Forestay Rigging Repair

At the end of last season I found that the top of the roller reefing spar was in need of repair. The plastic collar in the top of the aluminium spar had become detached and the spar was rattling on the wire forestay. I tried to repair it myself with glue and only succeeded in gluing the fore stay to the plastic collar which had been fixed to the alloy spar. In other words I had made a real mess of the forestay. I managed to drill the plastic collar out of the alloy spar but as result needed to replace the collar.



I came to the opinion that I could not repair this myself as I did not have the tools to swage the terminals. The cheapest swaging tool I could find was £75. So I decided to employ the skills of a professional rigger. I made enquiries in local Chandlers and found that a lot of local riggers had gone out of business. The South Coast where there are a greater number of yachts is well endowed riggers.

A suggestion was made to seek out a rigger who works in the Underfall Yard in the Bristol Docks. I found Dennis Platten and his apprentice Jay running an enterprise called "Traditional Rigging"

http://www.underfallboatyard.co.uk/skills.htm

Underfall Yard  is a traditional boatyard which dates back to the time when the River Avon was made into a floating harbour with a system of locks and sluices. Brunel later improved the docks with an underfall sluice system to prevent the docks from silting up. The above website gives a lot more information about the history of the docks. The Underfall Yard is a hive of activity building and restoring traditional boats.

Jay repaired my fore stay and replaced the plastic coller at the top of the spar. I have now installed back on the boat and all works well.

Honda BF5 service

This is not a definitive guide to servicing an outboard but only an account of my experiences. If you have any doubts or queries please consult a qualified Honda service engineer. No liability will be accepted for anything contained in this account.

I decided this year to extend my skills and service the outboard myself. I purchased on E-Bay a Honda Service kit without oil at a cost of £28.75 plus postage of £2.70 from a company called Marine Tech based in Norwich. Delivery was prompt and a small brown cardboard box arrived in the Royal Mail post. Marine Tech in their E-Bay ad offered to send an E-Mail with a copy of the workshop manual. This proved to be very useful as it gave simple explanations as to how to carry out the service. No special tools were required and the only spanner I used was a 10mm socket. A large flat tipped screwdriver was also useful to undo the gearbox filler and drainage screws.

I first of all drained the engine oil so that I would not have the problem of engine oil getting into parts of engine whilst tipping the motor about.

The biggest job was the renewal of the water pump which required the dismantling of the gearbox from the outboard leg.The first task was to undo the gear connecting rod which was accessed through a rubber plug in the side of the leg. The gearbox was secured by two bolts which came undone easily and the gearbox dropped easily off the outboard leg. I think I was lucky in that the motor had previously been well maintained and the bolts were lubricated and not seized. The next task was to dismantle the water pump housing and pull off the gearbox drive shaft. The shaft was loose and slightly spring loaded so that it would connect with the drive shaft in the leg. I removed the rubber pump vane which appeared to be in good condition after two seasons although the rubber vanes had adopted the shape of the pump housing and some of the arms were permanently bent.. I have been told that lack of use can also be a disadvantage to the life of pump impellers. The received thinking is that they should be replaced at the annual service. I then reassembled the impeller and the housing ensuring that the impeller vanes are pointing away from the direction of rotation. I replaced the gaskets with ones from the service kit. The manual gives torque settings for all the bolts and I took care to make sure they were tightened correctly.

Whilst I had the gearbox off the motor I took the opportunity to remove the propeller and take off some the worst burrs with a file. Grease the shaft and replace the prop and renew with the supplied split pin. I then drained the gearbox oil and refilled.

I apolgise for the lack of photographs but the next task was the most difficult. I laid the motor on it's side on the work bench with the aim of refitting the gearbox onto leg. There are three items which you need to connect all at once and they are the water feed pipe to the engine, the drive shaft and the gearbox connecting rod. The first thing to do is to ensure that the square drive shaft is aligned with the square socket of the drive shaft. I became concerned when the drive shaft dropped out of the leg. The upper end is a splined shaft which mates with motor at the top end of the shaft. I managed to reconnect the shaft with the motor unseen by carefully pushing the shaft up and locating the splined shaft of the motor. After about 15minutes of fiddling the gearbox and the 3 components slid together. Turning the prop rotated the flywheel and so they were properly connected. The sealing ring of the water feed pipe was properly in place. I tightened the gearbox linkage and ensured that the correct amount of travel was in place using a micrometer.

The next task was to move to the top of the engine and check the valve gap settings. Removed the spark plug. In line with the manual the valve gaps were in tolerance. I had removed the cover taking care not to break the gasket as no replacement was in the kit.

Replaced the spark plug wit a new one from the kit.

A gasket for the thermostat housing was included in the kit but no thermostat. There was little explanation as to why it needed to be checked other that how to check that it was operating properly. I removed the cover and got a bit of a shock. The exterior of the engine was in good condition as you can see. The removal of the cover revealed a corroded thermostat with accumulation of sale, corrosion and weed. The thermostat itself was in the open position and so was defective. I had not noticed that the engine was slow to warm up. This exercise did emphasize the value of flushing the motor at every opportunity with fresh water. A new thermostat cost £23.40 from a local chandlery.

I then greased the points as described in the manual.

Tested the motor today. good healthy flow from the tell tale, forward and reverse work. All in order. I have gained a greater understanding of the workings of the motor.

Update on the jib sheet track

After much head scratching and an attempt to fill the holes with epoxy filler with a view to re drilling and then screwing the fixings back in with a hope that a new thread would be cut. The problem with that solution was that you would never be able to fill the void with epoxy. The screw fixings were only fixed to the thickness of GRP and not for the full length of the machine screws. I then explored a suggestion made by Stewart Brown of Churchouse Boats to use a plug fixing. A search of the racks at B&Q failed to find a suitable plastic plug. I then made a search of my own stock and found a rawplug type fixing made by Fischer.

I found that these would accept the 5mm machine screw and that they would need a 6mm hole. So the existing 5mm hole needed to be drilled out by 1mm. This I felt was not too a drastic alteration. When the plugs were fitted they were a nice tight fit as I did not want the plug to rotate in the hole.

I used epoxy with filler to glue the track down and the machine screws tightened up well. The track now feels quite firm and I hope is now secure. I will let you know if there are any problems.

Jib Sheets

Took the cover off the boat as the weather was fine and warm.

The jamb cleat for the jib sheets was in efficient and had the annoying habit of un jambing at the most inconvenient time. So I have adopted the same solution as for the mizzen sheet and installed a Barton Cam Cleat. I have reduced the number of holes I had to drill by utilizing one of the existing ones and turning the cam cleat to the right angle. The one remaining hole I plan to fill with a bolt.

The other problem which was identified on the last trip out was that the starboard jib sheet track was loose at the forward end. When I removed the bolt I found that it was screwed directly into the GRP and that the thread had been ripped out. I also found that the second and third screw were loose. I have removed the screws and looking for a solution. I have not as yet removed the track completely as the remaining screws and bolts are fixed tight and they screw into a portion of the deck over a buoyancy chamber. The loose screws are over a locker in the bridge deck which is accessible from the cabin. I am looking for a solution, considering a plug of some kind or to drill right through into the locker and secure with a bolt with penny washers. I will keep you posted.

  

Laid up for Winter 20th October 2011

I recently uncovered the boat and found that the single sheet of plastic tarpaulin had not been keeping the damp from underneath the cover. The green tarpaulin although large is not of the best quality. I have now put in addition a better quality plastic sheet which is made up of several layers. It is not as large but it does cover the cockpit and the cabin. The damp had some damage although it may not be permanent. The damp had allwed mold to grow on a canvas hanging pockets in the cabin which is now going have to be replaced. Mold has also accumulated on the inflatable dinghy cover which was stored outside in the cockpit.

I have now a number of projects for the next season.

Replace and make set of canvas hanging pockets.
Replace the cleat for the jib sheets.
Complete the fittings for a foresail pole out.
Service outboard.

Ashlett Creek to Newtown River 18th - 19th October 2011

Having thought that the season had come to an end an opportunity arose for a final sail in the Solent. The opportunity  was created as a group of Drascombe enthusiasts were going to sail with Stewart Brown of Churchouse Boats to retrieve a Drifter 22 form it's mooring in Newtown Creek for it's annual refurbishment and winter storage at Stewart's boatyard near Andover.

There appeared to be a weather window in the succession of depressions coming in from the Atlantic and so we trailer ed the boat down from Bristol with our camping trailer so that we could spend some time ashore if the weather turned out bad. The sailing group was going to consist of myself and my crew Bill in Moksha, Martin in his Coaster Nonsuch and the converted Gig Hippo with Jim and Peter. Stewart was going to travel in Hippo for the outward journey. We all met at the Ashlett Sailing Club on Southampton Water and awaited for the tide to fill the muddy creek. At 1330 hours there was sufficient  water to launch and we all left promptly at 1400 hours. High Water was going to be at 1540 hours.

The wind was from the NW F4-5. The tidal stream was west going in the direction of our travel. We set off initally under jib and mizzen and we fell to the rear of our small fleet. We persisted until we passed the water intake of the Calshot Power Station. The conditions felt so benign that I decided to raise the mainsail with a reef and we picked up speed. Martin in "Nonsuch" seeing that we were gaining on him also decided to set a reefed main as well as his two other sails.

When we reached the entrance of the Bealieu River the wind had turned more westerly and was beginning to kick up a chop against the west going tide. The shallow Solent can produce a steep chop to the waves and for the next hour we began increasingly to fight heavy sea conditions. The wind speed increased and I was glad of the extra weight of my crew. In order to minimize the heeling effect I turned the boat towards the wind and bore away when I could to maintain progress. I was also glad that I had taken the precaution of putting in the bottom washboard and the top hatch in the companionway. The sea started to break over the top of the boat and on three occasions the boat heeled so much that we took water over the gunwale. The seawater was caught on the side bench and seemed to take an age to drain away through the scupper. On one occasion we shipped a couple of gallons onto the cockpit floor. Bill quickly pumped out all he could.

At one point we caught in irons head to wind and we started to be blown backwards. Bill had the presence of mind to release the mizzen sheet as that sail was keeping us head to wind. We continued to make progress to windward although at times we were spilling wind out of the sails as we were probably over canvassed. The conditions did not make it easy for us to reduce sail and we carried on. The sea conditions did moderate and we put in a couple of tacks to reach the outer marker of the Newtown Creek at about 1700 hours. The marker shot by at great speed and we were glad to reach the shelter of the river. Martin in "Nonsuch" came in shortly afterwards having experienced the same conditions but without the benefit of extra ballast from his crew. He had to heave to in order to reduce sail.

A trip which had given me greater confidence in the boat and the need to ensure that you match the sail area to the conditions. Also the need to keep the inside of the boat as water tight as possible.

That evening we stayed against the quayside and we made sure the boats came down safely onto the mud. We then walked to the local pub at Shalfleet for a good meal. We returned down the pitch black lane to find the boats 5 foot down against the wall.
http://www.thenew-inn.co.uk/index.htm

The return the next day was far simpler although the weather conditions were the same. The tide was with us and with the wind. The sea was smooth and we sailed with a reefed main. we returned to Ashlett in about 2 hours arriving back at about 1430 hours. 

Drifter 22 "Smackerel"

Converted Gig "Hippo"

We recovered the boats back onto our trailers and we left for home. An excellent trip.

Southampton Boat Show 23rd Sept

We attended the Southampton Boat Show with a complimentary ticket from Premier Marinas. They charged £12 per head to park the car at Bursledon marina and for a minibus to take us to the show. I know they want to sell me a berth in one of their marinas but I am still impressed with their service. I have already explored the possibility but it is too far expensive. I will probably continue to use their facilities on a day by day basis and get the most out of the boat trailer I bought last year.

The show seemed to be less well attended and from speaking to stand holders sales were poor. The first stand I visited was the Churchouse Boats stand with a Drifter 22 and a Lugger. We had a closer look at the Drifter 22 which was well thought out and spacious. The twin lifting keels and no bridge deck provide spacious living quarters and easy access to the cabin. The boat received the approval of my wife. The cockpit seats are comfortable and the higher freeboard gives a feeling of security. The disadvantages are a towing weight of 1800kg which would require a larger towing vehicle.



The second boat I looked at was the Baycruiser 23 on the Swallow Boats stand. Matt Newland spotted me straight away as a potential time waster but I do admire these boats a great deal. The 23 is a definite 4 berth boat with a cabin table on top of the centre keel box. There is ample room under the bridge deck for my inflatable dinghy. No lavatory was displayed on the show boat there was space in the middle of the V berth. Matt told me there were a number of other options which included a plumbed in sea toilet. Access into the cabin is not as easy as you have to negotiate the keel box. Your access is also obstructed by the height of the sprayhood when it is raised. The sprayhood is ample and provides a lot of cockpit cover. With a tarpaulin over the boom there would be no requirement for a cockpit tent at all. There would be no need for anybody to sleep in the cockpit as you have 4 berths in the cabin. The Drifter 22 can only sleep 2 in the cabin. The 23 has a comfortable cockpit with an outboard well in the floor. I would like to know how intrusive the engine noise would be in comparison with the Drifter 22 where the outboard is in a well at the stern. The 23 with it's water ballast would be lighter tow with I believe an all up weight of 750kgs . The 23 is a more sophisticated sailer with a fully battened main, areofoil centre board and water ballast which can be removed for faster sailing.



Both these boats are beyond my reach but if I was to win the lottery which one would I go for.

The Bayraider Expedition made it's first showing at the Southampton Boat Show. I did not take any pictures myself of the boat and my first impressions were that the accommodation was rather basic and less than the Drascombe Coaster. Matt has compromised in placing something between the Coaster and the Bayraider 20. I have posted a link to a French site with some photographs.
http://www.nauticaltrek.com/12633-presentation-du-bayraider-20-expedition

I purchased a new lifejacket at a good discount. Included is a spray hood, light and full harness. For the price it is well finished with a zip enclosure to the jacket. The jacket fits well with the jacket sitting higher on your chest. The crotch straps are standard and fit well as they are the right length for me. It may look a little OTT for Drascombe use but what price for personal safety.




http://www.nauticaltrek.com/12633-presentation-du-bayraider-20-expedition