Marine Chandlery

Since early September, Jen and I have been enjoying some quality time out on Hindsight in the Ionian. To bring us back to reality, at least once a week we delve into our iPads; in her case to catch up on the news back home and for me likewise but, more importantly, to send through the weekly blog to my Boss Andy. Out here there don't seem to be any queues at petrol stations, as far as I have seen, the tavernas rely on bottled gas and, talking to their staff, as far as I can tell no shortages nor price increases. And yes supermarkets on the islands have some empty shelves but that is to do with the holiday season coming to an end as the tourists on the smaller islands are mainly yachties. However, when I logged on this morning to start composing (if that's the word for my weekly ramble), Jen did think the above Greek news headline was appropriate considering the subject I was being asked to talk about; the Metermaid.

I'm not sure what's happening with electricity prices back home but with a Metermaid you can, of course, keep a check of your electric consumption. It, of course, offers total flexibility to monitor your electricity use on board be it running a dehumidifier or maybe a tube heater to warm the sump over the winter. Use one in the boatyard or on hard standing when using power tools such as a drill with a Tercoo blaster / GRP removal tool or a rotary polisher etc. We also sell Metermaids to small marina operators, yacht clubs and boatyards as well as caravan park owners, caravanners and motor home owners and, believe it or not, three the other week to a tree surgeon!

One of our regular customers, who kindly sent us the above image, uses his Metermaid to monitor electricity usage while running his Meaco dehumidifier. Methinks that if electricity prices rise this winter like gas prices Andy will be fitting Metermaids to the sewing machines in the sail loft and the power tools when being used in the boatyard to check on consumption.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing (so is Hindsight, our pride and joy, well we think so) however having now had the Mystery 35 on the water in the summer for nigh on five years there are certain items that we (for we read me) would have fitted in a different location!  When Jen and I purchased our Hunter Channel 31 hull and deck moulds all those years ago, whilst we didn’t go for the interior pack of wood, we did start off with the appropriate build/fitting out manual with detailed instructions as to the order of build. As for the Mystery, it had always been marketed and supplied in a turn key option by the original builders Hunter Boats; then Select, before their demise, so there was no such ‘paperwork’ available when we purchased our hull and deck from Cornish Crabbers who incidentally had just taken ownership of the moulds when we took the plunge. Methinks at many times during the fit out it was the inept (me) leading the inept (me again).

In hindsight I should have located the excellent Gaslox gas leak detector (Andy my boss now stocking the Alde gas leak detector, same principle) not at almost the bottom of the large port locker, which of course means that every time I want to use gas for the cooker and test I have to half empty the locker to get to the detector! Once you get to it, it’s easy peasy; to test for a leak all you have to do is press the button on the top of the unit and if bubbles ‘appear’ in the glass window you know there is a leak! Advantages of the Alde detector include: its easy to install, no wiring, no sensors to fail if they get wet and it’s reasonably priced! Also on the market is the Pilot gas alarm available with single or double sensors. They do, of course, give an audible warning if dangerous levels of gas are detected and they do have a ‘test’ facility.

Incidentally, as well as the Gaslox, we do also have a portable Honeywell EzSense flammable gas detector pen which we could use to check bilges etc should the Gaslox show bubbles. In hindsight I should also have located the gas on/off tap in a more easily accessible place than the back of the cooker, touch wood being my head, neither Jen nor myself have burnt ourselves or singed an item of clothing switching the gas off after using the appliance. I hope we never do!

On hindsight it seemed a sensible idea to mount the RCD distribution box as close as possible to the excellent Hubbell 240 volt socket located in the aft part of the cockpit however on the fairly rare occasion when we want to heat water by switching on the Quick immersion as we may not have run the engine, it means that muggins (me) has to crawl the length of the quarter berth to the RCD (that’s after removing all the bits and pieces that seem to accumulate up there….. like the battery for the Torqueedo, the Ewincher, Jen’s aircraft carry on bag,  two portable solar panels etc to do so) as Jen tells me she suffers from claustrophobia and is unwilling to wriggle down there, a likely tale indeed!

On Hindsight it's a bit of a pain to have to get down on your hands and knees (this crusty old sailmaker has, like many retired carpet fitters and plumbers, dodgy joints that don’t work that well) to plug in the kettle or the 240 charger for this or other appliances if connected to shore power never mind switching on/over the engine start/domestic battery bank. Yes the battery switch needs to be close to the source of energy but maybe we shouldn’t have fitted it in there. Having said that I do know now the various positions for off at 12 o'clock and half past for battery one and two as well as the others. As for the 240 volt twin socket methinks and Jen also wonders why we (I) didn’t locate it in an easy to locate place like the side of the saloon seats/berths next to the folding cup/gin & tonic glass holders?

On hindsight we should have located the Whale in-line water filter in an easier to ‘change over’ location than in the pan cupboard, as can be seen from the first of the below images the opening ain’t that large! When I first ‘plumbed’ in the filter, the sink hadn’t been fitted and it was relatively easy to tighten the jubilee clips at each end of the unit from above. Once the sink was in situ and bedded in silicone it was a tad harder!

Hindsight was our choice of names for our Mystery. Why did we go for that name? Well here are at least two major reasons which sprang to mind but there are now others and still counting. Our original Hunter Channel took three years to complete and launch, this Mystery took twice as long and whilst the former came in on budget, the latter certainly didn’t! Having said that if every piece fell into place, calling ones boat ‘Smug Git‘ or ‘Clever S…e’ doesn’t seem appropriate in these careful what you say days!

Tis very tempting to ignore the label attached to my Seago liferaft (especially when it’s not staring me in the face and covered up) and stand on its fibreglass shell when I am shackling/removing the main halyard or zipping up/removing the mainsail cover. Our raft is stowed forward of the mast because of the ‘relatively’ narrow aft pushpit on our Mystery. There isn’t an awful lot of space to attach a raft cradle to! Already fitted includes the Torqueedo outboard, Fortress anchor with its chain and 50 mtrs of multiplait, not to mention the anchorline reel and the Seago 3 in 1 rescue recovery buoy!

So the raft is secured just forward of the mast in a the perfect place to stand on to reach the headboard of the mainsail when attaching/removing the main halyard shackle, and no, it’s not the perfect place to locate a raft I hasten to add!  When we were rigging the mast we attached a couple of folding mast steps to help me overcome this temptation. We went for glass/nylon ones as against stainless as they were available in a choice of colours and being white blended in with the mast. Call me pedantic or what!

As I said before, they are moulded from glass nylon by an injection moulded process and of course are light weight and UV resistant, (very important with Hindsight ‘residing’ in the Ionian) they have an aerodynamic profile which is important if you have a series of them up the mast or you a fix a couple at the top of the mast to make it easier to reach the masthead transducer/aerial etc. They are snag free and don't rattle in the wind at anchor or when in a marina. Each step is individually tested before leaving the factory, however if fitted as a means of reaching the top of the mast, we would strongly recommend that you also use a bosuns chair!

If the idea of plastic fantastic mast steps is not to your liking, boss man Andy does offer a couple of makes of stainless steel folding mast steps.  If you decide to go down this route and you have an alloy mast you must put a barrier between the two dissimilar metals either Tefgel or Duralac paste. The beauty of the former is that it’s almost translucent so if you are a bit ‘messy’ in your application of the paste it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb!

There we were, stern to the Iris pontoon in Nidri on the island of Lefkas, a lazy line secured to the bow to keep the transom a metre away from the ‘dockside’. As a precaution in case we ended up with a ‘blow on the nose’ during the hours of darkness, a nice tough round A3 Polyform fender tied to the strongest part of the boarding ladder was our back up to prevent us kissing the pontoon! Youngest daughter Clare, son in-law and the two grandchildren were on their way back to England, Jenny feeling sad as the next time we would be seeing them would be late Oct/early Nov. As for me, glad that the kids (nearly two and almost four) had ventured out on Hindsight with their parents and all four had enjoyed the experience! In hindsight perhaps should have brought out a children’s logbook for them! Having waved them goodbye and now lounging in the cockpit with our backs up against our Freebags and enjoying a medicinal nightcap of Metaxa in the dark and reminiscing about the past week, we became aware of an irregular knocking coming from what I thought was inside the boat up forward. Went below to try and locate the source, failed miserably, came back up on deck peered over the port side and could see what looked like a wooden box gently ‘tapping’ the side of the hull. Grabbed the boat hook and managed to ‘steer’ it to the pontoon and lifted it out. An old dorade box with a metal navigation light still attached (the source of noise?) but no metal cowl vent, shame it might have polished up nicely!

Whilst it wouldn’t have put a hole in Hindsight if we had collided with it when doing six odd knots, it may have put a ding or scored the gelcoat in the hull so it is worth remembering to carry onboard repair materials such as an epoxy that will cure in unfavourable conditions such as JB waterweld  (see image below) or my favourite epoxy of all time West’s G/flex’.

West’s G/flex, in my humble opinion, is a brilliant product which can be used for underwater repairs or on damp substrates and difficult to glue woods with a high natural oil content such as teak. G/flex is great for repairing plastic components such as brackets for compasses/fish finders/plotters (both my bike plastic mudguards got the treatment) as well as polypropylene canoes/dinghies. I also used this product to bond my polypropylene Whale grey water tank into the bilges of Hindsight. Finally, If you want cheering up this Tuesday morning click onto the link below and watch the ‘Tuesday chain saw massacre‘ of a newly purchased canoe and its subsequent rejuvenation!

On board Hindsight, apart from the above two products (dare I say the Gflex is sadly way  past its sell by date but still going ‘strong’) we also carry the large Forespar Sta-Plug. Great for use if you are unfortunate enough to suffer a hull puncture. However I never got round to getting hold of the smaller set which, of course, could be used to plug a seacock, but we do carry a set of tapered wooden plugs should I have a skin fitting/seacock issue.

Finally, if you ever have a seacock blockage or one seizes up, the Seabung Breach Control is a device that can be used to remove the valve without having to go to the expense of a lift out/lift in. This nifty device enables you to remove the offending component, replace or unblock with no drama and only a small amount of water entering the boat.

Fitting out the hull & deck of our Channel 31 many years ago, when it came to putting the final touch to the combined heads/shower compartment we installed one of those (new to the market then) Oceanair DRYroll waterproof toilet roll holders. The company in those days was owned and run by a very good and extremely competitive Int 14 sailor Andy Fitzgerald who, when I was racing against him, often used to do a ‘horizon’ job, much to my dismay! Andy sold Oceanair (whose company were best known for their very comprehensive range of hatch shades and screens) a couple of years ago when he sailed off into retirement to Dometic, well know in the marine market for their cookers, fridges, etc. This year you may have found to your cost trying to obtain many household products such as building materials (in our case two replacement household radiators, ordered in May and still waiting) and for Andy’s company trying to obtain regular supplies of various marine related products inc most makes of small outboard motors, inflatable tenders and life jackets has been nigh on impossible. The Dometic DRYroll and the companion Brush & Stow have also been in very short supply. Not only have we been supplying the marine market but also companies that specialise in fitting motorhome interiors to various makes of van bodies. Dometic have started to get stock through (good job as one of our regular customer has just ordered 40 Dryrolls for his van conversions).

As can be seen from the 'headline video’ the paper retracts as the lid is closed, saving the need to ‘hide’ the toilet paper if taking a shower in the ‘heads compartment. The Brush & Stow holder is a neat, odour free way of stowing a toilet brush. Speaking of odours we also carry on board a bottle of Starbrite toilet bowl cleaner. It does what it says on the container, cleans, brightens and removes stains from plastic and porcelain bowls. It will not, of course, damage plastic, rubber seals or any metallic parts. For our holding tank we have found ODOURLOS concentrate excellent for eliminating holding tank odours,  it helps break down waste and tissue and it is of course 100% organic and biodegradable. And to help eliminate that "rotten egg" smell when the boat is left for a prolonged period of time we fitted the Purytec head cleaning system. Simply fit it inline in the inlet pipe and it cleans and deoderises the bowl and water pipes for up to 400 flushes.

It’s quality not quantity Jenny keeps telling me on the very rare occasions that we eat out. I think it’s been once in the last year and a half back in the UK and that was two weeks ago! Having said that now a week out in the Ionian on my tod (Jen flies out tomorrow with our daughter, son in-law and their two children) I have now gotten into a sort of eat out rhythm. One night on the boat, one off, however having just spent 4 hours rebuilding the toilet and then having to think and write a blog I decided to treat myself to a light salad and a large beer. Well the quantity was large and the quality yup it was good as for the beer I certainly needed that large one! However with the toilet sorted thank goodness and with a beer and some tuna salad inside me I’m starting to chill and the words are starting to flow (lets hope they make sense).

Most yachties do carry an emergency vhf aerial in very very rare case of a dismasting or maybe a malfunction with the mast head unit. When it comes to aerials big is superior or to put it another way, the further up it is the better the performance when it comes to range! Having said that the price of the Shakespeare inflatable aerial (a full 1.5metres when deployed) has been, up to now, a little off putting for a lot of folks (even thought its performance is far superior than the helical type which was approx 1/2 it’s price) for an emergency product one hopes never to use. However Andy my boss these days has put together a pre Southampton boat show offer of a Shakespeare inflatable aerial at just £69-95 a saving of £80-00 off the original price which cannot be ignored. To get the full story about this great bit of kit watch the video below.

PS. never finished the salad nor touched the bread but I did order another 1/2 beer. Thirsty work writing these ‘holiday blogs! Now back to Hindsight to tackle the leaking engine cooling water pump.

Boss man Andy was away last week on a well earned holiday break so it was back to ‘full time’ work as against my Saturday job in his sailloft. Gave me a chance to lose some weight in anticipation of my Greek Odyssey as I ended up running round like a headless chicken! And it was definitely a mistake to say to the boss ‘yes no problem if the other Rob has the same week off as well’. Wednesday past was, for some reason, pallet day as five turned up! Eight Seago dinghies, loads of Wet & Forget, two Aqua Chef V4520 ovens, a gearbox and shaft for a large Mercury outboard and finally a large quantity of Rydlyme which I knew Andy would be delighted with once he returned as its been in very very short supply over the last few months! The sum total of the my workload plus my disappearing act on Sunday to Lefkas meant this weeks TTT got left on the back burner and guess what, no subject matter. Fortunately just before I was about to lock up, a chandlery customer came to my rescue!

He wandered into the chandlery with a couple of lifejackets he had been given, said he had missed the RNLI life jacket clinic the other weekend at his local marina and could I advise him if they were fit for purpose. On examination one was missing its CO2 cylinder, was also minus a crutch strap and the auto capsule was way past its sell by date. The other had the cylinder and the crutch strap but once again the capsule was of 2011 vintage. Out of sight, out of mind springs to mind! Like a lot of items of kit we tend to take them for granted. Incidentally, displayed below are the ‘results’ of the RNLI lifejacket clinic which was held at the Royal Quays marina the other day, makes sobering reading!

The recommendations given at the RNLI lifejacket clinic are to inflate the lifejacket through the oral inflation tube using a pump rather than by mouth (so you don't introduce moisture into the bladder), leave overnight to ensure it doesn't deflate.

Unscrew the CO2 bottle to ensure it hasn't been pierced, check it hasn't gone rusty, weigh it using digital scales and ensure the weight matches the minimum gross weight stamped on the bottle, check the date on the auto capsule and check the lifejacket has a crutch strap.

We cannot claim to carry all the spare components to keep your lifejacket in safe working order but we do like to think we have a very wide selection! If you’re unsure what you need don't hesitate to get in touch by email, images always help!

When I poked my nose out of my front door this past Saturday in anticipation of my dip in the North Sea at King Edwards Bay Tynemouth, I did think that there was an autumnal feel to the early morning weather, bit of a breeze and it was drizzling (later cats and dogs!). So it was a quick change from my toweling Gill changing garment to my water and wind proof Dry Robe. Down on the beach, whilst there was no snow on the ground to roll in after exiting the briny, one of my regular swim buddies did make a similar observation; ‘winter draws on’, which got me thinking. Now is the time to start preparing ones‘ canvas work in anticipation of the months to come.

If you have a acrylic or a woven fabric cockpit canopy or whatever, it should be washed (especially if you are a sea sailor) on a regular basis to remove salt crystals and other contaminants. Our sail loft recommendation is Fabsil which is effective on all water proof/breathable fabrics inc GoreTex so if you want to also spruce up your foulies? Yachticon Sail & Canvas cleaner (according to chandlery customer(s) feedback) apparently also does the business. Incidentally bird droppings should be removed as soon as possible by gently sponging away the offending c..p never ever by pressure washing!

As for keeping the fabric water resistant, once clean now is the time to apply a coat of Graingers waterproofer. In our sail loft we prefer to use  the extra strength gold version, yes it’s more expensive but worth its weight in gold (excuse the pun)  not only does it give once treated canvas work that ‘newly polished car look ‘as in water beads and rolls away preventing it becoming saturated, but it helps keep any air or rain borne dirt from sinking into the surface.

If you are having an issue with water penetration on a sewn seam, use either Seam Grip. It’s clear flexible and strong and is the answer for small holes, tears or elongated stitch hole. Or Yachticon Seam Sealer its excellent for permanent flexible waterproof repairs, it’s easy to apply and when dry the treated seam is clear.

As for mildew there are a number of products on the market that are excellent in removing those black spots that appear on the underside of canvas work, cushions headlining and the like, Losso Mold & Mildew stain remover. As well as being very effective on a wide range of materials, is very economical to use. One 340g tub makes 11 litres of solution. If you prefer a ready mixed product both Starbrite or Yachticom Mildew Stain Remover are very effective.

Being a lazy so and so I always practise what I preach. My favourite ‘autumn’ product to use myself with excellent results and also sell is that wonderful New Zealand product Wet & Forget, what with shorter daylight hours and often little or no sun at all, your boat canvas, never mind topsides and deck, can soon turn a shade of green! Meanwhile back at the ranch your fence/path/brick work and decking have the same idea. Wet & Forget does what it says it does, you wet & forget the surface to be cleaned and protected, spray the diluted solution on the surface and Mother Nature does the rest!

Stowed onboard Hindsight and alongside my elderly Avon dinghy is an inflatable standup paddleboard (SUP). It only comes out to play in the Ionian when there is no breeze and I want to do a bit of exploring or feel the need for some exercise (which isn’t very often I hasten to add.) Back in England, daughter Clare brought her own Seago paddle board along to Bassenthwaite lake the other day where I was attempting to compete in the Flying 15 class. Between races she and my three-year-old granddaughter took to the water and had a great time as can be seen from the above image. Boss man Andy, having seen the picture of Cora and her mum on the board, in an amazing display of generosity said ‘why not reduce the price for the coming bank holiday weekend cos being a bank holiday its bound to be sunny! So, including Free UK delivery it’s now only £369-00, order today and you too can be a happy paddler!

It’s not the cheapest on the market I hasten to add but at the new lower price of £369-00 they do represent excellent value for money and with the Seago name behind them you know it is a quality product. Both models feature a 6-inch-thick hull, unlike a lot of the budget boards with a 4-inch hull. This hull which, when inflated to the recommended pressure, gives a superb stiff and stable platform. Seago paddle boards offer everything you need to get on the water and start your new adventure. Ideal for use on oceans, lakes, rivers and bays. Stand up paddle boarding is a great form of exercise, fun for all the family and is an excellent entry point to get involved in water sports. Perfect for traveling because these paddle boards are easily packed into the carry bag making transporting them no problem and the setup only take a few minutes so you can be out having fun in no time. Where will you go next? They come with great stowage ruck sack for easy transportation, an efficient pump c/w pressure gauge for easy inflation/deflation, a three piece adjustable length paddle, removable skeg and of course an ankle leash.

When on the paddle board I wear one of those Spinlock Alto belt packs. It’s a great bit of kit for wearing when I am on the paddle board but also if taking a trip ashore in the dinghy to check out the local taverna as my wife is doing!

Back at the ranch, (if you're a lazy b like me) we can offer you a couple of electric inflators that are not only superb at inflating/deflating your tender but great also for inflating your paddleboard. The SUP 12V air pump can be plugged into a cigarette lighter and can inflate up to 20 psi or the Air NRG 6000 is rechargeable (240V and 12V), will inflate up to 16psi and with a 6000mAh lithium rechargeable battery there's plenty of power to inflate your SUP anywhere.

Well, Bassenthwaite sailing week (see my blog 366 ) has been and gone and no we didn't take home any chocolates, however after the four-race series over the first weekend we did feel that there was a very very faint light at the end of the tunnel and perhaps that I had started to shake off 30 years of absenteeism from racing in the Flying 15 class. For Pete, my crew, it's been a longer layoff. Our ‘speed’ through the water this last weekend was helped by the fact that pre-race we discovered that somehow Ffresco’s buoyancy bags contained a large quantity of water, how it got there heavens knows! We also peeled away the temporary patch covering a puncture in the topsides and made it waterproof by mixing up some Gflex thickened epoxy. This battle scar was from the Northern championships two weeks earlier; not our doing I hasten to add! Harken Mclube was used sparingly to lubricate the parts that some other makes can’t reach. As for the helm and crew, Pete read and inwardly digested the rules book and I polished our bottom again!

Monday there was only one race and we limped in with a third place. Tuesday once again only one race and we staggered in with a second. As for Wednesday’s series, in the first race, we lead round the windward mark, also the second, third, fourth and fifth! Got passed by the eventual winner down the run (local knowledge me thinks from Simon the helm of the opposition) but clung grimly on to second place for another lap and then, disaster! In my eagerness to close the gap I took a mighty pull on the spinnaker retrieval line at the leeward mark and to my ‘slight concern’ the spinnaker dropped into the water and we sailed over it! This, avid readers, is not a cunning plot to catch our supper (nor win races). We managed to retrieve the spinnaker which seemed to be intact and finished the race without a method of hoisting it! Think the RYA book on tying knots should be my next reading matter, or maybe it was sabotage!!!! We missed the second and penultimate race in the Wednesday series as we had to take the boat ashore and lift the mast out to enable us to rethread the continuous spinny halyard/retrieval line. Tear Aid, which in my opinion is much better for repairing sails than say spinnaker repair tape, was used to patch the sail which had suffered when we went fishing. Once the halyard was rethreaded, we then (using monel rivets) secured the Harken sheave box. By that time it was quite late in the afternoon and my back was starting to tell me something wasn’t quite right just below my left shoulder blade. I retired hurt to my caravan to lick my wounds and seek consolation in the bottle!

That night those ‘few’ glasses of wine and assorted pills didn’t seem to ease my back. A poor night's sleep was had and next morning at first light it was a case of googling ‘local sports injury clinics’ in the hope that they might be able to sort me out. As luck would have it that there was a locally based travelling physio who had a 12-30 pm slot who would treat me on site at the Bass sailing club away from public view in our caravan awning. Well, I must say that her treatment was painful but it did ease my back and by next day I was feeling a lot more comfortable and able to play with the boat but it was suggested that I don't participate in any more racing for the rest of the week! The reason; a suspected small tear in one of the many puny muscles in my upper back.

Peter, my crew, was made of sterner stuff however. He grabbed a helm, his son in law, for the race round the lake which was held in very strong winds. I didn’t see any of the race as my back was being pummelled however they came second which, considering helm Luke had never sailed in the class before, was good going! No damage to bodies, however the spinnaker pole end came off second best during a crash gybe, more work for the shore team methinks!

Am writing this blog following another visit to my local physio. Thursday, I have an hour session with her masseur and then back again next Monday for more work. I had forgotten how expensive this sailboat racing is proving! But roll on Sunday the 22nd when all being well battle will commence again!