Winter work - January through March

20 & 21st January

With poor forecasts through until early February, a storm due this weekend and the desiccant moisture traps likely needing recharging I took the opportunity of a brief improvement in the weather for a trip to the boat taking more freshly cleaned and dried gear with me.

The desiccant had run out and the boat was rather damp but running the diesel warm air heater all afternoon dried things out nicely.

I spent half a day on odd jobs, none of which are of any great interest and on the second day redid a small but important bit of non-slip paintwork. I also tracked down a source of Camping Gas, the marina no longer stocks it and a couple of other places had none in stock but a very helpful lady at the Cross Ways Service Station pointed me too a coal merchant in Milford, just a few minutes from the marina who also does gas. They had none, they sell little in winter, but was quite happy to get some in for me and hold it for a month or two until my next visit.

A good bit of news is that, as far as I can see, there is no growth on the hull at all, it has only been a month but in that time on the Hamble even with fresh anti foul it would be green.

I don’t think there will be an excuse to go again until early March when the desiccant will probably need replenishing and I could start the big exterior clean down, and there is nothing left to do at home except to varnish the tiller which is coming home with me.

Here was an oddity found when checking that Seapro was still
working properly with AIS (I had forgotten to take the security
dongle when I was on the boat last time). Milford Haven VTS
(Vessel Traffic Service a sort of ATC for ships) were operating a
"Class A" AIS station as if it was a vessel, no idea why and nor
does someone who works there.

23 January.

The tiller has not been varnished for a couple of years and it had degraded significantly in the last frew months so it would be more than a quick couple of coats, first the hardware came off. I have never had the tiller out of the tiller head and it was about time I did to check that the condition of the timber, being covered up could mean lots of rot. I was a bit apprehensive as damaging the tiller would be bad, damaging the head a major and expensive issue, I have a spare but it is on the emergency till where it should stay. 

I need not have worried, once decades of varnish over the join had been removed it came off relatively easy with no damage and the timber is in excellent condition.

Although the head looks rather sad and will need a lot of work.

What appears to be a crack in the middle left of the height
adjustment screw is a surface mark that does not penetrate.
Interestingly the holes for the bolts are bushed with metal and
the hinge bolt with some type of plastic.

Refurbishing the Seagull.

I used the Seagull outboard (a 78cc, model 40+ Mk2 made in May 1976 - so the same age as Sancerre) on the dinghy in 2017 & 2018, then one day in May 2019 motoring into Alderney's Braye harbour, it conked out and I had a long row back to the boat.

Sancerre (centre), the only visitor in March 2019, in May I was at the far
end and it is further than it looks.

I was now in a quandary, it was only a few weeks till the Jester Baltimore Challenge  and with the size of Baltimore harbour and the distance from the anchorage to the shore I needed a reliable outboard; with the time constraint I lashed out on a new Mariner 4 stroke that works fine but it is heavy. 

Fellow Jester Sailor Mike using his Seagull to return to his
A9m "Tranquillity" once we had been able to move relatively
close to the dinghy landing in Baltimore. He was able to store the
motor in the lazarette although I would not want petrol in there,
especially alongside the diesel heater.

As it turned out I was able to quickly fix the Seagull with a new carburettor from Saving old Seagulls (recommended) but I took the Mariner on that trip and on return I moved from Haslar Marina to a trot mooring on the Hamble where I definitely needed a reliable engine with up to 3 knots of tide to cope with and preferably a reasonably quite one as I would be going to and from the yacht club quite often and occasionally 3 miles up river to Deacon's where I was storing the boat over winter. Whilst on the mooring I did not need to hoist it aboard keeping it in the car boot until a space became available in the RAFYC outboard store, so I stuck with the new Mariner.

To overcome the weight issue I built a removable hoist that
works well but as mentioned in a previous post I rarely used it
usually rowing in or taking a water taxi. Rigging the hoist takes a
few minutes but getting the motor securely onto the dinghy single
handed takes a good deal longer.

Now I am back in a marina the Seagull becomes more attractive. I can, and probably will, still use the hoist but the motor being relatively light and with no oil to get into the wrong places, I can lower it into the dinghy then move it into position rather than lowering it directly onto the transom with the dinghy moving up and down with the waves or as I move in it, a straight forward operation if there are two of you but trickier single handed.

After 5 years in dry storage when it was never run, the Seagull started first pull after being given a new spark plug and fresh fuel but some tidying up was in order, especially for the fuel tank.

It was a lot of work to get to this stage removing the original paint,
lacquer (over the decal) and later additions. It is rather bashed about
but a steel tank this old would probably have rusted out from the
inside long ago. Fortunately the black paint job makes the dents less
noticeable.

The Seagull was in production for years with loads made in the 1950s, 60's and 70's with the design not changing much over the years. At a conservative estimate well over a million of all types were made and some think 2 million. In the late 70's, when mine was made, Seagull were turning out 80,000 engines a year.

Usually they are very reliable and certainly into the 1970s Cornish inshore fisherman would take their "punts" (largish, heavy wooden dinghies - not what you see at Oxford or Cambridge) out to the difficult waters around the Longships and Wolf Rock with just a Seagull and a pair of oars for propulsion. 

An advert from the 1960s, linked from the Saving Old Seagulls
web site.

Newly painted with a new transfer in the old style from Saving
Old Seagulls. It says use a 10:1 fuel - oil mixture although
this 1976 Mark II 40+ with a Bing carburettor will happily run
without modification at a more normal 25:1 but the transfer
is authentic to the original. 

After refitting I found that the fuel tap was leaking fuel like mad, it had held fuel in the tank for 5 years but the cork seal on the "pull for on" tap dried out in less than a week. It is a known problem with a known solution but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. The moving piece with the cork was removed and soaked in hot water (initially boiling hot) for 15 minutes, dried, grease applied and when refitted it worked fine.

The prop stripped and painted, the gearbox etc. just cleaned and
painted.
It is not high tech but it works and similar designs they called the
"Hydrofan" were used on a lot of engines, some larger ones have
5 blades and, despite relatively low power, can push a surprisingly
heavy boat.

Repaint under way, the fly wheel I did previously
and is still in good condition. The gearbox oil has
been changed as has the gear box plug and the propeller
spring and split pin. The spring (a patented replacement
for a sheer pin) was looking a bit tired so I swapped it
with my spare - they will absorb most shocks but
ultimately will break so a spare is advisable.

Ready to go. The recalcitrant fuel cock
is on the tank bottom left. Note the Bronze
transom mount which is detachable if you
want to leave it in place and carry less,
optional mounts, such as bolt on ones,
were available. 

Note that the flywheel is exposed and there is no recoil starter, health and safety would not be impressed and they could probably not be made now given product liability issues. Also there is no kill cord (it is possible to fit them but hardly anyone does as it can create other issues), no twist grip or stop button, you stop the engine by closing the throttle leaver all the way.

Operationally the biggest issue on this model is the lack of a clutch, pull the string and you are off, not a big issue if there is someone to hold onto the mother ship when you are starting but it can require a bit of faith that it will start if you are single handed and there is a strong wind or current. Also you can't turn it through 180 degrees for reverse, probably no bad thing given the whizzing fly wheel.

For anyone tempted they are pretty cheap in this country usually £100 - £150 for a decent runner, but take care there are a lot of duff ones out there, many at inflated prices. Good ones, often over restored, can be eye watering expensive in the USA where they are collectors items. In this country and elsewhere things are more generally more relaxed. 

If you want to do work on them you will need a few imperial (Whitworth and AF) spanners. Check out the  Saving old Seagulls FAQs and the active Facebook group(s), I follow Seagull Outboard fans | Facebook

For readers with an Achilles 24: Being designed for displacement hulls a 102cc Silver Century (or Century +) with a clutch would appear to be a good option as a prime engine and one that should drive an A24 well, probably better than many modern engines designed for light craft; but think twice, being in a well you would get a lot of noxious fumes coming into the cockpit even with a 25:1 fuel mix, and they can be noisy so not good over long distances.

Next Cruise: Towards Shetland (again) in April.

Another attempt at Shetland is pencilled in to start the week before or the week after Easter for the best tides; but the weather may well change that, it usually does.

The two main options for departure to get favourable tides
to and past the Mull of Kintyre.

Leaving on a Spring tide is the best time for good tides to help a quick passage to the Inner Hebrides, if the wind and weather cooperate. With the 31st March being the highest tide of the year (a range of 7.5m / 24.6 ft at Milford) a couple of days later or the 15th April is probably more likely as tides on the 1st will be fierce out past The Smalls and off Tuskar and it will not take much wind to make the sea very uncomfortable and not much more to make it dangerous, especially off South Bishop.

The route will be dependant on the weather but ideally from Mull I would visit Coll and possibly the Treshnish Isles, cross the Sea of the Hebrides where the wild life sightings were so fantastic in 2023 and north to Stornoway via the Shiant Islands, again sailing in waters rich with wild life in 2023. But if the weather is not favourable but OK to go up the Sound of Sleat and inside Skye I will probably go that way as there is always the chance of doing that route in reverse coming back in the summer.

The plan is then to minimise long legs by routing to Stromness via Hoy Mouth (as last year), hop round to Kirkwall in one tide, then sail up through the islands to the bay of Otterswick (Sanday) before starting the 64NM leg to southern Shetland or the 78 NM direct to Lerwick.

Some potential anchorages, the same as targeted last year.

 

Launch Day

The weather was kind, wind and rain promised a few days ago got delayed and it was dry with a moderate breeze so no problems getting out of the lift or onto the berth single handed.

The timing was not good for those going to work and a good number of cars backed up behind when she turned off the road after a couple of hundred yards with no passing place.

And more that wanted to come in were released

from the holding area.

Turning towards the slipway.

On to the slip way, no more pics as I had to climb 

aboard at this point.

Click here for work done Jan through March

or here for the start of the first 2025 sailing thread 

Installing a powered USB hub and why

Another post to while away some winter hours, and incidentally to keep the boats documentation up to date. 

Updated after installation was complete.

I use an iPhone and iPad, everything here should also apply to Android devices but I am not familiar with them, research indicates that the the Kingston Hub would not have the problems with Android that I had trying to use it with an iPhone.

I have had a powered USB hub on the boat from the beginning, the reason for the upgrade is my increased use of the PC on the internet. For reasons of economy I have generally restricted my internet use to the unlimited (but "throttled") data only sim in my iPad occasionally using the laptop through its wi-fi hot spot, this year with prices dropping I put a meaningful amount of data onto the iPhone account (and that is from now on also unlimited), the problem then became the wi-fi connection drooping when briefly inactive which was a pain in the neck.

To solve that through 2024 I tethered the laptop to the phone using a USB cable which works well and also gives easier data sharing between the laptop, phone and chart plotter, the problem is then remembering to reconnect the phone to its USB charging point or, without power from the PC, the battery will run down, that only happened once but that is one time to many so to sort that the phone needs to connect to an always on powered USB hub that can also provide charging. 

I was also using an unpowered hub daisy chained to the 4 port powered one and there were lots of wires in inconvenient places.  It was time to upgrade.

Installation should have been straight forward although choosing and getting power to the hub needs some thought and research but Windows 11 threw some curve balls at me as did my choice of the Kingston 7 port hub and I had to redesign on the fly.

The final configuration, click to view.

Connections and Services

For a lot more detail on integration see SV Sancerre: Wi-Fi networking and application integration on Sancerre remembering this was written before the upgrade to a 7 port device, tethering the phone etc.

iPhone (or any smart phone)

• Connects the PC to the internet when a 3 or 4G connection is available.
• Using Garmin Active Captain and wi-fi, transfers routes from the navigation software plus software updates and community notes from Garmin to the plotter.
• Smart notifications such as SMS texts, Facebook notifications, etc. are transferred to the plotter by Bluetooth.

AIS

The Garmin AIS unit only puts AIS information onto the NMEA 2000 network and keeps its GPS data to itself which is annoying as with its external antenna it has the most reliable GPS position on the boat (although the internal aerial in the plotter has not lost a signal yet). 

However there is a USB port for set up and diagnostics and when I installed it I suspected that it would use standard NMEA 0183 protocols; why invent new ones when standard ones exist and you already have code for dealing with them? And so it proved, so the USB cable is permanently connected to the hub, the Garmin USB driver presents a logical COM port to applications and those that are capable can use the differential GPS / EGNOS fix (& Glonass), I mainly use this GPS with SeaPro 3000 and Memory-Map but it can also be useful for Google Earth and other applications.

GPS

As backup I have a USB GPS device (they are less than £10 with support for GPS, GLONASS, WAAS/EGNOS, etc.), that allows the PC systems to take over position fixing if the plotter and NMEA2000 network should fail. It is also occasionally useful when switching between SeaPro and Memory-Map, perhaps to use the Antares charts or to check a route on the standard Admiralty raster charts. The AIS com port can not be shared between applications and even if you close one application down the PC is likely to think the port is still potentially active and the newly launched software gives an error. 

I set Memory-map to use the USB GPS and SeaPro to use the AIS output and I can then have both active at the same time or switch between them without problems. In the event of a failure I can easily change the configuration to allow SeaPro to use a USB GPS or Memory-map to display AIS.

GND

Some of the many re-sizable windows available
on a connected PC with Nexus. They can be moved
around to fit with or on top of other windows.

Is a bridge between the wind instruments and NMEA200 but also runs as a NX2 server for Nexus software providing most of the information from the NMEA 2000 network down a USB connection, unfortunately that is not usable by SeaPro or Memory-Map but free software allows you to display it on the PC. I can't remember when I last used it but it is free so it might as well be connected.

NAVTEX

I now rarely use it as the met office forecasts are readily available on their website and navigation warnings from the Admiralty website and they are also broadcast by the coastguard but venturing further afield it is a useful backup or replacement for IridiumGo (which does not carry the nav warnings).

USB-3 connections

This can be used to connect various ancillaries that benefit from a fast transfer rate such as a card reader (not included on my new laptop) or DVD or to plug in an iPad. This is also a powered port so will do a better job of supporting an iPad.

Power

This might be the tricky bit. Powered hubs are intended to run from the mains, using an inverter, even if you have one installed, does not make a lot of sense - converting 12V DC to 240V AC and back to whatever DC voltage the hub uses.

However all is not lost, over the years makers have been standardising many PC related items to run off of 5V DC as used by USB devices, even my latest lap top when on mains uses a 3 Amp 5V supply connected to the PC by a USB-C plug (for some reason the car 12V lead and converter to 5V uses a different socket). 

My original 4 port hub came with a 240V 13Amp USB charging plug and a USB-A to centre pin lead, I just replaced the 13A plug with an off the shelf 12V to USB socket available from the chandlers and elsewhere.

 

The 7 port powered hub. Preferred to others as it is small and does
not have unwanted switches or lights. It is USB-3 so fast and
2 ports will provide additional power with automatic detection.
The voltage is marked by the socket on the end. Not as it turned
out a good choice if connecting an iPhone.

This time I could not find one like that and online suppliers don't seem to specify the intermediate voltage of there units, but if they have a detachable lead the voltage should be noted beside the socket and it should also be on the power supply; usually in almost microscopic lettering with the rest of the spec. So the trick is to expand photos to read the info from there. I found that the Kingston units were definitely 5V, the power cable is captive to the power supply so in a worst case I would cut the cable and splice it to a USB cable, fabricate from scratch (but there is an easier route, see below) or look for one, but the cable on my old hub does the trick. 

As it turned out it would not work with the iPhone so it was relegated to be a passive hub and the topology changed. Fortunately the 4 port hub I had been using as a passive hub could be powered and was USB3 compatible so that was promoted to be the powered hub. Connecting the power was straight forward using a USB A to USB C cable.

12V to 5.1V step down unit with
fast charge.

Using an off the shelf USB socket for the power source does have a down side, all of the ones I have seen working from 12 volts deliver 2 Amps, useable but not that good for recharging a phone or iPad and would be marginal if an iPad and phone were connected a the same time. The solution is a step down unit, these are readily available on eBay and elsewhere, most deliver 3 Amps for 15 Watts nominal costing £5.89 including postage and is available with USB or  bare wire output that would be easy to connect to the power lead that comes with a hub. I found one that delivers 5 Amps through up to 4 female USB-a sockets @ £6.91. Whilst not as fast charging as a good mains powered charging station  I'll settle for a potential improvement of 2.5 times over standard.

There are 4 outputs from the unit so one powers the hub (and phone) and another has  a male to female USB A cable for charging other devices, in my case, several lights, lighters for the gas, battery charger for the camera and iPads if I should let them run down.

I prefer things fused and switched so the step down unit has both, getting power from the low power switched bus behind the electrical panel. It will normally be left switched on at the panel and will go off when the master switch is off, but if I am a long time at anchor (quite likely) and short of power (unlikely) I can switch it off to save the small parasitic current it uses.

The nav station with recently updated electrical panel and the PC
connected to the internet via the iPhone and USB and running 
Memory-map with a GPS fix from the dongle, and Nexus Race
software showing 3 virtual instruments at the top of the screen,
iirc heading from the Raymarine autopilot sensor plus wind
speed and direction from the Garmin sensors

Windows 11 Issues

These were very frustrating and together with the problem with the Kingstone hub took several hours to resolve, particularly as the Windows issues made fault finding difficult and more prolonged as I had to keep rebooting because of the first issue.

Com Ports:

First Windows 11 consistently allocated COM3 to a newly added USB virtual serial port connection even when it had previously allocated COM3 to another device, this did not happen under Windows 10. This confused the applications as the COM port can only support one at a time. Google AI says this does not happen, but it can and deeper research after I had worked round the issue confirms this and gives some of the reasons why. I did not follow though with that as its now working but there were references to changing registry settings as a fix.

To fix this I first identified which of the two "COM3s" was the newly added one (IIRC it was always the 2nd on the list) then I changed the COM Port number manually and rebooted and it would work, fortunately as it is a new PC I knew the highest com port already allocated. 

I don't have a device at home that uses a virtual COM port so I can't give precise instructions on how to do this but you start by right clicking on windows start, select device manage, select COM Ports (the devices have to be connected to see them), then the one you want to change, then look for something along the lines of "settings" where there will be an "advanced option" where you can change the port number, it will give an error message that the port is in use, ignore this as it is the first COM3. Then reboot, selecting scan for hardware changes might work but I would want to reboot to check that the fix had taken so there is not much point.

Garmin drives and security settings:

The Garmin drivers for virtual Com Ports for AIS and GND units are not compatible with a particular security feature of Windows 11 (these drivers are also implicated in the COM port issue but they are the latest available), the error message gives the necessary info to turn this off (it may be an option I opted into that defaults off but I can't be certain, the PC is not that new).

Winter work - November & December

14th November: 

All work is on hold at the moment and has been since shortly after my last visit 6 weeks ago, first bad weather with humidity over 80% - too high for painting, then my wife's fall alarm stopped working and it took a fortnight to get a working new one, then I badly hurt my back and it is still not fixed, hopefully next week I can get down to at least do the work necessary before relaunch in four weeks time.

Tuesday 26th November:

Still with back problems but I went to the boat today, primarily to take down the antifoul etc. so that I could have the work done for me if necessary. 

Wednesday 27th November:

The paintwork it not as good as my last effort,
in cool weather the new Toplac+ definitely
needs thinning as you can't brush it out enough
 to avoid curtains. Also, in my view it needs
"tipping"/Laying off so when single handed you
 may as well use a brush as I did on the port side,
 the starboard, done in warmer weather with
 a roller is OK but I'd have done it better
with a brush.

It is necessary, I managed to get the second coat of paint on the port side which I could just about do standing up on a walkway but decided that the antifoul would be too much for my back, also I currently need a soft bed to sleep on or my back gets worse.

I also got the Blakes Seacocks back together after cleaning the removable parts at home. And I fitted the new aluminium prop anode, aluminium to help with the Brackish water in the marina, I now have one of each. So in a worst case she could go back in the water as she is to avoid charges for storage (she is currently in the "free" 10 weeks ashore I get with the marina berth). However with less than three weeks to go I have placed a work order with Windjammer Marine for them to:

• Put 2 further coats of anti foul to the hull and shaft.
• Fill irregular depressions along boot line - most identified with primer and most on port side. These were the result of my problems with weed getting into the Awgrip above the boot line during lockdown when the boat was unattended and heeled most of the time in the current. I had hoped that repeated applications of antifoul would hide them but they haven't.
• Put 3 or if necessary 4 coats of white to the boot line.

With the time lost I'll have to abandon some cosmetic interior painting which I probably can't do whilst sleeping on the boat but she can go back in on December 15th and I can start putting things back together after the big varnishing effort. Hopefully before launch I'll have time for a few jobs:

• Repack the stern gland, tightening would almost certainly be fine but it has been a while so some new cord would be good.
• A fresh coat of silicone on the propellor.
• Refit the cable locker clam shell drain guards.
• Refit the SeaFeather servo blade now revarnished, I would rather do that just before sailing but that would mean putting the dinghy in the water which, now I am on a berth, is safe and dry in it's bag and will stay there until needed, probably somewhere in Scotland next spring.

Tuesday 3rd December

Windjammer have put 2 coats of antifoul onto the hull and hopefully today filled and faired the boot line for a coat or two of anti-fouling tomorrow.

A nice job on the anti-foul and the boot line looks a lot better smooth!

They queried the launch date as being a Sunday and on checking there looks to have been a typo on the email sent to me, launch is now on Monday 16th, first in (starting?) at 08:30. I'll be travelling down on the Sunday, the hotel room is down to £54, in early October I could not get one for less than £180, not taken up! If my back is up to it and the weather not too bad I'll then stay down on the boat for a night or three to start the next phase of work.

Video of  the move to launch in another post.

Day trips to the boat to carry out maintenance are no longer an option and to reduce the number of long car trips I'll likely be staying on the boat for several days at a time in the early part of next year so, as it is almost Christmas, I have bought myself a present - a "meter maid" electricity meter (not required at Deacon's or Hasler where I previously berthed as they have meters built into their systems) so I can go onto power and run an electric fire and / or the diesel heater and stay toasty warm without worrying about batteries if it is overcast and windless as it frequently is at Milford in winter, at least when it is not blowing a gale.

27th - 30th December.

With reasonable weather forecast and early January not looking good I took the opportunity to get down to the boat to finish off some jobs and in particular to drain the engine down in case of severe cold, I don't normally as salt water freezes at a couple of degrees colder than fresh and it is normally moving but with few movements through the lock and lots of fresh water coming down the Pill, water in Milford Dock does not move much and the surface is brackish and the top few inches potentially almost fresh so better safe than sorry.

I achieved most of what I set out to do although one smallish job had to be put off and another took longer when my electric drill seized up 😡. There are a few jobs left to do before I start rerigging to go sailing but nothing major apart from cleaning so I don't have to go again until March, although the dehumidifiers will probably be full sometime in February so I might start the pre season clean down in late February rather than in March, if there is a dry spell and its not cold.

Completed on this trip:

• USB hub work completed, not without some aggravation as described in my post Installing a powered USB hub and why.
• Electrical work referred to in a previous post completed, pics below.
• All joinery removed for varnishing reinstalled.
• Painting of the Heads and hanging locker almost complete, an additional coat in a small area would be good, as would some Damboline in the small storage area below the locker and the area around the Heads sea cocks, but I can live without if time presses to go sailing.
• Engine drained of water, anodes checked - still no significant erosion after 5 or 6 years in place, and the water pump impeller replaced.
• Warps and sails apart from the genoa are back on board so only one delivery trip will be required for hardware before refitting the running rigging and a final one to load the dinghy, outboard, cloths etc..

The electrical panel with a few additional fuses and the power switch for
the hub and fast USB charger, also a new securing batten to the left. The
securing screw will be replaced with a coach bolt and wing nut when
I am on board with a serviceable electric drill.

The back of the electrical panel, I would prefer it a bit neater
but there have been a lot of changes over the years and running
new wires as things move is not always practical. Lots of fuses
arranged in a hierarchy means that any wiring fault will take out
the minimum number of services.

Click here for launch day. 

Click here for a post on refurbishing my Seagull outboard for use this year.

Click here for work done Jan through March

or here for the start of the first 2025 sailing thread 

A long wait now with not a lot to do until just before the new season starts.