Innehållsförteckning för March 2016 från Practical Boat Owner

with the editor No business like show business I’m writing this the day after the last day of London Boat Show and, first of all, would like to say a big thank-you to all those readers who made the journey and took the time to come and visit us on board our project boat Hantu Biru. London was her final public appearance before we draw the competition to find her new owner: entries are now closed, and as soon as we have sifted through the thousands of entry forms from the magazine, website and three boat shows, will let you know where she will be making her new home. The winner will be picked at random, which is perhaps a good thing – we’ve met so many people to whom…

Send us your local news stories. Email PBO news editor Laura Hodgetts at newspbo@timeinc.com, tel: 01202 440825, or write to the address on page 5 SOUTH SOLITAIRE DU FIGARO In 2016, the Solitaire du Figaro race will stop over in Cowes on the Isle of Wight for the first time in the event’s 47-year history. The solo offshore race will start from the historic French town Deauville, France on 19 June 2016. Up to 40 sailors are expected to be on the starting line for the race that will cover 1,525NM between four European host venues – Deauville, Cowes, Paimpol and La Rochelle. For the UK stop, sailors will be based at Cowes Yacht Haven, while a race village in Cowes Town will be free and open to the public…

Email pbo@timeinc.com or write to us at the address on page 5. Photos are appreciated, letters may be edited. THE IMPORTANCE OF CARRYING OUT REGULAR LIFEJACKET CHECKS Working well under pressure? ■ I’ve just checked my three lifejackets, last inspected but not pressure-tested by the RNLI in spring 2015. Two are Baltic 150Ns and the third is a Seago 150N. I decided to pressure-test all three by inflating with a foot pump to avoid problems of bacteria and moisture from oral inflation: this was after removing the gas bottles and auto-inflation device for examination. All bottles weighed in well above the stated minimum of 141gm, with no corrosion at all on the Baltic ones, dated 03/2006. Sadly, the Seago (dated 06/2008), with a stated weight of 146.5gm, had some slight…

Flotsam and jetsam It is February again. The boat is in the shed, waiting for the weather to get warm enough for epoxy to cure. The air in the cabin is cold and the blood runs slow. It is possible to sit on a bunk, screwdriver drooping from the nerveless fingers, gazing into the dark space under the pilot berth and thinking about not much. The darkness in Bali was like this, but 50 Fahrenheit degrees warmer. The fishing boats lay on the beach in front of the Good Karma Inn like giant spiders, long narrow hulls built up from dugouts, with cross-beams lashed to fat bamboo outriggers with lengths of the rattan that crawled round the trees in the ravines of the interior. Wayan the fisherman got up from…

These products are all (with the exception of Boracol) a first step in cleaning the teak – they will make it look better, but it will soon weather if not treated. We’ll now be applying a variety of treatments to the teak and will report back in the November 2016 issue on how they fared over the season. That aside, all of the cleaners (even the bleach solution) improved the wood, removing stains and dirt. Some were better than others when it came to bringing out the colour of the wood, however. Best in terms of colour restoration was the two-part Wessex teak treatment which was easy to apply, required no scrubbing and left the teak looking ‘just sanded’. Easiest by far to apply was Boracol, which was simply brushed…

SEA SAFETY Will Stephens is Staff Officer Operations (Coastal Safety) at the RNLI BOAT BUYING David Harding is a regular contributor to PBO: his photo archive is at www.sailingscenes.co.uk CRUISING Stuart Carruthers is the RYA Cruising Manager and has sailed extensively SAILS Ian Brown of the International OneSails loft group is an expert on sails MASTS & RIGS Mike Coates worked in the spar and rigging business for many years SURVEY AND CORROSION Colin Brown runs a marine survey and consultancy company, CB Marine Services ELECTRICS Paul Holland is chairman of the BMEA and MD of Energy Solutions (UK) ENGINES Pat Manley is a diesel engine course instructor and marine author GAS FITTINGS Peter Spreadborough, of Southampton Calor Gas Centre, has 20 years in the industry PAINT AND ANTIFOULING Richard…

Q i bought a new Waeco cdF-18 fridge for my boat in July 2011 and it worked perfectly for just under three years. However, it now will not start. it judders, waits and then tries again – indefinitely. i took it back to the Waeco office where they charged me to tell me that there was nothing wrong with it and that the fault lay with the boat’s wiring. Since buying the fridge i have fitted a new Beta engine with a 100a alternator, and was instructed to remove the existing battery manager. i also replaced the two 12V 105ah domestic batteries. The cristec 240/12V charger was installed in august 2009. Ihave tried starting the fridge under shore power, with the engine running and on the batteries, all without success.…

The smallest yacht of the ARC 2015 fleet was Inua, a Hallberg-Rassy 310, sailed by Enno and Karin Rodegerdts. Their autopilot and windvane were broken in a squall on the second night. Enno said: ‘The tiller pilot pin broke. We had to hand-steer for four days before we got it fixed, using epoxy resin. We managed to fix the windvane, and had to pay attention not to lose any part in the ocean. Then we had self-steering back.’ Enno said the Watt & Sea hydrogenerator ‘produced all our energy needs, but it wasn’t perfect. We bought the short-leg version and should’ve bought the long-leg. It produced about 5A at 5 knots, but not as much as the data sheet said it should.’ Enno added: ‘We nearly lost the removable bracket,’…

An aspect of boat ownership that many people are still intimidated by is when, why and how to service your winches. Serious cruisers (aren’t we all?) are likely, but by no means certain, to service their winches as part of the process of laying up or recommissioning, but many winches go on for years without being given a second glance. Nevertheless, an annual service confers distinct benefits. Without servicing, a winch will become less efficient and will wear out prematurely. How often do you hear people complain that they are going to need new winches because their existing winches aren’t powerful enough? It’s amazing how much efficiency and power can be restored by a proper service. And to begin with, if you are using, say, an 8in handle, try a…

When planning this job, I had been intending to use this cheap drill-powered pump. This one was less than ￡10 from eBay and only has three parts, but I couldn’t find it when I did this job. Always the way! Still, I was delighted with the performance of the 20-year-old Rule bilge pump I had to reluctantly use instead. I really wasn’t expecting it to successfully pump hot acid and crud round an engine for two hours, as it’s really not what it was designed for. I’m pleased I went for this option in the end though, as two hours of constant use is, on reflection, also not what a power drill is designed for.…

In Australia we have a huge variety of beautiful birds, but not all are well behaved. So, when my masthead wind indicator began to point nowhere in particular, it was out with the binoculars to see why: and I discovered that the tail was missing! I blamed the white cockatoos that had taken a recent liking to my boat. A trip to the top was necessary. A new indicator costs about AUD$79, so as this is rather expensive as a toy for feathered fiends, I looked into repairing mine. Some scrap aluminium provided the replacement tail, and after cutting a small slot into the shaft I glued it with a generous dollop of epoxy. I painted it bright chrome in the hope that the flashing confuses the birds and spoils…

1 If you are making grooves for washboards, ensure that one shoulder in each groove is higher than the other (see drawing below). This makes it much easier to insert the washboard, especially if the boat is bouncing around in a bit of a chop. 2 All electrical wiring on board should be carried out using tinned copper wire, which is less prone to corrosion than the bare variety. Tinned copper wire is less easy to find but it is out there, so keep looking! 3 On a sailing yacht, the shroud plates are among the most highly stressed components and require a very strong bond to the hull. A good way of achieving this is to bed the plates in wet glassfibre, with a good bond and plenty of…

■ The headlands, which are a couple of miles apart, protrude from the Sound by more than a mile. Waters approaching the headlands are deep. During gales, vessels are recommended to take the track closest to the wind for maximum shielding. There’s plenty of water at the entrance, but don’t be tempted to cut the corner during bad weather as there are some unlit rocks close in, including the Great Mewstone which is a similar size to Drake’s Island. ■ The breakwater is well lit at night, marked by two lighthouses at each end and a central fort. However, it’s low-lying so it’s important to identify where it is, especially at night since the high amount of commercial activity – including ferries – produces confusing navigational lighting in the area.…

Sailing upwind Because there is no boom, the trysail sheets must be taken to the quarters – but this means that pointing is sacrificed. While in most storm situations you’re unlikely to need to make ground to weather, instead riding it out, there are occasions where you may need to go upwind. With the leeward sheet tight, you can pull on the windward sheet to act as a traveller and pull the clew to windward, if height is required. This lowered our speed somewhat, but the pointing angle was much improved. Some recommend using a reefing pennant taken from the end of the boom to use as a sheet, whereupon you can use the trysail much like a heavily-reefed mainsail. This will improve your pointing ability as you can use…

SEND US YOUR STORIES Email news editor Laura Hodgetts at newspbo@timeinc.com, tel: 01202 440825 News and current affairs from the world of boating A further 23 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) have been announced for English seas, bringing the total number of marine protection sites around the country’s coast to 50. Among the 4,155 square miles of newly-created MCZs is the Needles site, which includes Colwell, Totland and Alum Bays; Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds – a reef which stretches 20 miles (30km); Land’s End, one of the South-West’s most recognised areas and renowned for its rugged coastline; Farnes East, one of the deepest patches of the North Sea, reaching to between 30-100m in depth; Greater Haig Fras, the only substantial area of rocky reef in the Celtic Sea and Mounts Bay,…

Antonio Felipe Garcia Martinez (USA, 39 in 2018) plans to sail his Westsail 32 from San Francisco via Australia to the start in Falmouth. Shane Freeman (Australia, 63 in 2018) has owned and cruised numerous boats. He plans to sail his Tradewind 35 to the UK a year early, in 2017. Fabrizio Ladi Bucciolini (Italy, 53 in 2018) is an experienced cruiser with well-respected adventure skipper, John Harries, as his shore team manager. www.bluechallenge.org Neree Cornuz (Italy, 29 in 2018) is a former Italian naval officer turned sailing instructor with several offshore race campaigns and thousands of ocean miles under his belt. Roy Butler Hubbard (USA, 29 in 2018) has racked up thousands of coastal and offshore miles from his base in Maine, New England. Uku Randmaa (Estonia, 55 in…

PRACTICAL Repairing a cracked keel ■ A simple method for an allimportant job Plus ■ Budget dinghy repairs ■ Servicing a cooling system ■ Adapting a tender for a toddler ■ A car engine as a boat spare?! TESTED Rig tension gauges ■ Alex Bell rounds up a selection of devices to help you tune your rig Dinghy wheels ■ Lift-up and removable wheels to help you move your tender around BOATS Mini Transat-inspired boats ■ Production yachts influenced by maritime ‘flying machines’ A lifting keel for sceptics ■ On the water in SKEP, a gaff cutter fitted out with a Steynor Lifting Keel SEAMANSHIP Mooring under sail ■ Tips, tricks and techniques CRUISING Rediscovering Rhyl ■ Regeneration is aiding this resort town on Wales’ north-east coast PLUS PBO’s 2016…

Monthly musings Long-distance sailing isn’t all about longdistance sailing. It’s an incongruity, I know, but I’ve come to the conclusion that cruising under sail brings challenges somewhat removed from the basic skills of trimming, helming and the like. Along with all the seamanship that must be honed come logistical demands that must be accommodated: procedural – even secretarial – tasks to be practised. Unless you’re a full-time liveaboard, one of the consequences of long-term cruising is that the more distantly you stray, the further you must travel to be reunited with your other home. Put another way, the distance between your boat and your land base is an important and inevitable issue that insists on being included in your planning. When Shindig was based in some of Europe’s favourite tourist…

Teak decks have many advantages: they feel nice underfoot, have good non-slip properties and enhance the look of a boat. But keeping them clean, mould-, mildewand slime-free can be a major job. There are many touted remedies. Some people use a stiff brush and seawater to scrub them down – but this isn’t recommended, according to experts. They say that this raises the grain and wears away the teak, which can expose screw heads and lead to early failure and replacement of the teak. Others recommend pressure-washing the teak – but again, this can cause major damage to the wood and should be avoided. Chandlers’ shelves groan under the weight of teak cleaners, brighteners and treatments. To see how they perform, we collected together a range of products, from one-stage…

PBO PROJECT BOAT HANDBOOK ■ This 128-page restoration guide follows Hantu Biru’s journey from a Dorset fish farm to cross-Channel cruising. All for only £4.99 with free UK postage and packaging. Tel: 01202 440830 2016 PBO SMALL CRAFT ALMANAC ■ Full of information covering UK waters, Ireland and much of north Europe. Order yours now from chandleries and online bookstores. Just £17.99 or Tel: 01256 302699 PBO SKIPPER’S H ANDBOOK PBO SKETCHBOOKS 3, 4 & 5 IN STOCK £3.75 each or 3 for £10 Sketchbooks 1-5 are available to download from www.pbo.co.uk PBO CARTOON MUGS Celebrating eight years of Claudia Myatt cartooning in PBO, a dozen comedy boating designs – inspired by Dave Selby’s columns – are now available on mugs! Priced at £6.99 each, plus p&p from www.gone-sailing.co.uk/cartoon-mugs PBO…

Q We are refitting our 1976 colvic Victor ketch which we sailed to cyprus from corfu, and want to bring the main halyards to the cockpit. i have found a deck organiser online, but can’t find an organiser that will bring the halyards up and over the coachroof. any suggestions? Chris Othen, by email MIKE COATES REPLIES: I’m not aware of any proprietary fitting for the specific purpose of turning lines up and over a coachroof. I’ve see a few systems on production yachts, but all had been custom-made: there were complicated, verticallymounted turning blocks where the line ran under a sheave on the deck to take it up the front of the coachroof and over a similar block with a vertical sheave to allow the line to run over…

Q Boat owners, including myself, are often confused regarding the most economical speed to drive boats under engine power. with no fuel consumption meter we often quote our fuel consumption in litres per hour, but without the unit of speed this is a pretty meaningless ratio. it occurred to me that as the diesel engine injector pump is directly driven off the crankshaft it might pump fuel at a rate directly proportional to engine speed. The throttle position will affect fuel flow rate while accelerating, but i am not sure if it will affect the direct relationship between flow rate and rpm at constant engine speed. I investigated further on a friend’s maxi 1100. On a calm day with no wind or tide we motored at 1,000rpm and read off…

Innovative DIY features aboard Raw and Wriggling, a Gambler 38 yacht, included a fishing line fuse for a windvane and a fishing rod for a shortwave radio antenna. Skipper Sean O’Donnell sailed the ARC for the first time with his girlfriend, their five-year-old son Rasmus and one crew. He said: ‘The Sailomat windvane has a lot of force if something was to get jammed, so rather than break a rope, steering wheel or windvane, we break the fishing wire. ‘It happened twice in the middle of the night, of course. Two of us were up, one person handsteering while I got the fishing line and retied the block in place. It took about 15 minutes, I reset the steering and away we went.’ As regards using a 7m fishing rod…

TackingMaster by ID/FX TackingMaster is a tactical navigation device that works with any compass. It aims to make it easier to understand and visualise changes and trends of the wind during regatta sailing. The system was given a DAME 2015 design awards Special Mention. The DAME jury commented: ‘At a time when wearable electronics are so in vogue, the jury was impressed to see a well-designed, fun and simple mechanical instrument for the wrist that enables racing sailors to make fast decisions out on the course.’ Price r79 (￡57). www.tackingmaster.com CaseProof waterproof iPad and iPhone cases The Frenchdesigned CaseProof range of iPad and iPhone cases are now on sale in the UK and Ireland. They are said to be 100% waterproof, dustproof, shockproof and corrosion-resistant, built to withstand marine and…

Poor cooling flow is most usually due to a damaged or worn impeller! Once I had ascertained that it was not the impeller by replacing it and retesting the engine, I was able to begin preparing the engine for the backflush. Because of this, I’d had the lower unit off only days before to do the impeller. NOTE: At no point during this whole process do we start, turn over or run the engine.…

Have you ever been in the situation where the load on a cam cleat and your unfavourable direction of pull on the line prevented its release? We had experienced this on several occasions until we found a solution. The scenario was usually pushing a spinnaker run to the limit and being unable to dump the main by quickly releasing the kicker in a gust. The load on the kicker, combined with awkward angle of pull for the man on the rail or in the cockpit, delayed release too long and, whoops – another broach. Our suggestion cannot guarantee the prevention of broaches, but it should make depowering more reliable. Our idea directs the angle of pull upwards and out of the cleat, even if the line of the sheet itself…

■ Notts & Lincs Boat Jumble, 7 February, Newark Showground, Newark On Trent, NG24 2NY, Entry £4, www.boat-jumbles.co.uk ■ Gosport Boat Jumble, 21 February, Haslar Marina, Gosport, Hants. PO12 1NU. Entry £4. ■ Essex Boat Jumble, 28 February, Ardleigh Showground, Ardleigh, near Colchester, CO7 7QR. Entry £4. ■ RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show, 5-6 March, Alexandra Palace, London, www.rya.org.uk ■ Kent Boat Jumble, 6 March, The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 6PY. Entry £4. ■ Weymouth Leviathan, 12-13 March, Britain’s only dedicated maritime literature festival, www.weymouthleviathan.org.uk ■ Fish & Ships, 9-10 April, Osprey Quay, Portland with new and used boats for sale, watersports demonstrations, sailing opportunities, food stalls and musical entertainment. ■ Irish Boat Jumble, 10 April 2016, Carrickfergus Sailing Club, Rodger’s Quay, Carrickfergus, Co.Antrim, www.irishboatjumble.org ■ Horning Boat…

Ian Reid (58 in 2018) is a farmer from Somerset with 50 years of sailing experience. Mike Garside, a solo circumnavigator (Around Alone race 1998-99) is team manager and mentor. www.reidosea.co.uk Chris Jacks (33 in 2018) took up sailing in 2012 and has since taken his Yachtmaster exam. He is planning a solo circumnavigation of the UK in 2016, and the 2017 OSTAR aboard his Nicholson 32, Roma. Susie Bundegaard Goodall (29 in 2018) is the only woman in the race. She was brought up sailing from a young age, becoming a sailing instructor at the age of 18. She is now crewing aboard a sail-training/expedition yacht. Tim Newson (38 in 2018) runs his own sailing school with experience of cruising to the Scilly Isles and Brittany, the North Sea…

ULTRA MARINE CHAIN GRAB Designed for use with a nylon spring to remove the load on the windlass. Also available with pre-spliced nylon tail attached. Jimmy Green Marine Tel: 01297 20744 www.jimmygreen.co.uk PRICE EXAMPLE: 8mm £62.01 GAEL FORCE ANTIFOULING Copper-based, self-eroding, for areas of low to medium fouling. Buy two tins and get a free 2.1kg pear-shaped anode worth £14.99. Gael Force Tel: 01463 229422 www.gaelforcegroup.com PRICE £34.99 (2.5lt) SHAKESPEARE REFLECTIVE DOCK LINES Length 7.6m; 30cm pre-spliced eye; reflective tracers, visible for up to 60m; high strength and shock absorption; abrasion, rot, mildew, UV, oil and chemical resistance. Available in red, white or black. Force 4 Tel: 0845 130 0710 www.force4.co.uk PRICE FROM £23.95…

Mad about the boat RYA courses pretty much cover everything you need to know about life, but there’s one area of training they haven’t touched on, namely a practical sailing qualification in moaning about the cost of everything. The truth is there’s no need for any training in this area because all boat owners know this by instinct. Sure, moaning involves no study, merely a lifetime of surly and diligent application; and that’s got to be worth a certificate. You see, I’ve had a bit of a seachange, and not just from running boat jumble stalls where every punter tries to rob me by offering mere pennies for my great-value, top-quality, sub-premium-grade bargain boat tat. It’s endlessly galling because some of my stuff actually works, like the rope, although it’s…

BoatLife Teak Cleaner Powder PRICE: £11.66 (907g) Contact: www.boatlife.com This, unlike any others that we tested, is a powder which is sprinkled onto a wet deck, scrubbed in with a brush and left to work. It can then be rinsed off. The manufacturer states that it will remove less soft wood than two-stage cleaners and thus leaves the wood in a better state. The results were impressive – the powder formed a thick paste when mixed with water that really got into the grain of the wood and brought it up sparkling. Owatrol Net-trol Wood Cleaner and Colour Restorer PRICE: £17.95 (1lt) Contact: www.owatroldirect.co.uk This product forms a thick gel which is brushed onto wet teak where required, left to work for 10-20 minutes, depending on results, and then washed…

Got a question? Email pbo@timeinc.com 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 Q In December’s PBO, I read with horror and sadness about three incidents of yachts foundering (Harriet of Down, La Chimere and, particularly, Melina of Fleet). Coming from a merchant navy officer background and being a former survival at sea instructor, I am always intrigued why yachts do not have any reserve buoyancy built into them in the form of integral watertight subdivision, which is regulated practice in commercial vessels and to a much greater extent in military ships. By reserve buoyancy, I mean the capacity to section off various compartments in the vessel so that they become…

Qi have had a brown, resin-type weep from a deck fitting (shroud) on my eagle 525 ever since we bought her. it’s the only fitting from which this occurs, and it’s such a puzzle. should i be worried? it doesn’t look like rust, but what can it be? The problem has occurred for years now, but at least it wipes clean easily. Ian Garner By email COLIN BROWN REPLIES: It can be difficult to identify fluids leaking out of deck fittings from photos, so here are some possibilities that you should investigate. The stainless steel fitting holds the mast up so you should pay attention to this, as standing water and stainless steel deck fittings don’t go well together. There is a risk of crevice corrosion which can significantly weaken…

Q The rudder on my Plymouth Pilot is wooden and was in a sorry state when I bought the boat: however, I ‘fixed it good’. Last year, with all the rain, the repainting flaked off during the season. Now I am trying to dry it out at home, but it is taking ages. Someone recently suggested that I should start again and soak it in fresh water, then it will dry more quickly? What I am more concerned with is, if I try to speed up the drying process, am I likely to cause more problems and possibly split the wood? David Butcher By email RICHARD HARE REPLIES: Wood can take ages to dry, and the speed is governed by the species used. I can understand where the person who…

Hunter Medina PRICE: £3,000–£6,000 Perhaps the most obvious alternative to the Harrier, she too sails nicely and has a verticallylifting keel. Built later as the Horizon 21, with fin or twin keels. Parker 21 PRICE: £8,000–£11,000 Based on a mini-tonner designed by Ron Holland, she was converted by Bill Parker into a nippy and practical weekender with a keel that can be lifted from the cockpit. Jaguar 21 PRICE: £4,000–£8,000 Designed by John Mullins and built by Jaguar Yachts in Essex, she was killed off by the RCD in 1998 but over 200 were produced, most with fully-lifting keels.…

If you’re looking to avoid collision, rather than carry out a close-range survey of the seabed, we have to discount the Garmin from the running. Its limited range and intolerance to turbulence make it unsuitable for use at anything more than trolling speeds, but if Garmin can produce a through-hull transducer that deals with these problems, its impressive level of detail makes it a product to keep an eye on in the future. The Echopilot FLS 3D is best suited to larger boats, not least because of its size and cost. We also found it worked best in deeper water, where the ability to see for a significant angle either side of the bow proved extremely beneficial, picking up the edge of the shipping channel in Poole with a high…

Brown polarised sunglasses Cruising guide author Chris Doyle would not sail in the Caribbean without a good pair of polarising glasses as they are invaluable for spotting reefs. Giving a talk for Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) sailors in St Lucia, Chris said brown polarised lenses work best, and added: ‘I’ve never been without them since I discovered how great they are.’ He recalled how he was once on a ship going towards a reef, and had the problem of setting the crew straight when they thought they knew best. I remembered that passengers can ask stupid questions, so I said: “How deep do you think this reef is?” and gave my glasses to the crew – they turned the ship fast.’ Chris also advises that the higher up you…

The reason we go for acid is that engine deposits are usually alkaline, so an acid is more likely than anything else to dissolve and dislodge them. There are lots of acids commonly available, from spirit vinegar to ‘Salt-Away’. Most have been used for chemical backfl ushing with varying degrees of success. At the top of the tree, strengthwise, is brick acid (usually hydrochloric acid), but this would only be used as a last resort for an engine that would otherwise be scrap, as any areas of unpainted or oxidised aluminium inside could be eaten away very fast with possibly damaging results. It works well on steel heat exchangers, but I wasn’t prepared to risk this on an aluminium outboard so I went with a weaker acid formulation called Fernox…

Great ideas and tips from PBO readers Email your projects and tips to pbo@timeinc.com or write to us at the address at the top of page 5. We pay at least ￡30 for each one published COST AROUND £2.50 The river where I keep my boat is a ria – a drowned river valley that connects to the sea via Sydney Harbour. The upstream end snakes its way into the suburbs accumulating a lot of sediment, especially after heavy rain. At best, visibility down through the water is rarely more than half a metre, and the river is also home to fairly large and aggressive sharks – the type that bite off large pieces of you – so I am unwilling to share their domain for a reason as mundane…

My second-hand Bavaria 34 came with an unattractive support for its Forgen vertical generator, which consisted of two silver steel (rather than marine-grade stainless steel) rods lashed to the pushpit and connected to the generator by a bracket. I decided to replace this with a support constructed to my own design, featuring a single 25mm stainless steel tube attached to the transom and the upper pushpit rail. Connections between the tube and the Forgen stud (at top) and screw (at bottom) were made with nylon blocks. Everything was made to fit very tightly. I initially thought I would have to fit pins to hold the various elements together, but they have been ok for a couple of years. Lymm Engraving in Manchester made an electrical panel to enable selection of…