Lot of armchair know it alls on here!

The nicest armchairs we encountered were on an HR 39 we met in Ireland. The owner had wanted armchairs similar to the photos above but HR didn’t offer them. HR being who they are insisted that it wasn't an option. Our friends, as they had become, were even more pig-headed and said they wouldn’t buy the boat without them, so a compromise was reached and the armchairs were duly built into their new boat, at a cost to them of two or three thousand pounds. They were delighted with their new chairs but mortified later when HR then offered them as a no-cost option.
 
Whiterose said:
Just be aware there are some very dubious commentators on these forums from people who wouldn’t know a boat from a bathtub!The more complex the question the more doubtful the responses. So any advice suggestions etc double check. Sorry it sounds obvious but when you’re enthusiastic and want a response sometimes you want to hear what you want to hear!Having said that there are also a myriad of obviously knowledgeable members!
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I have been on several forums in my time. This is in my opinion the best. I can’t think of a regular poster who doesn't have something useful to say; not to say anyone is always right, but then it's the nature of boating that there are different ways of doing things. A "practical boat owner" does not seek instant gratification nor expect there always to be a simple answer.

To put it more bluntly, I find this OP inaccurate and ungracious and would gladly see it deleted.

Which is not to condone the petty slanging that sometimes does arise, indeed. But it's typically NOT between armchair non-experts but between experienced yachtsmen with strong opinions, a different matter entirely.

Yours, from my armchair with 30k miles under the keel, two ocean crossings and yachtmaster since age 19. Jolly rude of YOU to make me boast, but there we are.
 
This is a great forum. I have learned much and been entertained as well.
I think it is always useful to try to comment on the 'provenance' of any advice passed on.
Such as " in my 20 years experience as a wooden boat builder...." or " I have heard it said in the club" !
 
sailaboutvic said:
I never get as far as under the flap , tend to pile up on top . The only time the chart table is clear is when we off sailing or of I happen to go away for some reason and left the other half behind .
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My chart table has a self clearing system, activated by a combination of wind over 20knts and overfalls. Just when I need it most...
 
Supertramp said:
My chart table has a self clearing system, activated by a combination of wind over 20knts and overfalls. Just when I need it most...
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I have to say a non slip mat on my chart table seems to hold everything in place irrespective of the conditions. Nothing has dropped off in the past couple of thousand miles on my Round Britian trip and I have had winds up to force 9 and plenty of rough water.
 
I have been on this forum under various names since the mid late 90's. Overall, more than 70% of the responses are helpful, some responses are off the topic, however, this may create more useful discussions and more posts.
It is easy to spot the wrong advice as they are picked up very quickly by those who are familiar and have experience on the topic. In most cases, the questions are too specific looking for specific answers but the answers may need to be flexible to indicate that there are a number of alternative solutions and provides food for thought.
This is a great Forum for our sailing community attracting all kinds of people of very different backgrounds, dogmatic, eccentric with various abilities and capabilities.
 
Concerto said:
I have to say a non slip mat on my chart table seems to hold everything in place irrespective of the conditions. Nothing has dropped off in the past couple of thousand miles on my Round Britian trip and I have had winds up to force 9 and plenty of rough water.
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That depends on how piled up the table is :)
If the junk can't see the mat , the mat can't keep it in place .
 
mattonthesea said:
Didn't Gypsy Moth IV have an armchair at the nav desk?

I remember Dan Archer giving advice when I were a kid. It was along the lines of: listen to everyone and then make up your own mind.

With a sense of irony, I pass this on ?
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When I sailed Gypsymoth IV I wouldn’t describe the Nav seat as an armchair …??
 
johnalison said:
I will bear that in mind for my cruise to the NW passage next year.
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Sorry - that's one bit of the Polar regions I don't know very well beyond having read accounts of all the early explorers up to and including the fascinating voyage by the RCMP's St. Róch during WW2. The voyage by Otto Sverdrup in the Fram that finally put the western part of the Canadian archipelago on the map is also a good read. In the north, Greenland and Svalbard are my patch. But I don't think it's particularly difficult these days! Just make sure your provisions are in tins that haven't been soldered with lead and don't eat the liver of carnivores and you should be fine. Avoid cannibalism if at all possible ;)

Oddly, one account I haven't come across is the account of Amundsen's first passage of the NW Passage in Gjoa. But I think that he was basically just joining up all the bits that were already known, mainly from the many expeditions that went out looking for Franklin. Basically, it was about waiting for the right conditions and then going through already charted waters.
 
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AntarcticPilot said:
Sorry - that's one bit of the Polar regions I don't know very well beyond having read accounts of all the early explorers up to and including the fascinating voyage by the RCMP's St. Róch during WW2. The voyage by Otto Sverdrup in the Fram that finally put the western part of the Canadian archipelago on the map is also a good read. In the north, Greenland and Svalbard are my patch. But I don't think it's particularly difficult these days! Just make sure your provisions are in tins that haven't been soldered with lead and don't eat the liver of carnivores and you should be fine. Avoid cannibalism if at all possible ;)

Oddly, one account I haven't come across is the account of Amundsen's first passage of the NW Passage in Gjoa. But I think that he was basically just joining up all the bits that were already known, mainly from the many expeditions that went out looking for Franklin. Basically, it was about waiting for the right conditions and then going through already charted waters.
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Much as I wonder at the pictures on David Attenborough and others' polar programmes, N&S, the poles are not somewhere I have ever sought to go. I enjoy remoteness but most of the places I have visited have had some sort of human or cultural interest. One place that I would love to see in South Georgia and its bird life but trips there are in the 5-figure range, and I'm not sure that my Raynaulds suits me as a high-latitude explorer.
 
johnalison said:
Much as I wonder at the pictures on David Attenborough and others' polar programmes, N&S, the poles are not somewhere I have ever sought to go. I enjoy remoteness but most of the places I have visited have had some sort of human or cultural interest. One place that I would love to see in South Georgia and its bird life but trips there are in the 5-figure range, and I'm not sure that my Raynaulds suits me as a high-latitude explorer.
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I also wanted to sail to SG, but like you, I think it is unlikely that I will.

Funny anecdote: early on, in the halcyon days of my marriage/partnership, I mentioned SG with starry eyed enthusiasm to Mrs TT. She sort of responded positively, but in a vague "yeah yeah". Many years later, it transpired that she thought I was talking about south of Georgia (i.e. around the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean)!
So, SG is definitely off the cards now. Besides, I still haven't won the lottery to fund my Boreal.
 
TiggerToo said:
I also wanted to sail to SG, but like you, I think it is unlikely that I will.

Funny anecdote: early on, in the halcyon days of my marriage/partnership, I mentioned SG with starry eyed enthusiasm to Mrs TT. She sort of responded positively, but in a vague "yeah yeah". Many years later, it transpired that she thought I was talking about south of Georgia (i.e. around the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean)!
So, SG is definitely off the cards now. Besides, I still haven't won the lottery to fund my Boreal.
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johnalison said:
Much as I wonder at the pictures on David Attenborough and others' polar programmes, N&S, the poles are not somewhere I have ever sought to go. I enjoy remoteness but most of the places I have visited have had some sort of human or cultural interest. One place that I would love to see in South Georgia and its bird life but trips there are in the 5-figure range, and I'm not sure that my Raynaulds suits me as a high-latitude explorer.
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Sadly, although I headed up the project that created this (www.sggis.gov.gs) and personally digitized the coastline originally used (it has been updated since then) I too have never been there! I would love to go, and a friend and former colleague of mine is Sally Poncet, whose husband, Jerome, used to do yacht cruises from the Falklands to SG. But it's not just the cost of the yacht; it's terribly expensive and difficult to get to the Falklands!
 
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Turning the OP comment around..

There are on occasion new posters who just pop up and want Instant answers for Quick Fixes that are as good as a time served engineer or boatbuilder s approach -freeman’s, - for a problem that is actually a symptom of something perhaps a whole lot bigger ?Here’s one :


Hi fellow matelots, noobie here.
There’s a bit of water sploshing up on the armchairs on the boat when we go sailing . Nothing serious because I once plumbed a new kitchen sink and bath and all but, it’s making the cushions a bit soggy so we can’t entertain next weekend…
Is there a breathing tube and a hand pump I can buy , looking to spend about a fiver , so I can nip over the side whilst sailing along on each tack yeah and squirt a blob of Instablob into the gap I can see opening up around the keel , yeah? Cos that’s sort it , sorted yeah that’s how I fixed my bath waste and that’s sorted , but I don’t have my scuba gear anymore.. Cheers everyone .oh and will that stop the creaking noises and the bathroom door seems a bit stuck when we put the sails up a bit, yeah ?

Not looking to spend money this year cos we’ve just bought the boat and I don’t see the point in hauling it out and all that anyway who uses surveyors anymore it’s all on YouTube innit
So, about this breather tube gear cheers folks …ps one that the wife can use whilst I hold on to her legs and steer the boat and she squirts the goop into the keel would be awesome ….cheers everyone , NuBe
 
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