Liveaboard Isle of Wight

[sandyeyes]

; One tip, the Folly Inn on the Medina has showers, or at least it did when I was last there a few years ago.

Hi Seajet, many thanks. I'll look into it
Regards

Drop into River Yar Boatyard riveryardboatyard.co.uk Nice down to earth honest folk yachtie owner-managers. Roger is the owner, his son Jamie is essentially the boss now. Clean professional operation. Ten minute walk to the Wighlink Yarmouth-Lymington ferry and excellent bus service £3 per day unlimited on the Island. You need a dehumidifier, it helps to heat as well as removes moisture. It costs to run but all the power used is essentially heat in the boat. Tom

Hi Tompeters,
Thanks for the info, I'll pop down and see them when I get back on the Island. I do like Yarmouth, nice and quiet (compared to the North and East Island). I'm looking at dehumidifiers online, there is a lot of choice. Any tips on which ones are good/quiet etc for a small yacht?
Regards

 

[Pete7]

Given the limited budget which I think you will want to keep back as much as possible, you need to do some leg work for a suitable yacht. Have a read of this thread and the Macwester 26 which came from Poole Harbour Master for free, they were delighted to get rid of it without the cost of cutting it up.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f106/macwester-26-and-the-hina-ous-crew-59975-3.html

Anyway, they seemed to regularly have the problem of abandoned yachts in the harbour. Since e-mails are somewhat impersonal I would ring them up or even write to to them. You could try some of the other harbour masters too. Final thought, Gosport Boatyard have an interesting collection of small yachts packed closely together at the back of the yard, some of which haven't moved in a long time, worth a call perhaps?

Pete

 

[rustybarge]

Hi Sandy,
Just wondered how you got on, did you manage to find a cheap mooring on the Iow?
I've ordered a basic cheetah catarmaran hull for delivery in June from Ventnor on the iow, and I was looking for a similar type of mooring to you so that I can build a wheel house onto the boat while living on it at the same time. ( tent?)

I was looking on google maps, and there seems to be lots of mud moorings close to Newport, did you go to have a look? Is the harbour master ok with people living aboard? Are there any free mooring?

Regards,

Peter.

 

[TonyBuckley]

Sandyeyes - PMd you (only mentioning cos i rarely notice PMs to me)

 

[sandyeyes]

Just pm'd you back

 

[sandyeyes]

Given the limited budget which I think you will want to keep back as much as possible, you need to do some leg work for a suitable yacht. Have a read of this thread and the Macwester 26 which came from Poole Harbour Master for free, they were delighted to get rid of it without the cost of cutting it up.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f106/macwester-26-and-the-hina-ous-crew-59975-3.html

Anyway, they seemed to regularly have the problem of abandoned yachts in the harbour. Since e-mails are somewhat impersonal I would ring them up or even write to to them. You could try some of the other harbour masters too. Final thought, Gosport Boatyard have an interesting collection of small yachts packed closely together at the back of the yard, some of which haven't moved in a long time, worth a call perhaps?

Pete

Many thanks Pete, I'll look into it : ) Read the story/project of the Macwester 26, very inspiring. The more I learn about the liveaboard/yacht community the more I feel like I am "coming home". Thank you all for your advice and help!

Hi Sandy,
Just wondered how you got on, did you manage to find a cheap mooring on the Iow?
I've ordered a basic cheetah catarmaran hull for delivery in June from Ventnor on the iow, and I was looking for a similar type of mooring to you so that I can build a wheel house onto the boat while living on it at the same time. ( tent?)

I was looking on google maps, and there seems to be lots of mud moorings close to Newport, did you go to have a look? Is the harbour master ok with people living aboard? Are there any free mooring?

Regards,

Peter.

Hi Peter,
I have not pushed any further about moorings, but I do know they are available. As soon as I have my liveaboard home I'll find out more info for you.

 

[rjcoles]

Hi Sandyeyes

Newport Harbour has low cost mooring alongside the quay wall, some with electric, that are being used for live-aboards, contact Wayne the Harbour Master for details. Odessa Marine also has a live-aboard community on pontoon moorings with electric and water plus the usual facilites on shore, contact David or Jim at Odessa.

I have a couple of very cheap boats going for less than £2000 that are looking for a good home that might suit you, contact me via my web site.

Richard

 

[sandyeyes]

Hi Sandyeyes

Newport Harbour has low cost mooring alongside the quay wall, some with electric, that are being used for live-aboards, contact Wayne the Harbour Master for details. Odessa Marine also has a live-aboard community on pontoon moorings with electric and water plus the usual facilites on shore, contact David or Jim at Odessa.

I have a couple of very cheap boats going for less than £2000 that are looking for a good home that might suit you, contact me via my web site.

Richard

Thanks for the info Richard.
Regards

 

[sandyeyes]

Hi all,
Just thought I'd give an update.
Bought a Halcyon 23, was a bit sorry for itself but managed to get it liveable and comfortable. I lived on this for 6 months from October last year until April. Taught myself how to sail...had a few jaunts across the Irish sea, an extreme learning curve for a novice. Absolutely loved it, and met some wonderful people along the way.

The little Halcyon 23 was built like a brick ?#$★ and looked after me when the January and Feb storms rolled in. Must admit the hairiest moment was went a greenie smashed in the forehatch wooden surround and copious amounts of green stuff threatened to overcome my manual bailing ability...at night 50 miles from shelter.

Failure wasn't an option due to lack of liferaft and a useless wet radio...ensuring a rapid range of solutions sprang to mind as further green stuff threw itself on deck and into the bilges...which were now about 1ft under. Tried heaving to as I worked on this...and tired furling the jib back to a hanky as the wind speed was approaching "just white stuff everywhere"...(oh I wished I had a storm jib, learnt about these afterwards lol. ) The furling jib uv strip shredded and wound itself halfway up the furler...more problems.

Wind had rapidly increased and was suddenly strong enough to run under bare poles only, I had too much sail flapping around and unable to furl it in (main was down). The top half of the jib had balooned out and was threating to take down the mast. 5 minutes later, pumping the bilges with one hand, I got to work. The strip was trapping the sail out of reach...I didn't want it to tear itself apart as I only had an outboard engine...which was a bit damp at this point...i needed some way of getting to land. One boat hook, one dingy paddle (no dingy), one knife and a roll of gaffer tape...taped the lot together like a large spear whilst frantically pumping the bilge with the other hand. Back out on deck, hanging on for dear life at the pointy end whilst chopping madly at the uv strip which had wound round God knows how many times.

Success, step back and fall into forehatch which had by now been totally ripped off. Toggle from lifejacket caught on edge of hatch opening, triggered CO2 cartridge and bang! Stuck like a pig halfway through the hatch jammed in by inflated life jacket as another greenie smashes me in the face. At least it stopped more sea coming into the boat.
I didn't have time to admire the roaring sea at night, however I did notice as I was looking up the running lights were out...battery was under water. What joy.
Was still holding the DIY "knife pole" and managed to turn it round and stab the vest, allowing me to roll into the boat straight into green stuff up to my face. Let me explain, with just over 4ft of headroom, bending down puts your face in the water when theres plenty of it inside.
Thats when I noticed a section of bench seat wooden panel floating under my AAA battery powered LED pound shop lights...a quick grab of some rope, jammed on the board to the open hatch surround, tied off with a bit of rope through the small thumb grab hole in the middle of the panel to the v berth frame and hey presto...another greenie hit and it stayed in place with only a " moderate" amount of it getting inside.

"Swam-ish" to the rear hatch, and pumped that bilge like a demonic witch on steriods. It was then I realised my lifejacket was useless...I had stabbed it afterall. Held my only spare life jacket in my teeth as I pumped and pumped. Eventually I realised maybe an electric bilge pump and waterproof containers for the batteries should be on my next shopping list.
When the water was down to an acceptable level, somewhere between my knees and ankles I clambered back out side. No lights, no electronics, no nav instruments...everything was dead...a wet chart and a compass. It took all night to get to the Bristol Channel, at which point I laughed at the enormity of the wind over tide that met me.
Eventually I made it to a sheltered bay, cold, very wet, bruised, but happy to have survived stupidity...and happy to have a large anchor and 30 meters of 8mm chain over the side...although this did drag a fair bit...a windlass would have helped at that point as I just didn't have the strength to drag it all in by hand and reset it a few times. Did I mention I was teaching myself to sail?

The moral of the story is this, 27ft would be better than 23ft. Waterproof battery containers and emergency DD battery operated nav lights would really help when it all goes black up the mast. Waterproof charts would really help, as would sails that weren't 30 years old and wooden hatch surrounds that weren't rotten. More than one spare lifejacket and of course a liferaft would have been reassuring. Maybe an immersion suit and an EPERB, not to mention a waterproof radio...so at least I could call the coastguard for help. Oh, and a bloody storm jib really would have helped too, and a sea drogue/anchor, a flare pack too would have been great (I know, I know)...and an autohelm...as would have an "accurate" weather forecast! F5-6 my backside....winds recorded that night on 4th/5th Febuary 2014 were 92-105mph, not enjoyable, as those who lived on the Devon coast found out when their main coast railway line was washed into the sea.

I loved it. I'm addicted to being at sea, it's better than those years being shot at and attempts to blow us up by random strangers in the desert.

Alas, having DIY repaired my little Halcyon 23 tank whilst still living on it I made further voyages and eventually I sold it on, my back eventually gave in to crawling room only. Was sad to see it go. She lives somewhere on the North Sea side now.

Looking for a 27ft strong boat to see me through the next few tears as I live aboard, and yes, I will fill it full of 'must have' safety items I learnt I needed the hard way.
She'll be taken in the new year around the South UK...with a UK circumnavigation following in the spring...I'm looking right now at what's available.

I learnt that I love the sea, the wild weather and the calm, the beautiful sunsets, the serenity of it all and the amazing people who helped me along the way. The random kindness of total strangers made me realise maybe the world isn't such a bad place afterall.

I have finally found peace being surrounded by the sea, nature and all the surprises she can through at me. The years spent in combat zones had left me quite a changed and tormented person having lost many close friends and seen terrible things a person should never see. Being at sea changed all that and I actually slept well without too many demons haunting my dreams.

I've been back on land a few months now and really need to get back out under sail, but funds are still low due to my bankruptcy follow divorce, repossession of my house etc. BUT, I have hope I'll find something at the right price.

All the best and hope you are all well, thankyou for your help and advice on this thread when I was starting out!
Regards

 

[Seajet]

Sandyeyes,

well you don't do things by halves !

I'm reminded of the famous Naval report, ' This Officer shows great skill at getting out of situations he should never have got into ! '

Only joking, you did well and learned more then than some do in a lifetime of pottering.

I hate to say it, but you can deflate most lifejackets by sticking the tab on the cap of the mouthpiece into the oral inflation tube end.

Hope you find a suitable boat, if a single keel is OK there should be plenty available at relatively bargain prices.

 

[ChattingLil]

amazing post! thanks for the udate.

 

[sandyeyes]

Sandyeyes,

well you don't do things by halves !

I'm reminded of the famous Naval report, ' This Officer shows great skill at getting out of situations he should never have got into ! '

Only joking, you did well and learned more then than some do in a lifetime of pottering.

I hate to say it, but you can deflate most lifejackets by sticking the tab on the cap of the mouthpiece into the oral inflation tube end.

Hope you find a suitable boat, if a single keel is OK there should be plenty available at relatively bargain prices.

Hi Seajet,
Thank you for your comments.

Aye, you are quite correct about the valve. I suppose I was in a desperate hurry to get unwedged as the previous greenie felt like it had broken my back as I was smashed backwards against the deck wedged half way out of the hatch opening facing forwards...I could faintly see the white spray of the next one about to hit and just used the knife to deflate quickly and unwedge myself...only had a second or two to spare really...fumbling about with the valve I suspect would have taken precious moments, moments I didn't really have to spare at that point. I suppose, looking back I was just functioning in pure survival mode
I'm looking for a fin keel preferably, there do as you say seem to be many for sale these days.
Out of interest, how would your Anderson 22 have coped if caught out like that, I hear they are quite strong little yachts.
All the best

 

[sandyeyes]

amazing post! thanks for the udate.

Hi ChattingLil,
Thanks for that Was a great learning curve for someone who was new to sailing, didn't expect the curve to be almost vertical from the get-go though lol. All good

 

[stephen_h]

I agree about the amazing post!

I hope I am never in that situation - hats of to you if you enjoy it

 

[Vanilla]

Wow.....scary stuff and full of admiration for you coping so well.....and to think I don't even care for a F5-6 (to windward) in the Solent in a pretty solid 34ft boat.

Wonderful that the sea is helping you overcome the emotional impact of combat. The sea does that for me too but simply from the "stress" of an office-based job!

Good luck finding the next boat

 

[Seajet]

Hi Seajet,
Thank you for your comments.

Aye, you are quite correct about the valve. I suppose I was in a desperate hurry to get unwedged as the previous greenie felt like it had broken my back as I was smashed backwards against the deck wedged half way out of the hatch opening facing forwards...I could faintly see the white spray of the next one about to hit and just used the knife to deflate quickly and unwedge myself...only had a second or two to spare really...fumbling about with the valve I suspect would have taken precious moments, moments I didn't really have to spare at that point. I suppose, looking back I was just functioning in pure survival mode
I'm looking for a fin keel preferably, there do as you say seem to be many for sale these days.
Out of interest, how would your Anderson 22 have coped if caught out like that, I hear they are quite strong little yachts.
All the best

Hi Sandyeyes,

the A22 would take it quite happily, and more to the point, keep going unlike most of her size; after beating a large supposedly Blue Water boat to windward into a good solid F6+, the owner always met me with " I hate that boat ! " and I got the idea he wasn't entirely joking.

He was an ex-dinghy racing National Champion also with plenty of cruising under his belt, and mentioned the Hurley 22 he'd had would have stopped dead in those conditions, he was amazed we kept going - and faster than his gleaming Rival 34.

My A22 has beat into a 7 gusting 11 in the Solent and F8 in the Channel, but that's nothing compared to more adventurous souls than me like Bob Salmon beating successfully into a F10 in the Western Approaches, 1 of 3 A22's to do the Mini Transat.

I wouldn't imagine they were in the lap of luxury though !

 

[rib]

so how do you deflate a life jacket quickly by turning the cap up side down and inserting into tube............... cant see it myself seajet

 

[Seajet]

If you look, all lifejackets have an oral inflation tube fitted now as an emergency Plan C in the one in a thousand chance the auto then manual gas inflation by pulling the toggle don't work.

The cap on the end of the oral tube has a protruding tab at one side.

The protruding bit on the cap is the deflation key; admittedly not very obvious ( maybe something should be done to make it moreso inc some sort of training like I had by chance as a boy ).

If you stick this protruding tab into the mouth tube it depresses the valve, deflating the lifejacket.

As I say, this applies to all modern LJ's I know, dates from the 1970's.

A bit scary and illuminating this is not wider known...

 

[rib]

bit slow to get out of a hatch in a hurry I would suggest

 

[Seajet]

Not that slow and at least one has a useable lifejacket at the end, even if the gas has been expended and one has to blow into it between waves, a lot better than nothing...