Five things good. five things less good

16/08/200719/08/2007 / Bill

Five things I was pleased with last trip:

1. We left the mooring neatly with a new crew.

2. We hoisted the mainsail without catching the battens in the lazy jacks. (How easy was that?)

3. I really enjoyed sailing with this crew too. In the past three weeks I have sailed with eleven different crew members – all family, only three of whom had been in the boat before. Being with family is great – skippering them could be something else. In the event, all was well.

4. We returned to the mooring with everyone knowing what to do – and doing it, even though I was the only one who had done it before. The system works!

5. Curiously an accident proved a blessing. A lifejacket was dropped in the water and auto-inflated. Well, now I know they work! And I now know how to reset them.

Five things I could have done better:

1. I went below without checking whether any boats were closing on us, and was called up in a hurry to find a 20 foot closing fast on the port tack to our starboard tack. He seemed not to notice. I should have been more vigilant for the new crew.

2. The tide was taking us down onto the Shag Stone and we ended up starting the engine to weather it. We could have made it under sail with a little more forethought.

3. I couldn’t make up my mind how best to set the sheets on the genoa – when to run them inside or outside the shrouds. I think we could have sailed more effectively to windward. May be that would have made the difference at the Shag Stone.

4. I had planned to keep a detailed log as a navigational exercise even though it was a day sail – and didn’t. I do need the practice.

5. I also need a checklist for leaving the boat – this was the second trip running I left something on board and had to row back to the mooring to fetch it.

The Folksong 26 (sic)

09/08/200709/08/2007 / Bill / 16 Comments

The main reason I started this blog was to find out about the origins of the Folksong class, and hence my own boat ‘Blue Mistress’. I have learnt a great deal and met some good people from doing so, but after nine months I still only had part of the Folksong story.

On Saturday, thanks to a small note in Sailing Today, I found a new website www.yachtbrochures.co.uk, run by Mike Davies. Included in a very long list of class names is “Folksong, Eric Berquist, 1983”. Search over. Mike replied almost immediately to my email and the transaction was completed within a few minutes. An excellent service. Thank you.

So I have received a brochure written for the Southampton International Boat Show, Mayflower Park, 17-24 September 1983 (Stand B10). From this I learn that the Folksong was originally sold as “a thoroughbred cruiser/racer you can afford”.

“Based on the lines of the Folkboat, the FOLKSONG embodies the three principle virtues of that classic boat – looks, performance and economy.”

The builder was Eric Bergqvist, Boatbuilder, The Square, Lymm, Cheshire.

“Specifications: LOA: 25ft 2in; LWL: 19.8ft; Beam: 7ft 3in; Draft: 3ft 9in; Ballast: 2500lbs; Hull: GRP, 7oz from deck to waterline, 11oz below; Deck: glass fibre sandwich construction with built-in non-slip surface; Cockpit: self-draining; Sail area: 280 sq ft; Engine: provision for an outboard well or an inboard engine.”

“The Folksong is based on the lines of the Folkboat which was designed in 1941 for a Swedish Yachting Press competition. Over 2000 Folkboats have been built embodying the traditional virtues of a long keel, conventional outboard rudder and seven eighths rig with a sailing performance to match. Although the Folkboat design was intended for wooden construction, clinker and carvel, three fibreglass versions have since been moulded. The Folksong is the only one designed specifically for home completion.

In order to retain both the classic lines and the excellent performance of the craft no attempt has been made to cater for standing headroom. If necessary though, this could be achieved with the use of a spray dodger. The accommodation is not spacious but the layout is flexible. With thoughtful planning and use of timber and fabrics you can create an interior which is warm and comfortable as well as practical.

Twenty five feet is the minimum length of yacht generally considered capable of continental cruising without bravery or heroics. The Folksong is an uncomplicated yacht – economical but with no compromise on safety.”

There’s more. If you own a Folksong and would like to discuss it, please contact me. Alternatively, I recommend Mike Davies’ website.

A Good Afternoon Out

29/07/2007 / Bill

With a single reef in the mainsail and the No.1 jib, (a former mainsail cut to size), Blue Mistress sails beautifully.

There was a grey cloudy sky yesterday afternoon, with rain to come. The forecast said the wind would lessen as the afternoon wore on. But Charles and Annette were on holiday and wanted to sail and Peggy said she’s come too – (none of them wanting to sail more than I), so we went.

We put our nose out round the Breakwater into the teeth of a long swell and decided that, with the wind lessening, it would be more fun to sail inside the Breakwater. And it was when we had tacked and eased the sheets slightly into a close reach across relatively calm waters that the boat came alive. It’s difficult to describe but there was a moment when the rhythm of the boat stepped up a notch. It was the sort of unlooked-for feeling you get ‘in your bones’. Maybe it was the movement through the water as we picked up speed, maybe the various sounds changing, maybe it was the set of the sails or the feel of the wind on my cheek, but I found myself knowing precisely why I am pleased with Blue Mistress and why the wait for the work on her to be completed has been worth it.

As we headed towards the bridge between Drake’s Island and the Mount Edgcumbe estate to enter the Tamar, a fleet of Lasers swept down on us. A few minutes before they had been a mile away over towards Cawsand, now the leaders were on us and there was that tricky moment of how to avoid them. They seemed to be everywhere – enthusiastic youngsters seriously racing.

Once on the Tamar, with a light drizzle and the wind dropping, it was time to shake out the reef – and the genoa might have helped but the wind was dropping fast and it fell altogether as we came level with Millbrook Lake.

So a chance to recharge the batteries and enjoy a gentle motor up river past the naval dockyards before returning to the Plym.

The drizzle stopped as we were directed inshore towards the Mayflower Marina to avoid another warship plus its attendant tug, police boat and various ribs.

It’s only the second season I have sailed in Plymouth and I am still ‘green behind the ears’, so maybe I am a little naïve, but, as my Dad used to point out, when you’re on the water, there’s always something happening and always something to see. Don’t miss it. It’s particularly true here.

Post Refit Review

26/07/2007 / Bill / 1 Comment

One of the problems last year was the hatches in the stern. Firstly, they leaked, and, secondly, the tiller got in the way when opening them. So the new design had to solve both those problems and still leave two lockers with openings large enough to take, for instance, a spare fuel can, meths etc that we don’t want to store below, plus immediately accessible warps, fenders, a fishing line and so on. It also needed to be lockable. This is the result. They lock from the inside – (answers on a postcard, please!).

Also, the false cockpit floor had taken a battering with large crew members for ever stepping heavily onto it. By putting in floorboards – (two for ease of removal), the load has been spread. Also, the slight problem we have with the small amount of water coming back through the cockpit drain has been reduced (not yet solved) by the extra height of the boards. And, finally, it looks good.

The third improvement, apart from the new halyard winches, is the option to put a polystyrene weatherboard in the companionway. It gives a clear view through to the cockpit from the cabin. When not in use, it stows in a smart Velcro-ed foam pocket to prevent scratching. I opted for the double weather board because I found the single one that was there previously difficult to stow when not in use. With the new lower one installed, I can still get in and out of the hatchway without having to remove it – (just!). There is another upper board that locks in place.

Trial sail

17/07/2007 / Bill

We finally went to sea on Saturday afternoon – Pete and I. A run to stretch the sails and check the rigging.

I had planned to go on Friday but the weather dictates – and this year it is dictating more than average. It seemed that most of the boats in Plymouth were taking advantage of the sunny day.

The deck proved good to work on. The Folksong deck is uncluttered anyway, but painting it this colour with an uninterrupted non-slip surface makes it seem large.

Also, placing the grab-rails around the edge of the coach roof has kept the coachroof free to walk on. They make good toerails when sitting full on the deck, and are not too high to sit inboard with feet on the toerails proper.

The wind was dropping as the afternoon wore on. It was really a genoa wind but I wanted to try out the No.2 jib. This is a heavier sail and cut differently from the others. It also stretches the full height of the forestay, whereas the luffs of the other sails are shorter and their tacks can be raised with a strop to make visibility easier.

Blue Mistress handled well but it kept her speed down and I felt a hint – (just a hint), of a need to compete when we joined the line of yachts returning in the early evening. We had sailed gently along the outside of the breakwater towards them, gybing round the lighthouse on its western end, just as a Contessa 26, a boat I remember admiring last year, powered by with spinnaker set.

We have a lot more to do before we can look in that direction.

Do it myself? You’re joking.

21/05/2007 / Bill / 1 Comment

Back in the winter, when I was thinking about taking off all the deck fittings, stripping and recoating the deck and then reseating the fittings, there were a few wild moments when I thought I ought to do it myself – perhaps with a little help. Thank goodness I saw sense. It would have been an unmitigated disaster.

Forget for a moment the stripping and reseating, the recoating of the deck alone has involved intensive preparation, an initial application of epoxy undercoat, extensive sanding and filling, followed by four further applications of epoxy undercoat, time for each coat to cure, followed by another two coats of the gloss and non-slip surface. My patience would have been exhausted long ago. I don’t doubt most people’s ability to learn on the job, but the amateur effort most of us would have put into the early stages would have made the final finish look very poor indeed by comparison with what is emerging now.

Thanks to Richard, Andy and Robbie, the result is highly professional, and Blue Mistress will be a pleasure to sail.

It will be worth the wait – even though April was the warmest since records began. Boat out of the water – No chance of a sail – How frustrating was that??

Crossing the Bar

15/05/200722/06/2007 / Bill / 1 Comment

My aunt has given me a sheaf of articles, and newspaper clippings about the ketch ‘Ceres’, which, as I have mentioned before, was in our family for 73 of her 125 years active service.

Many of these articles were copied over the years from issues of Sea Breezes, which started life in 1919 as the house magazine of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. The subtitle changed later to “The Ship-Lovers’ Magazine’. It ceased publication in October 1939 only to restart in 1946.

I had thought I would stop posting blogs on ‘Ceres’ but I am finding that publishing them as individual pieces from different sources gives a colourful history and allows the reader a personal insight that is sometimes lost in a formally-presented, official ‘history’. This is partly because the ‘facts’ sometimes differ from article to article.

Talking of ‘colourful’, I hope you enjoy the following. I curled up with embarrassment when I first read it, then laughed out loud for the sheer joy of it.

Crossing the Bar

By C.L.Lilbourn, Newport, Mon.

Editor’s Note:- The June issue gave (on page 90) a wonderful picture of the ketch Ceres crossing the Bar at Bude, Cornwall; more of her history was promised and this is contained in the following article:-

The ketch Ceres, of Bude, Cornwall, has been crossing Bude Bar for over 200 years in practically all weathers. Owing to sunken rocks the channel is very narrow, and the Ceres has been kept close enough to the Chapel Rock, seen in the photo, to knock the shell fish off without damaging the rock or the Ceres. Some steering, I guess, but Captain Walter Petherick is at the helm and nothing is impossible to this 24-carat sailor, who has been master of the Ceres for 46 years. He is now nearly 80 years of age, as upright as a lifeguardsman, with a good head of hair as strong as rope yarns. He is one of the best known and most respected coasting captains living today. He has made thousands of passages up and down the Bristol Channel, and if all the lights in the lighthouses and lightships were extinguished, and their fog signals silenced, he could probably make a passage in the Ceres from Newport to Bude in a dense fog, by the use of the lead and the assistance of the different herds of cattle along the coast bellowing.

Call everything “he” except the tomcat.

For instance, if he heard a cow bellowing in a soprano voice he could say to his mate, “Ben, us be off Minehead; that is Farmer G’s cow a-bellowing: can’t you hear he (Cornish sailors call everything ‘he’ except the Tomcat, and they call ‘he’ ‘she’)? Drop the lead over the side and see what water us have got.” Ben would retort so many fathoms and hard sand. The captain would say, “Yes, I knew us was off Minehead.” Some hours later another cow would bellow in a contralto voice. The Captain would know it was Farmer T’s at the Foreland. Some hours later they would hear a bull roaring in a bass baritone voice, the Captain would know they were off Bull Point. The last cow would be heard at Hartland Point, where they would get their departure. When they arrived in Bude Bay they would have to wait for the fog to clear before they could cross the Bar.

I wonder what my great grandfather – (he of the ‘hair as strong as rope yarns’), thought of this!

This is the Boys Own writing of the time, of course, and maybe a little embellishment for the reader was considered worthy.

I must admit, the more I find out about him, the more fond I grow of Captain Walter Petherick; and I can’t help feeling he had earned the right to a short piece about him without the need for any superlatives.

I will post the remainder of the articles and clippings over the next few months.

This is one of a number of posts on the Ketch “Ceres”. They have been presented in a random order as and when I have found, or been given, new material. They represent steps in a personal quest to find out more about one branch of my family.

If you are interested in maritime history or would like to read more, please use the Search facility at the top right hand side of this page (‘Ceres’). If this is not available on your current screen, then click on ‘Bill’s Boat Blog’ – (or the title of this entry, then ‘Bill’s Boat Blog’), to be taken to the correct page.

A Warm, Dry Boat

13/05/200721/05/2007 / Bill / 9 Comments

Here is a very depressing experience: sitting in a damp boat in mid-winter, with a gale blowing, it’s getting dark, it’s raining hard and the deck-head lining has been removed to see if we can find where the water is coming through.

So, a couple of weeks ago, when I find a book entitled “A Warm, Dry Boat”, you can bet I will leap at it

I found it by Googling ‘heating for yachts’. This was the wrong topic to search on. It should have been ‘ventilation in boats’, but I only know that now because I’ve read the book.

So, is it to be A Cold, Damp Boat or A Warm,Dry Boat?

As you can tell, I highly recommend “A Warm, Dry Boat” by Roger McAfee. It took a little while to cross te Atlantic, but it has been well worth it.

Mr McAfee is Canadian and lives on the Pacific coast where it is colder and damper than the UK. So it’s “put your pride aside, admit you haven’t got all the answers, find out from the people with experience.”

What have I learnt?

The refit was planned because various deck fittings were leaking and needed reseating. It was decided, because of the age of the boat and the distances that we might sail in her, it would be better to do the job properly and not skimp it.

I now know that merely replacing fittings is not enough to solve the problem. Moisture will still build up in the air inside this now water-tight (as far as possible) hull – moisture from body heat, moisture from any water in the bilges, moisture from damp clothing, mositure from the air – moisture that then condenses into droplets on cold surfaces and starts the process all over again.

If all that is done to alleviate this is to add a heater to give warmth, the first thing that will happen is that more moisture will be absorbed into the air, the greater will be the difference in temperature between the outside of the boat and the inside and the more condensation will occur. (How much moisture will depend on the heating system). This problem can be greatly reduced by moving the air that is high in moisture out of the boat and replacing it with fresh air, i.e. it is movement of air we are looking for.

In other words, a boat needs to breathe.

So we have to find ways of moving air, and, initially, because of the size of the boat, we will try to do this passively.

The fore hatch, which previously (as in the image above) hinged with the leading edge opening forward, is being refitted with the hinges forward.

Two reasons: a) It is safer – an unlocked hatch cover facing forward on the foredeck can scoop water into the boat at an alarming rate.

b) On the mooring, with the hatch propped open (the exact opening will depend on wind strength), the flow of wind from forward lifting over the hatch should create a potential vacuum at the opening, dragging air out of the forecabin. This should create a flow of air from the main cabin forward. By controlling the air into the boat from further aft, the movement can be maintained and the air exchanged.

In Blue Mistress, the companionway is fairly small, so we are dividing the drop boards into two so that the air intake through the companionway can be controlled by varying the combination of drop boards and the position of the sliding hatch.

Also, a large fuel tank that occupied the starboard quarter berths has been removed and both quarter berths are now open. There are further plans for these for next year, but, in the meantime, two small hatches in the sides of the cockpit aft can be opened and, with the companionway shut, air can now flow the full length of the boat.

It is also possible to have a spare drop board with a fan fitted to it (perhaps run by a solar panel). During the winter, this could be installed with a hose led to the bilge so that the air is ventilated directly from the dampest part of the boat, rather than allowing this moisture to flow into the cabin first.

That’s the theory. Now we need to get the boat back in the water to see whether the plan works. More of this later.

Winches

07/05/2007 / Bill

He is a little embarrassed to tell this – not sure why, except he thinks he should know better.

Recently the brake on the starboard sheet winch stopped working. The drum turned freely both ways – no comforting click. Now that both winches have been removed from Blue Mistress for her refit, this is the obvious time to repair and service them.

For anyone who hasn’t seen inside, a winch is one of those objects that is fine in itself but, to be honest, is a complete mystery. How does it work? What makes it click? What stops it rotating anti-clockwise? And if the clicking stops does it mean some sort of spring or clip or finely engineered dubris has fractured? Will this be highly expensive? Does it need a specialist to sort it out?

At the very least, it means getting out the ‘how to’ books and reading them very carefully.

‘How to’ books are hot on warnings and the sections on winches particularly so. Instructions like ‘gently’, ‘slowly’, ‘carefully’, ‘remember to record the order the parts come off’, ‘ use a container to put all the bits in’, ‘a coordinated softly-softly approach’, ‘do not lose these springs and makes sure they don’t jump out as they are freed’, ‘always take special care that you don’t lose any of the tiny springs etc’, ‘spread a sheet under the vice to catch them’ and so on.

This is all very sound advice, and now that he knows, he understands why. However, by the time he had finished reading, he was jolly sure it would be an impossible task, especially as the winch in the pictures looked nothing like the winches in front of him.

And he’s left-handed, which means that all the pictures had been taken the wrong way round for him. Eighty per cent of the time, this doesn’t matter – after all, he’s had a lifetime to get used to looking at ‘right-handed instructions’, but when a job needs ‘care’, gentleness’, ‘slowness’ , i.e. has all the hall-marks of a precision job, he needs to be spoon-fed (or he thinks he does).

The reality usually turns out quite differently, of course.

However, it took three days of looking at the winches, absorbing the instructions, downloading the parts manual from the internet, before he plucked up the courage to start.

When he did so, the bomb-squad would have been proud of him. He made absolutely sure no one was anywhere near him. (The area had been cleared!)

Carefully, gently and slowly, he prised off the circlip on the top of the first winch and, placing his thumbs on the drive shaft and his fingers around the drum, he gingerly lifted the drum millimetre by millimetre until it was clear of the base. At any moment he expected a small explosion and a shower of little springs to fly across the room.

And this is what he found?

He could have removed this drum in an open cockpit in an Atlantic storm and not lost a single part!

Now he could see why the clicking has stopped – all four pawls (the comma-shaped objects at either end of the drum) were jammed by grease and salt – as were the rollers. Every other part was dry and covered in salt.

It took two hours of soaking in paraffin, carefully separating parts, brushing, scrubbing, polishing, light greasing and oiling to get it back together again. There was no corrosion or fracture or any engineering defect whatever – four pawl springs were replaced. It works perfectly again – job done.

It took half an hour to strip the first winch and five minutes the second.

Now he knows it’s straightforward he will service them again next year.

He’ll have to be careful, of course, next time the parts really will be freer – and just maybe will explode everywhere.

Just for the love of it

04/05/2007 / Bill

I originally started this blog because I bought a boat – a Folksong – last year. (I had my first sight of her, one year ago tomorrow).

There was plenty of work to do on her but I knew of no other Folksong owners with experience of these boats, so, in the mode of the times, I conducted a search online. I set up a three-month blog. This worked, and although there are only a few owners out there who found me, I am very grateful to them for there assistance. I hope I can repay their kindness as time goes on.

At the end of three months, I had had the good advice I sought, made the necessary decisions about ‘Blue Mistress’ and was ready to close the blog. However, someone, (from Seattle, I think, or was it Vancouver?), suggested I continue, and I got interested in the possibilities of sharing information that is of interest to members of my widespread family – widespread in both age and distance, to friends I know well and also to those people I have never met but are interested in the subject (maritime history as told and recorded by my ancestors). All the while, ‘Blue Mistress’ has been the thread that holds the blog together.

At the end of a further four months, this too has proved a positive exercise. I have found a new respect for my great grandfather, been able to informally share details with my family that would otherwise have laid in a box between the covers of a notebook, and learnt a great deal about writing online.

There have been four main lessons:

Lesson one: Very, very few people are really interested in what you write;

Lesson two: Even then, their interest varies with the subject – (common sense this). They don’t care about everything you write, only some things;

Lesson three: People you know (especially those you are related to) are particularly critical – and often miss the point. (Who was it who said that we think of ourselves as we see us in the future, other people see us as we were in the past? For those who know us well, our past can be very vivid, clear and of mixed interpretation).

Lesson four: It is possible to become bored with the word ‘I’ – perhaps bored is the wrong word but certainly restricted. In the end, who really cares about ‘I’ except ‘me’. On the other hand, the possibilities of writing in the third person are infinite.

So, for the next three months, Bill is going to stand back and join you, the reader, and see if he can retain your interest by reflecting a way of life he loves. Although ‘Blue Mistress’ will continue to be a unifying thread, his intention is to learn what are to him new ways of writing about sailing and the sea. If you care to come along, he hopes you will enjoy it – just for the love of it.