Osborne Bay to Studland Bay

Hi everyone,

After launching the boat at Endeavour Quay in Gosport we motored over to Osborne Bay.  We spent Saturday and Sunday there waiting for reasonable weather to sail to Studland Bay near Poole.  Osborne Bay was very relaxing, apart from lunchtimes when many boats drop anchor, including some who aren't very good at it!

This morning (Monday) we departed Osborne Bay towards Studland Bay.  It turned into an eventful passage.  Here's our track...

Zen Again Track

And here are the usual stats...

• Distances/Speeds
• Route Distance = 30nm
• GPS Distance = 30nm!
• Duration = 3h30m
• Average Ground Speed = 8.5 knots!
• Weather
• Minimum Wind Speed = 10 knots
• Maximum Wind Speed = 25 knots
• Apparent Wind Angle Range = 20 to 120 degrees
• Seas up to 2m
• Overcast with rain showers
• Engine
• Total = 2 hours
• Driving = 2 hours
• And then it overheated!

And here are some new plots, created from our NMEA-2000 network using SignalK, InfluxDB and Grafana...

Overview

Boat and Ground Speeds

Heading and Course over Ground

Apparent and Ground Wind Speeds

Roll & Pitch Attitude

More about how we setup the data recording and display in a future technical post.

We timed our run to catch the tide ebbing out of the Solent.  We needed to get to Studland Bay before noon to avoid an approaching front.  The advantage of the approaching front was the southerly winds preceding it.

Predicted Wind 0600

Predicted Wind 1200

It was pretty grey and miserable when we departed, but we had a nice 10 knot southerly.  We tried our new yankee headsail made for us by Kemp Sails.  It sets very nicely.

Osborne Bay Departure

We motor-sailed down the Solent since we're still bedding in the new PYI shaft seal and AutoProp propellor.  And we knew we'd need the motor for the Needles Channel.  We had 2 knots of tide with us. By the time we got to the Needles Channel we had 2 furls in the yankee and 2 reefs in the main.  The ground wind was only 15-18 knots but we were doing 10 over the ground!

Sailing down the Solent

As we entered the Needles Channel we furled the yankee since the course was too high to sail.  All went well until just after we passed over the outer end of The Bridge (the shallows W of the Needles).  The engine over-temperature alarm went off.  We checked for water at the exhaust and there was none.  We shut down the engine after convincing ourselves the current would safely carry us out into deep water if we bore away to sail.

Towards the Needles

Across 'The Bridge' off the Needles

We unfurled the yankee to the 2 furls mark and were on our way to Studland Bay.  The wind gradually increased to about 20 knots and veered to SSW.  This gave us a nice close reach.

Approaching Studland Bay

On entering the bay we furled the yankee and sailed in under double-reefed main.  We rounded up, dropped the main and then dropped the anchor.  Happily it 'bit' immediately and we could relax.

Entering the Bay

After tidying up the boat we took a look at the engine.  There was a little coolant in the bilge and the overflow pipe was wet, so the over-heating ejected the coolant.  We inspected the impeller and it's in perfect condition.  We decided to ponder our next steps overnight.

During the afternoon the wind got up to 25 knots with heavy showers, and gradually veered SW.

Amusingly while cleaning up the boat we checked the bilge forward of the engine.  Worryingly it had some sweet smelling liquid in there.  Turned out to be from a punctured Hobgoblin beer can!

At Anchor

Despite the engine drama the passage was fun.  The boat is very slippery with a clean bottom and the new yankee is great.  Hopefully we'll diagnose and ideally fix the engine cooling problem here.

Trust all's well where you are!

POSTSCRIPT:

Our engine is alive again.  Yesterday afternoon we topped-up the coolant.  We also looked up marine diesel engineers and chatted with Simon Caddy Marine Engineers.  Simon was very helpful.  This morning (Tuesday) we disconnected the hose at the sea cock outlet and proved it wasn't blocked.  With the hose reconnected we started the engine and all is well.

We'll need to flush the fresh-water system to rid it of the overheating-induced suspended black particles (rubber we think).  We had the same particles after our overheating incident in Reunion Island which we removed by repeated flushing in Port Elizabeth.

Gosport HaulOut Week 3

Hi everyone,

Zen Again is back in the water!  We launched on Friday after three weeks on the hard at Endeavour Quay. Very pleased with the work done.  Here's the week 3 story...

Preparing to launch

Over the weekend we applied two coats of epoxy primer to the bare skeg s/s shoe.  It was then ready to be antifouled by Desty Marine.

On Monday Desty activated the Coppercoat.  They use a fine scrubbing pad where I've previously used wet & dry paper.  They then applied Coppercoat to the areas which had been obscured by the props.

Skeg shoe ready to paint

Skeg shoe after priming, antifouling and anode fitting

The new cutlass bearing was fitted by Marine Tech on Tuesday.

New cutlass bearing fitted

On Wednesday the new Brunton's AutoProp H5 was fitted by First Marine Solent.  It is 416mm in diameter, slightly larger than the old VariFold.

Bruntons AutoProp H5

AutoProp feathered

On Wednesday I gave the Coppercoat a further once-over with the scrubbing pads to be sure it is activated.  Wednesday was a scheduled maintenance day for the travel-lift and they found a cracked weld.  The repair took all day Thursday.

TravelLift under repair

On Friday both Zen Again and the travel-lift were ready to go.  We launched at 0930.

In the slings

Ready for the crew

Once in the water but still in the slings we 'burped' the new shaft seal and checked the skin fittings, sea cocks and shaft seal for leaks.  We then started the engine and checked forward and astern power with the new propellor.  With all well the slings were lowered and we moved the boat to a berth close by.  There we monitored the new fittings for a while before casting our lines.

We're away!

We did some initial propellor tests, burning up and down the river past the new aircraft carriers HMS Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.  We immediately noticed a large reduction in noise and vibration - the VariFold must have been unbalanced.  At 1800 rpm our boat speed was 6 knots where previously at 2000 rpm we got 5.5 knots.  And at low revs we now get low speeds where previously we'd be idling at 3 knots.  Better stopping, transitioning to moving astern and astern control too.  All exactly what we'd hoped for.

We then motored the 7nm to Osborne Bay, an anchorage just east of Cowes on the Isle of Wight.  The shaft seal was bedding in nicely, throwing wet black dust off its ceramic face as it polished itself to a good fit.

We're now waiting for suitable weather to head west along the south coast.

Gosport HaulOut Week 2

Hi everyone,

Work continued on Zen Again this week.  Not finished yet but getting there.

Coppercoating, with Hugo Boss passing by

The week started with new skin fittings.  These matched the originals except for the new engine raw water inlet fitting having an integral strainer.

While the skin fittings went in we replaced our engine exhaust outlet on the transom.  It has always been a concern having an open outlet without a valve.  We fitted a Vetus fitting which has a flat plate which is driven open by exhaust water and closed by any external water pressure.

New Exhaust Outlet with Valve

The new exhaust fitting required repositioning the wet box in the lazarette.  In turn that required cutting a larger opening through the "floor board".  And that required painting to seal the plywood panel.

Relocated lazarette wetbox

Recut and repainted lazarette floorboard

By the time we'd finished the above work the new sea cocks had been fitted.  The engine raw water inlet proved challenging due to the lack of headroom.  We ended up with an improved arrangement with an elbow between the skin fitting and the sea cock.

Rearranged engine raw water inlet (engine sump above)

In the head compartment we now have 3/4" skin fitting, sea cock and hose tail through to 3/4" inlet to the Blakes Lavac loo.  And 1.5" all the way from the Lavac to the skin fitting.  Exactly what we ought to have but didn't since we previously had an electric loo with a narrower outlet.

The third skin fitting is the head sink outlet.  Since this sink is only used for washing we opted for a 1/2" hose tail.

Head compartment 3/4" skin fittings and sea cocks

Head compartment 1.5" skin fitting and sea cock

In the galley we have one 3/4" and one 1.5" skin fittings.  The smaller one now has a 1/2" hose tail to match the inlet to the sea water foot pump.  And the larger one provides the outlet for the galley sink and a bilge pump.  Very glad to have a mains-powered heat gun to assist hose fitting!

Galley skin fittings and sea cocks

Our coppercoat arrived on Tuesday and we had a false start when a sudden rain shower disrupted its application, thankfully after only a single coat.  The spoiled antifoul then had to be allowed to cure for two days before sanding it back to start again.

Coppercoat

Coppercoat start #2

When originally planning work for the haul out we decided to tidy up the topsides.  Back in 2014 we had an argument with an unlit fish farm.  Since then we've collected a few other scratches and gouges.  Desty Marine took on this tricky job for a reasonable price.  Precision Shipwrights who painted Zen Again in 2013 identified the paint code.  We knew we wouldn't get an exact match due the the 7 years of aging.

Topsides sanded prior to repainting

Topsides reading for painting

Repainted and polished topsides

We're very pleased with the result.  No more ugly scratches all around the boat.  Hopefully the larger repair will 'age in'.  Desty also polished the topsides overall.

Coppercoated and Polished

This week we hope to complete our haul out work.  That includes coppercoating the skeg s/s shoe and behind the props (the type which hold up the boat), and fitting the new cutlass bearing and propellor.

Trust all's well where you are!

Gosport HaulOut Week 1

Hi everyone,

Zen Again was hauled out at Premier Marina's Endeavour Quay in Gosport on Monday afternoon.  The operation was delayed by an emergency haul out of another boat in the morning.  We managed to convince the yard to stand Zen Again in the main yard instead of in the car park where many small yachts go.

Little Boat, Big TravelLift!

With the boat out of the water it was immediately clear that we had some blisters in the antifoul on the starboard side near the bow and on the starboard side of the keel.  And it was clear the Coppercoat was very thin after 7 years, 4 out of the water re-keying sessions and many in-water scrubbings.  So we asked Desty Marine for quotes to apply new Coppercoat.  We also asked them to quote on tidying up the minor dings & scratches in the topsides.

We had arranged for Marine Tech to carry out various works on the boat.  This included removing the Bruntons VariFold propellor, cutlass bearing, shaft seal, sea cocks and skin fittings, and replacing them with new.  The new propellor is a Bruntons AutoProp.  We're hoping it will improve performance overall, improve motor-sailing efficiency and reduce prop-walk.  First Marine (Solent) is supplying the new propellor.

VariFold Blades Off

VariFold Hub Off - Note LH Thread

We got the old prop off on Tuesday morning after a struggle with it on Monday evening.  It turned out the thread on the shaft is left-handed.  With the prop off we could remove the cutlass bearing which was very worn.

MarineTech removing the Cutlass Bearing

Old Cutlass Bearing

The dynaplate got a good clean.  It provides the ground connection for the HF/SSB radio and isn't painted or antifouled.  It therefore gets very dirty over time but scrubbed up well.  It is even engraved "Do Not Paint"!

Clean DynaPlate

MarineTech cut off the old skin fittings.  Prior to their doing so I removed all the hoses and cleaned the head and galley sink drains - yuk!  I also tried unscrewing the sea cocks.  Three of the four 3/4" units came off without rotating the skin fittings.  Both of our two 1.5" sea cocks rotated the skin fittings and wouldn't come off separately.

With the sea cocks off we could inspect them.  The head inlet and outlet sea cocks were both inoperative.  They weren't opening or closing fully and the balls were badly corroded.  This is partly caused by our practice of opening and closing them on every use of the head.  For liveaboards that's several thousand cycles each year and sea cocks simply wear out.  After conclusively proving that fact I think we'll change our procedure.

Incompletely open sea cock

Badly corroded sea cock ball

The two inoperative sea cocks were fitted in Fremantle in 2015.  They replaced new ones fitted in 2013 in Phuket.  The photo below shows them looking pretty on the outside compared to the others which were all fitted in Phuket and after 7 years all looked a little green.  With bronze fittings "green is good, pink is bad"!  Only the frequently cycled sea cocks had problems.

Old skin fittings and sea cocks

Desty Marine's quote was good so we asked them to go ahead.  They kindly discounted the price of polishing the topsides so we added that to the work.  Desty set to work sanding back the old coppercoat ready for the new coats.  They sanded and filled the blisters on the keel's starboard side.  They sanded and applied International Gelshield Plus to the blistered area on the bow.

Keel blistering

Sanded bow area

Gelshield Plus applied

Old Coppercoat sanded back ready for new coats

MarineTech finished the week by fitting the new skin fittings, fitting the 1.5" sea cocks, and replacing the shaft seal. The shaft seal is a PYI PSS Type A for our 2" stern tube and 28mm shaft.  We bought the new unit prior to haul out since 28mm is an uncommon shaft size.  It's good we replaced it since the rotor's grub screws were corroding and it was tough getting them out.  We're keeping the old unit as a spare.

Shaft out prior to cleaning

MarineTech also checked the rudder bearings and declared them to be in good condition.

New Shaft Seal

During the week I degreased the engine compartment and the lazarette.  Hence the nice bright white look above!

Next week we hope to have new coppercoat, gleaming topsides, a full complement of new sea-cocks, new hoses internally, a new cutlass bearing and a new prop!

Trust all's well where you are.