Contents august 2011 Issue 172
Win DRY BAGS p30
24 pages of cruising
78 CRUISING The Gulf of Amvrakikos.
98 SEAMANSHIP The big five of handling under power. 04 Sailing Today August 2011
www.sailingtoday.c www.sailingtoday.co.uk
Books p22 Missed a copy? Call 01442 820580
This month News AND views Sailing news Readers’ letters View from the RYA Riding light
6 12 16 146
GEAR AND EQUIPMENT BOAT TEST Westerly Corsair. 58 USED
110
PRACTICAL Servicing a Whale Gusher pump.
Books Just in Gear on test Buyer’s guide: Marine toilets Group test: Polishers
22 26 34 44 48
BOATS Used boat test: Westerly Corsair New boat test: Jeanneau 409 Your boats: Star Twins 34
58 64 71
CRUISING My MARINA Milford Haven Marina
The Gulf of Amvrakikos How safe is Cambodia? Cruising cuisine Welcome to Norway
72 78 84 90 92
SEAMANSHIP Handling under power: The big five Weatherclass
98 106
PRACTICAL Servicing a Gusher pump Q&As with Nick Vass
110 114
WIN! WIN! WIN!
34
Gear on test.
co.uk
Old Pulteney 12-year old whisky Pair of Barton’s maxi ‘K’ cam cleats Set of Guy Cotten dry bags
12 14 30
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August 2011 Sailing Today 05
SailingNEWS News briefs Drunk sailor loses wife A Swedish sailor was left not only hungover, but also red faced after alerting emergency services because he had lost his wife, believing she had fallen overboard and drowned. Fortunately for his wife, she had actually never stepped aboard the boat, which was sailing off the Swedish port of Kalmar at the time. Rescuers rapidly ascertained that the confused skipper was three sheets to the wind and, after towing the boat ashore, the skipper was breathalysed and charged with drink boating.
Shark alert Two Cornish fishermen claim to have seen a man-eating shark off the port of St Ives in west Cornwall. The shark, descriptions of which point to it being an oceanic white tip. was spotted by two fishermen, one of whom said: “We blatantly saw it, the two of us, and I’m 100% sure it was an oceanic white tip. The water was crystal clear and we had a perfect view.” If the sighting can be fully confirmed, it would be the first ever appearance of an oceanic white tip in British waters. The last claim of a maneating shark in Cornish waters was, however, later proven to be a hoax
Really wild over Packham’s studland show He may be noted for his depth of knowledge when it comes to all things naturalistic, but it didn’t stop Chris Packham putting his foot firmly in a hornet’s nest with hard hitting comments on Studland Bay’s seahorse population. Speaking on the BBC’s The Truth About Wildlife, Packham pointed the finger at yachtsmen over fears that the spiny seahorses were under threat from yachts’ anchors. “Maybe yachtsmen feel they aren’t to blame, but frankly, you shouldn’t be able to moor here Recreational Group (BORG): “The report falls way in the first place,” he stated. His comments have below the BBC’s long tradition of factual reporting,” raised the ire of pressure group the Boat Owners a BORG spokesman fumed.
Early season breezes lead to dramatic rescues
Blackbeard’s anchor recovered US archaelogists claim to have successfully recovered an anchor which belonged to Blackbeard’s notorios pirate vessel, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The massive anchor – weighing more than 1,000 kg (2,200lb) – is one of the largest artefacts on what is believed to be the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was wrecked off the North Carolina coast after running aground in the entrance to Beaufort inlet. The wreck was first discovered back in 1996 and the discovery of an unusual amount of weaponry aboard lends credence to clams she is blackbeard’s erstwhile flagship.
Lively time at port solent Alec Rose’s epoch making vessel Lively Lady made an historical return to Portsmouth on 24 June when she sailed into Premier’s Port Solent marina. The vessel, now owned by charity Round and Round, providing sailing opportunities for disadvantaged youngsters, was given a VIP reception, which included live music, entertainments and speeches from members of the Rose family.
06 Sailing Today August 2011
Emergency services found themselves on the receiving end of a flurry of rescue calls as yachts struggled to deal with blustery conditions as the summer sailing season got underway in dramatic fashion. Perhaps the most startling incident involved a Contessa 32, which was knocked down and her skipper washed overboard as she approached Brighton Marina on 27 May. At the time of the knockdown, skipper and crew
were furling the mainsail and the skipper was left hanging over the side by his lifeline. Unfortunately, the crew was unable to pull him back in and he was eventually helped back aboard his yacht by crew from the RNLI Brighton lifeboat. Meanwhile, earlier in the same week, there was an equally dramatic rescue involving three yachts that were sailing in a group from Scarborough to Whitby. Initially, the Martinez issued
a mayday due to engine failure and a lifeboat was launched. However, the crew was forced to divert when a second yacht in the group, Shameless, lost her skipper overboard. He, however, was recovered by his own crew. The Martinez and the Shameless were then towed to Whitby, but then the third vessel of the trio, Bandit, also requested help, because she was losing power. The Whitby lifeboat was deployed in order to rescue the last boat of the hapless bunch. Severe weather conditions also caught out the crew of Starburst on June 12 as she approached the Needles Channel. With the wind gusting up to 49 knots, the 32ft yacht was experiencing mechanical and steering problems in the confused seas. She was towed to safety by the Yarmouth lifeboat.
Send your stories to sam.jefferson@sailingtoday.co.uk
Coastguard cuts: climbdown looks on the cards Government minsters have given an indication that they may climb down over proposed cuts to the Coastguard service, following a surge of public outrage over the proposed restructuring. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said they would be ‘looking again’ at proposals that would have seen the number of Coastguard stations cut from 18 to eight. Hammond said: “We are looking again at the best configuration which will allow us to deliver technological improvements and working practice improvements and we will announce our conclusions before the summer recess.” Since Government first put out a proposed restructuring of the Coastguard station network for consultation in December, it has faced severe pressure from both the public and also
within parliament over what has been seen as measures that could compromise the effectiveness of the service. Among those who have lobbied against the changes were influential figures such as Prince William. Initially, the consultation process was meant to end on 21 March, but this was extended for another five weeks. The driver behind these changes, initially mooted by the Labour Government,
was a desire to modernise the service by creating a few larger stations. However, many have argued that local knowledge and a more localised service are invaluable attributes. Mr Hammond denied a Uturn on the matter: “It’s not a U-turn, it’s about deciding how best to implement what will be a very big change to how the Coastguard operates,” he said. The consultation’s findings will be put before Parliament prior to the summer recess.
Fifteen go on trial for piracy in Quest Hijack case Ten of the 15 alleged pirates captured by US forces following the hijacking of the yacht Quest have pleaded guilty to piracy for their roles in the tragic incident, which left the four yacht crew dead. Jean and Scott Adam were on a round the world cruise with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Mackay when their yacht Quest was captured in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year. Intervention by the US Navy was underway when a rocket launcher was fired and eventually resulted in a scuffle, which saw all four American cruisers, and several of their attackers, shot dead. The pirates were subsequently captured and went on trial in Norfolk, Virginia. So far, ten of the gang, made up of 14 Somalians and
one Yemeni, has now pleaded guilty at a hearing in a US federal court. The defendants who have pleaded guilty face mandatory life sentences, although they have reportedly struck deals with prosecutors, which could lead to lighter sentences. The US military said that the pirates’ negotiations were led by Mohammad Saaili Shibin, who has also been indicted over the murders. A prosecutor’s statement said that Mr Issa Ali and Mr Salad Ali acknowledged ‘that they served as leaders of the piracy operation’. The Yameni defendant involved in the case was apparently captured from a previous ship, but allegedly agreed to join the gang in exchange for a share of
whatever spoils were picked up. According to statements the men made to prosecutors, in February, the pirates were cruising the Indian Ocean in a hijacked Yemeni vessel, looking for a ship to attack. They had been at sea for eight days and were about 900 miles from their home port of Xaafuun and running out of fuel when they spotted Quest, which had been taking part in a blue water rally, but had opted to proceed independently. One of the defendants captured, negotiator Mohammad Saaili Shibin, never stepped foot on the Quest, but despite this he is believed to be the highest ranking pirate the US has ever brought to trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the piracy charges.
News briefs
Golden opportunity for diamond jubilee Royalists will be delighted to hear that entry has opened for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Thames river pageant marking the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. The Queen will head the 1000-boat flotilla on Sunday, 3 June 2012 in a royal barge. The pageant’s website – www. thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org – is now open for boats to register and will close on 31 October. All vessels must be able to maintain a steady speed of 4kn and pass under Westminster Bridge, which has a clearance height of 5.4m. Everyone selected will have received an invitation to take part by the end of the year. Unsuccessful applicants will also be informed.
New Marina programme In a bid to help Marinas across the country develop activity programmes for berth holders, the RYA has developed its new Active Marina programme. The event based programme incorporates three aspects; training, cruising and social activities. The training element looks to support a programme of workshop style training opportunities for berth holders to increase confidence and competence out on the water. The cruising aspect looks to develop activities such as cruises in company to expand people’s horizons and build confidence, whilst the social element seeks to assist with the formation and growth of berth holder groups. To find out more about the Active Marina programme contact Guy Malpas by email at guy.malpas@rya.org.uk
yacht charter app for iphone iPhone owners in search of their dream holiday can use a new phone app to arrrange a charter. The app, available from boatbookings.com and iTunes, enables you to specify the exact type of boat, the destination of your choice and how much you’d like to spend.
August 2011 Sailing Today 07
Buyer’s guide
Our Buyer’s Guides complement our group and long term gear tests and provide essential background information about gear and equipment.
Marine toilets Once the curse of family cruising, the humble loo has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. These days the trend towards permanent use of holding tanks has caused a re-think by designers, who are giving us such delights as near silent, push-button freshwater flushing, electric macerators and evacuation pumps. Duncan Kent takes a look. Toilet types There are a number of different types of marine toilet available and various methods of installation. Which one you choose will probably depend on the type of boat you have, the number of people who regularly sail with you and the amount of electrical and freshwater resources available to you. Most owners of small cruisers will probably want to stick with a simple manual toilet that uses raw seawater for flushing and may or
44 Sailing Today August March 2011 2011
may not have a holding tank. Larger yachts, however, might be better with an electrically flushed loo with macerator and holding tank, or even a vacuum flush system using freshwater for flushing. Modern electrically pumped toilets are designed to use the minimum amount of water to do the job and this can either be freshwater or seawater. Electric systems draw a relatively high current of around 7-10A, but this is for a very short period only, so the
resultant energy consumption is fairly small. The most recent trend is for vacuum holding tanks, in which an electric pump maintains a vacuum in the sealed tank, which sucks the waste from the bowl, replacing it with water by the simple activation of a pushbutton valve or foot pump. These systems are much quieter than a macerator and very ecofriendly in that they use a miserly amount of water – some 0.5-1.0ltr/flush – meaning the use of freshwater is not necessarily out of the
Marine toilets
Sailing Today’s Buyer’s Guides strive to give you enough information for you to choose a particular product that is most likely to suit your needs. Unlike our gear tests, there is no element of testing involved in compiling these guides, so we are unable to give you a review of their performance unless they later become a subject of one of our extended Gear Tests, which many will in the long run.
question for mid-sized cruisers with 200ltr+ of freshwater on board. Furthermore, this small amount of water per flush means the capacity of the holding tank can be reduced to fit smaller craft. Using freshwater also helps to banish those noxious odours caused by the bacteria in seawater breeding as it lies stagnant in the pipes between flushes.
Holding tanks Most boat owners should be considering upgrading to a holding tank system in the
BLAKE LAVAC TAYLORS Baby Blake (£3,850) With its weighty porcelain bowl and bronze operating mechanism, the classic Baby Blake is well known by yachtsmen the world over. Reliable, repairable and backed by Blake’s renowned spares service, the Baby sets the standard for the manual marine toilet. Its downside, however, is its price, which is frighteningly high. The BB can be supplied with a traditional white lid or one of mahogany and the pump handle can be on either side and Baby Blake detachable if preferred. The BB can be fitted above or below the waterline.
Blake’s Victory (£5,106) Big brother to the Baby Blake – identical, but with a larger pan/seat.
Lavac Popular (Manual £255; electric £393.92) Since its introduction in 1963, the Lavac has
near future as pollution regulations tighten and more and more anchorages ban the discharge of waste. Holding tanks have earned a poor reputation over the years – they smell, block up constantly and don’t discharge completely are common complaints, but the cause is usually poor installation or bad design. Some boatbuilders use a gravity discharge method, whereby the tank has a seacock at the bottom that is opened out at sea to allow the contents to discharge. This is fine if the exit pipe is at least 2in (50mm) in diameter, otherwise waste can compact behind it, effectively blocking the exit. Its operation is also greatly improved if used in conjunction with a macerator, which chops the waste into a fine slurry as it is flushed into the tank. If you can’t fit a large enough exit pipe or fit a macerator, then you’ll be better off with a pump-to-discharge system – which can either be manual or electric. The other common problem is the tank
earned a reputation for being one of the most straightforward and reliable sea toilets made. Its patented vacuum flushing method, which can be manually or electrically pumped, is as simple as it gets – close the lid to seal the toilet and operate the large capacity diaphragm pump to flush out the waste. As the waste is removed, a vacuum is created inside the bowl, drawing in clean rinsing water. After a few seconds the siphon break releases the vacuum and the toilet is ready for use again.
Contact Seasure Ltd Tel: 01489 580580 www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk
vent, which should ideally be at least 1in (25mm) in diameter. Too many boatbuilders and retrofitters use the same size as that for a fuel or water tank, say 3/8in to ½in (9-12mm), but this just isn’t big enough to allow the air to circulate and properly vent the tank. If you’re worried about smells emanating on deck, fit a carbon vent filter, which is usually very effective at eliminating any nasty whiffs. One other type of marine toilet is popular in smaller boats and that is the cassette toilet. By design these have their own effective ‘holding tank’, but have the obvious disadvantage in that they must be carried off for emptying ashore or clumsily dumped overboard out at sea - a far from pleasant, and potentially messy job. This is undoubtedly a fine solution for the odd weekend away in a trailer-sailer maybe, but not really feasible for a family cruiser – except, maybe, as an emergency fall-back system.
Vacuflush 706
low power (4-6A) and water efficient (0.5 ltr/ flush). For use with a vacuum holding tank or electric pump.
VacuFlush 140 Series (£357) Designed to replace a standard mechanical sea toilet on small to medium sized yachts,
DOMETIC MasterFlush The Masterflush series comprises a wide range of electrically pumped or vacuumactuated, ceramic marine toilets with minimal water consumption. Available in compact or standard sizes, with or without macerators, prices vary according to specification.
VacuFlush 706 (From £990) Designed to replace small boat toilets, the 706 is compact, low-profile (273mm high),
Sealand Vacuflush VacGen holding tank.
August March 2011 Sailing Today 45
group test
polish & polishers
restoring your gelCoat Has your gelcoat become dull and chalky over the years? We put a number of gelcoat restoration products to the test to see if they lived up to their promises. Duncan Kent reports.
A
ll topside gelcoats become dull and chalky or hazy after a time – particularly dark coloured ones. Some can be brought back up to a deep shine with just a brisk application of wax polish and some elbow grease, but others that have been left too long will most likely need the full cleanse, restore and polish treatment.
What is gelcoat?
Wax or seal? We found there were two distinctly different products available for restoring and protecting your gelcoat. The first, a ‘wax finish’, is achieved by using gradually reducing abrasive solutions to deftly grind out scratches and bring up the original colour, followed by a wax-based polish that forms an outer ‘crust’ that protects the gelcoat from
salt, dirt etc. This is undoubtedly hard work, but will last a good while and does allow you to touch up dull or dirty areas of the hull throughout the season. The second type we tried was a ‘clean and seal’ method, in which the topsides were deep-cleaned and washed off thoroughly, before applying a varnish-type acrylic coating to seal in the clean gelcoat and provide a shiny, waterproof outer surface. This is certainly a quicker method and unquestionably requires far less effort than a wax polish finish, being usually applied by hand using a paint pad or special applicator. Several coats are required to build up the requisite film thickness, but because the solution dries very quickly, they can often be done one after the other. This type of finish is not guaranteed for life,
photos Stewart Wheeler
Gelcoat is simply another resin product, which is designed to protect the underlying GRP lay-up and to look good. It has a wax coating when new that, unless regularly cleaned and polished, will dull over and lose its natural sheen. Sometimes washing or polishing your topsides without first removing any chemical residues, grit, salt etc can do more harm than good, so that you can end
up with hundreds of very fine scratch marks all over the hull. For this reason many of the gelcoat restoration ‘systems’ recommend first washing the topsides thoroughly with a special cleaning product that contains ingredients to break down any grease, fuel or other contaminants that might stop any polishes from doing their job properly.
3M
Many thanks to the owner • b oat of our test boat, Mike, who bud talks polish with Aaron. dy • COLLI NITE • ENSEARCH • FARECLA • MEGUIARS • P
48 Sailing Today August 2011
restoring your gelcoat
however, as the coating can wear/flake off after a while or discolour in bright sunlight. When re-applying, the old coating must first be removed using a specialised stripper, which in some cases is just the cleaning solution supplied with the system.
Preparation Firstly – don’t even think of trying to do this with the boat afloat. Polish out the odd mark or two maybe, but there’s no way you’ll do a proper job with the boat moving about. Besides, you’d only be able to do it by hand, because the proximity of the water would preclude the use of any power tools. Make sure you have good access all around the boat with enough space to move around with the polishing machine. If you do it inside you’ll also need to ensure you have reasonable ventilation, as many of the products are still solvent based and can make you dizzy, ill and give you a massive headache. Wear some good gloves and goggles as well – an eyeful of polish hurts (been there and done it) and it won’t take long for hands that aren’t used to using a heavy polisher to become blistered and very sore. Get yourself a few microfibre polishing cloths as well for the finishing touches and the areas where you can’t get the orbital buffer into. Lastly, make sure you have really good lighting, or it’ll be difficult to make out where you’ve been and where not.
What a difference! Polished, left, and un polished, right. Below: If you can’t take a reflective photo like this after polishing your gelcoat, then you probably need a cutting polish system.
Check the polish for grain (below), if it has no grain it won’t cut, and can be applied by hand. If you’re planning to start again from scratch (excuse the pun), you’ll need to remove any old remaining wax as well. Some ‘Stage 1’ products contain a de-waxing component such as toluene to help remove any vestiges of old coatings, but if not you’ll need to make sure all traces of old wax are removed somehow.
Polishing
Cleaning the topsides If your chosen restoration system doesn’t have a pre-wash solution, then find one that is suitable or simply use a strong detergent solution and rinse it off thoroughly with a hose. Use a soft sponge or cloth to avoid making any more scratch marks. Once the hull is dry, you will need to degrease the gelcoat, unless the cleaning product also contained a degreasing agent of some sort. Most boats pick up a few really stubborn stains – rust being the most common. These can often be removed using specialist products, commonly containing acetone or similar strong solvents such as methyl ethyl
ketone (MEK), or simply by applying a coarse rubbing compound, either in powder or liquid form.
Cleaning and de-waxing Some brands provide several liquid components in their system. These start with quite a coarse abrading ingredient, gradually reducing through the subsequent steps, until the final stage, which has only a very fine abrasive content.
This is the second stage of a multi-part solution and can either be a liquid or solid wax product that is hand or machine applied. Some products recommend hand application only (they overheat if an electric buffer is used); others are fine to apply by machine. In our tests we tried both, but mainly concentrated on those that can be applied by machine. In some ways, polishing is a misnomer in that you are not actually applying a coating, but rather abrading the surface with ever reducing coarseness of compound, to smooth out a pitted or scratched surface. After polishing, you should apply a coat of wax to protect the surface and improve the gloss, although some polishing products
POLIGLOW • PORT-n-STARBOARD • RUPES • STARBRITE • 3M • boat budd August 2011 Sailing Today 49
PHOTOS rod lewis
NEW boat test
64 Sailing Today August 2011
JEanneau sun odyssey 409
French polished
When it comes to turning out reasonably priced cruisers with pleasing performance, you have to take your hat off to the French. Miles Kendall takes a look at the latest Jeanneau to see how she measures up.
There’s a minor design revolution going on. Naval architects, who seemed satisfied with the gradual evolution of the average white boat, have made significant changes to hull shape, deck layout and styling. Hard chines, drop down transoms, innovative interiors and improved sail handling systems are among the features popping up on everything from sporty racers to sedate cruisers. They also all appear on the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 and maybe that’s why she won the 2010/11 European Yacht of the Year ‘family cruiser’ category award. There’s plenty of evidence of the thought that went into creating the 409. The hard chine gives speed and stability as well as improved tracking ability. It also creates extra volume in the aft cabins. The keel is pushed well forward and balanced by a wide, powerful rudder. There are nice touches on deck with the cockpit engine panel angled to make it easier to read and a sprayhood with a useful handhold. Dedicated liferaft stowage by the transom is another feature
that doesn’t turn heads at boat shows but is both sensible and seamanlike. There are curved hatches, uncluttered decks and the interior features some entirely novel ideas. The 409 is part of a range of new models, including the 379 and 439 with a 509
out soon. Her sleek looks and clean lines, combined with plenty of accommodation, should make her popular with both private owners and charter fleets. “You have to give people a reason to buy a new boat,” the dealer explained and Jeanneau is certainly doing that. >>
August 2011 Sailing Today 65
cruising
Clockwise from main pic: Beach hut at Crazy Beach; asleep on watch; youngsters in Saracen Bay; Cygnet under way.
84 Sailing Today August 2011
cambodia
How safe is
Cambodia? Following 30 years of war, political unrest and genocide, it is not surprising that Cambodia is generally off most cruisers’ itineraries. However, the Government has recently declared it ‘safe’. Stuart Heaver takes a cruise to find the truth.
N
ot many people go sailing in Cambodia and when you read some of the sailing guides it’s not hard to work out why. ‘Stay at least 20 miles off the coast of Koh Kong,’ warns one guide to cruising in South East Asia. ‘Cambodia is not yet ready for visiting yachts,’ warns another. Most of the advice makes yachting in Cambodia sound about as appealing as hiking in Libya or camping in the Congo and even seasoned cruisers warn against it. Ever since Phil Harper of Gulf Charters told us about the place, while we were sailing around the Ko Chang archipelago, Sarah and I had an idea to try it for ourselves as a genuine adventure sail. As we arrived in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville late at night after a hot and tedious bus journey from Phnom Penh, I still had no idea how we were going to find a yacht for this ultimate ‘off grid’ sailing experience.
The so called ‘luxury express’ service from the capital had broken down twice en route and, as we crawled into this wild west frontier town well after dark with a slipping clutch and frayed nerves, all we had to go on was one contact: Captain Rony Hill. “I have to tell you, there ain’t much of a sailing scene in Sihanoukville,” he told me in his distinctive Californian drawl when I called him from Phnom Penh. “I am the only yacht down here, man.” Captain Rony Hill runs the only charter outfit in Cambodia and he knows a lot about sailing in the area. He and his partner, Jenny, have been based here for five years now. He claims to have discovered an uncharted island in the Samet archipelago (Kaoh Jenny) and he is planning to publish his own cruising guide to Cambodia. We find Rony’s yacht, Cygnet before we find Rony. Cygnet is an immaculately maintained 45ft Sparkman and Stephens sloop and the only yacht to be seen in the bay off Victory Beach. Sihanoukville was a sleepy fishing village called Kampong Saom until the French government
“We were looking for a real adventure sail.”
seamanship What do you want to know? When it comes to boat handling, we have probably all had an experience that tells us that, in a close quarters motoring operation, once things are going wrong it’s often too late to do anything other than put out the fenders and hope for the best. So, in the absence of a crystal ball, what we want to get out of all of this is a mind’s eye that can glimpse into the near future. Fortunately there are five key factors which directly affect the way a boat handles. Understand these and we’ll have a better idea of how our boat is likely to behave in a manoeuvre long before we commence it. Take these into consideration and we may end up thinking of a completely different way to approach a manoeuvre that will save our pride and our topsides. We need to know which of these five key effects will be likely to most affect our contemplated manoeuvre.
Hamble School of Yachting’s James Pearson takes us through the five key principles of handling under power that once fully understood will help us get closer to the holy grail of the right plan of action for any boat in any situation. PHOTOS: Stewart Wheeler
98 Sailing Today August 2011
in association with
The BIG B
5
of boat g n i l d n ha
oat handling instruction has sometimes been guilty of presenting answers to specific scenarios. ‘We show you how to reverse your long keeler into a pontoon with 20kn of breeze blowing it off’, or ‘learn how to ferry glide into a pile mooring only a foot longer than your boat’. While this does work quite well for those few who need to do that specific task in those specific circumstances, the
numerous variables of boat types, mooring types, wind and tide, mean that in order to be a competent handler of your boat, just in the scenarios you are likely to encounter coming in and out of your own berth, you will soon be trying to achieve the impossible task of remembering sequences of steering and throttle for literally hundreds of different situations. And then what happens if you want to visit a strange
port? Or change boat? What all sailors need instead is a good grasp of the background mechanisms at work; the handful of key influences on a boat’s handling under power. Many people have found that this approach provides them once and for all with a basic set of tools that they can eventually apply to any boat handling situation, in any boat. The good news is that there are only five of these key principles:
The big 5 to have at your fingertips ST ST Tips Facts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pivot Point
Windage
Steerage
Prop Walk
Slide
ST Tips
ST
Asks?
Our yacht when viewed from above turns around a point just aft of the mast.
Most boats’ centre of windage is somewhat forward of the pivot point.
The bad news is that in most boat handling situations several of these factors are at work and, in some situations, all five
A good think about our arrangement of prop and rudder can explain a lot.
When propeller turns to paddle wheel and moves our stern laterally.
of them are interplaying with each other. In this article we’re going back to basics to define the terms and provide a few simple
A yacht will slide out of a turn more like a shopping trolley than a car.
demonstrations of each effect acting as the prime mover, although we’ll learn it’s seldom possible to fully isolate an effect.
>>
August 2011 Sailing Today 99
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