Cockpit Table

Ive been busy with work during the month of July so getting things done on the boat has been a challenge. But I did finally finish the new cockpit table and get the Garmin GPS installed.  We also have a new 120% genoa aboard, but havent set it up on the furler yet. Lastly we took the liferaft and MOM unit in for servicing.

The reason for the new cockpit table is that the original one took up too much space and we got tired of it being in the way. The new arrangement works much better for actually sailing the boat and provides a place for the new GPS.

The process began with removal of the original table. The photo below shows the standard arrangement for the B423. You can see that it pretty much fills up the cockpit forward of the steering pedestal. It is fitted with large drop-leaves that make for a very spacious dining table when they are deployed and for many B423 owners its a good arrangement.

The lid fits loosely on the table and encloses a deep stowage bin. Notice the slip pin hinges for the drop-leaves.  

Plenty of room with the table removed

Removing the table reveals the spaciousness of the cockpit. I filled in the holes left by the mounting bolts. Later I installed a teak foot rest which concealed them. The table legs are nicely made of stainless steel and are plenty strong so I kept them for use on the new table.

Table base incorporates a solid, if slippery footrest. The blue tape covers the forward hinge which had an uncanny ability to snag clothing.

The next step was to mock up the new table. I wanted it to be smaller than the original table, incorporate the new GPS and provide solid hand-holds. I took a template off the forward side of the pedestal and entered those dimensions into the computer because I wanted the new table to follow the contours of the pedestal. Then I played around with different shapes until I had something that looked like it would work. I made a mockup out of particle board and check fitted it.

Particle board mockup. 

The new shape looked good, but the original table leg assembly was not tall enough. I wanted the table to be high enough that we could see the new GPS even when standing at the wheel. So while the leg assembly was in the shop getting modified I laminated up a mahogany riser and fabricated the table itself out of 3/4" StarBoard.

The mahogany riser puts the table at a convenient height. The post that the GPS is mounted on can be adjusted for height and it swivels. The cable is routed down through the post and fed into the starboard table leg. From there it passes through the deck and into the aft cabin. 

With the GPS mounted high enough for good visibility from the helm, it was too high to be convenient when sitting in the forward part of the cockpit, which is why I incorporated a pedestal that can be adjusted higher or lower and swivel for good visibility from anywhere in the cockpit. When were at sea, we almost never stand or sit at the helm. When youre on watch alone, the autopilot will always do a better job of steering the boat than a human over the span of an entire watch. The best place to stand watch is in the shelter of the dodger. On the Beneteau 423 that presents a problem because all of the instrumentation and controls are on the "dashboard" at the helm. The new GPS solves the navigational aspect of the problem and it will display AIS information as well. The handheld remote for the autopilot substitutes for the controller at the helm. The new TackTick sailing instruments are wireless and the displays can be located anywhere. So with this system in place we can navigate and control the boat from the most comfortable spot in the cockpit. This gets real important when youre punching into a head sea on the midnight watch and youre the only person on deck for three hours on a windy and moonless night.

On the left is a 2011 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, to the right is a 2009 Cakebread Cabernet.

Once the unit was installed we had to check fit the drink holders. They worked like a champ! I have been planning to add a fold-down dining table which would be attached to table leg assembly but for now, were pretty pleased with the current arrangement.


                                                                 The Rescue Pod

Switlik Rescue Pod 4
Switlik refers to it as an "Emergency Floatation System" rated for 4 people. It would be extremely cozy for four, but reasonable for two.

Finisterra has a Switlik Rescue Pod for a liferaft, which is fine for coastal cruising in the temperate and tropical regions where the Finisterra will be traveling. It was time for a checkup so I took it to Avalon Rafts in Wilmington, California. Everyone who owns a raft or races offshore has taken a Safety At Sea course and seen raft deployment demonstrations, so you have a general idea of how they work and how they are equipped. But few of us have deployed our own raft, so we hung around and went through every detail of our little pod. It was something of an eye opener to see exactly how it works, what happens when things go wrong, and what the equipment bag really has in it. It has caused me to revise the equipment and supplies we carry in our ditch bag and I feel a lot more prepared in case we ever have to deploy the raft in a real emergency. If you plan to do any truly offshore work, one look at the Pod when its deployed will convince you to opt for a real liferaft.

The Pod is, as you can see in the photos, basically a flat disc. That means that in has a 50% chance of inflating upside down. It has a righting line across the bottom, so it can be righted, but if you have a Pod, keep in mind that the first thing you may be required to do once youve launched it, is to get in the water and pull the thing upright. It looked pretty easy in the comfort of Avalons shop. It might be a different story in 15 foot seas and 40 knots of wind.

I snapped the photos below with my phone so they are not very good quality, but you can see fairly well what the rescue pod is like.

This is how the raft looks after its hit the water and inflated. The CO2 canister is in the background. It normally remains attached to the raft. The pressure relief valve is the donut shaped part in the foreground. The drogue or sea anchor is the white thing on the left. Equipment visible inside the raft is stored in the equipment bag.

The person standing in the background provides a good indication of the size of the Pod. This is a single chamber raft, which means that if it is punctured, it turns into a large trash bag pretty quickly. So be sure that you throw it clear of any sharp objects and try not to accidentally stab it while getting aboard. The unit comes with a repair kit, suitable for fixing two holes. Unfortunately the instructions are printed on a little piece of paper and carefully packaged with the kit in a small plastic bag. So be sure that when you do get that puncture, youre in a clean, dry place and have plenty of time and good lighting so you can read the instructions, which call for cutting the hole large enough to slip one part of the "clamshell" inside the the air chamber then clamping the other half to it. Stay calm while the air is whistling out of the hole and youre reading those instructions.

Standard rescue pod equipment include a surprisingly effective manual pump, combination strobe and flashlight, puncture repair kit (in the plastic bag), and a relief valve cap (the white thing below the repair kit).

Ill post our revised ditch bag equipment list in another day or two.

Transpac Village Walkabout

I spent some time working on the boat last week, mostly routine maintenance items, but also on the new cockpit table, which is coming along nicely. Ill post some photos in the next day or two. Anyway, after a couple of hours of work on a particularly beautiful afternoon we decided to have lunch at Tequila Jacks,  which is about a ten minute walk from the boat. While sitting in the patio of the place, dining on fish tacos and  ice cold Pacificos, we noticed that "Transpac Village" was beginning to fill up with boats that are doing the upcoming Transpac Race, so we decided to wander over and have a look at the latest developments. It turned out to be an interesting stroll, with an extraordinary variety of boats in the marina, all in different states of readiness. They ranged from the venerable old Sparkman and Stephens designed "Dorade" to the ultra quick ORMA trimaran, "LendingClub", with lots of interesting boats between these two ends of the racing spectrum. While the boats we observed were just a small fraction of the fleet, it was interesting to see all the variety and to get a really nice perspective on the evolution of racing yacht design over the last 80 years.

Designed by Olin Stephens and launched in 1930, Dorade was a revolutionary racing yacht in her day. Notice the tall cowl vents. They sit atop boxes which let fresh air into the boat while keeping water out.  Dorade was the first boat ever to have such boxes so they became known as "Dorade Boxes" and are found on nearly every offshore cruising boat built since then. My 2005 Beneteau is fitted with Dorade Boxes.  I love this simple, elegant solution, but vents are not what made this lovely yacht famous. Its her race record. Imagine sailing this beauty down the Molokai channel under a full moon with main and mizzen spinnakers set.

Here is a diagram of a Dorade Box. These days most people dont know why cowl vents are mounted on boxes. Air and spray, and sometimes green water, enter the cowl vent. The water drains away through scuppers in the box and the air is drawn into the boat.

Santa Cruz 50
Notice the wood cabin trunk. Later 50s had molded glass decks. This 30 year old design wont compete with todays fifty footers, but it can still deliver an exhilarating ride.

On the next gangway we spotted the Santa Cruz 50, "Chasch Mer". This boat is hull number one of the famous "Cruz 50s". Her narrow beam, "V" shaped hull sections, and ultra light weight (for her era) are the embodiment of her designer,  Bill Lees mantra of "Fast is Fun". While far off the pace of more recent 50 foot designs, Chasch Mer will provide her crew with an exciting, if Spartan ride to Honolulu.

Speed & Comfort
A true dual purpose boat,  the SC 52 is a nearly ideal racer/cruiser.

Further down the gangway we spotted a beautifully maintained Santa Cruz 52. This boat does not share the same design pedigree as the 50s and 70s. It was designed by Bob Smith and is offers similar performance to the Cruz 50, but with very civilized accommodations. The Santa Cruz 52 is a classic.

Southern Cross 52
Meanie, the former Vela Veloce shows her somewhat cruising-friendly cockpit. Notice the seats at the forward end of the cockpit. The boat also boasts more accommodations below than you would find on a TP 52.

A closer look at Meanie.
In this view you can see the seats at the forward end of the cockpit. In the foreground note the powerful running backstays. 

The next three boats are all variations on the Transpac 52 theme, with an IRC twist. Meanie is the ex Vela Veloce, which was built for the late Dick Oland in 2009. Officially, it is a Southern Cross 52, not a TP52. The most visible difference between the two is the requirement for more accommodations and comfort in the SC 52. Do not be fooled by the concessions to cruising comfort, this boat is extremely quick and I doubt that youll get your mother in law to do the runners.

Humphreys 54
Bengal 7 features a lifting keel, reducing draft from about 12 feet to a mere 8-2".  

Next to Meanie on the gangway was the Humphreys 54, Bengal 7. Launched in 2010 as Oystercatcher XXVIII, this yacht can easily be mistaken for a TP52. Bengal 7 is now owned by Yoshi Murase and handled by an all Japanese crew.

Bengal 7, in Oystercatcher livery, at speed.

Closeup of Bengal 7/Oystercatchers cockpit. Notice the beefy running backstays, wide open space for the crew and the unsupported deck at the transom. It appears that the mainsheet runs directly from the traveler to a pair of cockpit winches. This is lighter and more efficient than the popular Admirals Cup system seen on many racers.

I would call Bengal 7 a pure IRC boat. With its hydraulic keel lifting machinery and slightly more accommodating interior, it is a bit heavier for its length than a state of the art TP 52. You can see a definite evolution in the design of the cockpit, compared to the slightly older Meanie, and truly vast differences from all out racers of yesteryear such as the Santa Cruz 50.

Beecom: A modern TP 52. Notice the contours of the cabin trunk, and the companionway dodger. That little bit of canvas will be much appreciated on the delivery back to the mainland.

Beecom was tied up on the same dock as Meanie and Bengal 7 so it gave us a unique view of recent trends in race boat design. Beecom was launched in 2011 and is a true Transpac 52. This development class has evolved quickly over the last decade and I get the sense that it is stabilizing a bit, so this boat provides a fairly up to date perspective of the class. Unfortunately I had only my I-phone with me the day I took these photos so they are not as crisp as I would have liked. But if you look closely you can see the chine in the hull that runs from about station 3 to the transom.

Clean, simple lines in Beecoms cockpit. Notice the short mainsheet traveler and absence of deck hardware. Like Bengal, the mainsheet is simply run to a pair of cockpit winches.

This boat was designed by Rolf Vrolijk and built by McConaghy. I am particularly impressed by the clean lines and simplicity of design here. You can also see in this photo above the pronounced chine. If youre a regular reader of this blog, you know Ive been mildly critical of racer/cruisers with chines. Well, here is a case where they really do make a difference. Once cracked off, this boat will almost always travel at more than its displacement hull speed.

Can you spot the jib tracks? Youll have to look closely. This photo also provides a visual comparison of Beecom to the cruisier Southern Cross 52, Meanie, tied up next to it.

Notice the hull shape at the sheer. It fairs from a fine bow to virtually straight sides aft. High performance sailboat hulls are beginning to look a bit like powerboat hulls. I liked this boat best of all the ones we saw in the Transpac Village that day.

Timing is Everything

Ive been installing the Single Sideband radio over the last couple of weekends. Its not a small job to find suitable locations for the control head and speaker, receiver and antenna tuner, then get all the wiring done in a seaman-like manner mainly because space for these items is very much at a premium.  It also turned out to be a bigger challenge than I expected to get the copper foil for the ground plane installed from the antenna tuner to the keel. But everything is installed and wired except for the connections to the batteries, which I will not do until we replace the lead acid batteries with AGMs in a couple of weeks.

While that work is being done, were also varnishing the cap rails. I really didnt want to go down that road but the teak was at the point where it had to be done, or else. So we got them well sanded and two coats on, with three or four more to come. I am resigned to the fact that theyll need a coat every six months or so.

Anyway, yesterday I went to pump some water through the aft head, which I do every time we arrive at the boat, and it wouldnt go. I checked the thru-hull valves,  both intake and discharge were open and functional. Then I poured fresh water into the bowl and pumped it through, and it was absolutely normal.  So I knew the problem was on the intake side, and I double checked the ball valve and checked outside the boat to make sure there wasnt a plastic bag or something blocking the intake thru-hull. Nope, all looked good. So the next step was to shut the valve and pull the intake hose off and check for a blockage there. I pulled it off the ball valve, expecting to find some seaweed or other flotsam, but it was clean, so I tried pumping again and it still wouldnt go. But I knew the problem was somewhere between the ball valve and the pump so I disconnected the other end of the hose, where it connects to the head pump and found the problem. It was a fish stuck tail-first in the intake of the head. The poor duffer was in up to his gills and jammed pretty tight in the hole.  So I pulled him out and Lisa threw him back in the water, where he flapped his flippers feebly before sinking out of sight. After I put everything back together we were sitting in the cockpit speculating on how bad timing can ruin a fishs day. He must have thought hed found a really neat little hidey hole and backed himself into it, where he was enjoying life and watching the world go by out his front door. Imagine his surprise and consternation when I pumped the head and he found himself headed bassackwards up the intake hose to the head, where he jammed like a cork in a bottle. I was astonished that he was still alive and I bet he was glad to see me, but my guess is that he was pretty banged up and probably didnt make it. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time!