Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Practical Boat Owner

The Cruising Association (CA) is calling on sailors to back its campaign for reciprocal visa-free travel arrangements post Brexit. It said currently the UK is offering EU citizens visa-free travel for six months out of 12 from 1 January 2021. The EU is offering the standard Schengen agreement, which would allow UK citizens to visit the EU for only 90 days in 180. This would be an unwelcome restriction to cruising in EU countries,” said a CA spokesperson. “The UK government, having previously indicated they would seek parity are now saying that they don’t expect the EU to offer more and that they don’t intend to make this part of the negotiations.” The CA’s Regulations and Technical Services committee is investigating what individual countries might offer in terms of longer…

Boat testing is fun. But testing in the Ionian under an October sun is even better. Quite a few years ago I was invited to join a flotilla as part of an assignment to test the Jaguar 27. I jumped at the chance, despite never having been on a flotilla holiday and, in my ignorance, dismissing the whole notion as being ‘for beginners’. Put simply, flotillas are great fun, totally stress-free sailing for crews of greater or lesser experience alike; and the Jaguar 27 is one of the most successful early GRP cruisers of its size. A well maintained example can offer great value for money. The company we sailed with in Greece, Sailing Holidays, started life in the 1970s as the Flotilla Sailing Club offering flotilla holidays aboard a…

QUESTION: 'Why are there competing different electronic buses on boating instruments? Surely USB is ubiquitous; faster and effective and ‘universal’? Mike Greenland, Wimborne, Dorset That’s a very good question and it’s not the first time I’ve been asked to explain the different interface protocols used in the marine industry. The good news is that although there are several protocols currently in use, these have come about mainly for historic reasons (more on that later) and over the next few years we’ll see most disappear. These days NMEA 2000 dominates the market for sharing basic navigational data such as position, speed, depth, heading etc. However, this does not include video data, such as chart or radar displays, which requires a faster protocol such as Ethernet. The NMEA 2000 interfacing standard is…

I bought my 1987 Moody 31 MkII in September 2017 and still remember the excitement of flying down with a friend from Edinburgh to Southampton for the day to view her. Tidecatcher, or TC as she is now affectionately known, was well appointed and, for her age, in generally good condition. The Volvo Penta 2003 engine, although original (yes Volvo launched its 2000 series in the 1980s), seemed to run well under test and, as an added bonus, it came with a one year warranty. And sure enough, the 30-year-old engine served me well, including, in my first season as owner, a 740-mile return trip through the Caledonian Canal to the west coast of Scotland from my home berth at the Royal Forth Yacht Club in Edinburgh. However, to reduce…

Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre has been sitting quietly on Christchurch Harbour since 1964, so quietly in fact that, until a sign was placed at the road entrance, even some locals didn’t know it was there. Who would know that thousands of people of all ages have passed through its doors learning to sail? Who would know that one of those people was me. I was working as a lab technician at Highcliffe School in the late 1980s and one of the teachers asked if I’d help him on a regular basis with his group of pupils that he was teaching to sail at Hengistbury. I thought he was mad, as I was from landlocked Manchester and had hardly ever been in a boat. I certainly couldn’t sail but I…

CRUISING Brittania on the radio waves Q I keep a Dutch-flagged 11m motor cruiser on the inland waterways of the Netherlands where I used to live and work. I have a UK issued CEVNI certificate and a UK Ship Radio Licence. In anticipation of moving to the UK I purchased a new ship’s VHF radio and had it configured for use within the EU so I could cruise my boat through Belgium and France to Calais before coming across the Channel, but have not yet fitted it. I have now decided to keep my boat in the Netherlands but want to fit my UK purchased and registered VHF radio. Is that going to be possible? Kevin Smith, by email STUART CARRUTHERS REPLIES: When a Ship Radio Licence is issued to…

Knowing how much weight you are towing is important. To find out you can either fill your boat with all her gear and take her to a local weigh bridge, or use the bathroom scales like this… 1. Chock the wheels and level the boat.2. Place the scales under the jockey wheel.3. Measure the distance (D).4. Make a note of the weight (W).5. Slide the boat back a short distance on its trailer (d).6. Note the new reading on the scales (w).7. The boat’s weight equals (D/d) x W-w). Example: (3,370mm/122mm) x (27kg-13.5kg) -- 27.62 x 13.5 -- 373kg Tips: Stick masking tape on the trailer to mark how far the boat has moved back (d). If the boat won’t push back on the trailer, re-rig the winch line and…

Seas around England and Northern Ireland could receive greater protection as a result of a new review by former environment minister Richard Benyon. The Benyon Review has recommended establishing Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in inshore and offshore English waters and offshore Northern Irish waters. Scottish and Welsh seas are managed by their own devolved governments. HPMAs are the strongest form of marine protection. Activities such as anchoring and mooring are banned, unless in emergency situations. Navigation through HPMAs is allowed, but subject to speed and noise restrictions. Dredging and fishing are also prohibited. There are currently 182 designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in England, which include the marine conservation zones. The review argues that many activities, like dredging, still occur in MPAs, and stronger protection is needed if marine…

An easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions from 4 July has allowed boaters to start staying overnight on their vessels in England. Charter companies are also able to freely operate, but must take precautions around safe practice, like extra cleaning. British Marine said it understood overnight stays were allowed in England ‘provided the marina their boat is kept in and/or the marina they are visiting is open and operating as COVID-secure.’ It recommended checking with a marina or destination beforehand, and establishing what cleaning regimes and procedures are in place. When PBO went to press (29 June), many sailing clubs and marina operators in England were waiting for detailed guidance from the UK Government on how to open shared facilities safely. Restrictions still remained in place for sailors in Wales and…

I have sailed my whole life and currently own Mapuleni a Westerly Discus. I like many will be sad when red diesel is finally removed from marinas for boat owners – as this seems to be where it’s going shortly. Pricing obviously pays a big part in that, but there is another use for the diesel being dyed which occurred to me suddenly this winter. I’d noticed a small amount of red in my bilge water towards the end of the winter and initially put this down to doing a fuel filter change and losing some fuel into the bilges in the process. Just prior to relaunch I ensured the bilges were clean and dried to ensure I could spot any water ingress on launch. Once launched I checked again…

‘Buyer beware’ is a sound maxim for anyone buying a second-hand boat, and there is plenty of published advice on what to beware of. Books explain how to inspect a boat for sale, magazine articles offer handy check lists, and in the background are professional surveyors who’ll do the job for a fee. All these encourage a buyer towards finding a craft that is in serviceable condition, without major faults, and with a negotiated price adjustment to cover minor faults. Boats with extensive defects are commonly described as ‘projects’, with the implicit hint that they should only Ken Endean rescued a decrepit yacht and thanks to his radical refit at the time he’s still sailing her 33 years later. Doing the same today could save you even more money be…

From slate to silt and now a luxury marina, Deganwy Dock – where Wendy May was built in 1936 – has changed much over the years Now a hotel and marina complex, the land between Conwy and Llandudno has housed a dock or landing stage since the 12th Century. The ‘modern’ story, however, began in the 19th Century at the peak of the industrial revolution. A railway was used to transport slate from the Snowdonia quarries to Deganwy, to be taken by ship to Manchester, the Isle of Man, Ireland, Cardiff, and even Germany and Denmark. While the storage and movement of slate were the main functions of Deganwy, other goods were carried to and from the dock, including timber imported from Scandinavia. Dock traffic declined during the First World…

In the 2020 Budget, the Chancellor announced that privately owned boats and yachts will have to use white diesel instead of the cheaper red diesel. When we’re back on the water, slowly diluting the variously coloured fuel we still have in our tanks, it’s worth taking a look at what it is we’ll be purchasing. All white diesel now contains a percentage of biodiesel – usually around 5-7%. Pumps marked B7 have 7% biodiesel and 93% petroleum diesel or petrodiesel. What is biodiesel? Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil – or animal fat-based diesel fuel – consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as vegetable oil, soybean oil and animal fat (tallow) with an alcohol (methanol), to produce fatty…

I am originally from the north-east of England but spent 13 years working for the Bermuda government and living on the island. I had owned a 17ft sailing boat for a few years in the highlands of Scotland before we moved, but once my wife and I had settled into our new lives on Bermuda my thoughts soon turned to getting a boat that I could sail around and about the islands, weekending, occasional day trips out into the Atlantic, and perhaps one day even further afield. So I bought Garouda, a 1968 31ft Van de Stadt (Tyler Harmony in UK) from a French doctor who had been heading for an extended single-handed cruise to the Pacific and Indonesia, but had changed his mind and was returning to France. Garouda…

Thanks to coronavirus this was no ordinary winter aboard Nita, our Beneteau Oceanis 36CC, but the community of boaters and locals at Lefkas in the Greek Ionian made up for the long lockdown. The ‘winter crowd’ of around 40 boats prepared to depart the marina on 1 April thus avoiding the increase in marina fees from low to high season. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that all Greek ports, marinas and harbours were closed. No boats allowed in and only allowed to relocate with permission of the Port Police and agreement from the receiving destination. With the whole of Greece and most European ports closed, only the brave considered moving on, especially as once gone, there’d be no return allowed. So, it was lockdown in Lefkas Marina…

Plans have been announced to hold a London boat show this January. But unlike previous events, the UK Boat Show will be held virtually. It is being organised by lifelong sailor and virtual technology expert Andy Beharrell, and Beryl Chalmers, a former general manager of the Cruising Association. “With a backdrop from the good old days of Earls Court, the virtual boat show will offer visitors the chance to visit stands, chat to exhibitors live, watch demonstrations and do virtually everything you could do at a physical show – except perhaps meet up at the Guinness stand,” said Chalmers. The UK Boat Show will take place from 7-10 January 2021, with any profits being donated to maritime charities. www.ukboatshow.co.uk…

Researchers at one of the world’s top universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified a new algorithm which could improve search and rescue techniques. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it would be looking at the research. The algorithm analyses ocean conditions such as the strength and direction of currents, surface winds, and waves, and identifies in real-time the areas, known as ‘traps’ where floating objects are likely to converge. It has been tested in ocean scenarios using mannequins. “This new tool we’ve provided can be run on various models to see where these traps are predicted to be, and thus the most likely locations for a stranded vessel or missing person,” explained Thomas Peacock, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, who worked on the research with…

I don’t own Wendy May, she owns me. I’m just the custodian. She was built for an army officer in 1936 by Williams & Parkinson in North Wales. Their brief was to ‘build a boat that can sail around Brittany and dry out on legs’. She has a frame or rib every 6in and is fantastically strong – so she easily meets that brief. It’s the most magical thing you can do, sailing an old classic boat – but I’ve owned many boats beforehand. Back in 2010 I was offered work in Gallions Point Marina in London. I needed somewhere to stay and so bought a broken-down ferrocement schooner for £1,500. The boat, called Gloria, was in a terrible condition. In the sunlight you could see right through the coachroof.…

Sailing across to Norway is something Shetland yachts do almost as regularly as South Coast ones go to France, so when Joe said “How about Lofoten?” I said yes straightaway. The other crew member aboard Joe’s Contessa 32, Cynara of Arne, was Graham Sutherland. Our original plan was to go up the west coast of Shetland, past Britain’s last island of Muckle Flugga and directly to Lofoten – a five-day journey. The forecast gave us a southerly wind, Force 4 or 5, but with bad weather coming, so we had to make it to Norway before it arrived. It turned out to be our first wrong forecast. We motored northwards through rain, and at last met a very nice breeze – in the wrong direction – meaning we’d miss the…

We decided to rescue four of the six portlights that came with Aurora, our Morgan Giles 30 rebuild project. Brave decision, we hear you say. Don’t most people throw them away and do something with Perspex instead? Indeed they do! But we want make the case for rescuing those tired, beaten up, very old portlights - and show you how we went about it. Our main reason for keeping them is that we like them. They are the original portlights fitted to Aurora, now more than 50 years old, and they have an authentic look about them. The glass is etched ‘Eagle Glass, Toughened, Maldon, Essex’, which contributes a bit of history and testifies to their quality. The alternatives were to order custom made replacements, which are expensive, or the…

Few things can be more satisfying than saving an old wooden boat from the chainsaw and bringing her back to life. But this can be a very expensive exercise as I found out when I rescued my 1959 classic, Essex Melody (featured in PBO June 2016 – see bit.ly/essexmelody). Though costly, it proved to be a very worthwhile restoration as I still regularly sail her and researching her heritage was incredibly rewarding. It was therefore with some trepidation that I agreed to restore the Bembridge Scow Tinkerbell, which was given to me by a family member. Scow class dinghies were found around the Solent before World War I. They were originally built at Lymington and designed as sailing tenders for gentlemen’s yachts, the shape of their bow entry making them…

What could be safer than being alone in the middle of the ocean during a pandemic? This has been a frequent response to the news that this year’s Original Singlehanded TransAtlantic Race (OSTAR) has been postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I think people are just trying to be funny, but as someone who once spent nine days alone at sea with a respiratory infection, I can tell you it’s no laughing matter. In 2015, I took part in the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club’s Azores and Back Race (AZAB) on Zest, my 1992 Humphreys 36 custom racer/cruiser. This iconic quadrennial British ocean race consists of two 1,200-mile legs from Falmouth to Ponta Delgada and back, and has traditionally been open to solo and double-handed crews (fully-crewed entries…

PBO Digital is the best way to get the full magazine experience if you’re unable to buy your regular copy at the newsagent or supermarket. But it’s not quite as straightforward as simply browsing the shelves! 1. What device should I use? You can get a digital, or electronic, version of PBO magazine on a computer (desktop or laptop, Mac or PC), a phone, tablet or an eReader device. The options for desktop/laptop are limited in comparison to phones and tablets, but the bigger screen area and resolution may be an attraction. See the table below for options. 2. Which magazine platform should I buy from? For PBO Digital there are nine different digital magazine platforms available. Some platforms are like supermarkets, while others are like local newsagents with a…