Bradwell Marina Visit.? Anyone know details for the marina?

[Daydream believer]

@Tranona there is one issue that you have not factored into that. Volvo do not have stocks of 20's in the Uk at the moment. Current projected delivery is quoted at 6-10 weeks. I am collecting the 30 next week . After some haggling I got the 30 for less than the originally quoted 20 price, as it is in stock. That is a no brainer to start with

As for speed I currently cruise at 5.9-6kts ( with engine running OK of course) at 2000-2100 rpm. in flat water. In chop I struggle with significantly less. I think that it is over pitched for the engine & more power will solve that. I will soon see. I could not get to 3100 RPM it maxed out at circa 2600

As for hanse stated 3.8 T displacement- Do not believe that for a start. In basic form I bet that it is more than Hanse state. It possibly does not inc sails etc. I do not know. True, I strip everything out for local sailing, but In CRUISING trim the boat weighs significantly more. Full tanks, lift up Aries, liferaft, extra 57 L of fuel, 2 Brompton E- bikes, food for several weeks, coolbox, tools, spare sails. My personal gear. I reckon the boat displaces 4.5 T . It drops 50mm in the water when loaded.

 

[Tranona]

@Tranona there is one issue that you have not factored into that. Volvo do not have stocks of 20's in the Uk at the moment. Current projected delivery is quoted at 6-10 weeks. I am collecting the 30 next week . After some haggling I got the 30 for less than the originally quoted 20 price, as it is in stock. That is a no brainer to start with

As for speed I currently cruise at 5.9-6kts ( with engine running OK of course) at 2000-2100 rpm. in flat water. In chop I struggle with significantly less. I think that it is over pitched for the engine & more power will solve that. I will soon see. I could not get to 3100 RPM it maxed out at circa 2600

As for hanse stated 3.8 T displacement- Do not believe that for a start. In basic form I bet that it is more than Hanse state. It possibly does not inc sails etc. I do not know. True, I strip everything out for local sailing, but In CRUISING trim the boat weighs significantly more. Full tanks, lift up Aries, liferaft, extra 57 L of fuel, 2 Brompton E- bikes, food for several weeks, coolbox, tools, spare sails. My personal gear. I reckon the boat displaces 4.5 T . It drops 50mm in the water when loaded.

Did not know about the shortage of 20hp. However, on displacement this came from Sailboatdata and that sort of figure is pretty mainstream for the size and style of boat. Just about every boat gets heavier in cruising trim and your extra 700kgs is par for the course. As I said the propeller programme takes this into account and that extra would not make any difference to the calculated propeller requirement. A 20hp already allows you to achieve over hull speed and there is simply no advantage in adding 50% more power.

As I have said before it is the propeller that drives the boat and there are much better propellers for your application than the one you have. Both my Bavarias which had displacement 45% higher than yours (with or without cruising gear!) worked extremely well with a 2 blade 16*11 FlexoFold, achieving well over hull speed. I cruised at 5.5 knots and 2200rpm. Your slightly higher cruising speed with the Bruntons is because it is absorbing more of the power available. With a fixed pitch prop you need more revs but the same power and fuel consumption.

Use the money you have saved to buy a FlexoFold. Not sure what size - Darglow will advise and probably query why you are fitting so much power into the boat.

Anyway that's my take, but no doubt you will report back on how you get on.

 

[Daydream believer]

Anyway that's my take, but no doubt you will report back on how you get on.

Nothing is a done deal- Except that it is going to be 30 HP. I am going to see what happens when the prop gets the full load. At present the 20 HP cannot push the prop to its max, because it can only rev to 2600. Another 200RPM may make no difference. However, in chop when the engine cannot get anywhere near 2600 RPM & the prop cannot, therefore, give full power, I am expecting an improvement.
I am not going down the new prop route untill I have tried this one.
What is certain is that I will never get another feathering prop as they are still prone to catching weed. I have had lots of issues along the Normandy coast with that floating seaweed with long stems that just clogs the prop blade & the rope cutter just seems to miss.
Adrian Miles will, I hope, advise me re the prop. I expect to see him later this weekend & for the price of a beer I should get his expert opinion.

 

[Tranona]

Don't forget you will need a new fixed cutter for your Stripper (if you still have the original) because the cap screw for the locating peg is in a different position. Everything else is the same except of course for the 2 piece anode which still needs drilling for the peg - just a bit more challenging as it is drilled across the join between the two. Worth getting a new modified anode so you can see where the hole is drilled and the excess milled out inside.

 

[Daydream believer]

Don't forget you will need a new fixed cutter for your Stripper (if you still have the original) because the cap screw for the locating peg is in a different position. Everything else is the same except of course for the 2 piece anode which still needs drilling for the peg - just a bit more challenging as it is drilled across the join between the two. Worth getting a new modified anode so you can see where the hole is drilled and the excess milled out inside.

So I will have to make another then. I have some spares. I also buy standard anodes & machine as required.
But when i get round to finish building my forge I will cast my own.

 

[ex-Gladys]

An observation about Brunton Autoprops in chop... I had a long motor from just past Dungeness to Sovereign Harbour. The wind having been forecast SE went bang on the nose, and we had wind over tide on the ebb... It took me a while to work out, but the chop and the wind increased the resistance to forward motion, so the prop "changed down" to a smaller pitch to compensate. This resulted in a more uncomfortable speed, and finally realised that upping the revs got me back to the comfortable STW that eased the motion.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Had a fantastic weekend to Bradwell Marina, Lovely area. Sorry I never got around to visiting you on your berth Daydream, was so busy getting things sorted. I found getting onto the berth tricky due to the gusty winds. Not much grip on my twin blade prop going in reverse, as i tried to do the manourvre the wind then pushed the other end of the boat out. Great Marina though, lovely location. Didnt have to cook once on the boat. But i found the food at the Green Man pub horrid and overpriced. The cafe box with the two woman was welcome and a great place for breakfast in the morning meaning no washing up to do on the boat. We pretty much motored the whole 50 miles there and back, and my 2GM20 did fine, phew! But I did get water inside the sugar scop via the rudder somewhere The jouney was quiy rough going to bradwell with no sailing until we go the the river Blackwater. Lots of wave slamming due to wind over tide.

friend on his boat

 

[Daydream believer]

Personally if it were my boat I would ditch the Bruntons and fit a D1 20 with a 2 blade Flexofold. Simple reliable and predictable. With a 15*10 (Darglow will supply the correct size for a Flexofold which may be different from a Volvo fixed prop) you would cruise at 5,5 knots 2200rpm and be able to hit about 6.8 knots at between 3000-3200 which is the Volvo requirement.

Volspec came & did the warranty commissioning on the new engine today. I installed it myself, apart from some help from my son to lift the saildrive into place & a friend to help align the saildrive shaft to the engine. Bradwell's staff craned the engine into the cabin, so I could lift it back into place. Then Volspec's engineer connected the electrics, as I was not confident with that.
I did have to make a new rope cutter & machine the anode.

The test run showed a real improvement & the 30HP engine was well worth the extra.
I now get 6.4 kts at 2000RPM instead of 5.9kts I get top speed of 7.6kts at max revs, although the last 150RPM make no difference. The boat must be at hull speed, but shows no sign of the stern digging in.
The conditions were flat & motoring into a 12-15kt wind 30 degree off the bow.
The speeds recorded were log speed through the water NOT SOG. The log had been calibrated in the Walcheran canal in both directions, at 6kts

Most of the delays were due to delivery of the engine (one part not available) Bradwell lifting & launching the boat, Organising the crane. Then booking Volspec's engineer. These things cannot be done on a next day basis, so I think that from 26May to 29 June completed is not too bad.
All I need to do now is tidy up the mess & go sailing.