Zephyr

We were at Docklands in Melbourne waiting for the boat cruise for Claire's work Christmas party, when we happened upon this old sailing boat. Being a fan of old yachts I went in for a closer look.

The first thing I noted about the yacht was the gaffer tape at the base of the mast - and although it probably wasn't structural gaffer - i had to laugh as it was the same day as Wild Thing broke it's mast on the way to Sydney for the 2009 Sydney to Hobart.

I thought it was a nice looking yacht so I took a couple of photos then scurried off to the

boat cruise and thought nothing else of it.

It wasn't until I downloaded the photos from my phone - hence the poor quality - that I noticed the website on a banner on the stern of the yacht. That's interesting i'll check it out...so i did 

Zephyr Home Page

As it turns out Zepher is the oldest yacht in Australia, launched in Port Adelaide in 1873. As you can see from the website, they are probably spending more time maintaining the yacht than updating the website.

The "to do" list

For those of you who don't have yachts, one of the great (or otherwise) things about them is that there is always something that needs to be done. Whether it be a major project or simply washing it because it's got dirting since you washed it yesterday - having a yacht that was built in the mid to late 70's (I really must try and find out exactly when it was built) there is always something that needs replacing, fixing, improving, changing, etc....

The things that are on the "to do" list generally fall into either the cheap and just require time or expensive ($$) category.

Just so I can keep track of my thoughts, as much as anything, I'm putting together my official "to do" list.

Trailer ($$$$) - the current trailer is suitable as a yard trailer only, i.e. covered in rust, etc, and we therefore need a new trailer prior to taking ourselves to new waterways.

Sails ($$$) - the sail we are currently using are quite old and grubby and not really holding a good shape. The jib is also not quite the correct shape for the boat and appears to have been a genoa for a smaller yacht with a shorter mast. Also, toying with the idea of a spinnaker.

Tidy up Keels- the keels, which are a big lump of steel (possibly cast iron - tbc) are also suffering from a bit of surface rust. This just needs to be ground back and tidied up. This however requires Maggie to be put up into a cradle for a few weekends - might be a winter lay-up project?? 

Hard wire capability for GPS - to save running through a shed load of batteries, the plan is to run the GPS off the boats internal battery system. This just requires a cable and a bit of jigging of the electronics.

New storm boards - which is as simple as getting some ply, cutting it to shape and water proofing it / painting it - probably yellow??

Length makings on anchor chain / warp - actually check entire anchor system is satisfactory for over night holding and potentially look at anchor suitable for current changing direction and different ground conditions

Replace lines - mainsheet, main halyard, topping lift

Sort out once and for all how this water is getting into the cockpit locker.

Bilge pump  - I need to get some way of getting water out of the cabin other than with a bucket - the positioning of this may be a little tricky as the cabin floor and lower sides are all compartmentalised.

GPS "talking" to autohelm 

Install wind instrumentation - probably Raymarine ST40 Wind to go with the existing ST40 bi-data (depth and speed log)

General check of all the lighting to allow Maggie to venture out into the darkness and anchor overnight

Re-jigging the electrics in general re-charge off the outboard, greater capacity, larger solar input (inc. mounting panels.)

I also need to get one of those horseshoe lifebuoys and a stainless steel frame for it to attach onto 

The numbering on the hull needs to be redone and we need also need to put the name on Maggie - once again nothing tricky, just need to order / buy some vinyl lettering/numbering and do it. Yes I know I could be ordering it on-line now instead of crapping on - must remember to measure letter heights!!

And of course the perennial, sandy and varnishing timber and restoring the gelcoat to a really bright yellow!! 

And yes, I know it would probably be cheaper in the long run to buy a newer yacht with all of these things already done...but where's the fun in that!! And this way I can do things as I find the debris that has fallen from the bucket of money!

Most of it is just little bits of project work and it's getting to the stage where James is able to be entertained for a couple of hours at the Marina, which makes me feel less like I am abandoning my family on the weekend.


Hmmm...i need more photos....






Number 1 thing off my "to do" list was to buy the headlamp for a bit of light at night. I ended up going the Princeton Tec Quad. It will also come in handy for cycling at night. And yes I realise it wasn't on my list to begin with - but I needed one!!

http://www.princetontec.com/?q=node/66

How the swing keel operates and replacing the gaskets on the keel control rods

I've just remembered the other reason why I didn't sail Maggie between late October and Christmas - I was out for a quick spin to try out my new GPS in about a 10kt SW-W, below is the track - jeez I love the novelty value of this thing!

OK, so it doesn't look like the most exciting sail - but due to the strong current running and the variable wind, our speed relative to land was between 0 and 2kts heading south and between 6 and 8kts heading north. The south bound trip took the best part of 2 hours and the return took 20 minutes!

Before I set sail, I noticed that of the cabin lockers had a little bit of water in it - oh well, so I bailed it out and set  off, assuming that the water was just from a leak through the cabin top somewhere. Upon returning I thought I should check to see if any water was in the locker, well we probably had about 5-6 litres. On closer inspection it appeared that we had a leak where one of the keel control rods passes through the hull. OK, looks like I've got a project!

So here's a basic run down on how the swing keel mechanism works. The keel winch handle, located between the outboard gear control arm and the red tool box, is the only bit of the mechanism that you generally need to worry about. What is interesting, is that most of the swing keel Jeddas have the keel winch handle in a different spot!

The handle is connected to a drum (I think - Mental note to self : crawl into that little space and see how it works!!) which is in turn connected to a cable. The cable is then connected to a control rod on each side of the yacht, via various sets of blocks.

The rods (1 per keel) pass through the hull, as shown

The rod is connected to the keel, and raises and lowers the keel as pulled and pushed - I haven't seen the exact configuration of this bit as it is all glassed in and the fewer holes in the boat the better!!

Anyway back to the leak and replacing the gasket...

Step 1: Lower the keels slightly so they rest on the trailer. This will release the tension from the cable.

Step 2: Undo the "D" bolt thing connecting the rod to the block

Step 3: Undo the thumb screw and then remove the big "O" ring thing, remembering to measure where it came from so you can put it back in the same spot!

Step 4: Remove the steel plate and rubber gasket and remember where you put the nuts - I screwed them back on so I wouldn't loose them!

Step 5: Acquiring the gaskets. The gasket is heavy duty rubber about 6mm thick which the local Clark Rubber store had to purchase at minimum meter lengths. The roll was a perfect width for two gaskets, and if I remember correctly I have enough rubber left for another 6 gaskets. The best part was it was only $20!

Step 6: Drilling the holes in the gasket. I used the steel plate as a template for the locating of the holes. The smaller holes were drilled with a standard 6mm (?) drill bit. However, drilling a hole in thick rubber which was going to fit snugly around a 25 mm (maybe 1inch) stainless steel rod took some thought. Initially a machinist who worked with belts and the like was considered, but then once I realised how much excess rubber I had I thought I could experiment. So the winner was making a template out of ply - using a 24mm spade bit on the drill, clamping the rubber between the template and a baking piece of ply and using the spade bit to drill the rubber - worked on absolute treat!!

Step 6: Put the whole lot back together with a bit of Sikaflex between the steel plate and the gasket and the gasket and the hull and Bob's your Uncle no more leak!

So I finally get back down to the boat for the first time after replacing the gaskets and have a look in the cabin locker which had been collecting water and see a nice dry locker...well, actually no - it's got water in it! Well, fancy that (or words to that effect)!!

Looks like the water is coming from above not below - well...maybe...the side...hmmm... looks like it's time to check the window seals and maybe the hull to cabin connection behind the rubber bumper...

Alternatively, I just go with Plan B - heaps of silicon sealant and a bilge pump!!

Stay tuned....

Dylan Winter and his Video Blog of Circumnavigating UK in a 19ft bilge keel yacht

Just thought I'd add a link for those who are interested and are yet to find Dylan Winter on You Tube. He has spent the last two English "summers" undertaking a circumnavigation in a 19ft yacht.



and in the last few days he has set up a website, which makes things heaps easier as you don't have to keep on searching You Tube!

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/index.php

The videos are a little bit if sailing, little bit of geography and a bit of a documentary. That's about all I've got to add as I'm only a little way into it myself.

Cheers and Enjoy!

Random sailing shots from the past

Obviously a fair deal of sailing has gone before I started boring you all senseless with my inane drivel. Here are some shots from sails past.

Joel and Kelly enjoying a leisurely afternoon sail - what I didn't know at the time was that, while relaxing on the foredeck and once the boat began to heel, Kelly thought she was going to die! She obviously didn't!

This is a shot of 4 Jeddas leaving Yaringa Harbour

A shot of Claire at the Helm - note the benign conditions...

Neil, myself and Sherry heading out into the foggy conditions

You may have noted in the last two photos the high position of the tiller - these were taken in the early days before I knew it dropped down...oops!

 

A pregnant (with James) Claire all rugged up on a lovely - but windless - Melbourne spring day. You can't quite see in the photo but the speed log shows us going at an amazingly quick 1.3 knots!!

Mudlark doing its best Mary Celeste impersonation - luckily in this case Mac was just below making a cuppa, the wonders of the autohelm!

 

Prue and James all prepared to go out - unfortunately due to a problem with the outboard we never made it past the end of the channel - but that's another story for another day.

James on an earlier expedition helping at the helm - or was he the navigator?? Either way he did a great job!

Claire and James at the end of the day's sailing - poor little chap is exhausted. I believe the dummy is the equivalent of the post-sail beer???

And James just proving that anywhere is comfortable given half a chance - and yes we were tied up at the dock and not about to send our son flying across the cabin when we tacked!

James at the helm of a 40ish ft something at Sandringham Yacht Club.

Mental note to self: I must remember to take my camera with me every time I go out and not just leave it in my bag in the cabin.

My friends who have pretended to be interested and therefore get an invitation to come sailing

I am very excited that some of my friends have pretended to be interested enough in my ramblings to become followers of this blog. This is the official list of people who are cordially invited to come for a cruise on SV Maggie:

• My lovely bride, Claire and our first born - if she trusts me enough to have 3 of our 4 family members on the yacht at the same time (note that second born isn't invited as she doesn't weigh enough to wear a life jacket yet!)
• Megan (and of course Steve - as long as it's not fire season)
• Marsh (and his un-tattooed bride - as far as I know, and if I've got that wrong I don't think I need to know - Jackie)
• I suppose I should also add Mark - I'm sure he will never find this page but he offered to bring light beer, so how could I refuse!!
• Sarah - even though Sare hasn't become an official follower of the blog, her polite way of asking for a sail was too much to resist!
• Graham and Elise have been promised a sail, just gotta find a day when Graham isn't too busy exercising!
• Jan has also been promised a sail from a long time ago.
  

Just a note for random by-standers, this entry willl be updated as the need arises and fear not, all the misadventures which occur with the above list will be blogged!!

My New Toy

My lovely and long suffering wife got me a hand held chart plotter style GPS for my birthday back in October, YEAH!

Unfortunately, since then I have only managed to get on the water twice, however the novelty value of the GPS is great.

My aim is to take it out with me each trip and track the course travelled which then can be downloaded to Google Earth - which I have shown in various posts.

The unit can also be set up to communicate with the autohelm to steer a course to various waypoints. This is advantageous over the autohelm alone, as the autohelm will only steer to a bearing, and therefore tends to allow the yacht to track a bit with the current, etc. Whereas, when I get this system sorted, the GPS should correct the course for current.

Anyway that's a job for another day - I'll add it to the list!