Modification of the over cover and cockpit cover

Since taking delivery of a new over cover and a new cockpit cover from R&J Sails in 2013, a number of the modifications made to Tra Bhui have compromised the fit and effectiveness of each cover.

Despite having fallen heir to a hand operated sewing machine, after discussion with Dick Hannaford at R&J Sails I decided that the best option would be to measure what changes were required and send the covers along with sketches and photos back to R&J Sails and ask Dick to make the required alterations rather than try and make the changes myself.

The Brief given to R&J Sails was:-

Alterations required 

Over cover 

The over cover fits the original boat very well, however it needs to be altered to accommodate the outboard and also a boarding ladder that I have fitted.

• The outboard modification should I hope be fairly straightforward. The sizes are set out on the attached sketch. The outboard sticks up 400 mm above the gunwales. It is 350 mm wide. 
• The boarding ladder is a stainless steel ladder that folds up against the outside edge of the gunwale (Port side). It is 300 mm wide and is positioned 920 mm from the top corner of the gunwale. Could you make a cut out in the cover to accommodate this while maintaining the edge chord (possibly making the chord disconnect able via a hook and eye)?. I have shown the position of the ladder on the sketch and I have attached  some photos - Brief has since been modified to allow option of fitting eyelet to top of cover to allow boarding ladder to be tied up when cover fitted. This would save cutting the cover back

Cockpit Cover

Since the original cover was made, I have added a tabernacle at the bottom of the mast and increased the height of the instrument cluster at the rear of the centre board housing.

The tabernacle needs to be accommodated simply by an enlarged mast opening. Sizes are given on the attached sketch. I have related everything to the centre line of the Samson Post as this is already catered for by the cover.

The instrument cluster requires an bit of a box shape to be inserted into the cover in a similar manner to the way the outboard is accommodated in the over cover. Again I have shown the required dimensions on the attached sketch.

• Mast opening to be enlarged to accommodate a 250mm x 150mm tabernacle. The mast in it's down position is just over 280mm above the cover so an up stand of approx 200 mm would be ideal. There are a number of cleats on the tabernacle so a "baggy" cut would allow these to be accommodated - see pictures.
• Box to be inserted into cover to accommodate enlarged instrument cluster - see sketch and pictures

I hope the above along with attached sketch and the additional pictures which will follow shortly makes the scope of the alterations clear. If you need any further information, please let me know.

Instrument Consul - sits well above cockpit seat level.

Boarding Ladder - stops over cover fitting properly

Outboard - Over cover does not accommodate this - possibly due to increase in size of outboards over the years

Cockpit cover - originally made to fit mast now needs to fit Tabernacle

The covers are due back in December - this post will be updated to show the altered covers when they are returned

Trailer Brakes

Having stuck another 4500 miles on to the trailers mileage so far in 2015 and with a similar mileage planned for 2016 and with Tra Bhui temporarily off her trailer to allow other works to be carried out November proved to be an opportune month to service the bearings and brakes on the trailer.

Tra Bhui's trailer originates from the MOD and is extremely well engineered, but even well engineered equipment needs some maintenance and so every year I strip the bearings and brakes, inspect, clean, re lubricate and re assemble them. This is a fairly simple process and is something that every boat owner should consider doing:-

• After loosening the wheel nuts the trailer was jacked up and supported on the jack and an axel stand.
• Once clear of the ground the wheel was removed
• With the wheel removed there was easy access to the brake adjusters and the grease cap on the end of the axel
• Once the brakes shoes had been slackened off - something that needs to be done to allow the brake drum to be removed - the grease cap at the end of the axel was removed and the castellated hub nut slackened.
• Once the castellated nut was removed the thrust washer and tapered roller bearing could also be removed, allowing the brake drum to be removed.
• Before inspecting the brakes and mechanism, any remaining grease was removed from the stub axel as it was being replaced and by removing it it lessened the risk of contaminating the brake shoes or the internal surface of the brake drum.
• Despite the mileage of recent years the brake shoes showed little wear. My policy of never submersing the brakes when launching was certainly paying off as the drums had little external rust (original paint still intact) and the mechanism and shoes inside were in an excellent condition.
• After brushing some brake dust out of the drums the back plates were cleaned and the movement of the shoes checked to ensure everything was working as it should. 
• Re assembly was simply a reverse of the dis assembly procedure. The castellated nut was tightened to ensure no play in the bearings while the wheel was still free to turn, before the brakes were re adjusted.
• Having cleaned the bearings and bearing seats and cavities new water proof grease was injected into the assembly using the grease nipple on the drum.

With wheel removed and trailer supported on jack and axel stand

With the drum removed it was apparent that the shoes and brake mechanism were still in very good condition

Brake adjuster - 13 mm hex on the outside of the back plate allows simple adjustment with a spanner

Fire Extinguisher

April 2014

Like may Drascombe owners we often cook on board using when cruising or even just day sailing. 

We have two Trangia stoves - small camping stoves which burn methylated spirits- on board and carry the fuel in sealed containers However as cooking involves a naked flame and even with correctly stored cooking and outboard fuel on board the potential for a fire is always something to be considered.

Cooking on board - naked flame and fuel!

Having fitted a number of electrical instruments to Tra Bhui over the last couple of years along with an electric start outboard, the number of possible ignition have continued to grow.

While a boat floats in one of the most effective fire suppressants that there is – water, water is not suitable for electrical or fuel fires so a suitable fire extinguisher is required on board.

Where to store an extinguisher is a consideration on an open boat. For other Drascombes, the cabin offers a perfect location to install an extinguisher, but on an open boat such as Tra Bhui, there is no obvious –easily accessible place that an extinguisher can be mounted, near to hand in which the extinguisher is dry and secure.

The solution I found was to install a Fire Extinguisher locker in the cockpit. The recessed locket that I bought on line from Force 4 Chandlery is made from polypropylene and has a transparent polycarbonate door through which the extinguisher is easily visible.

Dry Powder Extinguisher

Although the recommended storage for a fire extinguisher is in the vertical, we were forced to mount our horizontally A Velcro strap holds the extinguisher in place on its cradle.

The locker was installed simply by cutting a suitably sized hole in the port buoyancy tank towards the rear of the cockpit. After raking out the required volume of polystyrene buoyancy I placed a bead of silicon sealant around the opening before fitted the locker using grade 316 stainless steel screws. The silicon bead ensures that the integrity of the buoyancy chamber – which is full of polystyrene anyway - is maintained.

This is a really simple solution that could be used on any Drascombe.

Gunwale Protection

March 2015

During the 2014 season we found that raising the anchor caused some damage - mainly cosmetic to the starboard gunwale near the bows where the chain tended to rub over them. While this problem would appear to a simple one which could be overcome by just holding the anchor clear of the boat, the physical weight of the anchor and chain if the boat was pitching or rolling made this impossible, especially if Kathleen was on anchor duties as the anchor weighs about the same as she does!

The simple solution was to fit a short length of Grade 316 angle iron to protect the gunwale.

Rebate cut in Gunwale

Angle mitered and clamped into place

M6 stainless steel bolts fitted to hold angle in place

Fitted

Brown sealant bead installed around angle to prevent water ingress

Fitted!

Having had the angle fitted for the full season (2015) Tra Bhui has virtually no anchor marks on her Gunwales as the stainless steel angle has provided the protection required.

When time permits I will remove the angle and polish it - but that is not a priority job.

Roller Reefing

February - 2014

When we bought Tra Bhui she came with her original sails. With nearly 20 years of fairly hard use they were past their best and in need of replacement. Rather than buy a full suite immediately we decided to first replace the jib and mizzen.

The jib in particular was showing its age. The original sail was simply hanked on to the fore stay and had no provision to either furl the sail or reef it. As we planned to mostly sail Tra Bhui with a crew of two we decided that the new sail should be capable of not only being stowed away with the minimum of effort, but that we should be able to vary the size of it to suit the weather conditions.

Rather than the traditional Drascombe furling system which is designed for stowing the sail around the fore stay we decided to install Plastimo's 406S roller reefing system. This consists of a bottom drum, a mast head pivot and alloy fore stay tube

Reefing drum assembled on the workbench

The system comes in component form and is easy enough to assemble. The final section alloy fore stay sleeve requires cutting to the desired length to suit the boats rig. The only thing that we found we had to adjust for was the nearness of the fore stay to the mast head on the Gig which means that the top swivel is very near the fore stay tensioning blocks.

The reefing system is slightly heavier than the reefing system due to the heavier fittings and the fore stay tube.

Reefing drum fitted 

Mast head fitting

Having used the roller furling for two seasons now we are very pleased with its performance and would certainly recommend it over the more traditional furling system

Trailer

Tra Bhui sits on an ex MOD trailer that was originally made for a Rigid Raider assault craft and which I bought second hand from a military surplus dealer. 

The trailer which is a superbly engineered "break back" trailer was manufactured by 

R M Trailers.

A Division of Tex Engineering Ltd.

Prospect Road.

New Alresford.

Hants,

SO24 9QF.

2013

I originally bought it for our Lugger "Braveheart" and as the trailer was too long I cut approx 3 feet off it before welding a new tow hitch on to it. 

On her original trailer - being delivered from Ireland

An unexpected surprise for Kathleen! - Braveheart can be seen under the car port

When I purchased Tra Bhui in 2013, it came on a modified 4 wheel car transporter trailer which I sold on to a fellow member of the Drascombe Association.

Lifting Tra Bhui off her original trailer 

And there she hangs ! 

As Tra Bhui is approx 8 feet longer than "Braveheart" I had 4 feet added back into the trailer's spine. As I was at the time working overseas in the Philippines, I asked a local fabricator to carry out the work as I did not have the time. 

Our own trailer with 4 feet added back in 

Still hanging there! 

Once the spine had been extended I moved the axle back to balance the trailer with Tra Bhui on it. At this point the trailer had no rollers on it apart from the 12 keel rollers. This ws due to the problems of setting the rollers up correctly in relation to the keel rollers with out the boat's hull being in place to act as a reference. 

Trailer with axle re positioned is fed back under Tra Bhui

Trailer winch being used to winch trailer back under boat.

With the spine  extended I moved the axle back to balance the trailer with Tra Bhui on it. 

Once I had the trailer back under Tra Bhui I was able to position the rollers correctly in relation to her hull. The Gig has fairly substantial bilge rubbers which protrude downwards from the hull on either side of the keel. The rollers had to take into account their position. 

I reused the swing arms that I had originally fitted to the rear of the trailer for our lugger as these had proven their worth guiding the boat on. I also reused two of the trailer's original side rollers which would balance the hull above the axle.

Trailer with cradle rollers, side rollers and guide rails 

This configuration worked pretty well, but I found that the keel had a tendency to run off the keel rollers when the boat was being recovered. This was mainly due to the slight rocker that Tra Bhui has along her keel line. When she is recovered any slight list to one side causes her to run on in very slightly curved line.

The solution to this was to add two pieces of steel tube to act as guide rails - one on each side of the keel rollers - (see picture above and below)

Rear rollers on their swing arms 

2015

In 2014 I bought new rollers to replace the ones which sit above the axle and which really just balance Tra Bhui when she is loaded on her trailer. Unfortunately time in 2014 did not allow these to be fitted so they sat in a box in the workshop until April 2015 when with the season about to start and Tra Bhui due to be towed over to France and then Spain for the summer, I managed to find some time to get them fitted. 

At the same time as changing the rollers I wanted to replace the guide rails on either side of the keel rollers with some box section rather than the 50 mm steel tube that I had originally used. The steel tube while very effective sat a shade to high above the rollers causing slight marking to Tra Bhui's gel coat during launching and recovery.

The first step was to get Tra Bhui off her trailer. the simplest way of doing this I have found is to secure her stern to the handy lamp post that the council installed in our garden - not I am sure for the purposes that I use it for. With Tra Bhui secured to the lamp post and with the winch strap slackened off and the trailer back released, it was just a matter of slowly driving the trailer forward which deposited Tra Bhui gently on to our front lawn.

Tra Bhui unloaded onto our front lawn - more entertainment for our neighbours!

With Tra Bhui off the trailer it was a fairly simple job to change the rollers for 2 new 4 sets on swing arms and to change the guide rails. 

Rollers set to avoid bilge rubbers

New mid rollers - note marks left on hull by old rubber rollers

New Guide rails for the keel rollers 

End rollers / swing arms

Trailer ready for Tra Bhui to be reloaded 

As usual time was against me and with a number of other jobs on Tra Bhui to be finished before taking her to France I had to put her back on her trailer without having time to paint the trailer. I did however have time to paint all the bare metal areas with a zinc paint which should discourage future rusting. 

Hopefully before next winter I will have time to get the trailer properly painted.

Winching Tra Bhui back on to her trailer 

Front of trailer 

Sitting back on her trailer 

Recovering Tra Bhui in Baltimore (Ireland) 2014 

Harness Anchor Points

As well as having full length jack stays inside each gunwale Tra Bhui has 3 dedicated anchor points for our safety lines (lines between our harnesses and the boat). These are mounted along the center line of the boat i.e. as far away from the edge of the boat as possible.

They are located:-

• on the rear bulkhead below the tiller that is used by the helm. 
• on the front of the instrument consul beside the jib sheet winch that is used by the crew
• on the front thwart beside the mast that is used by anyone working on the cargo deck or at the anchor.

All anchor points are  proprietary fittings and are clearly marked as to their purpose.

Harness line attachment point

Mast head instruments

When we sailed with Simon Farley and his Drascombe Drifter Damson on the "Viking Cruise" in 2014, I was impressed by his wind instruments which allowed him to see what the wind speed and direction was doing during any passage.

Having seen Simon's instruments I thought that I could fit something similar to Tra Bhui, not that we really needed them as I like to sail by watching the sails rather than by instruments, but knowing what the wind speed was I thought would be handy and if we sailed at night wind instruments are beneficial if you cannot see the sails clearly – OK I admit it they are really just a “toy”.

When choosing the instruments, I wanted to keep things a simple and cheap as possible. This being a winter project (winter at end of 2014) there were a lot of cut price offers as dealers cleared their shelves of year end stock.

I chose to install NASA Clipper 11 wind instruments as they had good reviews, but more importantly they were on sale at a very attractive price.

The system consists of a mast head unit which is hard wired to the display unit in the cockpit.
With the mast now mounted in a tabernacle mast wiring was now easier as any hard wiring could remain in place and did not need to be connected and disconnected each time the mast was raised or lowered.

Fitting the mast head instruments necessitated running another cable up the mast which meant that the track that I had previously cut in the mast for the aerial and lighting cables had to be re opened. This time as well as the cable for the wind instruments I ran a spare 2 core cable - just in case!

Adding additional masthead cables to the existing aerial and lighting cables

Cables fitted and mast insert replaced ready for varnish

With the cables run up the mast and the mast insert replaced, I re varnished the mast, something that I do each year anyway.

Fitting the masthead instruments was pretty straightforward as they come with mounting brackets.

Instrument mounting brackets

The top of the mast now has a VHF aerial, a Radar reflector (fitted on a separate halyard which also is used for courtesy flags), a NASA SuperNova Combi Tri Anchor LED Navigation Light and the NASA wind instruments head unit.  

Masthead Instrumentation

The cockpit display was accommodated in the upgraded centre consul - see separate post. The consul was upgraded to accept the NASA wind instrument display and a NASA repeater display which is linked to the GPS unit and which shows boat speed on a large format display.

Installing the base of the NASA instrument pod

Instrument consul - wind instrumentation and speed repeater

Instruments in use

NASA Display

A busy masthead with lights instruments and aerial

Time to change the propeller

Time to treat Tra Bhui to a new propeller!

The existing 4 blade prop which as far as I know is the original on the engine is now 8 years old and is showing significant signs of wear and tear. The plan - not a very cunning one - is to replace it with a new one and keep it as a spare just in case it is needed. Having seen how hard another owner found it to get a spare propeller in Norway last year when he lost his, carrying a spare on longer cruises may be a good idea.

Old

New

The new prop is a three bladed one - the diameter and pitch remain the same as the old. So far the performance of the new prop is as good as the old, but with a 10 hp motor on the back I would not expect to notice much difference.