Another delivery - a bit different from the last

[AndieMac]

Your logging event process is legendary Hurricane , and is of course the correct way to make passage.

Re-familiarising yourself with the boat systems and the aspects of navigation is something the recreational boater should do at every opportunity simply because generally we don't spent enough time aboard, especially at sea.

It does get tempting to just rely on electronics though.

Do you actually plot your position on the paper chart every 30 mins. or just record it?

 

[John100156]

Well done Mike, this really brought back some memories, particularly Torquay marina where my T34 was berthed before I moved it to Spain, we loved trips up the Dart, picking up a buoy and hopping on the water taxi!

Had to rescue a tender once by the lower ferry; the crew were exhausted when their outboard packed up and they had been rowing against the tide for some time, they gestured to us as we passed and were surprised and delighted when I turned my boat around and waited for the wind to drift us close enough to throw them a line. We gently dragged them back to a 50+ft raggie and slipped them with just enough momentum to take them alongside their boat, to the applause of several crew members on their boat that wondered where they had got to!

Great photo"s, looking forward to your next report en route to South of France...!

 

[benjenbav]

Whilst wholly endorsing the Hurricane approach, and to lower the tone somewhat, to my schoolboy mind "logging" has an entirely different connotation.

 

[whisper]

Great post you two, I also love the entrance to Dartmouth.

Yes, thanks very much for such an evocative record. I must get up earlier in future, to better enjoy this lovely part of the world.

 

[gravygraham]

Thanks for the post Hurricane - you've captured the very essence of all that's best about the forum. We're in the middle of building a house at the moment and with no boaty action on the horizon for the forseeable future your post gave me a great lift.

Come on forumites, let's have a bit less about your washers for your double flange thrust brackets and your leaky reversible sprocket bearings, I want more posts like this with real boaty activity.

 

[Kawasaki]

Thanks for the post Hurricane - you've captured the very essence of all that's best about the forum. We're in the middle of building a house at the moment and with no boaty action on the horizon for the forseeable future your post gave me a great lift.

Come on forumites, let's have a bit less about your washers for your double flange thrust brackets and your leaky reversible sprocket bearings, I want more posts like this with real boaty activity.

Phew!
I was just going to post a question ref about double flange brackets
See I got this problem ref me anchor gribley thribley stretcher retaining pin an me chrome has come off me toaster as well
So I won't in the light of your construction problems G Graham etc etc!

Great post Hurricane

 

[cataldo]

We haven't had a boat for nearly two years,and your post
really lifted me up!! and also put me on the notion of buying
again.

Thanks

Cathal

 

[Tom Price]

"Tom - would appreciate clarification. Are you suggesting we should have gone to the North of the Mew Stone between it and the shore?"

Not Should but Could:

Off Berry Head lie Mewstone and Cod rocks, both about 18m high. There's a NE-SW passage 100m wide min depth 1.8m between the Mewstone and the cliffs of Oxley Head.

Another,, larger Mewstone 35m high is situated SE of the Dartmouth entrance and also offers a passage least depth 3.4m between it and Outer Froward Point.

Take care and good luck!

 

[jonnybuoy]

Great pictures and a lovely part of the country..will look forward to getting down there in the Easter hols

Jon

 

[Tom Price]

Rock-dodging!

So you went between Cod Rock and the first Mewstone. That's another charted 100m wide passgae but didn't mention it because it entails a detour to run N-S and the drying Bxxxard Rocks are a hazard. Well done Hurricane - pity not on film 'pour encourager les autres'.

 

[jfm]

On long passages when I'm the skipper on our boat, we record Time, Lon, Lat, SOG, COG etc every half an hour. And we do it religiously. I consider that the paper written log would be the most important thing to take with us if we were to evacuate to the life raft.
...
The log also forms a good record to refer to later as well - when calculating fuel consumption etc...

Hurricane, i totally agree that principle but I'd argue it is better to use a printer (eg the Nav 4) to do it automatically. There are pros/cons to doing it automatically/manually but on balance I prefer a machine to do it rather than a human because less chance of error

 

[NoviceRod]

....better to use a printer (eg the Nav 4) to do it automatically. There are pros/cons to doing it automatically/manually but on balance I prefer a machine to do it rather than a human because less chance of error

Fine, but I do not have a printer, and I am not sure where I would find space to put it on a MF705. Paper works for me

 

[jfm]

Fine, but I do not have a printer, and I am not sure where I would find space to put it on a MF705. Paper works for me

Sure if you wish to use pen+paper that's perfectly ok. I was just giving another view on the excellent principle that keeping a paper record can be a good safety feature. BTW, I'm talking a tiny printer, front face similar size to a paperback novel. Nothing like as big a printer as you would have for your home computer. Would fit on mf705

 

[Hurricane]

jfm

Actually, I think the benefits of manually writing down the log outweigh the benefits of a printer. You know me. If I thought a printer would provide a better solution - I'd use it!! - I even have a printer on board.

No, its more complicated than that.
Firstly, there's the awareness that the crew have about their position but more importantly, it gives the crew on watch something on which to focus their discipline. Every half an hour they HAVE to log the boat's position. This means that someone is in charge at all times.
I've done several long passages with friends and its important to keep a friendly "party" atmosphere so that everyone can enjoy themselves without compramising safety.
We never have strict "watches" but there is always someone (usually two people) responsible at any time. The "logging event" just re-inforces who is in charge at any time.
As I say - no watch system - if someone wants to go to the toilet - have a sleep, they simply hand over the log to someone else.
Our boat isnt a military ship - everyone is there to enjoy themselves - but they have to be safe.

 

[MapisM]

Our boat isnt a military ship

Well, she surely reminds of one, more than my boat does...
In the longer passage I ever made (33 hours), I've been alone at helm for most of the night, with all other friends sleeping, always on a/p, without bothering about logging anything. And I even left the helm unattended, 10 minutes or so for a quick shower, to stay awake...
I do check the epirb before every serious passage, though!
I'm not suggesting that your procedure isn't more appropriate than mine, anyway. Far from that.

 

[bumpy_the_dog]

Thanks for the post Hurricane - you've captured the very essence of all that's best about the forum. We're in the middle of building a house at the moment and with no boaty action on the horizon for the forseeable future your post gave me a great lift.

Come on forumites, let's have a bit less about your washers for your double flange thrust brackets and your leaky reversible sprocket bearings, I want more posts like this with real boaty activity.

+1

 

[Tom Price]

[QUOTE=AndieMac: "Your logging event process is legendary Hurricane, and is of course the correct way to make passage."

Suggest you post your adulation on Scuttlebutt where you may cause a few coronaries! For those of us whose learning curve began on rag 'n stick at 5 knots some organisation soon proved essential or chaos ensued: staying on deck until everyone gets tired, seasick or hungry, all at the same time, is the recipe for disaster.
And peeps welcome the structure of knowing when they're on or off watch , the difference between relaxing and having tasks to do. Keeping the log is one of those, preparing food or hot drinks another.
And as for changing sails . . . There's something very satisfying , when tucked up in your bunk, hearing those on deck pulling down a second reef!
Even on a group charter in the Solent I immediately sort out watches, if only to clarify who's preparing the next meal, who's washing up and who can skive off to the pub!

Does blasting round the oggin at X knots need that?
I still log course, speed, visibility, position relative to something conspic (which entails chartwork) at least every 30 mins ,in writing, with appropriate comments.

Put it through a printer? You must be joking . . .!

Incidentally, Hurricane's routines aren't military but naval.

 

[Hurricane]

Suggest you post your adulation on Scuttlebutt where you may cause a few coronaries! For those of us whose learning curve began on rag 'n stick at 5 knots some organisation soon proved essential or chaos ensued: staying on deck until everyone gets tired, seasick or hungry, all at the same time, is the recipe for disaster.
And peeps welcome the structure of knowing when they're on or off watch , the difference between relaxing and having tasks to do. Keeping the log is one of those, preparing food or hot drinks another.
And as for changing sails . . . There's something very satisfying , when tucked up in your bunk, hearing those on deck pulling down a second reef!
Even on a group charter in the Solent I immediately sort out watches, if only to clarify who's preparing the next meal, who's washing up and who can skive off to the pub!

Does blasting round the oggin at X knots need that?
I still log course, speed, visibility, position relative to something conspic (which entails chartwork) at least every 30 mins ,in writing, with appropriate comments.

Put it through a printer? You must be joking . . .!

Incidentally, Hurricane's routines aren't military but naval.

What's all this "cooking" malarkey?
We don’t stay at sea long enough.

Joking aside, the average leisure motor boat isn’t built to stand long passages at sea.
Some of the displacement boats can do ocean crossings but usually, we find ourselves a nice little restaurant and then go to bed so watches are pretty much unnecessary – IMHO of course.

 

[John100156]

On a power boat you can cover a lot of water in one hour, a decent regular logging event IMHO is essential, with Log Book or Sheets kept in close proximity to the grab bag! Surely the most valuable thing to a skipper on a boat is his crew.

If in the rare event your boat gets into serious trouble, or your electronics fail, it's good to know roughly where you are or have been! Your insurance Company may also be interested!

As to whether or not a printer or manual record need be kept, I would probably opt for manual accepting the possibility of human error for the reasons stated above but I can see possible benefits with both systems!