Do I winterize my outboard or hang on a little longer?

 I am hoping to get out on Arwen after a prolonged absence due to trailer woes. The weather isnt co-operating though. It was this time last year that i emptied her for the winter months and winterized my outboard engine. I have done some videos about servicing my outboard before and these can be found below. Read the comments that go with the videos as there are some additional useful tips. 

part one

When I put the outboard away for winter last year, I started by flushing the cooling system one more time by placing the lower unit in a dustbin of water and switching the engine on. I always do this after every trip anyway but i just wanted to be doubly sure.  I then remove and keep the outboard vertical on its stand to ensure that all water has drained out. 

part two

Last year because I did a service during the first lockdown I didn't bother to drain and replace the oil as I had already done this. However, if you have warmed up the engine, after doing the water drain down, now would be the time to drain the oil and change it, whilst it is warm (not hot!) and more fluid. Again, the videos show how to do this. 

part three

Similarly, I would for winterization, also drain off the lower unit oil reservoir and replace it but I've already done it as part of the lock down service.  At the same time, remove the prop and lubricate shaft spindles. You could at this point remove the lower unit and change the water impellor. It needs doing every two to three years depending on your use of the outboard. One of my videos shows how to do this. 

I always change the spark plug once a year, normally when I am wintering it. 

part four

With regard to fuel, I have never drained the fuel tank over winter but I am told I should do. I do run the engine and then switch off the fuel tap so that the carb runs dry. This means no fuel is left in the carb bowl or carb or fuel lines. This year I may well look at and change the inline fuel filter. I didnt do it last year which was remiss of me. 

I always check the steering and tilt assemblies, greasing lubrication points and check for any signs of corrosion on the wires, link points or throttle assembly. 

Last but not least I clean the exterior and spray metal parts with WD-40. Inside the engine case I spray that with a water repellant as well and it is mentioned in one of the videos. 

Given how few times I have been out this year, I think I will not bother with a winter service this time. The oil wil be fine. The grease is still good. I will give it an interior and exterior spray though. 

With regard to previous posts about my outboard engine, servicing it and building an outboard stand for it, just enter the word 'outboard' in the search bar on the blog. 

Winter cruising up around Cotehele Quays

 Had the opportunity to pop up to Cotehele with my parents last week to see the annual Christmas garland in the main hall. 

This year they have gone for a minimalist look and it works well 

At the end of the day, I always think Cotehele is still my most favourite National Trust property

Loving the mosaic art work this year

Be nice if I could get sharper photos with my smartphone but today my handshaking seems slightly worse. Ho Hum. 

Took the opportunity to pop down to the quay as well. Thinking ahead to some winter cruising up the Tamar. 

Surprised to find the Tamar Barge Lynher stored up here under wraps for winter

You can find a video of her out on the sound here: https://youtu.be/IDhMzJrqwho

Meanwhile 'Shamrock' remains under wraps but all the exterior awning over her has been removed. I am assuming they have finished restoration work on her. 

I have often tied up at the quays at the top of a spring tide on my way up or down to Calstock but I have never dried out at Cotehele. This was a great opportunity to see what I might dry out on, if I were to contact the NT and ask if they would mind me doing so one night. 

From above, it seems that the three quays have an area of flat mud at the top of a sloping mud bank, just wide enough for Arwen to be tied alongside. 

The steps area where I normally tie up are out of action. Fencing has been put across the steps in several places thus making access to the quaysides difficult. 

Of course, the moment you stand sideways on - it becomes a little clearer. Those slopes are quite steep and the area of flat mud at the top of the slopes, not as wide as one thinks 

The plants continue to thrive in the limekilns 

I have some plans for some winter cruising around the Tamar and its various tributaries, particularly to some old quaysides that might provide some really good dark sky areas for stargazing and astrophotography. 

Should I be worried?

 SWMBO: "Now you have a new trailer you ought to take Arwen out"

Me: "I will in the next few weeks. I've missed sailing"

SWMBO: "You ought to Take Arwen out this weekend. It would be a good blog post 'Arwen goes out in storm Arwen'. You are well insured so I won't be worried".

😨 !

Trailer modifications all done by Admiralty Trailers of Honiton

 A 'well done' shout out to Admiralty Trailers. We always knew getting Arwen to fit on her new trailer would be by trial and error. She's a 'beamy' lady to say the least. 

This morning, on arrival and after brief initial discussions,  I was dispatched to a local cafe for an hour .... The Aviator at Dunkerswell aerodrome ..... coffee, a bacon roll, a chat with a small plane pilot and some banter with first time skydiving jumpers on their coffee break. A very pleasant, good-humoured and informative hour. I learned loads. 

On my return the team had fitted three spacer bars to lift the frame higher up on its axle. Now there is plenty of hull clearance over the mudguards.  They also moved the wheel axle forward to give better balance and nose hitch weight. They adjusted the support bunks to a better position under a junction point where three internal thwart bulkheads meet and I got some tips on how to tie Arwen down better and more securely as well, so that she wouldn't move forward or sideways under extreme braking conditions. A winter project will be to make some side deck support blocks which are slightly higher that the coaming and the full width of the side deck. The ratchet straps will go on these rather than across the coaming. 

The drive back was quite illuminating. No rattles, less swinging (although that was very marginal anyway); the trailer is a single beam one so it does flex slightly more than the old one. In the rear view mirror the bow looks as if it is permanently shaking very slightly but its only the beam flexing a little.

 This had already led to a discussion earlier about where to store the two anchors, their chains and rode when going to and from the slipway. A bit of a fiddle but the anchor trays will now go amidships either side of the centre-case and then on arrival at the slip I will move them forward and strap them in their normal place. It will take just a few minutes. 

We couldn't find an appropriate place to bolt on the spare tyre and apart from which we all had mixed views on whether the spare wheel should go on the trailer or not. They are easily stolen unless locked on with a bike lock; if put horizontally they collect rainwater and the rims start rusting etc. I'm opting to just carry it in the car boot. 

 

So, all being well, back on the water from the end of next week. And, an added bonus, practically all of the hull is now accessible for sanding and painting touch ups.  

My thanks to the Admiralty Trailer team and Tony in particular. Well done guys. Much appreciated. 

 Before shots - you can see that the gap between hull and mudguard was marginal to say the least. When you started to push Arwen along the trailer, the beam midships hull area just scrapped the top of the mudguards. 

After shots - the spacer bars under the spine and the outer frames. This gives around 4.5cm clearance above the mudguards now and the boat slides along without scraping the very top of them. The bunks were moved further outwards as well. 

Again, its trial and error and we will see how we get on this this new arrangement. is the gap big enough? Only at the slipway next week will we finally know. 

At the end of the day, I have got a good quality trailer for the budget I could afford. Yes, it will require practice at getting her onto that first roller and lined up during retrieval but if I take my time and chose my slipways and tidal conditions wisely, I should manage reasonably OK. 

The whole process from discovering my stupidity over neglecting my trailer during the last year and a half of various lockdowns, through to trying to understand what trailers I could get for the budget I had, through to understanding the various in's and outs of hull configuration and trailer design have been a steep learning curve. Regular readers of this blog and viewers of my YouTube vlogs will know that my understanding of anything mechanical or engineering' technical; or anything to do with boats frankly, is 'limited'.  Ask me to solve a problem relating to such matters and we could be there for sometime given my unique ability to overthink and overcomplicate the simplistic 😀

However, on this occasion we got there in the end. My deep thanks to Tony and the Admiral Trailers team, to various blog readers and to some members of the Dinghy Cruising Association forum for contacting me privately to give me tips, advice and encouragement. Your discretion in sparing my blushes and showing up my complete lack of nous and knowledge is deeply appreciated. You all know who you are - thank you. 

CAD plans for John Welsford boats

 Good news - if you want to build one of John's boats - you can now get the CAD plans. Working with Joel Bergen, the plans are available for purchase and download. Go to Joel's site at 

http://navigatorjoel.blogspot.com/2021/11/full-size-template-kits-for-john.html

for all the details and some examples that can be downloaded. 

Absolutely brilliant news and well done to Joel and John. 

Final trailer adaptations

 The final trailer adjustments have been made before we head the 60 miles up the road to the trailer manufacturer to have the new spacer bars fitted. 

Both me and the trailer team have agonised over the best way to do this and we concluded that fitting spacer bars and adjusting the trailer bunks and rollers to fit Arwen's unusual bottom shape would be best.

The issue is that sat on her keel rollers, Arwen only clears the top of the mudguards by around a centimetre. So under the advice of the trailer team, I have been cutting up closed cell foam camping mat into layers and duct taping them to the top of the mudguards. This is to prevent them scrapping the hull. 

adjusting the support bunks one more time using the car jack

I will then drive up 'slowly' later this week and we will fit the axle spacer bars and do the final adjustments. 

I'm just hoping the tape will hold things in place when we go up the A38!!

That means that from the end of the week I can start sailing again. I have several winter overnight trips planned locally; some of them will be specifically to do star gazing from some dark sky beach areas. 

As always I will post here my trip logs, photos and vlogs. 

It will be good to get back out on the water again. I've missed it. 

Whilst waiting for the boat trailer to be sorted

 Well, sometimes you have to give new things a try ....... 😄

..... and welcome back Orion. 

First effort this season .... still much to learn. Not so much with capturing images but the post processing of them. 

Looking forward to some winter overnight sailing trips up the rivers to some little dark sky beaches I know where I can dry out and have a go at some more landscape and celestial astrophotography.

How do you configure a new boat trailer?

 Collective wisdom of hive mind please. And be kind please! Remember 'we don't know what we don't know!' 😁

 

Arwen is on her new trailer and I have to decide what to do with these bunk supports to get her to sit correctly and safely. The entire boat weight during trailering will be all on the keel rollers.

So I'm guessing these bunks just help stop the boat tipping one way or the other? Should they also be arranged to stop lateral movement of the hull when on the trailer as well (even though she will be tied on securely midships and at bow)? 😕

With no engineering nous whatsoever, how should I best orientate these bunk supports?

1. as they are, running length ways or turning them 90 degrees so that they run width ways across the hull bottom? And a) if width ways...with the post lean in towards the skeg or outwards towards next plank chine? And b) the actual bunk beam with its pivot bolt head  facing forward or facing the stern?

2. keeping them running along length of hull but moving them either inwards or outwards? And again, if so, a) leaning inwards..or leaning outwards? And b) the bunk pivot bolt head facing inwards or outwards?

3. moving the entire bunk position so that it is clamped to the outer part of the trailer 'A' frame near the mudguard and so that it runs lengthways along the hull and goes under the next plank up, just past the chine join with the hull bottom boards?

4. Are they correct length if they aren't bearing much weight?

5. Are there any other options with the configuration I have missed?

Similarly, with the keel rollers, I need to move the one with the side rollers as well - back to its original position at the very rear of the trailer - because thats where it belongs. But, do I need to (A) put an extra roller under the wider centre case area to support the centreboard when travelling - or if I have winched up the centreboard tightly into its case and secured it - (B) do I need to support it beneath at all?

As always, having only ever owned one boat trailer before, I clearly have no idea!

Any help and guidance much appreciated. The trailer manufacturers were very helpful but they did warn me that some fiddling around would be needed to get Arwen secure on the trailer given her bottom configuration.

Sail trimming and trailer setting up - dark arts - dark arts indeed 😕😁

UPDATE: 

After asking for advice on two dinghy cruising Facebook forums, I gained the following useful advice

1. move the bunk supports outwards and also forwards so that they go under the bulkhead at the rear of the centreboard case

2. if possible angle them so that they go up to the next plank up and face slightly inwards - this way they will act as lateral supports

3. leave a 2mm gap between each support and the hull side

4. if possible get longer supports - 750mm and two extra vertical supports and then set up as above

5. try to turn down or tape the ends so that they don't dig into the hull as the boat comes onto the trailer

6. wrap them in foam and also some carpet off cuts

One or two people suggested rotating them 90 degrees and placing them under a bulkhead area in the boat. this was a minority suggestion. The overwhelming view was to lengthen them and add additional uprights forward. 

UPDATE 2:

Well when we pushed Arwen along her rollers - the hull hit the mudguards as we expected. A phone call to Admiral trailers and plenty of after sale care reassurance. They always expect issues with every boat trailer outside of a specific class design. They were expecting that there might be an issue but weren't sure. 

Two solutions were proffered with a favoured one.

A) spacer bars under each of the keel rollers

B) make up a three layer, 40mm thick, galvanised spacer bar to rest across the top of the axle. The whole trailer frame sits on the axle top - so it and the boat would be raised up by 40mm. 

B is the favoured method. Fortunately a neighbour may be able to help. He restores old minis and VW campers and has axle props, trolley jacks and a very impressive tool chest of all sorts of sockets and tools. All being well, if I can persuade him to help, we lift up the main trailer frame with the boat still on it and put it on axles prop stands. We then drop the axle, slide in the spacers and with new U clamps and bolts, clamp it all back together again. The idea is the frame will sit 40mm higher on the axle, giving sufficient clearance over the mudguards.  

Watch this space! 😄😟😀

A new boat trailer and how to transfer a boat from an old trailer to a new one

 Well, before I could get out the camera to take one last photo of my old trailer, the scrap guys had lifted it onto a low loader and whisked it away. A blink of my eye and it had gone. 😥

Not before they had wobbled each wheel and declared " the bearings and hubs are shot to pieces bud". 

Really? Go figure, I didn't know that! Dur! 😉

Arwen sits on her new trailer. There are still a couple of adjustments to do regarding height adjustable rollers at the front so that her skeg sits properly on the rear most keel roller. This will also require further adjustments to the bunk supports. 

But here is the thing.....this morning I pushed Arwen on her new trailer back off the car ball hitch on the flat road outside the house   ..........  with just one hand. 

Seriously, one handed, the entire boat and trailer moving backwards with barely any force from me. I reckon the new trailer is half the weight of the old one. Now, okay, Arwen is empty. But even so.....the trailer rolls sooo smoothly! 😁

My new trailer is from Admiral Trailers up at Honiton. Regular readers of this blog will know I don't promote any company but on this occasion I am going to do so. 

From the moment I made contact, the discussion and service has been exemplary. Tony gave me two hours on a recent visit discussing my boat configuration, dimensions and what kind of trailers might be suitable. We looked at a fair few types discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. He got to grips fully with my particular problems of limited road turning space and steeply sloping drive. We examined the 'grounding' potential of different trailer designs, did loads of measurements on different trailers and slowly weeded out the inappropriate ones. Tony proved thoughtful, knowledgeable, curious and reflective. 

Suffice to say, the new trailer reversed back onto the sloping driveway with no problems at all. Plenty of clearance at the front and rear. 

The video below gives a little overview summary of the trailer and the adjustments I had to make to get Arwen to sit correctly. 

Essentially, I altered

• the winch post and winch post snubber arm for a better fit and to allow the bowsprit to be kept on permanently
• the support bunks height relative to her keel depth
• the position of the various keel rollers along the length of her keel

Arwen's transfer from one trailer to another was done by three of us and went reasonably well. There was that one unfortunate moment when for some unfathomable reason the old trailer suddenly dropped down, leaving Arwen partly suspended. She immediately dropped suddenly onto the rear most keel roller and immediately bent it out of shape so that the roller couldn't roll. That needed a repair. Having positioned the various rollers I also decided one more keel roller needs adding under the centreboard case area. Fortunately a trawl through my 'spares' box found one that will do the job well. 

At some stage in the next week or so I will go down the local slipway and float Arwen off the trailer so that I can make the final adjustments and check that all works as it should.  I will also get the opportunity to work out the best, easiest ways of launching and retrieving Arwen. 

I also bought a spare 10" wheel for the trailer and have to decide whether to attach it to the trailer frame (there is room between winch post  and bow bottom for it to lie flat across the main centre beam). There are pros and cons to this. At the moment I think, for me, the cons outweigh the pros. I'd have to find some way of fitting a simple number dial bike lock to it to stop people from removing it when the trailer is left after launching. lying flat, the wheel rim is likely to collect water which will lead to rusting.  Maybe it is just easier to bung it in the boot instead? 

Thank you to the Admiralty Trailer team and to those of you who follow the blog and/or are members of the Facebook Dinghy Cruising Association group. Your advice, encouragement and tips were invaluable. I learned lots. Thank you. 

Unable to sail so I divert my attention elsewhere

 With a trailer off the road, a lovely long spell of nice northerly winds and autumnal sunshine and pods of Atlantic porpoise off the Great Mewstone just outside the breakwater, it is very frustrating at the moment. 

Very frustrating indeed. 

So I have taken the opportunity of cloudless night skies to do so more astrophotography down at my local beach, Wembury. 

It is a Bortle 4 sky with the orangery glow of Plymouth light pollution to the north. But over the last few nights I have been blessed with some lovely views of a crescent to half moon, all orangery-pink, low in the sky; so low in fact, it has set by around 10.00 ish pm. Lovely silvery yellow tracks across Wembury Bay. 

My equipment is simple enough

• a skywatcher discovery 150i WIFI telescope with GOTO mount
• an ioptron skytracker pro tracking mount
• an unmodded canon 800D with two kit lenses (18 - 55mm and 55 - 250mm); and then  24mm and  50mm prime lenses
• a carbon fibre tripod
• a joby gorillapod

Over the last couple of nights I have been targeting deep space objects on the tracker whilst enjoying wonderful views of Jupiter, Saturn, globular clusters and various nebulae on the telescope. 

Astrophotography is a completely new hobby to me and I only started it six months or so ago.  There have been lots of dark cloudy skies since but below are the efforts from the last two nights. Enjoy. 

This is a shot of the galactic core of our own galaxy, the Milky Way and I was very lucky to get it. The galactic core is now disappearing from our view over winter and there is only an hour or so when you can get a shot of it at this time of year . Even then it is low on the horizon. 

Camera settings: ISO 800, 24mm F/2.8 50 photos at 45" each on ioptron tracker

Our Milky Way galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and if we could look down on it we would see a central bulge area and four rotating spiral arms out of it. The galactic core is the rotational centre where a black hole exists. We are 26,000 light years away from it. The photos of light hitting my camera sensor on Sunday night started their journey 26,000 light years ago, so the image you see is what the galactic core looked like 26,000 light years ago. 

Our Milky Way has a visible diameter of between 100,000 - 200,0000 light years; contains an estimated 100 - 400 billion stars and at least as many planets. Our solar system travels at 515,000 miles per hour and would take 250 million years to go around the entire Milky Way. 

Andromeda galaxy

ISO 800  at 180mm, F/5.6 50 photos at 50" each

All stacked with dark and bias frames in DeepSkyStacker and then processed using Affinity Photo

and here is the finished processed image

Sadly I have no idea about the fundamental workings of Affinity Photo - it is a steep learning curve even with the textbook and YouTube tutorials so this is my first effort and it does show

Andromeda is the closest spiral galaxy to our own; 200,000 light years across in diameter, it lies 2.5million light years away from us and can be seen as a distant little smudge in the sky just below the constellation Cassiopeia. 

Last night I had a crack at M45 Pleiades otherwise known as 'The Seven Sisters'. It is an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, containing very hot B-type stars which are blue and luminous. They formed 100 million years ago and the blue reflection nebula around them is thought to be an unrelated dust cloud. 

Photo capture details were ioptron tracker and then 200mm F/5.6 ISO 800 and 40 photos of 50" each. As you can see, my post processing skills are lamentable and progress is slow, but hey, I'm retired...so I have the time to learn eh? 

First effort and I over sharpened things and stretched the image too much

Same data but second processing effort

Same data, third effort. No special effects. 

If you look closely you can just see a slight discolouration outside of the immediate blue. I think there is more data to process there, but I have absolutely no idea how to do that without losing the data I have already processed in the image

Have I said its a steep learning curve is this astrophotography malarkey?

It is almost as dark an art as trying to efficiently set and trim a standing lug sail yawl!