Rutland Water

Day trip to Rutland Water.  Winds SW F3.

An unexpected bonus was the photography of a sailing acquaintance who has also transferred allegiance from Drascombing to BayCruisering.  As well as giving me a few useful nuggets of advice regarding rigging and sailing, he took some fantastic footage of Daisy III from the shoreline.

Rigged and ready

Lines leading aft

11.1nm

Hickling Broad - Drascombe Association rally

Boating huddle in Catfield Dyke

This year's Drascombe Association Norfolk Broads rally took place at Hickling Broad, based at the staithe outside The Pleasureboat Inn.

Participating boats included:

BayCruiser 20: Daisy III

Dabber: Tamarisk, Virginia

Luggers: Rita May, Little Egret, Windhover, Jimbo

Coasters: Tangram, Kathleen, Egret, Prawnpipe

Lune Pilot: Grebe

Moorings at The Pleasureboat Inn

Daisy III

The weekend followed the usual plan, with a Saturday sail around to Horsey Mere.  Unfortunately, Hickling Broad is more difficult to enjoy these days, clogged up as it is with weed.  The Broads Authority will say this is a positive thing, since the water is clearly less polluted.  Sailors' needs are clearly not particularly high on the list of priorities.  For Daisy III, sailing proved particularly testing as I grappled with a new boat, with design features such as a forward inclined rudder which unhelpfully hooks the weed with some alacrity...  Still, I had fun and much pleasure was had by the other boats too.

Saturday lunchtime moorings at Horsey Mill

After lunch, the brisk SE winds allowed a general run back to base.

Jimbo 

Jimbo heels!

Stately progress across Horsey Mere by Tangram and Prawnpipe

Prawnpipe

Daisy III using the reed-sifted breeze to meander along Meadow Dyke

On the way back, a few boats took a turn up Catfield Dyke - hence the picture at the top of this post.

Daisy III heading along the narrow Catfield Dyke

On Sunday, many boats worked their way along to Potter Heigham.  Daisy III spent much time untangling weed from the hull, and stopped for elevenses in Deep Go Dyke, before returning to Hickling and hauling out.

Red track - Saturday trip to Horsey Mill; Yellow track, trip back via Catfield Dyke.  Green track - Sunday sailing to Deep Go Dyke.  Total track length: 11.2nm

First sail...at last!

Mizzen sail

First sail, Walton Backwaters, 2-3 September, 2019
Once again, launched at Titchmarsh Marina.  The initial track (red below) was all motoring.  Water was sloshing up through the centreplate casing.   This needed sealing, so I returned to the marina, purchased a suitable sealant and let that do its business overnight.  However, the big relief is that the centreplate itself was operating properly, dropping all the way, as evidenced by a suitable clunk if allowed as it reached the true extent of its lowered position.

The next day, finally, I motored down the Walton Channel, raised the sails and spent a happy few hours sailing up and down Hamford Water.  Winds were F3-5 and the slightly gusty conditions eventually led to a reef being tied in, which is shown in the picture below.

Mainsail with one reef tied in.  Lots to learn about sail trim, etc, but this will do for starters!

There was time to anchor in Landermere Creek for lunch, before returning to the Marina for HW and hauling out.

Once again in Titchmarsh Marina.  New name transfer showing on the hull.  It looks like burgundy will be the main colour theme, to match the spray hood.

1st December (red track) 4.6nm, all motoring.  2nd December (yellow track) 9.9nm.  Motoring up and down the Walton Channel, sailing in Hamford Water.  Winds F3-5 SW.

Finding and curing the gremlins

It has been a disappointing beginning with Daisy III.  The first launch, whilst showing her to be a fine looking vessel, identified a number of issues which needed fixing before any serious sailing trips could begin.

Centreplate

By far the most pressing problem was with the centreplate which wouldn’t drop properly - serious in that help would have to be sought to fix the problem.  It dropped by about 40 degrees and then would get stuck, the downhaul having no impact.

Initial lifting of the boat off the trailer sufficient to show that the plate was sticking in this (sort of) 40 degree position, whereas it should drop the whole way down.

A further centreplate issue - the correct-sized 10mm bolt had been replaced with a completely inadequate 6mm pivot bolt.  This has now been corrected.

To cut a long story short, Anglia Yacht Brokerage, through whom the boat was brokered, arranged for a nearby boatyard to hoist her up, remove the plate and sheer off some lavishly applied coppercoat antifouling.  The view is that this problem had existed for some time, possibly since the antifouling had first been applied.  However, the integrity of the seal was and still is secure and assurance has been given that this problem has now been fixed.

In the process, the lower pivot bolt was bent. .  It seemed the former owner had exchanged the original 10mm bolt for a completely inadequate 6mm one which was causing some vertical play in the plate.  Unsurprising, therefore, that it had bent.  It would be interesting to know the logic behind the change of bolt but, at this point, the most sensible thing to do was to purchase and reinstate the original sized bolt.
Water ballast
I've read elsewhere that the forward two inspection plates for the water ballast are leak-prone.  This certainly was the case when filling the ballast tanks for the first time, about a litre of water shipping just through a few hours afloat.  On removing the covers later, it transpired that the rubber seal on one side was broken, and was completely missing on the other.

One of two inspection plates in the forward water ballast chamber.  The previous owner left these with one O-ring missing, and the other one more like a U-ring.  The gap was letting in loads of water leak out.  Replacement O-rings have been purchased, and the edges of the plates covered in Vaseline in an attempt to make them easier to remove in future. 

For now, replacement seals have been sourced and fitted and this should, hopefully, improve matters.  However, this looks like something to keep an eye on.

Tiller tamer
The tiller tamer was badly installed with an over-sized cord which kept getting stuck.  A modified system involving a couple of stainless steel fairleads and a narrower bore cord should improve this.

Whilst fixing all of these things, the tiller received a much needed lick of varnish and the process began of attending to a number of scuffs and cracks in the gelcoat on the hull and cabin.  This will be a continuing maintenance item.
Lastly, for some reason the cabin cushions seem to have been glued down.  Most have now been removed and the undersides scrubbed and  cleaned.  The decking beneath has received a coat of primer to cover over a resinous substance.

V-berth with cushioning removed, and sticky glue remaining

V-berth with a coat of primer (old tin found in the garage).  I was going to put something else over this but it looked good enough like this so, not wanting to purchase anything unnecessary, it stays like this for now - and, anyway, cushions will hide it all.

The underside of the cushions all looked similar to this one.

Much scrubbing, white spirit and detergent removed most of the mess.  Now, they sit in the cabin without sticking.

Thus far, this seems to have improved matters.

First launch

For a first launch, Titchmarsh seemed the ideal location.  Recent weather has been dodgy, to say the least, so I wasn't in the mood for anything too adventurous; having launched and sailed here so many times in the past, this was certainly a draw.  As was the price - £36 for two way launching and two nights in the safety of the Marina is better value than the equivalent sum just for launching at Woolverstone.  I needed a secure, sheltered venue whilst getting to know my new charge.

Whilst not centralised on the trailer, Daisy III slid off the trailer easily and has so far performed beyond expectations.  Looking forward to tomorrow’s first sail...

Purchase and rigging

Well, it has happened. Daisy II has become Daisy III. 

 This has not been an easy decision but boats of this kind don't come on the market all that often.  The BayCruiser 20 has long been a boat I had admired.
What does the new boat offer that over 12 years of Drascombe Coastering cannot?  Well, she packs a punch in such a small and lightweight frame.  The lure of modern technology, a 'rightable' hull in the event of a knockdown adding a safety feature difficult to ignore.  Added to this, the cabin is considerably bigger and the cockpit certainly has some more space to it.  Moreover, this is a good looking boat - I hope she sails as well as she looks!