The Hunter Liberty & Minstrel Owners’ Association NEWSLETTER

Your Committee Sep 2012

Commodore: H CONTENTS Geoff Hales Martin Hampshire Honorary Secretary & Boru Goes Racing Membership Secretary: South Coast Rally Geoff Hales Sandra Cats, 19 Corfe Road, Stoborough, East Coast Rally Bob Ager Wareham, Dorset Katie L: First Impressions Dylan Winter BH20 5AB tel: 01929 550635 Rudder Problems Martin Hampshire email: [email protected] Mine’s a Minstrel Mick Wells Webmaster: Sandra Cats & Andy Beevers The Taylors’ Visit Geoff Hales email: [email protected] website: www.hlmoa.org.uk Honorary Treasurer: Extra! Martin Hampshire, The late-Summer Newsletter Queen’s Close, 1 High Lea Farm Cottages, Witchampton, is with you. There was a Wimborne, Dorset bumper crop of articles BH21 5AB and photographs, so I tel: 01258 840335 need to thank not only Newsletter Editor: the contributors listed Richard Hallewell, above – in particular, new 2 Eton Terrace, Edinburgh member Dylan Winter for EH4 1QE his initial thoughts on his tel: 0131 332 5495 new Minstrel – but also those whom I have held back for the email: richard@hallewell1. demon.co.uk next issue. Thanks. To tide you over, I include one of Steve Bunning’s photos from his Orcadian cruise – more next time. Please keep the contributions coming, by the way – there is still plenty of space to fill! RH

A warm welcome to five new members: Geoff Kite Peter Walsh John Torrance Dylan Winter and Roger Graham

“...and as an added bonus, the previous owner is still stuck in the quarter berth...” 1 Boru Goes Racing Martin Hampshire

Since moving to the South Coast I have been able to join the Lilliput Sailing Club in Poole Harbour. A friendly members club, where we all help to maintain the moorings, club house and facilities. Most of my sailing has been cruising around Poole Harbour and the bay. I set myself two targets for this year – to enter the Lilliput Club Regatta and to have a go at the Round the Island Race.

The Lilliput Club Regatta

ll the that belong to clubs in Poole Har- bour race using a handicap system specially designedA for the local conditions. So early in June I made my best estimates of Boru’s measurements and applied for a handicap rating. The provisional rating that I have been given is 0.679 without my cruising chute and 0.694 with the cruising chute. For comparison, a Shrimper is 0.632. The higher the number the faster the boat is in theory. This means that I need to beat a Shrimper by 5 minutes in a race that lasts an hour. At the club regatta there are three classes for cruisers; fast, slow and those who aren’t using their spinnakers. This third class is known as the ‘Gen- Martin & Fiona: Round the Island tleman’s Class’ and it was this class that I joined in with. The weekend of the 23rd and 24th June Trophy Charity Race, I was third on the water and proved to be fairly windy with a moderate sea state. leading on handicap until all the leading boats, my- As a result the Gentleman’s Class raced in Studland self included, rounded the wrong buoy! By the time Bay rather than in the main Poole/Bournemouth Bay our mistake had been very smugly pointed out to us area. For most of the races I had at least one reef, by the last boat in the fleet it took me half an hour to if not both, in the main sail. On Saturday I managed correct my course and as a result I was the last boat a 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in the three races. Boru to finish the race. being the smallest of the boats in the race it sur- By the end of the weekend I had 3 to 4 buckets prised a couple of well crewed boats when I crossed worth of water in my forward buoyancy section. As the finishing line close on their heels. On Sunday a result Boru was bow down by about an inch com- with a double reef and less of a sea state I finished pared to her normal trim. I believe that the water is 1st in one of the races. This just goes to prove what entering via the / joint as both of my star- we all know already, compared to heavier displace- board lockers also contained significant amounts of ment and finer bowed boats our boats slam when water. Solving this will be my main job this winter. tacking in to any sea state and tend to stop dead I had a lot of fun and would recommend club in the water. Reducing sail early and sailing the racing to all of you. Your boats are fast enough to boat more upright is definitely the correct thing to compete with many of the other boats and it cer- do, there does not seem to be a significant loss of tainly improves your sailing skills. You don’t have speed and definitely less weather helm. Reach- to go out in the rough stuff but as I have shown the ing and running I was matching many of the larger boats are certainly capable of taking the worst of the boats on the water. On the Sunday, in the Lions weather. The Round the Island Race

n order to enter the race I had to choose the a Golant is 0.835, a Norfolk Gypsy is 0.824. This most appropriate class. As a member of the Old time I would need to beat a Shrimper by 3 minutes GaffersI Association I decided to enter Boru in the per hour. Also at just under 23 feet the Minstrel is in Gaffer Class. (Yes I know she’s supposed to be a Gaffer Group 3 for the RTI, the group for the small- Gunter Rig – but when you compare the Minstrel’s est of the gaffers. top section to a Shrimper’s gaff it’s hard to Despite all my planning there were still some last spot the difference.) So again I sent off my best minute details to sort if I was going to meet all the estimate of Boru’s measurements. My OGA handi- race requirements. The required Naval Numeral 4 cap is 0.835. For comparison a Shrimper is 0.821, class flag only arrived on the Wednesday before the 2 race. Dodg- So 8pm Friday evening saw the three of us sitting ers with the on Boru in Poole Harbour on her shallow mooring. sail number We motored out to a deeper mooring close to the on them were harbour entrance and sat and talked till midnight as fabricated out the last of the tide drained out beneath us. We went of a cheap through all the safety briefing as Steve had only white shower once before sailed with us and then we discussed curtain and the plans for the race. Geoff Hales had provided me a permanent with a lot of helpful suggestions and these were all View from Boru: 2nd Leg marker (they carefully added to our race plan. At midnight with were only Fiona asleep inside, Steve and I set off for the Isle going to be needed when crossing the finishing of Wight. With a strong westerly wind behind us, a line). Other purchases in the last week included an double reef in the main sail and an incoming tide we extra bucket with lanyard attached (the rules said made quick progress and by early dawn had passed that I needed 2), a second fire extinguisher (again up the Needles Channel and were well on the way the rules said I needed 2), new flares (mine were towards Cowes. This had been Steve’s first night two months out of sail and he now date), crotch straps turned in for a for the life jackets short snooze. S O L that did not have E E N By 5am I was T H T them and life jacket Cowes all alone off lights for all three Lymington Cowes with the life jackets. My Ryde Sands wind building Hurst Ryde biggest problem Castle and the clouds was the life-lines Newport gathering. I round the side of pottered about Isle of Wight Bembridge Boru. The existing Needles Channel Ledge as slowly other nice white plastic The Needles boats started to items were gentle appear. By 6:30 on the hands and to there was a sig- me seemed plenty Ventnor nificant number strong enough. But of boats in the the race rules said starting area St Catherine’s Point that plastic coating including the big over metal life-lines fast boats start- was not allowed as it might conceal rust and other ing at 7:00 and the rest of the gaffer fleet starting damage. So after the last of the Sunday regatta with us at 7:10. races, armed with a craft knife, I started to peel off The race officials announced their presence on the plastic coating – only to find no metal core just the radio by welcoming all competitors and then list- strands of fibre. A quick search of the internet and a ed the classes that were being cancelled because of phone call to Geoff confirmed that my life-lines were the weather. All ‘sportsboats’ and the multihulls less a material called Parafill. Strong enough to anchor than 9m were cancelled and there was an instruc- North Sea oil rigs but not good enough for racing tion that all competitors had to wear their lifejackets yachts! So new metal life lines were ordered and ar- for the duration of the race. I was pleasantly sur- rived on the Wednesday. Thursday night after work prised when an official looking rib approached and I headed to Boru to take off the old life lines and demanded that we held up our flare pack for inspec- put on the new, in the end working by torch light! I tion and then reiterated the instruction that we must eventually got back home at 2am Friday morning. all wear our After four hours of sleep, I went back to work for the life jackets for rest of the day, then sorted out the final food provi- the duration sions and picked up my crew. Fiona my partner of the race. and Steve a colleague of hers from work were to be Throughout my crew. Fiona and Steve had just returned from 3 the race days of a Biology Field Studies trip with their A-level everything students so both were fairly tired. Fiona then had a was well run horse to muck out and a dog to put in the kennels. by the Island As you can see we were a well prepared and rested Sailing Club Nellie, the restored Itchen Ferry crew ready for the challenge ahead. and they did

3 a good job of making sure everybody was safe. In the final 10 minutes before the start of the race a rain squall hit us and I decided to put in the second reef and to change to my smaller jib. We found ourselves at the northern end of the start line and about 5 minutes after our official start we finally tacked past the outer distance marker into the still incoming tide. Trying to avoid the worst of the tide I initially kept close to the mainland but seemed to be losing ground to the rest of the fleet who had mostly started at the other end of the start line. So we headed south and tacked along the edge of the Isle of Wight until the tide started to turn. This saw us making much better progress, but by now the later starting classes of boats were catching up and View from Boru: Final Leg we had to keep a good look out. The sight of the Solent full of yachts in all directions is quite amaz- from the forward section and generally tidied up ing. Amongst the many boats that surrounded us Boru we settled down to a curry and then a good we spotted a few Shrimpers, the Itchen Ferry Nellie night’s sleep. and a few of the larger Gaff rigged boats. For first Sunday morning we woke to a flat calm but by timers we were doing alright and Boru was handling the time we had had breakfast the westerly wind the lumpy seas and strong winds well. had started to gain in strength. The plan was to As we rounded the Needles I took the outside motor as far as Hurst and then to tack back to Poole route. In calmer weather I might have been brave on the falling tide. By the time we got to Lymington enough to cut inside the wreck as others did, espe- the wind was a force 6, the seas were building again cially as there were two lifeboats and various ribs all and my crew had had enough. So we headed for loitering in the area. I then made my second navi- the safety of the marina and Steve contacted his gation error and headed straight for St Catherine’s wife who collected us and took us back to Poole by Point. Although still reefed Boru was still making car. The following Thursday I returned to Lymington 6 knots through the water and was on a par with and sailed Boru back to Poole in a flat calm by the the other boats around us. However the boats that light of the Moon. But that’s another story. rounded the Needles with us but then stayed much In the end we finished 7th in our class of the closer to the shore, taking a longer route but missing seven boats who finished. Another five retired and the worst of the foul tide, started to pull ahead and four did not start. So with apologies to Geoff Hales by St Catherine’s had gained about half a mile on who did his best to point me in the right direction, us. It was about this time that Fiona finally gave in Sandra who provided moral support and encourage- to the sea-sickness and bravely went below to see if ment and to the rest of the HLMOA for letting the she could sleep through the rest of the race. side down...I promise to do better next year! After St Catherine’s I switched back to my main It would be nice to see some of the other South jib which balances the single reef much better and Coast members joining me in their boats next year. we reached/ran our way quite quickly to Bembridge I proved that it can be done and the weather can’t Ledge. At several points we were surfing while be any worse! goose-winged. Sense did finally prevail and we (With help from Fiona Wright & Steven Thomas) finished the leg in a series of broad reaches. We easily kept up with the larger boats around us and rounded the buoy with several boats still behind us. On the final leg I made my biggest navigation error and did not stay close enough in to the Ryde Sands and we ended up beating into a strong west- erly with a foul tide. At one point we seemed to be tacking for an hour and went nowhere. Eventually 13 hours after we had started the race we crossed the finishing line with a small number of stragglers from other classes following behind. That evening, with Fiona still feeling seasick and Steve and I being very tired, we stopped and anchored in the lee of the hills just east of Cowes. Steve & Fiona Having again removed about three buckets of water

4 South Coast Rally Geoff Hales

fter terrible struggles with bad weather in Pontoon at Ashlett the past, at last we could enjoy a South Coast RallyA afloat. The aim had been to have a rally early in the summer, so that if we were blown off, at least we had time for another attempt and also to pick a ven- ue in mid Solent, to make sure that members who were tight for time had a better chance of attending than in the past. All of this worked out as hoped, thanks to the organisation by the Hill family (who quietly organ- ised more besides) and help from Ashlett Creek Sailing Club. I was very worried that the most suit- able weekend in June was also the one chosen for the Queen’s Jubilee and that the 5 day holiday this Amanda’s crew could not come, so Josh Hill took offered might tempt people to go further afield but her place. These were just two of the ways in which luckily it did not, so Christmas Rose II (Amanda the Hill family made other crews’ lives easier, for Boxall), Megstone (Tim Warriner), Rubato (Andy which I thank them. Beevers), Boru (Martin Hampshire) and the resi- One of the great things about Ashlett is that all dent St Jovihill (the Hill family), sailed in, while the boats are berthed together so that it was easy cars brought John Fenston, so far boatless, Meg to visit all the other boats and compare ideas. A and Norman Fitchett (Laissez-faire), John and Jan surprise was that Andy’s crew, Adrian McMahon- Brown (Small Wonder) and Sandra and I (Vasco). Stone, was able to sleep through these visits which Although I had just been cleared to drive after my just shows how tired he was from Andy’s snoring knee replacement, I certainly wasn’t up to sailing, or the previous night. We took the rare opportunity clambering around all the boats as I would have of a large flat dry area to assess the possible light liked to do, or even saying anything interesting at weather jibs that Andy Beevers and Tim Warriner the dinner, for which I apologise. had discovered, as well as discussing rigging ar- At last the wind had gone into the East at about rangements to suit them. I hope that Steve and 8 knots, as it often does in early June and very Martin will provide assessments of their windmill and often sticks for days. So Rubato from Chichester Forgen electric generators. Harbour in particular, Christmas Rose II and Meg- Seventeen sat down to an enjoyable meal and stone had easy passages, whereas Boru, coming more discussion. Later, I decided that it was worth from Poole as soon as possible after school closed trying to get some flash photographs of the boats for the half term, had to use the outboard on tick while they were afloat, as earlier photographs of over for much of the time simply to counteract the them dried out were not exciting. So I went to the tide, but arrived at Hurst at 03.00 as the moon was far end of the pontoon and on my way back was setting and the tide started to turn in Martin’s favour. surprised to see a sizable group of people coming As planned, he found St Jovihill there and an- towards me. As we closed I realised that it was all chored next to Steve and Viv in the pool behind the our crews going home together which Sandra felt shingle bank. They both got underway at 06.00 and implied a good club spirit. enjoyed a friendly race, arriving at Ashlett around Next day ‘the wind that had gone into the East…. 09.30. as it often does in early June and very often sticks for days’ had changed its mind and was blowing from the West at 15 knots, which increased steadily during the day. So Rubato had another downwind sail but Boru faced upwind again, back to Poole. I would have considered that a necessary but tedi- ous chore, but Martin took a more enlightened view: sailing East then South and then North West to round St Catherine’s, adding some 30 miles to a 45 mile sail. He wrote: ‘Sunday, left Ashlett at about 09.30, got back to Lilliput at 03.00 Monday. Tide was with me up to St Catherine’s but wind over tide Megstone & Boru made it very lumpy, after that the seas calmed down a bit. Still had the occasional reminder from Nep- 5 tune as he threw a solid wall of water over me. It’s Marina, just inside the entrance. The skipper said a good job that we have self-draining cockpits! The ‘This is my sixth this morning; I’ll just go and get Needles took an age to sail past and then I started another.’ Later investigation showed that the rudder to motor sail as I was beginning to get tired. I put stock on this prototype for the class was much less the first reef in at the exit from the Solent, the sec- robust than the rest of us have and it has now been ond reef in at Ryde and changed my jib for a smaller replaced. jib at Culver. After the Needles I motor sailed with So an action packed few days which everyone just the double reefed main.’ I replied: ‘Think you seems to have enjoyed. have amazing stamina’ which seemed pretty inad- equate. Later Martin discovered 4 buckets of water in the forward section and more in the lockers under the starboard berth. He suspected the hull to deck joint. Meanwhile Rubato was flying East and reduc- ing sail as the wind built. As she sailed up the entry channel into Chichester, Andy felt and heard the rudder stock break straight across. He tried to mo- tor sail, with just the reefed mainsail and steering by turning the outboard, but he found it too difficult to keep her on a straight course. Luckily a workboat “Hope there will be enough...” turned up, took his warp and towed him to Sparkes

East Coast Rally – 17/19th August 2012 Bob Ager

ell, we have done it again. With the assist- ance of Rita and Mick I arranged another visit toW Heybridge Basin – locking in at 2pm on the 18th August. The get together started at Bradwell Marina on the Friday evening with 1 Minstrel and 3 Libs. As I could not make it I cannot comment on the behav- iour of the members present but I understand the evening proceeded in a seaman-like manner! On the Saturday morning at approx. 10am Or- lando joined the fleet in the River Blackwater. The wind was flukey but eventually near Osea Pier we were all on the same tack. It was very rewarding to see all boats proceeding at the same pace albeit in Five boats rafted in Heybridge Basin different parts of the river. We arrived at Heybridge at 1.30pm and waited to With the temperature in the 30’s and very little be called up for locking in. The original arrangement shade the continual flow of beverages were essen- with the Lock Keeper was to be moored in between tial. We were joined during the day by more mem- the lock gates for the night (this would have meant bers and partners who travelled by road. no rafting up which would have made it easier for The five boats attending were: getting off boats) but as it was we were guided to Allouette John Dinnin a position on the quay in the Basin pond where we Muskrat Mick and Dee Wells rafted up two and three. Liberation Bob Banks I think this arrangement turned out to be the Abraxas John Torrance better option because a flashy ‘gin palace’ stayed in Orlando Bob Ager the lock. Bearing in mind that it was the hottest day of the year, from the antics of the couple on board I An evening meal had been arranged at the Jolly would have needed to have a portable defibrillator Sailor for 7.30pm where 20 people sat down for an available at all times for our male company!! excellent meal (ordered during the afternoon) then Unfortunately a canal boat was being wire brush due to the continuing high temperature we ad- stripped on the quay adjacent to us but when the journed to the garden for desserts and coffees. owner saw us arrive he was very considerate in On Sunday morning we duly waited for our lock working away from where we were sitting. out time at approx. 1pm. As our fleet could not be

6 locked out at the same time we lost sight of each other as we made our homeward journeys. I was unfortunate enough to get a black dustbin bag wrapped around my centerboard and propeller which delayed my progress. To conclude, I assess from information received that the Rally was a success.

John Dinnin & Derek Gardner in discussion

Katie L: First Impressions Dylan Winter

I am the man who bought George Gunn. dynastart (no longer available). I have spent the past five years slowly sailing Repairs would be beyond my abilities and a a 50 year old bilge keeled 18 foot Mirror Offshore replacement engine would cost £4,000 so eventually around the UK. the slug and I had to part company. You may well say that five years seems like a I sold it for £1500 and bought the Bermudan long time to get around such a small island but I rigged Minstrel George Gunn for a good price. confess that I have only done about a quarter of our I have been a long time admirer of Minstrels. coast – maybe less. I bought the Mirror for £2,000 There was one in the yard where I bought the slug at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight in 2008 and – it even appeared in the first film I made about the started heading anti-clockwise around the coast. journey around the UK. I had also seen one on the So far I have only got as far as the Humber. Blackwater. Both lovely looking boats I thought. When I started I thought that the journey might I used to own a Hunter Sonata so I knew that take me two years but I found that I was having so David Thomas knows how to draw a good hull much fun that it seemed a shame to sail past all shape. I have to have a boat that can sit upright these wonderful rivers. The Medway was the river on the ground because I spend a lot of time sneak- that really made me change my mind. It is so much ing up on birds. Running aground is all part of the better than it’s reputation and is in fact a wonderful fun and it being aground means that I have a stable place to sail. platform for the long lenses and tripod. I had intended to spend just a couple of nights I wanted to get away from the expense and worry there but I was offered a free pontoon and ended of the inboard. I have lived with outboards on brack- up spending over two months exploring every creek ets for many years with the Sonata and before that and crinkle. I dropped the mast on the Mirror and with the Eboat. They can be really frightening in the took the boat all the way to the top of the naviga- sort of steep chops you get over the bars that guard tion. I also trespassed on the Palmerston Forts that many of the UK’s harbour entrances. guard the entrance to the wonderful harbour and I An outboard in a well seemed like a perfect com- filmed the Medway Barge racing. I loved the quiet promise. The low draft of the Minstrel hull seemed anchorage at Stangate. wonderful and the idea of having a plate protected The Mirror Offshore was a great boat for such a by bilge seemed marvellous. I had my doubts trip. It is as tough as old boots, sits upright on the about the cloaca like stern of the hull but lifeboats mud and had a diesel engine. My journey around are built that way so it must work. the UK means that I have to leave my boat in all Finally, the rig. The Bermudan rig mast on sorts of insalubrious places and it is the last boat George Gunn is a massive thing but the previous anyone would ever bother to break into. Sadly it is a owner had kept the old gunter rig in the roof of his ridiculously ugly little boat and sails like a pig. dry garage. Perfect. The Mirror had a Volvo single cylinder diesel The Eboat was 22 foot long so towing, launching inboard that ran faultlessly for the first five years. and recovering a big holds few fears. I Then after a few encounters with fishing tackle cannot say I enjoy the palava involved but I am a around the prop it developed problems with engine freelance hack and endure an astonishingly lumpy mounts (no longer available), the gearbox (no longer cash flow. Being able to bring the boat home saves available), gear linkages (no longer available) and me lots of cash when I run out of money. All I have 7 to do is to invest £40 in hiring a van for a day and I The fact that the outboard is in the cockpit with you can kill all my boat related costs stone dead by park- and is placed at the centre of a parabolic reflector ing the boat in the garden. means that the noise is pretty close to intolerable. I bought George and brought him back to my Headphones is the only answer. I am going to try garden where I set about resurrecting the old gunter some of those noise cancelling ones and re-acqui- rig. I used to own a Mirror dinghy and sailed a Gull ant myself with my music collection. for a while so I am familiar with the rig. The compar- I do miss the inboard. I loved the gentle mum- atively short mast is a tremendous advantage when bling rumble it makes when on tickover. I shall miss it comes to lowering it for bridges and for transport. the massive amounts of electrical power it produces. Finally the gunter rig will look wonderful on the As a video cameraman I have three cameras and DVD boxes and website graphics. The Americans an audio recorder on board. That is 20 batteries I who buy my DVDs will love the look of it. The Mirror need to keep topped up. Some of the best sailing offshore was so ugly that I avoided taking pictures of in the UK is to be had in the winter time. The en- my own boat. gine would produce massive amounts of dry heat The Minstrel is now back in the water and I have so keeping the inside of the boat warm and damp spent a couple of weeks sailing it around North Nor- free was easy. I assume that I will be cutting back folk and the North Sea. on the winter sailing. The boat did smell like a So what do I think? tractor though because the engine would dribble a Well, David knows how to draw a slippery hull heady mixture of diesel, engine oil and grease into that is for sure. The boat sails beautifully and is well the bilges. I used to clean the bilges of the Eboat balanced on all points of sail. It will also sail fairly with a dustpan and brush. The same is true of the well with the plate right up which is wonderful given Minstrel. my proclivity for thin water sailing. The gunter rig As for the name. I am afraid I have changed it. is a splendid thing. It is a bit of a grind raising the There are several reasons. First of all no boat as gaff but once it is up you can tweak the rig in every pretty as the Minstrel should have a boy’s name. direction. It reefs beautifully. The boat sails and Secondly I know I would get fed up with having to beats under either main or jib so it is ideal for nosing explain to people that George Gunn was a crick- into tiny nooks and corners and bumping along with eter who was tied up in the bodyline scandal. I the tide. also know that at some stage I shall be sitting on I now keep two outboards on the boat. I have the boat and a chap with a high pitched voice will a long shaft Tohatsu 6hp Sail Pro and a short shaft come walking down the pontoon clutching a copy of 2.3hp Honda. The big engine pushes the boat Wisdens and hoping to engage me in a long and de- along splendidly. I feel that there is nothing it cannot tailed conversation about cricket. Finally I think Ka- handle. The little Honda works in the tunnel. It is a tie L is a much better name. It is a play on words. bit frothy but produces more than enough thrust for KTL is the acronym for Keep Turning Left. Katie L flat water and does not produce the annoying rudder sounds like KTL. I take no credit for the name. It turbulence caused by the long shaft when sailing. came from a suggestion on the YBW forum. The little Honda sips petrol so that is also an advan- I hope that the two of us will spend many happy tage. years together and that she will get me safely The downside of the Minstrel. around the rest of the UK. We shall see. It is jolly noisy when the outboard is running. www.keepturningleft.co.uk

John Dinnin in Allouette, this June Photo: Mick Wells 8 Rudder Problems Martin Hampshire

Boru spent last winter moored to a buoy in Poole Harbour. My normal practice is to raise the rudder and tie the tiller to one 1 side. However after one stormy week in November I returned to Boru to find the stainless steel plates that join the stock to the tiller well and truly bent. I assume that one of the local fishermen who ignore all the speed restrictions in the harbour and seem to delight in cutting close to moored boats had struck the back Crack in the outer layer of the plywood cheek of Boru. The rudder blade and stock appeared to be undamaged and so I straightened the tiller and thought no further of the issue. At the end of July I noticed that a crack had started to appear along the sides of my rudder stock. Knowing that Andy Beevers had broken his rudder earlier in the year I decided not to take any risks and investigated further. I discovered that the crack exactly lines up with where the top of the rudder blade would exert pressure when in the raised position (picture 1). If you use the rudder in the raised 2 position then only the front/lower part of the blade will be steering the boat. This will create a twisting force on the rudder blade and there is not much of the head of the blade within the rudder stock. I also discovered that the rudder blade had started to delaminate at the top (picture 2). I have always wondered why the Minstrel has the same rudder as the Liberty and why compared to so many other similar boats it seems to have such a deep blade. (I assume that Hunter found it more economical to make Rudder blade starting to split apart just one rudder.) The two different sail plans exert their forces on the boat in different places and maybe they need different sizes of rudder. Like many others I have also always found it awkward to pull up the rudder without leaning over the stern of the boat. I also prefer to have rope ends easily accessible and where I can see them; having the up-haul and down-haul tied to the rudder at the water line never caused a problem but this was also a chance to change that. Looking through the past magazines you will see that there are many different solutions to the rudder problems. Geoff at various times has tried to move the pivot point lower, sandwiched aluminium sheets within the wood of his stock and put a ‘spike’ out the back. Bob amongst others has made a metal rudder stock, which seems to work well. Some have cut back the hardwood core of 3 the rudder stock to provide a higher lift when moored. Others have converted their rudders to a lifting action. My solution was to first have a third stainless steel rudder bracket made to match the original two (picture 3). I used this to raise the pivot point

9

by three inches, giving me a shorter rudder but also more support for the 4 head of the rudder. I replaced the marine ply cheeks to the rudder stock (slightly longer with curved bottom edges), reused the original hardwood core but cut a further section out of it and slightly reshaped the top of the rudder blade. All the wood was coated with epoxy and I then also used epoxy to stick the bits together. I wrapped the top of the rudder blade in a thin sheet of fibre-glass tissue to help hold it together, this also means Canopy hinge This wire will be shortened by about an inch that it is a tighter fit within the stock. during the winter refit. At the moment it’s too To haul the rudder down I still use a long to let the rudder lift as high as it could. loop of rope that passes up through the engine well – but do not use this rope to lock the rudder down. I have included a stiff spring in the rope that locks the rudder blade down (picture 5) – at the moment this seems to work well but further trials are required. For the up-haul I stole an idea from a Super Seal to solve the problem. The photos show what I have done and it works brilliantly, the only thing I need to do this winter is to shorten the lower wire section to allow me to pull the blade fully up (picture 4). So far I have only been able to test the rudder in light winds and there are no problems with the shorter blade. However further sea trials are required before I would be confident in recommending others to follow my actions. Perhaps those members who have converted their boats to lifting rudders could try out some experiments and let the rest of us know exactly how deep a rudder these boats require.

Hi Martin

Very glad that you managed to discover this problem and sort it before the racing days, when any weakness would certainly have shown up during the strong winds. Would like to offer one correction: Vasco’s rudder is an aluminium box stock with wood sheathing to make 5 it look slightly less ugly. We like the extra strength and stiffness of the metal: feelings which came as some surprise. I’d doubt there was any subtle thinking at Hunters regarding the size of our rudders. I would guess that they just said “well it is a bit bigger than a Sonata but with less sail area and it is a less sporting boat, so something like a Sonata rudder should do fine.” We have put a piece on Handy Hints about the very special Clamcleat on the rudder blade downline and would be absolutely lost without it in the shallow waters of Poole Harbour.

Regards In practice the spring is just about strong enough,

but could do with being a bit stiffer. Sandra and Geoff

10 Mine’s a Minstrel Mick Wells

ot an impertinent question, but does anyone play with their plate, centreplate that Nis; and if so, does it have any effect? All the “boys’ big book of sailing techniques” which was my staple reading many years ago advocated plate fully down for tack- ing, halfway up for beam reach, then fully up for a run. In idle moments I’ve tried it on Muskrat but I can’t say I’ve noticed much difference. Generally the plate goes down as soon as we get aboard – to increase stability – and stays there until we come ashore. But, should we try harder, are we losing the odd half knot or degree of leeway some- where along the line?

n our Minstrels it’s important to keep the gaff peaked up as high as possible as the sail is usually cut Owith the head of the sail and the luff in a straight line. Using ordinary rope on the peak halyard allows the gaff to sag off after a time as the rope stretches which allows the leech to sag away. For many years I’ve used pre-stretched rope which cures this, but is mighty uncomfortable to use as it’s so hard. Geoff has long advocated using Dynema for such applications, but a price of four or five times that of more conven- tional cordage has been off-putting. However, at the beginning of the season Dave the Rigger found he had an odd 20 metres of 8mm Dynema for a very acceptable £20. It’s great: not an inch of stretch and the braided cover is pleasant to handle, and as it seems more flexible than pre-stretch it renders through the peak block with less friction. Downside? It doesn’t hold a knot very well and I found it necessary to stitch the loose end to the standing part to ensure it doesn’t come undone.

n my last MaM I suggested that using a saildrive propeller probably wouldn’t make much difference; how Iwrong could I be. I fitted one to our Mariner 6hp long shaft at the beginning of the season and I doubt I’ll ever revert to standard. Marina handling has been transformed, reverse has greatly improved and stops Muskrat positively, and forward drive kicks in with authority. We’ve managed two cruises this year, the first in May – flat calm and rain over three days – then in July four days of Force 5 to 7. Both involved a lot of motoring. I estimate that cruising speed has increased by at least half a knot and the engine appears to run on fresh air. A not too accurate measure suggests something like 7-8 hours on 5 litres of unleaded and despite the propeller having a larger area, sailing performance appears to be unaffected.

or the first time for many years we don’t have a charging coil on the outboard, relying entirely on our F12 watt solar panel feeding an 80 amp leisure battery, thus saving the very substantial sum normally charged for that piece of kit. I was a bit concerned that the battery wouldn’t cope without its intermittent boost when we ran the outboard from time to time. But I needn’t have worried: during our four day cruise it supported sounder, log, electronic compass, chart plotter, charging mobile ‘phone, VHF radio, and as the weather didn’t encourage cockpit idling, cabin lights, and the battery monitor never went out of the green sector. I then lived aboard for a further two nights, less instruments, more cabin lights, with no change in battery status. It should be possible to buy a 10 or 12 watt solar panel for less than the price of a charging coil and thus secure a more reliable source of power even if it’s not particularly sunny.

’ve always considered the luff lacing on our mainsails something of a Iminus and have hankered after mast hoops, but to date haven’t found a solution. I’m told our mast diameter is too small for the traditional wooden hoops, and despite researching almost anything round, have yet to find a solution: until now. John ‘junk’ Dinnin has utilised sections of 4 inch waste pipe for a similar purpose aboard Alouette. While this is too small for us (Minstrel masts are 4 inches across) it is likely that the enlarged jointing section might do the trick. I shall certainly be trying once the mast comes down for winter and will report back.

11 espite trying for some nineteen years, I’ve Dyet to achieve a really neat stow to our main- sail. The sail drops neatly and flakes away until we reach the throat and are left with that pesky triangle. Attempts to ‘fan’ it away are frustrated by the top batten running across it at an angle and once again we just bundle the top up and use an extra tie. Things improved slightly when I put a block each side of the boom by way of the main lazy jack giving more space for the sail to drop into. I also pass the ties under the foot of the sail rather than under the boom (I understand all good gaffers do this) which certainly makes things look very slightly neater.

inally, we came across this fine fellow on a Frecent trip up to Colchester. Despite his craft ‘waiting for the tide’ he was intent on steering a straight course and did not respond to our greet- ing.

The Taylors’ Visit – May 2012 Sandra Cats & Geoff Hales

s forecast in the AGM minutes, Monica and Dennis spent a couple of days at Sandra’s at the beginning Aof their brief visit to UK in May. We had not told them that Geoff would be only just out of hospital from his knee replacement, in case they thought they might be an unnecessary encumbrance, which of course they were not – and far from it. But the run-up to their arrival at Poole at 20.30 on that Friday evening was a difficult time at Sandra’s. On Thursday Geoff had to attend a day clinic at the hospital but things went badly, so he was kept in over- night and only finally given clearance to leave at lunchtime. So Sandra was waiting outside from 13.30, by which time we expected the paperwork would have been completed. But due to incompetence by the sister in charge of that side of things, he did not finally escape until 16.30 and only then due to the assistance of an energetic Filipino nurse who used his contacts to good effect. So we set off from Bournemouth into the rush-hour traffic, watching the clock ticking around uncomfort- ably quickly, until the police shut both sides of a dual carriageway when the tragic accident only affected the other carriageway. We made Sandra’s half an hour before she needed to go to the ferry port: there was not going to be room in the car for everyone plus the luggage so we had always planned that Geoff would stay in the house, which was fortunate because that was all he was capable of doing, due to miserable problems in his guts which unfortunately continued for the weekend. Happily the Fastcat was on time and we were soon hearing about life in Otaki, their moving Anzac ex- periences in Belgium, a demonstration of Dennis’s accomplished cornet playing and plans for travel in UK. The following day Sandra took them on one of her award-winning guided tours of the Isle of Purbeck (south Dorset,) which was as well appreciated as usual and an exterior viewing of Vasco, still looking very tired and unready for sea. In the evening we were very lucky that Martin Hampshire was available to do a fine job of helping us entertain our guests. Meg and Norman Fitchett had hoped to be with us too, but in the event could not. Sunday morning was spent on the usual backpackers’ struggle to get kit back into bags, so that Sandra could deliver them to the train station for the next stage of their trip. At the last minute we realised that as Geoff had not made the Saturday travels, he had not yet taken any photographs of our visitors, so at the last minute snapped the one you see. And then Sandra took Geoff to the hospital… We really enjoyed their visit, just as we expected and once again had the chance to enjoy the Kiwis’ energy and confidence to do it myself, what ever the challenge. Since then we have heard that the rest of the trip went to plan and they have started exploring further ideas for travels with the Anzac volunteer band and Monica is planning a visit to the Middle East, again tracing her ancestors’ experiences. 12