Sommaire pour April 2016 de Practical Boat Owner

with the editor To receive the editor’s monthly email newsletter, sign up on our website: www.pbo.co.uk It’s been quite a busy month. In the aftermath of London Boat Show, it’s been all hands to the pump to find our Project Boat Hantu Biru’s new owner, a mere matter of processing several thousand competition entries filled in from the magazine, online or from the forms handed out at boat shows around the UK. We’ve had a tremendous response, and I’d like to thank all those readers who have taken such a lively interest in the project, visited us on the boat and made the 46 days the PBO team have spent standing at boat shows both interesting and enjoyable. During the competition, many of you made such convincing cases for winning…

www.twitter.com/p_b_o www.facebook.com/practicalboatownermag Email pbo@timeinc.com or write to us at the address on page 5. Photos are appreciated, letters may be edited. HOW DRILLING A HOLE FIXED A LEAK IN A CONTESSA 32 Curing troublesome leaks – you know the drill Re ‘Tracing those tricky leaks’ (PBO February), Ben Meakins invited comment on techniques for fixing leaks – which prompted me to mention the time I fixed a leak by drilling another hole in my Contessa 32. I was lumping my way round the Lizard, single-handed, having left the Helford with a south-westerly Force 4, and had been hard on the wind on starboard for a couple of hours. Once through the rougher stuff immediately off the headland (and well clear) I’d tacked, eased sheets and set her on course for…

Monthly musings Yacht surveyor and designer Andrew Simpson cruises with his wife Chele in his own-design 11.9m (39ft) yacht Shindig. Read his blog at www.offshore-sailor.com There are few more pleasurable cruising spin-offs than sitting on the veranda of a waterfront bar watching crews from the nearby anchorage arrive, either in pursuit of stores from the shops or simply to enjoy the cool pleasures offered for their amusement. The photo that heads this page shows a scene in Grenada, the southernmost of the Windward Islands which, together with the Leeward Islands further north, stand sentinel at the eastern end of the Caribbean. In such places, inflatable dinghies are comparable to the family car – essential bits of equipment in a sailing environment where, if only on the grounds of cost alone,…

SoftScience Fin shoe The SoftScience Fin shoe features a non-marking, slipresistant outsole and a washable, odour-resistant, removable insole. The upper part of the shoe is made of a breathable microfibre, with a water flow system in the forefoot for getting into and out of the water without trailing water on your deck. It also dries quickly. Priced from £58 (t74.95), multiple colours available. ■ www.soft-science.eu Icom’s IC-M93D VHF/DSC marine radio Said to be the next stage of evolution for a VHF/DSC handheld, this measures just 145mm tall and weighs 310g. It features a 2.4in high contrast dot matrix and a backlit LCD display, plus menu-driven functionality. Active noisecancelling technology uses a digital processor to reduce background noise. The radio is designed to float on its back if it falls into…

On inspecting the inside of the truss cavity, it was apparent that the crack extended above and below the area where it was visible on the outside. Before I could glass up the inside, this had to be ground out back to good glassfibre. I filled the ground-out sections with the same mixture (colloidal silica, milled glassfibre and epoxy) as I used to fill the crack in the hull. Finally, I was ready to glass up the inside of the hull. It was even more important for me to do this as I had been chipping away at a resin block that encapsulated my mast truss, leaving the whole area slightly suspect: polyester resin is very brittle and susceptible to impact forces, as a microscopic process called micro-fracturing can occur.…

1 My wife has to learn to dock the boat without worrying that she will destroy it: next time there may not be any customs officers around. To help with this, we fitted a stern thruster (we already have a bow thruster). 2 Sending a pan-pan in French was the right thing to do: although the coastguard may have understood English, the customs officers didn’t. I will in future have crib cards for Mayday and panpan in the language for the country I am in. If it’s a language I don’t speak, the last sentence will be ‘please respond in English: I don’t understand…’ 3 Sending a pan-pan worked well. There is a strong case, however, for sending a Mayday. If I had been having a stroke, a Mayday would…

News and current affairs from the world of boating SEND US YOUR STORIES Email news editor Laura Hodgetts at newspbo@timeinc.com, tel: 01202 440825 Anna Millington, an electronics engineer from Ferndown, Dorset, has won the PBO Project Boat, the Snapdragon 23 Hantu Biru. She had been following the boat’s restoration since becoming a PBO subscriber a year ago as a birthday present. The PBO Project Boat free prize draw attracted almost 6,000 entries via magazine entry forms, online at pbo.co.uk and at the Southampton, Scotland and London boat shows. All the entries were added to a database by an independent company, and the winner was picked at random. Anna said she was ‘absolutely made up’ to win Hantu Biru after entering online, and can’t wait to learn to sail with her…

MAY ISSUE ON SALE THURSDAY, MARCH 24 PRACTICAL A high-speed tender ■ The fastest flubber in the west? Plus ■ Understanding metal fatigue ■ Gas safety on board ■ Fitting a folding prop ■ Car engine as boat spare, part two – renovation and reassembly TESTED Cordless drills ■ An essential tool for any boat owner – but which to choose? Pulse compression radar ■ Does it live up to the claims of sharp imagery and easy Wi-Ficonnectivity? BOATS Allures 45, Exploration 45 ■ Two very different, French-built, aluminium-hulled cruising yachts 31-33ft cruisers ■ Some groundbreaking early GRP designs SEAMANSHIP Modern navigation ■ Get the best from digital and paper The Bermudan rig ■ Everything you need to know CRUISING The Hebridean triangle ■ A bracing week-long charter sail in…

Mad about the boat 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 Maldon has become Tinseltown, the go-to destination for nautical big-screen dramas. In fact, if we had a hill in Essex, we’d probably put up a ‘Maldonwood’ sign. The latest movie epic to be filmed here is the tragic story of Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated effort to win the Golden Globe trophy for the first sailor to sail non-stop single-handed around the world, directed by James Marsh who made The Theory Of Everything. But celebrity hasn’t gone to our heads; it’s gone to our lips! And that really is pretty weird. The star of the movie is the historic Downs Road Boatyard, which…

Seamanship tips from PBO readers and experts Send us your seamanship tips. See page 5 for how to contact us TIP 1 Engine checks Daily engine checks are an essential part of ensuring that you will be able to get home or out of trouble when the wind dies. The photo (right) shows an accumulation of black dust in the engine compartment where the alternator, cam and crankshaft wheels may have become misaligned and caused excessive wear on the drive belt. The belt could be depressed at least .in and the engine compartment was covered in fine black dust, which showed that the belt was wearing away. Guarding against belt failure A close look at the nearer old belt in this photo (left) shows that it has worn considerably narrower…

Rhyl Harbour is located to the west of Rhyl and is the boundary between Rhyl and Kinmel Bay. It has a drying height of 4m above chart datum, and is only suitable for vessels capable of taking to the ground. Entry and exit by a 1.5m-draught vessel should only be undertaken during the period +/- 2 hours high water. Access to the inner harbour is via the pedestrian/cycle bridge and subject to wind strength and tidal height. To arrange opening, call the harbour office on VHF Ch14. A good landmark On a clear day, the Sky Tower on Rhyl seafront can be seen from 12 miles away and is a good landmark to head for from the north. If approaching from the west, call the harbour master to open the…

STEP BY STEP My Albin Ballad Triola suffered from a mast truss problem that led to the truss expanding and splitting the front of my keel open, with water subsequently seeping into the bilges. The first thing you need to do with any ‘hole’ or split in your boat is to figure out exactly what caused the split and remedy that first – or else any fix you do will likely be short-lived, and the problem will just occur again. My solution for dealing with the cause of the split was removing the old truss, fixing the crack and finally replacing the truss entirely. So, how to fix that crack... The ideal repair I had repaired glassfibre before, and knew that the ideal repair would have to attain a 12:1…

PBO PROJECT BOAT HANDBOOK ■ This 128-page restoration guide follows Hantu Biru’s journey from a Dorset fish farm to cross-Channel cruising. All for only £4.99 with free UK postage and packaging. Tel: 01202 440830 2016 PBO SMALL CRAFT ALMANAC ■ Full of information covering UK waters, Ireland and much of north Europe. Order yours now from chandleries and online bookstores. Just £17.99 or Tel: 01256 302699 PBO SKIPPER’S HANDBOOK ■ Your quickreference guide, featuring 64 pages of expert advice on Colregs, cruising, safety, sail trim, maintenance and equipment, all for only £1.99 Tel: 01202 440830 PBO SKETCHBOOKS 3, 4 & 5 IN STOCK £3.75 each or 3 for £10 Sketchbooks 1-5 are available to download from www.pbo.co.uk PBO CARTOON MUGS Celebrating eight years of Claudia Myatt cartooning in PBO, a…

As we expected, the readings taken from the gauges varied slightly from the actual loads. There will be a number of reasons for this. Firstly, some readings require some interpolation between two marks on the scale. There is some skill in operating the gauge: the effect of friction, which can lead to a false reading, has to be reduced. From the graph, the SureCheck final reading looks suspect, but this was probably because the conversion graph tended to a horizontal line at the upper range which made for larger reading error. The Loos Standard gauge was simple to use, but could not be left on the shroud when it was being tightened. The Loos Professional gauge gave a more accurate reading than the Standard gauge and could remain on the…

■ Essex Boat Jumble, 28 February, Ardleigh Showground, Ardleigh, near Colchester, CO7 7QR. Entry £4. ■ RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show, 5-6 March, Alexandra Palace, London, www.rya.org.uk ■ Pre-Season Boat Show at Swanwick Marina, 5-6 March,10am-4pm, www.premiermarinas.com ■ Kent Boat Jumble, 6 March, The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 6PY. Entry £4. ■ Peter Leonard Marine boat jumble and boat clearance sale, 20 March from 9am, Newhaven, www.plmarine.com ■ Fish & Ships, 9-10 April, Osprey Quay, Portland, with new and used boats for sale, watersports demonstrations, sailing opportunities and food stalls and musical entertainment, in aid of local charities. ■ Irish Boat Jumble, 10 April 2016, Carrickfergus Sailing Club, Rodger’s Quay, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, www.irishboatjumble.org ■ West of Scotland Boat Jumble, 1 May, opens 10am, Scottish Maritime Museum, The…

WEBBING SOFT SHACKLES An ideal alternative to traditional stainless steel shackles where the deck fitting or toerail is an awkward shape or size. 25mm polyester 2,000kg safety line webbing. Twist in loop at one end creates natural ‘cow hitch’ finish. Available in blue, black, red or yellow. ■ Jimmy Green Marine Tel: 01297 20744 www.jimmygreen.co.uk RRP £8.00 ONLINE PRICE £5.60 EACH JABSCO MARINE TOILET Compact model with Twist ‘n’ Lock function – an action handle which seals down the toilet seat and protects against syphonic flooding and waste backflow. ■ Gael Force Tel: 01463 229422 www.gaelforcegroup.com RRP £163.99 OFFER PRICE £99.99 HEMPEL TIGER XTRA 2.5LT ANTIFOULING PAINT Self-polishing, erodible. Can be applied in one coat, suitable for all substrates except aluminium. Colours: Grey, Dark Blue, Souvenirs Blue, True Blue, Black,…

Flotsam and jetsam Sam Llewellyn is editor of The Marine Quarterly, www.marinequarterly.com, and author of nautical thrillers. Three years ago he bought a Corribee on eBay Spring is slightly in the air, and all over northern Europe it is crane day down at the yard. The crane hire folk have finally given up telling everyone that what with the Government’s construction stimulus they may be able to fit them in in October. They have decently accepted double money, and it arrived early this morning, or anyway at about 11 o’clock. And now here is Eric Jenkins getting his Westerly Pageant ready to re-enter its native element with the help of a Romanian crane operator who has never seen the sea. The slings have been fitted under the hull, and Eric…

Amongst the very many attractions of cruising around the coast of the UK are not just the pubs, restaurants, golf courses, swimming pools, scuba diving areas, historical sites, castles, aquaria, wildlife, bracing walks, beaches, chandleries and other less interesting shops – but also museums, mostly billed as maritime museums. Not just the tourist honeypots like the Marie Rose or Cutty Sark, but small museums, full of local history and interest, run on a shoestring (mostly by volunteers), cherished by local people and seldom crowded. And yet they are rarely if ever mentioned in the guides to harbours and anchorages that appear in so many yachting magazines. For a comprehensive list of more or less everything out there, there is an excellent website: Maritime and Naval Museums in Britain and Ireland,…

Frank Goodchild, Rear Commodore, Rhyl YC ‘I like to go out fishing from Rhyl. You catch a lot of mackerel in the summer, and a few cod and bass. ‘We have boats at Rhyl all year round, although the majority lift out for the winter. We mainly go to Conwy from here – it takes around five hours. Lots of our members moor there for the summer but lay-up here over winter as we’re cheaper than anywhere else. It’s easy to park up and there are nice walks along the seafront, too. ‘There are two pubs down the road, and both of them are pretty good and keep their prices down.’ Mike George, secretary, Rhyl YC ‘It’s really easy to keep your boat here and launch, although the harbour can…

■ WEST SYSTEM epoxy, not polyester resin. Epoxy may be five times more expensive, but it’s also five times stronger than polyester resin. Perhaps more importantly, though, it has far better secondary bonding characteristics (its ability to ‘stick’ to something else), so your repair will be less likely to drop out! ■ WEST SYSTEM 402 milled glassfibre ‘choppies’. ■ WEST SYSTEM 406 colloidal silica. ■ Acetone. ■ Peel ply. David put me on to this stuff. It is the best favour you can do for yourself – and I’ll explain why later. ■ Polyester release film (optional). ■ Light, 300gm biaxial cloth. You will need several layers of this, but it will go ‘around’ corners better and will shape to this complex area. Don’t be tempted by more exotic materials…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gilbert Park has been sailing for more than 40 years and has worked his way through almost the entire Drascombe range. He now has a Sabreline 36 motor cruiser and enjoys the tinkering and maintenance that goes with owning any sort of boat. My wife and I decided to explore Brittany last summer while moving our new acquisition, a Sabreline 36, from Newark to Aigues-Mortes in France. We chickened out of the long trip from mid-Biscay around Gibraltar and up to Le Grau-du-Roi, so the last part from La Rochelle to Port Camargue was planned to be by lorry. The weather that summer was awful most of the time, or so it seemed. After spending almost a week in the inner harbour in Douarnenez waiting for the…

Getting the correct tension on the shrouds on my various boats over the years has always worried me. Too slack, and I know that the sails won’t be working as efficiently as they can: and, worse, the rigging and mast fittings can be subjected to shock loads and fatigue. Too tight results in extra strain on the various attachment points of the rigging and the shrouds themselves, and can distort the hull as the loads are transmitted through the chainplates. Most mast breakages occur when the mast is overloaded, either by the wind or, more frequently, a collision. Modern stainless steel shrouds themselves rarely break, but the fittings to the mast or the boat do fail, with consequent failure of the mast. Fortunately, there are devices available on the market…

If you read last month’s feature on forward-looking sonar, you might have noticed a tatty-looking dinghy cowering beneath the thousands of pounds-worth of equipment on test. The dinghy in question is an old 3.6m (12ft) Tepco sailing dinghy, modified years ago for use as a tender. My first memories of it date back to learning to sail on my uncle’s boat as a teenager. One day, while heading out to his boat, the outboard failed and my younger cousin and I started to row. Our progress in the heavy boat, stuffed with provisions and (I have to say) more competent rowers, was pitifully slow – so slow, in fact, that the passing RNLI inshore lifeboat saw fit to offer to rescue us. In time, its weight and size prompted my…