Westerlly Centaur - 3 men - 500 miles - six days and four nights - good fun - 37 mins

jac said:
Loved that Dylan.

Not sure about the radar reflector orientation though :)


Right - back to work
Click to expand...


I was not that bothered. And with the boat picthing around all over the shop I assume that it was in and out of orientation all the time (for those who did not see it was suspended across the back of the gantry,

we came past Harwich at night and one of the pilot vessels came over and put a spotlight on us for a second or two

so we were obviously on the traffic radar. I am sure they are used to Yachts on that route

we gave them a slow calm wave from the cockpit

Capturing the feeling of six days and four mights of travelling was a bit of a challenge - give me a nice river and big fat mobo wash to film any day

D
 
Last edited:
Enjoyed the video Dylan, it delivered on the feel of the voyage over a number of days and I liked the banter, what a great experience and really well presented too!

Thanks for sharing and for all the effort and skill that went into producing it

It seems like you were always on watch and the other lazy boyz were always asleep or cooking, good thing the autopilot was pulling its weight ;)
 
IanR said:
Enjoyed the video Dylan, it delivered on the feel of the voyage over a number of days and I liked the banter, what a great experience and really well presented too!

Thanks for sharing and for all the effort and skill that went into producing it

It seems like you were always on watch and the other lazy boyz were always asleep or cooking, good thing the autopilot was pulling its weight ;)
Click to expand...


cheers for that - two hour watches - and no-one did any filming when I was asleep.

It felt like an achievement

so that is a good thing.

I think all three of us learned a bit about ourselves

the box of fish soups is pretty crazy

but then I got some red shoes the other day

The Centaur aquitted herself beautifully

as Roger said she just put her shoulder into the waves - maybe that Westerly shoulder is there for a purpose

I want to track down a replacement for Harmony to use around the outside of Ireland - three years time


I am going to miss the space and the comparative quietness of the engine - although you are always releived to turn the bloody thing off

D
 
Hi Dylan,
Really excellent video of your trip. I enjoyed it a lot. You should hang on to your crew they seemed to stand up well to the trip and stay in good humour.
I would appreciate some tips on how to make such a professional video. Last summer I sailed from Northumberland to Lancaster via Scotland and have some great video . I can offer some insights into the next leg of your trip if this would help - just p.m. me.
Thanks again for a great video and ktl
Martin
 
Makes me want to get my boat in the water and go sailing! It must be hard to make a video when most of the time all you can see is water. Never having been to Scarborough I would have liked the photos to have stayed on the screen a bit longer. Liked the video, great for watching in bed on this rainy Essex morning!
 
I really enjoyed the video. I appreciate the amount of work that goes into collating and editing the shots, not to mention overlaying the music. Stirring stuff and I can't wait to get back on the water, myself.

Funnily enough, as a cruising sailor myself, I'd love to know how you manage the battery and the autopilot with only an outboard. My Autohelm 2000 is capable of flattening a 100ah service battery in about four hours, which kinda makes running the engine necessary to keep the volts up. I often have to do this on a channel crossing even without using my laptop plotter, and killing all non-essential stuff like the echo-sounder.
 
Topcat47 said:
My Autohelm 2000 is capable of flattening a 100ah service battery in about four hours
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right to me. Kindred Spirit's service battery was either 60 or 80 (can't remember) and I'm sure I got a lot more than that out of an AH800 and then an ST2000. Is it constantly working against unbalanced sails or something?

Pete
 
It's certainly quite twitchy, I suppose. I've not dialled the sensitivity up high or anything, but it is a very old system with a ram and not one of the modern ones with a belt drive either. It's got an epicyclic gearbox. Now I'm wondering if I ought to try to dismantle the body of the ram and flush to with release oil or something similar. Apart from having the motor re-wound (no spares available) it's been more or less left to it's own devices for over 20 years. When something works, though.....
 
Topcat47 said:
It's certainly quite twitchy, I suppose. I've not dialled the sensitivity up high or anything, but it is a very old system with a ram and not one of the modern ones with a belt drive either. It's got an epicyclic gearbox. Now I'm wondering if I ought to try to dismantle the body of the ram and flush to with release oil or something similar. Apart from having the motor re-wound (no spares available) it's been more or less left to it's own devices for over 20 years. When something works, though.....
Click to expand...


+1
 
aquaplane said:
Good video, I really enjoyed that.

A Centaur may not like pointing overmuch but ease the sheets a bit and they bowl along nicely :)

Especially if there is plenty wind to work with, within reason.
Click to expand...

actually, as an unmasked ex-racing compulsive sail tweaker, I think they are pretty close winded. If the wind is strong and you are overpressed then you have to pinch a bit in the gusts. A boat with a decent deep keel will heel, dump the wind from the top of the sail and come to an equilibrium

If you overpress the Centaur then that windward keel starts to cavitate and feels as though you are towing a mooring bouy.

I loved the lightness on the helm and her general stiffness

I am really going to miss her.

The gear is a good size, the accommodation is second to none for her size, the cockpit is really good - big and deep with some lovely spots to hide. The foredeck is a good lounging and working area.


The genoa was great - the main is pretty good for its age

As for the music

the piano is Carter Burwell - it is the music from True Grit 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Burwell

the other is/or was (he is dead now) a bloke called martyn bennet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyn_Bennett

both available for freemans on spotify

D
 
dylanwinter said:
actually, as an unmasked ex-racing compulsive sail tweaker, I think they are pretty close winded. If the wind is strong and you are overpressed then you have to pinch a bit in the gusts. A boat with a decent deep keel will heel, dump the wind from the top of the sail and come to an equilibrium

D
Click to expand...

You can't go saying that on here. Everyone knows that bilge keels are the kiss of death and you may as well fire up the donk before trying to beat, it's a motor sailer.

I agree with you though, I think they do OK. No doubt there are more sprightly and closer winded boats but the performance/comfort balance is just about spot on with the Centaur.
 
aquaplane said:
You can't go saying that on here. Everyone knows that bilge keels are the kiss of death and you may as well fire up the donk before trying to beat, it's a motor sailer.

I agree with you though, I think they do OK. No doubt there are more sprightly and closer winded boats but the performance/comfort balance is just about spot on with the Centaur.
Click to expand...

having owned a twin keel , a tripple (shallow keel and bilge keels, a drop keel , a pivot plate and a deep fin yacht

the Centaur sails excellently. Old LG knew a bit about yacht design. She is a fine little yacht with a big heart.

so, if anyone knows of one with a knackered engine.....

D
 
Brilliant work as usual Dylan.
I have been trying to work out whether long hops would get me from the Medway to the Exe without taking all my holiday. My main concern was whether our little ships could stem the tide but you showed it was well worth staying out.

Night sailing is not always relaxing is it, but ive had some wonderful moments under a full dome of stars with blazing phosphorus cascading down the hull.

I watched the new vid of you getting Harmony too. Wonderful to be able to go boat hunting from the sofa. How long have you got her for now? Very much looking forward to the Scottish episodes.

Its actually about time the beeb gave you a mini series. Concept well proven in my view.

Best of luck to you

S
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top