Fixing new instruments in December

I found really nice offer of double depth and log transducers and display and GPS repeater display from NASA Marine and decided to upgrade my instruments. I got the displays in October and I had a chance to try to install them after I moved my boat out of the water. Current instruments in Sasha were the original B&G instruments. I started removing the original B&G log transducer, because I did not wanted to drill extra hole in the hull. When I removed it I discovered that the hole diameter in the hull was 49 mm, and the NASA Clipper Duet log transducer was 42 mm. Instead of filling the hole I decided that it will be easier to just get another transducer with the appropriate diameter.

NASA Clipper Duet and GPS repeater

I went for Raymarine i40 speed with P317 transducer from Airmar. The diameter was 50 mm, so I had to enlarge the hole with 1 mm. I did it with circular saw and install it with Sikaflex 291i. Actually I was very happy about upgrading to Raymarine, the difference in the quality of the materials are to be seen immediately and of course it is also to be seen from the price of the items.  I found a lot of disturbing information about NASA transducers failures in internet, but still many people are happy with them. It seems that they have had a problem with specific sealant which actually have deteriorated the through hull feed through. I tried to return the Clipper Duet, but I bought it from internet company in Germany and they did not answer my e-mails. Another point learned, when buying instruments better do it from a local shop where you could return the item if does not fit :) I decided to install the display anyway and to use just the depth transducer. I decided to mount the transducer in hull in the front port side compartment of the ship :)

I just installed the Raymarine display and decided to check how my wind Navman Wind 100 was doing, the display remained in my hand. Very exiting :) Navman are out of businesses from several years all they products are discontinued. My question was should I change now the entire system, my wind transducer is still working.

NAVMAN Wind 100 Display, surprisingly still working when pushed against the electronics.

I found in Marktplaats a second hand display from NAVMAN 3150s wich I was wondering if will be compatible with the sensor from Wind 100. I contacted the Navico which offer support of NAVMAN in the Netherlands, and they told me that the Wind 100 transducer and Wind 3150s display are compatible. I bought the second hand display, but the display had 8 pin plug, and my transducer cable had 5 pin plug. I found some info in Internet about the NAVMAN transducers. 

It looks like the NAVMAN transducers use just 5 cables, which was a good sign. In my case down from the mast were coming five cables red, brown, white, green, and a cable without a cover. I cut the 8 pin plug and indeed there were just 5 cables: red, brown, white, green, and a cable without a cover. I connected the cables, checked the red and the cable without cover were the power cables and the other 3 were the information cables. It worked :)

Raymarine i40 speed and Navman 3150s

So it was pretty busy December indeed :)

Out of the water.

It was a fantastic day today. When I started from home, it was heavy raining and pretty windy (6 bft). When I arrived in Den Oever it was sunny and almost no wind. I got down the sails, and went for the lifting. When I got there, guys from the Search and Rescue asked me if I mind to let them first launch their boat. I agreed and had a lovely sail on motor around the harbour. 10 min after it was rain again :) Then I got Sasha out of the water. There was 1 hour window of perfect weather for getting down the sails, having last ride, and lifting the boat. It was a nice end of a brilliant sailing season.

Sailing in the lonesome October

Still some really nice weather in October with great wind :)

Beyond the clouds, beyond the waves that roar. There may indeed or may not be a shore :)

Back to Den Oever.

I brought Sasha back to Den Oever, through Ijmuiden, Amsterdam, Volendam, and Lelystadt :) I did the passage from Scheveningen to Volendam single handed for 13 hours, 59 nm, two locks and one bridge :) My personal record :)

Sailing to Scheveningen

I brought Sasha to Scheveningen via the North sea canal and the North sea. At the end we had to fight the waves, the wind, and the tide. When we got out of Ijmuiden the wind force was about 6 Bft, at Scheveningen it was 2 Bft :) Brilliant day :) We were late a bit, because we had to wait about 1 hour for the maneuvering of the big ship in the North sea canal. It is kind of depressing to sail against the tide :)

Sea Feather test sailing

I tested the Sea Feather upwind and downwind and it worked very nice. The wind force down wind was about 7-8 knots, and upwind about 12-14 knots.

I moved the Genoa traveler to the deck. It seems that I can get the Genoa sail closer to the boat which gives me the opportunity to sail very nice upwind.

It is amazing how the Sea Feather handles the helm downwind :)

Wind Vane Self Steering

I like to sail single-handed, so I decided it will be a good idea to fetch a Wind Vane Self Steering. I narrowed the choice to several options which are suitable for a small boat with transom rudder like Contessa 26:

1. The first wind vane which I considered was Quartermaster auxiliary rudder system . It is  the first wind vane which I saw in the Volendam Marina. The guy told me that he has got it from a Contessa 26 owner for about 150 Euro. I tried to find one second hand but did not manage it.

2. I heard very nice think about the windpilot.

http://www.windpilot.com/

Suitable for Contessa 26 is the smallest version called Pacific Light. I contacted the guy, it appears to be a family business located in Hamburg, Germany. The guy was very nice and cooperative, the thing which draw me back was that I had to produce the frame on which I could fix the vane by myself.

3. I considered also the two Dutch alternatives:

http://www.hollandwindvane.com/self-steering/index.htm

The small unit of hollandwindwane would be suitable for Contessa 26.

http://windvaneselfsteering.com/catalog/mister-vee-yb

Mister-vee would be also Ok for Contessa 26 according the manufacturers.

The Dutch alternatives were much cheaper than the other ones, what pulled me back that there were not much reviews of the people which have used them.

4. At the end I choose Sea Feather:

http://www.sea-feather.co.uk/

There were many reports on Sea-Feather used with Contessa 26. The company is located in UK. They know very well the boat, and they also supply all the materials needed to fix the vane to the boat including the support frame. It looks very reliable and solid build.

5. I ran in Internet on different wind wanes I did not contact some of them because their price was too high:

http://www.selfsteer.dk/
http://www.capehorn.com/
http://www.flemingselfsteer.com/
http://www.hydrovane.com/
http://www.selfsteer.com/index.php
http://www.windvane.co.uk/
http://www.sailomat.com/current-model.php
http://voyagerwindvanes.com/
http://www.south-atlantic.com.ar/en/..._steering.html

6. Interesting book about the Self Steering can be found on WindPilot page:

http://www.windpilot.com/n/pdf/bookeng.pdf

7. Do it youself project:
http://windvaneselfsteering.co.uk/

Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Amsterdam.

I sailed Sasha to Amsterdam from Den Oever through Ijsselmeer, Markermeer, and the beginning of the North sea canal. It is a kind of cool feeling to enter Amsterdam by boat :) I went to the fully renovated Sixhaven, which was a nice surprise. Last time when I was there the place was a rat hole :)

Happy Birthday Sasha :)

Sasha turned 39 on 11.06 , and she got as a present new:

sails;
Main sail: Off-shore/racing, 5.77 Oz. (244 gr) High Modulus Marblehead Premium Dacron, cross-cut.

Genua: Off-shore/racing, 5.77 Oz. (244 gr) High Modulus Marblehead Premium Dacron, cross-cut.

http://www.sailselect.nl/,

furler;
Furlex 104S 5mm forestay.
 http://www.seldenmast.com/en/products/furlex_jib_furling_and_reefing_systems/furlex_304s.html,

and spray hood :)
http://www.mijnnaaiatelier.nl/over-ons.html.

Happy B-day Sasha :)

Launching 2015

Yesterday I launch Sasha in Den Oever Marina. The sailing season is officially open :)

Last works before launching.

I checked and fixed where necessary hull to deck join, placed new toe rails, and Sasha got new one component urethane paint :)

Standing rig replacement

I decided to replace the standing rig, because at the end of the season 2014 some of the wires started breaking. I used the following configuration:

4x  Lower shrouds stainless steel  1x19, 4 mm.
2x Shrouds stainless steel  1x19, 4 mm.
2x Backstay stainless steel 1x19, 5 mm.
1x Forestay stainless steel 1x19, 5 mm.

New bow tip and anchor roll

Just got a new bow metal tip, with anchor roll :) In this way I have a possibility to keep the anchor on the roll, which creates more room for the future instalation of the roll Genoa.

Antifouling

I did not know what kind of antifouling has used the previous owner. I decided to strip what I can. Applied two layers of Primocon folowed by one layer of Cruiser UNO both from International. I renewed the waterline afterwards.

Running rig

My running rig looks quite old, so I decided to change it. The answer to the question what kind of lines I need appeared not to be very straight forward. I searched in Internet and different forums, but people suggested lines basically based on the lines diameter, but not the line strength. I think it is clear to everyone that a line with smaller diameter in some cases could be tougher than a line with larger diameter. Finally I found some formula by which one could calculate the approximate load on a Genoa and Main sheet, which numbers could be a good starting point when you decide about the lines:

1. Genoa.

So, about the Genoa it looks pretty straight forward:

SL = SA x V² x 0.02104
Where: SL = Sheet Load in kilogramsSA = Sail Area in square metersV = wind speed in knots

For Genoa number 1 (about 18 square meters), and a wind speed of let say 40 knots, the sheet load in kilograms will be about 600 kilograms force or 600 daN.

For storm sail (about 5 square meters), and a wind speed of let say 100 knots, the sheet load in kilograms will be about 1052 kilograms force or 1052 daN.

I decided to get for a Genoa sheet line of 12 mm with strength of 3014 daN (Hurricane polyester double braided Lanex sheet).

I think that it is unlikely that the Genoa sheet of Contessa could suffer more than 1052 daN, if it happens the Genoa sheet will be the smallest problem which you will have to deal with.

For the Genoa halyard I decided to go for 3600 daN Dynema 8 mm line.

2. Main sail.

Estimate of the main sheet load could be made by the following formula:

ML = E² x P² x 0.02104 x V² / (sqrt (P² + E²) x (E - X))

Where:
ML = Mainsheet Load in kilograms
E = Foot length on main in meters
P = Luff length of main in Meters
V = Wind speed in knots
X = Distance from aft end of boom to mainsheet attachment point.

For Main sail (about 12 square meters), and a wind speed of let say 60 knots, and X = 0.5 m the sheet load in kilograms will be about 685 kilograms force or 685 daN.

I decided to go for the same lines as for the Genoa, Main sheet line of 12 mm with strength of 3014 daN (Hurricane polyester double braided Lanex sheet), and Main halyard of 3600 daN Dynema 8 mm line.

My traveler blocks are 4:1 system, which I expect to reduce the force on the main sheet by factor of 3, and I decided to go for blocks with working load of 700 daN.

For the boom vang, I decided to go for 500 daN blocks 4:1 system and 10 mm lines 2500 daN.

More information about the sheet load one can find here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forces_on_sails