Wednesday 21 September 2011

Bringing 'Crosswind' home


Not having sailed for 27 years I was very apprehensive about sailing my new boat from Mooloolaba to Brisbane (110nm) through Morton Bay. A work colleague introduced me to Bruce who volunteered to accompany me. Bruce has owned a few boats and has many years of sailing experience.


The boat went back in the water on a Thursday (09 September 2011) but the forecast was not favourable for a first voyage. Checking the seven day forecast on Seabreeze.com.au (see links) it seemed the weather would moderate over the next week and the following weekend would have light wind and calmer seas.

I picked up Bruce the next Friday after work and we drove to Mooloolaba to prepare for an early Saturday departure. The forecast had changed from light winds (5-10 kts) to no wind (less than 5 kts) so the first order of business was to check the how much fuel was in the tanks in case it became necessary to motor part of the way (only had 2 days as I was working Monday). The level in the tanks did not register on the dipstick so a quick trip to the fuel dock (less than 100m) and $300.00 (196l/58g) gave confidence that we had enough fuel for the voyage plus contingencies. Next item on the agenda was people fuel, so a quick trip to the supermarket solved that and with three bags of ice cubes (lack of local knowledge meant I didn't know where to buy block ice) we were ready to go.

Woke early and prepared to leave at first light. Logged on with the Coastguard, warmed up the engine and at 6:00am we were off.  First lesson - Crosswind does not like going astern, I'm sure I'll learn the tricks of reversing her in time, but that first lesson put me on notice. It was just before low tide and we stuck to the middle of the canal with the depth gauge showing around 1 meter (3ft) of water under the keel. Once into the river the depth increased to 6+ meters (20+ ft) with markers defining the channel. At 2,000 rpm we were making a little over 5 knots and had a line of power boats behind us waiting to clear the harbour entrance. As soon as we cleared the last marker they were off creating so much wake turbulence that I thought I was in a washing machine.

With the wind gauge indicating 6-7 kts it was time to go sailing. In minutes with the main up and both head sails unfurled Crosswind was making close to 3 kts.  Not a record, but this was my 'new' boat doing what she was purchased for - I could not get the grin off my face.




Three hours abeam Caloundra the wind, and my grin were gone and it was time for the iron sail. There was also a dense haze on shore which we later found out were bush fires along the entire hinterland.  Motored at about 5 kts from Caloundra to about 10 nm from Scarborough (our overnight stop) when the breeze strengthened to between 6-8 kts. Off with the motor and up with the sails and we were off on a broad reach.


About 5 nm from shore we were joined/overtaken by the local Saturday racing fleet on their last leg back to Scarborough which made navigating in easy. Bruce was a member at the club and had arranged a berth for the night at the bargain price of $10. It was a big night at the club which was also playing host to an offshore powerboat regatta.  At some point during the night during a break for the band the conversation turned to boats and fuel consumption. There was general laughter at my expense when after telling them how much it cost to put fuel in Crosswind the previous night, I was informed by one of the power boat racers that it cost him $750 to fill his boat and that lasted only 1.5 hours at racing speed. I left them to it at around 10:30 with the band still going strong, as we wanted to leave early the next morning for home.



6:30am saw us departing Scarborough for Brisbane and Crosswind's new home at Dockside in the Brisbane river. There was no wind and the only ripple on the water was that generated by our wake as we motored along. Relied heavily on the GPS today as the coastline was enveloped in a smoke haze from the bush fires that continued to burn.







The wind speed never got above 3kts all morning and at around 10:00am the port area of Brisbane came into view. It took 2 hours to motor up the river, under the twin Gateway bridges and finally to Dockside. Coming into the berth I was greeted by 3 of the people from nearby yachts ready to take my mooring lines and welcome me to their community.

Crosswind was home!

I have not forgotten Bruce, without whose help I would not have had such an easy first voyage. He knew I had doubts about being able to sail after such a long break and just let me get on with it, offering encouragement when needed. He also navigated, taking that pressure off and letting me get to know the boat. Thank you Bruce.



Friday 16 September 2011

Lazzarette hatch repair



The lazarette hatch on the boat when I purchased it was about 3" (75mm) oversize all round and the plywood base was seriously delaminated. The options were to repair the existing hatch, replace it with a modern alloy and plastic hatch, or build a new hatch (sized to fit) from the existing hatch.

The cheapest option would have been to replace the hatch with a modern unit, but being a bit of a traditionalist I decided to go for the third option and use the existing hatch to build a properly fitted hatch. Norm Wright from Wright Yacht and Boat services did an excellent job and if I did not know better I would have thought it was an entirely new hatch. Not cheap but as shown below worth every penny.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Inflatable dinghy repair

The boat came with an Achilles 2.6 meter (8'8") inflatable dinghy. The bag was very faded and on opening it I found the rubbing strake had lifted in several areas and the seam underneath had opened up. The manufacturers plate showed the dinghy was only three years old and Achilles have a reputation for lasting well over 10 years so I decided to try and get it fixed.


Several people I spoke to all advised that self repairs don't last as the repair not only requires gluing but in most cases requires heat to cure it properly and the equipment to achieve this is not available to the public.  I rang several companies and they all told me that it was beyond repair, but they could sell me a new one.

I finally found Wayne at Inflatable Boat Services who said to bring it in and he would have a look. After inspection his verdict was that the dinghy had been put away wet in the tropics and had sweated until the seams finally parted, but don't worry, it was a great boat and definitely worth fixing.  When asked how he would fix it he explained that he would remove the rubbing strake; open the join; clean it and reglue it; inflate the boat; rub down the repaired joint and the reattach the rubbing strake. He quoted me under $400 and said it would take a week to complete. He also pointed out that it had an inflatable keel giving it a V bottom which was an added bonus.

Five days later I received a call to say the dinghy was ready and it would cost me $350. Well worth it considering the replacement cost is over $2,000.

If your in Brisbane and require repairs to your inflatable I can recommend Wayne at Inflatable Boat Service, phone (07) 3890 2836 or mobile 0412 799 926. Email: inflatableboats@optusnet.com.au

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Repair around sampson post and forward bulkhead

During my initial viewing of the boat the most obvious potential 'deal breaker' was an area of dry rot in the forward bulkhead which was a result of water leaking in around the starboard sampson post. It was concentrated in the centre portion of the bulkhead and deck adjacent to the starboard sampson post. Knowing the kind of loads this area would be subject to I decided this was a job that should be left to the professionals. In this case Mark Wright from Wright Yacht and Boat Sevices in Buddina (http://www.wrightboats.com.au/).








The forward cabin was quite dark when I first inspected the boat so I took this opportunity to paint the forward bulkhead white to lighten up the area.











Saturday 10 September 2011

Tangs - past their use by date

During my research into buying a Westsail and from the one page survey sheet sent to me by Bub Taplin a constant area that came up as requiring careful inspection were the tangs for the boomkin stays. As can be seen in the accompanying pictures the starboard tang had broken and had a dubious repair applied to it, while the port tang was cracked through the aft bolthole. Compounding the problem we found that the tangs and the stays did not form a straight line when attached to the boomkin, putting extra strain on the tangs.











Inspecting the bowsprit tangs revealed the stem tang which attaches to the staysail mount had cracked completely through. Both side tangs were OK.


Bud had suggested replacing the 1" tangs (25mm) with  1 1/4" (30mm) tangs but following discussion with the guys at Aquatec Engineering we decided to go with 1 1/2" wide tangs (40mm) and offset the aft hole to better align the tang and the stay wire with the boomkin. On a similar vein it was decided to use the 1/12" tang (40mm) for the stem area to give it more strength. Did away with the square mounting holes (another stress point) and replaced all the bolts and nuts with new stainless ones.
















Friday 9 September 2011

Survey and bottom job

I had bought the boat without a full survey - a cardinal sin I hear you say. Perhaps, but it was a Westsail, I had spoken to Bud Taplin a World Cruiser Yacht Company (who had supplied me with a survey checklist), I had inspected the boat thoroughly on the water and the price was right. Now it was time to take it out of the water and have it fully surveyed. I did this for four reasons: (a) I could see the bottom was in need of a clean and reapplication of antifoul, (b) I needed the survey to get insurance, (c) I needed assurance that I had bought a structurally sound boat, and finally (d) it would provide me a list of repairs/maintenance that needed attention if I was to live aboard (see Survey page).

The boat was at Mooloolaba about 110 nautical miles from Brisbane where I will berth her until I am ready to go cruising.  I did not know where to haul her out or who to trust to prepare her for the trip home so I visited the pub (bar) next to the yacht club and asked the locals - the overwhelming response was Lawries Boat Services to haul her out and clean the bottom and Wright Yacht and Boat Services to complete any work required. Both were willing to let me help and learn and as a bonus Lawries allowed owners to stay on board on the hard and use their amenities.

The afternoon before I tied up to the work dock and settled down to wait for the haulout the next morning. It rained all night and although it had started to clear by morning the forecast was for more rain. I was the second boat to come out and with the tide and the wind working against me the yard decided to rope her in. With me on the boat fending off it took them less time to get her in the sling than it would have to started and warmed up the engine - very compentent yard crew.



The bottom was covered in slime but I thought the barnicles weren't too bad. True to their word they gave me a scraper and after a ten second lesson 'start at the top, work down from bow to stern' I was off. I had thought I would use the pressure cleaner but that was for the yard crew.    What it did do was let me have a good look at the hull and start to think about the work required. After the bottom was predominately scraped clean the high pressure spray finished the job.


The boat was than moved to the hardstand and acid washed above and below the waterline to remove the last of the slime and barnicles from the stainless rudder fittings.  Immediately noticable was cracking to both boomkin tangs and that the staysail tang was completely cracked through (the repair of these will be detailed in a future post). The hull was carefully inspected and two blisters were found on the starboard side of the rudder. These were drilled and diagnosed as osmosis.  The affected areas were ground out with epoxy repairs applied and faired. There were no blisters on the hull. 

The next step was to mask above the waterline and then apply a coat of primer to bond the previous layers of antifoul to the new coats. After this tac dried the new antifoul was applied. After drying new anodes were fitted, the masking removed and she was ready to go back in the water.



Monday 5 September 2011

Why a Westsail 32

After an eternity of researching 'The Boat' I came up with a list of traits that in my opinion make a great cruising boat. These included:
  • Traditional looking mono hull - canoe stern, deep keel, cutter rig, proven cruising boat
  • 9-11 meters (29-36 feet) LOD, less than 1.82 meters (6 feet) draft, greater than 3 meters (10 feet) beam and a good load carrying capacity (for life's little comforts)
  • 2-3 permanent berths, 1.82 meters (6 foot) headroom, lots of storage space
  • Rigged to sail single handed
These traits were used to create a short list of four main contenders: Hans Christian 33, Westsail 32, Pacific Seacraft 31 and Baba 30

I then refined my choices, looking for things such as the availability of parts (I was not looking to buy a new or even moderately new boat), a history of long distance cruising and surviving rough weather, an active support group or owners association among others. I spoke with cruising yachtsmen (and women), boat dealers, marine surveyors and yacht maintenance services. Based on its ability to handle just about any weather, liveaboard space, owners association, availability of parts (through Worldcruiser Yacht Company) and value for money I chose the Westsail.

The search was on and after five months I found Nagaraj in Mooloolaba only an hour's drive from home. She has been let go somewhat and needed some immediate attention (see Survey tab). If I am truthful, I fell for her the minute I stepped on board and with a bit, actually a lot of elbow grease and TLC she will take me anywhere I want to go.

I have a problem with the name 'Nargaraj' as I and none of my family, friends or the Coastguard can easily pronounce the name. In researching her history I spoke with Bud Taplin from Worldcruiser Yacht Company and found her original name was 'Crosswind' which I think suits her. When I sail her home I will organise  denaming / naming ceremonies and change her to that.