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APRIL 2010
Manoeuvre like an expert with bow and stern thrusters
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CONTENTS APRIL 2010
REGULARS Word from the Water................................10 Discover a new way to buy your accessories
Superyacht News......................................16 Feeling the love on the seismic Predator 130
Classics Update.........................................19 Is there a change of heart at Windermere?
Word from the Circuit...............................20 The case for powerboats in the Olympics
Boating Accessories..................................23 Wakeboard action from your living room
Word from the Web..................................31 Moment of magic on a Jersey sandbank
Show Watch..............................................52 The low down on boat exhibitions near you
Skipper’s Tuition........................................91 The pro’s pre-season spending spree
RYA Page...................................................95 Top green tips for antifoulers
Naughtical Terms......................................96 A marine glossary for silly people
WIN...........................................................99 A month’s free berthing worth £950
FEATURES Yam with a plan.........................................35 Yamaha engines coming to a transom near you . . .
Cruise in company.....................................40 Invitation from the Pathfinders Powerboat Club
Child prodigy............................................43 Get your kids involved in powerboating
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Classic News
NEWS I CLASSIC BOATS
WINDERMERE RECONSIDERS After years of enforced speed restrictions and destructive heavy handedness, is the tide finally about to turn in favour of common sense? Simon Everett takes a look at the latest goings on in the Lake District . . .
A
bout 21 years ago, a few like-minded individuals got together to dream up the idea of a gathering of classic boaters as guests of the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club. The wheels were quickly put in motion and those early rallies grew into some of the most significant classic motor boat events in Europe. In fact they eventually began attracting people from all over the world. Owners would bring their boats all the way from Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and Germany - and it didn’t end there. The British Classic Motor Boat Rally spawned a raft of events across Europe, planting the acorn that would grow into the Classic Motor Boat Association of Great Britain. I am not sure the original founders realised quite how great an impact their enthusiastic little gathering would have.
The modern rally
This year, the Classic Motor Boat Rally is celebrating its 21st year but sadly the Windermere Steamboat Museum is no longer available to accommodate them. Thanks to the mismanagement of the lake and the absurd imposition of a blanket speed limit, the Windermere event has been forced to relocate to Coniston, where the show goes on undeterred. Each year, classic motor boaters arrive to continue the tradition that began in August 1989 with the first rally. It is a friendly participant’s event but there is also plenty for visitors to see. The boats are welcome all over the lake, even at the National Trust Fell Foot Park and at Castle Wray harbour where a strawberry and cream tea is made specially available for the classic rally. The boats visit every corner of the lake and the atmosphere remains jovial, responsible and inclusive. In fact, this year, the rally is apparently going to receive a Champagne reception on the Friday evening, a trip to the Royal Windermere Yacht Club and a gala dinner on the Saturday night with an enormous ‘Coming of Age’ 21st birthday cake. There will also be a grand parade and Concours d’Elegance on Sunday afternoon, following a trip to the south lake for coffee. The expected turnout is such that the organisers are planning to limit the entries to the first 50 boats to apply. It is going to be an event worthy of a 21st birthday and Sports Boat and RIB Magazine will be there to bring you a full report on the goings on.
Windermere developments?
Sticking with the Windermere theme, we have received news that some exemptions may be granted in the new speed limit proposals that are
currently with DEFRA for signing off. One of these proposals would, hopefully, allow an exemption to the speed limit for the Classic Motor Boat Rally. There has been an application by the Lake District National Park for a speed limit exemption for Records Week too and apparently the National Park would rather the Records Week was moved back to Windermere. Could it be a tinge of jealousy and regret we sniff on the air? Either way, if it happens, this could pave the way for other exemptions to be granted for established events and the classic rally would certainly be on the list. Nothing is confirmed yet, and there are other flies in the ointment - not least the fact that the people of Coniston village actually like hosting the Records Week. It is very good for a bout of strong trade at the end of the season, particularly as the participants are well known for spending their money and enjoying the festival to the utmost. And if the speed limit exemptions do come to pass, another spin-off of that might be the resurrection of the endurance race. The endurance records have not been challenged since the move to Coniston and the fact that it is again on the cards is down to the hard work and diligence of the enthusiasts and the locals who were so seriously affected by the steamrollering of the unlawful speed limit in the first place. We can only hope that a little common sense is finally about to seep back into the corridors of the power-crazed . . .
Above: Only a committed moron could fail to appreciate the loveliness of these classic boats
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SIX OF THE BEST WEATHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS Weather information for leisure boaters has undergone a change from the days when the man and woman in the Swiss clock were about the best indicators of trends. In fact today we are, if anything, overburdened with weather stats and prognoses but unfortunately, they do not always agree with each other. It puts me in mind of an occasion, about three years ago, when I was assured by the internet that we would have a tail wind from Mallorca down to Ibiza. In the event, we got an uncomfortable force 5 for the whole trip. And now, after several years of painful trial and error, I have removed that source from my definitive list of forecasts. That trustworthy selection, which has narrowed from about 30 available sources to a single figure, is about as good as it gets and below, I have cherry-picked what I now consider to be the best and most reliable weather forecasting methods available. Colin Jones reports . . .
1 NASA Clipper Weatherman Radio Telex - ÂŁ289 Special features: Left to its own devices, it relays the total gamut of German Wetterdienst forecasts, area by area from the eastern Med, via Gibraltar and the English Channel and into the eastern Baltic. Then it starts all over again, day after day. A very high-contrast display of 16 lines x 40 characters makes it easy to read and yet it consumes only 50mA and comes supplied with an antenna. Personal reasons: The NWRT is very versatile because you can select your actual cruising area, or look at where friends are suffering. There is a choice between 24, 36, 48 or 72-hour forecasts, as well as a fiveday prediction, all displayed in a set formula of abbreviations, which is easy to understand. There is huge scope for tuning out unwanted data and happily, this is just one of a suite of three similar navaid instruments. It looks good and it is good.
Source - www.nasamarine.com
2 Wetterbox WIB2D - ÂŁ325 Special features: This is an upgrade of the little Navtex unit touched on elsewhere in this issue, but with the addition of a barograph. The Navtex is standard, but the barometric pressure data is stored for seven days and there is also a 48-hour trend forecast. The internal battery lasts for three days and can be recharged via a USB lead, or from a 230V source. Personal reasons: Both for pleasure and for purpose, I like to have weather data available no matter where I am. The little WIB2D is ultra portable because it has its own, surprisingly efficient, integral, ferrite rod antenna. Text data is pretty good, but I also like to be able to monitor trends and these are best interpreted by past and present barometric pressures. Anyway, the little gadget also impresses all my friends.
Source - www.mesltd.co.uk
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LIFESTYLE I FORUM
FORUM FOCUS WWW.SPORTSBOAT.CO.UK
TRIP TO THE BANK
Dear Ed, I’ve attached a photo of my RIB beached on a sandbank nine miles south of Jersey on Les Minques reef. This photo to me epitomises all that’s good about owning a boat . . .
Paul Maguire, Jersey
GO SLOW SPEEDO
EXE MARKS THE SPOT
Noddy The River Exe is often overlooked (or feared) but take a look because it’s well worth the effort. Exmouth marina usually has a berth available for the night, and Exmouth is a lively town. The slipway is close to the marina and useable for most of the tide. You just have to be careful of a fast running spring tide. The five-mile trip up river includes excellent views and a water ski area. The speed limit outside the ski area is ten knots, but this is not rigorously enforced - just be considerate to others, especially in the narrow areas and watch out for sailing dinghies. At the top of the navigable river and reachable for most of the tide is Topsham. This pretty town must have the highest concentration of outstanding pubs and restaurants in Britain. And for those wanting the bright city lights, you can go through the lock and follow Britain’s oldest canal right into Exeter city centre. Anyone considering coming to the Exe should do his homework first as it has a few issues with fast tides and a moving sandbar. The ‘Shell Channel Pilot’ is, as always, an excellent source of information.
baaldi Carlbenson5 I’m just about ready to install my speedo, but I’m not 100 per cent sure how to position and fix the pitot. Do I position it in the middle of the boat or is it better to be over to one side? Also, I’m not sure how to fix it in position. Do I use self-tapping screws? Do I drill through the hull or part way through the hull? I’m glad I found this site - I’d be stuffed without it!
jokaboat Fix it on the lowest point you can, offset from the prop. Only drill as deep as you need to for the self-tappers and squeeze a drop of Sikaflex or a similar sealant into the hole before screwing into place. That should stop water seeping in. When I removed the depth sender from my last boat, the previous owner had bedded it onto a thin pad of sealant, which is probably not a bad idea.
I agree with Noddy. This area is well worth a cruise and Exmouth Marina is very accommodating. I moored there in July 2009 for two hours and wasn’t even charged. Ten quid extra in the pocket was much appreciated. If you want to have a laugh and watch some boaters recovering their boats in the fast tides, just sit outside of the slipway to the right of the entrance to Exmouth Marina. But as Noddy says, despite the hazards, it’s a really nice cruise up the river to Topsham (see below). As for the aforementioned lock, I remember this well, having had to turn a six-metre RIB in the lock entrance to pass my Powerboat Instructor’s Course. Not difficult? It is when the lock is only 6.5 metres wide. Let us know if you come down this way and we can organise a little gathering.
dpb101 I agree with Joka. Just make sure the holes aren’t too small or you could burst some gel coat from around the screw. And if the screw gets tight before getting home, enlarge the hole a little. The bit should be bigger than the screw shaft, but smaller than the thread. Offsetting it about 300 to 450mm from the leg is most common.
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LIFESTYLE I BOAT BOARDING
T Buoyed by the appearance of two new boat brands, Matt Crowhurst thinks we are about to hit a brave new age of boat riding . . .
here is no doubt that the credibility of British and European wakeboarding has grown massively over the past two or three years. But it is Cable Wakeboarding in which Europe has led the way and, given that it was invented in ths part of the world, that is hardly surprising. But this wasn’t always the case in the UK. Once upon a time it was our skills on the wake and the numerous boat contests taking place around the country that made the British riding scene such a thriving one. The UK tour was at the heart of this, hitting a seven-stop series at its most successful and catering for everyone - guys and girls, young and old, from Rookie to Pro. For over ten years the entire riding community travelled up and down the country together throughout the summer months. The National Championships took things on and the publicity that Wakestock added from 2000 onwards was invaluable. This solid foundation was the basis on which our riders dominated the European boat riding scene and the accolades rolled in - multiple team golds, numerous individual European titles and even several on the World stage too. So what do the likes of Dan Nott, Sam & Johnny Carne, Marc Rosssiter, and Jonty Green all have in common? Well believe it or not, they all honed their competition skills riding on the UK boat tour back in their younger years. So to have the tour returning in 2010 is something that will have both the riders and the followers of the sport extremely excited. Perhaps, after all these years, we can begin to rediscover the buzz that was created during those pioneering days of wakeboarding.
The foreign competition
You may be forgiven for thinking that all this talk of the boat riding demise is a load of tosh, seeing as 2009 saw the UK take European Team gold once again and the ever-present podium man, Dan Nott, making another European Championship Pro title his own. And actually you would have a point - after all, there is no doubt that we have some serious talent across all disciplines in boat riding. But how will these amazing young riders, like Jorge Gill, Sam Weinstein, Freddie Carter, Charlotte Bryant, Paul Johnson and David O’Caoimh, make that big step onto the world stage? It really is a mammoth leap when you consider that every single one of the smaller contests taking place in the States and (to a slightly lesser extent) Australia,
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LIFESTYLE I TORQUAY
TORQUAY
Queen of the English Riviera It’s not just a spot for bad B&Bs, lock down lager louts and palm tree promenades. Apparently Torquay is also one of the south coast’s most practical cruising bases. John Cooke reports.
B
e in no doubt. Torquay is a major destination in the southwest and a fantastic place to be based for a spot of discovery. Apart from the other two towns in Torbay – Paignton and Brixham - there are a number of genuinely spectacular places within easy reach of Torquay, from Dartmouth in the south to Shaldon and Teignmouth in the north, that would be ideal for an easy cruise for lunch, or else for anchoring up and swimming ashore to one of the sandy beaches. However, Torquay is more than just a good base for local cruising. It also has 16 square miles of sea and 22 miles of coastline that are extremely well sheltered from the prevailing winds. Vessels of all kinds have been sheltering here since the English Channel
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ON THE WATER I MARINO APB27
MARINO APB27 It’s fun to play with, challenging to look at and distinctly exclusive in terms of price. But is it good enough to justify the hype? Paul Mahy investigates the Marino APB27. Pictures courtesy of Zoja Gresnerova and Wessex Marine.
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ON THE WATER I RIBQUEST 780 ADVENTURER
RIBQUEST 780
adventurer
From the well-established Ribquest name comes a boat to fill the traditionalist with joy. Mike Pullen reports.
R
ibquest boats have been around for a long while in the UK but when the new owners took over in 2008, they did so with a firm plan in mind. They already knew that the existing hull designs were extremely seaworthy but they wanted to add bombproof build quality to the brand’s list of assets and they wanted to make sure they were recognised for that. As a result, modern Ribquest boats (even their leisure hulls) are built to commercial standards. They are not of course the fastest things on the water because of the extra weight they carry, but they are certainly built to withstand years of abuse without showing the slightest strain - and that makes sense. After all, are leisure boaters really that worried about squeezing the last knot out of a design? Probably not. Instead, what they want is to make sure their investment is able to repay them with some proper long term resilience. In the real RIB world more than any other element of leisure boating, that is what proper value for money is all about.
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TALKING POINT I NAVTEX
NAVIGATOR’S ASSET Words on a screen? Information updates you have to read? This is not some sick joke. This is good old-fashioned Navtex. Colin Jones reports on the cruise boater’s steadfast electronic friend . . .
T
he word ‘Navtex’ explains exactly what the system does - it provides navigation information in text format. When it first appeared in a form suitable for recreational craft, it was hailed as a minor miracle and was the only source of weather data, other than voice broadcasting by coast radio stations (which is now defunct). Over the years, much of this Navtex function has been surpassed by better technology, but this has not greatly reduced its popular usefulness. The beauty of Navtex is that it is always there. Your selected information is recorded and can be consulted at any time, without chaining yourself to a display screen, a radio, or a pencil and paper. My own Navtex receiver is switched on in April and left on until at least September. Its electric current draw is minimal and it needs no rolls
of paper, nor ink. Every fifth day, it clears its memory of the oldest information and starts again. It is comforting to have such a reliable on board assistant, always there, reliably in the background. ‘Selected information’ is an important phrase here though, because, although most of us see Navtex primarily as a weather machine, it does very much more than this. The original concept saw it as an MSI (Marine Safety Information) tool, before it was adopted into the Global Marine Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) as a low cost, total sea safety info facility for coastal water. That makes it comprehensive but (for some people) it can also make it confusing. We meet plenty of skippers who can’t be bothered with Navtex, because they don’t have the patience to scroll through all that guff. But, as ever with boats, if there is a problem, the first place to look for its source is the operator . . .
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TALKING POINT I THRUSTERS
CONTROL FREAK
the case for the thruster Forget glossy trinkets and prodigious powerplants. When the time comes to bring your boat alongside in a busy marina, nothing will give you more pleasure than some well-placed thrusters. John Cooke reports.
B
ow and stern thrusters are seen by many old sea dogs as unnecessary, but for those that have them they are an invaluable aid that can make boating not just more pleasurable but also safer. Although bow thrusters are usually fitted by the boat builder, they can also be retrofitted in most cases. They usually comprise a sealed tube that passes through the hull below the waterline with a propeller or propellers in the tube powered by a reversible electric or hydraulic motor. The stern thruster tends to use an external tube located on the outside of the hull but in both cases their purpose is to help the skipper manoeuvre his boat effectively by offering him the option of sideways propulsion.
The case for thrusters
It is certainly the case that, with a pair of motors driven by shafts rather than outdrives, a good helmsman can manoeuvre his way into many places that look impossible. But on any boat with large topsides that tend to be significantly affected by the wind, a pair of thrusters makes even the trickiest situation possible. For instance, imagine that you are trying to come alongside while a strong breeze is blowing you away from the pontoon. It’s mid-summer on a busy stretch of water and there are not only boats everywhere you look but also a healthy number of spectators, just waiting for you to mess the whole thing up. With a little help from your thrusters, you can simply propel your boat sideways against the breeze. In fact, there is even a system available that will keep a little thrust going to hold you onto the pontoon while you tie up. The crowd will melt away disappointed and you will avoid getting disheartened by the ignominy of a highprofile manoeuvering trauma. Of course arriving isn’t the only situation where they help. When the wind is blowing onto the shore or pontoon, leaving can be quite an issue, and while everyone else is employing the ‘go ahead on the bow line and squash your best fender’ technique, you can gently move sideways away from the quay and motor off. And another often overlooked benefit is the fact that it makes shorthanded boating a huge amount easier - so if you harbour dreams of a bigger boat for just you, the wife and the dog, you know that the controls available to you at the helm station make that a genuine possibility. Obviously then, just as a combination of a boat’s regular propulsive thrust and a bow thruster makes things easier by allowing you a greater selection of manoeuvres from which to choose, so the addition of a stern thruster can make things easier still.
Size and type
The factors involved in the selection of the right product come down to the cost, the weight in the boat, the length of the craft and the amount of windage created by its above waterline cross-section. Most boats above 45 feet in length now come fitted with at least a bow thruster, but I have seen sub 30-foot boats fitted with them, especially if they have large superstructures or awnings that tend to catch the wind. To give you a better idea of what it might cost you, the starting point for a boat of up to 30 feet (which would tend to involve a 30kg thruster with a tunnel diameter of around five inches), would set you back
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SEAFARING SUPERSTITIONS Ever since the first man set sail across the oceans, sailors have put their faith in superstition to defend them against the irresistable ravages of the sea. In the face of 60-foot swells and storm-force winds, would you be brave enough to discount it? Alex Smith investigates . . .
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TALKING POINT I SUPERSTITIONS
A
ny undertaking in which there is an element of chance always seems to spawn a host of superstitions. These superstitions, some outlandish and some rather prosaic, are designed to load the dice in the favour of the person who observes them. We see it in gambling, in romance and even in professional sport. Turn on the TV or take a walk down the high street and you see gargoyles and mascots, symbols and ceremonies - and one way or another it is all dedicated to warding off the bad stuff and bringing you the security and good fortune you need to get by in an uncertain and dangerous world. It’s easy to see why seafarers might feel inclined to embrace this natural human tendency and take it to the extreme. I remember talking to Alan Priddy, the record breaking trans-Atlantic and Round the World RIB skipper. He related a story of being caught many hundreds of miles from help or shelter off the south coast of Greenland. A huge squall raged around him, with 80-foot swells, and chunks of ice being whipped off breaking crests and flung like cannonballs by violent winds. Having been exposed to seas like this, you can understand why you would embrace every opportunity, however tenuous, to maximise your chances of a happy outcome.
The modern context
By today’s standards, some old seafaring superstitions seem to advocate a course of action so resoundingly and self-evidently prudent that you would hope they might go without saying. For instance, you should apparently avoid wearing the clothes of a dead sailor when you go to sea. If you do, your entire ship’s company is in for a tough time - and not just because you smell of rotting flesh or because you’re too tight-fisted to buy yourself a fresh set of bell-bottoms - but because your actions have most likely condemned yourself and your crew to a watery grave. Other superstitions seem to be borne from a more practical appreciation for the things that a sailor needs. Bananas and women, for instance, are notoriously bad luck to have on board. Both would seem as arbitrary as the dead sailor’s clothes until you understand that bananas could give off dangerous gasses when confined in bulk below decks, knocking out (and potentially killing) sailors. As for the women, well it’s no great secret that a woman can send a man to heights of passion or pits of despair, sometimes within the space of a sentence. Such raised and unpredictable emotions are not good on a long voyage, particularly among 400 similarly inflamed men. It is plainly a crucial topic so what follows is a run down of some of the more famous seafaring superstitions. As the time for the first launch of the new season approaches, you might want to take a few notes . . .
Animals
Animals seem to be broadly split between those you should worship and those you should abuse. Albatrosses, for instance, are said to carry the immortal souls of lost sailors so any seaman who kills an albatross will have woe brought upon him. Conversely (and despite their unfortunate reputation), black cats are a distinctly good omen, offering good luck and the promise of a safe return from sea. Given that black is the colour of death and black bags or clothing are harbingers of doom, this seems odd. But when you realise that this functions as a petty rebuttal to the ‘black cat’ superstitions of landlubbers, all begins to fall into place. The animals thing doesn’t end there though. If a rabbit
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TALKING POINT I NEW SEASON
Get set for the new
season
As the new season eases into view, Jon Mendez gives us a run down on the kit you need and the precautions you should take to make yourself ready for a summer of boating fun.
I
f you’re a relatively practical type, there are plenty of things you can do to ready yourself for that first trip. Spark plugs, for instance, are a common issue, particularly on two-strokes, so take a look and if need be, change them for new ones. The job is simple and the expense is very minor. The same goes for an oil change and for your air, water and oil filters. Checking your cooling hoses for cracks and your electrical wiring for good connections is also well worth doing. But this is basically the common sense stuff involved in a service so we’ll leave that to you, your user manual, your can of WD40 and your service engineer.
Battery issues
A marine battery is often a more complicated issue. If your boat has been left with the battery installed over the winter, take it out and check it. If it is a traditional open vented lead-acid battery, make sure the cells have the required amount of battery acid and if necessary, top them up with distilled water. Battery life can be difficult to predict, even if you take great care of it, so before you go out, get your local garage to put a load tester on it. If possible remove it and top it up with distilled water first. Clean the terminals and the cable connections with a wire brush and then refit it with a good smear of Vaseline. Be aware though that batteries only have a certain life span and it is sometimes impossible to restore a discharged battery, so a replacement may be needed. When buying a new battery it is important to get a marine-specific model, as they can be left for long periods without activity and have a low self-discharge rate. Look out also for moulded carrying handles, to make moving and recharging more manageable and dual terminals, which make wiring up additional items a more straightforward job. A viewing ‘window’, which makes it clear at a glance whether the battery is charged up, is also a useful feature. Call Manbat on 01743 460790 or visit www.manbat.co.uk for details.
Anodes
Outboards and sterndrive legs are made of special aluminium alloys that the manufacturers tell us are corrosion resistant – and on their own they are, but in close proximity to other metals they’re not, so inspect and replace any anodes that are worn by as much as 50 per cent. Check whether aluminium anodes are acceptable and if they are, consider using ‘red spot’ replacements from performance metals which offer superior performance and have a wear indicator.
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