Navstar B&G GPS and the curse of the year 2000

I have some old GPS units, even a Walker 412 satnav, that will never work as the satelites were turned off many years ago but what of a quality unit like the B&G they sold and named Navstar GPS? it was also named the XR4-G GPS receiver and the B&G 4000 GPS.

The manual, very well put together and easy to follow each step.

The start of the matter, explained as an amplifier antenna, the co-ax is said to be quite special and only available from Navstar themselves.

This was the Rolls Royce of GPS once, so what happened to it?  hooked up to the original B&G stick GPS antenna and a 12 volt power source, the functions still work fine.

The set has a lable on it, who it was supplied by and the year, its dated 1980 and thats the problem.

The sets position was entered manually by me, so was the time, the height of the antenna but its the date thats the issue? It takes the date in three groups of two numbers, so this is what I entered  01.05.12  but the almanac is thinking its the year 1912 and knows nothing at all about the year 2012!

How sad is that.

The set is functional excepting it can not find a satelite, its doing all the searches, the sets program runs a test on the computer, antenna, it just can not work due to the date?

Roy

An hour or so later, I have left the set switched on and the searches across the sky are continuing, the antenna is under a cement tile roof, that will not help the situation?

(incorrect position entry)

 The set has found a satelite! not only that but the angles to others are now being shown to me.

The set is finding the satelites and I assume storing the information in what will be a very dead memory, I guess the answer is to leave it on 24 hours and see what happens?

Each satelite is checked, even if slowly, it is working things out?

The next day I ran the stick antenna outside and in clear air, the result was similar, it would find satelite signals but the set just does not work, end of May Day holiday idea!

Roy

Will Your GPS Work In the Year 2000?

by Charlie Courtney

Published in the December, 1996, GOFC Newsletter

Some GPS receivers may no longer operate correctly after 21 August, 1999 unless returned to the factory for an upgrade. Affected units will think that 22 August 1999 is actually 6 January, 1980. Since GPS receivers use the current date and time to calculate their position, accuracy of the affected units will be destroyed.

This has nothing to do with the infamous "year 2000 problem" looming over the computer industry, although the situation is similar. Many business-related computer programs, especially those written years ago for big mainframe computers, cannot deal with dates later than 31 December, 1999. These programs think that the next day is 1 January, 1900 because the leading "19" in the year is understood to be present, and the computer only stores the last two digits of the year. As a result, a mortgage payment received and posted on 31 December, 1999, one day ahead of a due date of 1 January, 2000, is viewed by affected programs as arriving 100 years too late -- the computer thinks the payment was due on 1 January, 1900!

The GPS problem occurs because, among other things, GPS satellites broadcast the current date and time to your GPS receiver. Your receiver then uses this information to calculate its position from the location of the satellites it can "see." Unfortunately, the date information broadcasted by a GPS satellite is given as the number of weeks elapsed since 6 January, 1980 -- the official "birthday" of the GPS system -- and the amount of computer space allocated in the GPS system for storing the week number only can hold 1023 weeks. (It's a 10-bit value for all you computer nerds that may be interested.)

On 22 August, 1999, the GPS week number will reset to zero, since the previous week was GPS week number 1023. Some older GPS units were not programmed to handle rollover of the GPS week back to zero. An affected unit will become totally lost on 22 August, 1999. It will not "see" the location of GPS satellites correctly, because it will look for them where they were supposed to be on 6 January, 1980, instead of 22 August, 1999.

Garmin, manufacturer of the best selling marine GPS units, has stated that all its units will handle the rollover correctly. Most likely recent units from other reputable manufacturers will do so as well. However, those of you with older, non-Garmin units should check with the manufacturer. Also, be sure to check for this problem before buying a used GPS unit or a bargain-priced new unit from a no-name manufacturer.

This page last updated 3 November, 1996

Charles H. Courtney (chc@dkeep.com)

My thanks to Charles on the words in his artical.

Roy

Shaped by Wind and Wave

Dudley Dix has a book out, recently published and on http://www.lulu.com/ He sent a few copies to his friends and those who helped with some local weather condition type pictures of Cape Town.

I have yet to read my book but Justin Phillps just has and below is his report, read on!

Roy

 As you may gather, boats and boat-design have fascinated me (obsessed may be more accurate) - for quite some time. There simply is no more interesting mix of art and science in existence. Nothing more likely to generate a good discussion about form and function, all mixed up with adventure, adrenalin, tradition and good living!


As with any noble pursuit, be it a sport, fine wine, an oil painting, or the design of a classic yacht - the enjoyment of the product is enabled an appreciation of the approach used, what the designer/maker was trying so hard to achieve, and how he/she got there. In the case of a yacht - it is a fascinating experience just to see the design - before the boat is even built or sailed - to see the how the designer has creatively faced and met the multitude of challenges inherent in every boat design. Every case is a complex mix of priorities including considerations for cost, seaworthiness, comfort, manageability, type of build, performance, looks and many others. Just the shape of the hull underbody is an adventure story on its own! (Ch. 5)

Isn't it all done by computer these days? Err- no. When a yacht designer finishes at Westlawn or University or similar, they are able to use all kinds of techniques to predict how their design will float and balance, and not break, plus a good few examples of best practise, but the philosophy and style of their designs is very much a product of personal creativity and personal values . . .

This is what Dudley's book is essentially about - in matters of yachts and boats - what are his values and priorities on yachts and boats, and what are the sensible design techniques for meeting them? All this is underpinned from the perspective of an ordinary man working on a budget, maybe home-building. Much of it is related to his personal experience of growing up and sailing in the very challenging waters off the Cape of Good Hope, of dinghy sailing in the fresh winds of Zeekoevlie as a kid, his passion for surfing, and the experience of building his own keelboats. Then it goes on to how his career as a designer took off following the success of his first design "Concept Won" - which gained him a major international award, and gave him a basis for many of the very successful designs that followed.

As someone who has good experience of some Dudley's boats (ref the rest of this blog!), and has sailed in the same waters, I was able to relate directly to all of it, and read the whole book from start to finish in just two days!

As a reference book, the content is simple and very easy to read, ideal for the ordinary yachtsman or boatowner. It is not full of mathematics, rather it explains the elements of yacht design at a practical and concept level. It won't make you a designer, but it will give give you a very good insight into the elements of yacht design, including hulls, rigs and most inbetween. For prospective and amateur boat builders, it is a must - with great chapters on choice of material, building techniques, even options for turning the hull. For anyone sailing around the south tip of Africa (common these days), Chapter 18 is a must. This is a fine piece of reality, concise but sobering, and for some folk will justify the book on its own.

There is also a chapter on Ant Steward, the only man to who sailed around the world on an open boat one of Dudley's designs - a modified TLC19. Certainly Dudley cannot be blamed for this idea - Ant was on his own with this umm - amazing - endeavour - but Dudley is uniquely placed to describe this feat, which must rate as possibly the most daring sailing challenge ever undertaken, along with the strengths and limitations of the boat used. In my opinion, there is nothing quite like this for bringing out the real priorities and needs of a sailing boat on rough waters . . . . its not called "Shaped by Wind and Wave" by accident!

At USD 30 its very reasonable - copies are available from lulu.com - details on Dudley's website at www.dixdesign.com. An e-reader version is also available now.

http://sayachts.blogspot.com/

Posted by Justin Phillips at 3:28 PM

British Seagull outboard for sale

We will soon be offering a British Seagull outboard for sale, either as it is or restored to the buyers requirements.The model is a 1973 and is a 4.5hp motor with a gear shift option, sold as is or restored to the buyers requirements.

The motor is complete, showing its thirty nine (39) classic years rather well, once serviced,cleaned, painted and polished it will look close to new.

Even the tank looks to be in good condition, major dings and dents can be removed if we heat and remove the tank ends.

Note the gear shift (clutch) handle, really a desirable option when coming along side your boat or the dock.

Contact me via http://www.ckdboats.com/

Roy

Note, we will soon be stocking British Seagull spares, you can contact me when you need parts, if we do not have them we can bring them in with our next shipment.

The same engine after cleaning with water soluable cleaners, the bead blasting process and service. The service includes, draining of the gearbox and refilling with EP90 Castrol gear oil. The removal of the petrol tank, fuel lines, carburetor, throttle control, electric cable and spark plug. All are checked,rinsed with clean petrol, the gap to the plug checked, the spark to the plug was checked and with a full clean up, the British Seagull is now ready to return to service!

The option exists to have the motor stripped to its main parts, a full repolish, plating and repaint to bring the motor close to concours finish.



 

Argie 15 concept boat with a British Seagull outboard

We have the boat and we have the ability to supply restored British Seagull outboards, either your own or one we can supply.

A fine example of a restored British Seagull outboard by Peter Knolls, we would offer a similar high standard of finish.

Alan Armsrongs own build of the Argie 15, he did it in quite a short period of time too, he used one of our CNC kits, we supplied the paints also.

From the Dix Design web site:

http://www.dixdesign.com/amateurs-dinghy2.htm

Alan Armstrong buit his Argie 15 in our home town of Hout Bay, South Africa. He started from a hull kit supplied by CKD Boats" and did a beautiful job.

The concept is one of classic tradition, we have other designs which can also be offered in place of the stitch and glue chine method. We have a similar sized  boat in Clinker construction ply and epoxy too.

This is our 4.5hp British Seagull on offer, it was made in October 1973, so is just thirty nine years (39) old, well will be this October. This model came out with the upgraded Wipac ignition system, it also has a gear shift option! The engine will be fully serviced, painted,polished  and made to look as new as it is possible.

British Seagull, the motor for the world.

Restored British seagull engines can have the optional transfer too, they are special imports from England. 
Argie 15 kits or fully built to your order, British  Seagull outboards on request,used motors needed for restoration.

Roy

Lodge CLNH spark plug

The recent adventure to restore the type LLS 1961 British Seagull out board has seen me re looking at a samll collection of spark plugs I have collected.

Left click for a larger view.

This was the packing note with the Lodge spark plug, I wonder how many years back this was boxed?

Pics by R McBride

New and never fitted, what motor used the Lodge CLNH spark plug I wonder? the small tube at the bottom of the picture slips over the thread.

http://forums.roversnorth.com/showthread.php?8359-Just-TOO-pretty-to-put-in-the-motor!-Lodge-CLNH  Looks like they went into early Land Rover series one?

Also Matchless motor bikes it seems.

Roy

Details on this plug:

SKU 913


Manufacturer Lodge

Part Number CLNH

Diameter 14mm

Reach 19mm (3/4")

Hex Size 20.8mm (13/16")

Seal Type Gasket Seat

Resistor No

Terminal Type M4 Thread

Electrode Material Standard Nickel

Projection Type Non Projected

Tip Configuration Single Electrode

Yanmar 1GM10 diesel engine smokes and uses oil

All engines: Prolonged no-load operation of the engine may cause it to blue/gray smoke at low rpm with an associated increase in oil consumption. For every 3-5 hours low load operation (trolling) or no load operation (running the fridge or charging batteries) should be countered by 10-20 minutes near maximum continuous rated rpm.

http://www.yanmarhelp.com/operate.htm

What is the 1GM10 really rated at, seems we call it an 8hp or a 9hp?
The owners manual says this:

Continuous rating at 3400 rpm = 8hp

One hour rating at  3600 rpm = 9hp

So now whe know.

An engine with less than 400 hours on the clock has been used as a back up 12 volt charge unit and recently as a 220 volt generator power source. When just providing 12 volt power the engine ran at around 1800 rpm ,there is no rev counter, so thats an estimate. Since the AC side was hooked up (thanks George) the motor has had to be run faster and I would estimate some 3000 rpm right now?

This past summer the engine has been run to warm it up only, so very little load, no on board AC fan heaters required of course. The engine has been using far too much oil (marine grade) and blue smoke has been coming from the exhaust outlet. Its known that the engine is in good condition and a new set of piston rings ( Yanmar's own quality) were fitted after sea water finding its way past the anti siphon system.

A new but very expensive Vetus anti siphon was fitted and there has been no bother since, the cost seems to be worth the expense?

Note, the open vent hole must be above the level of the outside water, the instructions that come with the Vetus siphon breaker are very clear to read.

With winters arrival in Cape Town, the boats heaters have been in action, with two 1000 watt fan heaters and two 260 watt heater panels, a load of around 16 amps can be seen when the Yanmar GM10 is running, there is both a volt and an amp meter fitted,they are recomended. When the hot water geyser kicks in, the amps jump to around 20 on the meter. The 12 volt charge system is adding a further 20 amps load, this helps the batteries of course. In this case I have all the cabin lights on to raise the load on the alternator and add to the load on the Yanmar.

With such a high load on the Yanmar, which is rated at about 8 to 9 hp, the exhaust now burns smoke free and all that can be seen is clean water and light steam as the warm water hits the cold air, problem solved!

Clean water and clean air is just about all that can be seen exiting the exhaust pipe now.

Pictures of the Yanmar GM10 and Vetus siphon break are by R McBride, the camera was a Canon G11 on a standard setting.

http://www.soverel33.com/Boat/Engine/Ch01/Info.html technical data can be seen at this link, my thanks to the owner of the web site.

How hard can that be? well we nearly stripped the motor to see what was wrong!

Roy

Meeting Ben Decker

I have met with Ben once or twice before, he is a big man but is quite an easy sort of guy to speak to, on meeting him , he is fast to offer his hand as a greeting.

Photo by R McBride, using a Canon G11 digital camera.

Ben was visiting, we had a chat about a film that should have been made but it came to nothing in the end, the book may get writen one day?

Ben ran for The South African Parliment once, he failed to get enough votes but made a good impression !

How hard can that be.

Roy

Brat of Dunkirk

Brat was a Royal Cape Yacht Club boat for many years, she was well restored and I think also had a Lloyds 100A certificate?

Seen here in a near windless day in Table Bay at one of the TBA Easter Regattas, around 1999?

Picture by Roy McBride using a Canon FT film camera and a 1.4 lens.

Brat was one of the boats who did the cross channel trip to take the men off the beaches at Dunkirk.

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

Owned for a long time by Tony Fox? where is he now, he sold the boat, where is Brat now?

News came in within days from two sources, so we now know where Brat is!

Andrew emailed and said he used to sail on Brat each weekend when he lived in Port Elizabeth.

I read with interest your post on Brat. I sailed on Brat in Port Elizabeth every weekend before moving to Cape Town 11 years ago. At the time she was owned by Captain Harry Freaker who I think had bought her from Tony Fox. Harry was over seventy at the time and unfortunately I lost touch with him when I moved to Cape Town. You could possibly find out some more information as to what happened to Harry and Brat from Algoa Bay Yacht Club. I have some photographs of her at home and will scan and send them to you later.



The second mail came in just yesterday (03/05/2012)
The other day you referred to BRAT.
The boat is on the hard in Port Elizabeth. 

From Frans.



Please update as you can,

Roy

http://www.ckdboats.com/


Hi Roy,


It was I who sailed "BRAT" from the U.K. to South Africa arriving here October 1968.

If my recollection is right, the yacht will be 100 years old this year (possibly next). Do you have any up to date information on who owns her and where she is now ?

Best regards,

Tony France

News in today, dated 22nd October 2012, I have informed Tony where to m\find the boat.

Uffa Fox, his greatest design

I am not at all sure this if fact but as the tomb stone on his grave shows a parachute and a small boat floating down through the air to the sea, its clear the family thought this way.

Uffa Fox’s great and lasting memorial – the Airborne Lifeboat


Uffa Fox’s Airborne Lifeboat rigged for sailing

from Wikipedia Commons via Ian Dunster

Keith Muscott recently wrote this entertaining short history of Uffa Fox’s Airborne Lifeboat for members of the excellent Yahoogroup Openboat, and has been kind enough to give me permission to publish it here. Many thanks Keith!

‘Uffa Fox became obsessed with the notion of a ‘droppable’ lifeboat following the capture of his stepson Bobbie Sach after a ditching. His first idea was a folding boat that could be dropped straight from a low-flying aircraft. He soon realized the impracticality of this, and moved on to consider parachuting it into the oggin. It was to be made of small panels of plywood, which would be opened up by the parachutes as the whole parcel descended. Legend has it that he dropped the first model from a top floor window and converted the drinkers in the Duke of York to teetotalism when they saw it float down. Folding plywood panels were soon discarded in the light of experience.

‘That idea was dropped in favour of carrying the complete craft in the belly of a plane, which was to be an American Hudson (already in use for air-sea rescue). Subsequently they discovered that the bomb door jacks took up too much room for the boat to be carried in the bomb bay, so it was back to the drawing board to design a boat which was streamlined enough to hang outside like a torpedo without completely ruining the air flow. Uffa secured the go-ahead from Lord Brabazon, who subsequently got a rocket from those above for allowing himself to cave in so quickly under the influence of Fox’s silver tongue.
‘Uffa designed the final version one-eighth full-size, 1.5 ins to the foot, and ran off dozens of copies so that many draughtsmen could work on it simultaneously. The lines were lofted then the builders set to work: three weeks in all from pencil lines to waterlines. The hull was built with traditional diagonal planking – two layers of opposing diagonals, one straight planks fore and aft separating them, if I remember correctly. There would probably have been oiled silk or some such material between layers.

‘The test pilot in the Hudson would only fly the first test with the boat attached if Uffa went along too – which he did, including during the final stall tests. The streamlined boat hardly affected the airspeed at all and the plane kept up easily with another Hudson carrying RAF photographers. A secondhand Britannia Middy engine was reconned by the manufacturers for the tests and proved to be exactly right, delivering six knots and good endurance – but it was no longer in production. This led to a call going out to pleasure boat operators up and down the land, including many municipal boating lakes, to strip out engines and return them to the manufacturers (the British Motor Boat Manufacturing Company). June Dixon, Uffa’s neice, describes this bizarre situation beautifully:

“These valiant little engines, cast aside by the exigencies of war and no longer responding to the peacetime call of ‘Come in number twelve, your time is up’, were destined to find themselves chugging gaily along, homeward bound, offering new hope to men whose time but for them might well also have been up.’”

‘The air-sea trial took place during an air raid, with Uffa, and others, bobbing up and down in the Solent in a rubber dinghy. The pilot had been instructed to drop the boat from 600 feet at 110 mph, aimed right at the dinghy, whose occupants were duly soaked by the splash. It descended as the designer intended, nose down under several chutes at a thirty degree angle. The chutes were blown away by a charge when the boat hit and floating lines were fired outwards by two rockets.

‘The boat – a world’s first – was equally as successful in practice and Uffa was eventually presented with a certificate saying as much by members of the Goldfish Club when he became the subject of the television programme This is Your Life many years later.
‘It has been suggested that if the old rogue ever did get into heaven before the Devil knew he was dead, then this design above all others would have been the one that tipped the balance in his favour.

‘Keith Muscott
The Airborne Lifeboats were used in as many as 600 rescues, but after WWII was over, many were converted for use by yachtsmen and dinghy sailors, and I’ve heard reports of a racing class being created around them. They would certainly have made good, big cruising boats for sailing schools and so on.


My thanks to those who wrote about this amazing design and thanks also to Wikipedia.

Roy

How to service a British Seagull outboard motor

British Seagulls date to 1931, they made around 2000 a month at one time, so we may have about 100,000 out there now, does anyone know this?
Note: one web site suggests a million made due to the war effort?

In my case I have been gifted a not so old one, the one in question is the LLS model and dates to 1961, they have an engine number on them, find that then search the web to find out its age.

http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/i_d_your_seagull/i_d_your_seagull.php

I was ready to start after a degrease with water soluable cleaner, then a wire brush session to remove dirt and old salt deposits, a second water soluable clean up and wash down with the hose pipe again has the motor looking quite smart. In my case I was able to use an air line to blow the water off, you may find just using a clean cloth and spare paint brush does much the same.

Any service must start with the spark plug, they are made by Champion and marked D16 the gap needs to be set at 0.020" thousands of an inch, this one was closer to 0.040 thous, this will change the timing and change the way the motor runs. If you have no spark you may find the points are dirty, or if the engine has not been run for a very long time, the magnets in the flywheel need a recharge, check out at the SOS web site for information on how to attend to both the points and a recharge of the magnets. 

The same spark plug after it was bead blasted and the gap set to 0.020"

These parts were in a bad state, years of none use had seen them age and become more or less jammed up, in the case of the gear box pinion, it was seized solid and I had to ask the advice of John from SOS In Essex, England on how to free it up.

http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/index.html

SOS and the contacts for John in the UK are in the link above.

Johns phone number in the UK.

The gearbox house and gear wheel, with the shaft came out after a bit of carefull  work, once cleaned up, it was clear to see that they were still in fine condition and still able to do the job they were made for.

Most of the parts taken off the engine were cleaned in the blasting cabinet, I did not do the Villiers carb due to the fact that the small glass beads may do more harm than good.

The seized pinion, Johns advice was to add lots of thin oil and use a battery powered drill turn the square drive that is in the house, in my case I needed a 220v drill but I used minimum power. The shaft freed off just as John had predicted, I then added 20W/50 engine oil once the shaft was free and moving. Any friction here will stop the engine from turning as it should.

A moment of triumph when the British Seagull Century starts as it should and on the second pull of the rope, there after it would start on the first pull every time.

How hard can this be!

Roy

I spent more than a little time reading up on what needs to be checked on a Seagull motor to ensure it will work, there seemed to be no doubt it would work, even though my motor is fifty one years old.

The list and excepting the seized gear box pinion.

Clean the fuel tank, fuel stop fitting, there is a filter in the original ones., also one will be found in the banjo union fitting to carburetor. Clean the tank filler knob and fuel line, my fuel line was thick with a dry black sludge. Strip the carburetor and ensure its clean and the needle is straight and slides easily, in my case I need a new throttle cable, as the slide will not close, you may need a new spring that fits the slide also?

Adjust the spark plug, make sure its the correct one, test the spark by spinning the flywheel, use a 4mm line and only three turns around it, I made up a pull handle from some 22mm dowel with a 6mm hole through it.

The details are what makes the difference? this Champion spark plug cap is from the right period, its from a Jaguar 3.8S type. It is not wateproof, you could use the one the NGK make for motor bikes, part number LB10F 8358 (black) it is also a resistor type, which may be a good idea.

The gear box needs to be clean, it also needs some 140EP grade oil in it

in my case I have yet to find that grade and have used Castrols 90EP grade made for outboard gear boxes, it will see very light use for a while so should do the job for now.

Mix the correct petrol (gas) to marine outboard grade two stroke oil, thats 10:1 and should be done with unleaded petrol. Do not use fuel older than three months old, the modern stuff can go off after that time, you will notice a foul smell when its gone off.

Starting, open the petrol tank vent screw a half turn, check the tank and unions have no leaks, mine did, I fitted new fibre washers, I could then close off the choke on the carburetor, apply full throttle, make three turns of the pull line around the flywheel and see if the Seagull Century would fire?

Pull one and nothing happened, do the rope thing again and give it another pull, the motor fired and was a runner! Now open the choke and close the throttle as required.

Note, the two breather holes in the large stainless steel tube should face backwards, I have put the tube back side on and  incorrectly!

One last item and this is very important, as soon as your Seagull is running, check the cooling water escape hole has a steady stream of water running as can be seen in this picture. If there is no water, stop the engine and find out why? To stop the engine, close the throttle and the fuel supply tap and put your hand over the carburetor intake.

All photos by R McBride using a Canon G11 camera.

New tank transfers are available from SOS.

We have a British Seagull for sale, its a 1973 model and has a gear shift. Available as is, or fully restored to your order. contact me via http://www.ckdboats.com/

Roy  @ http://www.ckdboats.com/

Some updates have happened since this Seagull repair page was posted, find them below:

 http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-repair-british-seagull-outboard.html

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2012/05/adjustment-of-points-on-45hp-british.html

The Traditional Boat scene in Cape Town

What makes a traditional boat was a subject of discussion for some months while the TBA was being started here in the Cape, in the end we just forgot about it and named our events for both classic and traditional boats, sail or power (we had a steamer turn up at one event) and just waited to see who would turn up?

 Click on the picture for a larger view, the place is Cape Towns V&A Waterfront and around 1999. Picture by R McBride using a Canon FT film camera.

The class of yachts we had turn out was across the board, small to large and all sizes in between, each as important as tghe other, the events were well attended for years and years. It was a decline in the committee comitment, not the membership that was the end of the TBA.

Roy

Austin 7 spanners

I was recently gifted some old motor car spanners, two were Jaguar and two were Austin 7, part of a four set tool kit I believe?

Bead blasted they cleaned up really well but I supect they should be a black metal finish?

Seen here recently and on Ebay UK, I now need the larger two too complete my set, those and an Austin Seven!

Roy

Wharram Tiki 38, she floats!

The expected news in from the Simonstown Naval Dockyard came in today.
Wow! what a boat, we now need the name?

Well done to Captain Dan and his crew.

Roy

So.... she floats. (and how)

The launch went smoothly. We sprayed some Cap Classique on the bows and toasted fair weather, quick passages and sun in the cockpit. Then we were lowered slowly into the water by the syncro lift. Check seacocks , and then check again. No leaks. Motors warm and running smoothly, we motored out of the basin and around to False Bay Yacht Club in great autumn weather.

She felt very good on the water, and the best surprise was the waterline was parallel to the anti foul. So we could have done a boot top stripe after all.

Naturally there is still plenty work still to do (In fact the only bit complete is the part that is wet! ), but while walking away at the end of the day, one cannot help but have a second glance for that 'feel good factor'. And it feels good to be on the water.

Thank you to all who have helped along the way particularly in the final stages. Adrian and Nigel who's experience has been invaluable from the beginning. John, who just kept going in those weeks when there was just white dust and sandpaper. Sarah for everything from listening to me nattering on about twisted lower hull panels, to modifying my lunch box contents for optimum work efficiency and of coarse for being there.

We look forward to sailing with all of you in the future.

Dan

Tiki 30 and 38 are available as kit sets,   Roy

Fuel and oils for Justin Seagull

Now then, we have an old Seagull outboard motor up and running, its said they are not that fussy but reading the piles of info on the internet via Google, I find some advice that comes up again and again and that is which oils should be used.

Read here http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/buy_spares/buy_spares.htm

The Seagull in question is now 51 years old, yes its a 1961 model! with patience I discovered that this older model should still run on the original fuel (gas/petrol) mix it came out with, this model should not be run on any mix other than 10:1. Thats 100ml petrol to 10ml oil.

 The Mobil outboard oil data list.

What oil? well not a normal two stroke oil, this is due to the fact the Seagull motor runs quite cool, so it needs proper marine grade two stroke outboard oil. By chance I have some thats made by Mobil, I have had it for years and one of the engines it says it can be used for on the packing lable is Seagull, thats fine by me.

Mixed in a 10:1 ratio of fuel to oil and with unleaded fuel the mix should look like this.

The Seagull should have a gearbox oil in 140 grade, where I may find that I have no idea but reading whats being said on the web, I find that a single grade 90 EP will also suit. I happened to have Castrol Oils outboard gear oil in stock. For some reason it says nothing about what grade it is but again the web says it is a 90 EP grade.

Note, not SAE 80W-90 like Shell Oils Spirax, not sure why but I know someone will tell me. 

Use the right fuel and oils and they will save you a stack of money later.

How hard can that be?

News in from John at SOS, which is now telling me I do need the correct 140 grade of oil, that I hope to find tommorrow.

Roy


 Hello Roy,


I use Smith and Allan here, or Morris's but they are just a local names, Castrol used to sell it here, still do in 20 litre drums! I have old Castrol 140 cans here, Penrite sold in the States but any 140 oil will do the job as it is not in there long!

Regards,

John

SOS