Winter work - January through March

20 & 21st January

With poor forecasts through until early February, a storm due this weekend and the desiccant moisture traps likely needing recharging I took the opportunity of a brief improvement in the weather for a trip to the boat taking more freshly cleaned and dried gear with me.

The desiccant had run out and the boat was rather damp but running the diesel warm air heater all afternoon dried things out nicely.

I spent half a day on odd jobs, none of which are of any great interest and on the second day redid a small but important bit of non-slip paintwork. I also tracked down a source of Camping Gas, the marina no longer stocks it and a couple of other places had none in stock but a very helpful lady at the Cross Ways Service Station pointed me too a coal merchant in Milford, just a few minutes from the marina who also does gas. They had none, they sell little in winter, but was quite happy to get some in for me and hold it for a month or two until my next visit.

A good bit of news is that, as far as I can see, there is no growth on the hull at all, it has only been a month but in that time on the Hamble even with fresh anti foul it would be green.

I don’t think there will be an excuse to go again until early March when the desiccant will probably need replenishing and I could start the big exterior clean down, and there is nothing left to do at home except to varnish the tiller which is coming home with me.

Here was an oddity found when checking that Seapro was still
working properly with AIS (I had forgotten to take the security
dongle when I was on the boat last time). Milford Haven VTS
(Vessel Traffic Service a sort of ATC for ships) were operating a
"Class A" AIS station as if it was a vessel, no idea why and nor
does someone who works there.

23 January.

The tiller has not been varnished for a couple of years and it had degraded significantly in the last frew months so it would be more than a quick couple of coats, first the hardware came off. I have never had the tiller out of the tiller head and it was about time I did to check that the condition of the timber, being covered up could mean lots of rot. I was a bit apprehensive as damaging the tiller would be bad, damaging the head a major and expensive issue, I have a spare but it is on the emergency till where it should stay. 

I need not have worried, once decades of varnish over the join had been removed it came off relatively easy with no damage and the timber is in excellent condition.

The head looks rather sad and will need a lot of work, it looks as if someone took a hammer or winch handle to the back top.

What appears to be a crack in the middle left of the height
adjustment screw is a surface mark that does not penetrate.
Interestingly the holes for the bolts are bushed with metal and
the hinge bolt with some type of plastic, and the bolts are
UNC, almost Whitworth but not quite.

Fittings from right to left: Attachment point for the tiller extension,
attachment point for the wind vane steering chain, pin for the
autopilot ram, the metal running from there is to protect the
tiller when the wind vane chain is not connected, e.g. when tacking. 

Looking somewhat better. I continue to be impressed with the
International "Schooner" varnish, a traditional Tung oil based
varnish with UV filters etc. added, easy to apply and a very
good finish.

27th January - A surprise replacement.

I nice surprise (I hope) this morning, I sent the autopilot ram to Raymarine for repair and service over the Christmas break paying an inspection fee, last week they came back:

CUSTOMER REPORTED FAULT:

Excessive play in ram, sideways (and end float?) new sleave bearings needed?

TECHNICIAN OBSERVATIONS:

Confirmed excessive play in drive assembly. Annulus snapped and planet gears missing.

And with an offer to repair it under their fixed price scheme with a years warranty, I was a little reluctant as that would be a fair proportion of what appears to be an overpriced new one (a replacement ram is more than half the price of the complete set up with colour display / head unit, 9 axis sensor, computer, cables etc.). But I gave the go ahead commenting that it had done pretty well with c 15K NM under it's belt but expressing surprise that the planet gears were missing as the unit had never been opened [I would have expected at least the remains to be there and it was working]. 

This morning a new unit arrived unannounced and with no invoice - I imagine that will follow! Unfortunately without the 2" extension but those are readily available.

Update: the invoice arrived and charged me for the inspection that I paid for up front, I won't be paying that, it they want me too they can sent the old one back as a spare as I would have been as well off buying a new one!

£700 worth of tiler drive ram.

Refurbishing the Seagull.

I used the Seagull outboard (a 78cc, model 40+ Mk2 made in May 1976 - so the same age as Sancerre) on the dinghy in 2017 & 2018, then one day in May 2019 motoring into Alderney's Braye harbour, it conked out and I had a long row back to the boat.

Sancerre (centre), the only visitor in March 2019, in May I was at the far
end and it is further than it looks.

I was now in a quandary, it was only a few weeks till the Jester Baltimore Challenge  and with the size of Baltimore harbour and the distance from the anchorage to the shore I needed a reliable outboard; with the time constraint I lashed out on a new Mariner 4 stroke that works fine but it is heavy. 

Fellow Jester Sailor Mike using his Seagull to return to his
A9m "Tranquillity" once we had been able to move relatively
close to the dinghy landing in Baltimore. He was able to store the
motor in the lazarette although I would not want petrol in there,
especially alongside the diesel heater.

As it turned out I was able to quickly fix the Seagull with a new carburettor from Saving old Seagulls (recommended) but I took the Mariner on that trip and on return I moved from Haslar Marina to a trot mooring on the Hamble where I definitely needed a reliable engine with up to 3 knots of tide to cope with and preferably a reasonably quite one as I would be going to and from the yacht club quite often and occasionally 3 miles up river to Deacon's where I was storing the boat over winter. Whilst on the mooring I did not need to hoist it aboard keeping it in the car boot until a space became available in the RAFYC outboard store, so I stuck with the new Mariner.

To overcome the weight issue I built a removable hoist that
works well but as mentioned in a previous post I rarely used it
usually rowing in or taking a water taxi. Rigging the hoist takes a
few minutes but getting the motor securely onto the dinghy single
handed takes a good deal longer.

Now I am back in a marina the Seagull becomes more attractive. I can, and probably will, still use the hoist but the motor being relatively light and with no oil to get into the wrong places, I can lower it into the dinghy then move it into position rather than lowering it directly onto the transom with the dinghy moving up and down with the waves or as I move in it, a straight forward operation if there are two of you but trickier single handed.

After 5 years in dry storage when it was never run, the Seagull started first pull after being turned over a few times without the spark plug to get some oil through the system and being given a new spark plug and fresh fuel. But some tidying up was in order, especially for the fuel tank.

It was a lot of work to get to this stage removing the original paint,
lacquer (over the decal) and later additions. It is rather bashed about
but a steel tank this old would probably have rusted out from the
inside long ago. Fortunately the black paint job makes the dents less
noticeable.

The Seagull was in production for years with loads made in the 1950s, 60's and 70's with the design not changing much over the years. At a conservative estimate well over a million of all types were made and some think 2 million. In the late 70's, when mine was made, Seagull were turning out 80,000 engines a year.

Providing you follow the instructions for stating them they are usually very reliable and invariable start second pull - the important part is to "tickle" the carb float until fuel shows and when cold to remember which way the choke operates and use it. Into the 1970s Cornish inshore fisherman would take their "punts" (largish, heavy wooden dinghies - not what you see at Oxford or Cambridge) out to the difficult waters around the Longships and Wolf Rock with just a Seagull and a pair of oars for propulsion. 

An advert from the 1960s (On the Saving Old Seagulls web site).

Newly painted with a new transfer in the old style from Saving
Old Seagulls. It says use a 10:1 fuel - oil mixture although
this 1976 Mark II 40+ with a Bing carburettor will happily run
without modification at a more normal 25:1 but the transfer
is authentic to the original. 

After refitting I found that the fuel tap was leaking fuel like mad, it had held fuel in the tank for 5 years but the cork seal on the "pull for on" tap dried out in less than a week. It is a known problem with a known solution but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. The moving piece with the cork was removed and soaked in hot water (initially boiling hot) for 15 minutes, dried, grease applied and when refitted it worked fine.

The prop stripped and painted, the gearbox etc. just cleaned and
painted.
It is not high tech but it works and similar designs they called the
"Hydrofan" were used on a lot of engines, some larger ones have
5 blades and, despite relatively low power, all can push a
surprisingly heavy boat.

Repaint under way, the fly wheel I did previously
and is still in good condition. The gearbox oil has
been changed as has the gear box plug and the propeller
spring and split pin. The spring (a patented replacement
for a sheer pin) was looking a bit tired so I swapped it
with my spare - they will absorb most shocks but
ultimately will break so a spare is advisable.

Ready to go. The recalcitrant fuel cock
is on the tank bottom left. Note the Bronze
transom mount which is detachable if you
want to leave it in place and carry less,
optional mounts, such as bolt on ones,
were available. 

Note that the flywheel is exposed and there is no recoil starter, health and safety would not be impressed and they could probably not be made now given product liability issues. Also there is no kill cord (it is possible to fit them but hardly anyone does as it can create other issues), no twist grip or stop button, you stop the engine by closing the throttle leaver all the way.

Operationally the biggest issue on this model is the lack of a clutch, pull the string and you are off, not a big issue if there is someone to hold onto the mother ship when you are starting but it can require a bit of faith that it will start if you are single handed and there is a strong wind or current. Also you can't turn it through 180 degrees for reverse, probably no bad thing given the whizzing fly wheel.

For anyone tempted they are pretty cheap in this country usually £100 - £150 for a decent runner, but take care there are duff ones out there, many at inflated prices. Good ones, often over restored, can be eye watering expensive overseas and especially in the USA where they are collectors items. In this country things are more generally more relaxed. 

If you want to do significant work on them you will need a few imperial (Whitworth and AF) spanners. Check out the  Saving old Seagulls FAQs and the active Facebook group(s), I follow Seagull Outboard fans | Facebook

For readers with an Achilles 24: Being designed for displacement hulls a 102cc Silver Century (or Century +) with a clutch would appear to be a good option as a prime engine and one that should drive an A24 well, probably better than many modern engines designed for light craft and with nominally more power; but think twice, being in a well you would get a lot of noxious fumes coming into the cockpit even with a 25:1 fuel mix, and they can be noisy so not good over long distances, both partly due to holes in the exhaust system to reduce back pressure restricting power (and possibly helping the centrifugal water pump).

Next Cruise: Towards Shetland (again) in April.

Another attempt at Shetland is pencilled in to start the first or third week in April for the best tides; but the weather may well change that, it usually does.

The two main options for departure to get favourable tides
to and past the Mull of Kintyre (v2).

March wind rose  (Predictwind).

If the weather cooperates leaving on, or a tad before, a Spring tide is best for a quick passage to the Inner Hebrides, with tides setting north at a sensible time each morning. 

But, with the 31st March being the highest tide of the year (a range of 7.5m / 24.6 ft at Milford and almost as high on the 29th & 30th) a couple of days later or the 15th April is probably more likely as tides on the 1st will be fierce out past The Smalls and off Tuskar and it will not take much wind to make the sea very uncomfortable and not much more to make it dangerous, especially off South Bishop. However I don't rule out the 31st if the conditions are benign and may go down a day or two early to be able to make the decision late.

Statistically, over the last 10 years, the earlier date or March is better as northerly or easterly winds predominate in April, in previous  years these have helped me along the south coast and hindered me going north from Newlyn. March is currently ruled out due to the cold, but if an early and warm spring is forecast with favourable winds March 16th or 17th could come into play so I will try and get the spring clean and general preparations done in late February or early March which fits in well with the need to replenish the desiccant water traps. 

April wind rose.

The default initial destination is Carnsore / Rosslare but if the course to Cahore gives an extra 0.5 knots under sail I'll go there, but if there is no wind I'll probably stay at Milford, motoring over again holds little attraction. If I have to, perhaps to get to Scotland before bad weather or northerly winds it would be best to go directly to Dublin arriving before midnight at 5.5 knots. 

If I can make and hopefully sustain 4.5 knots through the water then I can take advantage of the second north going tide and make for Wiklow or if 5 knots looks achievable perhaps with a nice F4 SW wind and a spinnaker (one can hope), then Sorentto bay, Dublin is an option passing south of the India bank rather than north to keep the option of Wiklow open if I can't make Sorrento by c 02:00 when the tide turns foul. 

And if it looks iffy I would probably go south of Arklow Bank to keep Arklow in play for an overnight stay.  I have been to all of these anchorages before, anchoring in the dark is not a problem at Wiklow or Sorrento but very iffy at Arklow due to pots and two outfalls that need to be avoided, so it would have to be an early decision and probably the engine for a while to get in before 20:30. 

Next day I could be away with a fair tide at c 08:00.

Easterly winds would present a bit of a problem, Milford - Fishguard is possible but the tides are wrong to go inside Ramsey Island and the outside route needs 4.5 knots to get past Strumble head before the tide turns adverse and the last 18 miles would be into the wind so would need the engine, except perhaps in a South easterly but with that I could probably make Dublin.

If easterly winds look like persisting for weeks then an option would be to head north up the west coast of Ireland, I'll be packing the charts and pilot books for that. But leaving near springs tides for the first week would be problematic and it would add at least 3 weeks to the trip and probably quite a bit more.

The route further north will be dependant on the weather but ideally from Mull (after storing at Tobermory), I would visit Coll and possibly the Treshnish Isles, cross the Sea of the Hebrides where the wild life sightings were so fantastic in 2023 and north to Stornoway via the Shiant Islands, again sailing in waters rich with wild life in 2023. But if the weather is not favourable but OK to go up the Sound of Sleat and inside Skye I will probably go that way as there is always the chance of doing the Western Isles route in reverse coming back in the summer.

The plan is then to minimise long legs and route to Stromness via Hoy Mouth (as last year), hop round to Kirkwall in one tide, then sail up through the islands to the bay of Otterswick (Sanday) before starting the 64NM leg to southern Shetland or the 78 NM direct to Lerwick.

Some potential anchorages, the same as targeted last year.