Etap26 v Seawolf Epilogue

[SteveGorst]

Thanks to all of you who offered advice when I was choosing my first Yacht.

I have now taken possesion of my Etap26 Myfanwy and successfully sailed her from Holyhead to her new home, Conwy. She sails beautifully in light winds and seems well capable of handling the occasional blow when necessary.

Was anyone out in Conwy Bay last Sunday? I decided to take the wife for a gentle sail over to Puffin for a picnic. She has a fear of being sea sick so insists on calm days for a sail. The forecast the evening before was 3-4 SSW, ideal.. As we set off from Conwy light winds with occasional suspiciously strong gusts. These rapidly grew to steady 35mph winds gusting 50!!! Needless to say us and all the other yachts in the bay bolted back to Conwy... with us in the lead!!! Through out the journey back my wifes knuckles were white with holding on as the boat tossed and pitched from one side to the other. One of the 50mph gusts and a breaking wave did put us over enough for water to enter the cockpit. I kept thinking of the illustration in the RYA book, maximum righting moment at 60 degrees, and reassured the wife that we were a long way from going over, although it didn't feel like it!!

After an hour or so of mayhem we did mange to get back into conwy in one piece and the rebuilding of a long marriage began with a stiff drink.

My wife talks to me now but she was hysterically quiet for a few hours after the event. She wasn't even seasick!!!

Lessons learnt....Check the forecast in the morning not the evening before.

Happy Cruising
Steve




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[Sybarite]

The most comforting aspect to relate is that no matter how bad the conditions get the boat cannot sink.

John

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[SteveGorst]

That's what I was trying to convince the wife!

Steve

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[popeye]

Steve - I'm hoping to purchase etap 26 can you give me info on lifting keel - can boat take the ground - how does keel lifting mechanism work - what prevents keel moving in seaway - what is construction of keel case - cheers, Popeye

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[SteveGorst]

Popeye

In answer to your questions...

The lifting keel is operated by a big bolt which acts as a screw lifting the keel as you turn it. You operate this by turning a winch at the foot of the mast but it is not a two minute job. It takes about 300 turns, 15 mins.

The boat can take the ground for overnight trips with the aid of beaching legs but it is not suitable for a drying mooring.

I presume the keel case is fibreglass moulded as one with the rest of the hull. The surveyor didn't report any problems with it and says there is no history of lifting keel problems.

One problem they do have however is the chain plates within the topsides. These were originally built with mild steel and reports are coming in that some boats are suffering failure resulting in the stays coming loose. The remedy is to replace the chain plates with stainless steel plates. This does not affect all boats but is worth checking.

Sailing wise she is a smashing little boats and can show a clean pair of heels to many in a light breeze and, as I related, if you do get caught out she will get you home.

Their is a copy of the original sales brochure on the following link which gives you a lot of information about the boat.
http://www.otw81.brijn.nu/etap26/

You may also be able to get hold of the full manual off Etap
http://www.etapyachting.com/
if you can't, email me back and I'll photocopy the relevent pages from the manual.

Cheers
Steve

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[popeye]

Steve - thanks for your reply, will check out links. Looks like popeye will need some spinach for that keel, however chainplate problem sounds more worrying.

Saw etap26 for first time yesterday, has been ashore 2/3yrs and in sad state - engine & eng. compartment looked like new as did accom. lockers and bilge areas. Some alloy stanchion bases were badly corroded. Hull was cream /off white colour (or was it grime) Boat was 83 model and worth an offer if can sell mine.


regards - popeye

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[oldharry]

Ah well, if you must sail in the Irish Sea. We concluded that ater 10 years from Porthmadog, diffierent rules apply and weather forecasting in that area was about as precise as reading the tea-leaves.... the term 'long range' applying to anything more than 4 hours ahead! Glad you got back safely, at least now you KNOW you and your boat can handle a 'real blow'.

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