Heating update

 The basic install is complete but it needs some further minor changes, namely more insulation. I made a trip to Louisa, the first in over 2 months, on the pretext of checking the moorings after storm Bella over the Christmas period. The moorings were fine, only half a dozen turns on the mooring lines to take out. My guess would be that some kind person at the club had tended the lines. I took paraphernalia with me to progress several jobs; winch fitment, solar panel fittings, various measurements and items to find. One of the jobs I was keen to progress was the heating, specifically the transom flange. The bolts need changing out because try as I might I couldn't tighten then up. 

The heater is located in the engine bay above the stern gland and fits in very nicely below the access hatch in the cockpit. All of the exhaust pipe is insulated and where other hoses cross its path they are also insulated. The insulation on the exhaust pipe gets too hot to touch for more than a second or two so I intend to insulate it with a second layer of the same material and then wrap it in foil tape. Also on the list of follow up jobs is replacement of the fuel hose with better quality hose, addition of a fuel cut off valve, additional support for the fuel tank, proper installation of the control panel and isolator and insulation of the air duct. 

The air it produces is a good temperature and should heat the cabin up nicely once I trust the CO levels. I have a monitor which goes off when I use my Origo spirit stove so it is only a question of time before I rely on the heater.

 

Tier 4

I really hope that the title of this post makes no sense to anyone in a few years time. Louisa has been in Tier 3 for the past 6 weeks and now both I and Louisa have been put in Tier 4. I suspect that this will last for around 2 months so it is going to be March / Easter before I get to check her moorings. That is 4 months. Worried yes, but hopefully someone at the club is keeping an eye on things.  

COVID-19

 Another couple of weeks before I can contemplate a visit to Louisa, this is getting a bit boring now! 

More sheet winches

After getting myself in a tangle when trying to run downwind with a preventer and poled out genoa on my last boat I thought it would be worth looking into twin winch options. As Louisa has an inner fore stay the option of a cutter or slutter rig also seems worth having a go at. So I have bought a couple of twin speed Girdlestone 23 winches cheap off ebay. They are the forerunner of Barton's composite 23's. If I can position them to allow decent sheet leads and improve the winch handle positioning I might improve matters in a number of ways.

New winches installed and tested. 

 

The new winches have full handle swing so sheeting in is much faster. Because they are further forward there are harbour blocks to lead the sheets appropriately. So far so good but not much wind to test them against.

Heating

 As a measure of how soft I am getting I have decided to put heating into Louisa. The plan is to fit a cheap chinesium planer heater in the engine bay, duct warm air into the cabin and take the cool air from the back of the quarter berth. The exhaust will route through to a transom stern gland. 

The heater is bought and onboard, slightly disappointed that I selected the heater for it's simple controller and a more complicated one arrived. I have opened the cockpit sole hatch up so access is good. The route for the warm air duct isn't straight forward but it looks like I can lead the duct through the locker under the quarter berth, only 4 off 60mm holes to drill! The exhaust pipe only needs to go through the aft bulkhead in the engine bay but considerations around heat are a worry. I have made up a bracket to support the heater and ordered the extra ducting and exhaust pipe.

Next stage is to drill holes, some big holes and probably 10 of them! 

Initial install went well apart from a couple of minor problems. A hole in the wrong place and several broken drill bits but the main system is in and working. It took a while for diesel to make its way through to the heater and the transom outlet hasn't been fitted yet. 

Redsands

First sail for a few weeks and with the hull recently scrubbed off and the prop clean we had a lovely gentle sail out to Redsands Towers in the Thames Estuary. A friend came along and we put the big blue sail up as soon as we got going. F1/2 SW'ly and we made a solid 5 knots with the ebb. 3 1/2 hours later with the big blue one down we rounded the towers as the wind picked up and backed to SSW F4. With the self steering doing it's thing we made it back to the Medway against the tide in good time. A great sail back to Gillingham reach where we put the engine on for the last 1/2 mile to the mooring. Whilst bringing the big sail down the halyard left the top of the mast so a quick run up the mast on the block and tackle with bosun's chair and that was fixed. The tide was set for an earliest return to the club of 18:30. We missed one of the whithies and had to punt through the shallow mud to find the channel. As we reached the club the end of the dinghy slip was just covered. All in all a very successful trip out.

Racing

 To be clear, I am not very good and I only race to try and improve my sailing skills. I took part in two of the autumn regatta races last weekend and came last in both. Beaten on handicap by a Westerly, a Trapper and a Cormanche cat. It wasn't even close but as the skipper of the Trapper said as he overtook me shortly after the start of the first race. 

"This is a race for who has the cleanest hull" 

and Louisa was fairly weeded up. Another factor that only became apparent on the upwind leg, when I tacked from starboard to port, the genoa caught on the cross trees. To get round this I needed to partially furl the genoa before tacking. I reckon that with a clean hull and the obstruction on the cross trees sorted out I might be in contention. I do know a bit better how to sail Louisa and she can sail downwind by the lee. Rigging a preventer and poling out the genoa is very straight forward so down wind legs are going to be better. Upwind still needs work but I have some ideas.

Club Rally

 Went out for the long weekend with the intention of sailing to Brightlingsea but about a hour out of the river Medway and the F8 Northerly was too much so I turned back and met up with some other club boats in Sharfleet Creek.

Job List Progress

 Last weekend saw several jobs progress including a windlass cover, genoa repair, continued work on the electrical system and fitting the outboard bracket in the head. I went out for a quick motor round to charge the batteries and check things over but had a problem. Smoke and a weird noise starting emanating from the engine bay. I stopped the engine and sailed back on to my mooring. The positive cable from the domestic battery fell on to the prop shaft and was arcing over. Very easy to fix and no great drama but a bit alarming at the time.

First trip out of the river

The weekend before last was my first trip out of the river Medway in Louisa. We set off on the morning tide and made it out to Shimmering Sands Towers before the tide changed. The wind gradually increased to F5 from the South West and by the time I was passing the Kentish Flats windfarm the wind speed was F7. I put a reef in whilst hove to and all worked well despite it being a bit bouncy. I then sailed up to the Ham Gat buoy before putting the engine on. Motor sailing against the wind into the Swale from the east was a bit tricky but she made it in OK and we were anchored by mid afternoon.

We picked a calm spot in the lee of the Conyer Penisular and had a good rest overnight. The next morning we set off back the way we had come and with a SW F4 made it back to the Medway for early afternoon. As I was passing the gas terminal in the Medway I spotted another club boat entering the Medway. She gradually caught me and by the time we were entering Gillingham Reach we were alongside each other having a great to and fro sail back to the moorings. 

A great first proper sail and hopefully a sign of things to come.  

 

Anti foul (on the cheap)

Total cost, a cup of tea and water! A friend of mine gave me an almost full tin of antifoul paint and another friend helped me clean the hull and apply the paint. I used the clubs scrubbing dock and after a hard days work in the sun Louisa now has a Vision-On style hull.

We finished the antifoul off with the dregs of an old tin I had. It would have cost more if I had more than one tea bag!

Also managed to fit the self steering and change over the anchor chain + some other minor jobs. The self steering is a Mk 2 Sea Feather and  despite not having any instructions it went together reasonably easily.

Hopefully the lock down will be over soon and I can go sailing properly.

Job List Progress

A good day of progress, multiple items off the short term list including;

• electrical distribution
• voltage sensing relay
• windlass service
• sampson post install
• jib sheet winch cam locks serviced and re-installed

And gave my mate a tow back on to his mooring after he had his engine lifted in at a local boat yard.

Next on the list are some medium term job like fit the self steering and hull scrub and wash.

First Post Lockdown Sail

What a fabulous day, steady F4 easterly and warm dry weather. The weather has been the best sailing conditions I can remember for April and May and this was the first time I made it out for a sail. Only made it to Stangate Creek and back, it was wonderful. I ache all over but it feels OK.

Lock down visit

My first visit for months since the virus started to get a grip and no real problems. Someone had kindly checked the moorings and added a bow line and someone else had secured the sprayhood. Inside there was a bit of mildew but nothing significant. The engine started first do, oil was good, batteries fine, no water in the bilge so all good. I spent the day checking things over - 50m of 8mm anchor chain quite rusty, electrical distribution moves forward, slowly. I need to find a better way of holding tools in place while I work on the other side of a bulkhead. Anchor windlass needs servicing, I might be able to take it off and do this at home. Hopefully I'll get to visit again next weekend and go for a sail. Everyone at the club was doing their bit to respect the social distancing guidelines and personal hygiene measures.

Well that's torn it

Plans for 2020 are obviously on hold with the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The club is closed and with travel restrictions and social distancing there is no opportunity to visit Louisa. When I was last at the boat about three weeks ago I made a start on the primary electrical system. The boat is in a mess and wasn't left in a state suitable for a long absence. The mooring lines weren't properly doubled up and not everything was stowed properly. Apparently the river is very quiet and so hopefully the boat will be safe.

How long this goes on for no one knows; three months, six months or longer. Unless I post about some of the boat projects I am doing at home this blog will be sparse..

Something to look forward to.  The Jester Challenge next year is planned to be a dual Baltimore and Azores event in 2021. I wonder if I'll have enough money left to take part?

2020 Plans

Unless things change dramatically I won't have enough time for anything too adventurous this year. I had hoped to do the Jester Challenge which goes to the Azores in June. I'd need about 3 months to do this but work is busier than ever and I haven't made sufficient progress getting Louisa ready. So I intend to head north and meet a mate in Newcastle for a gentle sail along the Northumbrian coast.

First proper sail

First sail of the season and first sail for me on Louisa. It was excellent. On Saturday I took her out for a short sail to find out what didn't work; a winch and a possible problem with the electrical distribution. On Sunday it was the annual winter rally to Queenborough. 8 boats and around 24 club members which was an excellent run out. Two friends joined me on Louisa and we had an excellent sail. Down river was with the tide and wind and we managed over half the passage with the cruising chute up. It pulled nicely and was a probably more than I could have managed on my own. We then sailed up the Swale to Queenborough against the tide and, first and probably a last for me and Louisa, with an onshore breeze one of my friends took Louisa alongside under sail. He then serviced the dodgy winch and removed excess grease which fixed the problem. It was great to be taking the sails down from the quay side. Lunch at the Flying Dutchman and then a sail against the wind back. Really pleased with the boat and her performance. All three of us enjoyed the trip. However, I do remember feeling the same last year when I did the trip in Mischief!