Launch aborted

[Praxinoscope]

I've just bought a new dinghy, launched, went aft to turn on fuel and it leaked like a sieve through the bottom two engine mounting plate holes. Very spartan on the sealant, a tube of silicone fixed it.

A long time ago, when we started our cruising activities we were 4 lads with limited funds, we had bought our Leisure 17 but needed a tender, we found that (I think it was a chandlers called Thames Marine) did a small ‘tender’ for about £15 (this was lare 60’s) so we bought one, it was actually moulded from expanded polystyrene, very light but not very strong and had all the rowing characteristics of a coracle, but it did serve its purpose. The major problem was transporting outboard engines or fuel tanks, petrol dissolves polystyrene almost instantly, and occasionally one would see a hole appearing where some petrol had dripped on it, so we carried a pot of ‘ready mix pollyfilla’ with for emergency repairs. It did last almost a Season until one day off Hengistbury Head in about a force 5 the painter pulled through the bows and we saw it floating away, a vote was held and we decided that as it was a bit choppy where we were to just wave goodbye to it and carried on back into Christchurch.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Fine looking vessel, very envious.

Thank you. I think she probably looks better at that angle than others…

 

[Zagato]

Oh yeah! Hideous ??.... a fine, solid, reliable ship for your adventures John. Are you going to do a You Tube channel ?Best of making your own luck and huge respect to you both for challenging yourselves. An experience you will never forget.

Hope your daughter found the knack with the Fortress anchor ?

 

[john_morris_uk]

Oh yeah! Hideous ??.... a fine, solid, reliable ship for your adventures John. Are you going to do a You Tube channel ?Best of making your own luck and huge respect to you both for challenging yourselves. An experience you will never forget.

Hope your daughter found the knack with the Fortress anchor ?

Thank you.
Daughter Abigail’s outside atm dismantling the racking that was in my workshop. Fingers crossed the Fortress has held like a dream every time so far thank you. The only modification I’ve made was to sharpen the points a bit.
I’m not sure about a YouTube channel. There’s nothing too photogenic about us compared with the bikini clad skinny ones that seem to attract attention and I believe it’s a real bind continuously generating content. We have promised to run a blog though, mainly for family etc.

 

[Wansworth]

Hurry up before the northerlies die out off the Galician coast……..

 

[[2574]]

Thank you.
Daughter Abigail’s outside atm dismantling the racking that was in my workshop. Fingers crossed the Fortress has held like a dream every time so far thank you. The only modification I’ve made was to sharpen the points a bit.
I’m not sure about a YouTube channel. There’s nothing too photogenic about us compared with the bikini clad skinny ones that seem to attract attention and I believe it’s a real bind continuously generating content. We have promised to run a blog though, mainly for family etc.

Last time I looked Leo of Tally Ho! fame had 300k subscribers. A complete skinny bikini desert…..there’s space for all types of content. Though I agree it must be a major PITA doing the production - all eats in to the Pussers & ginger time……not for me either!

 

[john_morris_uk]

Hurry up before the northerlies die out off the Galician coast……..

I can’t go any faster!

 

[Bajansailor]

Serendipity is looking very fine indeed.
Will you be adding a bimini awning over the cockpit, and maybe a wind vane, before you head to low(er) latitudes?

 

[john_morris_uk]

Serendipity is looking very fine indeed.
Will you be adding a bimini awning over the cockpit, and maybe a wind vane, before you head to low(er) latitudes?

Do you mean like this one.
(Fitted last week.)
We’ve got a Hydrovane wind vane self steering gear on the back end as well. I’m just hoping it works as well as most people say they do.

 

[Bajansailor]

Excellent!
I have had a fair bit of experience of Hydrovanes, and they are an excellent piece of kit.
You do have to get the boat reasonably well balanced first though, and their most difficult course would probably be on a broad reach, unless you just have headsail up rather than headsail and main.
But we have used the rudder to steer with, using an improvised tiller, (when the main rudder bearings seized up) and it was very easy to steer like this.
Will you have solar panels as well, or just the wind generator?

 

[john_morris_uk]

Excellent!
I have had a fair bit of experience of Hydrovanes, and they are an excellent piece of kit.
You do have to get the boat reasonably well balanced first though, and their most difficult course would probably be on a broad reach, unless you just have headsail up rather than headsail and main.
But we have used the rudder to steer with, using an improvised tiller, (when the main rudder bearings seized up) and it was very easy to steer like this.
Will you have solar panels as well, or just the wind generator?

Solar panels are planned although where they’re going is a conundrum.

 

[capnsensible]

I've used hydrovanes quite a bit. Not just on my own boat. Most excellent addition to any blue water yacht. I can thoroughly recommend it as an unstintingly tireless crew member.

Ours was called Robbie the Rudder.

 

[Uricanejack]

Pardon my ignorance and curiosity.
What make and size of boat is she.?
I notice from a couple of threads you have done a fairly extensive refitting,
Have you had her for a long time and decided to refit for extended voyage?

 

[john_morris_uk]

Pardon my ignorance and curiosity.
What make and size of boat is she.?
I notice from a couple of threads you have done a fairly extensive refitting,
Have you had her for a long time and decided to refit for extended voyage?

She’s a Westerly Sealord and we’ve owned her 17 years. Lots of upgrades over the years (water cooled fridge/freezer, new sails fully battened on a decent mast track etc a couple of years ago. . she’s just been re-rigged again with a new engine, generator, watermaker etc etc.

 

[Elessar]

Wishing you and your wife the very best for a safe and enjoyable voyage John.
I, like many, will be looking forward to pictures and updates.

 

[Elessar]

On the subject of seacocks, I too had a leak last time I launched for the first time ever.

I was advised to use this.
Clessetite Thread Sealant 50ml Tube - Clesse UK
Obtain a second lock nut for seacock handle alignment as it does not set hard. Trouble with relying on gunge to stop seacock rotation is that if it is knocked and rotates, it will leak.

It worked and it should be easy to dismantle.

 

[Wandering Star]

Very good luck John and I hope you you have a great adventure. Everyone on here except me seems to know your plans - is there another thread somewhere with your ideas of your plans? I used to own a Sealord, great boat, never had much success with a Hydrovane and far prefer a servo pendulum system but each to their own. Anyway have a ball!

 

[john_morris_uk]

Very good luck John and I hope you you have a great adventure. Everyone on here except me seems to know your plans - is there another thread somewhere with your ideas of your plans? I used to own a Sealord, great boat, never had much success with a Hydrovane and far prefer a servo pendulum system but each to their own. Anyway have a ball!

In broad terms. We move onboard tomorrow (staying with friends tonight)
Shakedown over the next few days
Cross Biscay by end of August.
Work our way S to the Canaries by December.
Fly home for Christmas
Transatlantic early January.
then?

 

[sailaboutvic]

In broad terms. We move onboard tomorrow (staying with friends tonight)
Shakedown over the next few days
Cross Biscay by end of August.
Work our way S to the Canaries by December.
Fly home for Christmas
Transatlantic early January.
then?

And plain B ?

 

[john_morris_uk]

And plain B ?

Plan B is all is negotiable.
However there’s nothing very radical about the outline plan. No really fixed dates. (Always a hostage to fortune when cruising…)