End of term cruise, 20-24 July

At anchor, 'The Rocks', River Deben.  Note the homemade anchor ball.

The end of school term led to the usual urge to be out on the water, and a weather window opened up this week - although the forecast deteriorated as the week went on.

Preliminaries
The latest repair to the boat has been a tiller extension.  Not being an expert in bending wood, I whittled this out of a couple of sheets of marine ply glued together, and attached this to a new hinge.  The extension resulted in a much more relaxed cruise, allowing me to lean back, and sit closer to the cabin.

Tiller extension photographed prior to departure.

 Monday 20th July
Launched at around noon, Wolverstone Marina.  Winds were light and westerly.  After a bit of fiddling around, I turned east and headed out of the Orwell.

Launched, water ballast tanks filling.

Passing Pin Mill, my old stamping ground.

Passing Suffolk Yacht Harbour, happened upon another Drascomber, turned BayCruiser owner.  He was just returning early from a cruise in his BC23, due to having not shut off the water ballast valve, and flooding his bedding via the forward inspection hatch.

 I sailed round to the Deben, motored in through the entrance against the mid ebb, but was able to set sail again once past Felixstowe Ferry.  This evening's anchorage was at 'The Rocks', as per the photograph beginning this post.

The windows on Daisy III are tinted, which makes for interesting views outwards - nearly everything looks like a sunset and, when the sun truly sets, causes lovely colouring.

Sunset at 'The Rocks'.

18.7nm

Tuesday 21st July

Daisy III has an opening roof light - a novelty for me, and something to play with.

This morning, winds were light and variable, and the plan was to be out at sea, and then work the tides as much as possible.  Having motored against the ebb out of the Deben, full sail was set and, in varying winds, I worked my way out towards Walton on the Naze, and then turned round with the tide and ended up at the mouth of the Ore.
The Ore was still on the ebb, but I was ready to set anchor, so I motored in against the ebb, and worked a passage slowly up to 'Abraham's Bosom', an anchorage nestled in the back of Havergate Island.  By this time, winds had turned NE, so this provided a calm and safe place for the night.

29.4nm

Wednesday 22nd July
Winds were mostly southerly for the first part of the day.  I sailed up the Ore, into the Alde, past Aldeburgh and on to Snape.

At the upper end of the Alde, navigation is via withies which are not always easy to read.  I've worked out that, for the most part where the withies do not have red/green markers, that the starboard (green) withies are usually forked, and the port (red) ones are usually just single poles.  This was pertinent today as I led two other boats up past Iken Church; I went aground first, the next boat passed me and went aground at the following bend, and the third passed us both and went aground at the next bend!  We all eventually freed ourselves but I was the only one to push on to Snape.

Approaching Snape Maltings

Little and barge...?!

 Departing Snape, winds were now freshening F5 and gusty.  I tried sailing for a while, but even with jib and mizzen set, things were too gusty, so I ended up motoring back to the previous evening's anchorage.

Barge on the River Alde

26.7nm

Thursday 23rd July
Rose early, motored out of the Ore, using the early morning ebb, and then sailed round to the Deben, eventually anchoring for a rest, mid morning, off 'The Rocks'.
Winds were beginning to freshen up once again and I watched the boat below heeling as it spent a good hour beating against the ebb downstream, past this location.

After an early morning lunch, I sailed up to Woodbridge, noting this BC20 anchored along the way.

 The eponymous Peter Duck of Ransome fame, moored at Woodbridge.

On the return trip from Woodbridge, winds were gusting F6 (at least - later I noted the Windfinder report showing F9 gusts at Harwich).  This was too hot to handle, so I spent an uncomfortable later afternoon in 'The Rocks' area, before drying out for the early part of the night.

The river bed was a little risky to dry out on, due to the presence of some larger bolders, but I managed to land safely.

27.0nm

Friday 25th
Today, I motored in still winds, back to Harwich and anchored off the container ship terminals

Pictures of the departure from the Deben

16.8nm

Overall trip...

So, further bonding between skipper and ship.  Still getting used to aspects of raising and furling sails.  I tried various sail combinations, including full sail, single reefed main with jib without mizzen, jib and mizzen alone.  She sails beautifully with these combinations but becomes a real handful in upper F5 conditions - it would be good to learn how to handle the sailing in the stronger gusts.  But, overall, a really pleasing trip.

118.6nm

End of lockdown cruise, 10-12 July 2020

Dried out off Harkstead beach

Finally, following lockdown we were permitted to do one of the most socially-distant activities of all - spend nights at anchor on our boats.  Weather and conditions were perfect - plenty of challenge, but generally a warm and steady breeze throughout the weekend.

Friday 10th July

Launching at Bradwell Marina in the late afternoon, Daisy III sailed east along to a favourite anchorage in Pyefleet Creek.

Launched at Bradwell, water ballast tanks filling.

Sailing east out of the River Blackwater

At anchor....at last....

I've missed these sunsets

 Saturday 11th July - Rendezvous with Drascombe Fleet at Harwich

Departure from the anchorage at 0515 on Saturday morning, sailing up The Wallet channel which links the Blackwater/Colne with Harwich estuary

 Reaching Harwich Harbour, a planned rendezvous with some Drascombes.  We sailed across Dovercourt Bay to the Walton Backwaters for lunch.

Rendezvous with Drascombe fleet - lugger Jimbo

Reciprocal photo of Daisy III - need to sort out the lazyjacks so they don't make the sail look like a pair of Auntie's sagging bloomers...

Longboat Cruiser, Corkscrew

Coaster Dewiniaeth

Lugger Rita May

Whilst departing the Walton Backwaters to return to Harwich, a productive encounter with Gracie, a Bayraider Expedition No1, from which this picture emerged of Daisy III

And a reciprocal picture of Gracie who, just for the record, outpaced us all!

We returned to Harwich and sailed up the River Stour, eventually settling for the evening on the beach off Harkstead, in Holbrook Bay, from which the photo at the top of this post emerged.

Further evidence of Daisy III dried out

 Daisy III dries out comfortably upright - just a modest amount of rocking either way.  There was no need to prop up the hull with fenders, as is the practice with Drascombes (although I rarely bothered).  This was a delightful, placid night - except for some raucous youths who kept their beach fire party going all night.  In my case, the cabin made a suitable sound buffer, although the intrepid lugger sailers, camping aboard, had a more troubled night!

LBC Corkscrew with cockpit tent

 Sunday 12th, return to Bradwell
On falling neaps, another early start was necessary, retreating to deeper water for breakfast (but not wishing to trouble the outboard...)

Rita May and Jimbo sculling away

Corkscrew applying the Canadian Canoe approach...

After breakfast, we motored back to Harwich in glassy waters, and the fleet split up, Drascombes returning to Suffolk Yacht Harbour, Daisy III readying herself for the return leg to Bradwell.

Glassy waters off Shotley Point

 Off Walton on the Naze, the day's breeze began to breathe - just as well, since the BC20 cockpit rather contains and amplifies the sound of an outboard.

How much longer will that cliff continue to support the Naze Tower...?

Yesterday's sailing was mostly managed with a single reef in the main.  Today, full sail power.

Green track, Friday 10th, 10.2nm;
White track, Saturday 11th, 41.2nm
Red track, Sunday 12th, 29.9nm
Total cruise length: 81.4nm
Now, that's more like it.....

Rutland Water - birthday sail

Back to Rutland Water for a birthday sail.

Crew: S&T

Winds: F3 S/SW

Another year, no wiser...

Slipway view

Recovery onto trailer

6.9nm

First sail of season

Waiting at the jetty

Today was the much-postponed first sail of the season.  We are still not permitted to stay aboard our craft, so day sailing at Rutland is as good as it will be for the time being.  A video has been put together showing some of the highlights.

Winds were F3, occasionally F4, SE.

Crew: Tom

In addition to sailing, adjustments were made to the rear rollers on the trailer, bringing both inwards by a centimetre, and trying to point them in a new direction to assist a straight recovery onto the trailer.  The adjustment inwards worked reasonably well - may need another centimetre, but the boat continues to recover onto the trailer in a crooked direction.  

The crew took video of the skipper taking down the mast - mast raising and lowering is easily the most stressful activity in preparing for cruising.  

10.0nm

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...!