2010 Double Cape Race

This race has been around a very long time,I think after the first race,was that in 1974? Dulux sponsered the race and it was then branded as  the Dulux Double Cape Race for many years,even when Dulux stood down and Dekro Paints took over sponsership,folk still tended to name it the Dulux race,I think a new sponser is needed?

Its an unusual event with four yacht clubs sailing the same route but from their own waters,so boats are passing each other all the time over the course,which means that as you have to pass Cape Point twice,its a double cape trip,hence the name,the clubs are HBYC,RCYC,FBYC and GBYC.The route direction is reversed each year just to mix things up even more.

B&G Network ACP1 and ACP2 drive units

This has taken some sorting out and I feel its good we post the truth on some info's to be found on at least one yachting forum.

I found a question on a forum where a boat owner had been told that ACP1 and ACP2 units were internally the same but that it was only the ACP2 that had dip swich controls and that would proove that an ACP1 was actually the ACP2,read on for the real answer.

Brooks and Gatehouse made Network Autopilots,I have one,its not working but not because it is broke but because I chose to install an electrical Lewmar 12 volt drive unit over the normal Blue hydraulic steering ram,the drive unit was available,the ram was not. My own installation requires a greater switching power than the hydraulic pump,its this lack of interal switching that is issue,B&G service dept are looking at the issue now,if they can up grade it they will.

The later autopilots were controled using an ACP1 black box,its labled suitable for 12 volts and 12 amps,this will be seen as too little on the amperage side as my Lewmar direct drive is using a 1/4hp 16amp electric motor.This then requires the later ACP2 black box which is then rated to 24amps,it  also has internal Dip Switches ,these can be changed by the installer to work on 9v,12,18,v and 24 volts,so suitable for many other service uses,including a 24 volt installation.

An ACP1 control box with the dip switches,its that long black unit top right and just left of the round black tube with a white cable tie on it.This ACP1 still does not have a powerfull enough switching to handle more than 12amps,thats from B&G and can be believed.

I also have an ACP1 drive unit,it has the internal dip switches,so my question was it really an ACP2 with another lable,after reading on a forum it was tempting to think it was?

From the forum,

On our Network Pilot, the ACP1 is rated for a maximum of 12A (or 14A, the manual states both at different places and interchanges them often), while the ACP2 has a maximum of 20A (or 25A. Again, interchanged throughout the manual). They also have different clutch voltage selections. The ACP1 is set at 12V and is not changeable, while the ACP2 has dip switches for changing the clutch voltage (9V, 12V, 18V, 24V. The clutch works well at 9V/18V and saves an amp on the power usage in 12V/24V systems).

That is what the manual says. In practice, our ACP1 autopilot consumes 20A in rough conditions with no problem and when I looked inside it, there were the dip switches to change the clutch voltage (and they worked). Also, the manual states to use a 25A fuse and identical wire size for both systems, which may just be laziness or may indicate that they are both the same internally.

A reply to me this week from a genuine B&G dealer

Thank you for your email regarding the B&G products.

There are 2 issues that need to be addressed:

1) No one who works for B&G or does service for B&G will tell you that you can use a type 1 pilot where a type 2 is required.. for the simple reason that

if this processor ever "fries" because the load was too high.. I do not want my name brought up as the "authorized" person that told you that it will work.

A type 1 is a type 1 and a type 2 is a type 2....

2) When you say Lewmar direct drive.. is that what we refer to in the US as a "Mamba" drive? This drive requires a specially modified ACP.. an ACP that is fitted with a "break circuit"

The "enhanced" ACP (the latest models) have this modification, built in.. but the earlier ones do not.. If you can take a picture of the pilot with the case open, I will be able to tell
you if this is an older or enhanced unit.

Best regards

My pictures showed that my ACP1 even with its dip switches did not have the required break switch.

This took some while to check on,I am more than happy with the reply and offer of service,which was later directed to the B&G Support office who are now seeing if they can upgrade my Network Pilot control unit,this is on a unit that is far from new but B&G do go that extra mile where service is concerned.


I then needed to find out what voltage the Lewmar type 89300039 1/4hp 12 volt Direct Drive used on its clutch,I have the owners manual,it only says 3amps,nothing more,I contacted Lewmar in the USA,they responded that the clutch is 12 volts and it needs to be correctly cabled,the clutch needs the correct voltage to work correctly,so do not use wires that are two thin for the distance you are wiring in to.

Note,the Lewmar Mamba and Direct Drive 1/4 hp motors apear to be exactly the same.


Roy http://www.ckdboats.com/ Cape Town,South Africa

David inspects an Aries vane gear being fitted

Davids Ocean Bound flying along in the Southern Ocean with self steering by Aries vane gears.

The interest David Scot Cowper has in the Aries lift up vane gear goes a little deeper than most would think,for it was David who twice sailed around the world on his yacht Ocean Bound,once each way,westwards and eastwards using the exact same make of Aries vane gears.David has a lot of respect for the make.

Marine coatings

The subject of applying paints or coatings as the suppliers often call them is complex,the best thing to do is get advice from the chosen suppliers or a company who has worked with them for a good number of years,mixing various makes through primers to top coats may not be the best option unless you know what your doing,so when possible,stay with one companies product range right the way through.
We have experiance with International Paints and all our kits or materials supplied are normally delivered including a free CD on International Paints applications.We are suppliers to their range of Interthane polyurethane top coats and Intergard epoxy primers.

Application of Intergard primers,on a wood epoxy structure,the surfaces must be sanded with a 60 grit paper to allow a key bond,then washed down with a table spoon full of Teepol (not dish washing liquid) in ten liters of clean water,hose down and allow to dry.Application of the primer by spray gun is recomended,also by brush and a fine mohair roller can be used,the surface will not be as smooth but sanding is easy,you should get around 6 square meters per liter,do not apply thinner than this,you will need around three coats to get the full finish.

Application of the Interhane top coats requires light surface sanding,then the wash down routine again,this is the general prictice now,even on large ships,surfaces may have been contaminated with air borne chemicals,exhaust fumes come to mind here.The surface finish will only be as good as that underneath,so if you can see marks in the primers,do the extra filling and sanding then while its still easy,its hard work once the poly urethane paints are applied.

This wood/epoxy built yacht,was last sprayed around twelve (12) years back with International Paints Interthane top coats and Intergard epoxy primer,the decks were painted fouteen years ago and are still in good condition.The GRP Duckling dinghy was restored and repainted a year ago.Left click the picture to view in a larger size.

How long will modern paints last? ten years is easy,fifteen years normal ,after which surface degrade in our African sun may see the shine being lost and you may want to re apply,the surface will still be hard wearing and have many life years left in it though!

New epoxy range now in stock

We now have an epoxy system with a new brand name AR600 epoxy and AH2335 cure agent,the epoxy is quite similar to the 816 we have supplied for years,the cure agent is thinner than the 205 cure agent we have used,tests show bond results and cure times to be similar on both types.The main difference is the mix ratio,being an easy 1 part epoxy to 1/3rd parts cure agent,we stock in 1.3 kgs packs for ease of use.

Watchmate AIS to the Canery Isles

We have just processed an order for a customer in the Caneries,in this case we sorted the purchase out,handled the finance side and placed the order with Vesper Marine in New Zealand,they in turn arranged for Fedex to do the delivery,it will arrive today? The route was quite a surprise to me,Australia,China,Kergistan,France,Spain and now the islands themselves,not bad for a U$120 fee on a package of 3.5kgs.

Mail just in on this order;


Canary Island



Dear all, I have spoken with the fedex clearing agent in las palmas gran

canaria. The package is cleared from spain, in las palmas gran canaria and

will be on a transport to lanzarotte tonight, tcc the clearing and

forwarding agent says I will have this unit tomorrow ( friday ) morning.

Will let you know when the gold is here. Excellent service to

everybody...vesper gets first rate recommendation from me. Regards ewen

This is what one of our customers said about his Watchmate:

I've done 500 miles of the West African coast with the benefit of the WatchMate. It's f***in great!!!


Tony Beks, "Ragin Cajun", enroute South Africa to Brazil

Norfolk Island makes a plan to land its new Mack Truck

A mail came in from a friend,its how folk do things on islands with no formal harbours,St Helena Isle comes to mind too?

As there is no harbour in Norfolk Island, this is how they get big objects ashore. Amazing!


I can attest that it’s a great place for a relaxing holiday. We really enjoyed the place.

Clive.

Didi Mini Cruise Deck fitting

We love to get our customers build pictures,its really what keeps this blog alive and I hope interesting,John in England,has just sent me a picture of his boats deck and coach roof progress.We are about to send him his deck fittings pack,which follows the original CNC kit,then his rudders,drop keel,stantions,push and pulpits,plus the tiller and related links.

A toy Tractor could be next

With another kit Toylander being sent to a customer in Port Elizabeth on South Africas east coast last friday,Toylanders are now well accepted from us.Another enquiry asks that we once more to look at the tractor that Real Life Toys in the UK offers,we need their permission to copy,cut and sell those too,having sold a reasonable number of Toylanders under their licence,this should be no problem.We are still devloping the Toylander kits,being at the electric motor stage,so a tractor will probably take a while to sort out,finding those rear wheels looks like fun!

There are some complicated shapes on the bonnet and front nose,even more so than with a Toylander,they will make a Tractor kit more expensive if we supply those shapes. Which we have already with the bonnet and front wing corners as a standard part of our kit,read Robs email below.



Roy


Fantastic! The kit is here all safe and sound, got it lunch time and rushed home to open it. Two parcels. Was surprised to get the shaped bonnet and eyebrows, Plus Glue and screws. Did not realise this was part of the kit. Thank you.

Got the epoxy and some powder as well. Am going to need some instruction the use thereof. Now to get cutting and building.

Regards

Rob

Brer Terrapins Navigation light

This came in from Alan in the USA,seems he kept the boats navigation lights when he sold the boat on?

OK this might be a little too obscure but here is the result of some research I did on an oil lamp from the boat that now sits on a bookshelf. The few brass lamps that came with the boat were corroded and brittle. This one looks good but leaks so it never saw field use. The electric brass running lights were also in pretty sad shape but I cleaned them up and replaced the electrical guts in them and they worked very well. I don't remember a red interior glass for this as noted in the email below.

Alan,also sent mail to the lamps makers,their reply is below and most interesting!

Dear Alan,


You are right, this is a DHR-anchor light. An product from the time, mid sixties, that a riveting machine was just introduced in our company in order to make producing easier and faster.
But it has been sold once as a NUC(Not Under Command)-light, all round red.

That means that there should been an interior red glass cylinder in the light. Otherwise the label should have shown ‘anchor light’.

Actually the wedge burner is not correct. This is a flat burner (flat wick) and used by the British and its Commonwealth partners,

They were using plain lenses. We, on the mainland, were using Fresnel lenses, completed with a round wick burner.

At this moment the light is still in production.

I hope this info is sufficient for you. If not, let us know.

Best regards,
Mario den Haan, man. dir.

DHR
Fascinatio Boulevard 1182

2909 VA Capelle a/d IJssel
Tel.: +31-10-240 06 53
Fax: +31-10-281 08 50
http://www.dhr.nl/
Trade Reg. 24129532 Rotterdam

My own time spent on Brer Terrapin was one of learning and once I had my own boat,a similar navigation light was purchased from Mercer Bach and Hickson (i think) we have since used it in far off places like Brasil and Venezuela but also when anchored in some nice places in South Africa,the lamp  never goes with the boat if we sell,we keep it at home for those times when the electricity fails!

Note,I fancy I can remember the round red lens which fitted inside the lamp that Alan says is now missing.

Tale Teller sails the 2010 HBYC Opening Cruise

It was a picture perfect day,light breezes,calm seas and Tale Teller ,a restored  (number114,circa1934) Vertue 26 out on the water I was able to get some shots with the Canon G11 digital camera set to auto,some shots were in a tele photo mode.

Note,it should be recorded we had a north west gale the following day!

Mail in from Tale Tellers owner:

Hullo Roy


What a group of really lovely photographs you have captured and sent on to me.
I have owned a few boats in my life, but I mean it when I say, that never have I had photos like the ones you have sent me.

Thank you very much……………..

Yes, we were fortunate to be given an almost perfect day for the opening cruise, and very satisfying for every one to see so many boats out on the water. Some short cruises here and there sounds a great idea
and look forward to hearing more about them in due course.
Pity I did not have a camera aboard to catch a few shots of you and your own boat. It really looks
grand especially with those beautiful tan sails. Make me think about getting another suit like

yours for “Tale Teller”. Dream, dream, Maben.

Best regards

TOM

These pictures will open larger if you left clickon them.

Roy

Eureka canoe boat kit building

Nigel who runs our CNC shop,has just done the cut file to Micheal Storers really nice Eureka Canoe,he has a set of plys cut out and is about to assemble it for his own use,watch this space as they say,Nigels build pictures will follow,the pics below are off Mike Storers web pages.Kits can now be supplied to your order in a reasonable time from order.

Michael Storer Boat Design

Eureka Plywood Canoes Page 2 Photos

Brer Terrapin gets an Aries vane gear

The place is Salvador harbour,Bahia,Brasil,the year is 1977,the boat is an Atkin Ingrid 38 hand built by Pip Smith with help from his dad we believe,the construction was carvel planks,African Mahogany (khaya) on Oak frames.We had just sailed the boat over the South Atlantic Ocean from Cape Towns Royal Cape Yacht Club,the electronic steering gear we started out with lasted all of four days,after that we hand steered.The boats owner Dennis,then imported a vane gear from its designer Nick Franklin in Cowes,Isle of Wight in the UK,

Brer Terrapin was sunk by a hurricane  on moorings in New York,USA in 1968 after Dennis later sold the boat,she was down a week and later raised,the after starboard side was smashed and her whole interior from midships aft was removed,the boat was repaired and later sold to Alan,who says he bought her cheaply,Alan then owned the boat untill 1991,selling her on to an Irish man who wanted to take her home.
Alan contacted me via this blog,does anyone know where Brer Terrapin is today?

The camera was a Canon FT SLR with 1.4 lens the film was Kodaks Ektachrome slide film,which when scanned recently has stood up very well to the test of time.

Roy

Email from a later owner,Alan,USA.

It's been along time since I smiled as hard as I did when I saw your post on the Brer Terrapin. Where was the internet back in the 1980s when I had to write letters to the South African Consulate to get confirmation that there were no leans or encumbrances on the Brer Terrapin so I could Register her in the US and letters to the Cruising Club of Cape Town to try and find out something about her history. Nothing from either.


I purchased her cheap in 1983 from a Guy in Stamford Connecticut. She had gone up on some rocks during a storm in 1979 and sunk in about 10 feet of water. When I bought her the hull had been repaired and the Volvo rebuilt, but the aft end insides where gutted and trashed, everything was moldy and full of silt, the wiring pulled out and there were some other issues but she was salvageable. And some of the amazing details under the dirt and silt like the green stone sink in the bog and the carved terrapin made it feel like she still had life in her. Some mid-restoration photos attached.

I spent the next few years getting al lot of the work done and sailing around between NY and New England. Lived on her (most of the time) while I finished school in Long Island. Also in that time a wife, kids and real job came along and in 1991 I sold her cheap to an Irishman named Cornelius Callahan who's plan was to sail her back home. Never did find out if he made it.

Thanks for filling in so many of the pieces. I have some more photos and would be happy to give more details to anyone interested. Fair Winds....

Alan.

An Optimist kit to Switzerland

Its always nice to get an order but especially when its from a country we have not sold into before,this time its Switzerland,the customer whats a bright finish,so we have sold him a kit with a mahogany wood package as an extra,it will look very nice against the BS1088 Ockume marine ply hull.

The Optimist Dinghy

The Optimist Dinghy has been around for 63 years?. This is a perfect design to complete between parents and their children. It is also has an Olympic Class of it's own making it the ultimate extra mural activity.
Originally made in wood it was then replaced by a 'GRP' design. This design seemed to be stronger and much lighter than the older wooden boats.
The Wood-Epoxy design is still built to the original class rules but certain changes were made to make the design lighter and even stronger than the 'GRP' design at a fraction of the price. With adding the additional thin epoxy saturation to the hull it keeps the boat's surface from drawing in moisture that could add weight.

One of our Optimist kits sailing,note the bright finish inside the boat and the white painted finish outside,very practical I think.

Our kit as a set of parts looks like this before packing,we supply the glues and glass tapes also.

Cape Town Central

Central to the world,Cape Town can supply most marine and other products world wide and all the branded names your used to and trust.

Thats not a train station I am talking about,thats our On Line Shop,we started on the export side about eight (8) years back and so far we are still receiving requests for quotes and shipping,the pricing must be competitive,as we have a full deck kit of marine  hardware to send to England and  this week we have received an order from Switzerland for an Optimist kit and also a delivery of a Watchmate AIS to the Canary Isles,we turned the AIS order around within 24 hrs of payment,the Swiss order  will be cut and ready in about a week.