Innehållsförteckning för February 2022 från Practical Boat Owner

A French sailor has died on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) and another yacht was abandoned due to catastrophic steering failure. Max Delannoy, 73, suffered a fatal injury after being struck by the boom on Agecanonix, an X-Yachts X43, close to midnight on 27 November. He had been sailing with skipper Philippe Anglade and Jean-Philippe Anglade in the racing division of the rally from Gran Canaria to St Lucia, when they encountered Force 8 conditions and 4-5m seas north of the rhumb line. Mr Delannoy was struck by the boom, and prevented from falling overboard by Philippe, who was also injured. A Mayday call was made but sadly Mr Delannoy died before outside help arrived. German cruise ship PV Mein Schiff diverted to the scene but conditions prevented the evacuation…

Defence Equipment and Support has awarded a £100-million contract to a Babcock-led partnership with Elbit Systems UK and QinetiQ to deliver cutting-edge electronic warfare systems to the Royal Navy. The goal is to allow more simultaneous detection and identification of radar signals over a greater frequency range than current capabilities; to aid faster operational decision-making, enhanced situational awareness and anti-ship missile defence capability. Around 170 jobs are expected to be created by the 13-year contract, mainly in the South West of England, ranging from manufacturing to software development roles. Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest, said: “The ability to understand and exploit the increasingly complex electro-magnetic environment is critical for the operational success of the Royal Navy. “This technology will deliver a generational leap in our electronic warfare capabilities to ensure…

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has further confirmed its commitment to cutting carbon emissions by signing the revised United Nations Sports for Climate Action Declaration. The new targets are to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030, and reach net-zero emissions by 2040. The previous goals of reducing emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 were updated in response to the recent scientific consensus that the world needs to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve overall net zero before 2050. The RYA has officially entered the Race to Zero, a coalition of leading net zero initiatives, representing 733 cities, 31 regions, 3,067 businesses, 173 of the biggest investors and 622 Higher Education Institutions. Phil Horton, RYA spokesman, said: “The targets are ambitious. However, as the governing body…

MARINA REGENERATION PLANS Gosport Marina is set for a multi £million regeneration after Premier Marinas’ planning application was approved by Gosport Borough Council. A ‘landmark’ facilities building will house a marina reception and office, luxury shower rooms and a berth holder’s lounge overlooking Portsmouth Harbour; the onsite restaurant will be relocated, while the commercial building, occupied by STS Defence, will be refurbished and extended. The dry stack will be relocated and there will be landscaping improvements to the car park and boat storage areas. Outline permission was also given for a residential development providing 70 homes. Gosport Marina manager Jonathan Walcroft said: “I’m excited we are creating a marina fit for the future!” SAIL-POWERED FISHING BOAT Plymouth city charity Greenhook Fishing has launched the first of their sustainable fishing boats,…

SAILORS BATTLE SILT BLOCKAGE A mud build-up, thought to be caused by years of dredging for the Thames Gateway port, has been blocking berths at the Canvey Island Yacht Club. Berth holders are ‘profiling’ the drying creek; dragging chains along the seabed at tide time and hoping the dragged silt ebbs away. Nick Ardley, Thames estuary ditch-crawler, river, creek and coastal sailor, said: “Since the outer creek was commercially reprofiled further profiling by the IYC’s work boat of inner and outer creek, and the berths has been an ongoing process. Put simply, if the work stopped, berthing for craft would be untenable. The creek‘s usefulness would continue to diminish. Ultimately, the club would die!” ‘SKINNY’ PUMP OUT SOLUTION When Tingdene Marinas tried to replace the old (1998) pump out unit…

Genealogy is not only difficult to spell; it’s fascinating. I’ve been trying to trace the Selby family tree, and as yet haven’t managed to find one who even had a garden, or any money at all. In fact they’re quite a disappointment to me, for as far as I can tell not one of my ancestors was a Horatio, or played the piano on the Titanic, although I have found a distant uncle who emigrated to seek his fortune. Sadly he didn’t like what he found and bravely undertook the hazardous return passage suffering terribly from seasickness and scurvy on the perilous crossing back from south London on the Woolwich Ferry. Other than that the Selbys, it seems, have no connection with the water. And that’s what I’ve been trying…

Willie Bewes, retired director of Transworld Yachts, had a successful career selling large numbers of Swedish Hallberg-Rassy cruising yachts to the British market. But despite this commercial success his boating passion, I suspect, lives elsewhere. “Many years ago,” he told me, “I bought an old Fairey Marine Huntress powerboat and restored it at home. A bit later, I bought a Christina 25 – winner of the first Cowes to Torquay Power Boat Race – and then I rebuilt a Fairey Swordsman 42 (one of four built).” These are all classic offshore powerboats that hailed from a golden age back in the last century. No sign of any sailing boats here! The early range of hot-moulded wooden Fairey powerboats started with a Raymond Hunt-designed 23ft launch. However, Fairey later decided that…

The annual Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) sets sail every year from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to St Lucia. Throughout its 36-year history, the organised rally has provided support and an element of fun for 200+ boats making the 2,700-mile Atlantic crossing. In 2021, increased demand has led to three routes to the Caribbean under the ARC banner, attracting a mix of couples, hardy racers, family boats, and friends from multiple nationalities. The ARC+ is a smaller rally than the ARC, attracting around 70+ boats, and departing earlier with a four to six-day stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verde, before finishing in Grenada. New for 2022, is ARC January, which sails from Las Palmas on 9 January, following the classic trade wind route to St Lucia. Boats can expect a fast…

Every year more than 200 boats set sail from Gran Canaria to the Caribbean on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). The organisers, World Cruising Club (WCC), have strict safety requirements for participants and check all boats before departure from Las Palmas. They expect all boats to carry a minimum quantity and quality of safety and communications equipment, and to have undertaken training in its usage, heavy weather sailing techniques, and managing emergencies. The requirements are based on the ISAF standards, and include: An offshore liferaft with a more than 24 hour pack 406MHz EPIRB A means of sending and receiving email at sea (satellite phone or SSB radio/pactor modem) AIS receiver and man-overboard equipment. Every crewmember must have an inflatable combined lifejacket-harness (PFD) with a spray hood, crotch strap…

When I was at university in the mid-1990s, young and undoubtedly invincible, I used to do a few deliveries along the south coast. My Dad had worked with a company in Totnes who imported yachts from the manufacturer in France and, using that connection, they used to get me to go and bring the part-exchange boats from where they were moored back to the yard on the Dart. This was generally done with my friend, Jeff, who I’d met at university. Like me, he was completely indestructible so the thought of being dropped off at some south coast port on a Friday night with some food and keys to a completely unknown boat to get back as soon as possible didn’t make him bat an eyelid. One thing that didn’t…

I found this diagram from the Osculati website extremely helpful when trying to remember which navigation lights we needed to comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (Colregs). Maximus is a sailing boat under 20m so can have a single green/red and white stern light – also known as a tri-light – installed on the masthead. However, when motoring at night the steaming light needs to be HIGHER than the navigation lights, so the tri-light won’t do. Instead, we needed to install side lights on the pulpit and a steaming light mounted higher up (we chose to put this halfway up the mast). As the mast steaming light only shines forward, we’ll also needed a stern light to show at the transom.…

We sent some photos of Maximus to three leading antifoul suppliers – SEAJET, INTERNATIONAL and COPPERCOAT – and asked them some key questions before making a decision. Here’s what they said. Note: there are other antifouling brands to consider including FLAG, Hempel, Jotun and Teamac. Q What’s your most economical antifouling? The lower the level of fouling you’re up against, the cheaper the antifouling is likely to be. For low to medium fouling conditions, INTERNATIONAL recommend Boatguard 100, which starts at £60 for 2.5lt. SEAJET’S most economical antifouling is Seajet 031, which costs £61.95 for 2.5lt. Sales and marketing manager Emily Schreurs points out that it still contains 30% copper, and is very effective. COPPERCOAT only does one product, a full-strength hard-wearing epoxy with 99% copper. Cost is currently £108…

The British Coatings Federation advises the following when it comes to working with antifouling DO: Choose an appropriate location Read labels and literature Follow marina and boatyard rules Wear all recommended PPE Keep PPE on until the end of application Capture all debris and scrapings Keep dust to a minimum Use wet sanding techniques Thoroughly clean up afterwards Use suitable tools Wash skin with warm soapy water or approved cleaners Dispose of all waste responsibly DON’T: Antifoul in a public place Allow bystanders Spray antifouling paint Eat, drink or smoke Remove PPE prematurely Use heat to remove paint Create dry paint dust Use dry sanding Allow waste to escape Reuse PPE (except goggles) Use solvents or thinners to wash paint splashes off skin Pour waste paint down drains…

Adding a nut to turn it Using an extractor Drilling the whole thing out…

Derek Lumb has taken over the helm of the Cruising Association A CA member since 2008 and an active volunteer, Derek steps up from his role as council member and vice-president. He officially became the association’s 33rd president at the annual general meeting at CA House, London on 10 November 2021, taking over from Julian Dussek. Two vice-presidents were also voted in, with Ken Munn re-elected for a third term and Ivan Andrews elected for his first term in office. Both have been actively involved in key projects, including the revamped CAptain’s Mate. Derek said: “I am honoured to find myself president of this fabulous organisation. “Fabulous because it has such knowledgeable and capable members who are so willing to share their experience and knowledge. The Cruising Association is its…

GUEST SPEAKER KATIE MCCABE Teenage solo sailor Katie McCabe will be among the guest speakers at BoatLife Live, which takes place 17-20 February 2022, at the NEC, Birmingham. The 14-year-old will take to the Live Stage to share an account of her seven-week voyage around the coast of Britain last summer. Her restored 26ft wooden Morgan Giles Falanda will also be at the show. Host Mark Covell, an Olympic silver medallist, commentator and offshore sailor, will also welcome the Atlantic Flyers rowing team, Two Crew and a Cockapoo and Kelly the Kite Surfing Sailor to the Live Stage. boatlifeevents.com NEW ACTIVITIES CENTRE Work has begun to build The Edge, a £4.5million coastal activities centre on Whitehaven harbour. Due to open next December, it will have an events space, café, toilets,…

One Thursday in the autumn, when Dahlia was out of the water, I was fossicking around in her engine compartment. This is reached, she being a centre cockpit beast of 1970s vintage, via a trapdoor which consists of the entire cockpit sole. I had been doing a bit of winterising some time before, and as part of it had removed the lid of the inlet cooling water strainer, which is one of those plastic ones that always gets stuck. Having unstuck it with a weird spanner thing I had bought for more than £25 in the summer, I skilfully allowed the seal, a rubber ring some six inches across, to tumble into the bilges. It is impossible to write about what followed without swearing. This is however a magazine with…

CLIVE MARSH discovered small boats while working for Canadian Pacific Steamships and is a past Commodore of the Merchant Navy Association Boat Club. In this NEW SERIES he shares tales from his 50 years of boat ownership. I have always wanted to have two traditionally styled small luggers. One for launching from a slipway and one light enough to drag across a shingle beach. The two boats that met these requirements were the Smacks boat and the Emsworth Lugger. I was looking for a little 12-13ft lug sail dinghy for trailer sailing. Lug sails are my preferred rig for small traditional boats. While gunter and gaff rigs are very nice to sail, the lug sail is my favourite because it is so quick and easy to set up. I could…

Recommendations and laws for distress signalling in many countries are behind the times. VHF radio – some with the red distress button – mobile or satellite phones and electronic visual distress signals (EVDS) are available, waterproof, affordable and reliable. Yet pyrotechnic flares are still Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements. They find their way into all sorts of boats, even for owners, like me, who fear them and believe them to be unsafe. UK flagged leisure vessels less than 13.7m do not by law have to carry flares or any life-saving equipment. Vessels flagged in other countries may be legally required to carry flares. However, in some countries British-flagged boats may be fined for having out of date flares on board. All liferafts come with flares and it is…

Michelle: We’ve got pyrotechnic flares and LED ones because the ARC specifies we have both. Personally I think LED flares are way better; they’re super-bright. They’re only handheld, though, not rocket flares, but you still get that brilliant light. I must say, the idea of holding a [pyrotechnic] handheld red flare doesn’t appeal to me, especially not in the liferaft. I’m a retired consultant paediatrician and I’m very keen on safety. I’ve got a very well stocked medical kit. We’re in our 60s and I want to be able to manage everything I can at sea. Burns are my biggest worry. Nick: We did a lot of preparation for the trip. We have a new liferaft, jonbuoy, lifeline, handy billy for lifting people out, rope ladder for the side, as…

I was still on crutches after a hip replacement when a friend phoned me and asked if I wanted another boat to restore. My initial reaction was negative, but when he explained what was on offer I was just too tempted, particularly as my boatshed was empty at that moment. Lysander was a 12ft 6in estuary launch built by Hall and Son at Walton-on-the-Naze in 1963. She was sitting on her stainless steel road trailer but had not been used for two years. Despite a sound tonneau cover, there had been some water ingress, the ply deck was starting to delaminate, and the hull was sustaining general deterioration. Her owner was unable to give her the desperately needed refit she deserved and recognised that if she was left in the…

5 YEARS ON Almost exactly five years ago my Golden Hind 31 Keppel’s tired and exhausted blue sheerstrakes were given a full four-coat paint system. Up to then years of exposure in the Med and other sunny places had taken a serious toll. I was curious to know whether a quality single-pot paint would perform as well as a more expensive and complicated two-pack paint. To this end I opted for International Toplac. The advantages that I saw in a one pot paint was its simplicity and lower cost. At the time I concluded my repaint article by saying that I’d return with a verdict on its performance in five years time. So, here we are. Was it any good? Well, it has performed brilliantly. It looks as good today…

After three hot, hard days spent scraping the bottom of Maximus, our Maxi 84, we were faced with the bare epoxy. It wasn’t especially pretty to look at – a patchy mix of blue and grey with splodges of gelcoat filler. However, it was satisfying to know we had a clean palette to begin with and this was a job we wouldn’t have to do for another six or seven years. Wearing full PPE we’d scraped the paint off the keel, collected the debris on a ground tarpaulin and disposed of it in the hazardous waste bin. We then ground away the rust, and applied a protective coat of primer to the hull and keel. Now it was time to plan the antifouling coat. Before we did (and in fact,…

As we’d scraped back the hull and were starting afresh, the idea of releasing biocides into the water, albeit very slowly, was something we wanted to avoid. Also, it seemed a good opportunity to try out a brand new product, so we opted for Seajet Bioclean Eco. What we didn’t bargain for was just how involved the process would be! Instead of the usual primer followed by antifouling we had to factor in two coats of tie coat before applying the antifouling. In total, Seajet sent us: 3 litres of Seajet 117 epoxy primer, 1lt = £40.66, 2.5lt = £82 6 litres of black Seajet Tie Coat, 2.5lt = £90 5 litres of Seajet Bioclean Eco, 2.5lt = £132 Getting the timing right The one thing we’d got wrong with…

The survey report at purchase of my Vancouver 38P reported excessive play in the cutless bearing of the prop shaft. When Wild Bird was ashore in a foreign port, where labour was supposedly cheap, we took the opportunity to have it replaced. I assumed this would be completed in a day, but the following saga reveals this proved to be optimistic. The yard outsourced the job to a local mechanic, with whom I did not share a common language. While removing the Maxprop he failed to remove the pin that determines the pitch of the blades and used brute force that sheared the pin. He then removed the anode and rope cutter before pulling the shaft into the boat. This involved removing the flexible coupler and gearbox from the engine,…

When we bought our Victoria 34, a cable tie held on the stern light. While it kept the light in place, it had a predictable habit of pointing in all sorts of directions. As so often happens, the solution was in plain sight. In among my bag of bits were three plastic tube mounts. The mounting block came from an old teak garden chair. I cut the block to size and then routed out a channel for the cable to sit and faired it off. I offered up the block and light, marked and drilled it and away you go. Cost to me was nothing!…

After a sudden, violent squall passed through the Irish Sea area, a 33ft yacht called Holyhead Coastguard for help as they were unable to maintain a course or heading. Lytham St Annes All-weather Lifeboat was launched at 1143 on 29 October, in rough sea conditions and heavy driving rain, and located the cruiser off Blackpool’s south shore. The yacht was being propelled towards the surf line. One female crew member had a bruised arm and could not leave the cabin. A man was steering and tethered in the cockpit and unable to rig a tow line. The lifeboat shoulder was manoeuvered alongside the yacht’s port side and crew Andy Hall leapt aboard. Crew Al Sleet threw him a heaving line, Andy connected the tow line then checked the pair for…

MDL Marinas has become the first marina group to install an electric boat charging network. The business has partnered with Aqua superPower to install electric boat chargers at five of its marinas: Cobb’s Quay, Hamble Point, Sparkes, Windsor and Ocean Village. MDL aims to become the UK’s most sustainable marina group. Spokesman Tim Mayer said: “We recognised that for the electric boat market to grow, it’s essential that a charging network is developed to service these boats. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Aqua superPower to be able to support people wishing to make their boating more sustainable by offering rapid charging for electric boats across our marinas.” Aqua superPower has developed a network of fast chargers for electric boats. Each station is built to IP65 standard, providing dual simultaneous…

A school of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna was spotted leaping into the air off the Cornish coast by an NCI St Ives volunteer Watchkeeper. Peter Nason was on duty at St Ives National Coastwatch Institution station on 25 October when he spotted the school of tuna diving out of the water. This endangered species of tuna is the largest in the world and can grow to 3m and weigh up to 250kg. The Atlantic Bluefish Tuna returned to UK waters about a decade ago after being absent for nearly 100 years. They are known for being the world’s most expensive fish and can sell for thousands, even millions of pounds. They are illegal to catch in the UK and if caught by accident they must immediately be released back into the…

SAILING RESTORES CONFIDENCE A funded sail training programme off the West Coast of Scotland has been described as ‘life changing’’ by participants. The Our Isles and Oceans project launched in June and the goal is to provide training to 120 young people over three years in partnership with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, with the intention to then fund positions in the global race. Elizabeth Balmer, 27, from Largs, who was bed-bound for seven months due to long-covid, said the opportunity to immerse herself with people has been “really special”: “I feel like I’m finally back and I’ve recovered.” Cara Shearer, 27, from Glasgow, said: “It was an incredible experience, one of these life changing opportunities that you rarely get to be part of. I’m leaving the boat…

Over last year, I surveyed seabirds. It wasn’t a scientific survey; I just took a notebook and logged the birds I saw while I was out sailing… and in the process I learned a lot about the birds I’d just taken for granted. For starters, there were more species than I’d expected. I couldn’t mistake the chittering tirricks, or Arctic terns, Shetland’s white swallows, but I’d vaguely lumped common guillemots and razorbills together. Anything large and long-necked I’d taken for a scarf (shag), so it was a surprise to see raingeese (red-throated divers) on the voe. Another surprise was that they all had defined territory, not just of species but individuals, as I would get the same numbers day after day. Two pairs of terns chittered around the marina, and…

I had lived on a boat since I was two weeks old aboard Ros Allither, a 50ft fishing trawler my parents had spent five years converting and restoring. I spent my first year and a bit sailing around the Caribbean and western Atlantic with my parents, hitting my first storm at five weeks old, on the way to Bermuda. Our 50ft trawler was almost completely underwater, and mum was thrown onto the deckhead, from the floor, while trying to change my nappy. I’d already sailed across the Atlantic by 16 months old, not that I remember it, of course! At 12, I bought my first boat, Falanda, which was practically love at first sight. I saw beyond the mouldy bilge water which rose over the berths, and almost up to…

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Our marine surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies switched on the instruments of our Maxi 84, Maximus, and I held my breath. Nothing. We hadn’t expected there to be any life in the batteries after two years on the hard-standing, but it was worth a go. Ben tested the batteries with his multimeter. “Less than two in that one and we’ve got eight in this one,” he said, “which is why we can’t get anything to work…” When we took on the Maxi 84, donated by PBO reader Daniel Kirtley, I knew we’d have a few jobs to get on with. Already we’d scraped back the hull to gelcoat, plugged leaks and polished topsides (see PBO January 2021). Now new batteries were at the top of the list. What we hadn’t bargained for…

My boat Alestra was ashore on its trailer and I was carrying out some winter preparations. I lifted the engine cover to remove the raw water pump impeller and saw the bilge under the engine was awash with engine oil. How did it get there? There was nothing obvious so I checked the oil level on the dipstick and none was showing. In order to see where oil was coming out of the engine I first had to clean up the bilge – a messy job – but with the engine oil topped up and the raw water impeller removed I started the engine and immediately saw the oil running from the screw-on oil filter O-ring. I ordered a spare filter and when it arrived I returned to the boat,…

ENGINES One problem leads to another… Q My yacht Greenhearthas a 1998 Volvo Penta MD2030 engine with around 2,000-2,500 hours on it. It’s always quick to start and there’s never been any real problem although I’ve noticed that the hand lever on the fuel pump is very soft and does very little. Back in 2016 I began to get intermittent warning sirens at which time the temperature light came on – though there did seem to be enough cooling water coming through the exhaust. A professional check with a spot thermometer found it to be OK and a Volvo agent check in Sweden then suggested a panel fault. In 2019 in the Kiel Kanal, lulled by the continuous siren, I didn’t notice a real problem until the engine stopped! Amid…

I have kept my boat Happy Bear, a modified Kingfisher 30, at Rochefort on the river Charente in France for the past 10 years, but thanks to Brexit I now have to bring it back to the UK or face paying import duty and VAT. I’d previously sailed on the west coast of Scotland for about 20 years but had headed to France for some warmer, drier weather so the prospect of sailing back to cold, rain, gales and midges did not at first fill me with enthusiasm. However on reminiscing I did have some great sails, especially when the sail included a hill walk – and the west coast of Scotland must be one of the best locations in the world to combine sailing with hill walking. One sailing…