Time Flies By…..But Not In A Hillyard (Part 2 – Repairs and Upgrades)

In this blog post I’m going to cover some of the repairs and upgrades we have completed on Wendy Woo over the past few years.  One of the realities of owning a boat, and especially an old wooden boat, is that things break, leak, degrade or just stop working.  Preventative maintenance is essential in trying to mitigate the effect of random failures.  Mechanical maintenance and servicing can be relatively straightforward if you have an aptitude for such things.  Those of you who know me will be aware that I am an engineer by background and have ‘messed around’ with cars for decades, as well as being a handyman when it comes to DIY.  Therefore I do all of the mechanical and electrical systems maintenance myself.  Not only does this help greatly in keeping costs manageable, it also means that we are pretty much self-reliant when out and about.  I firmly believe that understanding your boat and its systems is essential for this reason.

 

The structure of the boat is another matter.  The nature of a wooden boat means that there are many joints and seams that offer potential pathways for water to get in.  Below the waterline is sound and we generally have a dry bilge (although see my earlier post about fresh water leaks).  However, since we moved on board Wendy Woo we have continually tried to identify the source of a leak into one of the lockers in the saloon.  Rainwater would find its way in through the wheelhouse and track down into the locker, but finding the entry point has proved particularly challenging.  Sometimes we could be sitting in a downpour and nothing would come in and at other times in drizzle the water would drip in.  I tried using a hose pipe to simulate rainfall working my way upwards but nothing obvious would reveal itself.  In the end we decided to dig into the most likely point of entry, that being the junction between the wheelhouse windscreen and the saloon roof.

  It quickly became apparent that water had been getting in there for some time.  The wood was rotten in parts and I ended up stripping back a reasonably large section of the roof before finding sound material.  I replaced some of the planking and re-sheathed the area and all seemed good for a while, but then the leak reappeared. 

This time I dug out along the side of the wheelhouse and removed the side window (breaking it in the process!) and replacing more rotten wood.  This seems to have solved the problem, but for how long, who knows?  We have also done a similar repair on the other side and that appears to be fixed now.  We have both agreed to not use the ‘L-word’ for fear of jinxing the repairs we have done.

 

Another area of concern we have had is the age and condition of the underwater skin fittings.  These are holes below the waterline with hoses attached that allow water either in (for engine cooling and toilet flushing) or out (for sink drains, toilet drains, etc).  They are made from either plastic or metal of varying qualities and are vital to the seaworthiness of any vessel.

  In our case the skin fittings appeared to be made from a mixture of bronze and chrome plated brass and, although they looked ok at initial glance, they were of an unknown age.  This is the type of thing that can lodge itself into your mind when out at sea and cause no end of anxiety as a failure can lead to very rapid flooding of your boat.  We decided that we would change all the skin fittings for good quality silicon bronze ones at our next lift out, and at the same time replace all the valves and hoses too. 

Not a cheap exercise to say the least but, like with the keel bolts we replaced a few years ago, we now have the peace of mind that all is good below the waterline.

One of the topics I discussed in an earlier post was our desire to be more self-sufficient whilst at anchor.  We’re not there yet but we have made steps towards that goal.  Having the confidence that your batteries are being charged is a constant worry for anchor dwellers.  We already had a 100w solar panel on the wheelhouse roof but this was nowhere near enough capacity.  Furthermore, because it was a rigid panel sitting proud of the roof surface it would often catch the mainsail reefing lines whilst underway which had the risk of causing damage.  Flexible solar panels have a much lower profile and improvements in technology have made them much more efficient.  We therefore decided to replace the existing panel with two 175w flexible panels and coupled them to a smart solar charge controller from Victron Energy.

This has given us far greater charge capacity……in theory.  However, due to partial shading from the main boom we are not harvesting as much solar energy as we would like.  We want to fit more panels but space is at a premium so this is a work in progress project.  We would also like to invest in a wind generator but funds don’t allow for this at the moment, as is the case for switching to lithium (LiFePo4) batteries.  We will get there eventually.

 Another upgrade we have done is with digital navigation.  When we bought WW she already had a Standard Horizon GPS chart plotter fitted.  This works perfectly well; however, the electronic charts are outdated, the screen is very small, and it is located in the saloon out of sight of the helm.

 

I did a lot of research into various options to provide digital navigation at the helm.  Clearly there are many bespoke ‘glass cockpit’ solutions for boats but these tend to come at significant cost and are fixed into the boat.  The other option is to use a tablet device with navigation software installed and this is the route we opted for. 

We bought a Samsung tablet and installed Navionics software onto it.  We can place this in front of the helm whilst underway but the tablet has the added advantage of being used for other purposes when not navigating.  This has proved to be a highly cost effective solution.  We now have real-time situational awareness which has proved invaluable on the occasions when we have been in reduced visibility.  We still use the Standard Horizon chart plotter as a back-up and we also have paper charts for our cruising areas, so we know where we are at all times.

 

The final upgrade I want to cover is AIS.  Automatic Identification System is a worldwide system for boats to ‘see’ other boats and, depending on the system installed, ‘tell’ other boats where you are.  Again, WW had an AIS system fitted but it was a basic receiver with a very small screen and also not visible from the helm.  Being a receiver only this system is only capable of seeing other boats which is fine, but we also wanted to make sure that we could be seen by other vessels.  In addition, I was aware that it was possible to overlay AIS target information onto digital charts.  Much research once again ensued and having read many reviews I decided on an Emtrak Class B+ AIS Transponder.

  This was straightforward to install and works very well.  We now have the confidence that we are continually transmitting our location as well as seeing everyone else.  It has the added advantage of working alongside our Navionics system so we can see other vessels overlaid onto the digital charts.  Of course it can only display a vessel if that vessel is transmitting so it doesn’t remove the need to keep a good lookout at all times, but again it is a real help if visibility is reduced.  As a sideline our location is also visible to friends and family ashore who can see us on such websites as marinetraffic.com.

 

There have been many other repairs over the past few years such as wiring alterations, hinge replacements and no end of sanding, painting and varnishing, but the above paragraphs outline the more significant tasks we have carried out.  I hope that they have given you an idea of what it’s like to own and live on an old wooden boat.  In my next blog I will talk about our ‘big journey’ but until then, thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below.

Time Flies By…..But Not In A Hillyard (Part 1 – Journeys)

 

It is heading towards three years since I last posted a blog entry so I thought it was about time that I put my fingers to the keyboard and updated where we are at with our life on board Wendy Woo.  It turns out that living on a boat actually means that eighty percent of the time the boat is a home and only twenty percent of the time it is a form of transport.  Having said that, we have had several interesting trips and taken onboard many ‘learning points’ for discussion once safely back alongside.  There have also been many repairs, upgrades and general fettling of the boat in that time.  I will go over some of the more interesting (?) events in this blog as a way of summarizing our progress.  Before I start I will just apologise for the lack of photographs.  I’m not very good at remembering to photograph things as I go along; sometimes it’s only after the event that I think about it.  Anyway, hopefully my words will paint the picture well enough and, where I have photos I will include them.

 

So what journeys have we undertaken?  Well, not as many as we had planned and hoped for.  Sometimes life events dictate that priorities change and you have to adapt.  However, we have been out and about around the Pembrokeshire coastline, anchoring off Dale, Tenby and St David’s Head.  One memorable trip (for reasons that will become apparent) was to Port Eynon (Gower Peninsula) via Tenby.

 

We left the marina and headed for Dale anchorage for the night.  For a change the anchorage was flat calm with very little roll and we had a good night there.  The following morning we motor-sailed south to Turbot Bank and then East to St Gowan’s SCM before shutting the engine off and sailing the remainder of the way to Tenby.  The anchorage in North Beach was quite busy but there was plenty of space and we enjoyed the afternoon sun and calm evening.  We made plans to head for Port Eynon the following morning and, as there was little wind, we had a very slow sail/drift with the tide in lovely sunshine.  However, once we had anchored in Port Eynon it soon became apparent that we couldn’t stay there.  The swell on the water was so bad that I was afraid the anchor would have been pulled out or, at the very least, we wouldn’t get any sleep.  We made the decision to head back to Tenby where we knew we would have a safe anchorage.  As there was no wind we needed to motor back but, just as we rounded West Helwick, the engine faltered.  At first I thought we were running out of fuel so I swapped the tanks over.  Very soon however it was obvious that something else was going on.  The engine would run for about 15 minutes at around 1800 rpm before dropping down to idle.  Although the engine didn’t cut out we were losing confidence in it.  By throttling back and then opening up again the engine revs would pick up for another 10-15 minutes before fading again.  DIESEL BUG!!!!  I began to realise that the engine was being starved of fuel by the dreaded diesel bug clogging the fuel filters.  We nursed the boat back to Tenby, by which time it was dark, and our eyes were trying to deceive us.  We had never anchored in the dark before and, with a failing engine, our anxiety levels reached new highs.  This wasn’t helped by the fact that the anchorage had become even more crowded since we left.  Anyway, after two attempts at setting the anchor in sufficient space we finally shut the engine down and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

 

The following morning I set about trying to fix the problem.  For those of you who don’t know, diesel ‘bug’ is actually a microbial contamination of diesel fuel.  It grows in the interface between the fuel and any water that may be in the tanks.  The problem is exacerbated by the increased use of biodiesel.  It looks gelatinous and clogs filter elements and can cause damage to diesel injectors if it gets too bad.  Not to worry, I have a set of fuel filters onboard……or so I thought!  Our fuel system has a Racor water-fuel separator with a 10 micron filter element upstream of the engine itself.  I soon discovered that I only had a spare element for the upstream Racor filter but not the engine filter itself.  Where to get a spare when anchored off a seaside resort beach on a Saturday?  I contacted the harbour master at Tenby who put me on to a marine mechanic in the area.  Unfortunately he was out fishing when I rang him so was unable to help us directly.  However, he did suggest speaking to one of the Caldy Island ferry boats that has the same engine as us to see if they had a spare.  Thankfully they did and were willing to sell me it, at cost price, to help us out.  I think that speaks volumes for the way people in the seafaring world will help each other out if they can.  I spent the next hour or so changing the fuel filters, bleeding the system, and running the engine.  It was clear that the Racor element was badly contaminated but the engine filter looked pretty clean so I was confident that no major damage had been done.  The engine appeared to be running smoothly once again and so we sailed back to Milford Marina on a beautiful day, only needing the engine for the final stage through the locks and into our berth.  Needless to say we now carry at least one set of spare filters on the boat at all times and the fuel tanks have been given a thorough dose of Marine-16 diesel bug treatment.

 

Another ‘memorable’ outing for us was an opportunity to take a motor-cruise up the Haven Waterway and under the Cleddau Bridge for lunch at Lawrenny.  At least that was the plan.  Bridget’s mum was with us and, as she is a nervous seafarer, I thought it would be a lovely, gentle introduction to what it’s like ‘sailing’ up the river.  We would be motoring up against the tide but that wouldn’t be a problem as we were on neap tides.  Also, by the time we would be returning there would be a gentle breeze astern that would help us home again.  All was going well.  We left the marina and headed upstream with me chatting and pointing out things of interest.  The Irish Sea Ferries “Blue Star 1” was heading towards us so I gave it plenty of space and once past I looked up and saw a starboard marker buoy off in the distance.  I decided to aim towards that.  Then all of a sudden we came to a dead stop.  At first I thought we had snagged a fishing pot line or something, but then I saw that the depth gauge was reading zero!  We had run aground with a falling tide.  I quickly engaged reverse but we were stuck fast on Wear Spit.  I radioed the coastguard and Port Control to let them know and then set about checking that there were no immediate issues with the boat.  All appeared sound albeit we were starting to lean over.  The tide had another hour and a half to fall before coming back up.  We had no choice other than to sit it out.  We all had lifejackets on and we had plenty of water (just not under the keel!) so we sat on the toerail and willed the tide to turn.  It was a very anxious time.  We had no idea how far over we would go or if we would settle on a rock that might puncture the hull.  If we went fully over we would have taken on water which, although we couldn’t sink (we were already on the seabed), would have inundated the electrics and caused all sorts of issues.  Thankfully the area we had run aground was soft mud and sand and we settled about 45 degrees to port.  We finally refloated about 3 hours later and I quickly reversed us off the spit and headed back to the marina.  We never did get under the bridge and up to Lawrenny but we were relieved to be back alongside with no damage done (other than my embarrassment).  What I learned from that was how easy it is to get distracted and see what you want to see.  The starboard buoy I was aiming for was some way off in the distance and I failed to spot the port buoy much closer to us that marked the end of the spit.  I basically tried to drive right over a Wear Spit at near low tide.  That’s something I won’t do again.

 

The third ‘memorable’ trip I will recount was early last summer.  We decided that we would head for the west coast of Scotland, something we had wanted to do since we bought Wendy Woo.  We planned, checked weather forecasts, spoke to lots of people and decided to go for it.  We also invested in a new tablet and Navionics software to assist us in our navigation and passage planning.  Once again we headed out of the marina for Dale anchorage to position ourselves for getting the tides right for passing through Jack Sound the following day.  The following morning we lifted anchor and headed around St Ann’s Head for Jack Sound and beyond.  The water was quite choppy but we made it through the Sound with no drama, following a fellow Hillyard “Moonstone of Marlow”.  Once safely clear of the Sound we lifted the mainsail and headsail and slowly sailed towards Little Haven.  We planned to anchor there for the evening but, as we still had plenty of the day in front of us, we decided to head further north towards Ramsay Island and Ramsey Sound.  As with Jack Sound, you have to get the tides right to pass through Ramsey Sound without risk so we decided to anchor in Porthlysgi Bay just south of the Sound until the following morning.  This was a lovely protected small bay with only one other boat in there with us.  We anchored successfully.  However, when I checked the charts on Navionics the GPS placed us right above a wreck.  I didn’t say anything to Bridget but I was worried that our anchor would snag and not come back up.  It niggled in the back of my mind all night and had the potential to ruin our plans.  The wind also picked up a bit in the night further conspiring to ensure that I didn’t sleep particularly well.  The following afternoon we finally lifted the anchor again (I had nothing to worry about) and headed through Ramsay Sound and into Porth Melgan just to the north where we spent that night in a slightly rolly anchorage.  Our plan for the following day was to set off for Fishguard before crossing Cardigan Bay heading for North Wales.  However, there was no wind to be had and we didn’t really want to drive everywhere so we decided to head back south through Ramsay Sound and back into Porthlysgi Bay.  All was fine until darkness came.  The sea became more and more rolly with a big swell heading straight into the bay.  It was extremely uncomfortable and we lasted until about 4 in the morning when I decided we couldn’t stay any longer.  We decided to head back to the marina and re-plan.  Because the tides weren’t going to be right to go back through Jack Sound we decided to head out around Skomer and Skokholm Islands.  However, visibility was getting worse, rain was falling and, although there was no wind, the sea was becoming more and more confused.  This is where having the tablet with Navionics at the helm proved a godsend.  Despite not being able to actually see the islands I was able to ‘see’ them on the GPS charts and so we motored for 6 hours to get around the islands and back in through St Ann’s Head.  We felt as though we had been given a thorough beating and we were so relieved to set anchor in Dale once again.  Of course then the sun came out, blue skies all around and a settled sea.  We stayed in Dale until freeflow at the marina where we returned to our berth, very relieved to be back alongside.  Conditions can change so quickly, and once again we were humbled by the sea and its power and grace.  But Wendy Woo proved herself to be far more capable than her crew and, despite being thrown about, nothing got broken.  In fact,  I have broken more wine glasses washing up whilst alongside than we have done when under way.

 

So, those are the journeys of note in the past 3 years.  I will save the story of the ‘big journey’ until a later blog post.  In Part 2 I will talk about repairs and upgrades but in the meantime, thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below.