailey lost their GPS, watermaker and autohelm, so had to manually steer for the entire voyage. “We had a domino stack of errors that were devastating, but Greg and I pushed through it and we’re very happy to be back on dry land,” said Jude. “In the first week I was really homesick.…

Send us your local news stories. Email PBO news editor Katy Stickland at pbo@timeinc.com, tel: 01252 555213, or write to the address on page 5 SOUTH COAST AND CHANNEL ISLANDS MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR GOSPORT’S HASLAR MARINA New breakwater pontoons and 50 deep-water berths could be installed at Gosport’s Haslar Marina in Hampshire if redevelopment plans are approved. Currently going through the planning permission process, the redevelopment by Dean & Reddyhoff also includes a new powerboat centre with an upgraded public slipway with pontoon for launching an recovering powerboats, and a specialist repair and service centre providing boatyard and engineering services. A new team base is also planned for Alex Thomson Racing, as well as a new clubhouse, with a marine bar/restaurant, and 28 additional car parking spaces. The redevelopment…

If you want to sail with your whole family, change cruising grounds and enjoy the convenience of trailing your boat back home for winter, a bigger boat is probably the order of the day. Remember, though, that any increase in boat size will almost certainly mean higher running costs. And a bigger, heavier boat needs a stronger trailer and a more powerful car to tow it, so you might find you need to upgrade to a 4x4 or similar and accept the associated costs of running such a beast. If you prefer to launch and recover from a slipway yourself then you need to look for a boat specifically designed to do just that. All the ‘new’ boats reviewed here have been developed specifically for launching directly off a trailer.…

When Alfred died in Gloucester at the age of 82 his indomitable dory Centennial was away from home. After touring food fairs, she sat on a wharf for many years before enduring the humiliation of becoming a flowerbed in a hotel! Eventually she returned to Gloucester for an arts festival in 1955. Thankfully the residents were not going to let her go, and the dory was finally put on permanent display at the Cape Ann Museum where she can still be seen today. Traditionally the Gloucester fishing dories were open, but Alfred had the deck boarded over on the boat he had built for his Atlantic crossing. He had a tiny cockpit area towards the stern and a midships hatch to access his stores. Although Centennial is small, he clearly must have had faith in…

Modern life is so dependent on people looking for reassurance from others – from friends, family and social media. Believe in yourself and you can spend many happy hours alone, or with one companion, as I discovered on my crossing from New Zealand to the Marquesas. My friend Colin Porteous and I sailed 4,000 nautical miles via the Roaring Forties in his Moody 54, Endorphin Beta. Here are my log entries of the 23-day crossing to the Austral Islands: Saturday 18 February My wife Anna left for home today, boy that was tough! After two fabulous weeks in New Zealand, sailing round the islands, and a beautiful week in the campervan together, we finally had to say goodbye. She cried herself to sleep two nights ago. I know how worried…

There are a significant challenges facing the trailer-sailer getting to and from the water, not least of which is hoisting and lowering the mast. First featured in PBO late in 2017, the Balpha Mast is a carbon fibre mast that pivots within a stainless steel housing. The mast slides through a pivoting collar attached to the housing about a metre off the deck, but it’s the clever mechanics in the mast-foot slide that make the whole contraption easily manageable for the single-handed sailor. To lower it, the mast foot gently slides to the forward end of the gutter-shaped carbon slide, which is then, itself, gently released from a line direct to the foredeck to complete the aftward tilt. The now horizontal mast is supported at the bow and at the…

You WILL meet tribulation, all the worse for being solo. Accept that; don’t fret about it before you depart. Remember the five P’s: ‘preparation prevents piss poor performance’ and you will be better able to handle tribulation. You will also encourage the support of fickle ‘lady luck’ who we all need sometimes. Much of the standard kit aboard small modern cruising boats isn’t designed for heavy duty use. Carry spares, check your boat regularly, reef early and relax. Enjoy your triumphs, don’t dwell on the trials and you’ll be in better mental shape to handle the bad times. Don’t underestimate yourself. Weaknesses – yours and the boat’s – can be overcome, so rejoice in your achievements no matter how modest.…

Entertaining in the cockpit on a warm evening is one of the joys of sailing, especially in the Algarve and Mediterranean where I cruise my yacht. But setting up good cockpit lighting invariably means trailing leads from plugs to overhead lights, which always seem to get in the way and get damaged easily, or you have to rely on battery-powered units which need fresh batteries regularly. I set out to resolve this with some of the latest breed of waterproof solar-powered floodlights that are readily available at a reasonable cost. I used a LitOm 24 LED wide angle light which is rated at 526 lumens and is waterproof to IP65, but different types and sizes are available. The LitOm unit has three lighting modes: medium light mode, dim light sensor…

Step by step The boat we’re repairing is a 15ft Fletcher speedboat that was bought secondhand by a couple new to boating. Unfortunately they became the victims of an unscrupulous dealer who was quite happy to sell a boat with serious hull defects that meant it very nearly sank on its first trip out with them. Evidently we still have to be wary of rip-off merchants in this day and age. I became involved while looking for a suitable boat on which to base this feature. Fortunately, I was able to right the wrong perpetrated on these newcomers, thanks to the generosity of Wessex Resins, who supplied the materials and one of their top experts to perform much of the work while I simply stood back and took the pictures!…

I pinched this idea from the Figaro class (short-handed ocean racing yachts). My topping lift is led aft from the base of the mast, but I did not want to drill extra holes for the jam cleat, so I wrapped a Dyneema cord around the winch base and spliced it to an aluminium plate via two stainless steel thimbles. Holding the front edge is a pair of thin lines, which are clamped under a couple of the existing cleats. Under the alloy plate I have fixed two small rubber door stops to prevent the nuts marking the deck. A cam cleat is bolted to the plate, and there’s an eye on the ‘out’ side to stop the line jumping off. It all lines up with the winch so if I…

Dorset Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the circumstances that led to a man being crushed to death when his yacht fell on top of him at Weymouth Sailing Club. Kevin Keeler, 56, was working on the 29ft Westerly GK29, Ginny Kwik, which was in a metal cradle, when the incident happened on 16 April. Paramedics tried to save Keeler, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. In a statement, the commodore of Weymouth Sailing Club, Euan McNair, praised the emergency services, and said club members had been shocked by the tragedy. ‘The whole sailing club is obviously devastated at this tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the families concerned,’ he said. He stated that Ginny Kwik had been out of the water for around…

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has drawn up a list of 40 locations which it believes could be at risk due to insufficient use, including the Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (pictured). Those who visit just 20 locations on the list will qualify for a special plaque as part of the IWA’s Silver Propeller Challenge. www.pbo.co.uk Visit the PBO website to find more free practical content, watch videos from last year’s Beaulieu Boat Jumble Ask the experts Live, or wade into the reader forums and get your questions answered.…

Email pbo@timeinc.com or write to us at the address on page 5. Photos are appreciated, letters may be edited. Smitten by the Western Skiff Am I the only one trying to find out if plans/kits are still available for The Western Skiff – the beautiful boat featured in ‘A man’s best friend’ in PBO June 2018? Andy Phillips, Milford on Sea, Hampshire Editor replies: We understand from the designer, Nigel Irens, that although the boat was never sold on the open market he does get fairly frequent enquiries – we may have more soon… watch this space. V signal for safety? Readers may recall the letter from Simon Neal in PBO May 2018 issue asking if anyone could help identify an ancient piece of electronics fitted to his boat (see…

When he came ashore at the tiny beach in Abercastle, West Wales, they said he looked like a ‘living skeleton.’ He had been at sea for 56 days in a small wooden dory with a waterline length of only 16ft. The shallow draught boat with a simple boarded deck had survived storms and a ferocious gale which capsized it. The 29-year-old at the helm was Alfred ‘Centennial’ Johnson and he had just sailed alone for 3,000 miles from America. He was the first man to sail single-handed across the Atlantic from west to east. It’s a remarkable story, but one not widely known. I first came across it in a book on the mantelpiece of a holiday cottage not far from Abercastle. The self-published paperback was entitled Alfred “Centennial” Johnson…

After completing my cruise of St Malo and the Channel Islands in New Dawn, my Hunter Horizon 26, I was waiting in Jersey for a break in the weather. The last few days had dealt Force 6-7 north-westerlies – not ideal for the return passage to Plymouth. Though I’d had a friend join me for the outward Channel crossing to Guernsey, I’d been singlehanded for the rest of the cruise and needed to get back to my mooring at Saltash, on the river Tamar. The forecast at last promised a break, with westerlies and possibly south-westerlies, Force 4-5. Around the south-west corner of Jersey from St Helier would be rough but once around it I could expect a good slingshot from the spring tides past Guernsey. I left at 1930…

Some years ago I made a film for the Broads Authority promoting this wonderful wetland. I’ve sailed here for 20 years and written children’s books set in the area. I know that in the height of summer the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads can become busy and bustling, but within the 125 miles of lock-free, navigable waterways, there are still places where you can find a little peace and some open water, if you know where to look. The gateway guarding some of the quieter corners of the Northern Broads is the Potter Heigham Bridge on the River Thurne. It’s old, low and unforgiving. There’s a clearance at average high water in the summer of around 1.9m or 6ft 6in. The Broads Authority has a list of bridge heights and tide…

Time 4 days Cost £250 Saving £1,500+ Degradation of the foam or balsa in cored decks is a common problem, especially in boats built before the mid-1990s. Given that the alternative is a huge amount of extra weight and expense, almost every glassfibre boat, irrespective of its age, has a cored deck. Failure is most often noticed as movement or a spongy feel in the top layer of the laminate when you walk on it. It’s important to recognise this as a structural issue – a thicker laminate is enormously stiffer than a thin one, even if the core material doesn’t inherently possess a great deal of strength. However, the core must remain in good condition and stay bonded to the glassfibre. If not, the two sides of the laminate…

Motor-sailing close-hauled in the wheelhouse, sipping tea while all around other yachts are heeled over taking spray and waves over the top, I often feel rather pleased with myself (you might even say smug). When the biggest effort for me is switching on the screen wipers, it’s obvious that our Macwester Wight doesn’t need two cavernous hanging lockers to dry our oilskins! Located forward of the main bulkhead, each locker is about 40in (1.0m) deep and conceals a standing rigging knee at its far end. I had already put in two shelves on the port side locker which were accessible via the full-height side door, but anything which worked its way to the back of the shelf – gloves, socks etc – was lost forever. On the starboard side, I…

Q i have a Leisure 27 with a Volvo MD5a engine and saildrive that has given up the ghost, so i need a replacement. Companies are eager to offer me a new engine, but £5,500 to buy and fit sounds a lot on a boat i paid £8,500 for five years ago. Can you suggest a used engine that would fit my boat? Tony Finnegan-Butler, by email STUART DAVIES REPLIES: The Volvo MD5a is a bit long in the tooth now and spares are getting more and more difficult to find. The big issue is the saildrive – whichever engine you find will need to have an adapter plate made to mate it up to the saildrive unit. Also, be aware that buying second-hand is fraught with danger. The question…

Q I have a Furuno GP32 GPS that feeds a Simrad AIS, Raymarine chartplotter, ICOM SSB and VHF radios. I inherited it with the boat, a 1990 Rustler 36 bought in October 2015 and currently in Rodney Bay, St Lucia. I think the GPS is 15-20 years old and works fine, but the other instruments are not receiving the feed. I am not aware of any specific event on board that might have triggered the feed failure. Charles Griffiths Winchester ANDY HAINES REPLIES: Firstly, the Simrad AIS (assuming it is a transceiver) should have its own GPS antenna. If it is a receive-only unit, it doesn’t need a GPS feed as such – the location is being derived from within the plotter. Therefore, the Furuno GP32 is feeding NMEA0183 to…