LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
See #10
taking the plunge from motoring to sailing
- Thread starter dava
- Start date
Sharky34
Well-Known Member
He is already experienced in boats, but not in sail, so would be better off getting some idea in that area.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Apologies ...
Triassic
Well-Known Member
120 gallons of fuel....! I haven't used a quarter of that since I bought my boat, and that was eight years ago! On the other hand I've probably spent a fair bit on sails! 
I don't bother contacting any authority with my sailing plans for several reasons. Firstly I guess is they are going to change shift sometime in the next few hours so you are relying on messages getting recorded/passed on before you are expected to arrive at your destination and I just have a complete lack of confidence in these things happening efficiently. Not a knock at the authorities, but can you imagine just how many potential messages they would have to process, the vast majority of which would never need to be retrieved, if this was common practice. If you are so concerned about your forthcoming trip that you think a rescue service ought to know about it should you be really going in the first place?
Secondly most sailing plans are subject to change, far more frequently than we would sometimes like, but wouldn't it be boring if it was just a case of leaving harbour, pressing the "take me to" button and waiting to arrive...... Given how often they change how are you going to update whoever is now expecting you to be somewhere else?
As has been pointed out most of us have family or friends ashore who we can appraise of our rough plan and keep updated fairly easily, especially in coastal waters. I have a SPOT device on board which uses satellites rather than GSM and has proved pretty reliable. In addition to the SOS facility it has other pre-programmed options that you can use to update people via an SMS or email. I use the OK facility to let them know my latest position and the custom feature to let them know there has been a change of plan, but they get your co-ordinates as well so it's easy for them to see that you are holed up somewhere.....
Enjoy the sailing mate, the journey is far better than the destination.....usually!
I don't bother contacting any authority with my sailing plans for several reasons. Firstly I guess is they are going to change shift sometime in the next few hours so you are relying on messages getting recorded/passed on before you are expected to arrive at your destination and I just have a complete lack of confidence in these things happening efficiently. Not a knock at the authorities, but can you imagine just how many potential messages they would have to process, the vast majority of which would never need to be retrieved, if this was common practice. If you are so concerned about your forthcoming trip that you think a rescue service ought to know about it should you be really going in the first place?
Secondly most sailing plans are subject to change, far more frequently than we would sometimes like, but wouldn't it be boring if it was just a case of leaving harbour, pressing the "take me to" button and waiting to arrive...... Given how often they change how are you going to update whoever is now expecting you to be somewhere else?
As has been pointed out most of us have family or friends ashore who we can appraise of our rough plan and keep updated fairly easily, especially in coastal waters. I have a SPOT device on board which uses satellites rather than GSM and has proved pretty reliable. In addition to the SOS facility it has other pre-programmed options that you can use to update people via an SMS or email. I use the OK facility to let them know my latest position and the custom feature to let them know there has been a change of plan, but they get your co-ordinates as well so it's easy for them to see that you are holed up somewhere.....
Enjoy the sailing mate, the journey is far better than the destination.....usually!
RupertW
Well-Known Member
Yes but he hasn’t cruised so was replying to his questions on that.
dava
Member
Thank you so much for all the replies they are really helpful and all taken on board, pun intended.
I'm really looking forward to getting into sailing, I did do a rya course as a young lad and tbh I found it relatively simple having already had a good start on the water, I hope that doesn't come across as over confidence, I am very cautious on the water particularly as I have my 8 year old daughter constantly glued to my hip.
The next advice I will be seeking will be regarding rigging, the boat has everything there but is currently ashore with the mast lying alongside, but I do love a challenge.
The engine in the boat is basically brand new, only 20 hours on the clock so I should be well covered in that sense.
I'm really looking forward to getting into sailing, I did do a rya course as a young lad and tbh I found it relatively simple having already had a good start on the water, I hope that doesn't come across as over confidence, I am very cautious on the water particularly as I have my 8 year old daughter constantly glued to my hip.
The next advice I will be seeking will be regarding rigging, the boat has everything there but is currently ashore with the mast lying alongside, but I do love a challenge.
The engine in the boat is basically brand new, only 20 hours on the clock so I should be well covered in that sense.
grandpaboat
Well-Known Member
obmij
Well-Known Member
Pay a rigger to restep your mast & tune the rigging. By all means have him talk you through it.
Much cheaper than following the well intentioned advice you'll get online
dava
Member
To be honest I didn't even know there was people out there who do that for you. I'm about 6 months away from worrying about that by the time I get all the cosmetic, electrical and mechanical jobs sorted. The previous owner has offered to give any advice and help that he can but he is in poor health so wouldn't want to impose too much.Pay a rigger to restep your mast & tune the rigging. By all means have him talk you through it.
Much cheaper than following the well intentioned advice you'll get online
rob2
Well-Known Member
Hi Dava,
What 's the name of the boat you've acquired and did you say where she is? The Varne Owners Association has quite a few East Coast members who may be of assistance to you as you get her ready. I'm guessing you've got a 2GM20 then? I had a quick flip through the boats which have given engine details but I didn't think any of those listing a 2GM were in your area. It may be significant that one boat based in Southampton has a 10hp engine and they seem to increase in power as you head north! Mine is also in Southampton and has a Sole mini-14, though in interesting conditions I wouldn't mind a couple more horses.
Of course the VOA forum has been quiet as the grave this year - no-one allowed near their boats at the moment. Ordinarily it can be a useful place to shout for help when something specific to the design has you foxed. www.varne.co.uk
Even if you don't find an owners' association to be your cup of tea, we'd love to have the name and maybe sail number of your boat to help us try to piece together a list of them all.
The design is very much of its era, which suits those of us who own them. She's no racer by today's standards but a very capable performer, particularly at handling a bit of weather. I had some conversations with the designer and the funniest thing he said was he'd done all he could to minimise windage - that means no headroom for those over 5'10". Anyway any questions, please ask.
The rig's pretty straightforward really: forestay, cap shrouds, fore and aft lower stays and a split backstay - single spreaders.
Rob.
What 's the name of the boat you've acquired and did you say where she is? The Varne Owners Association has quite a few East Coast members who may be of assistance to you as you get her ready. I'm guessing you've got a 2GM20 then? I had a quick flip through the boats which have given engine details but I didn't think any of those listing a 2GM were in your area. It may be significant that one boat based in Southampton has a 10hp engine and they seem to increase in power as you head north! Mine is also in Southampton and has a Sole mini-14, though in interesting conditions I wouldn't mind a couple more horses.
Of course the VOA forum has been quiet as the grave this year - no-one allowed near their boats at the moment. Ordinarily it can be a useful place to shout for help when something specific to the design has you foxed. www.varne.co.uk
Even if you don't find an owners' association to be your cup of tea, we'd love to have the name and maybe sail number of your boat to help us try to piece together a list of them all.
The design is very much of its era, which suits those of us who own them. She's no racer by today's standards but a very capable performer, particularly at handling a bit of weather. I had some conversations with the designer and the funniest thing he said was he'd done all he could to minimise windage - that means no headroom for those over 5'10". Anyway any questions, please ask.
The rig's pretty straightforward really: forestay, cap shrouds, fore and aft lower stays and a split backstay - single spreaders.
Rob.
DJE
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a fairly simple rig. If you fancy doing it yourself there is lots of information here:
Selden rigging guide
Selden rigging guide
Babylon
Well-Known Member
Well done Dava!
You've got less space, can't go directly into the wind, have to be much more patient and really work the tides, but you'll have a considerably cheaper, quieter and more satisfying boating experience (as well as adding a different set of friends)... what's not to like?!
You've got less space, can't go directly into the wind, have to be much more patient and really work the tides, but you'll have a considerably cheaper, quieter and more satisfying boating experience (as well as adding a different set of friends)... what's not to like?!
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
Your daughter is just the right age to learn to sail and do a bit of helming, if she's a water person she will love it.
dava
Member
That's what I was thinking, she is already fairly competent, she can handle my tender on a 4hp seagull and she can helm my mates 36' pinnace no problem, were just starting on the basics of docking and using the tide to your advantage so sailing will be a good skill set for both of us to have in the bank, of course I've had to promise her we can still go fishing on the yacht haha.
dava
Member
Hi Rob, thanks for the reply, the boat is named bandersnatch based in Sunderland, it belongs to an old friend who has sadly fallen quite ill. There was 2 in Sunderland when I was a kid, the other being the varne Deux, they sailed together along with us on our motorboat to the likes of Scarborough and Whitby, that was a fantastic childhood and my daughter already loves the water.
The engine is a twin cylinder 20hp yanmar which was fitted new a few years ago before being laid up and has only run 20 hours, a good service and she should be fine, from what I've been told she can achieve 6 knots under power.
rob2
Well-Known Member
Great, another "missing" Varne discovered! Sorry to hear that the owner is ill, though. We knew of Varne Deux though have no contact with the owner, as far as I'm aware.
Any idea of Bandersnatch's history? I don't wish to pester you, but then we've most of us got time on our hands at the moment. My boat has been sadly ignored for a couple of years as my pension fund took a big hit when I was made redundant, so I worked on for a couple of years. Just getting tooled up to do a quick refurbish on retirement and now I can't even go to the yard to check she's still standing!
Actually my boat Mojo is a Weston 8500. Derek Weston bought the moulds when Varne went bankrupt and built about a dozen boats. He made some modifications to bring her more in line with more modern designs. He offered fin keel, bilge keel and drop keel variations and increased the cabin headroom. None of these mods met with approval from her designer! Having said that, I know of the exploits of two drop keel owners and, as they point out, it opens up possibilities of anchoring where a fin keel wouldn't dare to go.
Rob.
Any idea of Bandersnatch's history? I don't wish to pester you, but then we've most of us got time on our hands at the moment. My boat has been sadly ignored for a couple of years as my pension fund took a big hit when I was made redundant, so I worked on for a couple of years. Just getting tooled up to do a quick refurbish on retirement and now I can't even go to the yard to check she's still standing!
Actually my boat Mojo is a Weston 8500. Derek Weston bought the moulds when Varne went bankrupt and built about a dozen boats. He made some modifications to bring her more in line with more modern designs. He offered fin keel, bilge keel and drop keel variations and increased the cabin headroom. None of these mods met with approval from her designer! Having said that, I know of the exploits of two drop keel owners and, as they point out, it opens up possibilities of anchoring where a fin keel wouldn't dare to go.
Rob.
dava
Member
I'm not sure of any history other than it must have been in present ownership for I'd guess around 21 years based on when she used to join us on our trips.
I remember doing the roker regatta aboard varne Deux with then owner Keith, I was really impressed with how manouverable she was under power.
Also the use of space inside is amazing but I guess that's standard for all yachts.