Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i Practical Boat Owner

Few things suck the fun more out of living on a boat than being woken up in the middle of the night by drips of water falling on your face, and then rolling over to find your pillow is sodden. Making our S&S 34 as watertight as possible felt like a full-time job at times; just when we’d fixed one hatch, another seal needed repairing or replacing. In this issue, we have Simon Jollands’ guide to fixing deck leaks, including step-by-step instructions for replacing a hatch compression seal and removing and resealing leaking port lights (page 43). Given many boats are about to be splashed, getting these kinds of jobs done now will ensure more pleasant cruising later. When living aboard we had minimal power, relying on torches and kerosene…

Racing around the world is extremely hard on boats. For ocean-going GRP production boats designed before 1988, some over 50 years old, it is especially challenging. This is an extra factor facing competitors in the Ocean Globe Race, a circumnavigation celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Race in 1973. Thirteen ‘old’ yachts are currently taking a beating while racing from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to Cowes, Isle of Wight, having taken on the three Great Capes. The Swan 65, Translated 9, the former Whitbread boat known as ADC Accutrac when skippered by Claire Francis in the 1977 Whitbread, is among those to have suffered damage. After rounding Cape Horn in February she began taking on water. Cracks in the hull were detected, forcing a diversion to the Falkland…

Tributes have been paid to renowned boatbuilder and designer Iain Oughtred, who passed away, aged 84, in hospital on the Isle of Skye on 21 February. In addition to his popular Caledonia Yawl, Ness Yawl, Grebe, Tammie Norrie and the Acorn skiff designs, Iain, of Oughtred Boats, was well known for his St Ayles Skiff. He grew up in Sydney and sailed, built and designed fast sailing dinghies from an early age. After moving to the UK, Iain learned about traditional boats and his designs for vessels of Scottish working boat descent were renowned for their beautiful detailing. Author Nic Compton, who wrote, Iain Oughtred A Life in Wooden Boats, said: “Back in the 1980s, Iain pioneered the concept of building traditional boats in glued-clinker construction. His designs combine sweet…

Trailer-sailing In ‘Trailer-sailing in Cardigan Bay’ (PBO, April 2024) Frank Sibly suggests that the Etap22i ‘is about the largest boat that can be trailed and launched’. Not so: we’ve trailed and launched our Swallow Yachts Bay Cruiser 26 Iris to Spain a several times, as well as lots of other places since we bought it nine years ago, straight from the Swallow Boat yard in Cardigan Bay! Carol Lawson Timber club Welcome to wooden boat ownership Dave Selby (PBO, November 2023). I have always enjoyed your work, more so now. We have had a small fleet here in the USA for the past 30 years. We did up the 1948 Folkboat ourselves, down to bare wood and back, and also have a 65-year-old yawl and a sloop from 1930. I…

Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers, edits The Marine Quarterly, and is perpetually patching up a 30ft ketch: samllewellyn.com The weather has cheered up slightly, and the sheets are coming off the boats in the yard, and their owners, lightly coated in spilt varnish, have begun to talk to each other. The conversation has strayed from its beginning – where will you be going this year and for how long, shocking thing the cost of diesel, bloody trawlers – to specifics; and landed up, as so often, with Headlands I have Rounded. Someone from the south mentioned Portland Bill. Nasty thing, the Bill, they said. Portland stone is great stuff, St Paul’s Cathedral made of it, and the lighthouse is unusually pretty, but the race. I mean the race. Up and…

Sailing in the Mediterranean usually means flitting between idyllic anchorages in fickle winds and hot sunshine. Some days there’ll be little or no wind until the sea breeze kicks in late in the afternoon. On others, it could be a howling Mistral lasting two to three days. Fortunately, it is warm and sunny most times, which easily compensates for the few tempestuous intervals. An ideal sailing boat for the Mediterranean has to be open and airy below, with a large, open cockpit for lounging in as the sun sets. If you’re planning to take your own boat there then, unlike the poor charterers, you won’t be forced to venture out on the rare stormy days just to make the most of your brief time on the boat. For this reason,…

Silky Cream boat cleaner It’s that time of year again! Time to clean our absolutely filthy fenders, fender step and tenders which get covered in black marks from those rubber pontoon docks, writes Nick Vass. I first heard about Silky Cream Cleaner from a caravanner friend as it is a secret weapon used to clean white plastic bits and bobs without scratching. Silky is appearing in more and more chandlery shops but I bought mine from a Go Outdoors store for about £7 some time ago – and it has lasted for years. Unlike that bathroom cream cleaner that sounds like a disease Silky Cream Cleaner is non-abrasive, does not contain bleach, won’t damage soft or shiny surfaces and so is safe on gel coat and lacquered aluminium hatch frames…

REPLACING WINDOW SEALS Window leaks usually develop because the window seals fail. The main causes for this are the deterioration of the seal due to ultraviolet radiation, weathering and flexing of the deck and superstructure. Quick fixes such as spreading silicone around the window edges may sound tempting, but they’ll only work for a short while – and will look messy. To do a proper job requires resealing the glass (or Perspex) and rebedding the window fitting entirely. If you trace a leak to a hatch and it look like it’s only the rubber seal that is leaking then fixing it should be a straightforward job in most cases (see above). Portlights vary in design, but the principles explained overleaf for an aluminium-framed portlight apply to most types and designs.…

Looking into upgrading our failing Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) house batteries to lithium-ion a couple of years ago, we found the price of a commercial system was somewhat beyond our budget. Nevertheless, we wondered whether a DIY approach would bring the cost down to an affordable level and started investigating. Much of the information published about lithium upgrades seemed to focus on complex, expensive systems for bluewater boats (with electric galleys, watermakers, freezers, washing machines etc), and there appeared to be very little advice for more modest boats like ours. So we designed our own system to suit our needs and came up with a simple and affordable solution. There were a couple of areas where savings could be made immediately: virtually all of the published designs relied on replacing…

Although there remains a large number of lead-acid battery aficionados in the more traditional marine electrical businesses, battery technology has recently progressed in leaps and bounds. Over the past couple of decades, the world’s top battery experts have been concentrating all their efforts on the development of more efficient energy storage, both on land and at sea. But despite this, there remains a great deal of confusion among boat owners, marine businesses and chandlers as to which batteries are safe to install into sea-going vessels. Traditional batteries Most interested parties have their own theories and experiences of which type of battery is best for use in the marine environment, particularly boat owners who live aboard for extended periods. In the past, the choice was inevitably big and heavy, open flooded…

Having decamped from leafy Cheshire to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, in my semi-retirement I considered buying a motorbike but my wife vetoed the idea. “But I wooed you on a Norton 600!” I said. “You’ll never get me on your pillion again at our age,” she replied. Within a week of moving to the marina development, I began to think about buying a boat and, scanning the ads, found a 1970 Westerly Pageant ashore in Essex. Just two tons, 7m long, and optimistically described as having five or six berths. My wife was keen so we put in an offer subject to survey. The surveyor said it was sound with remarkably good electrics but in dire need of TLC. We paid to get the engine serviced and had it transported. Years…

Sailors and boaters around the UK coastline are being asked to report basking shark sightings to the Shark Trust. These plankton feeders are slow-growing, long-lived, late to mature, and produce few young. They are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Basking sharks can be spotted in British waters from March until October, especially in the Hebrides (Skye and Mull), Isle of Man, Malin Head in Ireland, Devon and Cornwall. Now heavily protected in EU and UK waters, and no longer intensively fished, this largest UK shark is still at risk of being caught as bycatch or entangled in lost fishing gear. “While we need targeted and well-funded scientific research to fully understand the status and potential recovery of basking sharks, we can all play a…

Sailors are invited to take part in a review of Aids to Navigation (AtoN) provision around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland by the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs). The GLAs provide a comprehensive and sustainable network of AtoN for General Navigation and is responsible for the superintendence and management of local AtoN provided by local lighthouse authorities. Users of AtoN are encouraged to contribute to the review by commenting on: ■ The usefulness and usability of existing AtoN provided by the GLAs. ■ Any proposed requirement for the provision of new AtoN. ■ The mix of AtoN provided including lighthouses, buoys, beacons, Racons and automatic identification system (AIS). ■ The benefit to users of providing additional data from AtoN such as meteorological data. ■ The effectiveness of systems used…

SOUTH COAST & CHANNEL ISLANDS Speeding RIB A boat owner who drove a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) around 18 knots – almost three times the speed limit – in Falmouth’s inner harbour on a busy summer’s day has been ordered to pay £3,061 in fines and costs by Magistrates in Truro, Cornwall. David Morgan, aged 51, of Lawn Drive, Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, pleaded guilty to navigating a RIB over the speed limit, unnecessarily navigating through moorings and failing to navigate with care and caution during the incident in July 2023. Footage from the harbour’s new high-definition CCTV system, which aided prosecution for the first time, showed Morgan using his mobile phone, not using a kill-cord or wearing a lifejacket. In tribute Brixham’s maritime community is in shock following the death…

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. That first, wonderful run under motor to the end of the voe took till past mid-February to achieve – six months past the accident that put me, temporarily, in a wheelchair. It was a still day, with almost-warm sunshine. By now I was walking along the pontoon self, as my grandson used to say, and swinging on board the boat as if my pelvis had never heard of breaks. Philip. my non-sailing spouse (NSS), was coming too, as supervisor, and was already showing NSS credentials: “When you say ‘Just to the end of the voe’, exactly what counts as the voe end?” He also vetoed my…

Handling and docking a multihull is an acquired skill. The ease with which a multihull is moved by the wind has a major influence on the approach to a jetty. The lighter the multihull and the larger the windage (eg wing masts), the more preparation is required. Catamarans with twin diesel inboards have excellent manoeuvrability. In contrast, a single stern mounted outboard or drop down diesel leg requires a lot of careful forethought and practice. Single outboard driven multihulls Many multihulls need to be going about four knots before they will turn sharply into the wind by rudder action alone. It’s an advantage to be able to steer the outboard to manoeuvre when a multihull is not moving fast enough for the rudders to have much effect. If the wind…

After I bought my 50ft schooner Britannia in 2010 I decided to fit as many systems as I could afford to make handling the big 20-ton boat easier. I also converted all five sails to roller-furling and routed 12 control lines back to the centre cockpit to minimise the deck work. I then fitted self-tailing winches and rope jammers on either side of the companionway to handle all the lines, which we call the rope decks. This, of course, meant an awful lot of manual winch winding, so after dismissing electric winches due to their horrendous cost, I began to think about how to make an electric winch-winder myself. The early winch winders went under names like Winch-Master, Winch-buddy, and Modea. These were hard-wired devices that needed to be connected…

Removing and resealing a leaking portlight Things you will need Silicone adhesive sealant, new rubber gasket, acetone, masking tape, assorted screwdrivers, flat blade, locking pliers. Dismantling the portlight 1 Peel away the inner rubber seal, if there is one. The window pane is usually held in place by inner and outer frames, which are either bolted or screwed together, normally from the inside. Some have a gasket between the frame and the glass, which will need to be replaced if it shows any sign of deterioration. 2 Take care when removing the fastenings as these will need to be reused – ordering replacements can prove tricky and time-consuming. It is best to use a regular screwdriver aspower tools can easily strip the heads. If some of the fastenings are hard…

Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mike Attree on doing what a lot of people would like to do. However, I would point out that there is a lot of energy in a lithium LiFePO4 battery system – nearly twice as much useable as a similar-sized lead-acid battery system – and doing what he has done takes a lot of technical knowledge and skill. I also note that his electrical needs are a lot lighter than some. For the average PBO reader, I’d urge caution in trying to do what Mike has done. If something goes wrong then it goes wrong quickly and catastrophically. I was unable to find any stories of thermal lithium runaway on the type of boats that we own, there are however quite a few about fires…

Ever since I was eight or nine years old I’ve always wanted a Jeanneau Sun 2000. I don’t know what it was about this pretty trailer-sailer that made me dream of owning one; maybe it was her sleek lines or the example which appeared unloved, sat at Fambridge Yacht Haven. This is where we keep our family boat, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40. I was determined, one day, to rescue this boat, Victoria. I created a log book about Sun 2000s, recording every time I saw one and what modifications I would do, as well as my planned adventures. The first time I saw one for sale first-hand, I begged my parents to go into the broker and ask for a viewing; very kindly, the broker let us look around…

Dreams of junk rig regatta events and my plans for sailing in 2023 came to an abrupt end on the 3 May when I got into difficulties trying to anchor in Bull Bay on Anglesey. I’d set off from the north-west coast, bound for the River Dart where I intended to keep my Westerly Berwick Sesi for the summer, when I made what would have been an overnight stop in Wales. I was single-handing to Holyhead to meet a friend so we could sail together the rest of the way. But I didn’t make it. Sesi was completely destroyed but I managed to get off onto rocks and scramble to safety before help arrived. I suffered nothing more than wet feet though nothing could be done to save the boat,…

For more expert advice, visit pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/expert-answers SAILDRIVES My saildrive’s oil has gone milky Q My yacht Spook, a Dufour 40, has a Volvo sail drive. Last November while changing the engine oil I noticed the gearbox oil had changed to a creamy opaque colour and its level had risen to nearly overflowing; a clear sign that the prop shaft seals had failed. She’s been left idle at her berth since November so I expect the sea water and oil will have separated in the question is whether you think this will have caused damaging corrosion within the leg. The output shaft is stainless steel but is the input shaft? I doubt the taper roller bearings are stainless. Should I be prepared to replace them? Chris Mardon Stu Davies replies: I’ve been…

For many first-timers on their way to France, the English Channel passage is an exercise in which all their knowledge of planning, tides, navigation, weather, collision regulations and boat handling will be tested simultaneously. Several factors will influence the trip’s success, some more predictable than others, but if each is considered that will go a long way towards ensuring an uneventful passage. Timing The skipper controls the departure timing and may wish to plan for a daylight arrival. In the eastern English Channel, given a fair breeze and/or engine use in the lulls, most of the crossing options can be done within a summer’s day, while from the Solent we could shorten the distance to Alderney or Cherbourg by starting from the Swanage anchorage. At the western end, the crossing…

Draycote Water Sailing Club (DWSC) has been crowned Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Club of the Year. The trophy was presented by Olympic gold medallist Eilidh McIntyre at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show in February. The awards panel whittled applications from clubs across the UK down to 14 ‘exceptional finalists’ that had shown ‘an outstanding contribution to their communities.’ DWSC Commodore William Whittaker, said: “I’m speechless, it’s brilliant. This is 10 years of hard work, and we are now seeing the youth and junior sector enjoying sailing on a daily and weekly basis. The kids will be very proud because they’ve contributed to this success”. Panel member Janet Viney said: “We were impressed with how DWSC hasn’t stood still. By introducing new groups and new opportunities, their membership has kept…

Cole Brauer has made history as the first American woman to race solo and non-stop around the world via the three Great Capes, writes Katy Stickland. On 7 March, at 0723 (UTC), the 29-year-old crossed the finishing line at A Coruña, Spain, in her 2008 OCD Class 40, First Light after 130 days 2 hours and 45 minutes at sea. She came second out of 16 Global Solo Challenge entrants, nine of which have retired. Organisers said it is the fastest known time for a solo circumnavigation on a 40ft boat “which can’t be ratified as an official record, but which effectively improves the reference record time set by the late Guo Chuan in 2016”. Race winner Philippe Delamere presented her trophy. During the race, Cole’s regular Instagram posts attracted…

Irish businessman and mariner Enda O’Coineen is seeking international support for a project to build a replica of Ernest Shackleton’s ship. The original three-masted barquentine Endurance, used by Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1914-16 Antarctic expedition, sank after being crushed in pack ice in 1915. The wreck of the wooden ship, discovered 3,008m deep in the Weddell Sea on 5 March 2022, has been designated as a protected historic site and monument. It is estimated that construction of the 44m (144ft)-long Endurance II replica would require €14 million, plus a €1.5 million annual operational budget. The project aims to “inspire a new era of environmental stewardship.” A statement on the website says: ‘In the spirit of the legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, our mission begins aboard a modern replica of…

A grey seal pup born on the Beaulieu River is believed to be the first of its kind in Hampshire waters. The Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour team has been working with Natural England, the Seal Alliance, British Divers Marine Life Rescue and Wild New Forest Guided Tours to protect the pup from any disturbance by river users. This native wild species has naturally colonised on the river. Harbour Master Wendy Stowe said: “Grey seals don’t usually breed in these waters and we believe it is the first pup to survive here. We would like to thank our river users for acting responsibly and helping us to keep the seal pup safe and undisturbed during its all-important first month.” Seal pups triple in weight from 10kg to 40kg in their first…

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 Circumnavigators are a select bunch, and rarer still are those who’ve notched up three, so it’s with particular excitement I await confirmation of my investiture into the Circumnavigators Club. It should be any day now, post allowing, once my appeal has been upheld. Like pretty much everyone else I have completed a circumnavigation as part of a crew. That circumnavigation I regard as barely worth mentioning. Of course, you will have come across plenty of people less humble than I who, upon their return from such jaunts, will really make a meal of it as they go on endlessly about the challenges of freeze-dried astronaut…

Clive Marsh discovered small boats while working for Canadian Pacific Steamships and is a past Commodore of the Merchant Navy Association Boat Club. In this series he shares tales from his 50 years of boat ownership. Sailboat ownership for me began with small Bermudan rigged yachts kept on moorings. These rigs were highly efficient to windward and I had no desire to change them to a more traditional rig. However, there came a time when I wanted to go trailer-sailing and I found that regularly towing and stepping a tall Bermudan rigged mast was a lot of hassle. So I started my journey into trying various traditional rigs simply for the benefit of easy trailing and rigging. Traditional rigs tend to have shorter masts that can be stowed inside the boat…

Given the number of trailerable day-sailers and weekenders on the market, you might think there’d be little room for any more. After all, we already have everything from high-performance one-designs (the J/70, Melges 24 and RS21, for example) to versatile cruiser/racers such as Buckley Yacht Designs’ BTC 22 and the Seascape 24, now taken over by Beneteau and sold as the First 24 SE. Those who favour a more traditional approach might be drawn to the Cornish Shrimpers, or perhaps one of Swallow Yachts’ BayRaiders or BayCruisers. Then of course there are the Polish contenders, though many trailer-sailers from Poland have come and gone in recent decades, leaving the Viko 21 among the few that are currently represented in the UK. Keep it easy So, you might ask, is there…

Leaking decks are perceived as a nuisance by some boatowners, who are often prepared to put up with them and turn a blind eye: ‘That’s boats for you!’ The reason for this might simply be because many boats are only used when the weather is fine. If rain isn’t falling and water is not washing over the decks then a leaking deck can easily be forgotten about when the sun is shining, even if there are telltale signs of water ingress below in the cabin and bilges. The problem here is that if the leaks are ignored a much more serious situation may well be developing, especially in the case of boats with balsa or plywood deck cores. Rot is likely to be occurring. Rot can’t be ignored on a…

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I live full-time on our 44ft ketch with my husband, Tim, and our dog, Pip. Tim is an engineer, and over the past few years, he has become a bit of a lithium battery geek. I have a more limited understanding of the subject, received by osmosis through Tim’s musings. This question of ‘why do we want lithium-ion batteries’ came up last year. Our trusty Trojan T105 lead-acid batteries were nearing the end of their life. Despite having had a life of daily float and never being discharged below 80% the heat and old age were slowly killing them. Less caring owners would have probably killed them sooner. Their capacity was slowly declining. So why lithium-ion rather than more Trojans? Tim was keen to build a lithium-ion battery and put all…

Many, apparently healthy, people have routine health checks to pick up problems early and treat any issues before they cause significant, irreversible conditions. One of the first tests done in a routine health screening is a blood test as this is an indicator of anomalies in other critical areas. A laboratory oil analysis is like a blood test for your boat. It will indicate if the engine has a problem with bearings, pistons, cooling system, cylinder liners, crankshafts, fuel system and much more. Some sailors claim that rubbing the oil between your thumb and forefinger will tell if the oil has any life left in it. But this is foreshore folklore, it’s like rolling a drop of blood between your fingers and saying yes it clots, so it’s OK. It…

Many makes of depth displays use a standard transducer such as those made by NASA, Airmar, B&G, Raymarine and other manufacturers worldwide. These work by transmitting and receiving a signal of around 150kHz, but some are lower frequency at 50-100kHz, and some are designed for deeper water at around 200kHz. Having said that, you may find that ‘legacy’ (ie elderly) instruments are not too fussy about the frequency, so a sounder designed for 100kHz may work with a 150kHz transducer. As well as that the display heads and electronics used on older instruments can often be calibrated, further extending the range of transducers that can be matched to them. Useful displays Our Westerly came with a full and very impressive set of Navico 200 series displays and electronics fitted in…

Junk Rig Association spokesman David Tyler said: “Even a seasoned sailor in a well-found boat and in very familiar waters, will occasionally misjudge a situation. Ninety-nine times out of a 100, you’d manage to retreat with your tail between your legs, suitably chastened; on the 100th, you need to call for help in good time. I recall dragging anchor towards rocks near Flinders Island, Tasmania. Realising I might not cope, I made a Pan-Pan call but by the time help eventually came, I’d recovered by my own efforts. “An item of equipment that enabled me to go on single-handed coastal cruising into old age was a powered windlass with a switch at the helm position. When recovering an anchor in a stiff breeze or a strong tideway, it’s possible to motor…

1 One of the joys of being afloat is eating outside, and a cockpit table makes life more civilised. 2 Often a basic picnic table is all you need. 3 A combined 'table and chairs' model can be used in a large motorboat cockpit, and it can be used on some yachts with the seat legs folded up. 4 If you use it this way then the seat part sits on the cockpit seats and the crew weight holds them in position. 5 A locked tiller can sometimes be used to support one end of a table. 6 Wooden legs can support the other end. 7 Spring-loaded legs will take care of the other end too. 8 If the table is tapered it can be slotted in and stored above a quarter…