Advice for a new owner please.

[JesseLoynes]

Evening all.

Just about to become the proud but slightly concerned owner of a 6 ton Hillyard; and whilst I'm perfectly happy doing any type of wooden maintenance or repair work, the actual day-to-day running of a boat is a great big unknown. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I'm hoping I can get a little help or advice on a few things.

Firstly, anyone know of a helpful cruising checklist? A kind of one-a-year, once-a-month and each-time-you-go-out sort of thing. This might save an awful lot of posts asking simple questions!

Is there such a thing as a reasonably priced chandlery, or has this finally been proved to be an oxymoron? Looking for something around the Chichester Harbour area, or reasonably close.

And any recommendations for a good book or two on owning a boat. As I say, fixing the woodwork is easy, but everything from laying up engines down to what type of rope to get for a mooring line is less certain.

I'm in the somewhat curious position that I'm very confident looking after the boat and quite happy sailing in most conditions in open water; however I'm completely ignorant on most aspects of actually owning and cruising a yacht.
Any help, advice or useful links would be fabulous.

Thanks, Jess.

 

[PembrokeshirePromise]

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions - and as you say a somewhat curious (if enviable) position to be in.

Two books that have helped me a lot would be:

Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual: How to Maintain, Repair, and Improve Your Boat's Essential Systems (Boatowners) by Nigel Calder (Hardcover - 6 Jun 2005)

and

Boatowner's Practical and Technical Cruising Manual: The Complete Handbook for Coastal and Offshore Sailors by Nigel Calder

Both quite big heavy weight tomes - but great for dipping into or getting ideas from on almost any topic. He often sets somewhat high standards - but at least it gives you ideas as to what you might aspire !

Good luck

 

[ShipsWoofy]

I will start with (in my opinion) the easiest question to answer, the every-time-you-go-out check list. This is for a GRP boat, but should work for you to.

Here is what I do as much as I can remember.

On arrival before doing anything we have a good sniff around for any signs of gas, petrol, diesel or the turps that might fall over in the locker; special long sniffs in the gas locker and the galley. We have a leak tester on the bottle, if this is arrival at the boat after a break I will test the system using this.

Then turn on power, make sure the volt meters show power.

Make a brew.

Before going out...

The first thing I do is walk the boat, on my way around I have a good look, check the rigging and chain-plates, does everything look in order at deck level, are the pins in place. Just have a general look around, is anything out of place, are all the lines tidy and stowed properly. Are the halyards also. I will often tug on the rigging, the equivalent of tyre kicking, I am feeling for any signs of it becoming loose, I did find one loose once.

I check the gooseneck on the boom, is the bolt in place properly. On the other end of the boom I check the block is attached properly, ours fell off one stormy day just as we reached shelter, the ring that held the pin had straightened and the pin slid out. Had this happened at sea it might have been interesting, I am now extra cautious of this.

We have wheel steering, before every trip I turn the rudders lock-to-lock to make sure there is no obstruction, yes, I have had an obstruction in the past, a block of wood fell between the tiller (is that the word, the stubby part the steering fits to in the stern) and the hull, I nearly put the boat on the slipway as I could not get her to come around, I eventually managed it with the engines (twin) I did not realise at the time why she was not responding so well, I only had about 1/2 the range trying to turn to starboard. On the same issue, as our rudders come through into the aft cabins, I also have a scan for anything that might be a problem, has my crew thrown the bags so that they might jam up later...

I check the bilges and make sure no (more) water has come in, this can be as simple as turning on the bilge pumps rather than lifting the floor.

Check the sea-cocks, are they stiff, have a good look over the engines, does everything seem to be in place, no wires hanging down, no oil drips, the belt is by the opening so I will have a feel to make sure it is taut. I will generally check the oil if going any distance, maybe not for moving the boat around the harbour etc.

When I start the engine I will do the saily boat thing and look over the side to ensure a good flow of water is coming out of the exhaust, check also the exhaust smoke.

I then power up the instruments, check the dsc is being fed be the gps, though it does not hang back in telling you if it isn't with a rather more than annoying alarm. Check that the charts are on board and everything in the cabin is stowed.

Always turn the bog off at sea unless in use, same with the gas. (personal choice).

I will also have checked the condition of the mooring lines, is there any chaffing?

Go sailing.

The above list is not comprehensive and may seem long, but it is over in minutes, it takes longer to write than to actually do it. Once you get to know your boat you will start to spot things at strolling speed. Though, many would say I was too pedantic.

 

[andyball]

the chandlery in Emsworth marina is ok imo, tho stuff ordered in can take a while sometimes. For more than one or two stainless fixings -= online is much cheaper & better quality than most chandlers, tho the guys at Pepe's boatyard ( Hayling) used to keep a good range.

Seateach is up by the railway station - a wide range there.

 

[Talbot]

There are lots of additional things which may help you as a classic wooden boat owner, and I recommend that you go to the classic boat forum on here to get aquainted and ask the same question.

 

[Birdseye]

[ QUOTE ]

Firstly, anyone know of a helpful cruising checklist?

[/ QUOTE ]

There are any number of books in the chandleries, but in all honesty the best answer is to start gently and learn as you go. What you and your boat will need will be different from what my boat needs. The basics are common sense : navigation kit, fuel, water, food, safety kit

[ QUOTE ]
Is there such a thing as a reasonably priced chandlery, or has this finally been proved to be an oxymoron? Looking for something around the Chichester Harbour area, or reasonably close.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lot of b**cks talked about this on the forum. I see no evidence of chandlers getting rich - indeed they go bust with sad regularity. The problem is that they are cornber shops selling small volume often of fairly speciaised bits. They will never compete with the hypermarket prices nor those in the usa, a market 6 times larger.

[ QUOTE ]

Any help, advice or useful links would be fabulous.

[/ QUOTE ]

Without doubt, the best possible advice I can give is to join a club, learn from fellow sailors and do your day skipper theory at least. Clubs are a wonderful way of learning - trying to do this on your own is making life more difficult than it need be.

 

[Channel Ribs]

[ QUOTE ]
Here is what I do as much as I can remember....

[/ QUOTE ]

Very similar to my list, which I keep on a laminated card on the engine keys (my memory is so poor I really do need a written list).

As for chandlers, there are a few good guys about; so long as you know where to look. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[JesseLoynes]

Hmm, subtle Malthouse, very subtle!

Thanks to all for hints and tips. Looking forward to it a lot. We'll build up small and slowly find our way! Cheers!

 

[tobble]

try the barge chandlery at bursledon, bit of a trek, but worth it for sheer amusement! it's the boat equivalent of that wand shop in harry potter... may be particularly good for you given older wooden boat. just be a bit careful of prices, some bargains, some not-so-barganous

 

[Searush]

Go to your local library/ second-hand book shop/ charity shops & look for a range of cruising books. Some are better than others (obviously) but almost all of them can give you some ideas/ information that are useful. And anyway they're fun to read - especially the old ones! PBO often has (or used to when I subscribed) useful articles & give-away stickers.

 

[matnoo]

Youve been given answers to your questions already, but id just like to add somthing that I wish id been told when I first got my boat.

I knew nothing about pretty much everything, and it was all very daunting, the piles of equipment needed and the safety checks, and accounting for every possibility, trying to get things compatible with everything else.

My advice is, DONT WORRY IF YOUR BOAT ISNT TO THE BOOK.

I would say that very few people ever check everything on the list every time they go out, and that out of the 100 boats in my marina, about 1 of them would pass the RNLI safety sea check with 100%. When i first got Breda, I spent far too long worrying about everything, ticking boxes terrified that this was wrong or that was out of date, or this was the wrong rating for my length of boat...

These days, if my flares are out of date, im not particularly bothered, theyll work for years after their expiry and I have a VHF, mobile phone GPS and a decent torch if anything goes wrong.

So my advice, be safe, use your common sense, do what you can within reason thats listed in the books, but dont get hung up on it!


Enjoy!

Mat

 

[Twister_Ken]

Barge chandlery gone, innit?

 

[moondancer]

[ QUOTE ]




My advice is, DONT WORRY IF YOUR BOAT ISNT TO THE BOOK.


Enjoy!



[/ QUOTE ]

Couldn't agree more. Just re-read 'The Magic of the Swatchways' again. The editor of YM went out without decent weather forecasts, without VHF, without flares, without echo sounder, GPS, EPIRB, Liferaft, reliable engine, mobile phone or any of today's safety essentials that we take for granted. Instead he went out with a seamanlike attitude and self sufficiency not expecting help if it all went wrong.

Now I am not saying that we shouldn't take advantage of the advances made today in safetyand equipment - but sometimes the nanny state goes too far and we are a bit complicite in that. I am also sure that the reassurance that a mountain of safety equipment gives engenders, in some people, over confidence and risk taking.