Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Practical Boat Owner

Coming home What a long, strange trip it has been. More than 13 years have now passed since switching from full-time dinghy instructor to sub-editor at PBO. Since then, I’ve worked at a number of different magazines in a number of different roles, but I truly relish the opportunity to be back at PBO to take the helm of the UK’s best selling sailing magazine. PBO has always been the magazine sailors turn to when they are looking for answers, for camaraderie and support when simple jobs get tricky, or when ambitious renovations come out better than expected. We aim to share with you the ins and outs, do’s and don’ts, highs and lows of boat ownership and maintenance. Tell us your ideas, topics you want discussed. We love to…

Work will begin shortly on restoring Sir Alec Rose’s iconic yacht, Lively Lady. The 36ft ketch has been towed from the Camber Docks in Portsmouth to the Hayling Yacht Company, which is overseeing the refit. The renovation will include a replacement deck, reassembling the wheel house, new electrics and work down below to make her health and safety compliment. She will also be repainted. Lively Lady was gifted to Portsmouth City Council by Sir Alec following his historic circumnavigation in 1968, and is now leased to the charity, Around and Around, which was founded by offshore sailor and Portsmouth native, Alan Priddy. Between 2006-2008, Priddy recreated Sir Alec’s voyage with an ever-changing crew of disadvantaged youngsters from the city. As part of the lease agreement, Around and Around agreed to…

I was thinking of going sailing last Wednesday, but had to call it off because my not-for-profit organisation failed to meet crowdfunding targets. Shame really as I had the perfect weather window, virtually no wind whatsoever, just how I like it. The plan had been to waft sideways the six miles to Osea, drop anchor, have a light lunch of a locally sourced ethically reared Scotch egg from a sustainable source – a chicken – (the Scotch was for later consumption) and then waft back on the tide, all the while conducting scientific research into the floatiness of boats and the wateriness of water, and drawing attention to the horrific environmental damage done to our East Coast marine habitat by the invasive red trouser, which is spreading from the South…

Over the last quarter of a century four builders have dominated the European market for volumeproduced 34-36ft sailing cruisers: two French and two German. The French duo, Beneteau and Jeanneau, was covered in last month’s PBO, so here come the Germans – Bavaria and Hanse. Unlike the more fashion conscious French, these two manufacturers have evolved their ranges at a more sedate and conservative pace. While the French were fast to follow new stylistic trends such as hull chines, curvy coachroofs and mainsheet arches, Bavaria and Hanse have instead tended to evolve their easily recognised house styles. True, they have – like the French – reduced overhangs and pushed towards plumb bows and sterns. And topsides have grown progressively higher. Both these trends greatly increase interior volume for a given…

There is a lot of information out there about ambient temperature, surface temperature, humidity and dew point – especially with regards to applying paint. But so long as you avoid painting in north of 80% humidity and are painting under some form of cover above 5°C you will most likely be okay. I designed my deck tent in Google SketchUp, a free, easy-to-use bit of 3D design software. I decided to use blue 32mm MDPE water pipe to make hoops, which I anchored with cable ties to the boat's stanchions. I added some ridge poles and then spread a tarpaulin over the whole lot. With the rig up you will never make a completely watertight deck tent, but it will keep the majority of water off, even in the worst…

Fill any holes and fair I filled any remaining depressions, holes and imperfections with West System epoxy and 407 low density filler mixed to the texture of peanut butter. Make sure you are tidy and remove any excess else you’ll be in for a struggle sanding it smooth later on. Also remember that once the filler has gone off you’ll need to wash filled areas with warm soapy water to remove any amine blush (otherwise your paint won’t stick), and then sand them flush. Applying the Perfection undercoat The first of the two coats of undercoat will, like the first coat of epoxy, take considerably longer than you might think. You can console yourself, however, that these are the last two coats where you’ll be doing the whole boat –…

The impact on the boat was enough to throw it sideways, hurling the skipper on watch across the saloon and throwing the two crew members out of their berths. This was no light displacement cruiser but a solidly-built Hallberg-Rassy 48 with a seven ton keel. The force of that blow from a flesh-and-blood creature would eventually sink the blue water yacht, which had been doing about five knots at the time. It happened at 0930 when David Bowes and his crew were on the return leg of an Atlantic circuit. Three days out of the Azores and heading towards the UK they were T-boned by a whale. It was a pretty big whale. ‘I picked myself up, went up the companionway and saw the tail fluke of the whale vertical…

With swing room taken into consideration, and having found a gap in the anchorage, you’ll now ideally motor slowly to windward and drop your hook equidistant and just astern between two boats to windward – preferably boats of a similar type to yours (see diagram 2, above). You’ll then aim at deploying the same amount – and type – of rode as they and the others in your vicinity. It’s also important to pay out your rode slowly as your boat backs. Keeping a little pressure on the rode will also help the anchor set. Never drop all your rode on top of the anchor. Some anchors may take more distance to set than others. In this case, you may want to drop a little further upwind. Never be shy…

A day trip in itself with hands-on exhibits and play area for the kids, as well as a great cafe. There are over 15 galleries spread over five floors, boats dangling from the ceiling, an on-site boatbuilding workshop and weird and wonderful exhibitions, including one on Captain Bligh and another on tattoo art. Beaches There’s a selection of great beaches to enjoy only a 10-minute walk from Falmouth town centre. Ideal for surfing, swimming and rockpooling, all have cafés or restaurants nearby. Gyllyngvase has seasonal lifeguards. Castles Overlooking the Carrick Roads, Pendennis Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1545. Visit the discovery centre and take a guided underground tour. On the other side of the estuary you can visit St Mawes Castle, which was built around the same time…

Day 1 We woke on the Saturday morning to the sound of gentle rain on the cabin roof, so didn’t want to get up until it stopped. Then it was on with waterproofs as we prepared to leave. Julian reported that the midges were ready for breakfast before he was, so we cast off without eating (or being eaten), and Julian finished getting the bowsprit out as we left harbour. Away from the shore there was just enough wind to be worth getting the sails up, so I bent on the No1 jib. Even with that and the full main we were making less than 3 knots, so we motor-sailed most of the way to Inishmurray, with only occasional rests from the engine noise. Inishmurray lies off the south side…

1 Keep your local knowledge up to date. Don’t assume that, just because you’ve made a certain passage or visited a particular location many times before, your knowledge is still current. We were not aware of the lay-by pontoons on the Bure and above and below Breydon Bridge, or that you can put in a request for the bridge to open giving 24 hours’ notice. This and a host of other information was easily available to us in the Broads boaters’ bible, the Norfolk & Suffolk Boating Association's Green Book, which is updated each year. 2 Don’t let your timetable dictate your decisions. We could and probably should have dropped our sails at the first sign of trouble, motored back up the Waveney to a safe mooring and waited for…

Q I am just about to buy a 6m displacement hull boat, which currently has an old (could be 40 years) two-cylinder lister diesel engine in it. It works and pushes the boat through the water OK, but it smokes a bit – inside the boat, not through the exhaust. the motor is a 14hp air-cooled model with a sea watercooled exhaust outlet. the boat has a 16in diameter propeller, but I’m not sure exactly what pitch. It does around 8-9 knots at full power. I am thinking of replacing the engine with a lighter, more modern engine (reconditioned) – something like a Yanmar, with a heat exchanger and three cylinders to keep the noise down. I have seen 20, 25 and 30hp models. does it matter what horsepower I…

With more than £12 million worth of new and preowned boats on view to tempt all tastes and budgets, the first boat was sold by brokers Michael Schmidt & Partner at 0930 on the opening day – half an hour before the three-day show officially started. Elsewhere, the event’s record number of marine trade exhibitors reported buoyant sales, and an increase in strong customer leads to follow up afterwards. Organisers say an indication of the show’s success was the first reservation for a trade stand for the 2018 event barely six hours after the show started. Practical Boat Owner, in association with Sika, which sponsored the Marine Stage, hosted a series of talks over the three days of Scotland’s Boat Show, which ran from 13-15 October. All of them attracted…

Set up in the wake of Hurricane Irma, Sail Aid UK is now gaining momentum and is attracting the backing of some of the biggest names in British sailing. Sir Ben and Lady Georgie Ainslie, Ian Walker, Shirley Robertson OBE, Helena Lucas MBE, Hannah Mills MBE, Sam Davies, Dee Caffari, Brian Thompson, Alex Thomson and Andy Beadsworth have all signed up to the cause. Sail Aid UK’s aim is to raise funds to try and help communities across the Caribbean rebuild following the devastation caused by the recent Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria. In tandem with a new Sail Aid logo designed by Hannah Webster, there is now a purpose-built website at www.sailaiduk.com, courtesy of Jeremy Pocock. The trustees of Sail Aid UK, which is still awaiting charity status, owing…

SOUTH NEW FLOATING HOME FOR POOLE RNLI A floating boathouse is being built for Poole RNLI. The new structure will provide more space for the crew to work on the station’s two lifeboats. The first phase of the project has recently been completed, with the ‘Meccano-like’ steel framework and floats in place. Work the construction of the outside of the building is expected to start shortly. The rest of phase two will involve the fitting of glazing and preparation for installation of the electrics, the boat lifts and all the essential equipment for a modern lifeboat house. Poole RNLI has been using a floating boathouse since 1995. In 2016, the structure, known as the ‘Pig Pen’, was removed to make way for the renovation of the Old Poole lifting bridge.…

There I am in the boatyard, strolling hither and yon, and there is the boat, 30ft of GRP propped up on what was once open ground by the fence. The brambles have grown down the companionway. The mast, once a brilliant gold, is now stained with dark corrosion. The halyards are slime-green, frapped with rotten twine against breezes now muffled by the encroaching vegetation. Varnish peels like blistered skin from teak once bright, now grey-green as the Limpopo. The whole works is giving off the dank niff of broken dreams. All yards have boats like this. Managers allow the eyes to rest on the dereliction and weep at all that empty space going to waste. But it is a big thing, a boat, several tonnes of timber and plastic. What…

If you were to ask a group of British sailors to name the archetypal all-weather motorboat, chances are nine out of 10 would say ÔNelson’. Nelsons have been synonymous with ruggedness and seakeeping ability since the 1960s. In fact the Nelson 40, originally built by Halmatic, is still in production today by Seaward Boats in Cowes (properly known as The Boat Development Company). Seaward have built many boats based on newer hulls, including the 39 that’s the subject of this feature. Nonetheless, such is the capability of the original 40, designed by TT Boats in 1963, that an Italian port authority recently bought two as pilot boats because they ‘still couldn’t find anything better’. One significant difference with the newer boats like the 39 is that they lend themselves more…

The Raymarine Wheel Pilot ST4000 in its various guises is probably the most common wheel pilot in the UK and beyond. New, it was always a good bit of kit and came at a very competitive price. My Mk2 model has a grey casing, while the Mk1 was in black. But there are other differences that are more than skin deep. My trusty ST4000 had a hat-trick of issues, probably due to being rather underspecified for the boat, and was the only thing not working on the vessel during my pre-purchase test sail. ‘It was working earlier,’ I was told by the previous owner, though later it transpired the motor connection wires had been twisted off and then oxidised a fair bit, suggesting that a malfunction had happened a fair…

In very tight anchorages, or if anchoring in close proximity of a permanent mooring field, you may wish to consider setting two anchors from the bow, in opposite directions. this is known as a Bahamian Moor (see diagram 3, above). this method of anchoring completely minimises your boat’s swing radius. Permanent moorings tend to have very heavy weights or other devices to firmly attach to the sea bed. they may thus have very short scope, often verging on less than 2:1. however anchoring in or very close to a mooring field is generally not recommended, as there is often legacy tackle littering the sea bed that may snag your anchor. if considering using a Bahamian Moor in a tight anchorage, ensure that the other boats have done the same. if…

Falmouth entrance between Pendennis Point and St Anthony Head is accessible at all states of tide and weather. The entrance is divided into two channels by Black Rock, which is covered at half-tide, and marked by a light beacon. The main channel for shipping lies to the east of Black Rock and is further marked by a red can buoy. Small craft can also pass to the west as there is a minimum depth of 5.6m. Don’t approach too closely as shallows extend to the north and south. Once past Black Rock, leave the Governor Buoy (east cardinal) to port then head north-west towards the docks and Falmouth Inner Harbour. Leave the docks well to port and watch out for shipping, especially passenger ferries. After rounding the docks, head for…

The 22ft 6in wooden gaff cutter Robinetta was launched in 1937. She has 6ft standing headroom and an 8ft beam, making her more suitable for extended cruising than most boats her size. Her bluff bows, extreme tumblehome and raked transom make her look a bit like a tiny Galway hooker and give her the same ability to ride a following sea. Unlike a hooker she has a deep, long keel and is well ballasted, making her extremely stiff. Her designer and first owner was Denys Rayner, who later co-founded Westerly Marine and designed their early boats including the Westerly 22 of which more than 300 were built.…

QLast year I purchased an ex-charter Moody S31 for a snip, as the charter company was looking to rid themselves of a number of surplus assets. The vessel was manufactured in 2000 and was used for a number of years as a flotilla boat before more recently being used for training. Needless to say she had seen more than her fair share of usage and accumulated various knocks and scrapes on her hull. This didn’t put me off, however, as she’d undergone a survey a year before and, though aesthetically needing some work, was found to be structurally sound. That said, no flooring was taken up and no internal hatches or covers removed to allow for a more thorough examination. The survey report made this clear and I guess, in…

Q I have a 1976 Colvic Victor Ketch in Cyprus and want to replace the small 385mm x 245mm hatch over the saloon double berth with a larger one, about 550mm x 550mm. Is this feasible and would I be making the cabin roof weaker? Chris Othen, by email TONY DAVIES REPLIES: This shouldn’t pose any problems with the strength of the roof as long as you reinforce the new hatch perimeter. What I’d do is first take down the headlining in the area to be worked and see how the old hatch aperture has been strengthened. This will give you an idea of how much work you need to do on the new hatch surround. Next cut the new aperture to the correct size leaving a few millimetres as…

The spring in the retaining pin on my Spinlock tiller handle rusted and no longer pushed the ball bearing up so it would click into place. Shocked at the price of a replacement I decided to put my mind to a fix. I drilled a small hole until the bit hit the ball bearing – it’s best to use a drill-stand to do this – then squirted mastic sealant into the hole so the ball bearing was pushed up. Once set the mastic has a slight springiness – the pin is now back on my boat working good as new.…

Sailors who keep their boats in Croatia are being warned to brace themselves for an ‘enormous tax increase’ after new regulations were introduced by the Croatian Government. The Cruising Association (CA) is predicting that ‘hundreds, if not thousands of boat owners will leave Croatia rather than pay the increase, which could amount to more than 400%.’ The new rates for the so-called sojourn tax were published in the Croatian Official Gazette in September. The CA is urging all boat owners in Croatia to check to see what the new rates will mean for them and to liaise with their marina managers. CA member and boat owner, Peter Naish, who keeps his boat in Murter, said he managed to pay for an extra year in advance under the old tax payment.…

A crew of 15 armed forces veterans has arrived back in Falmouth having endured rough weather and broken gear during their eight-week voyage around Britain. Since starting the Turn to Starboard Round Britain Challenge on 5 August, the former servicemen have had to cope with heavy weather conditions, ripped sails and broken steering gear. They completed their circumnavigation on board the 92ft tall ship, Spirit of Falmouth, stopping at 15 ports around the coast before crossing the finish line off Pendennis Point on 1 October much to the delight of family, friends and supporters who had gathered to welcome them home. Expedition leader and former Royal Marine, Dan Fielding, said it was an extremely tough voyage. ‘The team should all be justly proud of themselves, whether completing shorter sections or…

Delightful Drascombes David Harding’s article on Drascombe boats (PBO, October 2017) prompts me to send a photograph of the original Drascombe Lugger sold in this country at the 1969 Boat Show (and inscribed as such on the Honnor Marine plate). I had correspondence with Luke Churchouse (of Drascombe builders Churchouse) during the 40-year celebrations and he confirmed the provenance of our Lugger and also sent a photo of her on the quay in Totnes just prior to being sent to London. She is in fact hull No 3. The first was a prototype and I have no information what happened to her, while the second was sent to the Boston Boat Show in the United States the same year. We bought her in 2000 and renamed her Aunty Peg, after…

Memories can be elusive and are often triggered by chance. For me one such trigger arose just the other day. While sorting out some books I came across my log for a voyage from the UK to Galveston, Texas, completed by me and my then wife Jenny in 1974. Our steed was the 35ft trimaran Whisky Jack – originally intended as my entry for the doublehanded Round Britain and Ireland Race of that year. Thumbing through the pages, one logged entry caught my attention: ‘Wind abated and almost dead astern. Set No1 jib and No2 in twin combination but still under-canvassed. Boring! Replaced No2 with genoa. Much better!’ That paragraph itself is unremarkable, yet viewed from some 43 years later it seemed awkwardly out of step with my recollections. Separate…

COST £800 Most jobs on my beloved 30-footer Triola, a 1970s Albin Ballad, begin with a benign sense of suspended reality. I leave home after breakfast with a spring in my step but by lunchtime I’m usually bleeding from somewhere and have revised my timescale for the job from hours to months! This particular task was somewhat different – I always knew it would be huge. Each year that I approached it I put it off, and each year when she was in the water I’d try some new miracle cure for aged, crusty, chalky and dirty 1970s gelcoat. From pressure washing to whizzy cleaning products and even compounding with an electric polisher, nothing worked. The crazed cracks around cleats, the rust patches around old fittings, the areas of gelcoat…

A significant proportion of our work at the yard comes from insurance companies: in this particular case a Southerly 115 was clobbered by a 40ft yacht while sitting on her mooring – the 40-footer's crew were obviously having a few handling issues at the time. Southerlys of this era are pretty heavily built so to have an impact where the teak rubbing strake was shattered, the hull and deck punctured and the internal bulkhead dislodged – shearing the headlining screws and separating the GRP lining from the coachroof and companionway – was pretty serious. So let’s look at how we made the hull and deck repairs. The hull was actually fine as the hull-deck joint is under the teak rubbing strake, some 500mm below the side deck level. The vertical…

Finding a suitable place to drop your hook can be easy in some anchorages and seriously challenging when things are tight. Not being prepared or, worse, shouting and screaming during a botched manoeuvre, can provide great entertainment value to fellow boaters already anchored. Rest assured, they’ll be watching your every move: anchoring is, after all, a spectator sport. So what can we do to make it easy? A bit of planning, particularly when it comes to a crowded anchorage, can make all the difference as to whether your entrance is elegant, or ‘interesting’. Start by reviewing your anchorage options before your cruise. Check the charts, guidebooks, and online resources for suitable places to stop overnight. Check your charts What do the charts say about the bottom composition? Review the predicted…

At home, social etiquette is something we learn from our parents. For example, most people grow up learning to eat at a table, each culture in its own way. But not everyone grows up boating. Therefore it’s hard for most people to have a finer sense of behavioural do’s and don’ts on the water. Unless you’re a Robinson Crusoe anchored off a deserted island on your own, there are some things we all need to know. The cardinal rule of anchoring etiquette is quite simple: The first boat anchored sets the precedent This ‘rule’ is actually written into Admiralty case law: “A vessel shall be found at fault if it ... anchors so close to another vessel as to foul her when swinging ... (and/or) fails to shift anchorage when…

Step by step When you drop a phone in the water it doesn’t just sink. At least mine didn’t and I’ve seen it happen twice now. They sort of sway back and forth in slow motion as they disappear into the depths while you stare wide-eyed thinking: ‘Gracious me, there goes my phone’ (or words to that effect). Spectacles on the other hand don’t mess around. Despite being light in weight they just seem to dive straight down – can’t wait to see the bottom I suppose. And tools are same... they just plummet. Suffice to say I had a dodgy moment recently while fashioning a new bracket on deck with various tools gathered. I was placing them carefully but got careless. A boat going too fast went past, a large…

From Brad Pitt to Ellen MacArthur, cargo ships and Cornish gigs – this deep water harbour can accommodate anyone, yet its creeks are surprisingly tranquil. Sailing in to Falmouth harbour is no problem – after all, including Carrick Roads it’s the third largest natural deep water harbour in the world. Getting away again is another matter: charming, cosmopolitan and the home to the National Maritime Museum, you might be tempted not to leave in a hurry. It was here in 1668 that the Post Office established a packet service to foreign colonies, and by the 1800s 40 ships were sailing from Falmouth with mail, passengers, supplies and payment for overseas troops. The harbour has flourished ever since, and while commercial activity has declined from its heyday in the 1950s, it’s…

Penryn Approximately 1 mile west of Falmouth on Penryn River and is used by fishing vessels and recreational craft. The channel to Exchequer Quay is marked by light buoys and the quay has depths of about 4.8m at MHWS. There are a number of local boatyards and pilotage slipways for craft of up to 50 tonnes. St Mawes Harbour St Mawes lies at the entrance to Percuil River on the east side of Falmouth Harbour and provides a sheltered anchorage for yachts. There’s a drying quay on the north side of the harbour. St Just Creek Found 1½ miles north of Saint Mawes, St Just is entered close to the south of Messack Point and provides sheltered anchorage for yachts. The creek dries 1½ cables within the entrance. The port…

Devotees of Arthur Ransome's Coot Club will be aware of the perils of the passage through Yarmouth and Breydon Water on the Norfolk Broads. No matter how many times you do it, the sail from the northern to the southern rivers is a slightly nerve-wracking experience. On the ebb tide all of the waters of the northern rivers – the Bure, the Ant and the Thurne – funnel out into Yarmouth harbour through a concrete ditch less than 25m wide. Almost simultaneously the combined waters of the Rivers Yare and Waveney are pouring down through Breydon Water, the largest expanse of water on the Broads. The result is complex tidal conflict below Breydon Bridge, the lifting bridge which carries the busy A12 trunk road over the lower end of Breydon.…

Most UK boaters – particularly those from East Anglia – would probably refer to the river Risle in Normandy as a creek. It’s located 8km downstream, west of the Tancarville bridge (inland waterways are measured in kilometres but for those who prefer sea miles, that’s about 4NM), and some 10km – 5NM, say – upstream of Honfleur. This creek provides an anchorage alternative to Honfleur and, for those entering or exiting the Seine en route to Rouen and Paris, it has particular appeal if arrival is likely to be late afternoon. The Risle is a pleasant enough place in its own right, and particularly so for the creek-crawlers among us, and in the right conditions it makes an interesting challenge. It’s certainly a lot cheaper than Honfleur or the rather…