Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Practical Boat Owner

Tributes have poured in for PBO rigging expert Mike Coates who has died at the age of 74. The much-loved adrenaline junkie, who was an awardwinning Whitby Lifeboat crewman, amateur aerobatic flyer and race car driver, passed away peacefully at home on 11 December, surrounded by his wife of 52 years Yvonne, and children Kirsten and Marcus. Mike built his first wooden sailing dinghy at the age of 10, which led to many escapades with friends. As Mike’s love for the sea grew, so did his boatbuilding capabilities with a catamaran, a Fireball, a Cherub, and the GK24 Plink Plink Fizz. As a teenager, Mike was part of popular Yorkshire band The Renegades, which had backing group work for The Beatles. He worked for his father’s engineering business and as…

The first electric hydrofoil boat is now on the market. At cruising speed, the Candela Seven flies above the water surface on two underwater wings – hydrofoils. Propelled by a silent Torqeedo Deep Blue 50i electric motor, the boat has a top speed of 55km/h and a range of 92km when driven at 37km/h. It is the brainchild of Gustav Hasselskog who was shocked to realise that an ice cream trip in a motorboat – from his Stockholm archipelago summerhouse to the island supermarket – cost r40 in fuel. When the 7.7m-long, six-seater Candela Seven rises out of the water, at 27km/h, it manages to combine minimum energy consumption with maximum performance. Torqeedo managing director, Dr Ralf Plieninger, described it as a ‘game-changer for marine electric mobility.’ The carbon-fibre hull…

Dave Selby’s biblical errors Dave Selby is one of the articles I read first every month, and as usual the March issue made me smile – and we all need that. But I did want to point out an inaccuracy: if Moses had just come down from Mount Zion it would have saved the Israelites a 40-year wander through the wilderness and would have made him more popular than Joe Biden. Alas, he actually came down from Mount Sinai which is over 300 miles away, although my google search did suggest it was only light traffic on the route… Thanks again and keep up the good work. I look forward to sailing for real again later in the year. Rev Peter Holwell, Trinity Church, Gosforth Hunter Ranger 245 I’ve just…

Marsali Taylor sails an Offshore 8M, Karima S. She’s a dinghy instructor and author of The Shetland Sailing Mysteries starring liveaboard sleuth, Cass Lynch. Spring is a tough season for non-sailing spouses; it turns their peaceful world upside-down. This winter was unusually peaceful, and my husband, Philip, and I got into sociable habits. We watched films, instituted ‘Restaurant at Home’ Wednesdays, did a weekly flute/keyboard session and got addicted to a French series called Echappées Belles, which has presenters going to lovely French towns, meeting local restaurateurs and eating their delicacies. We fell into a routine approved by the cats as well as by Philip: breakfast at 0815, working at our respective desks until elevenses, then outdoors for me, a brisk walk up the hill, or working in the garden;…

Over the last decade my husband, John Daubeny, and I have been cruising through the Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean on board our 50ft cutterrigged sloop, Atea, choosing to explore the world by boat with our two children, Braca (9) and Ayla (7). Having just spent three years in the Indian Ocean, it was time for us to move on to new cruising grounds and we set our sights on the Atlantic by way of South Africa. Given the 40,000 miles we’ve clocked already, you’d think the 1,500 we had in front of us would be another casual voyage, made easier as land would be visible all the way. We’d be watching the baobab trees of Tanzania, the pistachio plantations of Mozambique and the thorn bushes of South…

A wise man (actually, a friend of mine) once said that a person’s true personality is revealed when mooring a boat. There’s a lot at stake; you may appear incompetent to others, and if you get it wrong, you can cause expensive damage to your boat – or even worse – other people’s boats. The task itself may be complex, and sometimes it’s hard to predict precisely what’s going to happen. It takes co-ordination, co-operation and communication, especially when things don’t go to plan. And all of this takes place in front of an audience! It’s an interesting exercise, perfectly designed to bring out the best and worst in a person’s character. The same can be said of being a skipper in general. You’re living in very close proximity to…

Starting life in 1928 when she was launched from the stocks of William Crossfield’s yard in Arnside, Cumbria, the Nobby Empress was probably built by four men in six weeks. Such was the demand for the Morecambe Bay Prawners, traditionally called Lancashire Nobbies, that hundreds were built to fish the shallow waters of Morecambe Bay and the Solway Firth to fulfil the insatiable Victorian passion of eating shrimps for’high tea’. This demand was driven by the growing seaside holiday trade which had seen a massive expansion with the building of the railways to the coastal resorts of the North West. There is speculation that the name Nobby may have originated from sourcing some of their timber by using the so called ‘nob ends’ or offcuts from the building of larger…

When I decided to give my homebuilt motorboat, Tudor Rose, a dripless shaft seal I could find no proprietary units that were suitable. I needed something to fit her stern tube, fit within the narrow moulded keel slot, fit the imperial shaft size, and not need burping after every low tide as she lives on a drying mooring. Heaving a sigh of exasperation, I knuckled down to design and build a bespoke dripless seal. It’s essentially a simple device and not really difficult to build if you tackle the job with determination and forethought. A question of design I based my design on the setup in a little aluminium speedboat I once owned. It uses carefully specified lip seals in a tubular housing secured to the inboard end of the…

We pay for your published cruising stories and harbour updates. Email pbo@futurenet.com or write to the address at the top of page 5 The North Atlantic circuit typically sees two main ocean crossing periods: cruisers sail from Europe to the Caribbean, often via the Canary Islands, after the hurricane season ends in November, then in late spring/early summer many head back east again via Bermuda and the Azores, returning to Europe ahead of the following year’s big storms. After a five-week stop in Bermuda, in mid-May we set sail aboard our Lagoon 400 catamaran Ocean Fox once again for the planned 12-day crossing to the island of Faial and the harbour of Horta in the Azores. This west to east crossing is far more challenging than the tradewind route further…

Dave Selby is the proud owner of a 5.48m (18ft) Sailfish, which he keeps on a swinging mooring on the picturesque Blackwater estuary in Essex No sooner had I finished ignoring my tax return than my annual sailing club membership renewal form arrived. Talk about stress! My accountant is a fully paid-up member of the Magic Circle with impressive juggling skills and a marvellous knack of making things disappear. In more normal times I’d get him to fill in my sailing club renewal but what with social distancing rules I’m no longer allowed to visit him at Wormwood Scrubs. This most taxing time of year, with the final reminder for the TV Licence looming and only 323 shopping days left to Christmas and fewer to place the order for your…

Trailer-sailing has always been a good idea in theory. It saves the maintenance and expense of keeping a boat on a mooring or in a marina berth and you can trail to wherever you want to sail. For many people it works in practice too, provided you go away for long enough to justify the time spent rigging and launching and then recovering and de-rigging afterwards. Given a big enough car and driveway, you can trail and sail a boat of a size that imposes few restrictions once you’re afloat. A week’s cruise with a family of four? Not a problem. But what if your time is limited and you want something that’s light and simple enough to trail, rig, launch, sail, recover, de-rig and trail home again in a…

When I crossed the Atlantic in a 25-footer in 1968, double-handed (DH) sailing was a very different game. We had no electronic instruments or VHF radio. A Seafarer echosounder, handheld RDF, streamed Walker log, transistor radio (for time signals) and sextant had to suffice. We also had no self-steering gear. So we resorted to a twin headsail set-up and led the sheets aft to the tiller; which worked (erratically) downwind. Otherwise we hand steered all the way, splitting the night into two lengthy watches. Hours pass peacefully on a moonlit night as you surf down white-crested waves! Sail handling also took a lot longer. Instead of furling the jib from the cockpit, we stumbled to the foredeck, hanked a new sail onto the forestay, un-hanked the old one as it…

Have you ever thought of becoming a delivery skipper or crew? It’s a great way to earn extra funds and gain offshore experience. It’s also the perfect way to accrue nautical miles if you’re aiming for professional qualifications. However, sailing onboard an unfamiliar boat can be challenging; not knowing how to deploy the anchor in an emergency or the locations of through-hull fittings when taking on water, could end in disaster. Nathan Zhart runs Ocean Passages, a US-based offshore sailing and expedition company. As a delivery skipper, he’s accustomed to stepping aboard unfamiliar boats and quickly familiarising himself with the systems. “It’s very much like going to look at a boat you might want to buy,” he says. “You step aboard, walk around the deck, and take a good look…

1 Look ahead and act to prevent problems, rather than waiting to solve them. 2 Be comfortable handling lots of information and know how to prioritise according to the situation. 3 Always be calm (or, at least, appear calm). Never shout. 4 Leave others to helm most of the time. 5 Don’t spend any more time than necessary at the chart table. 6 Delegate tasks (for example, foredeck work). 7 Maintain perspective at all times. Don’t get engrossed in a single job, and lose sight of the bigger picture. 8 Ensure the boat is never too vulnerable, with room to manoeuvre for more time and space if necessary. 9 Listen to your crew. Give them space and make use of their knowledge and skill set. 10 Ensure all the important…

Procrastination is the art of busily doing nothing while another part of you gets really disappointed about it. I’m a serial procrastinator. Phew, glad to get that out in the open. Given that I teach Maritime Studies and psychology, I thought it was time to address the problem of my own six-year restoration. So what does the science of psychology say about it? Let me take you on a tour of some of the theories and the tactics we can employ to beat the restoration blues. WHY WE DON’T SUCCEED Overdoing it Overdoers take on too much. When my Halcyon 23 Kaikoura arrived at the boatyard, I started by pulling out everything: headlinings, cushions, rotten locker tops, fittings, etc. I then instantly had a job that looked far bigger than…

Inside the housing a short cutless bearing keeps the lip seals centred on the shaft. Between the bearing and the primary lip seal a stainless steel hose spigot feeds water from the engine’s raw water cooling pump. A greaser fills the space between the two lip seals with waterproof grease, and plastic spacer rings ensure appropriate positioning of the seals. Water feed The water feed ensures lubrication of the cutless bearing and primary lip seal. A spigot with 6mm bore is sufficient, but where the pipe is below waterline the boat depends upon it to remain afloat, so it needs to be tough stuff. Flimsy clear plastic tubing will not do. I teed my water feed from the exhaust injection point above waterline, and further teed off a breather pipe…

Email your projects and tips to pbo@futurenet.com or write to us at the address at the top of page 5. We pay at least £30 for each one published Sprayhood grab-lines John Jameson designed his own sprayhood safety feature When it is windy and our 32ft Westerly Fulmar, Juggler, is heeled over, I worry that one of the crew will fall over the side while attempting to return to the cockpit to leeward of the sprayhood. In this situation of course they’d be tethered to the lee jackstay, and could fall over the guardrail and get wet. The grab-line helps maintain balance only. My wife wanted a nice looking, easy to fit, no cost solution. She is younger, much more flexible than I am, and thinks a grab line is…

A British yachtsman who was rescued five hours after going overboard in Australian waters has described his personal locator beacon as “the most effective life insurance you can buy after a quality lifejacket.” Ex-pat solo sailor Nigel Fox was rescued 23km from his yacht, five hours after being pitched overboard in rough weather. The Southamptonborn former cameraman said crossing swells knocked his Duncanson 34, Bison, onto its beam ends and he found himself being dragged head-first through the Arafura Sea, tethered by his jackline. Nigel cut himself free using a hook knife and managed to cling to the yacht’s hydrovane, but as he tried to climb aboard, his lifejacket self-inflated and propelled him into the water. He lost his glasses so knowing how to activate the attached Ocean Signal rescueME…

Jimmy Cornell’s electric boat attempt to retrace the world’s first circumnavigation has been abandoned. However, the Elcano Challenge – which aims to retrace the Magellan-Elcano expedition under electric and sail power alone – is set to return to Spain this October. The yachtsman, author and World Cruising Club founder says Nelson Mandela’s words ‘I never lose: either I win, or I learn’ have been haunting him ever since he decided to turn around at Tenerife and put his project on hold. Cornell, now in his 80s, said: “In my long life I cannot remember ever abandoning a promising project, and it is very painful to accept failure now.” Cornell is working with Outremer and Oceanvolt to install new electrical, solar and hydrogeneration equipment, having decided to quit the voyage after…

The RYA Dinghy Show will be taking place – virtually – over the weekend of 27-28 February. The main stage line up includes quadriplegic sailor Natasha Lambert, who recently crossed the Atlantic in her specially-adapted Nautitec 46 Open catamaran Blown Away. There will also be cruising adventures from Dinghy Cruising Association president Roger Barnes among the live and pre-recorded talks with other topics including wing foiling and how to forecast on the water. Visitors can meet the British Sailing Team, watch the award ceremonies and explore virtual exhibition halls. Register for free at dinghyshow.org.uk…

Send us your local news stories. Email PBO news editor Laura Hodgetts at pbo@futurenet.com, tel: 0330 390 6467, or write to the address on page 5 SOUTH COAST AND CHANNEL ISLANDS LYME REGIS CLUB CENTENARY “Looking forward to the next hundred years, while we celebrate the past,” was the message from the Commodore of Lyme Regis Sailing Club, Rob Wiscombe, on the anniversary of its first meeting. The inaugural gathering was held on 8 January 1921 at Belmont, Pound Street, then the home of Dr HJ Cooper. Early members included Rob’s grandfather Joe Wiscombe. A programme of celebratory events has been postponed, but the club is ready to go as soon as sailing and social events can resume. A commemorative booklet will also be available. Find updates at lymeregissailingclub.com LIFEBOAT…

Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers and edits The Marine Quarterly. He is currently patching up a 30ft ketch Thanks to the slatting and banging of a flat calm we have not slept for days and nights and days and nights. We are staring over the rail. There seems to be an albatross hung round the neck. Over there in the heat-haze, slimy things do crawl with legs upon the slimy sea. Nothing makes sense any more… Hang on a minute. This is the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, not a cruise in the Solent. I am having one of those attacks of Poor Mental Health to which mariners have been prone ever since Ug straddled the log and paddled off across the swamp in pursuit of a large, nutritious but…

Local winds and coastal effects are very difficult for weather apps to forecast. This is because the science of numerical weather prediction (NWP) relies on enormous quantities of data across huge areas of land and sea, which in modern times provides amazingly accurate large-scale forecasts. However, small-scale geographical features can become ‘lost’ in larger-scale models, resulting in some coastal effects, including winds around headlands and narrow channels, not being accurately modelled. Models with a very small grid size, such as the short term UKV and Arome models from the UK MetOffice and MeteoFrance respectively, are much better in this respect. Even then, they will struggle to produce good data for features of much less than 3-4km in size. That’s where the human input that goes into forecasts such as the…

Chisel by chisel, plane by plane, boatbuilding legend Joe Gelsthorpe is quietly parting company with his tools. He built his first boat when he was 12; up in the family attic where he crafted a 16ft canoe which he could only get out attached to a washing line through a roof window. In the marvellous years that followed he built over 20 wooden cobles; working alone in his Hornsea workshop, his hair forever peppered with the dust of larch and oak and pine; his face a picture of furrowed concentration amidst the timbers and the tools. But Joe is 80 now – in his own words, ‘a bit crotchety’ – and he’ll build no more boats. Ill-health and advancing years have drawn a line under a lifetime of graft. “I’m…

Chartering a yacht on the west coast of Scotland is a wonderful thing to do. My crew and I have been doing it for decades. Every sailor should try it once. Because if you do, you’ll be back. My most recent experience – a week-long circumnavigation of the Isle of Mull – is typical of the dozens of charters we’ve experienced. For a chance to book for yourself and your family, turn over the page for a full listing of companies care of the Association of Scottish Yacht Charters website and also on sailscotland.com Most charterers know what they want from a yacht. Whether it is great sailing ability, modern layout, space inside, or a powerful engine, everyone has their requirements, and the very professional yacht charter companies located in…

It was a warm, calm sunny Sunday morning in August 1996 when we left our visitor’s mooring off Mixtow, a sheltered creek about 1.5km up the river from Fowey, Cornwall. What a contrast the weather was to the bedlam we’d experienced before we arrived the previous day. The harbour patrol had told us to moor upriver in our Sadler 34, Rozel, because the southerly gale had made the main harbour untenable. We motored back down river to Fowey to raft next to a pretty 30ft wooden sloop on the town quay. She looked a sorry sight with a broken tiller and her boom strewn with wet weather clothing and bedding drying in the sunshine. The chap in the cockpit who introduced himself as Rob told us how they’d been knocked…

Here’s just a selection of the latest questions from PBO readers. Email or write to the address on page 5 and our experts will answer your queries ELECTRONICS How to configure an AIS Class B Q I’m installing a Raymarine Class B AIS transceiver to my Carter 30 yacht, and finding it a mystery. A lot of the literature refers obliquely to the need to download ‘proAIS2’ but the Raymarine website has no direct guidance. Jonny Campbell, via email ANDY HAINES REPLIES: The software comes on a CD in the box, so you don’t actually need to download it. I’m assuming you have an AIS700, but even if it is a different model the facts are the same, just the page number on the manual may be different. Page 27…