Navigation Lights

During 2013 I fitted navigation lights to Tra Bhui. These consisted of a simple 12 volt tri colour masthead light controlled from a switch in the cockpit. This system was simple and worked OK but suffered from frequent bulb failures which were probably due to the raising and lowering of the mast between rallies.

While the tri colour gave us navigation lights, we had no anchor light, something that I wanted to add in the future

At the end of the 2014 season I altered Tra Bhui’s mast by incorporating a tabernacle to ease raising and lowering it. The tabernacle also meant that masthead wiring could run without a break from the mast head to the instruments and switches in the cockpit i.e. there would no longer be a need to disconnect al the wires from the foot of the mast when I took it down or put it up and therefor the connecting plugs and sockets (a weak part of any electrical system)would no longer be required.

As part of the winters maintenance works I added masthead wind instrumentation and decided that this would be an opportune time to upgrade our masthead lighting.

Given the reliability issues with a fragile 12 volt bulb, wanting to add an anchor light and wanting to minimise the draw down on Tra Bhui’s single battery (Tra Bhui is not a yacht and as such does not have a battery bank) I was attracted to LED lights. After looking at available products I chose NASA’s Supernova Combi Tricolour Light and Anchor Light.

While this was not the cheapest combination light it was the one that suited my requirements best and it was still affordable.

“The Supernova lights use high efficiency LEDs ensuring long life and low power consumption. A tough polycarbonate shell protects Supernova from the elements while a Gore-Tex membrane vent ensures equalization of pressure on the seals”.

The wiring required for the light was really simple as a two wire connection powers the Combi light. Connecting the red wire to positive and the black wire to negative will illuminate the tricolour light. Reversing the connections will illuminate the anchor light. Needing only the existing single two core cable reduced the need for many additional cables within the mast.

Light mounted on masthead

Technical Specifications

Supply voltage - 10 to 20 volts (For full brightness)

Supply current - 200 mA @ 12 volts (Typically 90% less than equivalent incandescent lamp)s

Night time visibility - 2 nautical miles minimum

(25 degrees above and below the centerline)

Waterproofness - IP67 (Submersion)

Dimensions - 91 mm diameter x 133 mm Height (including mounting)

Configuration - Anchor light version - 360 degrees white, tri-colour version - 112.5 degrees red, 112.5 degrees green, 135 degrees white.

Boat Security

Boat Security

During 2016 Tra Bhui will be in Greece for a number of months. As she will be left there for a month or so on her own each time I return to work security is a big consideration.

The standard Gig like all open Drascombes has no provision at all for securely stowing gear and equipment. Tra Bhui being now partly decked does have more potential when it comes to creating secure storage.

The deck hatches to the front of the cockpit were designed to be secured using short lengths of chain passed through the circular holes which were cut in the corner of each hatch on the opposite side from the hinges. The chain is lead through one hole, under the thwart and back up the hole in the adjacent hatch. By locking the chain ends together the hatch is reasonably secure.

In the past we have secured the hatches in this way when leaving Tra Bhui unattended for short periods of time. As we would be leaving Tra Bhui unattended for longer periods in Greece with our gear on board I wanted something which was not only more robust, but which would also act a visual deterrent as well.

Front Hatches

The solution was to fit Grade 316 stainless steel locking bars across all the hatches. The 2 metre long  x 50 mm x 6 mm bar is secured in place by weatherproof padlocks locked through 3 No M8 eye bolts (again Grade 316 stainless steel) which are bolted through the thwarts.

Stainless steel lock bars in place

I cut elongated holes in each bar to allow the eye of the eye bolt to pass through them. This allows the padlock to be locked through the eye once the stainless steel bar is in place. Nylock nuts and oversized washers secure the eye bolts below the thwarts.

Slots in the flat bar allow the eye bolt to pass through

The locks on each bar all have the same key and I wound coloured insulating tape around the locks to show which ones go together. This means that I have additional keys on my key ring and not 10.

Coloured tape identifies each set of locks

Rear Hatches

The solution here was similar to that for the front deck only using shorter bars and shorter eye bolts as the bolts are secured through the glass fibre deck and not the thicker thwarts. Again oversized washers and Nylock nuts secure the eye bolts under the deck.

 Stowage

When we are sailing we stow the longer lock bars on the front deck under the oars and whisker poles and the short bars in the cockpit against the bottom of the centerboard casing.

Downside

The downside of this system is the additional fittings that stick up on the deck - more things to stub toes on or make sitting uncomfortable

Engine

Our engine is secured in place by a stainless steel bar lock. This is permanently in place on the outboard

Stainless steel bar lock

Tiller Pilot

In early January 2015 I purchased a Raymarine ST2000 Tiller Pilot as it looked as though I would have 5 or 6 days sailing single handedly in Spain before Kathleen joined me for the planned Drascombe cruise on Spain’s west coast.

Until I saw how well these auto helms worked during the 2014 Viking Cruise where a number of single handed boats which we were sailing with had them, I had never really thought about getting one, but seeing one on the internet being advertised at over 40% off the normal selling price, persuaded me that this would be a good toy to have.

Tiller Pilot in use

Fitting the Tiller Pilot was pretty straight forward as I was not wiring it up to any navigational aids so all that was needed was a fused 12 volt supply. Tra Bhui has a 12 volt system already installed, so I simply ran a fused spur from the main wiring loom to the socket which comes with the Tiller Pilot. 

The socket itself required a hole to be cut in the rear cockpit bulkhead with  a small hole saw as it is fairly flush mounting and when the tiller pilot is not plugged in a crew on cover keeps water out of it.

To mount the Tiller Pilot which is removed when not in use it is necessary to fix a small brass socket –“female fitting” -into the gunwale or buoyancy tank on one side of the boat (on Tra Bhui it is inset into the inside edge of the buoyancy tank) and a small stainless steel rod – “male fitting” into the tiller. The Tiller Pilot then fits between these two fittings.

As things worked out Kathleen was able to join me for the full rally in Spain so it was not until the Loch Lomond Rally in September that I actually tried the Tiller Pilot out.

The weather when I tried it was pretty rough with winds gusting well over 20 knots and breaking waves rolling down the Loch. I must say I was impressed with the Pilot as it held Tra Bhui on course pretty well. I only used it for a short time as I had no real need to do so, but I wanted to see how it worked.

The one thing I did find was the height difference between the buoyancy tank and the tiller was too great for the Tiller Pilot and the extension I had added to the vertical rod on the Plot which fits into the socket on the buoyancy tank meant that there was too much movement in the mounting at that end. This meant the Pilot was doing additional work to compensate for this movement.

Drop bracket under tiller

For 2016, I made an aluminium bracket which is fitted to the underside of the tiller and which allows the “male” fitting to be located at the same level as the “female” fitting.

Having just returned from sailing Tra Bhui in Greece (April 2016) where we used the Tiller Pilot quite a lot, I am happy that the new fitting works well. The Pilot has been very useful especially on windless days when we have to motor.

Specification

Raymarine ST2000 Tiller Pilot  - Removable Cockpit Autopilots for Tiller Steered Yachts

Invented by Autohelm in 1973, tiller pilots have consistently been the world's most popular pilot ever since, setting the standard for performance, reliability and ease of use.

AutoTack lets you handle the sheets while the pilot tacks the boat and AutoSeastate intelligently keeps the boat on course while conserving power.

Whether used as a stand-alone pilot or with SeaTalk/ NMEA GPS, the clear backlit LCD and 6 button keypad make these pilots safe and easy to use.

Recommended Maximum Displacement Raymarine ST2000: 4,500kg (10,000lbs)

Remember to always take the fully laden displacement weight of your vessel into account (often 20% above the designed displacement).

Specifications

• Power Supply - 12V systems
• Absolute Voltage Range - 10 - 16V DC
• Power Consumption - 40mA
• Weight - 1.53 (3.4)
• Mounting methods - Reversible port or starboard
• Display size - 45mm segmented LCD
• Display Lighting - 3 levels plus off
• Connections - NMEA 0183 input | SeaTalk
• Thrust 77kg (169 lbs)
• Stroke 236mm (9.3in)

Tiller Extension

This was another little project from 2 years ago which I did not post at the time as I kept forgetting to take a photograph.

When I purchased Tra Bhui she had no tiller extension fitted. As the Gig is one of the wider Drascombes a tiler extension was desirable to allow the helmsperson to sit of the cockpit while helming. While at 6’2” I could reach the tiller without too much problem – but not a lot of comfort, Kathleen who often helms had to perch on the edge of the side buoyancy tanks as she is a foot shorter than me.

As we were planning to a few longer cruises with Tar Bhui choosing a tiller extension which was comfortable to hold and which was easily extendable were our main criteria.

Having looked at a few extensions I opted for  a Spinlock extendable, asymmetric extension. As according to Spinlock it features include:-

·  Asymmetric grip fits the hand and supports the wrist on or off the wind

·  Two handed helming mode lets the arms relax into a more comfortable, elbows-down position

·  Push-button adjustment with Torlon™ ball locking mechanism

·  Strongly engineered stainless steel swivel joint for precise control

·  Removable fast pin for easy stowage

·  Integral shock absorber

·  Weight - 0.7kg (1.54lb)

·  Designed for the hardest conditions, to reduce the strain and increase the sheer enjoyment of helming.

All I can say that having used it for just for just under a thousand miles so far it is worth every penny that it cost.

Spinlock tiller extension

Fitting the extension to Tra Bhui was a simple job as the extension which is easily removable is held on by means of a stainless steel fitting which is countersunk into the existing wooden tiller.

Hole drilled into existing tiller

To fit the countersunk fitting I simply marked the position where I wanted to go, drilled a suitable sized hole, put the countersunk fitting in place and then drove home the two screws which secure it. As the hole for the fitting potentially weakens the existing tiller which is fairly thin at that point, I made two strengthening pieces out of some teak offcuts. These I glued on to each side of the tiller using an epoxy glue.

Gluing the strengthening pieces on to the tiller

A storage clip which is held in place by two wood screws was mounted further down the tiller to allow the extension to be stowed away when it is not being used.

Access Hatch Installation

This was a little project from nearly 3 years ago which I did not post at the time as I kept forgetting to take a photograph of the hatch once installed.

The object was to install an access hatch which would allow me to get at the heads of the bolts that I planned to install when mounting the remote controls for the outboard.

Since installing the hatch I have changed the outboard controls from remote controls to tiller controls so the hatch has now become a bit superfluous, however it will still be handy enough should I ever want to store anything in the side buoyancy tank or if I just want to check inside the tank, although visibility is obviously limited due to the polystyrene packed in there.

Hatch -3 years after fitting

The hatch I chose to install was a Trem Hatch - external diameter 140mm opening size 110mm cut out size 115mm. This was arounf 6 pounds including postage and packaging.

1. The first thing I did was to place the hatch surround against the tank side and after checking that it was in the position that I wanted it I marked the inside and outside edges. This allowed me to determine the location and size of hole that I wanted to cut, as the hole to be cut was 5mm larger in diameter than the marked inside edge of the opening. I chose to use the hatch surround as a template rather than scribe a circle with a pair of compasses as I wanted to see the hatch ring when set against the buoyancy tank just to see how it looked in position.






2. Using an 8mm drill bit I drilled 4 pilot holes at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock which would allow me to cut the hole out using a jigsaw. One hole would have been sufficient as the hole was simply to allow the blade to get started, but by drilling 4 it made it easier to stop and start the cut if I wanted to reposition myself while cutting. 

Hole after cutting - smudged pencil marks still visible

1. After cutting the hole with an electric jigsaw, I gave the cut surface of the glass fiber a rub with some sandpaper to remove any rough edges.I also had to remove the marks left by the base plate of the jigsaw which had smudged the pencil marks that I had made when marking out the hatch position. – see photograph.
2. With the hole cut, the next step was to cut away some of the polystyrene which fills the buoyancy chamber - this was to allow me to get to the end of the mounting bolts for the remote controls. This was a simple task which I used a Stanley knife saw for.
3. After checking that the hatch surround fitted correctly I offered it up and using one of the pre-existing holes for the 8 fixing bolts as a template, I drilled a single hole through the fiberglass of the buoyancy tank. I would drill the remaining seven in stages as I fitted the hatch surround.
4. After applying a bead of silicon to the hatch surround I put it in place and after inserting a single M6 stainless steel bolt (Grade 316 stainless steel) I secured it using a stainless steel washer and a Nylock nut. At this stage the nut was only nipped up and not fully tightened.
5. With one bolt in place I drilled the hole diametrically opposite and inserted another bolt, continuing this process until all the bolts were installed.
6. Once all the bolts were installed I went around them again fully tightening one and then the one diametrically opposite it.

This hatch is one of two that I have installed in Tra Bhui, the other being in the side of the forward buoyancy tank to allow access to the nuts on the bolts which secure the anchor mount.