End of 2022 sailing

As it turns out, 2022 wasn't a particularly productive sailing year.  For various reasons which aren't worth writing about, other things took priority.  However, I did manage two further trips

Walton Backwaters, Rivers Orwell and Stour, 3-5 August

This trip illustrates one of the causes of the lack of sailing - the introduction of Kizzy, the English Springer Spaniel to our life!  We're working on her sea legs, but she is more interested in swimming in rather than floating on the water…!

I launched on 3rd of August at Titchmarsh Marina, and sailed over to the Orwell, overnighting opposite Suffolk Yacht Harbour.  

The next day, Sally, Gilly and Kizzy joined me for a lovely sail up the Orwell, beaching opposite Woolverstone so Kizzy could have a run around.  I then dropped off the girls at SYH before sailing round to the Stour, overnighting in Ewarton Bay.  Finally, I sailed back to Titchmarsh.

Dried out in Ewarton Bay.

34.2nm

Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere, 20-22 August

Again, with Kizzy aboard, we did some sailing on the Norfolk Broads.  

For the first time, I launched at Martham boatyard, who were most accommodating, particularly since it was also 'changeover' day.  Excellent, sheltered slip and good parking for car/trailer.

I collected Sally and Kizzy from Hickling, and we sailed round to Horsey Mill for the night.

Unfortunately, the trip resulted in breakages to the mainsail track slides on Horsey Mere, so rather less sailing happened after that…

16.4nm

Whilst I was always on the look out for further sailing opportunities in the Autumn, it just didn't happen, so Daisy III was wrapped up for the winter.

Mast crutch and winter wrapping

 After several weeks of wet weekends, there was finally a reasonably dry weekend which gave an opportunity to put the winter covers on Daisy III.  It's always important not to winterise the boat whilst it is still wet - the prospect of the damp turning to some sort of rot is not enticing!

The first job has been to create a forward mast crutch, making use of the Samson Post.

This solution will enable the storage of the mast much further forward than previously, particularly beneficial in avoiding such a big overhang to the rear.  Since the trailer modifications have increased the length between the winch post and the hitch, there is now greater scope for the effectiveness of this modification.

The solution will do for the winter, but in the spring judicious use of leather should avoid chafe from the slight lateral play in this arrangement, both between samson post and crutch, and between crutch and mast.

Daisy III is now under its winter cover.  The other advantage of the above modification is that there can be free flow of air under the cover fore and aft which, again, should help avoid a build up of dampness.

Water ballast inspection hatch opening tool

 

The BC20, in common I think with the BC23, has forward and aft water ballast chambers, connected by a piece of tubing which runs along the bilge next to the centre plate.  Day to day access is to the rear chamber via an easily-opened hatch in the cockpit floor.  The forward chamber is actually in two halves, port and starboard, each serviced by a much less easily-opened inspection hatch below a small storage area just below the V-berth.

Mostly, one would leave these as they are, the chief concern during the season being to ensure they are sufficiently watertight to prevent ingress of water to the cabin from the water ballast.  However, during the winter, it's rather concerning to think of this chamber remaining damp and enclosed so I rather prefer to open up the hatches, dry out any remaining water and leave the covers off to allow air to circulate.  However, despite applying ample Vaseline around the covers when closing, they become incredibly difficult to remove - particularly painful on the fingers which have little purchase on the two indented areas.  So, following a quick search on YouTube, I happened upon a short video of an easily made tool.  This has now been crafted using a couple of bolts, some electrical masking tape and an old piece of driftwood I picked up years ago and decided to keep thinking it might come in useful one day!

The great thing is that the tool works an absolute treat, and both hatches opened with relative ease.

Maintenance and modifications during lockdown

Semi-rigged and almost ready

In simple terms, one could say that boat ownership consists of two opposing forces: sailing and maintenance.  With time as one of the key common constraints, owners invariably find themselves in a particular position along a continuum adjoining the two activities.  In ordinary times, I'd certainly lean heavily towards the sailing end but, during these times of lockdown, things have necessarily been different.  It's perhaps a good thing to find oneself in a different place, forced to confront the many initial issues with this boat.

The list of jobs has been long, and divides roughly into three areas:

• problems seeking a solution, mainly inherited from the previous owner;
• desirable modifications;
• routine maintenance.

Of course, all of these matters are necessarily ongoing - one could never imagine reaching a point when everything was done.  Above all, I'd be ready to drop all of the above were the opportunity to sail again to become a serious prospect - but, for that to happen, it would have to include the possibility of overnight stops and this is yet to become an approved activity.

So, in the mean time, this post is an account of ongoing work, tackling the many matters that have needed attention.

Mast base (tabernacle)
The tabernacle had been lifting on one side, the screws securing it to the cabin having become loose.  the obvious fix has been to remove the tabernacle, drill out the screw holes, bond in a plug, redrill and then refit.
The tabernacle was slightly buckled and I had a go at trying to force-straighten it but it wouldn't shift.  This means that, left on its own, the base doesn't fit flush with the cabin top.  However, the refitted tabernacle, once screwed down, seems secure enough and the screws force it to sit correctly.  So far, I've lifted the mast once, and everything has remained secure and in place.

Removed tabernacle, revealing offending screw holes.  I had to fare away some loose paint, rub down, epoxy and then repaint the whole area.

Refitted tabernacle now fitting snugly against the cabin.  The mast now fits perfectly and lifts much more easily.

Centreboard case topping

Last season, water was sloshing in through a gap between the table top and the casing.  At the time, I took a rather drastic step of using silicone sealant which certainly stopped the issue, although left the table glued to the casing.  It being clearly desirable, at times to lift off the table for inspection, I have now removed this glue and inserted a 3mm neoprene seal.  This was rather thinner than expected, so I put a layer on both the underside of the table, and the top of the casing.  If this fails, I may purchase a thicker option and have another go.  

While the table/topping was off, the underside needed filling from various gouges in places, and coating with something protective.

Carbon fibre splintering on mast

Carbon fibre masts ultimately degrade from sunlight and this results in splintering of the surface.  Ultimately, this could damage the structural integrity of the mast but, at this early stage, the main issue is with the unpleasant rash caused by the splintering.  The tabernacle pictures above give a good idea of the state of the mast, grey in colour, with engrained carbon fibre strands almost visible length-ways.

Following advice on the Swallow Yachts forum, this has been corrected by two coats of two pack paint.

Mast after first coat of International Perfection two-pack Jet Black paint

After two coats, now returned to the boat.

Painted mast, rigged and ready.  (rather fed up, though, with taking pictures of the boat on dry land...)

Various scrapes along the topsides of the hull - all of these inherited from the previous owner.  

I'm slowly working my way round these and learning how best to achieve a finish which maintains the excellent original finish.  One day, I shall probably end up having to repaint and, following advice, have decided that professional paint finishes will be prohibitively expensive and hard to maintain.  Moreover, the two-pack route seems so fiddly.  So, I am going down the single pot route which better suits my limited skills.

Well, I can see where the patch is, but it's hard to spot in a photo!

The various patches applied look ok - much better than the repairs done by the previous owner, and certainly watertight.

Installation of basic electrics
The idea is not to go for expensive and extensive installations.  My needs are simple - an echo sounder, possibly some navigation lights eventually (although I have some battery versions for temporary usage), a 12v charger and wiring for the chart plotter.
The echo sounder involved the drastic step of cutting a hole in the cabin bulkhead - not for the faint-hearted!

The hole is cut!

Filling is removed - interesting to note the build structure - this little piece weighed in at about 25g, which made it clear that the whole of one side of the cabin bulkhead must be little more than a single kilogram!  I think that's clever!

Echo sounder in place

Inside view.

I'm currently busy building a removable box for the various electrical connections.  Again, the idea is for nothing too fancy at this stage - just somewhere for the wires to go.  Once this is installed, a further photo will be shared.

The future agenda - various jobs still to do...

Not recovering straight onto trailer - ongoing.  Difficult to solve when we're not able to launch!

Strongly considering having trailer modified to a braked version.  What's the point of a cabined boat if you can't load it up with kit and kerboodle?  100kg is soon breached especially since outboard, main anchor & chain, kedge, ropes are all a part of the 100kg.  Plus, I want to kit out the cabin with some permanent fixtures and fittings - all adding to the weight.  To me, the trailer should have been braked from the outset, an unbraked one is a bit of a false economy.

Trailer wheels need replacing with non-rusting ones...!