There are few things about cruising that always annoy, but waiting out inconvenient weather is one of them. No matter how lovely the surroundings, sooner or later you start climbing the cabin walls. At least I do. Burnham-on Crouch is a nice place that we got to like a lot, but you can have enough of a good thing.
Weeks of strong NE winds had left many holed up as the Thames estuary is completely open to winds from that direction, and, being littered with drying sand bars, shoals and overfalls, is no picnic in strong onshore winds. And we had to get across it.
Congratulations!
Record time, too (sadly can’t say that about my own project, but its getting there …)
Don’t beat yourself up too much about mistakes – there are so many things on a yacht, even with the most diligent care some mistakes will be made.
Very much in agreement with your heavy anchor but lighter G70 chain choice – as Steve Dashew aptly observed, no one ever regretted having too big a hook.
Though I like the reliability of the dipstick, isn’t it yet another hole in the tank?
The pictures bring back fond memories, both of the Thames estuary and the South coast – just back from a Portsmouth – Scilly Islands – Portsmouth trip.
Cheers
Hi George
If I was to beat myself up too much over stupid mistakes, I’d be back and blue! The secret is not to make the same mistakes again.
The dipstick hole is very simple and has a screw fit cap that doesn’t leak at all. That said, an even better solution in many ways is to have an inspection hatch in the top that can accommodate a hand to help clean out the tank. More of a challenge now, but may be worth it.
Hope your trip was a good one – we only managed one night in the Scillies due to more bad weather coming, but it was lovely – as always….
Best wishes
Colin
second your point with the access hatch. Invaluable when, heaven forbid, Diesel bug hits.
The trip was stellar, especially coming back – running with first with trysail and staysail eventually going up to kite and barging up the Needles channel with 10 K on a 70ies Swan.
Excellent stuff! S & S never designed slow boats…
Congratulations both! If conditions suit, would love to welcome you at Fishguard Bay on your way up St Georges Channel
That’s very kind, Penry, but I’m afraid we’re already past you! Next time, maybe.
Best wishes
Colin
Regarding fake teak decking, thankfully it is fake and therefore easily replaced. My approach to old Treadmaster that was lifting in areas was to repair the lifted bits. Some just glued back down, other bits required to be cut out, a template made and glue in a new section. It too gets hot to walk on but only when temperatures are excessive. I am not sure any deck covering is good in hot weather to walk on, especially anything that may consist of porous, permeable spaces, no matter how small, as the air in the space just heats up.
I am at Craobh, I’ll lookout for you if up this way.
Hi Alastair
The fake teak glue has failed extensively, so I can’t see any sense in trying to patch it up. More trouble than it’s worth.
I had Treadmaster on my UFO 34 and it was super grippy, but the glue! It was like rock!
The other thing with Treadmaster, as any side deck ballast monkey knew was that it was brilliant stuff for developing what we called ‘gunwale bum’, an unpleasant and uncomfortable affliction…..
We should be up past Craobh soon (we hope) once we sort out a minor technical issue – more to come.
Best wishes
Colin
That old anchor setup is one of the most imbalanced I’ve ever seen — 10 kg of anchor to 120 kg of rode, and a Delta to boot? Glad to see you’ve gone with a much more rational setup for the new one. G70 chain with a Spade is definitely the right choice here.
As for the decking, I’ve been pretty pleased with KiwiGrip on our little boat so far; it goes on with a special paint roller and is indistinguishable from random-pattern moulded nonskid gelcoat. I wouldn’t want to deal with deteriorating fake-teak, that stuff sucks up labour hours like you wouldn’t believe….
Old boats always have a few dozen things on the to-do list. Getting through them all is essentially impossible; at some point you just have to go enjoy the time you have with what you have. It’s nice to see you back on the water!
Hi Matt
agreed on the anchor set-up. I have a feeling that wasn’t the anchor the boat had before, as I saw an earlier survey and inventory where a 35lb CQR was mentioned and the chocks on deck were obviously designed with a different anchor in mind.
Glad you agree with our choice – very pleased with the Spade, which sets like a handbrake!
KiwiGrip is one of the two options we are considering. It’s amazingly grippy (almost too much so on bare feet or knees), is cost effective and looks good if done carefully. The old fake teak is beyond economic repair and will be heading for the dumpster.
Your finals comment is both welcome and absolutely right. We just dealt with the major stuff and made the boat as safe and reliable as possible, we’ll worry about the small stuff later. And it’s great to be back on the water…..
I too use an ATN sock for my assembly. Love it. Learned a trick two years ago. The sail was grabbing the sock and making a knot, rather than sliding up. Etienne at ATN told me to: wash/soak the sail and sock in fresh water. Let dry. Turn sock inside out and spray liberally, top to bottom with Sailcote. Do the same with the sail. (I ran out of Sailcote, so only sprayed the bottom few feet.) My sick again works well.
Hi Terence
I’ve used loads of these and had a very nicely made Hood one for years, but the ATN is easily the best I’ve tried.
Thanks for the heads-up on friction. I’ll definitely give it a try if we have a problem
Hi Terence,
That’s a great tip. I’m a huge fan of Sailcote but had not though of using it in that way. Thanks.
The impact of weight aloft can’t be understated but it’s hard to make appreciable changes without going to a carbon spar or very expensive sails. If you are really looking to save weight, upgrading to LiFePO4 can definitely make an impact. I saved 150lb by going from Grp 31 Odysseys to similarly sized 100ah Kilovaults while effectively doubling my amp hour capacity. I have also debated whether I should remove my 45lb Mantus from the bow for ocean passages since I tend to time them with fresh winds but then I run into the problem of where to put the damn thing. And then there’s liquid loads and how much is enough. I guess I could make the argument that draining the water tank that I expect to be on the leeward side might make sense but then I need to remind myself that I’m cruising.
Hi Jesse,
I agree that weight is important, but given that the batteries on “Sherpa” are fairly close to the centre of pitch the return on lithium would not be that great and I doubt that, for the type of cruising Colin and Lou are planning, it would be worth the expense and added complications.
Also, interestingly, since “Sherpa” is fairly short rigged, a carbon spar would not make that much difference either.
See this article for more: https://www.morganscloud.com/2023/09/08/how-weight-affects-boat-performance-and-motion-comfort/