Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Cruising Helmsman

Traditionally, short term anchoring has been allowed in the Mooloolah River upstream of the two marinas. As of the end of 2015, living aboard is not permitted in the river, except: • for less than 48 hours • if the boat has entered the river from seaward on a genuine voyage along the coast and is taking shelter from adverse weather or making urgent repairs • if the person is living aboard, the living aboard is for no more than ten consecutive days. The boat must comply with Qld’s holding tank laws regarding no toilet waste discharge. These basic rules have been in place for some years and, to me, indicate a sensible approach where we can anchor for a short time or spend up to ten days waiting for…

An experienced naval architect can ‘see’ the lines drawing as a unified hull form and hence the sailing and seaworthiness characteristics of the yacht. This takes some practice and can even be extended to ‘seeing’ these characteristics while a vessel is afloat. If we examine the simplified lines drawing (Figure 1) and the 3D hull view of the same hull (see 3D Hull View) we can make the following observations about this hull. FORWARD The forefoot (see profile view) is a little soft and could have been a bit fuller to enhance pointing ability and buoyancy forward. The angle of entry (see breadth view) is not too fine so she will not tend to bury her bow in a seaway or when heeling heavily. The forward sections above the waterline…

There have been a few articles on fuel polishing in CH in the past year (October 2015), but they motivated me to do it a little differently. I decided I wanted a permanent, in-line system to guarantee a safe and clean fuel supply to my engine and generator at all times. In addition, I wanted to be able to ‘polish’ my fuel if I was unlucky enough to cop a bad batch of fuel at some time. The following explains what I did and why. Firstly, on my 42 foot sailboat, I have very limited space in my engine room. Secondly, the fuel tank is under the bed in the master cabin. It was critical for me to be able to have ready and easy access to this system. In…

When I retired from work my wife and I thought we would be able to settle into the grey nomads’ life of chucking it all in and sailing off into the sunset. That was the plan, but then along came three granddaughters and the now familiar call to provide babysitting services. Not that we do not love them, but it does limit the amount of time available to enjoy the cruising life I had dreamed of during the more tedious days before retirement. So, where do we go when we want to pretend we are really retired and free as a seagull? The short answer is Bantry Bay located at the northern end of Sydney’s Middle Harbour two hours from our mooring in Lane Cove River. For thousands of years…

On a delivery trip a while back, the boat was sailing with the autopilot doing all the work. I was sitting in the cockpit enjoying the sun and breeze watching the dolphins playing, the birds fishing and … well, you know the drill. Life was great when suddenly the boat tacked. The skipper, thinking the crew had also lost the plot, emerged from the cabin to see “what on earth is going on” or words to that effect. I had no better idea than him so, after restoring the course, we sailed on. The skipper disappeared and a moment later the same thing happened, including the skipper’s reaction. Now this was curious so I began to think. Question to red-faced skipper: “what where you doing down there when the boat…

Armorgalv is an update of Sherardising first introduced in the UK in 1900. Both processes rely on the simple fundamental that zinc sublimates, it can pass from the solid to vapour phase without melting, like dry ice. Both processes rely on containing the articles to be coated in an oven to which is added zinc; the oven and contents are heated, the zinc vaporises and condenses and coats the enclosed articles. The process is still in use, there are a number of operators in the UK and we have recently noted that there is an operator in China. The Sheradising process relied on the oven also being filled with silica sand which introduced a whole lot of problems, the worst of which was the fear of silicosis. The Armorgalv process…

Readers may have seen the support Cruising Helmsman gave for the recent Down Under Rally. The rally organiser, John Hembrow, has been nominated by John Thornely for the Cruiser of the year award to be decided later this year. It is with great pleasure that I put forward a nomination for John Hembrow (SV Songlines) for the ‘Cruiser of the Year’ award. I first met John and his wife Leanne in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia when we cruised across the Pacific in 2012. Not long afterwards we were stuck at a remote atoll in the Tuamotus group with an overheating engine and have John to thank for solving the problem for us. This was to become the start of a series of acts of support (and rescues) for…

Seafarers love to hang signs to commemorate their visit to certain favoured anchoring spots. You find these signs in all sorts of far f lung places in an infinite variety of shapes, sizes, quality and, especially, ingenuity. One such long established haven for seafarers is in West Bay on Middle Percy Island. Way back in 1950 these memorabilia were being left in the old wool shed and many are still there. But when Andy built the ‘A-frame’, the notion really took off. Hundreds of signs are nailed, adhered, or just hanging from every conceivable support. Some of them scrawled on coconut husks, several painted on seats. Some are works of art created with great care and resourcefulness. They sprouted up with such virility that soon there was no room left,…

While sailing north after a pleasant stop at Cape Bowling Green, Magnetic Island’s rugged natural beauty revealed itself in all its splendour on a sunny summer morning. Huge and smooth granite boulders perfect for free climbing, tall hoop pines dominating the unspoilt cliffs. Probably, for the first time since we started living aboard, coming to what would be our chosen haven for a few months felt pleasant and exciting from that first view. Of course I left a piece of my heart in all the other places, due to stories, characters and lessons learnt, but 'Maggie' (even its nickname evokes friendliness) differed from these experiences; she introduced herself in a different way. Even the little marina, where we stayed the first night to refill water and gas, is a peaceful…

When Rob and Karen Oberg bought their Whitby 42 Dreamtime, she came with a 3.1 metre rigid inflatable that showed clear signs of her twelve years of service. It needed a serious injection of air immediately before every use and they dared not go anywhere without taking the pump along. Nonetheless, they started to rethink the expense of a replacement. To handle their 15 horsepower outboard, they were quoted $3,500 to $5,500, so they began researching ways to extend the life of what they had. Here is Rob’s story of that refurbishment: “We found a forum discussion by people in the U.S.A. who had faced the same dilemma before a very successful DIY rejuvenation of their tired RIB. They recommended a range of products by Inland Marine. We couldn’t find…

According to Dufour yachts the overriding purpose behind its Grand Large 382 is to provide sailors with a Dufour 410 in a smaller length. Indeed, from the aft platform to the for’ard berth, space is the key factor. I could not get enough information to calculate the Dufour 382 interior hull volume but using comparisons with other yachts tested in this size range, I still found some interesting points. Both ballast and displacement are light for yachts in this class, yet the ballast ratio of 0.26 is about standard. Given this lightness, its sail area is also quite small comparatively. What you end up with is a yacht with a displacement to length ratio placing it outside the light cruiser/racer category and just into the more defined pure cruiser category.…

The core of a sea safety and survival system It is approved and used by major armed forces and search and rescue bodies around the world and it is all-Australian. Every feature of the See-Blitz has been designed and engineered to survive and always work when it is needed most. Long used by professional services around the world, it is available for commercial private use either as a personal safety item or a yacht or in a liferaft. Key to the See-Blitz is its dual light function. A constant wide beam light turns on immediately upon activation. It shines just above the water, using the surrounding sea as a dispersing lens. After powering up from its independent power source, a strobe light is also automatically activated. The steady light is…

The final countdown was on and the last few weeks prior to launching became a blur. The list of all the last minute details that needed to be taken care of seemed never to reduce. But the deadline was there and it just had to be done! We had planned a launching ‘on the quiet’ with the boat building team, designer and just a few friends who had been following the build process very closely. Our official launching would be just over a week later. This would allow us to ensure she floated as she should, we could put the rig in and the boat building team could finish off a few last minute jobs that needed to be completed when she was in the water. Then, for the official…

Cruising yachts should be aware that India has a ban on the use of satellite phones in its territorial waters. An incident this past year saw the unauthorised use of a satphone while a vessel was in territorial waters. R Rathnam of Asia Pacific Superyachts reminds all yachts planning trips to the Andamans, “if any boat comes to Andamans with these satphones they will be kept under customs seal until the boat leaves the Indian waters”. This is in accordance with DGS Order No. 02 of 2012 - the unauthorised use of Thuraya, Iridium and other such satellite phones which are banned in Indian territorial waters. According to Steamship Mutual News an incident occurred where a crew of a visiting superyacht were allowed to use a sat phone to make…

Last October, Olympus Australia hosted its inaugural ‘Olympus cup’ on Sydney Harbour. The three-race event involved the two International America’s Cup Class 72 foot monohulls now available for charter trips in the harbour. The Cup was to thank some of Olympus’s OzHarvest volunteers who donate their time for the charity. OzHarvest is one of the charities supported by Olympus, with staff from its offices around Australia regularly volunteering. Each boat was captained by one of the ‘gourmet Pommies’, better known as Steve Flood and Will Stewart winners of television’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’ 2015. Stewart has been an OzHarvest volunteer for many years and both he and his company continue to support the charity. “Sailing on Sydney Harbour is a bucket list item for many,” said Stewart. “Racing America’s Cup yachts…

Yacht design is not an exact science, it is part science and part art form. The most successful naval architects and yacht designers have always understood this and found the correct balance between the two. The ‘art form’, aspect of yacht design requires a ‘feel’ for what happens as the yacht moves through the water while being subject to the complex array of influences from wind and water. The naval architecture aspect of the design process requires a comprehensive grasp of the multi-discipline engineering involved. This article describes the lines drawing in detail and discusses some of the different hull shapes that make for a seaworthy cruising yacht. The lines drawing The lines drawing is usually where the naval architect starts the design process. This drawing defines most of the…

Cruising is not about whipping in under full sail, ropes straining, fuelling up and having a shandy and heading off again. There is more to it than that, if it is to be enjoyed in the genteel fashion to which we would all like to be accustomed. We met some people recently who said “the Clarence River was not worth looking at, we went up in our dinghy and there’s nothing there”. They had opinions on pretty much every subject involving cruising, but I, sitting there in a stunned silence, thought to myself “this is all rubbish, these clowns have no idea”. You have met the type, no doubt. They can be found in caravan parks, pubs, yacht clubs, lawyers offices and houses of parliament. The Clarence runs over 300…

“Life does not come again; if you have not lived during the days that were given you, once only, then write it down as lost…” Chekov. Escape I lie in my bunk waiting for sleep to come. Tired, but still exhilarated; glad to have escaped; glad to be at sea again and away from the noisome clamour and incessant striving of life ashore. I lie and listen to the living sounds of a boat at sea on a quiet night. The gurgling chuckle of the sea playing round the old boat’s bobstay, the almost imperceptible sigh of clothing lifting and swaying in the hanging locker, the low groan of the leather-covered gaff jaws moving slightly on the copper collar on the mast, the tinkling rattle of a cup or a…

Keeping dry and warm while sailing appears to be an impossibility given the factors stacked up against that happening. So it stands to reason that companies attempting to provide us with clothing face an uphill battle. It is easy to bemoan the cost of buying a set of good wet weather gear. When considered rationally, however, it is easy to see just how costly it must be to bring such a difficult product to market. Cruising Helmsman decided to check that process out. We chose three brands that follow different paths to service our need. Musto was the first company to devise the three layer system now used widely; Burke is an iconic Australian brand that has been around for over 40 years, so must be doing something right especially…

For the first five years of cruising aboard Ceilydh our 40 foot catamaran, we used a combination of a single sideband, Pactor III modem and Sailmail to access weather and stay in touch while underway. The combination had its problems, propagation varied depending on our location and the time of day, but on the whole it covered our needs. This changed while travelling in South East Asia when we began having trouble connecting to Sailmail’s Brunei station. The experience was frustrating so, when we started researching the route to South Africa, our frustration turned to concern; we read there was a significant gap in Sailmail’s SSB mid-Indian Ocean coverage around Chagos and that there was only intermittent coverage in other critical areas off of Madagascar. One option was to simply…