Today my crew turned up and took me out to stretch my legs.
My GPS repeater that sits at the end of the table in the cockpit, was returned and wired back in. With the sun shining but 5-8knots of variable winds I was taken out in to the Solent once again and headed West with the ebbing tide.
According to my crew the forecast was for Northerly backing Westerly winds, however the Solent as always did its own thing and South Westerly's crept in more often than expected. The last third in fact saw me sail due South in order to keep moving with a modicum of speed. I was happy to show my crew that the speed encountered previously wasn't an ill calibrated instrument and within an hour and a half we were up by Hurst Castle and turned to head back. Rather than Goose wing on a dead run, which a number of smaller yachts were doing, my skipper not a great fan of this angle of sail, he kept the jib filled and gybed back and forth back to Cowes. In fact he maintained a reasonable speed of 5.0 - 6.0 knots of boat speed as the tide turned increasing SOG (Speed over the Ground) as defined by satellites.
The wind had been fickle all day, Northerly , Westerly and South Westerly never exceeding 10.0 knots, yet I clocked up 8.0 knots at one point.
My Marlec wind generator is still not working and the bolts that hold it all together are proving a little awkward to loosen off, Skip has the bearings to replace but without getting the unit off he'll struggle to fix it. The solenoid for the winch, hasn't been freed yet either, assume that'll come shortly.
Assume these things will be tackled shortly.
Sunday, 17 April 2016
Tuesday, 5 April 2016
Spring Sail
No not a rush to the shops, but I was taken out for a shake down weekend.
Firstly I thought it was my new prop that was being tested as I headed straight out in to the Solent with the tide against me. At 1,600rpm I was running at 6.6 knots, clearly the swap for a 10" blade has or will pay dividends as I was barely making 5.0k knots at 2,200 rpm last year. So less stress on the engine, better fuel consumption and more nmpg (nautical miles per gallon). Last year it was around 4.5lts/hr so it will be interesting to see what the consumption will be this year.
Although there will be an unknown factor introduced in the form of the Webasto heater. Having been serviced with a new burner fitted and following the planned works, including the provision of insulation sleeves over the ducting, the new in line fan. This should blow hot air through new larger ducting to the master cabin, getting heat in there in volumes without over heating the unit, the first time this will have happened since it was fitted from new. So there will be some diesel used but I'm sure my skipper will be able to find out how much the Heat Top 5000 burns per hour.
After five minutes I wasn't turned to wind ready for the sails to be hoisted but instead I was pushed on and headed up Southampton Water, more reason to believe I was on a test. Skipper brought me round in to Town Quay and I ran parallel with the outer pontoon, two things then happened, firstly the yacht that arrived a few minutes before me had managed to get a stern warp on, but the wind that had freshened had blown his nose clear of the pontoon before they realised. It was now 90 degrees across my bows, although at the far end. The second thing, was that on tick over I was still pushing 2 knots and whilst the crew stepped off my speed towards the other yacht was such that the mid ship warp couldn't be wrapped around the cleat quick enough before the line ran out. By the time the skipper had slowed me down, the wind had caught me broad side and I was 2-3m off the pontoon. Fortunately the marine assistant and a chap from a rib had managed to attach my bow line, so I was reversed back and manoeuvred against the pontoon. With the lines sorted and shore power plugged in it was clear I wasn't moving anywhere, in fact two guests turned up and after a short while they headed off in to town.
After a slow start, probably due to the effects on the crew of the previous evening. My skipper allowed the wind to push me off and reversed me clear. The instant power from the prop pushes water over the rudder in enough volume that control is not long in coming. Once away from the usual ferry traffic, both my skipper and his colleague sweated the main, the lady took in the slack and my usual crew member helmed. With one reef in I headed back down towards the Solent, the wind was such that each tack put me directly on the other side of the River. It soon became apparent that the either the new laundered sails or the fact that my hull is clean or a combination of the two, that I was easily catching & passing others that were around us. A sleek blue hulled, carbon fibre masted race boat came out of the Hamble and we appeared to jostle for position, whilst they sorted themselves out. On the tack past the west side of Bramble bank we were the only two that remained within reasonable correlation with each other.
Heading up the Western Solent, the pair of us caught and past many boats our boat speed ranged from 7 to 10 knots, the tide was about 1.0 knot against us. My skipper and his colleague were heard discussing whether I needed to be re-calibrated again. The wind dropped and the slick boat shook out its reef, but my skipper is a little more circumspect when it comes to sailing in the Solent with all the wind shifts that occur. However, he too decided that the time was right and so I was headed in to wind and the last of the sail was hoisted, manually of course, as the solenoid to the electric winch was stuck. With the main full, I bared away but by now the slick machine had gained on me and others behind had made ground. Within minutes I had put water between us and was pulling away up went the speed again and the GPS at the chart table consulted to try to make some sense of it.
The plotter in the cockpit had also decided to fail. This my skipper has since discovered not an unknown fault to Raymarine and is the diodes that control the back lights, fortunately their facility is not far from where one of his jobs is, he's already taken it in to be repaired.
With big smiles on their faces and a touch of confusion on their brows we sailed out beyond Hurst and tacked back in to their favourite anchorage Totland Bay. Although the whereabouts of the windlass control caused some last minute panic, buried within the port side stern cabin that had become a dumping ground of everything that wasn't wanted. This cabin is usually reserved for guests, but the Marlec wind generator noise had meant the skipper had switched the guest sweet to the starboard side further away. However the swell that was coming off of the south coast was likely to create an uncomfortable night and so before light had even started to fail, apart from the obvious greyness from moisture that was making its way up the Solent, the skipper decided to take us all to Lymington where not only were we back on a pontoon but the electric heaters could be deployed keeping my occupants toasty once more.
Due to their antics the previous evening, a meal was cooked on board and a reasonably early night was had by all, after a debrief was had on my days performance. It was decided that on Sunday, I would be timed over a distance to answer the question as to whether my instruments were in fact out.
Once showers were had and breakfast served, my skipper again reversed me out from a tight space and set me off down the river. With the main hoisted and the first reef re-set we set off east, the wind completely different to that forecast, but that's the effect the land mass around the Solent has. And so I was timed, the crew on the helm let go of the wheel to show the skipper that he'd got the sail balance about right, two tacks later and the shaking out of the reef I'd covered 15nm in 2 hours, it appears that my instruments are not if in fact out at all. The reading given would've been influenced by the tide on the nose raising it by a knot or two. With skipper still at the helm and trying to get lifted, he managed to get me to the North Cardinal buoy, the entrance (or exit) of the north channel before gybing me round. However having been standing in the same position for so long, when I changed direction as asked, my skippers left leg failed to support his weight and folded beneath him causing him to collapse to the deck. Strong hands on the wheel as always he pulled me further over than intended, he tried to get up but his leg was having none of it. Eventually his colleague came and took my wheel, whilst skipper got up, blood returned to where it was needed and normality flooded the deck apart from the laughter. With the wind behind me, my skipper held out the jib and thought that I had stopped, contemplating as to whether the engine was needed. This was soon quashed when my speed of 6 -7 knots was called and again those boats that were behind drifted further away.
Allowing the ferry traffic to clear. my sails we're dropped and I was brought against the outside of the visitors pontoon to drop off the guests from where they arrived. My crew then headed back with me under engine once more 1,800 rpm with 7.0 knots, allowing the crew to tidy me up and the skipper clearing the decks for an early departure once back on my home pontoon.
He returned the following day, to pick up all the bits that had been left behind and to clean me up some more. As I said he removed the cockpit plotter and turned the master cabin shower control back the right way round as he'd fitted it incorrectly after sorting out the slight leak.
As for the drumming noise of my Marlec wind generator. Well, he's found out that whilst I was on the hard with it down at an angle and prevented from spinning, it is highly likely that the bearing within have been exposed to rain and have rusted. He's ordered two new bearing and will replace as soon as they come.
My next trip, well I heard that the first Bank Holiday in May the RORC fleet is heading for St Vaast, so my skipper has switched and will be heading to Cherbourg instead. Let's see if all the repairs are ready in time and if my performance is verified.
Firstly I thought it was my new prop that was being tested as I headed straight out in to the Solent with the tide against me. At 1,600rpm I was running at 6.6 knots, clearly the swap for a 10" blade has or will pay dividends as I was barely making 5.0k knots at 2,200 rpm last year. So less stress on the engine, better fuel consumption and more nmpg (nautical miles per gallon). Last year it was around 4.5lts/hr so it will be interesting to see what the consumption will be this year.
Although there will be an unknown factor introduced in the form of the Webasto heater. Having been serviced with a new burner fitted and following the planned works, including the provision of insulation sleeves over the ducting, the new in line fan. This should blow hot air through new larger ducting to the master cabin, getting heat in there in volumes without over heating the unit, the first time this will have happened since it was fitted from new. So there will be some diesel used but I'm sure my skipper will be able to find out how much the Heat Top 5000 burns per hour.
After five minutes I wasn't turned to wind ready for the sails to be hoisted but instead I was pushed on and headed up Southampton Water, more reason to believe I was on a test. Skipper brought me round in to Town Quay and I ran parallel with the outer pontoon, two things then happened, firstly the yacht that arrived a few minutes before me had managed to get a stern warp on, but the wind that had freshened had blown his nose clear of the pontoon before they realised. It was now 90 degrees across my bows, although at the far end. The second thing, was that on tick over I was still pushing 2 knots and whilst the crew stepped off my speed towards the other yacht was such that the mid ship warp couldn't be wrapped around the cleat quick enough before the line ran out. By the time the skipper had slowed me down, the wind had caught me broad side and I was 2-3m off the pontoon. Fortunately the marine assistant and a chap from a rib had managed to attach my bow line, so I was reversed back and manoeuvred against the pontoon. With the lines sorted and shore power plugged in it was clear I wasn't moving anywhere, in fact two guests turned up and after a short while they headed off in to town.
After a slow start, probably due to the effects on the crew of the previous evening. My skipper allowed the wind to push me off and reversed me clear. The instant power from the prop pushes water over the rudder in enough volume that control is not long in coming. Once away from the usual ferry traffic, both my skipper and his colleague sweated the main, the lady took in the slack and my usual crew member helmed. With one reef in I headed back down towards the Solent, the wind was such that each tack put me directly on the other side of the River. It soon became apparent that the either the new laundered sails or the fact that my hull is clean or a combination of the two, that I was easily catching & passing others that were around us. A sleek blue hulled, carbon fibre masted race boat came out of the Hamble and we appeared to jostle for position, whilst they sorted themselves out. On the tack past the west side of Bramble bank we were the only two that remained within reasonable correlation with each other.
Heading up the Western Solent, the pair of us caught and past many boats our boat speed ranged from 7 to 10 knots, the tide was about 1.0 knot against us. My skipper and his colleague were heard discussing whether I needed to be re-calibrated again. The wind dropped and the slick boat shook out its reef, but my skipper is a little more circumspect when it comes to sailing in the Solent with all the wind shifts that occur. However, he too decided that the time was right and so I was headed in to wind and the last of the sail was hoisted, manually of course, as the solenoid to the electric winch was stuck. With the main full, I bared away but by now the slick machine had gained on me and others behind had made ground. Within minutes I had put water between us and was pulling away up went the speed again and the GPS at the chart table consulted to try to make some sense of it.
The plotter in the cockpit had also decided to fail. This my skipper has since discovered not an unknown fault to Raymarine and is the diodes that control the back lights, fortunately their facility is not far from where one of his jobs is, he's already taken it in to be repaired.
With big smiles on their faces and a touch of confusion on their brows we sailed out beyond Hurst and tacked back in to their favourite anchorage Totland Bay. Although the whereabouts of the windlass control caused some last minute panic, buried within the port side stern cabin that had become a dumping ground of everything that wasn't wanted. This cabin is usually reserved for guests, but the Marlec wind generator noise had meant the skipper had switched the guest sweet to the starboard side further away. However the swell that was coming off of the south coast was likely to create an uncomfortable night and so before light had even started to fail, apart from the obvious greyness from moisture that was making its way up the Solent, the skipper decided to take us all to Lymington where not only were we back on a pontoon but the electric heaters could be deployed keeping my occupants toasty once more.
Due to their antics the previous evening, a meal was cooked on board and a reasonably early night was had by all, after a debrief was had on my days performance. It was decided that on Sunday, I would be timed over a distance to answer the question as to whether my instruments were in fact out.
Once showers were had and breakfast served, my skipper again reversed me out from a tight space and set me off down the river. With the main hoisted and the first reef re-set we set off east, the wind completely different to that forecast, but that's the effect the land mass around the Solent has. And so I was timed, the crew on the helm let go of the wheel to show the skipper that he'd got the sail balance about right, two tacks later and the shaking out of the reef I'd covered 15nm in 2 hours, it appears that my instruments are not if in fact out at all. The reading given would've been influenced by the tide on the nose raising it by a knot or two. With skipper still at the helm and trying to get lifted, he managed to get me to the North Cardinal buoy, the entrance (or exit) of the north channel before gybing me round. However having been standing in the same position for so long, when I changed direction as asked, my skippers left leg failed to support his weight and folded beneath him causing him to collapse to the deck. Strong hands on the wheel as always he pulled me further over than intended, he tried to get up but his leg was having none of it. Eventually his colleague came and took my wheel, whilst skipper got up, blood returned to where it was needed and normality flooded the deck apart from the laughter. With the wind behind me, my skipper held out the jib and thought that I had stopped, contemplating as to whether the engine was needed. This was soon quashed when my speed of 6 -7 knots was called and again those boats that were behind drifted further away.
Allowing the ferry traffic to clear. my sails we're dropped and I was brought against the outside of the visitors pontoon to drop off the guests from where they arrived. My crew then headed back with me under engine once more 1,800 rpm with 7.0 knots, allowing the crew to tidy me up and the skipper clearing the decks for an early departure once back on my home pontoon.
He returned the following day, to pick up all the bits that had been left behind and to clean me up some more. As I said he removed the cockpit plotter and turned the master cabin shower control back the right way round as he'd fitted it incorrectly after sorting out the slight leak.
As for the drumming noise of my Marlec wind generator. Well, he's found out that whilst I was on the hard with it down at an angle and prevented from spinning, it is highly likely that the bearing within have been exposed to rain and have rusted. He's ordered two new bearing and will replace as soon as they come.
My next trip, well I heard that the first Bank Holiday in May the RORC fleet is heading for St Vaast, so my skipper has switched and will be heading to Cherbourg instead. Let's see if all the repairs are ready in time and if my performance is verified.
Sunday, 27 March 2016
Easter & the British Weather
Well anyone that made plans will tell you Easter was early this year.
From the beginning of the week my skipper had been watching the weather develop and his plans to take me to Weymouth with a couple of friends diminish. Friday was looking good, an excellent forecast would make for a beautiful inaugural sail wind to the north then switching to the south would keep his crew on its toes, the 0900 planned start would see the tide eddy around Egypt Point and then pick up the full 6 hours leaving the last few hours within Weymouth Bay and a lesser of an influence, making it in the old harbour before dark.
However, the weather after that appeared to deteriorate. It wasn't just the fact that it appeared to rain for the following three days, but the winds strengths were to reach storm force 10 on the day of their return. Despite my skipper having had a third reef sown in to my main, it wasn't his intention to use it as he would say my first reef. So the plans were cancelled.
Sure enough Good Friday was glorious and my Lazy Jack bag was adjusted to ensure the complete cover of my clean laundered and serviced main. This meant hoisting my main to remove the weight out of the bag, but in the light winds this wasn't difficult. The outer deck was washed down and brushed lightly to remove the green algae that hates sea water; the black caulking between the old and new repaired teak was carefully applied, sealing what is believed to be a source of a leak in to the stern locker.
With the weather only due to worsen as the day progressed it was decided to move me back to my pontoon, especially as the taxi now made available by the Harbour Commission was due to cease after 1800, a conversation my skipper had with HM1, the patrol boat. Today there was a small old fashion speed boat moored directly behind me, on the opposite side was a yacht, the large rib at my starboard bow on the finger pontoon had gone but the pontoon would be what I'd hit first in any case. Preventing a clear passage out in to the river was a pair of yachts rafted on the hammer head, this meant that once through the gap my skipper had to turn hard to starboard and watch my bow to make sure I missed everything. |The wind as always on these occasions felt as though it had picked up, but my skipper didn't show any signs of nerves. Both lines were cast at the same time and the wind blew me off but towards the finger pontoon, my skipper putting a few revs on the tacho soon felt the effect of the new prop which had plenty of water over the rudder giving him control and so guided me threw the gap and turned without fuss and I was soon in the river. With the throttle pushed forward there seemed to be a larger than usual wash behind me. This was difficult to assess as at these times my blades are usually clean and are the most efficient. However with the tide pushing me out in to the Solent, my bow thruster down and with only 1500 rpm on the clock I was travelling at 4.5 knots SOG. With sudden realisation, my skipper eased the throttle so as not to damage the lowered bow thruster and I ticked along heading back to my base. With both tide & wind against me, the skipper brought me in gently to my berth around the sail school yacht that had been using the pontoon for practice.
First impression of the new prop was good, but obviously a season of data needs to be established before the jury can decide on whether it was money well spent. Skipper quietly pleased.
Two things came to light on this small journey, the first was the confirmation that my electric winch didn't work, this is probably going to be a stuck solenoid my skipper discovered before. The second was the noise Marley the wind generator was making having been released for the first time in months. It would make sleeping in the rear port cabin unattainable. My skipper on returning on Saturday checked the wiring as this had been the cause previously. The terminals at the batteries were still cable tied tightly providing plenty of support to the wiring at this end and a terminal block was discovered to have partially melted at the other end, which was soon replaced. The other thought is that with the batteries having been charging over the winter period by shore power, the batteries themselves are fully charged and therefore the intelligent regulator is slowing the blades down as power is not needed, causing an element of vibration. Tine will tell, it could of course just be that the as it's been held in the same position for three months there's a build up of dirt. With the wind building, the attempt to put the mast cover on was abandoned, but the washed cockpit table cover and the sprayhood frame covers where fitted. With the last of the water sponged out of the bilge, my skipper packed up and headed home before the rain came.
From the beginning of the week my skipper had been watching the weather develop and his plans to take me to Weymouth with a couple of friends diminish. Friday was looking good, an excellent forecast would make for a beautiful inaugural sail wind to the north then switching to the south would keep his crew on its toes, the 0900 planned start would see the tide eddy around Egypt Point and then pick up the full 6 hours leaving the last few hours within Weymouth Bay and a lesser of an influence, making it in the old harbour before dark.
However, the weather after that appeared to deteriorate. It wasn't just the fact that it appeared to rain for the following three days, but the winds strengths were to reach storm force 10 on the day of their return. Despite my skipper having had a third reef sown in to my main, it wasn't his intention to use it as he would say my first reef. So the plans were cancelled.
Sure enough Good Friday was glorious and my Lazy Jack bag was adjusted to ensure the complete cover of my clean laundered and serviced main. This meant hoisting my main to remove the weight out of the bag, but in the light winds this wasn't difficult. The outer deck was washed down and brushed lightly to remove the green algae that hates sea water; the black caulking between the old and new repaired teak was carefully applied, sealing what is believed to be a source of a leak in to the stern locker.
With the weather only due to worsen as the day progressed it was decided to move me back to my pontoon, especially as the taxi now made available by the Harbour Commission was due to cease after 1800, a conversation my skipper had with HM1, the patrol boat. Today there was a small old fashion speed boat moored directly behind me, on the opposite side was a yacht, the large rib at my starboard bow on the finger pontoon had gone but the pontoon would be what I'd hit first in any case. Preventing a clear passage out in to the river was a pair of yachts rafted on the hammer head, this meant that once through the gap my skipper had to turn hard to starboard and watch my bow to make sure I missed everything. |The wind as always on these occasions felt as though it had picked up, but my skipper didn't show any signs of nerves. Both lines were cast at the same time and the wind blew me off but towards the finger pontoon, my skipper putting a few revs on the tacho soon felt the effect of the new prop which had plenty of water over the rudder giving him control and so guided me threw the gap and turned without fuss and I was soon in the river. With the throttle pushed forward there seemed to be a larger than usual wash behind me. This was difficult to assess as at these times my blades are usually clean and are the most efficient. However with the tide pushing me out in to the Solent, my bow thruster down and with only 1500 rpm on the clock I was travelling at 4.5 knots SOG. With sudden realisation, my skipper eased the throttle so as not to damage the lowered bow thruster and I ticked along heading back to my base. With both tide & wind against me, the skipper brought me in gently to my berth around the sail school yacht that had been using the pontoon for practice.
First impression of the new prop was good, but obviously a season of data needs to be established before the jury can decide on whether it was money well spent. Skipper quietly pleased.
Two things came to light on this small journey, the first was the confirmation that my electric winch didn't work, this is probably going to be a stuck solenoid my skipper discovered before. The second was the noise Marley the wind generator was making having been released for the first time in months. It would make sleeping in the rear port cabin unattainable. My skipper on returning on Saturday checked the wiring as this had been the cause previously. The terminals at the batteries were still cable tied tightly providing plenty of support to the wiring at this end and a terminal block was discovered to have partially melted at the other end, which was soon replaced. The other thought is that with the batteries having been charging over the winter period by shore power, the batteries themselves are fully charged and therefore the intelligent regulator is slowing the blades down as power is not needed, causing an element of vibration. Tine will tell, it could of course just be that the as it's been held in the same position for three months there's a build up of dirt. With the wind building, the attempt to put the mast cover on was abandoned, but the washed cockpit table cover and the sprayhood frame covers where fitted. With the last of the water sponged out of the bilge, my skipper packed up and headed home before the rain came.
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Heat & New Lazy Jack bag
My Skipper has been doing a lot of research regarding my Webasto hear Airtop5000 to be exact. Previously it appeared to work ok, but in fact it delivered warm air to my rear cabins and sometimes the saloon, but no chance of getting any heat further forward. Which is where to be honest the owners are likely to want it in the Master Cabin. New models are fitted with two heaters one entirely serving the Master Cabin.
However, as I said my skipper has done his homework. The Airtop5000 has an overheat cut off sensor and as the fan on the unit is not capable of moving the volume of hot air away from the unit fast enough it overheats, the sensor picks that up and the unit is shut down. The increase in volume of air flow through a 90mm dia duct compared to a 60mm dia duct is more than 50% again. So my skipper is going to replace the undersized duct work from beneath the chart table to the Master Cabin with the larger 90mm duct, at the point of change he's going to install an in line fan controlled by a variable speed switch enabling him to draw the air away from the heater unit, stopping it from overheating and deliver it where it's wanted to the front. He's also got a number of thermal socks that go over the duct work, that is designed to keep the air hot within the duct work.
So this winter having serviced the unit and replaced the burner unit, I went back on. Only to discover that an error code shown on the panel was leading to a new problem with the fan. It was soon discovered that the plastic shrouds at the end had been put on the wrong way round preventing the fan from spinning. Once switched and re-assembled, the unit fired up pumping hot air by the bucket load in to the stern locker. This was a bit of a eureka moment for my skipper who was expecting to spend a few more hours getting it to fire up.
Now my skipper has to check that the ducting in the stern locker has become crushed preventing airflow from moving forward. Then he'll add the thermal socks to the 60mm ducting that serves the rear cabins and the heads off the saloon. From there he'll strip out the existing 60mm ducting to the Master Cabin and heads and replace it with 90mm and surround it in the thermal sock, and add the new inline fan. Once this has been completed, warm or even hot air should reach the Master Cabin like the manufacturer had intended but failed to do and has never done before.
I'll keep you posted as how he gets on with the inline fan and the new duct work.
Allowing the unit to run, my skipper then turned his attention to fitting the new Lazy Jack bag he had made locally. Now imagine strong winds, larger areas of cloth and one man trying to fit it to the boom and you can imagine the picture. Still he's done this before and slid the bag down the boom and tied each of the hoops, then put sail ties around it to stop the wind from shaking it to pieces. The bag like my jib are all looking crispy clean, so its just the main to go before my first trip at Easter. I understand the plan is to head for Weymouth using the six hours of ebbing tide to assist, guests may be present, which is a good thing especially as its a colleague that my skipper & crew have done number of races with including the Fastnet. Only hope the weather doesn't mar the plans.
However, as I said my skipper has done his homework. The Airtop5000 has an overheat cut off sensor and as the fan on the unit is not capable of moving the volume of hot air away from the unit fast enough it overheats, the sensor picks that up and the unit is shut down. The increase in volume of air flow through a 90mm dia duct compared to a 60mm dia duct is more than 50% again. So my skipper is going to replace the undersized duct work from beneath the chart table to the Master Cabin with the larger 90mm duct, at the point of change he's going to install an in line fan controlled by a variable speed switch enabling him to draw the air away from the heater unit, stopping it from overheating and deliver it where it's wanted to the front. He's also got a number of thermal socks that go over the duct work, that is designed to keep the air hot within the duct work.
So this winter having serviced the unit and replaced the burner unit, I went back on. Only to discover that an error code shown on the panel was leading to a new problem with the fan. It was soon discovered that the plastic shrouds at the end had been put on the wrong way round preventing the fan from spinning. Once switched and re-assembled, the unit fired up pumping hot air by the bucket load in to the stern locker. This was a bit of a eureka moment for my skipper who was expecting to spend a few more hours getting it to fire up.
Now my skipper has to check that the ducting in the stern locker has become crushed preventing airflow from moving forward. Then he'll add the thermal socks to the 60mm ducting that serves the rear cabins and the heads off the saloon. From there he'll strip out the existing 60mm ducting to the Master Cabin and heads and replace it with 90mm and surround it in the thermal sock, and add the new inline fan. Once this has been completed, warm or even hot air should reach the Master Cabin like the manufacturer had intended but failed to do and has never done before.
I'll keep you posted as how he gets on with the inline fan and the new duct work.
Allowing the unit to run, my skipper then turned his attention to fitting the new Lazy Jack bag he had made locally. Now imagine strong winds, larger areas of cloth and one man trying to fit it to the boom and you can imagine the picture. Still he's done this before and slid the bag down the boom and tied each of the hoops, then put sail ties around it to stop the wind from shaking it to pieces. The bag like my jib are all looking crispy clean, so its just the main to go before my first trip at Easter. I understand the plan is to head for Weymouth using the six hours of ebbing tide to assist, guests may be present, which is a good thing especially as its a colleague that my skipper & crew have done number of races with including the Fastnet. Only hope the weather doesn't mar the plans.
Monday, 7 March 2016
Back in the Water
Having struck a deal with the Yacht Haven I'm back in the water and on a temporary mooring, my skipper happy that all the work to my hull and prop done and all the other work can be achieved afloat. This is partly good will as the hard was chock-a and by moving me created much needed space for the marine manager.
Although the funny thing is that having been lowered in to the water once more, I was brought in to collision against a pile, only gently but enough to knock out the repair my skipper had done following my altercation with Polly Agatha. So I've now had a professional to complete what had been a reasonable repair in the first place.
My laundered Jib is back on after the mix up with the sail loft, just waiting for the Lazy Jack bag to go on before my laundered main can be fitted complete with its new third reef, which will require yet another halyard to be fitted, to operate it.
So with me on the water my skipper has set about finishing off the repair to the damaged teak that was done at the same time.
Although the funny thing is that having been lowered in to the water once more, I was brought in to collision against a pile, only gently but enough to knock out the repair my skipper had done following my altercation with Polly Agatha. So I've now had a professional to complete what had been a reasonable repair in the first place.
My laundered Jib is back on after the mix up with the sail loft, just waiting for the Lazy Jack bag to go on before my laundered main can be fitted complete with its new third reef, which will require yet another halyard to be fitted, to operate it.
So with me on the water my skipper has set about finishing off the repair to the damaged teak that was done at the same time.
Old teak removed
New Teak cut in
Finished job with my wind generator back and push pit
back on
Just need to allow Mother Nature to turn the red to a silvery grey to match the rest. Now that the push pit is back on, the nuts need to be just tightened before the Webasto heater can go back on it's plinth and be plugged back in. I understand that the skipper wants to run it without the duct work connected to make sure that it works as I should and at least be ready for the Easter trip. The additional 90mm ducting and the insulation socks are all on board ready to go on. He's going to replace the 60mm duct to the master cabin with 90mm which I understand will increase the air flow to the front by almost 50%. With the variable speed inline fan and thermal socks hot air should reach the occupants of my master cabin in earnest for the first time.
For now his visions are on taking me out at Easter for a shake down to Weymouth. When we return I go back to my usual mooring up the Medina River opposite UKSA's base. I'll return there in a much better state than I left.
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
New prop 2
The new prop duly arrived and was fitted, not only is it 1" in diameter bigger overall but each blade is also 1" bigger. My skipper has estimated that there's a possible 20% increase in power or fuel efficiency, it will be interesting to see what I can achieve under engine.
This is a vast improvement on what I had prior to coming out of the water, check the earlier blog. The parts for the Webasto heater are on order, so I assume that's his next focus to get the master cabin heated as it should be.
The cleaning of my hull and the blue stripes is going exceptionally well, but I understand that my skipper would like to go over me again with the two compounds he bought as the area around the blue stripes with the compound has shown up the deficiencies of the ordinarily cleaned and polished areas previously completed
The shine he has achieved is breath taking and my skipper would like the time back to start again. Still he recons that next year he can fill &polish out all my dings and bumps from the hull next year ! So providing my skipper manages to finish off cleaning my hull, I'm looking to go back in the water the first Monday in March. This give the Yacht Haven a huge relief and so my skipper can continue to clean my decks and under take other jobs too whilst I'm still on shore power.
]My sails are back from laundry but are being serviced or a third reef fitted, the Lazy Jack bag likewise is being hand made using the old one as a template, so lots going on in the background.
I'm looking forward to the jaunt out to Weymouth come the Easter weekend, only hope the weather holds.
Here's some more shots of the cleaning work to my hull sides and stripes :-
Glassy finish
It's March and I've just gone back in the water now that my hull's been cleaned, both the jib & main (complete with a new third reef) are back from being cleaned and serviced so they're off to the Hamble to pick it up. The new Lazy Jack bag will soon be complete and with my soft furnishings in the salon having a steam clean plus Scotch Guard treatment, I'm ready almost for another season. My Skipper still has items on his list to do but these can be achieved whilst I'm afloat
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
New Prop
I feel a lucky boy, my skipper has been working hard on cleaning my hull over the last few months. First I get a chemical wash, bit like a T cut, which takes off the film of dirt that has dulled the shine and then rubs in an acrylic polish and buffs me up. Recently he's gone one step further. He's gone professional and located two products that has made a huge difference, a rubbing compound by Turtle Wax and a polishing compound from 3M's. Each has it's own Lamb's wool pad so as not to contaminate one product with the other.
The blue stripes have become oxidised over the last 5 years yet clearly you can see that this has been removed bringing back a show room shine.
The clear line between before and after.
The shine achieved using the compounds prior to finish polishing with the Acrylic wax
The blue stripes have become oxidised over the last 5 years yet clearly you can see that this has been removed bringing back a show room shine.
The clear line between before and after.
The shine achieved using the compounds prior to finish polishing with the Acrylic wax
The shine achieved, although this side requires the blue stripes to be redone !
I understand that next year he's going to set upon all the scratches and marks I have on my hull to return me to a showroom condition.
There are just two more panels to work on along the port side and by panels I mean the width of the scaffold tower my skipper has. This enables him to reach from Gunnels to water line, whilst working on a reasonably stable footprint. He recons that if he gets two more days he'll have me cleaned up ready to go back in to the water.
He's also ordered a new prop a 20" to replace my 18" and found out loads about the deal Yanmar made with Hanse whilst I and others were being built. Apparently the 20" is the correct size for my 75 hp engine, so that'll be interesting to see how much more power I have and how much further I can go for the same 2,200 rpm cruising revs.
With this due to arrive this week I could be back in the marina by the end of the month. My skipper has done this as the manager is struggling for room on the hard, plus he can still work on my Webasto heater and other things whilst I'm on the water but providing he has an electrical supply. He's come to an arrangement so I assume he's happy with that.
I'm hearing rumours of the first planned trip over the Easter break. A run to Weymouth at 0900 on the Friday picking up the back eddy outside of Cowes by Egypt Point and then using the 6 hours of ebb tide to get us there. Meeting up with some of his friends before a pleasure sail around the bay on Saturday. Sunday off then an early start Monday to grab the 6 hours of flood tide back, of course as always Mother Nature has the last say.
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