Innehållsförteckning för November 2021 från Practical Boat Owner

Mark Ashley-Miller is three years into a challenge to circumnavigate Britain by sail – meeting every Harbour Master. Sailing aboard his 34ft Nauticat motorsailer, Good Dog, his 2020 route began with a visit to Darren Bremner in the council-run harbour of Buckie, on Scotland’s north-east coast. Sailing south around a lumpy Rattray Head, past the fishing heartland of north east Scotland, he met Tom Hutchison at Montrose, where yachts seldom venture. Mark said: “Not many people know there is a port at Perth, and not many boats sail up a salmon river to find a harbour master. That mission completed, the Firth of Forth presented different challenges – of the 20 harbours on my list, 18 were drying, one was a restricted MOD site, the largest housed an international oil…

While the world still hangs under the cloud of Covid-19, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) organisers have been receiving calls and emails from ‘sailors everywhere’ who are ‘desperately keen to get afloat to explore the globe again.’ The World Cruising Club team has been busy making plans for a safe 2021 ARC this coming November. Entries are also now open for ARC 2022. The rally usually attracts more than 200 boats of all sizes and 1,200 people to sail 2,700 miles across the Atlantic from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia, in the Eastern Caribbean. Participants include families with children, cruising couples and racers. Benefits include pre-departure activities, camaraderie, group discounts for marinas and festivities upon voyage completion. ■ worldcruising.com/arc…

MINESWEEPER NOT SUBMARINE A wreck in the Southern Irish Sea, previously thought to be a submarine has been identified as minesweeper HMS Mercury. Maritime archaeologists at Bournemouth University and scientists at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences are combining marine archives with high-resolution multibeam sonar data to try and identify unknown wreck sites. Originally built as a Clyde-based ferry, HMS Mercury was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1939 to serve as minesweeper. It sank in 1940 – damaged by a mine it was attempting to clear. OLD GAFFERS’ DONATION Zoom talks run by Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association have raised r8,000 for Howth RNLI. The group came to the rescue when Covid-19 halted the usual fundraisers of coffee mornings and boat jumbles. FERRARI FUNDING Pwllheli’s new lifeboat boathouse in north…

Living with the sea 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. I take a professional interest in boat noosts. Well, to be precise, it’s the landing stage in front of the boat noost that I’ve had dealings with from my earliest youth. Every cottage in the West Highlands had a landing stage, a path down the beach made with rolled boulders for stepping out dry, backfilled with the larger stones from the place where the crofters hauled their boat up, leaving a smooth pebble slipway. Every cottage, that is, except my indomitable Aunt Ysabel’s. She was our aunt by courtesy, in her 70s, and she lived in the next cottage along from ours.…

You see a yacht with a mast, or masts held up with no rigging and think: ‘What’s going on? Why does it not fall over? This must be wrong – masts are supposed to be held up by wires, yes? All sensible boats have rigging, surely?’ Some of us sailors, and many yacht designers disagree. Freestanding masts are not an experiment, but are wellestablished technology. So why are there not more of them? Because few sailors have any experience of sailing them. As they are not commonly accepted, the production yacht companies, quite logically, tend not to make them. Designing and building yachts is a very competitive business and sales to such a small minority is unprofitable. Following on, they’re rarely reviewed in the yachting press, and, because of racing…

Sailing from the Netherlands to the UK is a bucket list item for my sailing friend Wim and I – one, though, that has constantly been thwarted by Covid-19. With so much travel uncertainty we’d given up on the idea and instead had a week organised at the beginning of August 2021 to sail the Standing Mast Route of the Netherlands and then a little jaunt to Belgium. Suddenly, though, two days before we left, good old Boris appeared advising that people could travel to the UK again! With a short diversion to pick up the Imray charts and get a PCR test, we followed the Standing Mast Route to Rotterdam and then, on 3 August, headed off on a glorious sail to the UK. It was absolutely perfect and…

Every year a small handful of sailors set out to cross the Pacific single-handed. In 2017 I was one. I’d left the UK in 2014 after retirement from work aged 66. It occurred to me that my boat Sea Bear, a Vancouver 28, was capable of a big trip. Dreams of big sailing trips had lain long dormant in my mind since as a teenager I had been inspired by books of sailing adventures. I just never thought that things like that were in my reach, but here I was, I had the boat, the question was: was I up to it? So, after some hectic preparation and planning, one August afternoon I slipped the warps and made my way out over Caernarfon bar and out to sea. I was…

Stove top ovens have been around for a long time, including this one that dates from the 1940s. In the 1970s it became 25% larger and the lid changed for the now familiar red colour and is now one of the most popular models. The key part of the design is the central void, which allows heat from a hob to dissipate evenly, without major hot or cold spots. In addition, the Omnia has three parts that are designed to maximise efficiency. The steel base transfers heat to the bottom of the baking pan. The latter is also heated internally by the hob. Finally, the lid is shaped to direct hot air on top of the items being cooked. It still has many fans who use it for baking bread,…

Gas detector A gas detector is an essential tool for any marine surveyor, but it’s also useful for boat owners to keep on board, especially liveaboards. Gas standards on boats were very different 40 years ago and sadly the Project Boat Maximus, a Maxi 84 built some time between 1977 and 1983, is going to need a whole new installation if we decide to keep gas on board (see PBO October). Gas will gather in the lowest parts of the boats – the bilges and engine compartments – so it’s important to inspect these areas from time to time. During Maximus’s survey, marine surveyor, Ben Sutcliffe Davies used a TPI 725L combustible gas detector from Screwfix. The battery-powered detector can be used one-handed and has both a visual indicator and…

I couldn’t wait for my dad to meet Maximus. It was dad who introduced me to sailing as a kid on Compstall lake in Cheshire. My earliest memory is watching him and my mum hike out as far as they could on a Mirror dinghy, yelling at me to get on the high side while I ignored them, trailing my arm through the murky water. My mum gave up soon after that, but dad and I carried on sailing, in everything from GRP cruiser-racers to a trimaran and wooden gaffer. Dad bought me an RYA Dayskipper course as a graduation present, and watched me head off to Australia to work on charter yachts, before getting a job at his favourite magazine, Practical Boat Owner! He finally gave up owning a…

When we bought our 27ft canal boat Osprey last November we found that the previous owner had carpeted the bow area including the squab (the piece of wood and/or foam which fits in the forepeak space to convert it to a double bed). Otherwise the internal space was just covered with soft cushions. I wanted dual use for this area, to be able to sleep there but also, with the squab removed, to have it as a seating space. The whole area had curved sides so I was going to have to buy and then cut foam into specific shapes to fit within the forepeak. I could buy pre-cut foam from a number of sources in different basic shapes, rectangular, square and even rhomboid, as long as the sides were…

When carrying out a painting task there’s often a need to take a break, be it for refreshment or maybe that important phone call. The problem is how to leave the brush so it doesn’t dry or partially dry out. Home decorators may wrap the brush in cling film but this is not something always at hand in a boat workshop and if anyone is like me it ends up with my hand wrapped in cling film and the brush left naked! If the brush is put in solvent to keep it workable it’s then too wet to carry on with the job without inadvertently thinning the first few brush loads and thus causing runs. My solution is to wrap the brush tightly in clean, dry rag and then pour…

New advice has been published on mitigating serious injury risk from whole body vibration (WBV) to crew on small merchant, fishing and pleasure craft. Repeated Shock (RS) and WBV injuries are a known issue of travelling on small vessels at high speeds. When they occur, they can be lifechanging or even fatal. MGN 436 (Amendment 2) is aimed at operators of small vessels and focuses on mitigating strategies, following several serious incidents in recent years. Current research suggests there is no definitive design of craft or seating which is guaranteed to mitigate all the effects of WBV. However, some basic principles may assist in reducing the effects and preventing further injuries; such as maintaining an upright posture, with the spine in neutral alignment–a natural ‘S’ shape – whilst facing in…

A sailing charity that supports injured military veterans has widened its activities to include NHS frontline workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Turn to Starboard uses ‘the known therapeutic benefits of sailing and the sea’ to help veterans with physical and mental injuries sustained while serving in the British Armed Forces. Since 2012, the charity has provided thousands of sailing opportunities to veterans and their families from its base at Falmouth in Cornwall. Now the organisation has gained permission from The Charity Commission to extend its objectives to meet the needs of NHS frontline workers. Additional resources have been allocated for ‘Project Argo’ to ensure the opportunities for military veterans is not reduced. Call Kaylie Buytenhuys on 01326 314262 or email: kaylie@turntostarboard.co.uk…

CHALLENGING BOAT FIRE Firefighters and lifeboat crew tackled a blazing 18ft vessel adrift within Girvan Harbour. Girvan Lifeboats volunteer crew responded to a request for assistance from Scottish Fire & Rescue Service just before midnight on 25 August. Because the burning vessel was floating freely, water from the firefighters’ hose reels was pushing it towards boats on the far side of the pontoons. The lifeboat’s waterjet propulsion was used to create wash and push it back towards the firefighters, while the lifeboat fire hose created a barrier wall of water against the heat and smoke. Once the fire was extinguished, a grappling hook was attached and the stricken boat pulled into the pontoons, and secured. Police Scotland and Coastguard Rescue Teams also attended. THE REAPER’S RETURN One of the few…

Mad about the boat 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 I’ve been thinking of fitting a bow thruster to my Sailfish 18, and a stern thruster too, for good measure. These will be cunningly fashioned by repurposing batteryoperated handheld smoothie blenders, with a manual egg-whisk as back up, as outlined in my forthcoming academic paper which is already whipping up considerable enthusiasm in Sailfish circles. You see, the problem is that sailing is a bit like riding a bicycle: it’s really difficult to do in water. And in both cases by the far the hardest discipline to master is the art of stopping. Of course, when you come to a halt…

AS REVIEWED BY YOU ‘The Dabber is about as near a perfect boat for its intended use’CLIVE MARSH ‘The Macgregor 26 allows for a huge variety of boating at relatively low cost’ROLY SIMPSON ‘The Tanton 43 makes sail-handling easier for shorthanded cruisers’NICK CHARMAN CLIVE MARSH Drascombe Dabber I was staying at the Coast Guard Cottage on Wembury Point on the River Yealm. The only practical way to get there from Newton Ferrers, where I parked the car, was to row to the cottage’s little jetty. This was, of course, fun on a fine day but you needed to take some care when the tide was running to weave between the moored yachts. Like most rivers and creeks on the South Coast the Yealm has become a boat park. My tender…

Before the introduction of its range of sports fishing boats and fast cruisers in the early 2000s, Parker Poland (parkerpoland.eu) had been one of the leading suppliers of RIBs since the early 1970s. To this day, the company still has one of the biggest and most successful RIB brands built in Europe. Over the years, the Parker RIB range (both open and cabin versions) has evolved to include numerous models spanning from 5.1m right up to the 15.5m Parker 1600 Interceptor capable of carrying four crew and 26 passengers. That’s a big RIB! Parker’s many RIB clients include leisure buyers as well as police, rescue and military users. And then there are the commercial operators specialising in the fast growing business of running ‘sea safaris’ around the world’s finest coastlines.…

Sea Bear is a Vancouver 28 built in 1987. She was generally in very good condition when I bought her but I decided she needed a few additions and changes to suit my purposes. Besides checking all the systems and general maintenance checks, and ensuring that I carried sufficient spares for most contingencies, I prepared for my voyage with the following work. Firstly I stripped off all the old antifouling and had Coppercoat applied to the hull. Sea Bear already had a Monitor wind vane self steering system fitted, an item I considered essential for extended cruising, which was a big bonus. I did replace the old boom which had been rigged for slab reefing with external blocks for a more modern Seldén slab reefing system and fitted a Seldén…

We keep our Westerly Pageant Dayspring II in Lyme Regis harbour, enjoying day sails with occasional local cruises. Last year we decided to cross the bay to spend some time in Torbay, having heard good things about Torquay harbour. Heading south-west from Lyme often means motor sailing, and the beautiful late summer day we chose was no exception. The trusty Beta 14 was fired up and running perfectly, the sails were raised as a gesture to our status as a sailing boat, and we were off in the sparkling sunshine headed into a Force 4 south-west across the bay. Mid-morning saw us just off Sidmouth, happily munching biscuits and fruit in the cockpit when Caroline said “What’s that high-pitched squealing noise?” Sure enough, an alarm was sounding, so we looked…

Late evening turned to night as Pippin fought adverse tides off Corbière, hard on the wind, her old Yanmar straining against the elements like a featherweight pushing Mike Tyson. To be fair to the engine, Pippin – svelte though she is – weighs a comforting 8 tons loaded, so it was an age before I could bear away and let the sails take the strain. Of course, Pippin is a sailing boat, but sometimes I get it plain wrong and the Channel Islands’ formidable tides turn on me, or I simply want to get home for the Southampton game. I’m no sailing purist and an extra knot from Jersey to Guernsey saves the best part of an hour; make that 100 miles and it’s over 3 hours. As I again…

The Velcro is attached to the top or right side of both the fabric cover and the Nautolex along the 2cm seam allowance at the end of each cushion. I measured the opening I required in each cushion, approximately nine tenths of the fastening side, and cut the strips to match. I deliberately didn’t make the openings full width in order that the corners have full strength and the corner seams are not being pulled when being sat on or when taking the covers on and off for washing. I also over-sewed the short seams around the Velcro and opening aperture for added strength. Material costs The four foams £125 2m Nautolex £30 2.5m Agora Lisos £50 2 x reels thread £5 Total cost £210 Suppliers www.anyfoam.co.uk www.kayospruce.co.uk…

A. Mould loves dark, airless places like the bow and stern, so some people fit extra vents at either end to let air circulate – and if these are not practical at sea, they can be blanked off. B. There can be ‘dead air’ spaces under side decks, but bulkhead vent holes can help here. C. Plastic soffit vents can be used to cover the cut edges. D. Leaving the hatches open helps, but you’ll need a strong box cover to keep the rain and thieves out. E. Fold-away wedge-shaped spacers have also been used to lock the hatch cover open. F. Vents inside cockpit coaming lockers can help, but have bungs ready to close them off in heavy weather at sea. G. Leave portholes open but lash a pierced…

Fourteen-year-old Katie McCabe stole the show at the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA) Stoneways Marine awards celebration by winning both Young Sailor of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year 2021 awards. Presented by double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE and Tokyo 2020 sailing gold medallist Stuart Bithell, Katie won the Young Sailor of the Year Award for her record-breaking solo journey around Britain on her restored 26ft Morgan Giles, Falanda, and the Young Journalist award for her engaging voyage blogs. Katie said: “I didn’t expect to be nominated at all, and I see all these amazing sailors and didn’t realise that anyone would know me. It was really, really cool. After this I’d like to get into racing and might be considering the Mini Transat one day.” Vendée…

A not-for-profit sailing initiative called #boatgen has been launched to encourage children and teens on the water. The Andrew Simpson Foundation and boatfolk marina group are joining forces to offer sailing experience days; a pop-up keelboat club, ‘get afloat days’ with kayaking and paddleboarding sessions; career pathways; and a youth ambassador programme. New boatgen ambassador Tim Long, who was the youngest person to sail around Britain at 15-years old, said: “I am excited to share my experiences with peers and encourage them to try out the sport that I am so passionate about. I love the feeling of freedom and self-reliance that comes with being on the water and I think that every young person should have an opportunity to experience that.” A sailing experience day will be held at…

News from your cruising area Send us your local news stories. Email PBO news editor Laura Hodgetts at pbo@futurenet.com, tel: 0330 390 6467, or write to the address on page 5 ENERGY 2’S MAIDEN VOYAGE A Cornish Pilot Gig built by college students for a veterans’ charity made its maiden voyage, 35 years after a previous college cohort built its predecessor. Some of those behind the 1985 build attended ENERGY 2’s launch in September. The vessel was built from plans by more than 60 students on courses at Falmouth Marine School, under college staff guidance. EPIC GIGability is registered with the Cornish Pilot Gig Association and aims to develop crews to row the gigs socially and competitively. MARINA PURCHASE Premier Marinas Ltd has bought Universal Marina on the River Hamble…

FINESSE RALLY A rally for the Thames Estuary class of Finesse yachts took place at Burnham Marina over the first weekend in September. It was the eighth, annual event, but for Covid-19, the next would have been the tenth, reports Nick Ardley. The yachts were built in three lengths: 21ft, 24ft and 28ft between 1961 and 1995. They are seaworthy vessels, roomy enough for extended cruising. The rally was seasonally late following the lifting of most restrictions, and as expected, numbers were down. Four 24s made it to Burnham with other owners arriving by road from as far as Somerset. The joy of this group is the love of their craft, enthusiasm and friendliness. This year was more memorable with 1969’s first F24, White Dove, arriving owned by two keen…

Flotsam and jetsam Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers and edits The Marine Quarterly. He is currently patching up a 30ft ketch It is that time of year again. End of season, cleaning up, final cruise before haul-out. Hardly worth reprovisioning, really; there is plenty of stuff still on board. So off we go over the horizon, pitch up in a secluded anchorage far from civilisation, and dive into the lockers to see what there is for supper. Behind their doors is a strange emptiness – a few cans of beans, some flour, assorted tins and packets. In the old Navy, characterised by hard physical work and tastebuds numbed by rum, the ingredients would have presented no challenge at all. We could have hacked up the spuds and some onions, smeared…

The Drascombe swing back trailer is called the Dabber Swinging Cradle on the drascombe.uk website, where it is advertised for £1,900. Basically the rear member is V-shaped and swings. On this member are multiple rollers so that when the bow of the boat is pulled onto the trailer the boat is lined up and the rollers form round the shape of the boat. This makes retrieval easier. Be sure that the keel is finally supported so that weight is not just on the side rollers.…

GUIDE TO worry-free winter LAYUP Many of us are lucky enough to be able to keep our boats afloat all year and can therefore sneak in some winter sails – or even short cruises – in periods of good weather. For others there’s no option but to haul ashore. Whatever the reason, or time of year, laying up for a period out of the water requires a similar process. Most boatyards, for example, insist that roller furling headsails are removed beforehand. This is a sensible policy given the carnage that could be wrought if the sail became unfurled during a gale. It’s also a good move to remove all other canvas work, including sail covers, sprayhoods and dodgers during any long lay-up, summer or winter. In winter these gather dirt…

If we don’t do enough of the rebuild this year, we won’t finish it next year. We’ve already lost much of 2020 and 2021 to lockdowns. And the weather will soon turn, and there’ll be stuff we can’t do because it’s too cold. If they’re critical steps we’ll have to stop. The good news is we’ve caught up well. We’re through the stages of heavy machinery, dust, dirt, and just plain grunt. Long ago the engine came out and with it the interior. Everything stuck to the hull and superstructure has been removed: barnacles and oyster shells, antifouling and paint, old tabs of glass, stubborn things like headlining and Treadmaster, and anything mouldy or rotten. Under the waterline she’s been faired and painted. We’ve restored what you can save from…

After buying Falanda, my 26ft Morgan Giles, in September 2019 and spending the winter restoring her in my dad’s shed, she was launched on 19 March 2020 – two days before the first UK lockdown. Living on my parents’ 50ft converted fishing trawler Ros Ailither on the river Exe, I was able to spend the whole of lockdown sanding, varnishing, painting and scraping in the amazing weather. Once the river was open again, I could finally go out sailing and enjoy the light winds and sunshine on the water. After several trial sails alongside my parents in their 33ft classic yawl Amaryllis dad and I set off west on the two boats on 10 July 2020. My first proper single-handed sea trip was to Salcombe. It was my first time…

Q Is there any way to get repairs to Raymarine components these days? The normal channels to get a visit to my Hanse 312 at Cobbs Quay in Poole seem to be very long winded. Mike Hopkins By email ANDY HAINES REPLIES: You’ve not given any detail as to the nature of your problem, what the equipment is and what age it is. The answer could be slightly different depending on these things. But, in short, there isn’t really any company or individual these days that is likely to be able to visit the vessel and do an instant onboard repair to faulty equipment. Companies such as Greenham Regis, Platinum Marine and even some local boatyards should be able to sort out onboard issues such as a power supply fault,…

Readers’ cruising destinations, near and far We pay for your published cruising stories and harbour updates. Email pbo@futurenet.com or write to the address at the top of page 5 If I am to reflect on the time we spent sailing in Corsica 40 years ago, two things still stand out in my mind. Firstly, the ruins of towers that punctuate the coastal headlands and secondly, the magical entrance to the Port of Bonifacio, enveloped by overlapping cliffs. In early 1981 I made a booking from Australia for a bareboat charter in Corsica with someone living in northern England. I found the charter listing in a yachting magazine for a boat called Tallebudgera. Perhaps it was the name that caught my eye, for Tallebudgera is a tropical body of water near…