Which boat for next summer?
Discussion
HocusPocus said:
We are all dying to learn about LB's precise execution of the cunning plan. Damage report?
Okay, I am back after a nine-hour voyage. I will possibly post up some pictures tomorrow, but the ones of the landing will be missing because the passengers neglected to take any, the ingrates.It was very windy. It was blowing around 20mph with 40mph gusts, but it was sunny.
We'd never done a lock before but breezed Hazelford. Though the wind did blow us on to the pontoon ahead of the lock and it put a small scuff on the bathing platform.
But the lock went well, as did Gunthorpe afterwards.
My plan to pick up the guests worked perfectly. I anchored up stream, paid out anchor warp until parallel with them, then threw them a line. They pulled the stern in and climbed aboard. No grounding and not so much as a moist flip-flop.
We were indeed mastering the Trent. We stopped short of a "Deliverance" style "we beat that" but of course pride comes before and we arrived at Stoke lock.
There were buoys ahead of the lock which I presumed marked shallow water, so I passed them to port and watched the water depth diminish to 0.7m. Our draft is 0.46 so I bailed and assumed that the deep water was the other side of the buoy. It wasn't. We grounded. In the end I crept through the 0.7m section and got into the lock, or should I say "jaws of death".
You see, the lock was different from the previous two and for whatever reason had "pit props" against the sides every 6-8 feet. These pit props were much thicker than our fenders, which rendered them useless. It was then that we discovered the outermost component of the boat is the fender rail. Which made contact with a pit prop, it flexed and then there was a loud crack that made me sad. We've cracked the deck around one of the mounts,
The fender rail still seems quite solid. Do I need to get the deck properly repaired or fill the cracks with silicone and ignore it?
So, all in all we had a brilliant day and learned a massive amount. In one day we did one third of our total hours and in tricky conditions.
Tips regarding the fender rail mount appreciated.
Louis Balfour said:
Can you see behind that area, is there a headliner to peel back? If you are lucky the cracking will just be the gelcoat and you could get a man to sand it back and fill / colour match. If cracking is evident on the underside it's probably also leaking and needs repairing. I assume boats like this are not built with cored decks any more?NickCQ said:
Louis Balfour said:
You see, the lock was different from the previous two and for whatever reason had "pit props" against the sides every 6-8 feet. These pit props were much thicker than our fenders, which rendered them useless.
You need a "fender board"Louis Balfour said:
I know the most appropriate knot for fender attachment. That doesn't mean I want to tie the bloody thing four times at every lock.
One of my fender ropes was fraying from the limited knotting it was enduring, so clips seemed sensible. Also, clips look tidier. They are very smart and match my hull colour dontchaknow.
We might be past the point where not using the clove results in the cat on the foredeck.
However, if your fender ropes are fraying, the answer IS whipping!One of my fender ropes was fraying from the limited knotting it was enduring, so clips seemed sensible. Also, clips look tidier. They are very smart and match my hull colour dontchaknow.
We might be past the point where not using the clove results in the cat on the foredeck.
Get your junior First Mate a logbook, I bet he would love learning his 8 knots and getting them signed off!
NickCQ said:
deeen said:
Or at least a couple of fenders with ropes tied both ends, so you can hold them horizontal.
That way has the advantage that when someone ties one of those near the prop the free end will get nice and tangled NickCQ said:
Can you see behind that area, is there a headliner to peel back? If you are lucky the cracking will just be the gelcoat and you could get a man to sand it back and fill / colour match. If cracking is evident on the underside it's probably also leaking and needs repairing. I assume boats like this are not built with cored decks any more?
Many thanks. How would I locate such a man? Via the marina?Louis Balfour said:
Many thanks. How would I locate such a man? Via the marina?
We are lucky down here in the Solent that there are lots of mobile gelcoat / GRP repair people, some will have a workshop in a marina and some will work from a van. Your broker may have a guy he uses as boats get scuffed all the time in transport?Or the cheap way: 'Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure'
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322512805440?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322512805440?
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 29th March 22:10
Simpo Two said:
Or the cheap way: 'Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure'
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322512805440?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322512805440?
Sir B has not spent £50k on a brand new boat to cover it in whale sploogedeeen said:
NickCQ said:
Louis Balfour said:
You see, the lock was different from the previous two and for whatever reason had "pit props" against the sides every 6-8 feet. These pit props were much thicker than our fenders, which rendered them useless.
You need a "fender board"
Commander Lewis need a fender/barge board.
PushedDover said:
In Carbon Fibre or matching the MF livery obviously
But, but that would mean buying one... With actual money, which won't do at all. 
No, go to the Bosuns store or any boatyard skip, rummage about for some marine ply and scraps of rope, do some manly sawing and drilling and whipping and eye splicing and make a couple to the exact size that'll fit in the locker.
Done.
Edited by Jaguar steve on Tuesday 30th March 07:48
In all seriousness, yesterday did highlight to me that however sedate the business of pootling along the Trent might be, it is not without its challenges. There seems to be very little river maintenance going on. I asked the lockkeeper if they were going to dredge the sandbar that effectively bars entry to the lock and she said "they were going to, but ran out of money".
A perusal of my snaps from yesterday offered little by way of footage that explained how windy it was. However the froth in this snap provides a clue.
A perusal of my snaps from yesterday offered little by way of footage that explained how windy it was. However the froth in this snap provides a clue.
Edited by Louis Balfour on Tuesday 30th March 08:39
Louis Balfour said:
In all seriousness, yesterday did highlight to me that however sedate the business of pootling along the Trent might be, it is not without its challenges. There seems to be very little river maintenance going on. I asked the lockkeeper if they were going to dredge the sandbar that effectively bars entry to the lock and she said "they were going to, but ran out of money".
People in the business of providing marine services to pleasure users never run out of money. What they actually run out of is the willingness to spend it on the services they're being paid to provide to said pleasure users and prefer instead to use it entertaining themselves with helicopters and Aston Martin endurance racing teams.Even self-appointed Guardians Of The River Bed operating under the cunning disguise of a town council or charitable trust or not for profit sailing club have been known for bumping up annual prices at almost the same rate as the river bed they're renting out is silting up.
Man on the quay: "Wow, you must be rich to be able to afford a boat".
Man on the boat: "I was before I bloody bought one."
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