Back to the UK for a winter refit

Think I might disagree with you there JFM (we don't all have stern thrusters)! I grazed my pods a couple of times and I see even JTB's pods bear the scars of some contact. And from what I can recall, if you spent the afternoon watching boats going through the lock at Port Solent, for example, you'll see many people bashing their stern quarter. It's simply because poor boat handlers steer to hard to port or starboard when leaving a pontoon and the stern kicks out (perhaps this effect is even more acute with stern drives)?

...but as the pods are relatively slim, wouldn't the 'poor boat handlers' (amongst which I include myself :)) simply bash the side of the stern? Maybe better to bash a pod.
 
I cracked a T40 pod in a howling wind which gave me a glancing blow to the pontoon - so it can happen.

Bear in mind that we are all looking at boats that are out of the water, and looking at one bit only.

Once it is floating I would be doubtful anyone will ever notice.

In the med ( well Mallorca) the pontoon is always a lot higher than the platform of a T40, so you step down on to it. Next it is sandwiched between 2 other boats, so the odds of being able to notice are pretty slim.
 
...but as the pods are relatively slim, wouldn't the 'poor boat handlers' (...) simply bash the side of the stern? Maybe better to bash a pod.
Absolutely correct, if it weren't that it's much easier to protect a "vertical wall" (the hull) with a big fat ball fender, rather than a "thin" horizontal chunk of GRP (the platform) sticking out at the corner of the boat.
What I tried to say is that the wider/longer/more overhanging the platform, the higher the need to fender it properly while maneuvering.
And AFAIK, the only way to fender a (relatively) thin platform is with a roving sausage-type fender.
Not that it's a big deal, but hard to arrange when singlehanded, for instance.

Anyhow, petem is spot on when he says that we are into an über fussy debate - not that it's the first, and I bet it won't be the last! :D
I'm sure the final result will be kosher regardless of what alternative JTB will decide to go for.
Looking forward to seeing the pics with the chair in place! :cool:
 
it's like saying jimmy can drive a 4m beam boat but not a 4.5, which makes no sense.
Agreed. In fact that's not what I meant, by all means.
I hope to have explained my train of thought better with the latest post... :)
 
Is that the same boat as in JTB's pic (bootline has changed colour from green to grey)? I'll concede that it's a nice aftermarket job though.

I really like the idea of an extended bathing platform - I wouldn't mind considering it myself for my Sealine S42. No idea if it would be technically possible but what are we talking about in terms of cost? apologies if I've missed this in an earlier post.
 
It's worth pointing out (from my recollection) that the pods aren't terribly strong as they're hollow and therefore crack easily. I suspect the aft flanks are much stronger and would take a glancing blow I would think.
 
I don't actually yet know how the pods are fixed to the hull (RogerRat, do you know the answer to this?) and so I don't know what the detail is underneath the pods.

Please someone uplift my view of human nature and tell me that it's not sikaflex + (4x) mild steel self-tappers. :D
 
I think you're gonna be disappointed. I've got some photos of Targa hull moulds at home (taken from the Fairline museum err I mean factory), that might shed some light on what's underneath.

I am conscious though that these pods remain a Targa design feature and all subsequent Targas have them in one form or another.
 
Agreed. In fact that's not what I meant, by all means.
I hope to have explained my train of thought better with the latest post... :)
Yes, and sorry, I didn't mean it as harshly as my post perhaps appeared. Forums eh? It would be much more easily discussed over a a beer where we could shrug our shoulders. Anyway, I agree, we have done pods to death!

By the way, I have an unusually long platform to avoid bashing when I'm berthing, but what saves my bacon is the angled sides of the platform. I mean the beam of the platform is perhaps 0.75m less at the aft edge than the front edge - it's a trapezium shape. I would have to make a mistake of getting the boat angle wrong by nearly 30 degrees, if I wanted to bash it

Anyway, I hope we're all done with pods!
 
By the way, I have an unusually long platform to avoid bashing when I'm berthing, but what saves my bacon is the angled sides of the platform
What saves your bacon is that X-box remote control thingy you've got and some powerful thrusters;) Plus your superb boat handling skills of course;) We were very impressed how well you managed to squeeze that big lump of yours into Rotondo last summer in the wind
 
The X-Box gizmo is indeed magic. At least it allows you to see potential crunches before they happen and make a simple correction. Up on the flybridge you're pretty much blind so far as <20cm corrections are concerned
 
gg1.jpg

Here we have some T30 and T48 hulls. No surprise that the pods are added later. Interestingly the gel coat would appear to be white behind the pod.

gg8.jpg

A pic of my old boat showing the pod protrusion. If you look closely you'll see the plastic strap that had to be fitted (by a poster hereabouts who shall remain nameless) to stop the bathing platform coming out when underway! Rubbish!

gg5.jpg

And my little lad who now has a beard and works part time in our hospital mortuary. In the background is a podless T34.
 
Hi Jimmy,

regarding the LED lights, very few manuafacturers publish CRI nr's (AFAIK)
many sales people don't know what it is...
and agree with Jfm that replacement G4 led light bulbs don't look nice, (or never nice light) except perhaps the Philips..(?)
If you give me the cutout diameters, and minimum flange diameter, I can look at Quick marine lights, if something fits.
the light collor and CRI of most models is good (not all, on some they use a old fashion solution)
I have some leftover, if they fit, I can send them to you for testing
I still order them for our business occasionally, (OB Vans) at dealer prices.
the dimmer can work on the existing two wire cabling (no new wiring needed)

no decisions on the sunbrella color yet ?

good luck with the maintenance and the upgrades,
looks good !
 
Hi Jimmy,

regarding the LED lights, very few manuafacturers publish CRI nr's (AFAIK)
many sales people don't know what it is...
and agree with Jfm that replacement G4 led light bulbs don't look nice, (or never nice light) except perhaps the Philips..(?)
If you give me the cutout diameters, and minimum flange diameter, I can look at Quick marine lights, if something fits.
the light collor and CRI of most models is good (not all, on some they use a old fashion solution)
I have some leftover, if they fit, I can send them to you for testing
I still order them for our business occasionally, (OB Vans) at dealer prices.
the dimmer can work on the existing two wire cabling (no new wiring needed)

no decisions on the sunbrella color yet ?

good luck with the maintenance and the upgrades,
looks good !

Thanks Bart. I will be doing some experimenting with the interior lights over the Christmas holidays, I'll come back to you then.

On the sunbrella colour - as you know I want a grey of some sort; Tockfield are sending me their sample book which should be here in a few days. The entire cockpit has been stripped out (and is currently in my hallway at home...) ready to go up to them in January for recovering.

One considerations with the specific shade of grey: one is that although I'd like a darker shade (even though this can get hot in the sun), the contrast with the white cockpit table is too great. The obvious solution is to remake the cockpit table in teak but of course this brings a cost with it.
 
Precisely.
I tried a quick photoshop of the pic posted by JTB, though I could only make an educated guess on the design of the upper and lower moulds, so that's subject to check how the hull actually looks under the pods.
T40.jpg

Now, I'm not saying that the extended pods aren't nice and OEM-looking. In fact, that has neven been my point, to start with.

What I was wondering, and I still do based on these pics, is if it's worth rebuilding also the pods.
IMHO, they don't add much to the overall boat design, which in a sense the pods just make more "complicated".
And providing that the extension is properly rounded along its sides, following the rear profile, I don't think it looks like an afterthought, also with the pods removed.

Besides, from a functional standpoint, I don't see the point in having a platform which is the beamier part of the boat, because it's the area which is more difficult to fender properly when maneuvering.
Which is true for any platform of course, not just this one.
But if a platform is a bit narrower than the hull, as in the Cranchi above, when mooring along a concrete dock (which isn't so rare also in the med, e.g. when refueling), you are not compelled to have someone astern with a roving fender - as you are with a wide platform which is bound to hit the dock before the rest of the boat.
If that makes sense, not sure to have explained well what I mean.... :)

Otoh, I fully agree that the extension job in the other pics is ugly, not only because the pods were kept in place but not made longer, which really shouts afterthought from a distance, but also because the platform wasn't properly rounded along its sides and corners.

MapisM your post reminds me of the quote...

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

Anyhow, enough about pods.
 
Nice photochoppery MM, thanks. Tbh I don't actually yet know how the pods are fixed to the hull

(RogerRat, do you know the answer to this?) and so I don't know what the detail is underneath the pods.

Fraid Knot Jimmy,:(

Your guess about self tappers and sikoflex sounds about right. I've never seen one removed but I'm sure Nick or Chris at EBY would know or could find out.

Seeing the pics of the Portugal T40 in the water gets my vote for them to be included. I always thought it should have been made as T41 in this way.
When all done, you could get a pair of 'Squadron' 4 & 2 flags to replace T40 as side decals.:cool:

RR
 
.
and agree with Jfm that replacement G4 led light bulbs don't look nice, (or never nice light) except perhaps the Philips..(?)
I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. The problem I had on my last boat was that it was too easy to damage the headlining when pulling out the existing light fittings so I ditched any idea of replacing them completely. The local chandlery had a very good selection of G4 LED bulbs so I just bought a load of them and tested each one in every cabin until I found the bulb that gave the nicest light for that particular space. Even the SWMBO was happy with the result and of course it was much cheaper than replacing all the fittings
 
Regarding the upholstery, we did ours with Sunbrella Heritage Grey (or something along those lines) which is somewhat lighter that what is normally seen on other boats. It's ok, but imho the darker looks better, perhaps a bit more modern. Here are a couple of pics just for reference.

IMG_2237_zps6c60db9d.jpg


IMG_5755_zpsf0e45014.jpg


The latter one brings me to leds. I replaced the cockpit G4-bulbs with leds from www.batsystem.se and although impossible to properly judge from a pic, they have a pretty nice light quality, although they are not as bright as I'd like. These are still only cheapos as I haven't found any useable G4's from the 'quality' manufacturers. Their G4's are way too bulky to fit into the existing fittings.

Oh, I'm pro pod, btw :)
 
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Thanks for that. However, that site doesn't give CRI figures for the fittings I need, and from other threads on this subject I think the CRI number is an important measure of the quality of the light.

Not sure exactly which pin orientation the existing light fittings on your boat are, but boatlamps do provide CRI info on their site. For example, see here http://www.boatlamps.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d11.html

or here http://www.boatlamps.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d354_G4_9SMD_Planar_Disc_Lamp_-_Side_Pin.html
 
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