Practical Boat Owner Summer 2020

with the editor Sign up to our monthly newsletter at: www.pbo.co.uk/newsletter Emerging from the darkness I do like a nice collection of components. The selection of grabrails, handles, window frames, sheaves, brackets and ‘other’ pictured below were all removed from a 50-year-old boat and refurbished with chemicals, power tools and elbow grease. But the main ingredient is dedication. Or should that be devotion? Duty perhaps? I don’t know, but I know it when I see it. There’s another good example in Practical Projects (page 80) where a reader has rearranged his fuel filtration on a twin engine powerboat that also sports a generator and diesel heating system. Colour coding came to the rescue of a snake’s honeymoon of black tubing and multiple taps. Deliberation and diligence were the traits required to get the system…

Boating is slowly returning to parts of the UK as coronavirus restrictions are gradually eased two months after lockdown. As PBO went to press (1 June), sailors in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland were allowed to go day sailing, although no overnight stays on board were allowed unless the vessel was the owner’s permanent residence. In Northern Ireland, it was recommended day sails should be limited to a maximum of four hours, and skippers should keep Belfast Coastguard informed of vessel movements. In Wales, only those with direct access to their boats within a five mile radius of home were able to go sailing with their household. This was expected to be reviewed on 18 June. Marinas and yacht brokerages have also started re-opening in parts of the UK as long as there is…

The COVID-19 lockdown is already taking its toll on some UK marine businesses, while others have adapted to meet the challenges caused by the pandemic. Norfolk’s Windboats Marine, which built both the Gunfleet cruising yacht and Hardy motor yachts has entered into administration, affecting around 40 workers at its North Walsham base. The firm blamed a general downturn in orders and the ‘untimely impact’ of coronavirus for the move, and administrators are actively looking for a buyer. Other businesses have made redundancies. Sunseeker announced it would shed around 460 jobs – 20% of its workforce – ‘to weather the current challenges’. The Poole boatbuilder is preparing to start up full production after shutting down as a result of the pandemic. British Marine has said the full impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s marine…

There are calls for a ‘collaborative approach’ by governments, the marine industry, stakeholders and the public to tackle the problem of end-of-life boats. In a recent policy statement, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), a global trade association, has said the disposal of old boats is ‘not purely an owner problem’ and the failure to deal with abandoned vessels, especially glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) boats, has the ‘potential to damage’ the marine industry. According to figures from the European Boating Industry, which represents the European leisure marine industry, around 80,000 boats under 24m reach the end of their life each year in Europe. ICOMIA highlighted that there are commercially available solutions for recycling composite waste, and the marine industry should increase co-operation with industries which use composite materials, like wind turbine…

The Disabled Sailors Association is looking for 1,000 wheelchair users to take part in its Trans-World Sailing Adventure. To mark its 25th anniversary, the association has launched a £4.5 million project to build a wheelchair accessible superyacht to allow wheelchair users to sail around the world in safety and comfort. The voyage, which will start in 2026, will be split into one- to six-week sections and heavily subsidised to make it affordable. The association’s founder, Mike Wood MBE, has already designed and built two wheelchair accessible boats – the monohull Verity L, which is based in Spain, and the catamaran Spirit of Scott Bader which is in Portsmouth. Both are regularly used by the association. “It all sounds a bit grand and ambitious but over the last 25 years we have designed and built…

A sailor from Bedford is looking for backing to help develop a new type of water rescue device. Frank Spiniello came up with the Emergency Rescue Board (ERB) after a friend had a seizure, causing him to question how he might recover his friend from the water if he fell overboard. The ERB, which is still to be patented, is described as a cross between a body board and a lifebuoy ring, with integrated handles and holes for a rescue line. The first prototype has undergone some inland waterway trials with the search and rescue services, including Herts Boat Rescue. Spiniello is looking for a business partner to help develop his design. Contact: frank@emergencyrescueboard.com…