Innehållsförteckning för Jan-2019 från Practical Boat Owner

In sailing, as in life, immortality is best achieved by not dying. However in sailing, as is so often the case, it’s not as straightforward as that. Your views on this will depend on what kind of sailor you are: a racer or a cruiser. For example, long-term blue-water cruising types have been known to survive for years without anyone noticing; for those with complex tax affairs, wrongcoloured diesel, interchangeable name plates and flexible views on nationality this is far better than immortality… and definitely better than appearing in the news pages of a yachting magazine. That’s PBO top tip No1. On a more modest scale the thriftconscious sailing club sea plodder will measure their lifetime achievement, and therefore legacy, by the number of years they can secrete a launching…

The Southampton Boat Show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, is now the UK’s biggest shop window for new boats, equipment and holidays. But not everyone has the funds (or the desire) to buy a brand new boat. The vast majority of boats sold are second-hand. And some are very old. That’s the thing about boats, especially fibreglass ones. They tend to go on forever. So it stands to reason that an event that enables sailors to view a large selection of second-hand boats in one place and at the same time will be popular. This saves boat buyers the many hours and the copious travel costs associated with chasing individual boats around the coastline. And if these events coincide with a major new-boat show and are just down…

The boat, the cat and I were heading north trying to break out of the north-east trades. For several days we’d been sailing on the starboard tack, cracked off close hauled by half a point, to give us maximum boat speed through the Atlantic seas. We were trying to head home towards the east, in poor spirits with our tail between our legs having had the extra money I’d made during the charter season stolen from the boat while I was off doing Race Week in Antigua. I’d sailed south to Martinique to stock up with food cheaply, then island-hopped north to St Maarten and left from Marigold Bay on the French side, departing the Caribbean on 27 May, the day after my birthday. With a total cruising budget of…

Eden Northmore Jones was 27 when he chose to join the Doctor for a cruise on his Swansea Bay Pilot boat. Two years previously he’d sailed a 23ft, 5-ton gaffer from the Welsh coast to Bude so, unusually for the era, had some idea of cruising in the area. Swansea in the 18th and 19th century was the centre of the copper smelting industry with many ships entering and leaving the port. The port developed a large pilotage service, the pilots sailing out to meet the incoming ships in boats like the Vivian. At the same time in the other ports of the Bristol Channel the pilot vessels were rigged as gaff cutters. Both the gaff cutters and Swansea’s unique schooners had developed to be robust, sea kindly, to sail…

The earliest wheat harvest in living memory was under way as I climbed aboard my miniature gaff cutter Shoal Waters to go cruising. I’d brought my annual Harvest cruise forward by two weeks to coincide and as we set full sail and cruised the north shore margins over the incoming tide, light airs from the north-west blew gently in 30°C temperature and the distant rumble of farm machinery at work on golden fields followed our slow course down the Blackwater. My aim was to reach the Suffolk county town and the international Port of Ipswich at the top of the River Orwell, 37 miles from my mooring. For those who think we shoal draught yachts have it easy being able to creep along in the shallows, perhaps to stay clear…

Diesel engines and propulsion units need not cost the Earth. For this project my business partner, Peter Caplen, and I used a Volvo 290 single prop outdrive rescued from a fire-damaged boat and a 70hp diesel from a Ford Transit van. These engines are known to be long-lived so buying one out of a van with reasonable mileage is generally a good investment. This particular engine was still in the van when we got to the breakers so we were able to run it up and see what it sounded like, how it started and how much smoke it was producing. All in all it seemed a pretty good engine for £500 so we arranged to collect it the following day after the van had been cut up around it.…

COMPLETED FLOW CONTROL DIAGRAM COMPUTER CONTROLLER INPUTS AND OUTPUTS SUGGESTED FLOW DIAGRAM FOR CONTROL SOFTWARE COMPONENTS ■ 48V-5V DC converter: to power the Arduino and the Hall Effect sensor. ■ 48V-12V DC converter: this came with a car-cigarette-lighter fitting that I now often use to pump up the dinghy. It also came in handy for powering the cooling fans. ■ Resistor-Capacitor Filter: the throttle signal is analogue, and read by the Arduino. The Arduino processes this signal and outputs a quasi analogue (PWM) signal to the speed controller. In order for this speed controller to understand this PWM signal it has to be smoothed (filtered) with a RC filter. ■ Switch and relay: To enable a smooth transition from forward to reverse via the Arduino. ■ Potential divider circuit: reduces…

When any boat is moored up and left for any length of time proper ventilation is essential to prevent stale smells building up. Basic maintenance means keeping bilges as dry as possible, ensuring heads and galley drains are properly cleaned and engine bays are kept shipshape. In my own experience I’ve found that wooden boats seem to suffer less from malodorous whiffs when left unused than GRP hulls. But whatever they are built of, fresh air circulating will go a long way to cure any unwelcome bouquets from below as you open the hatch. For this reason I always ensure all built in vents are operating and any berth cushions below are propped so air can circulate freely around them and through lockers. Another thing I like to do is…

Visitors always enjoy a sail. By the time folk have made it to Shetland, they stay at least five days, so we always manage one afternoon in my Offshore 8M Karima S, a Van de Stadt who can take anything beginners can throw at her. Last summer we were… well, infested with visitors, was how my sociable husband, Philip, put it. The first was my fellow-writer Dea, at the end of April, along with a Norwegian friend, Elizabeth. We got a lovely day, my first decent sail of the season – a bit crisp, with curls of frost silvering the green hills of Papa Little, but we were all well wrappedup. Soon I had Elizabeth helming, while Dea wrote up the first log entry. Naturally there’s no real need to…

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Licenses to clean lightly fouled hulls in UK waters could be scrapped under new plans by the government. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is currently consulting on proposals to streamline parts of the marine licensing system, including exempting in-water hull cleaning on lightly fouled recreational boats. It is also looking at removing the need for divers to have a license to retrieve marine litter and giving harbour authorities permission to use boats and vehicles to remove all marine litter. Previously they have only been able to remove objects that present an immediate risk of obstruction or danger to navigation. DEFRA said it was reviewing in-water hull cleaning after concerns were raised about the unreasonable cost of haul out for light fouling. It said it was also…

An exercise has been held to test responses to an oil spill on Hampshire’s privately owned Beaulieu River. The Beaulieu Estate, Hampshire Marine Unit, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England, Environment Agency and Hampshire County Council all took part in Exercise Warren, under the watchful eye of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Harbour master Wendy Stowe and her team were tested by responding to the scenario of an oil spill, with a grounded vessel leaking fuel into the river. Marine booms were deployed from Warren Beach to contain the spillage and prevent it from spreading to environmentally sensitive wildlife habitats. Stowe said the MCA was pleased with their response, adding: “The exercise strengthened our partnerships with supporting organisations to plan for a multi-agency response if it is ever required.”…

SOUTH COAST AND CHANNEL ISLANDS RESTRICTIONS ON SHIPS IN FOG Ships of 48m or longer are now not allowed to navigate in Cowes’ Inner Fairway or the River Medina when visibility is less than two cables (0.2NM). Captains that deviate from the review order need to justify the decision to Cowes Harbour Master Capt. Stuart McIntosh. The restriction has been introduced after two incidents at Cowes involving Red Funnel ferries in fog, which resulted in moored yachts being damaged and even sunk. Vessel owners are also being strongly advised not to depart berths if visibility is two cables or less. Full details of the restrictions can be found at the Cowes Harbour website cowesharbourcommission.co.uk ALDERNEY REGATTA MAKES A COMEBACK Local and visiting yacht owners are being encouraged to enter the…

There has been a small but interesting scandal lately, involving those manoverboard rescue gadgets that take the form of weighted slings attached to your boat by a length of floating line. The line on the cheap ones is not, by all accounts, one continuous length of rope on to which the casualty can latch so he can be hauled aboard. It is a whole bunch of short lengths of offcuts, welded together with a soldering iron by some oppressed soul in a back alley in Guangdong, and unable to support the weight of a baby, let alone a person who has tripped over his Dubarrys after consuming four Fray Bentos pies and a gallon of fine wines. This leads one to think (though not as hard as the casualty will…

Several other brokers I spoke to backed up Steve Carter, of Clarke and Carter brokerage on the East Coast, about the speed at which good brokerage boats are selling at the moment. There are several reasons for this. First, the low value of the pound against the euro and other European currencies is luring overseas buyers from across the Channel. And of course these boats are then effectively ‘lost’ to future UK buyers. Unless the folly of a ‘no deal’ Brexit leads to a surge in the value of sterling and pigs take to the air. Then there’s the lack of new ‘starter boats’ being built. Any sailor looking for something under around 32ft is often forced onto the second-hand market. This is particularly true of bilge keel family cruisers.…

Described by Vogue magazine as one of the coolest seaside resorts in Britain, this seaside town nestled along the south east coastline is enjoying a new lease of life following decades of declining fortune. Situated between the port of Shoreham and Chichester Harbour, Littlehampton Harbour has undergone considerable investment and regeneration in the past 10 years and provides a welcome stop-over point for many boats travelling to or returning from the Solent or further afield. The historic harbour, where many of the 800 or so Hillyard yachts were built, is enjoying a new lease of life with the iconic Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach Café, as well as what was – for a brief period – the world's longest bench. Close to the Cathedral town of Arundel, Littlehampton welcomes visitors from…

The Bristol Channel is a demanding cruising area even now, but Victorian yachtsmen sailing without engines had habits of real seamanship ingrained by the school of hard knocks. Working the tides was a cardinal rule we sometimes forget these days, with a powerful diesel ready at the touch of a button. Vivian sailed from Carmarthen at 4am, an ungodly hour but crucially high water, with the ebb about to help her downstream and swiftly westwards. In early April there’d have been just a glimmer of light to show the twists and turns of the upper Towy River between its low marshy shores. This was indeed another era, when Britain ruled the waves and there was still plenty happening in the colonies. Gladstone’s Liberal government would soon be defeated after the…

I’ve never capsized on a yacht. As crew, I’ve grounded on sandbanks, hit rocks, lost a chainplate and Chinese-gybed on the Round the Island race, but I’ve always managed to stay dry. Even on sun-drenched Greek beachclub holidays, I rarely capsized the dinghies – and if I did… well it’s just like taking a bath, isn’t it? Not in Dorset in the middle of winter, it isn’t. A baptism of ice, you might say. After three children and an eight-year hiatus from sailing, I was desperate to get back on the water. I joined Hengistbury Head Adults Sailors Club (HHASC) for a course run by the Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre (HHOEC), an RYA Training Establishment near Christchurch. It’s on the shore of a beautiful harbour; an Iron Age trading…

Normally I strongly counter against painting boats, arguing that even the most neglected of gelcoats can often be brought back to a decent and long-lasting condition. The technique is to fill and fair damage with colourmatched gelcoat and then sand the whole hull with progressively finer grades of abrasive paper, to at least 800-grit, and then finish by polishing. It’s a process that’s generally more cost-effective at the outset than painting and reduces the amount of long-term maintenance needed. However, there are times when this approach won’t work and I’ve therefore found myself painting boats for more than 30 years, starting with an International Cadet, Mirror dinghy and Cherub when barely a teenager, and moving on to small yachts including a 19ft Caprice, a 25ft Folksong, and more recently a…

The prospect of over-wintering a boat in the South of France is perceived as being fearfully expensive, but that assumes we leave out boats in fashionable harbours along the Cote d’Azur. Situated on the southernmost shore of the Rhone delta lies Port St Louis, a navigation town that prospered until the mid 20th century when it fell into decline as larger-scale dock space and associated industry migrated eastward to the neighbouring Golf du Fos. Salvation came to Port St Louis in the wake of freedom of movement and the growth of boat-owners from across Europe who sought safe and budgetconscious over-wintering (hivernage) on a nearby Mediterranean shore. There are two large-scale boatyards at Port St Louis: Port Napoleon and Navy Service. Keppel has twice over-wintered at Port Napoleon but for…

From 2019 it will cost boaters more to register their vessels on waterways managed by the Environment Agency (EA). Around 29,000 sailors who use the non-tidal River Thames and Upper Medway and Anglian Waterways, including the Great Ouse System and Stour, will face additional charges. The increase could range from £6 to £100 over two years, depending on the size and type of boat, although specific costs vary by location. The EA, which consulted on the increases, said the rise would bring in an extra £930,000 by 2021. This will help meet the shortfall between the cost of running the waterways and the income currently generated from annual boat registrations. But the move has angered some boaters. The Medway River Users Association worked with the EA on the consultation. Its…

The Finn class, which proved so successful for the likes of Sir Ben Ainslie, Giles Scott and Iain Percy, has been scrapped from the Paris 2024 Olympics. World Sailing said it made the decision, which will take a year to be ratified, because the all-male class failed to meet the Olympics’ gender equality requirements. It has instead adopted the Mixed Two-Person Keelboat class to replace the Finn. The president of the International Finn Association, Balazs Hajdu, said many young sailors had now had their campaign ambitions for 2024 “cruelly shattered.” “We feel the Finn class has become collateral damage in the quest for gender equality and Olympic TV rights income for World Sailing,” he stated. The 2015 National Finn champion, Ben Cornish, told PBO that the decision was “a big…

Tom Pearcy is claiming the world record for the largest pumpkin boat, after he paddled down the River Ouse in the 619kg squash. His employer, York Maze, has now applied to Guinness World Records to have his achievement recognised as there is currently no record for the largest pumpkin boat. www.pbo.co.uk Visit the PBO website to find more free practical content, find the latest subscription deals, or wade into the reader forums and get your questions answered.…

In my journalistic capacity I probably get to visit more than the average number of marinas – each one of which leaves its own impression. And here I’m not talking about the facilities which, although variable from swanky to rundown, are nearly all adequate and can almost always be borne at a pinch. Indeed, many marinas have the sameness of franchised motels – you’ve seen one, you’ve seen… well, many. Yet there are some issues that regularly raise ire. The ablutionary provisions for instance. Which of us has not rejoiced in the impish caprices of the marina shower block? The spiritless trickle from the shower, the demonic thermostat that alternately scalds and chills – all add their zest to the spirit of a run ashore. My own favourite is the…

Few of us will forget this past summer. It was one of the hottest, driest and sunniest on record – and it stayed like this right up until the dates set for the Wharram Hui at the end of July. Then, just in time for an event that had been looked forward to by Wharram enthusiasts from across the globe, the wind decided to blow and the heavens to open – both with a vengeance. At a gathering (or ‘Hui’ in Polynesian languages) of many mainstream boats, weather like this might have put a damper on proceedings. Deep-keeled yachts at anchor would have been buffeted and rocked around, and even marinas are often noisy and uncomfortable places to be holed up in when the weather’s vile. If you’re attending the Hui…

Arig little known, but in my opinion none handier, is that peculiar to the Swansea Bay pilot boats. Not unlike a Penzance lugger, they are a species of the genus ‘fore-and-after’. They are celebrated as first-rate sea boats, and good sailers on all points except a dead run, when from the great rake of the mainmast the mainsail does not draw well. They will certainly soak to windward marvellously fast. One of their advantages is that when it comes on to blow, and they are under main and fore-trysails and storm jib, there is no top hamper. All the canvas is inboard, and as they have only a few inches of bulwarks the decks cannot hold much water. The Vivian is formerly a Neath pilot boat owned by Mr Hughes,…

Have you ever exchanged your Sikaflex deck sealant for 24-carat-gold sprinkled with diamonds? Or how about swapping that slightly faded print on the bulkhead for an original Dali? Or maybe you’ve opted for a crystal chandelier that cascades down your midships staircase, or commissioned a wooden sculpture that travels from your bilge right up to your sundeck? If you have you’re probably a superyacht owner, and everything just listed has already been used in a new-build project. While the skipper tasked with maintaining the diamond-studded deck may have preferred the more dependable Sikaflex 290DC, some other bling I’ve seen has actually been very practical. Last month, we looked at how you can borrow ideas from the world’s rapidly expanding fleet of 24m+ yachts to make your own vessel much more…

The setup as detailed in last month’s article is perfectly acceptable. In essence, all I did was to replace the engine block of a 1972 2hp Johnson outboard with an electric motor. I installed a speed controller, a lithium-ion battery and bought a twist-grip throttle from an electric bicycle outlet online. A simple current/voltage monitor of the sort widely available online will then leave you with a similar setup found in commercial electric outboard units. But we want bigger, better, sexier, more fun. Well, I did, anyway! Using various low-cost off-the-shelf components I built and tested the following elements: 1 A computer control and monitoring system based on the Arduino computer. Interaction with the computer is via a touch screen display (by Nextion) which includes a key-code lock. Monitoring of…

When faced with a cold, rough slog to windward, many people long for the comfort of a wheelhouse, a modest split rig and a large engine to help push them along. Motor-sailers fit the bill, but there are a few points worth noting… A. Some boats have a high after-deck, surrounded by dodgers. These can severely restrict your view if they are not fitted with windows. B. A small mizzen can be useful to stop her sheering about at anchor, and might steady the motion when motoring. C. Recessed rear windows (C) and forward-raked windscreens (D) help keep the water off. And a transparent hatch (E) over the helm lets you see the set of the main, or poke your head out for a better view. Unlike forward-sloping windscreens, aft-sloping…