Doing the housekeeping...........

We've had a bit of a sunny weekend which enabled me to catch up with housekeeping on Arwen. First of all I cleared everything out.....until she was almost completely empty.........

......at which point I could get on with sanding and painting the odd dings and scratches. The gratings were re-oiled. I raised the jib sheet cleat onto a block on the rear of the centreboard casing cap......it will help me secure the jib sheet more easily when single handing.  The mast got another coat of sealer as well. Then it was the turn of the hull - wow some scratches there.....took quite a bit of sanding and sorting....but we got there. There was some added pressure - I think my wife threatened she'd cut off bits of my anatomy  if I got any paint drops on the new driving paving bricks!!!!!  White kinda shows up on reddish brown brickwork!

Finally some areas of wood with the dragons on got a touch up varnish!

One of Arwen's decorative dragons

On every boat I have built thus far......I have always burned lightly some drawings/designs to add a little sense of individuality and style.....it takes ages but I think the effect is worth it.  Arwen has dragons either side on the back rest and on the curved coaming she has a burned in sketch of a welsh princess. Often my designs are an amalgamation of what I have found on the internet. I burn them into the wood with an old soldering iron which has a metal tip that I filed and shaped into a pencil point. I also bought an old pyrography set at a car boot sale and that has made a great difference to the quality of what I can produce.

I won't be sailing for the next couple of weekends due to various birthday party and wedding commitments...however at half term I have two outings planned - one up the Tamar and the Lynher; the other around the Salcombe estuary...if all goes well. I'll outline the details of the trips more fully mid week. Until then, I leave you with a picture from my mobile phone...on Arwen's maiden voyage.......a common porpoise came alongside Arwen and spent 20 minutes playing at her bow and underneath her.......I was single handed and just about coping so only managed to snatch the one photo.  I still think it was a really good omen.....I still look out for it......it had so many scars on its back that it would be easily recognisable but I haven't seen it since - shame!

Have a good start to the week everyone.

Steve

The name 'Arwen'

Someone has just emailed me to ask if I am a Lord of the Rings fan.......well yes......but that isn't where I got the name from.  I'm from Wales.......as a small kid I grew up in sight of the best Castle in Wales - Conwy Castle. My brother and I and friends off the small estate used to sneak in and pretend to be medieval warriors - great times. My dad used to take me to work...in Llanberis in the summer holidays...and you won't get much more welsh than that....in the shadow of the World's most spiritual and glorious mountain - Snowdon. In short, Arwen is a welsh name.....it has two or three meanings....and slight deriviations......Arwen can mean.....'Royal Maiden'.......or Evening Star'.  'Muse' is another meaning and finally 'Pure' and 'Beloved one'.  All appropriate really........so a good name I thought! The little tender being built for Arwen is to be called Angharad.....the name can be traced back to the C9th. In the C12th Mabinogion (a collection of medieval welsh folktales), Angharad was the fair lady who initially rejected Peredur but later fell in love and married him when he returned in a different guise. If I ever build another boat, she'll be named Rhiannon'..........after a welsh horse goddess!  And, for the eagle eyed.......now you know why I fly a welsh flag from Arwen's topyard.  Cymru am byth and Nos Da!

Steve

Arwen's back on the drive at long last

She's back at long last where she belongs when not in the water.....on the front drive. Poor Arwen, stuck amongst the big boys, all under wraps. Queen Anne's Battery have looked after her well but I had to keep popping down every three days to check that she was still there safely under wraps. It was a 'piece of mind' thing.

Arwen under tarpaulins at QAB in Plymouth

I raced to get her temporary covers off - I'm saving up to have some proper canvas fitted ones made with click buckles which will save so much time in the future when taking her to the launch site........I spend ages untying bits of string from the boat trailer. She has three tarpaulins on so that water doesn't leak through. It drives me mad!

Anyway, the sun came out, the temperatures rose and she emerged........like a butterfly............OK I'm sad.....but hey it took me three years to build this baby......my dad and my father-in-law, two men \I admire most.....laid the keelson and first planks. My kids helped sand and paint her......there's a lot of love in Arwen.........its different when  you've built your own boat isn't it.

Arwen unwrapped and in the sun again

Arwen's trailer is made by 'degraaf trailers' It's adjustable so that if \I ever build a pathfinder, I've already got the trailer.....not that I can see that happening.........I'm too smitten by Arwen!

By the way, if you enlarge this photo, please ignore the very obvious paint dribbles on the port side of transom............I know if I was a decent craftsman with some self pride - I'd sand it all down and repaint it......but hey a little secret........'life's too short'......and we should all be out SAILING!

Steve

Getting the hang of weather helm and adjusting sail trim

It took a bit of time to work out weather helm but I think I'm beginning to understand it..........people reading the blog will soon put me right if I have this wrong. I think that with weather helm, if I released the tiller, Arwen would turn up into the wind.......I've found in the past that I have had to pull the tiller towards the weather deck. Too much weather helm tells me, I think, that the boat is over pressed and I need to ease the mizzen. A slight pull though is a good thing, isn't it?

As for sail trim - I was really confused but John came to the rescue (again; and again; and again; and again!). I couldn't get the sail to rise high enough...solution - move the halyard on the upper yard further down (for'ard); tie the parrel beads at the same point as the halyard and make sure its lower for'ard end protruded past the mast. Simple....unless of course you are me......never mind lets not dwell on my innate ability to be an idiot. At least I understood the reasoning behind the tack down haul tension.

To tune the sprit boomed main involves moving the for'ard end of the sprit boom up or down the mast.......another homer 'doh!' moment. Moving it down helps tighten the luff and eases the leech; moving it up tightens the leech and eases the luff.  John even helped me get rid of that terrible crease with a 'knotted hankie' analogy.......moving the halyard back a bit and using more down haul tension at the tack.......the damned crease disappeared........oh joy of joys.......my abject lack of sail trimming knowledge was no longer on a huge humiliating display to all of Plymouth Sound........THANK YOU JOHN!

Learning to sail a lugsail yawl

When I first started sailing Arwen - I was very confused; John Welsford was very patient and his yahoo group forum members were very supportive. I learned in a laser stratos and a laser. Never had to contend with a mizzen. Didn't have to contend with a sprit boom either! I kept thinking it was a gunter yawl - not sure why but clearly I was terribly confused on this new sailing mularkey!

You might think.....what were they teaching you on this RYA 1 and 2 course?  That would be grossly unfair - the course was brilliant - I'd never sailed a boat before and all of a sudden I was - safely! I understood the basics of sailing - tacking, gybing, reaching, running, points of sail, lee shores, leaving and returning to beaches etc etc....but setting THREE sails for best performance......oh what a science.......and thank heavens for John and the team. Until recently I could only get about 2 - 3 knots out of Arwen irrespective of  wind speed.  After advice and offerings from the team.......I got 6 knots............sooooooooooooo fast - wonderful! So what have the guys and John taught me which I'm now applying?

1. up to 10 knots wind - sheet the mizzen in really hard so there is a slight pull on the tiller
2. 10 - 15 knots - ease the mizzen a little; ease the main slightly (with the caveat that if in exposed seas for a longer time - think about reefing the main)
3. 15 knots plus ease the main; ease the mizzen and if it's going to blow like that for a bit reef the main or go to jib and mizzen only
4. tiller helm pressure is the clue to whether the boat is over pressed and needs sail reduction.......oh i wish I'd known that earlier!!!!!!!!  If the tiller pulls hard, ease the mizzen; if the tiller seems overlight, sheet it in a little more........um!
5. when using all three sails - trim the jib and main for best angle of attack and get all telltales streaming aft......'doh' - sounds so obvious to those in the know!
6. then trim the mizzen to get a few degrees of weather helm, if pointing.........took me a bit of time to work that out as well!
7. I didn't realise there was a running order in sail trimming........another homer simpson  'doh!' moment - in winds up to 12 knots, when close hauling, sheet the mizzen hard first; then sheet main until its setting nicely with the mizzen; and finally sheet the jib until its right with main and mizzen and 'drawing' properly.  Oh! - I suddenly got it - it's the mizzen that sets the sheeting angle for the other two sails; and sets the pointing angle of the boat........I'd been starting from the jib end first!!!
8. when reaching and running - set the jib angle first; then main and finally mizzen!
9. the outing with 'notelet' taught me sail for speed not angle of closeness to the wind....Arwen doesn't point as close as other boats...so easing the sails a fraction, as wind speed increases.......seems to be the key

An early photo of me and Arwen in the Cattedown

I'm trying to get to grips with three sails and getting rid of that crease!

You can see why my head begins to hurt....I've had to write down  all that stuff above and get it laminated  so that it goes with me in the cockpit and I can refer to it until eventually I'll do it automatically...........I think that is probably a really sad admission! 

My friend's new boat

Contrary to popular belief - I do have one friend. He got me into boat building - he gave me his three-quarter finished Selway Fisher highlander 12 and the benefit of his wisdom. It's what started me off on a completely new hobby and interest - a  swap from mountaineering and camping to sailing! He's a really good amateur boat builder - skilled, well read, knowledgeable and meticulous. He's also an extremely experienced sailor who makes it look so easy; he has huge amounts of patience and a wonderful way of helping you learn. Coupled with a warm sense of humour and easy going manner - sailing with him is great fun.
Anyway, he's just got a new boat after a gap of several years without one. It's a character post boat about 14' 6" long - the same length as Arwen. There are some differences - it's a gaff rig and a hell of a weight compared to Arwen as I discovered when I tried to help him launch it - oh boy! I went to push it off the trailer with one arm and nothing happened - it was like running into a wall! Don't get me wrong it comes off the trailer easily - its a wonderful set up - but Arwen is a real lightweight in comparison!

We had a good day out - reaching and running between the breakwater and back of Drakes island. I've uploaded a short film I made of the day with cheesy music   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL8Tn5bkk5o  Its a great boat, sails really well and looks fantastic. It was a gusty day winds around F4 gusting F5 and my friend took it carefully but his experience shone through constantly. He was able to point closer to the wind than I can  - he seems to sense wind shifts before they even happen. Anyway - it was a fun 4 hrs or so and its great to know that Arwen will now quite often be sailing on company!

Steve

Getting Arwen organised

One or two of you have kindly commented on the comprehensive list in my last post.....thanks. I sort of compiled it from a mixture of sources - the list at Dinghy Cruising Association; a list from Margaret Dye's book on dinghy cruising (lovely inspiring read); the shared experiences of the helpful man at the RNLI and also from my own past experiences as as a leader of expeditions here and abroad.  I missed off the throw line which is always secured under the side deck - sorry!

I also have a sketch which reminds me where things get stored on Arwen. It was an idea i pinched from somewhere - I think it was from Steve on his blog 'Log of Spartina' (thanks Steve - hope you don't mind me stealing idea). I've added the image below.  I haven't drawn on the oars - they get stored along the side decks - the blades are about half way along each side deck and the end of the oar shafts close to bowsprit where it is attached to deck. they are held in place by homemade wooden eye pads and sail bungie cords. They lay flat and are completely out of the way. Originally they rested in rowlocks along the coaming but it was such a pain climbing over them! In terms of balance and trim - I've haven't spotted any issues yet - I think the weight is reasonably balanced....still time and experience will tell.

The other photos below show some favourite kit - the GPS - simple to use, limited in terms of what it can do - but I've found it really useful as a speed indicator - it has helped me learn how to set sails better so that I get 'in the groove!' I can actually see how altering sail trim leads to genuine increases in speed - amazing! I've just learned how to link it to google earth as well so that I can download the track of Arwen's voyage and save it in google earth; next voyage I will do that and upload the save file to the blog.

The xacti waterproof camera is fantastic - 12mp - takes video and photos - and is waterproof! All the videos on this blog are shot on this camera. The gorillapod stand is new - an amazing piece of kit which will virtually grip anything - bought recently - so that I can set it up in boat and keep two hands on tiller, mainsheet and other bits of boat!

Finally - I've come across Admiralty tough charts - wonderful and perfect for open boats - waterproof! Easy to read; easy to mark with chinagraph pencil - convenient A3 size. Highly recommended if you do most of your day sailing in one area like I do around Plymouth Sound and associated rivers.

Anyway, if you like the blog, let me know - if you have suggestions on how I might improve it - constructive advice always welcome

Steve

I've been thinking about what I carry in Arwen. Am I carrying too much? What do people think? I guess it adds to the ballast; it's all stored out of the way in lockers under thwarts at centre case and rear stern thwart. Some of it is stored under the side decks. In Arwen, there are backrests between side decks and side thwarts...with easy access cut outs. Nothing rolls around and I can move about safely. Recently I took up the offer by the RNLI of a free boat safety check. the gent who did it seemed very experienced as a sailor. Arwen sailed through (excuse the pun) the checks with no problem....Mr RNLI thought she was a very well equipped boat.......which is great and pleasing to hear........but still that nagging doubt......am I carrying too much unnecessary gear?

When day sailing Arwen has:

• two anchors (main and smaller spare)
• two spare lifejackets
• binoculars, handheld VHF, spare batteries, mobile phone
• tough charts and passage plan and tide tables and handheld gps
• handheld compass and spare silva hiking compass
• bailer pump and hand bailer
• oars
• torch and spare batteries
• waterproofs and spare clothing bag (spare clothing change of; sallopettes, windproof fleece jacket; warm hat and warm sailing gloves, spare towels etc etc etc
• drogue and warp
• spare outboard fuel in 5lt container
• spare outboard fuel in 1 lt container (for when I'm hanging off the transom!!)
• fire extinguisher
• my personal PFD with personal miniflares, whistle and safety knife in pocket
• sunblock, shades, sunhat, sailing gloves
• emergency kit in grab bag (flares, fog horn, hypothermia kit; first aid kit. spare water bottle, high energy snacks, thermal space blankets; glow sticks, swiss army knife
• radio licence
• camera and spare batteries
• money and credit cards
• mooring warps x 4
• rowlocks
• sail battens
• sponges and collapsible bucket and rigid 5gall bucket
• fenders x4 small
• fender x 1 massive(great for coming alongside pontoon at QAB
• outboard 3.5 tohatsu
• fuel funnel
• radar reflector collapsible
• mooring hook/pole
• some spare ropes different lengths and sizes
• piece of tarpaulin folded and roped ready to act as large patch if I hole the boat (is paranoia creeping in here?)
• a toolkit comprising spare shackles, split pins, bolts and nuts,WD40, spare kill cord,hand drill.assorted screw sizes,duct tape,whipping twine, sealant,screw drivers,small hacksaw,wrench,pliers,marlin spike,centreboard bolt and spare o rings, grease tin, spare spark plug, spare prop pins,spare blocks and cleats various sizes, marine epoxy quick setting tube of, bungs various sizes, ply patches various sizes,needle and sewing thread for sails

...and what get's added when I eventually start to go camp cruising? Well..............

• kettle and pan set
• cutlery and bowl/mug set
• stove and spare canisters
• lantern
• gortex bivvy bag, sleeping mat and sleeping bag
• spare clothing bag
• tin opener, sharp cutting knife and cutting board, paper towel rolls
• spare plastic bags for rubbish etc
• food containers
• water containers
• toiletries and loo roll
• windproof matches
• some good books to read
• portable wind up radio
• Ipod
• headtorch

and depending where I go........the new stickleback canoe tender.....which is still in build and will be named Angharad......when the poor thing eventually gets launched!


Yeah - I think it's fair to say I need a spring clear out don't I!  But where to start? short of dumping everything - anyone got any ideas?  Wow........have I actually missed anything off the lists which is vital.......seriously....this is going to keep me awake all night!

Refitting Arwen for this seasons' sailing

I've been busy writing lists of things to do when Arwen gets back from QAB marina this weekend.

1. sort out the trailer

• pump up tyres
• WD40 all rollers
• grease the axles
• repair the one front roller which has slipped slightly

2. fit a tiller extension
3. simply the big hatch fitting system at front bulkhead - its too time consuming to open at present because I used six wing nuts (don't ask me why I have no idea why I was that stupid)
4. fit some flat plywood floor boards to area forward on centre thwarts
5. sand and repaint over the dings and scratches
6. deks oljie the rear cockpit gratings
7. simplify the tiller control system to a piece of string and two side cleats
8. redo the safety harness rope attachments. I think I'm going for a 6 or 7m of rope attached to my harness affair; which is secured to the area forward of the centre case so that i can easily move about the boat which out detaching myself
9. alter cleats for jib sheets - so that when single handed sailing - each sheet comes through coaming to centre of cockpit just at rear of centrecase
10. sort out bits and pieces tub which I carry - it has spare deck hardware, screws, sealant etc

Then I want to sort out what's in the grab bag and get that right. I've altered the way that the mast and booms are carried in the boat whilst moving between shore and home. i built several uprights with carved cross pieces to take the various booms and masts. They are secured to cross-pieces with elastic bungee cord. It's made them securer and quicker to unpack on arrival.

I recently sorted the rigging adding simple lazy jacks that also operate as a topping lift and that has made lowering the sail much more controllable and neater - less dangerous too!

looking back over my RYA dinghy logbook.

My first sail in Arwen was 21st August 2007.  I went out in her for 4 hrs sailing on a circular route between the breakwater fort and the back of Drake's island in force 3 winds.  Since them I have done 37 other trips in her with a total sailing time of 120 hours (most of my trips are around 3 - 4 hours in length thus far). So with all this sailing time why is it I still manage to cock up coming alongside mooring buoys every single time? (it seemed so easy in a laser stratos on the RYA course!) I think it's time i did some more practice of picking up mooring buoys, MOB drill etc.  That should be put right in July when I'm off on a sailing course (RYA 1 and 2) with 20 teenagers - plenty of revision time then!

My most recent trip was 18th April  for 5 hrs when I went out with a friend who was launching his new boat for the first time....more on that perhaps in a separate posting.  Force 4, gusting F5, reaching and running around the breakwater and Drake's Island whilst my friend got a feel for his new pride and joy! I noticed he took far less with him in his boat! He's 30 odd years sailing experience......moral of the tale.....time to rethink what I carry on Arwen and have a 'sort out' before our next trip out!