Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Practical Boat Owner

Recreational boat owners in Northern Ireland are facing ‘completely unreasonable’ options, following the HM Treasury decision that they must soon use white diesel instead of lower-tax red diesel – in line with EU counterparts. From 30 June, all non-commercial vessels wishing to refuel in Northern Ireland must do so with white diesel. However, there are no marine white diesel pumps in Northern Ireland, and demand is insufficient for commercial operators to make provision. At a meeting with HMRC, with representation from the Cruising Association (CA), the Royal Yachting Association and British Marine, it became clear yachtsmen will have only three alternatives to the illegal purchase of red diesel in Northern Ireland after June: ■ Sail a minimum of 90 miles to Scotland or the Isle of Man to lawfully purchase…

Profits from Myanmar timber exports are going into the pockets of the military junta responsible for the country’s ongoing violent coup, according to the latest report from London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). It is currently impossible to import timber from Myanmar into the European Union without contravening the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which requires due diligence to trace imported timber back to the point of felling – a requirement that cannot be met due to the opaque nature of Myanmar’s forestry sector. In its new briefing Taxing Questions, the EIA argues that it has identified a pattern of tax evasion that puts Myanmar timber – including high-value species such as teak, used in boatbuilding – even further beyond legitimacy under the EUTR. The EIA believes this systemic tax evasion has…

Southampton International Boat Show, taking place 10-19 September 2021, will feature a new layout, additional space and a new community day. The 52nd edition of Britain’s biggest festival of boating will bring back Europe’s largest purpose-built marina, more than 450 marine brands, and 600 boats in one location. Southampton City Council, which cancelled last year’s show last minute due to pandemic concerns, has given the green light for organisers British Marine to use extra land with a new entrance and festival area outside Southampton’s West Quay shopping centre. Plans for a Community Day aim to connect local residents with the marine community. Once inside the show, visitors will be guided through zones: Watersports, a Dinghy Zone, and a Classic Boat & Day Boat Zone. Moving into Mayflower Park and the…

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 STUDLAND ANCHORING BAN? There are draft proposals to create a ‘no anchor zone’ covering the southern end of Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone, where most anchoring currently takes place. In March, the Dorset Coast Forum hosted a stakeholder meeting, plus a public meeting – attended by nearly 300 people – to outline the Marine Management Organisation plans, which aim to avoid the negative impacts of anchoring on the MCZ’s protected features. The draft prohibition zone extends from north of the Middle Beach Cafe toward the Needles and across to Old Harry Rocks. It would, in effect, ban daytime and…

Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers and edits The Marine Quarterly. He is currently patching up a 30ft ketch Long, long ago, when boats were built of wood and there were hardly any yachts in the Med, my friend Barend Wolf used to drive his Brixham trawler up and down the Cote d’Azur. His arrival was much anticipated. Partly this was because the guests on his plainly but beautifully fitted-out boat included the young Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau and other keen sailors. Partly, though, it was because of his practically supernatural seamanship. He would slide into the virtually unknown fishing village of St Tropez under sail. His deckie would drop the anchor silently and just so. The boat would fall back, and the party would begin. Nobody ever worked out how…

Owning a small motorboat can be the gateway to a wide variety of cruising grounds, from rivers, lakes and canals to coastlines as far ranging as the Baltic or the Med. With a suitable tow car, and the ability to use the boat as a caravan during the journey, nowhere is out of reach. Berthing costs, always a major factor with any boat, are non-existent if you can keep it at home, or comparatively low for a pontoon berth or dry stack slot due to the short overall length. “Over the past few years, and especially more recently, we’ve seen a big trend for people looking at trailable cabin cruisers,” says Ben Davies of Orkney Boats. “A good example is our Orkney 20 Pilot House model. Available in both outboard…

This is one of my favourite designs of the late 1970s and is again from the board of Finot. It’s based on an innovative concept for the interior that creates such an enormous feeling of space that it’s easy to forget this is only a 36ft boat. The hull design is that of a successful One Ton racing design, with very fair hull lines, and it’s topped by a tall, powerful rig. The result is a boat that is faster and handles better than most of its contemporaries, especially in deep draught form, yet also has fantastic accommodation. Finot’s masterpiece was in placing the saloon right aft, under the cockpit, with a big central table that can seat 6-8 people in comfort. It might be assumed there could be a…

Slovenia’s best known boatbuilder by far is Elan, which has been building boats since 1949 in what was then a part of Yugoslavia. Initially craft built by the company were kayaks, canoes and small wooden boats for the local markets. However, it embraced fibreglass construction in 1962 and subsequently expanded quickly to build 10,000 sailing boats in the following decade. A shift in strategy came in 1980, with more of a focus on export markets and the growing charter scene on the Dalmatian coast of what is now Croatia. This was followed by a collaboration with designer Rob Humphreys, which has now been going for more than 25 years. He owned an Elan 333 for many years, before changing to the larger 434. The 333 is a performance cruiser from…

The sun is 93 million miles away, give or take. Packets of energy called photons leave it and travel at 186,000 miles per second just to fall on us and keep us supplied with energy. If you held up a solar panel outside our atmosphere, it would be irradiated by broad-spectrum sunlight at 1,370W/m2: this is called insolation. Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, we see more of the sun in the summer than the winter: in the winter it just about creeps above the horizon, and the stream of photons has to travel through a far longer atmospheric path than when it is overhead in the summer. At sunrise and sunset, the atmospheric path length is about 11 times the noon path length. The longer the path…

When we set off from the Isle of Skye last summer it was with some trepidation. Although the boat had been ready to go since March, because of lockdown we’d only been able to have the occasional day out without going ashore. Now my husband and I were to embark on a nine-day cruise with our dog, Islay. We had to work on the basis that we might not be able to eat ashore or even do shopping, so we did more provisioning than usual. Also, because of our canine companion we had to work to a timetable which meant not having more than five hours’ sailing at one time. The first day we had a nice sail through Kylerhea, which was very quiet because the turntable ferry had decided…

For many years I have wanted to learn how to use a sextant to find my position. It seemed romantic to take a noon sight and know where I was. At least that was the idea, but it wasn’t quite like that in practice. The first thing I thought I should do was buy an inexpensive sextant, and a book: Bruce Bayer’s The Sextant Handbook, which I read from cover to cover. It was a good place to start, but that was the easy bit – the rest of it is not so straightforward. A sextant is a very simple instrument with a telescope that looks straight ahead at the horizon. There is a moveable arm onto which a mirror is fixed that reflects the celestial body (let’s say the…

A quick brew turned into a frightening fire aboard a classic wooden boat for PBO contributor Max Liberson. Until mid-March, Max regularly used his portable gas stove, bought for £9.99, to make a cup of tea, “rather than going through the rigmarole of firing up the Taylor’s”. But since his bargain stove sparked a blaze aboard his 1930s gaff cutter Wendy May, Max warns PBO readers not to risk using a camping stove in a confined space: “I know they are common on smaller boats because they are convenient. “I turned mine on to make a brew and it started to burn right next to the cylinder. It’s now in the skip and I am looking for something to replace it with.” Many makes and model of this type of…

Fifteen years since ex-Royal Marine and renowned yachtsman Ewen Southby-Tailyour helped to devise the Jester Challenge he is stepping down from the helm. Together with Trevor Leek, Southby-Tailyour decided to revive Blondie Hasler’s idea of a transatlantic ‘race’ with no rules, no inspections, no organising committee, no entry fees and no ‘winners’. Responsibility in all matters of preparation and seamanship would lie with each individual skipper. The only stipulation was that boats had to be under 30ft overall Since the first event in 2006, there have been 10 more, with destinations now including Newport, the Azores and Baltimore in southern Ireland. Hundreds of sailors have participated and the Jester Challenge’s safety record has been impeccable. Now, as he approaches his 80th birthday, Southby-Tailyour has stepped down as organiser. Responsibility has…

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. Early summer’s my favourite time. The days are filled with peace and promise. The gales of March and the ‘lambie snow’ of April have turned to sunshine and soft breezes. It’s the first of the ‘simmer dims’, the lovely light nights which will last till August. My current book’s at the re-draft stage, which means I can desert home and hearth mid-morning with a clear conscience and head out for lunch on the water. Best of all, there’s the whole summer ahead to plan for. I had to stay homeabouts last summer, due to still getting my strength back after a major op in March. I…

1 Service a 2-stroke outboard engine Steve Dawkins of Bursledon Outboards shows PBO how it’s done. Visit the PBO website via bit.ly/3freQxQ for essential hints and tips. 2 Build an outboard well for a 14ft skiff Nic Compton cuts a hole in the hull to install a small engine. To see how he does it, visit the PBO website via bit.ly/2P6O7fr 3 Choose your first powerboat Regular PBO contributors Gilbert Park and David Berry describe how and why they converted from sailing to motorboating. For their full story visit bit.ly/3m53YXJ…

PBO expert Keith Colwell’s view: As far as I know, the only UK-flagged leisure vessels required to carry life saving equipment are those over 13.7m voyaging more than 3 miles from the coast (due to MCA Class XII regulations). For those of us who own leisure vessels under 13.7m, the choice is ours. Class XII requires a liferaft to ISO 9650 standard rather than a lifeboat such as a Portland Pudgy (which I don’t believe has been tested to this standard) plus it needs to carry the appropriate pack depending on how far offshore the boat is going. The Portland Pudgy is not dissimilar in concept to the Tinker Traveller ‘lifeboat’ which is sadly no longer available although being solid requires a lot more space to stow. Check out Tinker…

This model launched one of Italy’s most successful boatbuilders of the past 50 years. Cantiere del Pardo’s Grand Soleil 34 was an enormous success as both a championship winning offshore racer and as a capable cruiser. The design also helped cement the reputation of French naval architect Jean-Marie Finot as one of the most talented of his generation. In all some 300 boats were built in a decade-long production run. The transom is broader than that of most designs of this period, but below the waterline the boat sported a more typical moderate fin and skeg profile. Although the draught is reasonably deep the 36% ballast ratio was considered light by the standards of the day and there’s no bulb to increase righting moment. The cockpit is unusually comfortable for…

Italy has a thriving marine industry that encompasses well known brands and world class engineers responsible for a wide gamut of products. These range from affordable deck hardware for cruisers to superyacht equipment and gear for America’s Cup teams. Despite its continued strong growth, Antal is still a family business, headed by an engineer and product designer. In the past few years the company has re-focussed on the 20-50ft sector, with the aim of producing equipment that makes use of today’s technologies to create items that are more effective, yet also smaller and much more economic to produce. The Snatch Hook, for instance, is a neat alternative to a conventional snatch block but uses a low friction ring instead of a sheave, bringing the cost right down. OneSails is a…

One of the most successful new names in the boating world over the past dozen years is also Slovenian. Seascape was the brainchild of Mini Transat sailors Andraž Mihelin and Kristian Hajinšek who wanted to produce a boat that would offer fun and speed with minimal hassle. The idea was for a coastal cruiser and racer with 80% of the speed potential of a Mini 650, but only 20% of the complexity. From the outset they also recognised a fundamental of today’s market that’s all too often overlooked: to be successful you need to sell an irresistible experience – the boat is simply the vehicle that delivers the experience. The concept therefore centred on building communities to connect enthusiastic and like-minded people. The annual Seascape Challenge, for instance, offers passage…

How can I find the maximum I’m likely to get out of my panels? Most people want to know this either to check their installation or to plan the size and number of panels to install. The EU calculator is here: re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html I was interested in finding out how much my nominal 200W installation of crystalline panels should deliver in my chosen cruising area of Corfu in the summer months and then seeing if I could work back to estimate the efficiency of the installation taking into account the panels, regulator, wiring and general losses – in other words, ‘from sunshine to battery’. ‘You gain 33% more energy if you can follow the sun’ The calculator is fairly straightforward to use. First use the map and zoom controls to navigate…

It was the usual Friday evening rush from the Midlands down to our boat on the Hamble for a weekend away after work. No teenage kids this time as we’d had our Bavaria 34 since new for 12 years and the kids had other things to do. Our plan was simple, fish and chips Friday night, watch the Royal Wedding on our portable TV in the saloon and leave for Poole as soon as the dress had been inspected. We were planning to meet up with friends in Poole and sail in company. What could go wrong? Well, we should have left a bit earlier in the wedding but we didn’t. As a result, while motoring down the Hamble and out into Southampton Water, I felt the need to recheck…

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 Our new canal boat needed some way to ensure her batteries stayed topped up and the best solution, as far as I could see, was to connect a solar panel. If you read my piece on page 44 you’ll know that fitting solar panels on a yacht is no panacea and there are also certain specific pitfalls to avoid when fitting panels on canal boats. I’m firmly of the opinion that the only type of panel worth looking at is a crystalline one, either micro- or poly-crystalline, in a rigid frame – not least because they are cheap at less than…

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 BOATBUILDING Cutless bearing advice Q In late 2018 I bought a 1998 Dehler 34. The pre-purchase survey, by CB Marine Services, recommended a number of actions to bring the boat up to a good modern standard. We completed most of these during 2019, but need some advice on the main one that remains outstanding. The prop shaft is supported by a P-bracket, which is sound and secure. However, the cutless bearing is loose within the P-bracket with several millimetres of vertical play. The bearing itself appears to be acceptable. The surveyor’s recommendation is that the bearing is removed and refitted. Also that a…

1 FUEL The main reason for your engine not working will be the fuel system, often because fuel has been left in the engine over winter. The fuel goes through a chemical reaction producing ethanol, which will prevent the engine from running. There may also be dirt blocking the filter, lines or carburettor. To clean, remove the flywheel cover and engine cowling, and then undo the fuel tank. Take the tank out and remove the fuel line, draining the tank into a bucket. Flush the tank through with clean fuel. Check the filter is clear and rinse with clean fuel if needed before reconnecting the tank. 2 CARBURETTOR Next check the carburettor. Turn off the fuel tap, then open the drain screw on the side of the carburettor and drain…

New biofuel is to be introduced as standard at petrol forecourts this summer. The UK Government has announced that the standard petrol grade in the UK will soon change to become E10. An exact date has yet to be confirmed by the Department for Transport. The introduction of E10 fuel is part of the Government’s plans to meet wider climate change targets. E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol biofuel, which is added to reduce CO2 emissions and help tackle climate change. The current standard of unleaded petrol – E5 – contains up to 5% ethanol. The change only applies to petrol engines; diesel will not be affected. Although E10 petrol is said to be compatible with 95% of petrol-powered road vehicles, the Government has acknowledged that some older…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced a six-month extension to the grace period for Returned Goods Relief regardless of goods exit date, which will benefit boat owners. It follows pressure from the RYA and British Marine, which pointed out that the one-year period of grace effective from 1 January 2021 was insufficient, given the many factors that affect the repatriation of vessels, including the global pandemic travel restrictions, the post-Brexit Schengen area immigration restrictions, insurance restrictions and the length of the sailing season. The extension to 30 June 2022 will enable many boat owners to repatriate their vessels without incurring additional VAT costs. Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine, said: “Given the current restrictions on international travel, we hope HMRC will demonstrate flexibility to the extension to allow all…

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 The main obstacle to my life’s dream of sailing in Ireland is that there’s been no way of getting there as it’s entirely surrounded by water. But my hopes of wafting down the Shannon may at last be realised, as I’m hoping that by the time we get out of lockdown Boris’s new under-sea tunnel to Ireland will have been completed, and I’ll have found the wheels for my boat trailer. Oooh, I’m excited. Not that I’m a stranger to ‘going foreign’, as some years ago I cruised my Sailfish 18 to Norway, a quite extraordinary feat considering there’s no tunnel, which meant I had…

With lockdown restrictions gradually being lifted, and longer, warmer days approaching, boat owners everywhere are keen to stretch their sea legs. However, if your boat’s been out of action for several months, and especially if access has been restricted, there are some crucial steps you should take before embarking on your first trip of the season. Even if owners have had the luxury of dry or indoor storage, issues can still arise which could result in costly repair bills and lengthy time out of the water. Some preventative maintenance will give you peace of mind before putting the boat into water, extend your boat’s lifespan, and ensure the safety and security of those on board. 1 Carry out engine checks and servicing Engines should ideally be serviced by a specialist…

My experience of offshore sailing since 1987 has been a combination of snatched weekends and the odd couple of weeks’ holiday. There were so many frustrating occasions when free time coincided with bad weather, leaving only a day or two for local cruising instead of cross-Channel jaunts. So with retirement fast approaching, and no work targets, it was time to fulfil the dream of circumnavigating the UK mainland. It was going to be a solo adventure, which meant choosing a boat that could be managed single-handed and would be heavy enough to keep going in all weathers and offer shelter on long passages. In the back of my mind was the long passage from Orkney, across the northern Scottish coast and round Cape Wrath, facing the full force of the…

Umberto Felci is one of Italy’s best-known and most prolific yacht designers, responsible for every yacht from the French Dufour yard since 2003, as well as models for Grand Soleil and the quality Swiss Esse range of daysailers and fast weekenders. This 21ft performance cruiser was a development of his proto Mini 650 design Te Salt from 1993. It has a smaller and much more easily handled rig than the raceboat, as well as a lifting keel that enables draught to be reduced from 1.6m to 0.9m. The result is a quick, yet civilised, small boat that’s a lot of fun to sail. It retains the big cockpit of the original – a bonus for a design primarily intended for Mediterranean waters. The wide companionway incorporates a ‘pop top’ that…

For a country with less than 30 miles of coast Slovenia punches well above its weight in the marine industry and is home to some of Europe’s best known boatbuilders. It’s located at the very top of the Adriatic Sea and has five attractive ports and marinas. The Italian port city of Trieste is less than 15 miles from the border and it’s only 50 miles across the gulf to Venice. On the Croatian side of the Istrian peninsula is a host of scenic anchorages interspersed with town quays and full-service marinas. Some 50 miles to the south is Pula, the northernmost of the main Croatian charter bases. The climate is continental with colder winters, including the possibility of snow even on the coast. Mid summer temperatures are generally in…

Keeping batteries topped up without resorting to running the engine is an ongoing problem for yachtsmen. Solar panels are an obvious option, not just in the Med but also around the coasts of the UK as the price of panels has fallen over the years. But choosing them can seem a bit of a black art: after all, how can you possibly predict how much sun you’re going to get during the season, or how much power your panel will produce if it’s not exactly aligned with the sun? But provided you accept a statistical approach using established databases, then prediction is easier than you think. Ultimately the only thing we need to know is the conversion efficiency, or, how much sun turns into electrical power. NASA do a trick:…

During the first lockdown in March 2020, my wife, Kay, and I began musing about the possibility of trying to be a bit greener in the forthcoming build of our 58ft 6in narrowboat Old Nick. The boatbuilder we had chosen – Ortomarine, based in the Droitwich area – already had experience of building electric narrowboats, and were very encouraging. Making the choice of which type of electric boat was the first hurdle. We knew we wanted Old Nick to be electric but, as with all things in life, there were a number of different types of electric engine designs and we had to decide which one would be best for us. The simplest is the ‘all-electric’ design, where you have a single electric engine, a big bank of batteries and…

1 A quick depth survey in the dinghy, 1using an oar or a boathook, can be useful to gauge where safety lies 2 Getting excess weight off the boat and into the dinghy might just be enough to float her off. 3 When rowing a kedge out, keep the chain in the dinghy while allowing just the warp to trail. 4 Used with care, attaching the kedge to a halyard can induce considerable heel to free the keel… 5 … or, if stuck fast, a kedge can help safely control the direction the boat leans as the tide falls.…

When you next enjoy Dutch cheese, keep some of the coloured wax traditionally used as a protective skin. The red (or sometimes yellow) wax on Edam is easily peeled and when softened by kneading with warm fingers, will form a cohesive mass. A walnut size ball of this free material has earned a place in my boat’s tool kit over many years of yacht ownership. Perhaps the most important use came from the wax’s waterproof, sealing properties. Electric wiring passing into exposed exterior fittings such as navigation lights, often have loose fitting rubber grommets or may lack any type of seal. So a worm of hand softened wax, pushed firmly round the junction with a screwdriver will harden to make it waterproof. The same goes for any push-fit cable junctions…

Q Can you help me interpret the recently published ‘new EMF licence condition’ draft document by radio frequency regulator Ofcom? I own of a Princess 32 fitted with an ICOM VHF/DSC radio. My radio antenna is mounted on the bridge roof well away from anyone sitting on the edge of the saloon roof or on the foredeck. I just don’t understand how this could possibly affect any ‘member of the public’ let alone anyone sailing with me. J B Pendlebury Dalkeith, Scotland ROB MELOTTI REPLIES: We consulted the RYA, the radio manufacturing company ICOM and our electronics expert Andy Haines to ensure we comprehensively answered this question. And one of the key take-away points is this from the RYA: ‘If installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, it is extremely unlikely…