Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2016 i Cruising Helmsman

It has been a busy few months recently for your Cruising Helmsman editor. I have been travelling around visiting various cruising clubs delivering a presentation on how to write an article suitable for submitting to a publication. It is an interesting exercise. Trying to define what makes a good story is not an easy task. Since I receive at least three stories a week from hopeful writers one can become quite desensitised when receiving new material. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good because it provides an instant signal to me as to whether a story will grab the reader. It can be bad for the hopeful writer, however, who has put their heart and soul in to this creation only to have it…

Owners of small boats in WA now have a place to tie up near the Perth centre. Elizabeth Quay, officially opened in January by Premier Colin Barnett includes 24 boat pens, complete with power sockets and water taps. The bays are available for public short stay use, meaning three hours at a time. According to a Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority spokesperson however, at this stage that does not include permission to stay overnight if you arrive after sunset. In time the quay will have a kids’ playground, a burger bar, an ice-cream shop and pub. At the time of writing, they were all still under construction. It also has a water playground that was opened in January, but closed again a few times in February because amoeba were discovered in the…

As Steve and Kim Roach’s lengthy refit of their Morgan 384 Red October progressed, the number of electrical circuits multiplied. Dozens of cables snake through the boat for everything from lights, fans, pumps, electronics and indicators to shore power and battery circuits. These all need identification. Steve considered various solutions but settled on coloured cable ties. Bunnings and other hardware stores, sell various mixed packs of these. Steve uses the very smallest that come in six colours: black, white, red, blue, green and yellow. He created a three-colour code using combinations of these colours with a couple of stipulations: each code uses three different colours; codes must be unique whichever way round they are read (i.e. if you have red-green-blue, you cannot also have blue-green. This results in 66 unique…

Every autumn, hundreds of cruising boats leave Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales and head north to the warmer climate and pristine white sand beaches of the Whitsundays. For many, a major part of the pleasure lies in isolated anchorages along the way, far from the madding crowd and the bustle of humanity. For them a copy of Alan Lucas’ ‘Cruising the New South Wales coast’ and ‘Cruising the Coral Coast’ are all they need. But even the most hermit-like cruisers need to reprovision from time to time, while the more gregarious may like to stop off at a marina for a good meal, a hot shower and a functioning washing machine. Others take the opportunity of cheaper rates to have their annual haul-out and antifouling done along the way;…

Whenever I think of Pangkor marina, Rupert Brooke’s World War I poem, The Soldier, comes to mind. I paraphrase it to read: “if in some corner of a foreign field, that is forever Australia.” This is because there are always several Australian boats visiting the marina, which in turn has created a real Australian community feeling. The marina operations director James Khoo and the office staff Akina and Ruz are friendly and helpful. They go out of their way to assist visiting yachties, whether it is a recommendation for a restaurant or information about where to find elusive boat parts and services. Pangkor Marina (approach waypoint 04°12.66’N:100°35.1’E) is built on a man-made island which is connected to the mainland by a bridge with a four lane road. It is situated…

Cruising skipper, racer, mentor, sailing instructor and instigator of a huge relief effort for the victims of Tropical Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, Heather Sutton is one of the nominations for the inaugural Cruiser of the year award. Ideas locker editor Petrea McCarthy sent the following nomination to Cruising Helmsman: The first time I sailed with Heather, in an afternoon race, I was struck by how well her boat was set up for easy handling. Two ladies I had not met before were each stationed at a sheet winch: one for the main and one handling the self-tacking headsail. As the race progressed I was impressed with their competence and the quiet manner Heather instructed us all. When the champers and biccies were broken out on the run, I was stunned…

WIN WITH YOUR PICS! Hi, welcome to the CH cruising pictures competition. Whenever space permits, we will be bringing you a spread of cruising pics submitted by readers, with the picture judged the best winning a one-year subscription to the two magazines in the Yaffa Photo Group, and the second-placed entry a one-year subscription to one of those magazines. Entries are always coming in thick and fast, and judging which is the best is proving a very difficult task. See if you agree with the judges’ choice. Before you abuse the editor, though, be aware the result was decided by an office poll! Winners should email philross@yaffa.com.au to organise their subscription/s. TO SUBMIT A PICTURE Email it as a high res jpg to philross@yaffa.com.au Please include an interesting caption saying…

Every year when the SE trades are blowing, cruising folk make their annual procession along the east coast of Australia heading north. Their usual destination is somewhere in Queensland’s far north, depending on delays along the way. Then it is a turnaround for the sail back, casually dropping into places they may have missed on the way up. Dunk Island has become a popular anchorage for many of these yachties, because of its size and protection from SE winds and swell. But Dunk is only one of a close group of islands named by Captain Cook as the Family Group. An uninspiring name perhaps and overlooked by many, including charter boats. But the group has many attributes as a cruising ground, which a far more exotic name could not improve…

Into every wonderful cruising life a little rain must fall. For live-aboard yachties this can often mean the annual haul out, when your boat will be taken from its natural environment and propped up on dry land. It will become a still, lifeless entity that will be unable to perform many of its usual functions, like having a flushing loo and swinging into the wind to cool you. Your environment will suddenly become noisy, dusty and toxic. Hauling out in an overseas boat yard provides even more challenges. The haulout will also cause your precious cruising funds to drop like a barometer in a cyclone. Assuming you are the standard financially-constricted yachtie who will not be moving into a nearby Hilton or Radisson during your boat’s haulout period, here are…

Navico, parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands, has released its Precision-9 compass. It provides heading and rate-of-turn information with enhanced level of accuracy to all Simrad, Lowrance and B&G autopilots, radars and navigational systems over an NMEA 2000 connection. The Precision-9 compass incorporates solid-state sensor array measuring motion on nine separate axes. Data from all nine axes is used to calculate the most accurate heading and rate-of-turn information possible, avoiding common limitations of conventional fluxgate electronic compasses. Once the compass is calibrated, it delivers heading accuracy of ±2 degrees, with a pitch and roll range of ±45 degrees. This is the most compact electronic compass Navico have produced, measuring twelve centimetres diameter by 3.5cm tall, making it ideal for installing out of the way. An easily adjustable…

The next stage for Kraken Yachts is coming to fruition. First reported in July 2015, Kraken is introducing its range of quality cruising yachts designed, built and equipped to fulfil sailors looking for a blue water cruiser that is neither mass-produced to a budget; nor a high cost limited-production yacht. KrakenYachts’ founders are Dick Beaumont and Roger Goldsmith. Beaumont is a British businessman who has also covered 100,000 miles cruising the world in his 58’ yacht Moonshadow. Goldsmith runs his own yacht management business having previously qualified at the Southampton Institute in Yacht Manufacturing and worked in boat building, advanced composites and aerospace component manufacture. He also has racing and cruising experience. Together they have employed long-established New Zealand design office Dibley Marine to incorporate requirements for their ideal cruiser…

While talking with people when cruising I have noticed one thing that has the ability to cause the biggest headaches for a lot of people: electricity. How to make it, store it and use it efficiently while staying in budget. Keep it simple sailor or the ‘KISS principle’ is a saying commonly bandied around by a lot of cruisers. But that does not mean you have to have a bare bones boat electrically to keep it simple sailor. How do we reduce the stress and keep it simple without compromising lifestyle? To make life easier while still keeping our creature comforts we have simplified our systems by following two simple principles: minimise moving parts and reduce power consumption. Start at the beginning It really is better to step back and,…

Change of ownership costings Hi Phil, Very much enjoy the magazine, have been reading it for years. I had the joy of cruising PNG, Solomon’s for a couple of years in the ‘80’s. Now almost ready to go again. I don’t normally do this, but had 15 mins this morning with nothing to do. I had trouble reconciling Alex Schultz-Altmann’s response to the $444 charge to change registered ownership (Letters March, regarding the cost of changing ownership of a yacht). The number seemed so large, I thought I would just try and figure out the inputs. I work in a capital city office for a large multinational, so have a reasonable handle on transaction costs. Here is my quick break down for a one hour task, assuming a 35 hour…

Industry professional Petrea McCarthy spotlights the knowledge and highlights the pitfalls to look out for before ordering your dream boat. Working on a variety of current-model production yachts has shown me aspects of them that few people get to see. These are the same boats tested in magazines like Cruising Helmsman and advertised as being of excellent quality, practicality and value. I also work on older Australian production boats and have done so for about forty years. In this article, I will share some of the insights I have gained and ways you can avoid disappointment and costly mistakes. If you are thinking of buying a new boat, remember to look beyond the sales talk. Think seriously about future additions and consider having the boat surveyed upon delivery. A multitude…

Remember, if you are passing through the ships at anchor or coming into Gladstone go to Gladstone Harbour control monitoring on channel 13”. It is the usual practice of volunteer marine radio Gladstone to inform sailors of the need to log in with Gladstone Harbour control and good information it is for all parties to be aware of shipping movements in the harbour area. In past years the skipper and I have observed upwards of 25 plus ships sitting at anchor, each awaiting turn to proceed to a delegated docking area where the loading or unloading of the ship would take place. But these days, especially with the further development of new terminals and wharves, the number of ships having to await its turn appears to have diminished. The turn…

A smooth underwater finish will reduce drag, increase speed and improve fuel consumption. Is the bottom of your boat smooth enough? If you get a group of five sailors to sit around the table with a jug of beer to decide on how smooth the underwater part of their boat should be, you can be confident of getting at least six different answers. How important is it? What is happening to the water as it flows over the hull? What about the latest non-stick technology, or whether to wax the surface? Aren’t dolphin skins supposed to be the best surface of all? Here you will find answers to those questions, using a bit of science and just a few facts. Flow on effect A few preliminaries first, just to set…

Facnor has released its FX+ flying sail and top down furlers through Australian distributors, Wichard. The FX+ enables gennaker and Code 0 sails to be hoisted easily, quickly and safely. A simple, neat design using carbon fibre, gives lightness to the high resistance mechanisms. The FX furlers let you benefit from race-developed technology for more comfortable cruising. Light, strong, compact and easy to fit, the FX+ furler complements yachts fitted with a bowsprit for cruising and suits yachts from ten metres to 20m. Facnor furlers are equipped with snap shackles for faster hook-ups for setting in dangerous conditions. This is also convenient for quickly clearing the foredeck. Code Zeros are very large sails and can be difficult to handle because they are usually set when close reaching, causing the sail…

In my Sydney boat show review last year, I made the call that the Azuree 46 was my boat of the show. The main reason for the call was a marked difference to other yachts on show. While not particularly beamy for a 46 footer the maximum beam does start well aft, almost two thirds down its length from the bow and continues well aft. You end up with a large cockpit that is utilised well and is the first thing to strike you upon boarding. Coming off the design board of Rob Humphreys Yacht Design, the hull shape differs somewhat from previous production cruiser/racers from this naval architect. The brief was to provide a comfortable yacht, of which Humphreys has considerable experience, that will go fast. For the latter,…

Over the years I have tried several methods to create a watertight mast boot. As a temporary fix I once used duct tape. It was inexpensive and actually lasted about 10 months before it started to leak again. I tried using a couple of rolls of mast boot tape, a wide self-bonding tape. It was quite a bit more expensive and lasted only a year and a half before it started leaking. I also tried a US product called Spartite, a two-part liquid that forms both a mast wedge and mast boot. It worked well, but is expensive and, if not applied properly, can permanently bond the mast to the boat. While we were in New Zealand a few years ago, we pulled the mast for a refit. When we…