Innehållsförteckning för May 2024 från Practical Boat Owner

Sailors and boaters acknowledge the universal truth that, despite best efforts at planning and preparation, gear will break – usually at the most inconvenient time. Being at sea means we have to deal with whatever is thrown at us so we can make it safely to port to make repairs. In this issue, transatlantic sailors share with you how they dealt with emergencies on passage and arrived at solutions to solve a range of problems, from rudder failure and water ingress to halyard wrap and chafe (page 36). To make those repairs, the right tools and spares are needed, and Rachael Sprot reveals what’s in her onboard toolbox for coastal, offshore and remote sailing (page 46), and why now is a good time to check your inventory is up to…

The Reverend Bob Shepton, who has spent decades sailing and climbing in the high latitudes, has been honoured with the Ocean Cruising Club’s prestigious Lifetime Award. The former Royal Marine officer, who is an ordained minister in the Church of England, is no stranger to awards. He won the Yachting Journalists’ Association’s (YJA) Yachtsman of the Year Award in 2013, and is the only sailor to have been awarded the Royal Cruising Club’s Tilman Medal twice. Bob has also received the Cruising Club of America’s Blue Water Medal and Piolet d’Or, an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montaigne. During his sailing career, he has sailed around the world via Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, with ex-students from the school where he was chaplin, aboard…

‘Learning something new’ is now a key consideration for British holidaymakers, with one in four saying that it is a priority, according to a new study commissioned by yacht charter company, Sunsail, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Some 40% said that what they wanted from a holiday had changed over the past five years, with 32% of 35-44-year-old respondents seeking adventure, alongside relaxation at 56% and fun for the kids at 33%. When it comes to where they thought travel technology is heading, 39% of survey respondents would like to see instant translation earbuds in the future – that take in the audio from the person speaking and translate it back into your ear – and 23% suggested solar-powered sailboats with AI navigation would pique their interest. Underwater luxury yacht…

SOUTH COAST & CHANNEL ISLANDS Harbour shake-up Plans for modernising and increasing the efficiency of Penzance Harbour include a new 44m visiting boat pontoon. The project has £3million from the Government’s Town Deal Fund, which needs to be spent by March 2026. Visiting sailors and residents will benefit from accessible shower and toilet facilities, a laundrette area, plus a new harbour office and marine engineering facilities on the harbour’s North Arm, with the Rank building refurbished to house this. There will also be a new boat lift crane, eco-friendly marine wash bay, safer walking and cycling routes, and improved access for road users. ■ www.pbo.co.uk/penzance Removal warning Boats and vessels abandoned in Alderney Harbour are to be sold or disposed of in a bid to tidy the area and reclaim…

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. Thank you to all the kind PBO readers who’ve sent good wishes and encouragement since my accident. Looking at me now, you’d never know I’d been hit by a yacht (PBO, October 2023), except that I keep having to stop for rests, and, my walk has a nautical roll. The stamina will build up as the month goes on. So much to do, as the sailing season comes closer! – and not really the weather to do it in, for while you folk on the south coast are casting aside your ganseys and heading purposefully marinawards in the warm sunshine, late spring in Shetland can be…

Achieving a day of slow electric cruising per overnight charge is becoming fairly viable in many inland locations, as a trip on any inland waterway will tell you. However, when boats are required to reach higher speeds and plane in open water for a reasonable length of time, and then also be rechargeable to a high percentage in a reasonable length of time, it creates a whole boatload of additional challenges. Marine safe high voltage With these very different demands, there is a split developing in electric boat technologies. The de facto safe working voltage for owner-built (read owner-tinkerable or DIY-built) electric boats is rapidly reaching a general consensus of 48V. It’s about as high a voltage as the industry dares go with products such as electric outboards with removable…

Charts ■ Imray – my favourite as their colours are intuitive: green for land, yellow for tidal sand and the darker the blue the deeper the water.■ C1 Thames Estuary, 1:120,000 (for an overview)■ 2000 series charts portfolio: Suffolk and Essex coasts (this comes in an A2 portfolio with 10 individual charts at 1:35,000 for each river)■ Digital charts Apps My choice is Aqua Map – £19.99 per year for all the UK, and even a dinosaur like me can use it! Crew’s choice is Navionics (more expensive but more versatile if you can handle the tech). I have become a total convert to the wonders of what your mobile can do in a maritime context. It is particularly useful at night, in a narrow channel and for anchoring in…

PBO sought advice from James Beale, the managing director of MGDUFF, which specialises in marine cathodic protection systems and boat anodes With older wooden vessels you do need to be careful with sacrificial anodes. The byproduct of cathodic protection is an alkaline environment generated around the anode and items that are being protected in the bonding circuit (prop, A- or P-brackets, rudder stock etc). Older wooden vessels may have high moisture content in the timber, allowing the alkalinity to affect the structure of the timber making it soft. This is known as electrochemical decay (ECD). Signs that you may be suffering from ECD are softening to the planks and white crystals forming internally on the bonded items. These white crystals should be washed away with fresh water. On wooden vessels…

Where’s the wretched 1/2in hose adapter? I don’t know; perhaps this one? No, not that one, that’s the ¾in, I need the ½in… This dialogue often kicked off at the arrival at a new marina, and was followed by a frantic search in the BOOT (box-of-odd-things) and in several other of the boat’s black holes until the suitable adaptor for the marina’s water supply was found. In my home port berth, I have the hose adaptor conveniently and permanently fitted to the water tap (that is, until someone else finds it irresistible…). Marinas, however, tend to distinguish from each other by their prices and the threads of the pontoon water supply. The problem was solved by buying three male plugs with the usual threads – ½in, ¾in and 1in –…

CRUISING EU VAT-paid status and potential new problems Q Further to PBO’s April 2023 news story on Britain’s change to VAT status, we now face a new situation with EU VAT which might also be a problem for others. We purchased our boat in the autumn of 2020, and were assured by the yacht broker in Greece that EU VAT had been paid because the boat had always been under the Italian flag. The broker explained that EU VAT was tightly linked to the Italian flag authorities. We bought the boat in good faith assuming this to be true. As part of cruising in Greece, it has become apparent that proving EU VAT paid is required in order to obtain an unlimited transit log. This is highly desirable for liveaboards…

The former Whitbread Round the World Race yacht Maiden is continuing to trailblaze. The all-female crew racing in the Ocean Globe Race rounded the infamous Cape Horn at 0415 UTC on 8 February, and included Vuyisile Jaca, Junella King and Maryama Seck who have become the first black female crew to race around the notorious landmark. It marks 34 years since the 58ft Bruce Farr-designed Maiden passed the Cape Horn coastline with Tracy Edwards skippering the first all-female crew in the 1989/90 Whitbread Race. And now, the nine crew, skippered by 26-year-old Heather Thomas, returned to the history books sailing in the Ocean Globe Race, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread, by making the passage with the first black female crew members. Conditions at the time could be…

Entries are open for the Round the Island Race, a 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight, which is being held on Saturday 15 June – two weeks earlier than usual for ‘optimal tidal conditions’. The annual Island Sailing Club (ISC) event dates back to 1931 and regularly attracts more than 1,100 boats and around 7,000 sailors. Families, friends, enthusiastic amateurs, professional sailors and Olympians, in boats of all shapes and sizes, will set sail from the Royal Yacht Squadron starting line in Cowes from 0600 and race westabout to The Needles, past St Catherine’s Point, round Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into the Solent to the finishing line at Cowes. Race Director, David Atkinson said: “We carefully choose the start time and date to provide the optimal tidal conditions…

Skills acquired through the Sea Cadets helped 24-year-old Freddie Jablonski achieve the Royal Yachting Association Yachtmaster of the Year award. The RYA’s President, HRH The Princess Royal, presented the prestigious accolade at the annual stakeholder lunch at Trinity House in London on 8 February. More than 3,000 nominations were put forward this year by the RYA’s worldwide team of RYA Yachtmaster Examiners. Freddie said: “I am delighted to be honoured with the award. It wasn’t something that I anticipated; I was just trying to do my best on the course.” Richard Falk, RYA director of training and qualifications said: “This is an outstanding achievement and one that Freddie has every right to be proud of, especially given the extremely challenging conditions encountered during his exam.” Freddie explained: “Probably the most…

Cornwall-based not-for-profit Clean Sailors and social-enterprise Waterhaul aims to save 200 spinnakers from landfill by repurposing them into Waterhauls’ beach cleaning bags. The bags are designed to fit Waterhaul’s hoops, which are made from recycled fishing gear, and hold the bag open for easier litter picking. Local sailors are being encouraged to donate end-of-life spinnakers to the campaign’s drop-off point at 9a Seabase Units, Treloggan Industrial Estate, Newquay, TR7 2SX. Staff need to be notified before drop-off. It is part of Clean Sailors ‘ReSail’ initiative, an online global platform connecting sailors and their old sails with projects that can give them a second-life. ■ www.pbo.co.uk/resail…

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 There I was sailing full and by and by and large having a rip-roaring time as Snipe of Maldon cantered eagerly into the estuary chop and breasted through and over the short, sharp seas like a thoroughbred chomping through its bit and effortlessly romping over the fences at Aintree. She forged onwards, racing the scudding clouds towards the horizon with a bone in her teeth and a chuckling wake that whisked her track into a froth of whipped cream over the undulating trifle of chocolate mousse that passes for water round her. Sorry for getting all poetic, but never having owned a long-keeled yacht before…

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 series he shares tales from his 50 years of boat ownership. Rye Bay in East Sussex has been one of the UK’s best inshore fishing grounds for centuries and the nearby beach at Hastings is host to what is probably the largest fleet of beach-launched fishing craft in the UK. These craft all bear the letters ‘RX’ and are based at the Stade on the beach at Hastings and in the river Rother at the nearby ancient town of Rye. They’re powered by diesel engines but until recently they were entirely driven by sail and referred to as Hastings luggers. The smaller boats (normally 22ft…

Next to a wall adjacent to my house I have been drying motor boats out each tide for about 12 years. For me, it was both an economical and convenient way to use my boat. Mud in some of the moorings can be both a blessing as boats can sit in it and a curse as it makes maintenance messy and causes the loss of Wellington boots as they get stuck in the mud. A neighbour of mine decided he wanted a boat to dry out in his mooring that has deep mud. To do this I had to do some serious research into large motorboats that dry. This involved visiting lots of boats, contacting manufacturers and owners clubs, as well as visiting the Southampton Boat Show three times! It’s…

Russian sailor Roman Titov was sailing south past Rockall, several hundred miles to the west of Scotland on the first day of January in 2022. In a storm that local fishermen confirmed as one of the worst they’d ever seen, his 33ft Colin Archer-type cutter Vperyod (Onward in English) was pitchpoled, losing her mast and bowsprit, and suffering considerable damage. Roman himself took several blows to the face as he hung over the bow trying to release the bobstay chain on which the mast was caught, threatening to hole the yacht’s hull. It took him two days of hard work with a bucket to clear the water from the cabin, water that had destroyed his electrics and drained almost all the charge from his batteries. In an extraordinary saga of…

Mustang Atlas 190 lifejacket It’s not very often we get to see innovation in lifejacket design as the rules are so tight for safety coding that there’s little room for changing the status quo in terms of bladder shape, inflation technology and so on, writes Fox Morgan. Mustang Survival has been a popular brand in Canada and the USA for over 50 years. But the brand is relatively new to us in the UK. With its clothes and safety gear used by the US military, Mustang is making its mark this year with this new Atlas 190 Pro Sensor and the Atlas 190 DLX Pro Sensor lifejacket. From the outside, the casing looks pretty standard. It has a smooth contoured shape to fit the body and once it’s on you…

Expert advice and step-by-step guides to every hands-on boating job, impartial in-depth gear and boat reviews, practical cruising tips… and more! CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE PRINT MAGAZINE ✔ NEW! Full digital access to all prior and future issues when you subscribe to print! ✔ SAVE money on the shop price ✔ FREE DELIVERY straight to your door SAVE UP TO 30% DIGITAL MAGAZINE ONLY ✔ For just £17.99 every 6 months ✔ SAVE money on the shop price ✔ PLUS instant access any time, anywhere SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT www.magazinesdirect.com/C74S or call 0330 333 1113 and quote C74S TERMS & CONDITIONS Offer closes 11th April 2024. Direct Debit Offer open to new subscribers only. *After your first 3 issues, your subscription will continue at £22.99 (print magazine only) or start at £17.99…

Flipping your sheets and halyards, or rather end-for-ending, can be a safe and cautious middle ground between replacing that expensive running rigging too early and waiting for something to break. Many non-racing sailors resist the advice to just ‘throw money at it’ when gear begins to show signs of wear, and that resistance is perfectly reasonable. Whether considering the financial drain, the environmental cost, or the time and labour invested in choosing and sourcing a replacement, keeping what you have but making it work longer is, more often than not, the best option. What does end-for-ending do? Sheets and halyards travel along regular paths with bends, chafe points, and stretch areas that age before the rest of the line. In whatever fashion the bitter end is attached to its fixed…

Over many years the basic anode metallic elements have been subtly modified to improve performance and overcome problems. One is that in fresh water, zinc develops a white insoluble coating of zinc hydroxide that inhibits its operation. Rapid corrosion can ensue when the now unprotected boat returns to the sea. For many years it was suggested that aluminium anodes should be used in these circumstances but of course, this did not apply to saildrives. To address this situation the manufacturers developed an aluminium alloy that has the same galvanic potential as zinc and this can be used in all circumstances as a substitute. At present, anodes are available in both metals but it is likely that the far more expensive zinc version will gradually be phased out. As can be…

Strong winds were forecast, it was October 2023 and I was preparing to leave Manorbier Bay on the Bristol Channel to reach Worm’s Head. Why, didn’t I feel this anchorage was safe enough? I asked myself this and a million other questions as I stood on the bow of the boat in the dark, bobbing around, trying to make sense of the rock shadows ready to sink me if I didn’t get it right. I got on my knees and reached through the pulpit to grab the anchor chain, then struggled to my feet. Bending my knees, I hauled hard, trying to get the momentum going for my Atlanta 25 Dobbin, so I could reel her in. Hand over hand, links of galvanised chain fell from my hand into the…

1 If you regularly beach your boat it’s a good idea to protect her bottom with a few rubbing strips. 2 One answer is to screw and glue on some half-round marine grade metal strip. A V-shaped tip in the sealant/adhesive nozzle gives a triangular bead that squashes down to the correct thickness. Don’t overtighten the strip and squeeze out all the glue. 3 Some moulded bilge runners are capped with metal bands. These are screwed onto a bed of sealant, and the inner cavity filled with GRP (glass reinforced plastic). The theory is that if the bands have to be replaced the screws can be removed, leaving a ‘tapped’ hole for new ones. 4 A simple way of adding a bilge runner is to bolt a piece of wood…

Thousands of people flocked through the doors of NEC Birmingham for the four-day BoatLife exhibition, held from 15-18 February. Ken Fowler, who sailed 1,200 miles around all the islands of England and Wales in an RS Aero dinghy, was among the sailing stars to take to the stage, along with yachtsman Tom Cunliffe, and RIB circumnavigator Harry Dwyer. Disabled yachtsman and Wetwheels founder Geoff Holt revealed that 16 years after his trail-blazing voyage around Britain in a 15ft dinghy, he is planning another UK circumnavigation in a 9m Cheetah power catamaran. The vision is to take the first ever Wetwheels wheelchair-accessible boat around the UK this May and June, visiting approximately 17 harbours and ports, covering a distance of 1,750 miles. The official launch event for the ‘Finishing the Dream’…

Another 4,000km2 of English offshore waters will soon receive protection from bottom trawling. Sand eel fishing in the English areas of the North Sea will also be halted. A Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaw to protect valuable marine habitats and species in a further 13 English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) comes into force on 22 March 2024. This will increase the total area protected by MMO byelaws to almost 18,000km2. The 13 new byelaws include areas off the south coast of the Isle of Wight, west of Land’s End and east of Lowestoft, protecting important sea life such as pink sea fans, fragile sponges and anemones. Gareth Cunningham, Marine Conservation Society spokesman, said regrettably MPA status alone is not enough to deter damaging fishing activities. He added: “Today’s announcements are…

UK sailors with boats in France must continue with the ‘Schengen shuffle’ after a bid to ease the visa regulations failed. France has firmly rejected a proposed amendment to the French Immigration and Integration Bill, which sought to grant an automatic visa/visa waiver for six months to UK subjects who own ‘secondary residences’ in France. The decision by the French Constitutional Court on 24 January 2024, is considered final, with no avenue for appeal. The Cruising Association (CA) and members had actively lobbied for this bill to embrace the cruising community too, which would have enabled stays in France for longer than 90 days without the need for a visa. The amendment had successfully passed through the two houses of France’s senate, before being rejected as ‘unconstitutional’. For UK sailors,…

Not enough trees! As with many of your readers, when the latest PBO shows up, I stop everything and do a scan. I resist the urge to read Dave or Sam or Marsali – save the best for last. But then I may be looking for something that many of your readers aren’t. You see, having been boating in Canada for 40 years, I’m always struck by the similarities recreational boaters share in different parts of the world. But on occasion, something turns up that doesn’t quite align and can provide great mirth. Flipping through PBO January 2024 I can have no issue with Clive’s view on hats. There’s practical, and globally applicable advice on cooling water (Stu), heating water (Jon) and an explanation of the electrics required for all…

Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers, edits The Marine Quarterly, and is perpetually patching up a 30ft ketch: samllewellyn.com Late in the 1980s, I was at a festival in the Baltic, doing some research for a thriller I wrote called Blood Knot, which featured the tail end of the Cold War and plenty of Tall Ships action. One of the features of the festival was a gigantic ship called Mir, or possibly Kruzenshtern, manned by young Russian matelots. What was noticeable about these youths was not only the skill and intrepidity with which they swarmed in the upper reaches of the tall ship’s rig, but the fact that in spite of the bracing zephyrs of the Gulf of Helsinki their complexions were not so much ruddy and weatherbeaten as bluish white. This, it…

Offshore yachts need to exhibit a comfortable, controlled, and well-balanced motion at sea, such that the crew can sail, cook, eat, and sleep without suffering too much discomfort. Second only to the yacht being soundly constructed, the crew is what turns it into a means of crossing oceans safely and enjoyably. A tired and irritable crew is one that’ll make mistakes when the going gets rough. First and foremost is its motion through or over the waves. Many modern, lightweight production yachts are prone to slam into the oncoming waves rather than gently slicing through them, which not only jars the crew’s nerves and throws everything around below, but also puts relentless strain on the hull and rig. As with most aspects of sailing, there are several schools of thought…

“Every stranger, whom the disasters of the sea may cast on her shores, should never look for refuge in vain,” wrote the retired British militia officer, Sir William Hillary. Having witnessed numerous shipwrecks off his home town of Douglas in the Isle of Man, and seen islanders risk their lives to save others, he now had one wish: to create a nationwide lifesaving institution. He was writing in his 1823 pamphlet, An Appeal To The British Nation On The Humanity And Policy Of Forming A National Institution For The Preservation Of Lives And Property From Shipwreck, which detailed how a lifeboat service manned by trained, volunteer crew could be run. The Admiralty showed little interest. Instead, Sir William turned to the more philanthropic members of London society. At a meeting…

How many 13mm spanners does a girl need in her tool box? Well, at least four it turns out. We were halfway across the Atlantic bound for St Lucia on our Clipper 60, Bluejay, when the flexi-coupling on the generator failed. The crew consisted of me, a professional first mate and eight amateur sailors of mixed ability. Engineering fell to me, and in this instance, I needed two 13mm spanners. Lucky I set off with three then isn’t it? The unfortunate thing about luck is that it runs out. The first one disappeared over the side early on in the voyage. When the second clattered into the bilge of doom I was left with my third and final spanner and the dreaded adjustable wrench – and so a 10-minute job…

Plan A was scuppered. The dreaded Deben bar is too rough in a predicted Force 6. We would have to try again in the morning. After struggling against adverse winds and tides during last year’s South Coast cruise we’d vowed that this year we would go with wind and tide whenever possible and see how far we could get in a week. ‘We’ being crew Jenny, a friend without a boat – but with many sea miles under her lifejacket and lots of qualifications – and me, owner of Maisie and 61 years sailing but few qualifications. In previous years our different skills had proved to be a good combination, especially for several trips across the North Sea to The Netherlands. Maisie is a Nova 27, which I’ve fiddled and…

Thirteen days out from Plymouth during the 2021 Azores Jester Challenge, in a gale, facing days of fierce headwinds, I looked skywards and informed the Lord that I would get a motorboat. I meant it too, though despite the pain of a damaged finger and a cracked rib, the voyage memories faded. I expected to turn to power in a year or two, but I hadn’t bargained on my mate Tim. We met in an Indian restaurant and I left with a boat – his. He wasn’t using it, and would I like it for a four-figure budget? Yes, I exploded in a cloud of poppadom crumbs and went home to tell my accountant first mate that, once again, we had two boats. She softened though when I mentioned the…

The purpose and function of anodes can be complex, leading to confusion as to their location, connection and operation. This article explains the basics of how they work, how to use them and why we need them. Why do we need them? The majority of metals, whether a single element or an alloy of two or more, undergo a gradual return to their natural lowest energy state, a process known as corrosion. The rate at which metals corrode is determined by the environment to which they are exposed, so in air most metals degrade quite slowly, in fresh water faster and in sea water, a very aggressive environment, sometimes quite quickly. Some alloys, such as stainless steels and aluminium, benefit from the formation of surface films that resist corrosion, whereas…

Not every boat owner would want to build their own boat stands, but if you decide to do it – for whatever reason – here is one simple way to make them. This type of stand would work for almost any boat without a deep keel. It can be scaled up or down to fit your particular boat hull shape/size and it can be easily disassembled for storage, which I think is a big benefit because most stands are really bulky and take up a lot of room when not in use. Recently I bought an old wooden motor cruiser and I had to prepare stands before the haul out. Under ideal circumstances, the best approach would be to take some hull measurements when the boat is on the hard…