JW's Upgrades for 2016 - Tender

Interesting
We were out on ours this afternoon and I wondered at the time if it would be worth fitting engine fins (Dolphins) like the one in your link.
We have trim tabs but we go on so well with the engine fins on our old Walker Bay that I wondered if it would be a good idea to fit them to the Novurania's engine (70 Hp)
What do people think?
 
I think smart tabs are much better, as they have greater effect at lower speeds, when you need them, and less at high speed, when you dont. I've had both, and much prefer the tabs.
 
benjenbav said:
Not directly on topic, but might be of interest to Novurania 4.3m RIB owners:

http://www.berthon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/velsheda-FINAL-INTERACTIVE-1.pdf
Click to expand...

As the throttle mech needed changing anyway i'd have thought it was the perfect opportunity to fit a flush mount control to smarten up the look, protect the cables from water ingress, and have one less thing to bash your knees on?

It's an interesting press release from Berthon though, I guess designed to show that "no job is too big or too small" for them
 
Nick_H said:
As the throttle mech needed changing anyway i'd have thought it was the perfect opportunity to fit a flush mount control to smarten up the look, protect the cables from water ingress, and have one less thing to bash your knees on?

It's an interesting press release from Berthon though, I guess designed to show that "no job is too big or too small" for them
Click to expand...
Yep, I thought that. Actually I found the press release strange in its level of detail, bearing in mind this is merely a tender and they didn't actually do any serious customisation anyway. They just did a few repairs to fix a few years of knocks that the tender had endured, and that installation of a new plotter into a too-big hole using a mounting plate was properly rough and, like the throttle box, not at all slick. They didn't even fit underwater lights :)
 
Maybe they were so pleased to be doing something for J7 they wanted to shout about it? Usually their work is done at Solent Refit i believe due to draft restrictions. That and i believe that one of the parties that looks after Valsheda is based in Lymington?

Agree its an odd press release and not in keeping with what usually comes from Berthon's marketing desk.
 
I think the oversize mounting plate for the plotter is on one of the "before" pix. I was more concerned by the usages of "J K7" (Clearly Velsheda) and "JK-7" (Something belonging to Jamiroquai?).

But the gelcoat and, even more so, the tube repairs looked like new.
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread but think I maybe loosing my mind? I'm sure I read a report on this tender in mby but for the life of me I can't find it.. can someone out me out of my misery?
 
z1ppy said:
Sorry to dig up an old thread but think I maybe loosing my mind? I'm sure I read a report on this tender in mby but for the life of me I can't find it.. can someone out me out of my misery?
Click to expand...

Yep it was this exact tender in MBY's last issue.

Thanks for digging up the thread - I am going to report on the tender's success when I get home.
Leaving the boat tomorrow after about 4 months (continuous) living on her.
Will post some reports and some other great news (for me) that I discovered yesterday.
 
Right
So at the end of the first season - What has the Novurania done for us?

At first, I was a bit disappointed by its performance.
Our previous tender was the Walker Bay with a 40 HP and that is a big act to follow.
Our Novurania rides very bow high and doesn't have the excitement of the little Walker Bay.
That said, it is a much more useful boat.

I was going to post a complaint that it didn't plane - with nine big people on board!!!
But that would have just been stupid.

The trim tabs are a bit of a PIA - I bought the quick adjusters which made a huge difference but the tabs have to be manually lifted before parking the dinghy on a dock or lifting it aboard the mother ship.
It is most important when parking on the dock because they protrude below the level of the hull and act like "ratchets" as the dinghy is pulled onto the dock - "ratcheting" past each of the dock's runners.
We soon got used to remembering to lift the tabs before parking it - doesn't take long to do.
Maybe "dolphin fins" on the engine would be more effective.

Anyway, back to the point of buying it in the first place.
We wanted to change the way we boat - using the dinghy more to go to places that we couldn't in the old Walker Bay and leaving the mother ship.
Our cruise to the Costa Brava turned out to be during a windy period so it was very useful to offload the Novurania in Roses marina and "cruise the area" using the dinghy.
For example, a day trip into Empuriabrava and a recce for the mother ship to a nice anchorage.
So, the Novurania in the Costa Brava, alone, was a success.

Here is a pic of the Novurania in the Costa Brava

P8130205_Small_zpsjuvb7xkd.jpg


But on our home berth, it has meant that we can easily "pop out" to the Lagoon Restaurants or down the coast to the other local marinas.
Last week we used it numerous times just to visit yachtie friends that were anchored in the lagoon.
We have "rigged up" a simple winching system so that the Novurania can be winched onto its dock using the mother ship's stern docking winches.
Sorry, I haven't got any pics of this process but it really works well.
So, the new tender is a real benefit to our boating in our home port.

But last month, I took JW (single handed) over to Mallorca.
I loaded the Novurania on my own and relaunched her again on my own in Palma Nova when I got there.
SWMBO joined me whilst I was at anchor just outside Arenal.
That meant I had to do my first tow of 10 miles on my own.
Back in Sant Carles, I had made up a tow rope from some cheap Polypropylene to see how it would work.
Everything worked well but I'm not sure that speeds in excess of 10 knots would be very kind to it.

Here are some pics that I took of the towing process.

IMG_9017_Small_zps9bxohi9x.jpg


IMG_9018_Small_zpsymysfjqv.jpg


However, out in the islands at anchor, the Novurania "came into its own".
It was fantastac.
Even on my own before SWMBO joined me, I was using it to ferry other friends around.
One such trip was a bumpy day when Palma Nova was flat and we fancied a swim in Illetas - we all piled into the Novurania and went off for a swim.
This example shows why we bought the Novurania and what we wanted it to do.

P8130201_Small_zpsnanuusmw.jpg


We went in convoy with a Williams Jet which struggled in the large swell - in the end, the Novurania lead the way "ironing" the sea for the Williams.
Two people on board the Williams - 5 people on board the Novurania which took the trip in its stride.

You may have seen a video that I posted on another thread.
The video shows the Novurania being used to help with mooring and as a ski boat.
At anchor, it has been a huge asset, meeting all our expectations.

So, from being a bit of a disappointment at the beginning of the season with its performance it is now a major part of our boating and I don't regret all the work over the winter months getting it to fit etc.

Towing is a bit of a pain but doable.
So when I loaded it back onto the flybridge, I decided to see how I could make a cantilever system to the bathing platform.
The idea was to "offer it up" using the crane and see what would be required.
There was no way it was going to fit but if we could make it fit, it would be quicker to load on and off the bathing platform when we travel between anchorages and we wouldn't have to tow it.

AND GUESS WHAT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
IT FITS

IMG_9133_Small_zpsivrc89ar.jpg


All I need to do is make some extra chock fixings in the bathing platform and move the chocks from the flybridge down whenever we want to load it at the lower level.
Remember - this tender is lighter than our old Jetski that we carried on the bathing platform for more than two years.

IMG_9132_Small_zpsunjbwsqq.jpg


IMG_9119_Small_zpsbqyh0l9y.jpg


The only problem that I can see is that if we wanted to go into a marina, we will have to load it onto the flybridge so that it doesn't obstruct our passerelle.



Finally I thought I'd post a pic of the little addition offered from JFM - the outboard Vs in the chocks.
I think his idea was that the Novurania could be rested in these Vs whilst the tubes were deflated/inflated.
In fact we do all the inflation and deflation whilst the boat is in the water.
But JFM's little Vs are great when we clean the bottom.
Even on the dock, the Novurania's hull gets dirty scum which needs to be cleaned off.
Here's a pic that shows clearly what I mean.

IMG_9139_Small_zpsq8hp2hjk.jpg



So, all in all - it has been a great upgrade for this year.
Almost as good as our anchor upgrade - (another post on that to follow)
 
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