Centaur prices

[DaveS]

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/yachts/westerly-centaur-project-boat-wanted-PAA85363

as for all the great Scottish East Coast places to explore in Katie L....

My plan is to get the Centaur organised

park Katie L on the East coast at the back of a yard some-where - mast down - tarped up

then sail over the top this summer


at the moment I am planning to spend feb on the Forth and Tay in Katie L

then spend April on Katie L making full use of her thin water abilities.

Park her somewhere quiet at the end of April at the back of a yard - mast down - cover over the top

then pick up up the Centaur - do some Solent sea trials using five different Honda engines

2.3, 5, 10,15 and 20

then take her around to the Medway to the Hundred of Hoo and then with three fit blokes sail her straight up the North sea to the Moray in mid May


Once I have finished my summer with the family (and dog) on the Centaur and got her around to the West Coast - I shall either sell her to the Irish sailor who has offered to buy her on the assumption that if she makes the trip she is worth having

- or give her to my son

depending upon my rocky freelances cash flow
I shall then return to Katie L 2015 and go through the lower canal route or take the Caledonian over to the West Coast

of course these are just plans - and reality often has a habit [sometimes nice - sometimes nasty) of coming in with its own unexpected directions.

Dylan, I'm sure you know what you're doing, but expect the Tay in February to be extremely cold. More fresh water comes down the Tay than the Thames and the Severn combined, and much of it will be melt water. There is a reason that the former Carolina Port power station had for years the highest thermal efficiency in Europe - the cold cooling water produced very high vacuum in the condensers.

 

[dylanwinter]

sponsorship and Pete

Dylan, Would sponsorship make life easier or are you against such things?

Honda have offered to stump an engine borrow for a year

so to some extent that is sponsorship

visit my harbour has a link on the website

for which they pay a tank of petrol per month which is brilliant

PBO have offered me eight pages on the conversion and the subsequent journey and disclosure of costs

they pay £100 a page

then there are the dvds

v happy to talk to anyone anywhere



and Pete, you are amazing the way you write stuff better than I could - and better spelt and proof read

you really seem to understand what I am doing

dead right - get rid of the engine, the cooking, the lights, the nav stuff and all you need is a mast that stays up and sails that catch the wind

falling down headlining - so what - pull it down and stick up some camping matts to cut condensation.

a bog that works would be great - and I might invest in one that works

all I need is a few old car batteries, a charger,shore lead and a the battery connected to a truckers junction box with everyting on 12 volt sockets

Dylan

 

[NorthRising]

Me too.

Then see how far up the Dornoch firth you can get, You should get to Bonar Bridge on the tide.

Indeed, and although no contemporary charting this is worth a look if doing the Dornoch Firth:

http://maps.nls.uk/view/74412462


Old editions of the CCC guide listed an anchorage at Spinningdale in the Dornoch Firth, though not in the current edition.

A while since a yacht has chanced Loch Fleet (also no longer in the CCC guide). Brora worth a look too, then the obvious l be Helmsdale, Lybster; all of these probably not dependent on dropping the mast, though the Dornoch Road Bridge might be a close thing.

 

[WestWittering]

Put in a Portaloo and get rid of two seacocks straight away .....

Di

 

[Searush]

Put in a Portaloo and get rid of two seacocks straight away .....

Di

Such a pain to empty, especially around the Scots East & North coasts where marinas are not in abundant supply & small fishing harbours offer limited facilities. I suppose you could use it as a bucket & chuck it system every few days? If doing this please don't use any chemicals - bio washing tablets will cut down the smells & start breaking down the nasties without polluting the seas too much.

 

[prv]

dead right - get rid of the engine, the cooking, the lights, the nav stuff and all you need is a mast that stays up and sails that catch the wind

It's an easy frame of mind to grasp - just cast your mind back to small coastal boats in the 50s or 60s. A hull, deck, and rig often was pretty much all they had even when new. Flooding the cabin was no big deal because there was nothing in there to be damaged, just varnished wood, galvanised steel, and the odd bit of brass. Take your bedding ashore to dry, then shove it back in and set off again. This is why the first commonly-installed echo-sounders ran off a 9v battery - because there would usually be no battery or electrical system to wire it into.

You can sail a hull, deck, and rig even if you end up camping inside it.

Pete

 

[dylanwinter]

could live with that

Put in a Portaloo and get rid of two seacocks straight away .....

Di

even the loo is not important

D

 

[prv]

Such a pain to empty, especially around the Scots East & North coasts where marinas are not in abundant supply & small fishing harbours offer limited facilities. I suppose you could use it as a bucket & chuck it system every few days?

Trouble is, you then end up carrying a few days' worth of **** around with you. Tumbling about in a small boat, that just seems like a liability to me. Who's never spilled cornflakes, or engine oil, or any other substance however carefully stored, in a boat in rough conditions - and would you want to do the same with ****?

I read a true story the other month in which the American skipper fitted one of those composting toilets in his boat. It worked beautifully at the mooring with the boat level, but turned out not to cope with heeling and pitching, such that it turned into essentially an open-topped holding tank that needed manually emptying over the side. Since the heads was forward, the skipper had to pick it up and carry it through the cabin, but ended up falling from the companionway steps and dropping it. His description of the ensuing mess I can't really do justice to, but it sounds like "explosion" would have been a fairer term than "spillage". Every surface in the saloon was covered. He was bailing **** with a bucket. Scooping it off the table with both arms. Several hours later wiping it off the deckhead.

I realise that one wouldn't usually try to move a porta-potti while under way, and I imagine that his contraption probably held more than the average caravan crapper, but nevertheless the potential for smaller disasters in similar vein is there. The correct thing to do with **** on a boat is to get it overboard as soon as possible, not carry it around with you.

Pete

 

[LittleSister]

dead right - get rid of the engine, the cooking, the lights, the nav stuff and all you need is a mast that stays up and sails that catch the wind

falling down headlining - so what - pull it down and stick up some camping matts to cut condensation.

a bog that works would be great - and I might invest in one that works

all I need is a few old car batteries, a charger,shore lead and a the battery connected to a truckers junction box with everyting on 12 volt sockets

. . . . and an eberspacher?

 

[Pete7]

Every surface in the saloon was covered. He was bailing **** with a bucket. Scooping it off the table with both arms. Several hours later wiping it off the deckhead. Pete

Brilliant , much better than my packet of spaghetti which went down the back of the cooker after an unexpected lurch.

 

[Seajet]

Trouble is, you then end up carrying a few days' worth of **** around with you. Tumbling about in a small boat, that just seems like a liability to me. Who's never spilled cornflakes, or engine oil, or any other substance however carefully stored, in a boat in rough conditions - and would you want to do the same with ****?

I read a true story the other month in which the American skipper fitted one of those composting toilets in his boat. It worked beautifully at the mooring with the boat level, but turned out not to cope with heeling and pitching, such that it turned into essentially an open-topped holding tank that needed manually emptying over the side. Since the heads was forward, the skipper had to pick it up and carry it through the cabin, but ended up falling from the companionway steps and dropping it. His description of the ensuing mess I can't really do justice to, but it sounds like "explosion" would have been a fairer term than "spillage". Every surface in the saloon was covered. He was bailing **** with a bucket. Scooping it off the table with both arms. Several hours later wiping it off the deckhead.

I realise that one wouldn't usually try to move a porta-potti while under way, and I imagine that his contraption probably held more than the average caravan crapper, but nevertheless the potential for smaller disasters in similar vein is there. The correct thing to do with **** on a boat is to get it overboard as soon as possible, not carry it around with you.

Pete

Pete,

well I've managed to sail a boat with a porta-potti since 1978 and never had the slightest accident as you fear, or even near it !

The loo is on a base with low battens around to position it, and a simple bungee over the top from hooks either side make it safe up to and including a B2 rollover - as long as not in use at the time.

Under way in seas there's a wooden handle and the keelcase to hang onto, and in less enlightened days getting the base out to empty over the side under way was not a problem; nowadays I take it to marina disposal points or loos, it has a carrying handle.

After about 10 years the seals start to harden - that's the only time there's any smell, and that's chemicals - so I simply buy a new loo, they're cheap from caravan shops.

However, while I agree with Di's idea to avoid seacocks ( my boat has no skin fittings at all, the sink, bilges exit by pumps and cockpit drains all into the outboard well and the engine looks after itself ) I do think in the case of Dylans' trip he'd be better off with a sea toilet as disposal points will be rare.

 

[clyst]

Put in a Portaloo and get rid of two seacocks straight away .....

Di

What's wrong with sea cocks ?? just about every boat has them and cause no trouble . To remove them ,blank off , epoxy fill then the expense and work to fit and secure another piece of equipment seems unnecessary to say the least .

 

[mainsail1]

What's wrong with a bit of comfort in a boat?

 

[mainsail1]

Dylan,
I tried to send you a pm on sponsorship but it has not appeared in the 'sent' box so I have no idea whether the system works.

 

[Iliade]

all I need is a few old car batteries, a charger,shore lead and a the battery connected to a truckers junction box with everyting on 12 volt sockets

Dylan

In that case, do make sure that the GPS you use can also be run off AA batteries... ;-)

I found that my Tohatsu 9.8 didn't really have the oomph required to charge the batteries when only run intermittently while sailing with autohelm & plotter. It was ok when motoring. Years ago I had a two-stroke generator. Never again!

I also suspect that for Scotland, a wind generator would be far more effective than a solar panel...

If you have not already got one do please also take a PLB lest you do not have enough amps to run the radio. I have a number of the old 121.5 ones you could borrow, but I'm not sure how worthwhile they are nowadays?

I bought a huge (100A/120A?) leisure battery from Pavilion Batteries in Hove for only £60 this year. Do try to find your local battery wholesaler and do likewise as they are a lot better than car batteries.

 

[Searush]

. . . . and an eberspacher?

You really don't get the concept at all do you!

if you are out in the cockpit sailing then going below is always cosy & warm by comparison & you may even take your oilies off if staying below. Expensive, complicated, unreliable & battery eating heaters just do not figure in that scenario.

 

[Searush]

What's wrong with a bit of comfort in a boat?

Nowt, if you are prepared to take the cost of it - including its maintenance & the loss of sailing time while you wait for all the bits to be working. For permanent marina dwellers it is an essential part of the holiday cottage experience.

 

[LittleSister]

. . . . and an eberspacher?

You really don't get the concept at all do you!

'Twasn't me suggesting an eberspacher, 'twas Dylan! (In another thread.)

 

[WestWittering]

What's wrong with sea cocks ?? just about every boat has them and cause no trouble . To remove them ,blank off , epoxy fill then the expense and work to fit and secure another piece of equipment seems unnecessary to say the least .

I would imagine that the old junker that Dylan is looking for will have a couple of thoroughly seized seacocks and it would be easier to bash them out and glass over than remove them 'nicely', replace all the tubing, clips, anti-syphon and probably the loo too. It doesn't appear that he wants to spend a lot of time doing a full restoration. Nothing at all wrong with seacocks, I have several on my boat, all in perfect working order.

Di

 

[Seajet]

Well I think there's plenty wrong with holes in a boat !

My Carter 30 was hardly a junker, but had 7 seacocks which the previous owner had ignored; it was like the Forth bridge chasing them around, there was always one giving trouble.

Combined with the mentions of lightning strikes blowing seacocks - and logs, through hull sounders etc - straight out of the bottom, and those were two of many reasons I yearned for my Anderson - and bought her back.