Selfish yacht, poor show Yarmouth

Even though the rights/wrongs and oblivious selfishness, indifference and inconsistency of crews, charterers and harbour officials is the main issue, I remain fascinated by the reasons behind the inadequacies of engine/exhaust silencing.

Is it a problem that only money and space (for insulation) can answer? I was researching the quietest petrol/diesel generators last night; most manufacturers only advertise their machines' audibility at 7 meters distance, running at 1/4 load! Scarcely relevant.

Have the designers really done all they can, to muffle vibration with elastic mounts and foam-lined boxes that absorb sound? In an ideal world, is there just this simple one-stop solution - big, vented, thick foam-lined cells over the machinery, and underwater exhausts?

Is the real problem not that quiet auxilliaries/generators are an impossible holy grail, but that most builders and boat-owners cut corners and costs in supplying and equipping their boats, and in consequence, we all live with an inevitable harbour-bound raucous drone?

Ironic, that the most expensive equipment seems to be the kind that bothers other people least...

...there ought to be a tax on irritants! 75% added to the cost of anything that emits over 75db, at 1/2 load...

...then see how designers'/manufacturers' priorities change. :D
 
Dan,

agreed completely.

When I read of 'silent generators' on caravans early on in this thread, I asked my Father who now sails a camper van.

The reply was that these so-called silent jobs are just a bit quieter, and still a major pain if someone tries to run them at night.

Of course caravans usually have better access to 'shore power', which I think is the real answer here; if people can't get by with quiet charging like solar panels and gas for fridges, that's their hard luck for having an unseaworthy set-up, they shouldn't expect to slap on a generator and inflict it on everyone else.
 
Seajet said:
...if people can't get by with quiet charging like solar panels and gas for fridges, that's their hard luck for having an unseaworthy set-up, they shouldn't expect to slap on a generator and inflict it on everyone else.
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My mate and I tried to revive an old gas-powered fridge in the 'nineties, for an eccentric tenting trip which included a big Arabian marquee. It didn't work, but the electricity savings available, if a fridge could run off LPG, must be worth serious investigating for yachts?

Or does the problem come from the fumes, from gas being burned in the cabin? Ah, a fridge with a stove-pipe on deck. Ivor the fridge-in. :D
 
dancrane said:
the electricity savings available, if a fridge could run off LPG, must be worth serious investigating for yachts?

Or does the problem come from the fumes, from gas being burned in the cabin?
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Partly the possibility of carbon monoxoide, from an unseen pilot light burning 24 hours a day, partly the fear of gas leaks, and partly the fact that the absorbtion cycle that these fridges use requires them to be kept level within a few degrees. Unlike compression fridges, there are no moving parts and they rely on the movement of fluids through cunningly-shaped tubes under gravity. Not much good on a boat, although I believe they were installed on some cruising catamarans (no heeling) in the 80s.

Pete
 
dancrane said:
Is the real problem not that quiet auxilliaries/generators are an impossible holy grail, but that most builders and boat-owners cut corners and costs in supplying and equipping their boats, and in consequence, we all live with an inevitable harbour-bound raucous drone?
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I don't think it's a matter of cost consideration on the sort of boat that is being discussed in this thread (unless I've got totally the wrong impression!). A rule of thumb a few years ago was £1 million per meter build costs for a super yacht. Thus was WITHOUT the 'designer interior' and toys (ie helicopters and submarines etc). If the generators were noisy it was poor design and implementation and nothing to do with costs I suggest.

I don't know what the current figure is, but it's not going to have got cheaper to build these things.
 
Not difficult to know how to respond, for those outraged by the harbour authorities' waiving the rules for a big-spending customer...at such time as I have the option to stop at Yarmouth, I just won't. If you share the sense of frustration, vote with your tiller.

Nothing applies pressure on governing bodies more effectively than the threat of a drop-off in income. If the Yarmouth berthing master chooses to favour plutocratic owners/charterers, then he can be certain of losing my modest custom...

...which is the weak point, because he can afford to. But...

...if a substantial portion of potential visitors/customers express similar readiness to forego Yarmouth's attractions and favour one of the other Solent yacht-stops, bells would be ringing in the port: the town's decreasing income could be blamed directly on inconsistent rule-enforcement in the harbour.

If someone posts information about finding a fingernail in a brand of pie, sales dip. Brand takes extra care not to drop fingernails in product, and sales gradually recover. But if no problem is even acknowledged, the discouraged customers won't readily return to the brand.

If Yarmouth's berthing masters showed strength of character, they'd admit to culpable inconsistency of rule-enforcement, and state categorically that it will not recur. But if they don't even recognise their error, who knows how else they may disappoint their customers?

I'd sooner give the town a miss, till this is acknowledged as unacceptable, by the officials responsible. Am I alone?
 
dancrane said:
Not difficult to know how to respond, for those outraged by the harbour authorities' waiving the rules for a big-spending customer...at such time as I have the option to stop at Yarmouth, I just won't. If you share the sense of frustration, vote with your tiller.

Nothing applies pressure on governing bodies more effectively than the threat of a drop-off in income. If the Yarmouth berthing master chooses to favour plutocratic owners/charterers, then he can be certain of losing my modest custom...

...which is the weak point, because he can afford to. But...

...if a substantial portion of potential visitors/customers express similar readiness to forego Yarmouth's attractions and favour one of the other Solent yacht-stops, bells would be ringing in the port: the town's decreasing income could be blamed directly on inconsistent rule-enforcement in the harbour.

If someone posts information about finding a fingernail in a brand of pie, sales dip. Brand takes extra care not to drop fingernails in product, and sales gradually recover. But if no problem is even acknowledged, the discouraged customers won't readily return to the brand.

If Yarmouth's berthing masters showed strength of character, they'd admit to culpable inconsistency of rule-enforcement, and state categorically that it will not recur. But if they don't even recognise their error, who knows how else they may disappoint their customers?

I'd sooner give the town a miss, till this is acknowledged as unacceptable, by the officials responsible. Am I alone?
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The Yarmouth Berthing Masters do not care if you do not go there. They are employees and arguably you are making their lives less frantic by no turning up.

The only people worth writing to are the appointed commissioners. Yes, I know the harbour master is a commissioner as well, but he is an employee too.

The commission is supposed to run the harbour for the benefit of its stakeholders I.e. resident owners, the town, visitors etc. if they are not doing that then tell them.
 
dancrane said:
...which is the weak point, because he can afford to.
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Quite. They have a "Harbour Full" sign over there, and it does get used.

dancrane said:
...if a substantial portion of potential visitors/customers express similar readiness to forego Yarmouth's attractions and favour one of the other Solent yacht-stops, bells would be ringing in the port
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But are a substantial portion of their visitors really going to stay away from this destination because a handful of people on an Internet forum are annoyed about something?

Pete
 
prv said:
Are a substantial portion of their visitors really going to stay away from this destination because a handful of people on an Internet forum are annoyed about something?
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On that logic, the matter wasn't worth raising here in the first place...

...I'd prefer to believe that fairly general discontent, whether it spreads by word of mouth or through words on screen, raises a distinct feeling of doubt about the subject of the issue...

...for instance, I know I won't be visiting Yarmouth now. Not because the town isn't as interesting as it is often made out to be, but because, apparently, the berthing master has a lofty approach, and can afford to, because so many saps keep going there!

I find it interesting and pleasing, that individuals' points of view enjoy a relatively widespread propagation these days. Yarmouth may not notice an income shortfall after this instance of visitor dissatisfaction...but I doubt I'm the only one who won't return, in consequence.
 
Dan,

no you're not the only one; I've regarded Yarmouth as Plan B since I read of the new layout, and at the end of what's often a long hard beat for me I can do well without that or indeed the 'harbour full' sign I've been met with more than once.

The harbour staff at Yarmouth used to be fantastic, but I get the impression the same thing has happened as at St Peter Port, all the experienced blokes have gone and newbies struggle to fill their shoes.

Yarmouth must - or certainly should - be aware that Lymington has a much easier entrance without hairy cross tides, tons of space so one doesn't get treated as a captive wallet and a lot more available in town in every way...
 
Seajet said:
Dan,

no you're not the only one; I've regarded Yarmouth as Plan B since I read of the new layout, and at the end of what's often a long hard beat for me I can do well without that or indeed the 'harbour full' sign I've been met with more than once.

The harbour staff at Yarmouth used to be fantastic, but I get the impression the same thing has happened as at St Peter Port, all the experienced blokes have gone and newbies struggle to fill their shoes.

Yarmouth must - or certainly should - be aware that Lymington has a much easier entrance without hairy cross tides, tons of space so one doesn't get treated as a captive wallet and a lot more available in town in every way...
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IMHO, this is just silly. Yarmouth is just what it always was. The new layout is quite good, and the harbourmaster blokes are the same genial lot they always were. Anyway, it's hard to avoid Yarmouth if you sail in and out of the Solent - given the strategic location.
 
Not silly

Not difficult

Not strategic !

Yarmouth is distinctly limited in what it has to offer, and at peak tide times is like playing space invaders with one shot to get in re the cross tide - unless one has an humungous engine.

Lymington doesn't turn people away, and if poised for an early morning departure West there are spare moorings to pick up near the entrance, otherwise the town has a great deal to offer, varying shops, pubs & restaurants ( inc one of the best Indians I've ever sampled ), sailing clubs, walks etc.

One can berth at the town quay or in 2 marinas, as well as picking up aforementioned moorings if staying aboard.

Loads of boats to peer at.

How exactly is this silly ?! :)
 
I was moored almost opposite the yacht in question. We commented on the genset running and were concerned that it would spoil a good nights sleep and a glass or two in the cockpit before. It didnt.

I guess we were about 50 feet away so can entirely understand if those closer were less happy.
 
PaulGooch said:
Should be a doddle with your immense boating skills and your top quality boat.
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:D

Of course. As we all know, the Anderson 22 can do anything.

I was "caught out" the first time I took KS to Yarmouth (caught out may be an overstatement, I didn't notice while stowing sails that I had been swept past it, and had to come back). But as long as you're aware, it's hardly a hazard.

For the Scuttlebutt cruise, I pointed the boat up-tide, with tillerpilot on, and enough throttle to stem the tide and stay more or less stationary while I stowed the sails and prepared warps and fenders. When I went there again, I sailed onto one of the visitor moorings and did it there before motoring in.

When I used to go there in bigger charter boats, the tide just wasn't an issue at all.

Get yerself a nice 18hp inboard :D

Pete
 
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