To our loyal readers: we’ll be enjoying a week off and won’t be updating the site over the next 7 days. The next update – on the 27th – should be a good one, with updates from the Miami Boat Show and more. In the mean time, be sure to check out the hundreds of articles in our archive, or search for a topic of interest. Thanks! – Hill
Crash Of The Week: Backing, Backing
Posted by: Hill / February 16, 2012 @ 10:25 pm
This is a nice scene, recently placed up on the web, from way back in 1997. It shows a docking situation – repeated many times – which involves what looks to be a twin-screw power boat backing into a slip with the wind at a 90-degree angle to the slip. And not a little wind, either. I’d estimate it was blowing 20 to 25 knots.
During a portion of the clip, it looks like the boat is on fire. It appears that the only exhaust is on the starboard side, which in that breeze causes the smoke to roll right through the cabin and observation deck.
While it is difficult to manage these high freeboard, shallow keel designs, the skipper should have started over, approaching from the windward side of the dock moving with just a knot or two of speed on her. Then s/he could gauge the set caused by the wind, and, when s/he was clear of the boat in the adjacent slip, they could apply more power to quick back the boat into the slip. Never a good idea to approach at 40 degree angle. Yikes. Lucky the dock held together.
Debating The Merits Of A Full Keel
Posted by: Hill / February 15, 2012 @ 10:28 pm
One of the age-old discussions online – and off – are the relative merits of a fin vs. full keel. There are many tradeoffs in any boat, yet this is a lightening-rod issue on many forums. So it was with interest that we found this extended Sailnet discussion about the topic. In particular, we found two posts – included below – to be most enlightening around the relative merits of these two designs choices.
What do you think – should full keels be banned forever? Or required?
Username “dacap06” offers the following note:
A keel is your underwater wing, just like your sail is the in-air wing. Remember, the sails generate lift around the leeward side of the airfoil, the angle of the boat as it moves through the water causes the keels to generate lift on the windward side of the waterfoil. The vector sum of these forces is what pushes you forward. As I understand it, the advantages and disadvantages are as follows.
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RYA Withdraws Certification For Hot Liquid Southhampton
Posted by: Hill / February 13, 2012 @ 11:45 pm
We reported on the rescue of four Britons as part of a training program run by Hot Liquid Southhampton. Well, the RYA has withdrawn its certification – never something done lightly – following this, the latest of a series of three serious safety-related incidents.
The RYA has today (2nd February) removed its recognition of ‘Hot Liquid Southampton’ as a provider of RYA training courses. This means that Hot Liquid Southampton is now no longer able to offer or run RYA training courses.
The decision was made by the RYA following three serious safety related incidents involving Hot Liquid Southampton between January 2011 and January 2012. Read More
$3 Billion Dollar Wreck Discovered Off Massachusetts Coast
Posted by: Hill / February 13, 2012 @ 11:35 pm
Treasure-hunters have been awarded salvage rights on a WWII wreck estimated at over $3B. Well, that’s one way to earn $3 billion dollars – dive for it. I’d hate to discover it didn’t have the money you expected…
A Maine-based treasure hunter says he and his crew have discovered a sunken World War II-era ship carrying a trove of valuable platinum, gold and diamonds worth as much as $3 billion. The British government isn’t so sure.
The BBC reports that Greg Brooks and his Sub Sea Research crew say that they discovered the wreckage of the SS Port Nicholson back in 2008, but that new underwater footage showing a platinum bar and 30 boxes — believed to hold platinum ingots — confirms that the valuable metals are aboard and prime to be recovered. The wreckage is about 50 miles off the Massachusetts coast.
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A Promising Sign For Near-Shore Racing: Extreme Sailing Series Doubles Media Value
Posted by: Hill / February 12, 2012 @ 11:40 pm
The Extreme Sailing Series – which features high-speed cats in near-shore and urban settings – has seen continued growth in market value according to marketing agency Havas. This is a promising sign for these types of close-shore race – including the upcoming America’s Cup. Racing so close to shore helps make the experience more tactile and could result in more fans of the sport.
Havas Sponsorship Insights released today the full and final independent media evaluation report for Extreme Sailing Series 2011 showing a 2.7 times increase in value compared to 2010, to €25,747,203. Leading evaluation agency, Havas Sponsorship Insights, who has evaluated the media value for the Extreme Sailing Series since 2009 using consistent methodology, published the report following their interim statement in August 2010 that estimated an annualised media value of €23m. Read More
Around America Solo Sailor Nears The End
Posted by: Hill / February 8, 2012 @ 10:26 pm
The intrepid solo sailor Matt Rutherford’s trip looks to be ending soon. With no books, no solar panels, a hand-driven watermaker, and failing electronics, this solo adventurer has made it three-quarters of the way around the Americas – including the dangerous Northwest Passage to raise money for the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB), a nonprofit sailing program for people with disabilities, based in Annapolis. He is expected to arrive in Annapolis – assuming everything holds together – in April – from his current location off Brazil.
We covered his adventures earlier, but it is remarkable to see how far he has gone to date.
The Washington Post picked up the story this past weekend:
By now, some 20,000 miles into this audacious odyssey, nearly everything onboard Matt Rutherford’s boat is either flat-out busted, rotted through, waterlogged beyond repair or otherwise reduced to ballast. If the insidious Arctic fog didn’t do the job, seeping into every crevice of the 27-foot sailboat and all its humble contents, then the rogue waves near Cape Horn surely did.
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This Boat Nearly Lost Its Rig, But Quick Thinking Saved Her
Posted by: Hill / February 6, 2012 @ 9:55 pm
Sail Magazine has published a series of sea-stories on their blog, and we found one which I thought was particularly interested. The lose the pin securing the base of the jib, and nearly lost the rig while cruising in Key West. Luckily, they were able to keep the rig – the inner forestay, and a stout, overbuilt mast likely saved the day. A fun read.
My wife, Penelope, and I recently enjoyed a wonderful cruise through the Florida Keys. Our boat, Alizee, a cutter-rigged Cabo Rico 36, was in excellent condition, with fresh bottom paint and recently inspected standing rigging. We were completely confident in her.
After several days gunkholing south from Miami, we arrived in Key West to find the spring break crowds had beaten us there, so we stayed only a day before heading across the Sea of Florida to Fort Myers Beach. We left our anchorage in the afternoon and sailed on a close reach out through the Key West shipping channel. Laying a course for Fort Myers Beach, we enjoyed 10- to 15-knot winds for the next eight hours, trailing two fishing lines behind us.
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Gunboat To Open North Carolina Factory
Posted by: Hill / February 6, 2012 @ 12:17 am
Gunboat announced this month their intention to open an new factory based in North Carolina to augment their existing line in South Africa. The new factory will create 71 jobs, at the $1.8M construction facility. Good to see Peter Johnstone building a local plant. U.S.-based plant will provide a natural hedge on exchange rates, and will also allow for additional access to the U.S. market.
Now if only they would introduce a sub-$1M boat…
RALEIGH—Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that Gunboat Company, a maker of high-end sailboats, will locate a new shipyard in Dare County. The company plans to create 71 jobs and invest more than $1.8 million over the next three years in Wanchese. The project was made possible in part by a $213,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
“My top priority is creating jobs,” Gov. Perdue said. “Our state’s top-notch workforce and job training programs create a strong business climate where manufacturers can thrive in a global market. We welcome Gunboat and wish them smooth sailing here in North Carolina.”
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Crash of the Week: Newport Beach Edition
Posted by: Hill / February 2, 2012 @ 10:17 pm
These guys got a bit too close to the surf off Newport Beach, California. The end result is quite clear from the video. What really impressed me is the power of the waves in this situation. Over the course of just a few hours, you can see the damage done to the boat. On the other hand, like we see in most groundings, the boat itself stayed in one piece, allowing the crew to bail out. Although bailing out in that situation looks quite dangerous – if they had waited until the boat was on shore they’d have been better off.
DIY: Topping Off Your Battery Electrolyte
Posted by: Hill / February 2, 2012 @ 1:12 am
The off-season is a great time to varnish the woodwork, and get the systems back up and running. The electrical system is one which is often overlooked. First off, making sure you’ve got a plan for keeping your batteries charged when you aren’t on board during the season. A small solar panel, or shore power with a good battery charger are the two best options.
In terms of the off-season, lead-acid batteries lose 3% to 5% every month, even when sitting idle. They should never go below 70% (around 12.4 volts), so this means they should only be stored fully charged, and ideally have a regular charge applied.
Make sure you are properly ‘watering’ the batteries. You should check the amount of water in a lead-acid or wet cell battery at least annually. You do not use this procedure with Gel or AGM. So how do you check the water?
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Thinking Of Switching Over To Flush Thru-Hulls? Practical Sailor Has Some Tips
Posted by: Hill / January 30, 2012 @ 10:38 pm
If you sail a lot in light air, there are a number of upgrades you can consider. From new sails, to light-weight halyards, to removing gear from the boat. We’ve already talked before about the value of training as well. But one upgrade which will improve your performance – no matter how badly you sail – is making sure you’ve got a fair bottom. On many cruisers, thru-hulls are an important component of drag, and can be faired or recessed to improve performance.
Practical-Sailor highlights these two major options: fairing in or recessing the thru-hull. Definitely worth a read.
In light air, a major portion of the total resistance of a sailboat derives from skin friction. To oversimplify, the smoother the boat’s “skin” — the submerged part of the vessel — the less power is required to drive it to a given speed. Put another way, given two boats identical in every way, including sail area, the boat with the smoother bottom will be slightly faster than a boat with a rough bottom in light air.
Basic Maintenance: Replacing A Raw Water Impeller
Posted by: Hill / January 30, 2012 @ 10:12 pm
This is the time of year to start thinking about maintenance for the upcoming season. Especially if your boat is out of the water. One of the first, and easiest DIY activities is to inspect and replace your engine’s impeller. Now we could go through the process step-by-step – having done it many times on our Volvo MD2010 diesel. But we don’t need to, since Pbase’s MaineCruising has a great walkthough on the net.
Definitely worth checking out. Here’s their opening:
Changing an impeller is not a daunting task and it’s one that every boater should consider adding to their arsenal of DIY maintenance. Changing and impeller, on many engines, usually takes less than 20 minutes even if you are fairly slow. The most complicated aspect of it is access to the pump.
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Crash Of The Week: 49er Mind The Pole
Posted by: Hill / January 26, 2012 @ 10:28 pm
These modern asymmetrical spinnakers are great, especially when they’re set on a pole. Fast to deploy, plenty of power, they really give these boats an enormous amount of maneuverability. More importantly, they’re useful tools for sweeping the decks of competitors. Nothing says “I’ve got right-of-way” like a bowsprit across the back of a competitors head. No wonder these one-design, Olympic class boats are so popular.
Fascinating Assessment Of Costa Concordia AIS Data
Posted by: Hill / January 26, 2012 @ 5:13 pm
Fascinating analysis of the raw video including the last moments of the use of bow thruster, and other control decisions. 14 minutes – a long but interesting video. Contact is made around 7 minutes. Not a good day.
Reconstruction of the Costa Concordia, Narration by John Konrad, AIS Data by www.QPS.nl from gCaptain.com on Vimeo.
Boat Cards: Do You Use One?
Posted by: Hill / January 24, 2012 @ 10:18 pm
It is always fun to remember all the great people you’ve met and see during sailing. But how do you remember their names, their boats, and their stories? Is there any way to help people remember you? Well, one common trick is to print a hundred or so ‘boat cards.’ Essentially the business card of your boat, they have the name of the boat, some contact information (email), a picture of you and the crew, and any other information which might be interesting (where you are from? Your certifications? Your astrology sign?).
These even work when you’re out for just a week or two.
So you tell us – do you use Boat Cards? Comment below…
Rocna Anchors – Recently Acquired By CMP Global – Announces Extended Warranty
Posted by: Hill / January 24, 2012 @ 10:05 pm
CMP Global, the North American representative of Rocna Anchors, has extended its warranty to cover bending or deformation, in addition to breakage. This follows much debate and discussion on the online forums around a number of quality issues resulting in bent or damaged shanks. Sounds like they’re working to recover and demonstrate to the market their confidence around the product.
We’ve heard nothing but good things about the design aspects of the Rocna anchors. Having spent six months in the Bahamas and the East Coast, the modern triangle-shaped design served us well across a variety of bottom types.
The details of the press release from January 20, 2012:
The Rocna Anchors lifetime warranty has been expanded to include bending or deformation, in addition to breakage, in a new warranty policy. It applies to the lifetime of the original purchaser when the anchor is sized appropriately for the boat, using Rocna’s sizing recommendations. Read More
