2020 Part 3

The 2020 season has come to end early due to the actions of the current Government, I am due to come out of the water on the 1st of December which is still true but Skipper and crew could still make use of the time left to take me out despite having a few weekends planned with visitors or rips away.  Firstly Skip was due to take his son back up to Norfolk where his drift car had been left a week prior to having its ECU remapped to produce more power out of the engine but also to ensure that cold, as well as hot starting, wasn't a problem.

The Government closing the door meant that skip had to abandon, although his son along with a friend of his went to collect the car, people's business relies on others paying their bills and collecting the goods.  The Crew had also arranged for friends to turn up but this has had to be abandoned too as it's not an essential journey!  So my team turned up this weekend (7th November) and removed both my main, jib & lazy jack bag.

The latter requires a new zip having had one of the handles of the double-sided zip get caught in the pulleys at the end of the boom and a patch where it has got caught elsewhere.

On the 1st December, I'm being taken back to the yacht haven to be put back on the hard for three months whilst skip goes right through me to clean and prepare for 2021.  He has a few new projects up his sleeve so we'll see if these come to fruition. Whilst I have not been far this year, I have benefitted from Skips' busy commercial year with the top-down furler for my code 0, on the new bracket.  The new Webasto heater with the ducting sleeved with a thermal sock and junctions turned round to provide the air pressure within to circulate air throughout my interior and the J3

I have it on good authority that my main will be replaced this winter in the same material as the J3 DP Hydranet 393!

With 2020 being a lost year for you humans maybe 2021 can be a year to push boundaries.

2020 Part 2

So for the first time this year after a couple of stutters, we came out of the Solent and headed to Studland not for the August Bank holiday weekend but just after it. We left on the Monday around 1130 and arrived some 5hrs later, half under engine until just passed the Needles, then we were able to sail wind WSW but in 6-7 kts of fickle breeze.  Five smaller yachts had followed us out and despite Kites being flown by one of them we managed to stay ahead losing ground in the lighter airs but making better headway in the stronger gusts and of course sail trimming.

Four liners were at anchor in the bay, nowhere to go nowhere to be, one left probably out of boredom but was back by the Tuesday morning.

Dinosaur of the Seas

It is a beautiful spot down there off Studland, with some rolling hills, trees, the white chalk Cliffs offering protection from the predominantly South Westerly winds, however, it is this that brings its' downfall.  Jet ski's that seem to see how fast they can go then turn sharply, then do it over and over again, speed boats dragging behind them inflatables with excitables' on board, no winder the Sea Horses can't hear themselves calling to enable them to breed.

Still part of the reason for going on Monday afternoon was that most if not all of these would soon head home leaving those that can stay in the peace and tranquility come sunset Skip counted 36 other vessels in the Bay, with less than half a dozen motor cruisers.

Sunset in Studland

Tuesday would've been a good day to carry on heading West, the tide was ebbing from around 1030 and what little wind there was seemed to be coming from the East whether North or South.  It had been suggested by the weather forecasters that Monday would've been the coldest Bank Holiday on record, but it didn't seem like that.  Whilst Skip was itching to set up the new Webasto heater to come on before dawn and warm the master cabin up to prevent condensation from forming, it really wasn't that bad.  Yes, condensation did form but not to the extent that it dripped on my occupant's heads in the early hours.  It was crisp but not to the extent that breaths could be seen a decision was made to run it for 30 minutes just to take what little chill away.  All worked well and by the end of the timed period jumpers were coming off.

It was also decided rather than sit at anchor all-day and wait, we'd set off under tick over and make some headway.  It was another glorious day and Skipper set up his trolling line but not with a Mackerel spinner but a spinner plus a squid lure,  Maybe deeper waters were called for but in the end, it was taken, was that the one that got away! So with the line out of the way and the realisation that we would not be at Hurst till about 1700 and Cowes at sunset, the pace was raised and I went up to 2,500rpm aiming for the North Channel.

Two days before Full Moon

2000hrs

The Solent, once past Yarmouth, was flat calm, the tide still against us until we were passing Newtown Creek.  Dinner would be a take-a-way as key elements of the proposal was still in the freezer back home.  I was prepared for bed long before we arrived at the harbour entrance, with only items needed, left on or open that wouldn't take long to put away or power down once moored up, left to do.

Whilst not the purest few days of sailing, everything was run for a while with no problems reported, even the repaired crack to the Corian galley sink didn't leak

2020 part 1

For the first time this year, the restriction for stopping over in the same place overnight has been lifted, which is a Governmental thing gone ballistic when it comes to the sailing community. Same household crew or yachts that don't require a large number of people to go sailing, should have been allowed to continue to do so, after all, skippers carry out more risk assessments than a bomb disposal expert on a day to day basis.  Whilst I'm kept on a pontoon, the risk of my crew getting within 2.0m of anyone when launching the dinghy to arriving back is minimal, especially if they use the larger one which is launched from the public slipway next to Shepards.

The time had come this weekend (11-12th) for us as a household to venture out for more than 24hrs, Skipper having looked at the tides had Sandown in mind but the crew fancied Studland, longer passage and so that was the plan.  The wind was looking light and the sun hot, but it could provide the opportunity to try out the new furling system on the code 0, even if my engine had to go on to get there to the final destination.

However, in the Solent, you can never tell what's going to occur, the Metoffice had a northerly and light wind which matched most other weather models.  The wind was definitely coming from the southwest and so full main and bring out the jib, eventually the wind built to 20kts although being overpowered I was still able to point higher than most, my crew ended up with at least four layers of clothing and we covered 22.5nm for what is usually a 10nm journey.  Instead of heading to Studland, after a discussion and four hours of beating back and forth to windward, we headed into Totland to spend the night there instead, the wind did eventually drop.  And so the first night under anchor was a peaceful one, although we did drag before the anchor bit, the distance markers clearly need cleaning as Skipper couldn't tell how much chain had gone out but eyed the anchor buoy, having kept an eye on the other boats and the tracker he was happy that the anchor was set and settled down to putting the main away.

Facnor FX+ Code 0 furler below jib furler

Bright sunshine greeted us in the morning and three cruise ships could be seen anchored off Poole and Bournemouth.  No wind registered and so after breakfast, the anchor was weighed and we headed under tick over and with the tide, back passed Hurst Castle towards Lymington. What Skipper wanted to do on Saturday he did today, up went the code 0 and the engine cut, at first the sail was difficult to deploy but this was that it had been furled in the sail loft and was a bit baggy at the bottom, which was catching on the jib furler.  As soon as that was helped round, deploying and retrieving was a quick and simple process, the crew would just ease what was now the lazy guy, whilst Skipper sat by the mast and furled it in, the tack was made and Skip would stand up and collect the working guy and bring it back to the stern deploying the sail at the same time.

Thor junior keeping me moving in light airs, a
J3 is also available to go in between

Several tacks were made across the Solent and the wind again moved from South East to a more Easterly direction, but the exercise to see what issues there might be had been completed once furled the sticking that was inbuilt after the first land-based furl had gone.  As we approached Gurnard the wind picked up once more and so the Code 0 furled in the jib was deployed and we carried on sailing till approaching the River and headed home.

The Skipper has had a J3 made that when deployed with the Code 0 in a twin sail configuration, in between it and the mast, as above, it should accelerate the wind providing more power.  The thoughts here were that in one direction or another crossing Lyme Bay the wind would die meaning 10-12 hours of engine, once I was being carried on by the tide apparent wind would be generated and with the sails set correctly could see a 5kt boat speed increase to 10kt halving the crossing time. That's the next trial.

Shake down

After such a long period of not being in the water, the thought of a mere shakedown rather than a decent cruise to somewhere for a while seems a bit of a 'Toe in the Water', but on Bank holiday Monday at the end of May that's exactly what we did and as it turned out for good reason.

With the glorious weather that has bestowed us recently, it is tempting to just want to start sailing and not come back for a while.  However, Bank Holiday Monday like most bank holidays this year with the restrictions in place was glorious, and with some of the restrictions on movement being lifted for you humans, the chance to get out was grabbed by my skipper and crew.  However soon after starting my engine it became apparent that something was wrong as water failed to continue to flow out of the exhaust.

Unperturbed, the skipper took me out of the small ships channel where my sails were raised for the first time this year.  No birds nesting in the main, but no wind either and we drifted for a while and as the tide changed and the wind died. I spun around as what little wind there was altered 90 degrees.  With my engine slightly cooler, and the sails dropped, as we leveled with the Madina I was turned for the river and under tick over made my way in.

A saved impeller left and the one just removed right

My Yanmar engine has two cooling systems, one is a sealed one like you find in most cars and the impeller within the water pump is metal.  This system runs through the clarifier, like your hot water tank at home and the hot water from the engine follows a series of loops within the tank and so transfers the heat from the engine to the tank.  Clearly, once the water in the Clarifier reaches the same temperature as that of the loops its cooling efficiency is somewhat negligible.

Skipper replaces the impeller every time he services my engine and after inspecting the old one keeps it as a spare.  I have a few.  And so it was a simple switch over and then run the engine again to check all was well. He opted to return the following day to run the engine longer and whilst that was going on repair another leak that of a drip from the galley sink.  It appears that during this exceptionally warm weather we've been experiencing for the past few months, plus an extended stay on the hard and so no use, lots of rubber O rings or washers appear to leak, the other two sinks in the heads do the same.

Skipper liking to keep my engine and engine bay clean mopped up some water as a result of the impeller change, or so he thought, except more water appeared and so he checked the hoses to and from the impeller in case a split had occurred.  Having shut the engine down he traced the leak to that of the Waterstop, a system that prevents seawater from flowing the wrong way if a wave happened to go into the exhaust outlet and so set to, to remove it.

 Left is the waterstop in situ at the back of the engine where the sail drive (propeller unit) lives.  The leak was underneath.

Right is the waterstop taken to pieces to be cleaned, removing any pieces of the broken impeller that could be found.  Once re-assembled Skipper filled it with water to see if there was a crack or whether the rubber O rings, following cleaning, would now be watertight.  They were it was refitted and the engine ran once more.

The sink could be attended to.






As always seems to happen when I come out of the water the Marlec Rutland wind generator seems to have a problem.  This year the display unit started to scroll on its own as if one of the buttons was stuck, a quick e-mail to the manufacturer and it is going to be sent up to Corby for checks.

The day after the bank holiday my Code 0 returned complete with Furlex 4500+ top-down furling system.  This should make things a lot easier for Skipper and make tacking fast and straight forward.  With the J3, shown in the previous article 'Launch Day', the twin sails should provide a turn of speed in light airs.

So I reckon my time at the Yacht Haven is up and I will shortly be moved back to my mooring.

Launch Day

Following a lot of work to my hull and topsides, plus all the other work that has gone on since I was lifted out of the water last year, I'm finally back in the water and it feels good.

Ok, so you guys still can't mix very well and I have to bring my Skipper and Crew back to homeport at the end of the day but it's a start. I'm currently in the Yacht Haven in Cowes and not sure how long for, I think Skipper has or is striking a deal to have me here for a while, but we can go and try out my new J3 and hopefully be able to pick up the top-down furling Code 0 From Lymington too and fly dual sails and see how well I can perform.

Released from the land finally

Once in the water Skipper took 40 minutes to stop water weeping past the O ring of the log.  Unable to stop the weep, he opted to switch the plug for the log itself having inspected the O ring, it took another 40 minutes to slow the weep to a stop by tightening and loosening and twisting the log till the rubber softened and seated properly.  Not quite what you want but after so long in what has been quite warm conditions a lesson given, if learned we'll see next time.  The log should be checked and then left standing in water to soften it.

It's not dissimilar to having a glorious summer and then during the first Autumn rainfall, the windscreen wipers of your car do nothing but make loud noises and smear your view until they soften.

Today (Tue 19/05) another glorious sunny day with between 8-13 knots of wind, Skipper having cleaned and polished the rear portion of the cockpit table where the repeat plotter sits, to enable it to be bonded in, decided to fly the J3 for the first time.  The two additional outside spinlocks at the cockpit, together with the sidecars that the former owner had fitted but never used, finally came to good use.  The Spinlocks required a little bit of cajoling to enable the 12mm guy to be passed through them as they've not been used.

My new J3 finally up and given an airing

As Skipper likes to ensure that everything he adds to me has two uses, the guys for the J3 will also be used as gybe preventers, enabling him to remove the line he had fitted to the boom.

Looking up from the deck at the J3

Looking up from the foredeck you can see another job to be done.  As the radar is analog but my navigational system is digital the radar dome and its cabling is just dead weight right where you don't want it if you don't need it.  So this, I'm sure will soon be brought down to Earth or eBay!

I'm sure that my jib will soon be fitted and furled up and then I'll be ready to head out into the Solent once more for a shakedown before plans can be made as to where he might take me, Virus willing! 

Covid 2

Whilst Skip is pleased that his main work hasn't dropped off a cliff and in fact, he's quite busy he's able to manage his Clients such that daylight hours are still being as far as possible free to enable him to do all the things he just ran out of time previously.

The air-cooled outboard motor re-assembled and not only

looking like new but running smoothly after a quick service

The next big job on his list is the second line tidy.  For those that are unsure where this fits on my deck, it is a panel that stretches from the cockpit almost to the side of the mast.  The halyards (ropes) run 90 degrees from the base of the mast to a series of pulleys hidden by this panel and turn 90 degrees again and run the whole length and pop out at the back to the clutches and winches.  Looking at the photo below the mast would be to the left and the ropes run to and under the little bit that just out, the deck tidy pulleys go from corner to corner and the ropes then run all the way to the door at the back of the garage.

The final big job this year is to finish the portside line tidy

Star cracks filled and rubbed down, first coat on

This is the line tidy panel in-situ

Today the Thursday before Easter the first Gel coat was sprayed on (as second above), this will be rubbed back, air blown and Acetone used to wipe clean and a second coat applied.  If there's enough available a third coat will be applied and the process repeated before the Flow coat is applied.  This is identical but doesn't carry the white pigment so it is clear.  Skip wants a deep gloss shine to ouze from the panel.  As can be seen from above due the shrouds at the side of the deck, if I happen to be rafted against another boat it is not unusual for people to trample over the line tidy to cross over.  Hence it has lost its shine and suffered some damage.

I understand that my code 0 is now ready for collection if only the current lockdown that the countries are in would enable that to happen. The sail which previously had a snuffler to 'extinguish' its use, proved difficult for one person to operate and tacking with it proved to be such a long process this was only to be attempted on long runs when one or two tacks were envisaged.  The new Facnor FX+ 4500 requires a torsion line to be sewn into the leach of the sail and that's now been done.

The sail is hoisted tight out of its new zipped bag and the continuous line is led aft to the mast base. This line is then pulled with Skip or whoever sitting at the base of the mast in a safe position to let out the sail, the working sheet is then pulled in and the sail is trimmed.  When tacking someone goes forward to the mast and the working sheet is eased as the continuous line is pulled to trim the sail, the tack takes place.  On the new tack, the sail is re-deployed as the lazy sheet now the working sheet tightens pulling the sail out and trims it, the continuous line is fed in the opposite direction as the working sheet pulls it out.  At any time by stopping the continuous line the sail locked prevented from being deployed further.

Skipper has had made and fitted to the bulkhead he strengthened last year an 'L' bracket to take a new deck fitting.  This is for the new J3 sail that in light winds he can hoist to complement the Code 0 and fly twin sails upfront.  This stemmed from Skipper watching the Ocean racing where the IMOCA 60's had tri-sails upfront.  The air between the sails is accelerated so that it creates a bigger vacuum at the back of the mainsail, which in turn produces more power.

Every year when we cross Lyme Bay either West or East on our way back the wind dies and so it takes almost 14hrs to cross and usually under engine at 5.0kts.  If the code 0 and J3 are deployed in such light winds it will create a higher apparent wind which will increase until it reaches a peak, this is when the drag I produce through the water cannot be overcome any further.  At his point, it is hoped that I will be travelling at 15 knots through the water even more if the tide is behind me, making the crossing in 3.5 hours.

Or looking at it from another angle a 10hr passage making 150nm reaching Newlyn from Portland in one day if the right conditions prevail!

Let's hope that the Pandemic is soon over.

Final preparation of the line tidy panel

Polishing

Check out the video of one of the final stages of the polishing processes.

https://youtu.be/uY-vFbXLpEU

Covid 19

Apparently, you guy's have a virus that's going around that has put everyone into a state of lockdown.

With a week to go before I was due to launch, Skipper was working down my port side, you can see the starboard side photo in Maintenance III the previous blog. Not happy with the finish he was getting, believed to be caused by the sun baking the cleaning compound on my Gel coat, he was going to go over it again.

Due to a large Rib being parked between me and my neighbour, Skipper couldn't get the scaffold tower beyond halfway and so this is where he had reached before looking up at me and scratching his head.  So having had the Rib moved out of the way, he started at the stern in the morning when the sun was on my other side and as the sun moved round he reduced his working area, enabling him to remove the cleaner before becoming baked.

He opted to work by hand not using his polishers and managed two 'slots' before being told that the marina was going to close later that day (Tuesday).  Slots are basically just wider than the width of the scaffold tower, so prevent overreaching.  With no hope of cleaning the remaining side in the time available, he opted to concentrate on my twin blue stripes above the waterline.  They, being dark, suffer from more UV damage than say white bits, just look at the older blue-hulled colleagues of mine.  So he spent a bit more time cleaning them and buffing them up, I think next year he's going to do the deeper clean he did on me a few years ago but just to the blue bits, make them shine again.

So currently all cruising idea's, even the usual weekend to Totland Bay are on hold.

Still, he's still got the remaining line tidy in his garage which he may now have time to spray with Gel and Flow coat and get it down to me before I launch.  Everything is on hold for three weeks.

He's also got the plastic surround to the Honda 2.5 outboard to relace after all these years, so he'll not be idle!

My jib being washed on the front lawn

The new J3 in comparison

As the lockdown continues Skipper has been busy by stripping down the Honda 2.5hp air-cooled outboard motor.  The clutch & gearbox has three lugs that sit onto the shaft and this is the mechanical link that enables everything to turn together.  During the dismantling, it was discovered that one of the lugs was cracked, one has snapped off, with the piece large enough that it remained in place and the third broken and missing.

He's taken the shaft to his fabricator to have the cast element 'fixed' before re-assembling.

The whole point of the exercise is to replace the smashed base that occurred many years ago when the outboard belonged on the SB3 Skipper used to own.

         

Engine on                                                            Engine Off                 

Winter Maintenance III

Well, we're coming into the last month of my four-month winter period stay on the hard at the Yacht Haven, Cowes. I'm squeaky clean inside with all surfaces washed, disinfected and steam cleaned. The hob and fridge likewise have been given a thorough going over and disinfected too. All the external stainless steel has been removed, cleaned and returned ready to go back prior to me going back in the water or just. The steering wheels have had the suede soaked in softner like the crew also does to the sheets which kill any algal growth and a simple brush removes the green staining after all, what are baths for?  The teak deck has had a light power-wash also to remove the mildew prior to the deck Gel coat getting a wash and polish. My teak deck tends to stay reasonable mildew free, as trips out with resulting seawater over the deck leaves behind an environment that doesn't suit the freshwater loving algae.

My remaining line tidy back at Dagmar House is under-going necessary preparation for it to be sprayed in Gel coat, so hopefully, that will be back on board in the early part of the new season if not before I leave the marina.  Skip needs to be hoisted up my mast to undertake a few jobs, the feeding of the new halyard for the J3; the replacement of the deck lights and the removal of the radar dome. The plastic C clips holding the deck lights in their cases have gone brittle, snapped and washed away.  More plastic in the sea!  At least the new ones are in stainless steel.

The radar dome is to come down as it no longer talks to the new navigational equipment skip had fitted at the end of the season. No point having excess weight high up, besides the AIS is very trustworthy, although not all boats have one fitted, these are generally small craft, who in the fog may be questioning as to why they're out there! 

That now leaves a month in which the skipper will wash and polish my hull ready for the oncoming season. He's got a colour chart and is thinking about respraying the two blue stripes just above the waterline as a next year's task or even summer of this year as the ambient temperature is required for the compound to go off.

The new top-down furler for the code 0 should be back from the sailmaker soon so lots of things to look forward to in the new season.

That leaves only my mainsail as the original sail left on board, will that be replaced anytime soon?

The new Webasto heater skip fitted is working well, providing lots of warmth throughout my interior.  They popped over to Ireland for a few days with the intention to meet up with his brother and left the Weasto programmer to come on every weekday morning from 0500 till 0800 on eco mode and at 19C.  102 litres of diesel in my tank before he left and 102 when he returned, whilst he set the timer he hadn't set it off!! Skip will be pleased that he'll no longer have to get up to make tea in the cold, timed settings can have the saloon warmer in plenty of time.  It also means that the deck windows that were badly replaced, could also be done.  Warm air outside, toasty air in.  The replacement windows were badly fitted because holes were drilled in them to hold them in place, whilst the Sika-flex set. These holes are the source of cracks, which like car windscreens, extend when in rough conditions and I'm being pushed or slammed about by the elements (or crew)

Most if not all my original pulleys have been replaced. The old large non-bearing 2000kg ones have been swapped for smaller bearing type (70mm) that run a lot smoother.

Even my anchor chain has had the wire brush treatment and checked for weaknesses.  So a successful winter break, well break for me!

New gear II - Winter maintenance

All I can do is sit and wait to see what is going to happen next, I've no say and only hope that my crew have not lost interest in me and that we're working towards a new season and new adventures.

This winter my innards have received all the attention so far. All of the walls beave been disinfected, all cabins and heads have been steam cleaned and everything has had a wash down. I'm crystal inside.  My engine has had all the filters replaced, the seawater impeller change and all and I mean all the oil removed and replaced.  This may sound a simple task but with everything, there's a catch.  The Seago pump system that hadn't been used for a few years had virtually seized.  That is to say that when the Skipper tried to use the vacuum pump the 'O' ring popped out of its groove rendering the pump useless, so he had to fix the pump first.  Now 99% of the old oil is out, but each time he returns there are another few milligrammes of oil that's pumped out.  He's getting fed up and will add a litre of new oil and force the remaining oil out leaving the clean oil to drain back to the sump.

More new pulleys have been fitted replacing my older non-bearing type, for smaller, for the same 2000Kg working load.  That's nearly all fifteen pulleys replaced.  The number one reef line that has a number of chaffed parts is in for replacement, as is the jib line which has always been about a metre short in length, so this minor fault is being rectified too.

New line bag secured to sides - Portside

Starboard side

Now totally out of the blue, the skipper has negotiated a good price to replace my Webasto heater for a new model, meaning that I will be able at long last provide a warm and dry environment within my cabins, saloon & heads.  This not only returns me back as Hanse had intended but provides my crew with a warm environment on demand making future trips a more pleasant experience, especially as its Skips unwritten rule to be told to be first to make tea!

The code 0, that skip had made is also going through a new transition, it is having a top-down furler fitted.  This is so that the sail can be used more often as it will be easier to handle in crowded waters such as the Solent with only the two of them on board.

Discussions are already afoot as to this summers trip, the Scilly's has been mentioned again but we'll see.

The new running gear for the J3 is ready to be fed through the mast putting last years L bracket on the front bulkhead into use this season.

With the cold spell not materialising as of yet it and work to my interior nearly complete, re-wiring of the Webasto ongoing, it looks like my hull will get the wash and polish soon, which makes me look smart for the remainder of the year.

One of the line-covers that was removed last year to have the star cracks filled and re-sprayed with Gel coat is back on board and how shiny it looks too.

Wednesday 12th February,  Work is continuing with the fitting of the Webasto replacement, with the new fuel pump in place and most of the wires and fuel lines lead to the heater.  Although the final connection between the pump and heater has still to be made.  The new control panel is smaller than the old dial type which leaves the hole cut out for the old one larger than necessary, so the panel has gone up to Dagmar House to fit another piece of carbon fibre same as that used for the control panel on the cockpit for the tachometer etc.

The wiring from the heater back inside to the chart table is well underway, so it soon can be connected up and run.  That leaves the central section of 90mm heater duct and insulation sock under the bench seating in the saloon to be fitted and three 60mm heater ducts to be insulated.

You'd expect that the switching of the old exhaust pipe outlet would be a simple case of undoing the three bolts and changing over.  No such chance, the PCD's of the holes were different and the new has the manufacturer's name emblazoned across the top, but 30 degrees out.  Meaning that if the existing holes were to be enlarged to fit the new bolts the name would be off centre one way of the other!