Sumara of Weymouth Blog

Cutty Sark Strake Varnish Failure and Water Ingress Under Stanchion Base

Cutty Sark Deck Trim Varnish Failure

Cutty Sark Deckhouse Door Varnish Failure

9th February 2013 Greenwich

I was shocked at the poor condition of the varnish on the newly restored Cutty Sark. These pictures are now about a month old (January 2013) but I have noticed the varnish has got even worse since. The ship only opened in the summer and there is varnish failure on almost every surface. Even some vertical surfaces are failing and they generally last a long time. It does seem such a shame that there was an opportunity to do a really thorough job on bare timber and that somehow this simple task has been messed up. Now the whole lot will need stripping off and re-doing at great cost. It will need doing pretty quickly too before more staining and water gets in. It was an apparent lack of maintenance which seemed to cause the Gipsy Moth to rot away in her Greenwich berth. I never saw anyone painting or varnishing the yacht. I can’t understand how every yachtsman knows that boats need annual maintenance and yet these “National Treasures” are left to suffer until they need radical and unneccessarily expensive work. Already water is getting under the varnish and causing black staining around some stanchion posts. Varnishing is not rocket science, it just needs doing in a tried and tested way. Why play around with new varnishes on an old ship when they clearly don’t work.

I found this on the Sadolin website and would be interested hear any comments:

“Craftsmen involved in the meticulous conservation of one the world’s most famous ships, Cutty Sark, are using the Sadolin Ultra Highly Translucent Woodstain system to decorate and protect her teak deckhouses, spectacular wheel, ornate pin rails, decorative panelling and many other wooden fixtures and fittings on deck.

Cutty Sark is an iconic reminder of a bygone age of sail and a symbol of Britain’s long and successful maritime heritage. Built in 1869, she is a shining example of Victorian ingenuity, engineering and craftsmanship, and one of London’s most popular attractions. In November 2006, however, the visitor signs were taken down and The Cutty Sark Conservation Project began: a massive undertaking by The Cutty Sark Trust to give the ship its biggest overhaul in fifty years and to ensure she has a secure and sustainable future.

Heery International Ltd, a division of Balfour Beatty Management and the principle contractor responsible for delivering the conservation project for The Cutty Sark Trust, specified Sadolin Ultra for the decoration and protection of woodwork above deck. Construction Manager Kevin Elson explains how the decision was made: “Ultra offered the very high degree of translucency that we were looking for,” said Kevin, “and the system has been formulated to provide exterior joinery with up to seven years decoration and protection before maintenance is required. Unlike yacht varnish it offers flexibility and a high degree of UV protection. And when the time eventually comes to maintain the finish, there’s no need to strip back to bare timber, you can simply clean the surface and apply a maintenance coat to revive the appearance and protective benefits.”

Maldon Painting Company Ltd is responsible for coating the exterior timber fittings. Director Geoff Smith had not used Sadolin Ultra before but is now a firm fan. He explains how it was applied to the deckhouses: “We stripped all the old varnish right back and sanded all the teak back to a perfectly smooth surface, before applying a coat of Ultra Basecoat. We then filled in any pinholes and cracks with Sadolin Exterior Woodfiller and went on to apply two coats of the lightest shade of Ultra. Once the deckhouse is refitted on the ship we’ll apply one last coat of Ultra to offer the maximum level of protection.”

Geoff’s decorating work is just one of a huge list of projects which have to be completed by an army of craftspeople, engineers and conservation experts before Cutty Sark is ready to welcome visitors once more in 2010, by which time the ship will be a much improved visitor attraction. Geoff said; “It’s a once in a life time opportunity to work on Cutty Sark and it’s a job I am really enjoying. It’s always good to be given the opportunity to carry out a project to a full specification using the best products and being able to take the time you need to deliver a really high quality finish.”

I wonder if they will use Sadolin Ultra again? It hardly seems to live up to the statement “up to seven years before maintenance is needed” promise. It didn’t survive seven months since the opening. Maybe there is a reason why it didn’t work. Perhaps it was applied a long time prior to the opening?  It would be good to know what went so wrong. I’m sure the painting company would have done their best, was the product faulty or poorly specified? Is there a decent maintenance regime in place? Whatever the reason, it is a real shame that a National Treasure which has had £50 million pounds lavished on it is in such a disgraceful state so soon after opening.

My Christmas Preparations – de-rusting the engine block!

As Christmas looms closer and most people are finishing their Christmas shopping or decorating the tree I seem to have decided it is the ideal time to tackle the rust on Sumara’s Kubota engine. Sometimes the saying “If a jobs worth doing it’s worth doing properly” just has to be put aside. There was no way that I was going to take the engine out and get it on a bench so I would have to do the best I could with the engine in situ. In this respect it is not a proper test for this wonder paint – Brantho Kurrox 3 in 1 but it is a realistic one. I normally touch up any rust with some convertor, a bit of metal primer and some Hammerite but I haven’t had the time for the last few years because the boat has been left in Scotland over winter and certain tasks did not happen. The result was a pretty sad looking engine block – cared for internally but a rusty lump externally. This paint looked ideal. It needs no primer or top coat. Just one, two or three coats depending on the harshness of the environment. They recommend it for painting road gritters and give it a 15 year life expectancy with three coats! Furthermore there is no sanding between coats and it goes on like a dream with total obliteration in one coat. I prepped the engine by cleaning with Awlgrip T0340 cleaner and a stiff nylon brush. Wiped down with Blue Roll. Followed by a heavy stainless steel wire brush and some chipping away with an old screwdriver. Then a bit more cleaning and more wire brushing until I got bored. Too be honest I could have carried on for a day or two but actually I spent five hours cleaning and brushing before applying the paint with throw away budget brushes. I found one small corner where I had failed to clean out properly so I will tackle that in the New Year when she will get a second coat. The paint had a great feeling about it, lovely adhesion and good flow out. It can be applied in -10C apparently. The soft sheen is fine with me and means no sanding between coats. There is a gloss additive that you can buy but the joy of this paint is you only need one product so there is less waste. 750 ml cost £17.50 but with VAT and delivery it came to £32.40. I bought it from www.ipcsltd.co.uk but it is made in Germany. We will have to wait until next year to see if it lasts (with my slightly sub-standard preparation) but I am very hopeful. And a Merry Christmas was had by all!

Laid up at Chichester 2012-2013

Sumara was lifted out at Chichester Marina on 23rd November. It was my intention to get her back to London and haul out at South Dock Marina but sadly they said it was full. Strangely when I cycle past there seems to be loads of space.
My mast was accidently taken out a week too early to my surprise. I always like to be around during any lifting operation but it seemed to have taken place without mishap. The boat lift was smooth and professional and Sumara was lowered gently into a really solid cradle. The staff sometimes lift 16 boats a day which seems incredible. I was surprised to see the amount of masts left standing. That doesn’t happened in Scotland! I have to varnish my mast each year but I really believe all masts should come down each year. I remove all the rigging and inspect it from end to end. All the split pins are replaced with new ones and all the running rigging is washed. The mast is then placed on my own trestles and coved in a heavy canvas cover. You can see it just behind the boat. In effect no wear and tear takes place for four months of the year and everything is checked. That’s got to be a good thing.
The engine oil has been changed and I have run antifreeze through the block in a closed loop. I have forgotten to top up the diesel tank but I will when I go down next week. The engine block has got rather rusty mainly due to a constantly leaking water pump. It is a Johnson pump and the engineers tried out four new pumps and eventually gave up. It cools the engine fine but drips constantly. If anyone knows how to solve this I would be very grateful to hear. In the meantime I will give the engine a good going over with a wire brush and some rust proof paint. I’ve looked at POR15 but it looks over the top. I may try Brantho-Korrux “3 in 1″ and see how I get on.
The inside of the boat has been cleaned with a mixture of processes starting with fresh water, then Dettox and finally Ambercleanse Foam Cleaner. I like to have a large roll of Blue Roll to hand. The bilge is completely dry now but may get grubby after the engine clean and repaint. The aft bilges will be repainted in the spring. The whole boat is covered with a heavy cotton canvas cover. It amazes me how people buy rubbish sweaty plastic dross from BandQ and tie it over their pride and joy. In the first breeze the eyelets pull out and they flap like mad. My cover does need renewing now but it is 15 years old and has saved the boat so much wear and tear that it has been a very good investment. I use an aluminium scaffolding ridge pole as the weight of heavy snow is too much for timber sandwhich battens. Key Clamps and plastic end stops make up the support posts. It is a very tough frame and capable if withstanding storm force winds.
I will off load my wonderful Aqua 70 chain chain onto a pallet. It looks as good as new with no rust signs.
I have special winter wash board with extra ventilation holes. It means I can varnish the other ones at home and the boat is well aired. I will put a small tube heater with a thermostat on board just to keep the worst of the cold away.
Snug as a bug.

Terry describes the Jurasic Coast to Nicky

Anchored in Swanage

You can see the narrow calm patch of water if you keep close to the St Aldhelms Head. On Terry’s advice – don’t try it West bound!

We weren’t going to waste our biscuits by tossing them on the beach.

Terry said he would sail much closer to St Aldhelms Head if it was his boat but it felt pretty close to me.

Log ??? 15th September 2012
I took the train to Weymouth with Nicky, a good friend of Grits. Nicky had completed her Competent Crew course in 2010 but hadn’t had much of an opportunity to use it after a planned voyage had fallen through. Terry Newman, who built Sumara and lives in Weymouth, would join us in the morning. I normally leave my almanac on the boat so I hadn’t had a chance to check the bridge opening times whilst in London. It wasn’t until 0900 in the morning when I realised that we needed to catch the 1000am opening or we would have to wait until 1200. It ended up a bit of a rush. Sumara attract a lot of attention and I had some visitors. Sadly I didn’t have much time to chat. Arthur Meech who had a nice wooden ketch called Noella in the harbour called over to say hello. A bit later Mike Patrick, who helped Terry with the building of Sumara, introduced himself.  Mike did the planking and made an excellent job of it. He thanked me for keeping the varnish up to standard! We couldn’t chat for long or we would miss the bridge. The forecast was for a sunny day with light westerlies. As usual the actual shipping forecast was for stronger winds.
The tide was not going to start to run around St Aldhelms Head until 1700 LT so we had plenty of time to slowly sail along the Jurasic Coast with Terry giving us a fascinating commentry. Nicky and Terry did all the helming and I made all the tea. We saw a couple of groups “Coasteering”. This was a new phrase to me until Alexander, my newphew, told me of his exploits. He has sent me a link to his very professional video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OVXsgXUdr0&feature=results_video .

I think you get the idea- it looks great fun.
Interestingly we were a bit early to round the headland but the tide turned about one hour before prediction so our timing was fine. There is a nasty race off St Aldhelm’s but Terry assured me that GOING EASTWARDS it is fine to sail a biscuits toss from the beach and avoid the bad water. We were nearing springs so it could have been a bit nasty to get it wrong. Terry is 81 years old now and has sailed and canoed along the coast all his life so there is a very reassuring feeling as we are whisked past the cliffs at close range. I normally go the long way round!
We rounded Durlston Point and then left the buoy marking Peveril Point on the port and turned up into the wind to head for Swanage Bay. The yacht heeled right over at this point and Nicky was calmly reassured by Terry that this was a normal sailing angle! Sumara does heel rather easily but it is so normal to me that I foget to warn new crew. We rounded up, dropped the sails and pottered over to a nice space to drop the massive Rocna anchor in 4m of water. For some reason I have never anchored in Swanage before even though I used to come on holiday here every year of my childhood. After a nice supper Nicky and I pumped up the Avon dighy and rowed ashore. We wandered out to the fishermans cottages that I used to stay in as a child and then had a pint before rowing back to the boat in total darkness.
The tidal gateway for Sunday was, of course, the Needles Channel. On spring tides this gate is firmly shut if you get there late. We aimed to arrive at Hurst Castle at 0900 LT to give us one hour to spare. It meant an early start. The shipping forecast was giving a F5-7 westerly but it never happened and we needed the motor to assist us most of the way in order to arrive on time. The tide is truly fierce at Hurst Castle and we were swepted past at about 8 kn. Soon all settled down and we headed for Jack in the Basket beacon before mouching up the river to Lymingtom Marina. (about £27.00 per night).
It is really nice that when we arrived a kind man came over to help with the ropes, as it happened all went smoothly and we didn’t need the assistance but I liked the gesture. Futhermore a few minutes later a very kind lady called Fiona and offered to drive Terry to the station! In fact she ended up driving Nicky and me to the station which was a fantastic help. Meeting helpful and generous people like this make sailing so worthwhile.
I hope our little trip refreshed Nicky’s training. I’m sure she must of learned a lot from Terry – I always do!
We arrived back in London early in the evening after a lovely weekend.

Grit grills Gudrun about not following the course after “Mast Abeam” had been shouted. Gudrun denies being in the race.

I’m not completely sure why Sam is about to hit Alex with her oar. If the judges spot it they will be disqualified , or maybe awarded a prize. Its always hard to tell.

The crew in the water seem to have lost their boat – did it sink or were they rammed?

Mara awards her new prize “The Mara Anything Goes Prize” to its first winner – Nina

Matilda accepts her prize from Yunus and Grit

Anna was awarded a prize but the frantic activity of the day had worn her out

Ella proudly receives her prize!

Grit and Yunus present the coveted awards

Rhonda and Sean pull ahead with real style

Sean and Olivia prepare for the Races

Matilda rows with great skill to win a coveted award

Level Pegging but the Halsalls soon drew ahead

The Halsalls take the lead in the family race. I’m not sure why Jack is looking so miserable!

A typical Father Daughter dialogue – “Please” “No” “Pleease” “No” “Pleeeease” “NO” “Pleeeeeease” “No”

Of all the world’s Classic Yacht Races, The Cholsey Classics, is generally regarded as the “Classic of all Classics”.

It is the one event that every Classic Skipper dreams of being selected for, to helm their, or their master’s vessel around the tortuous courses set up by the Cholsey Race Committee. Many have to make do with the Antigua Classics or the Risor Wooden Boat Festival but they all strive to gain entry to the highly selective Cholsey Classics. Now in its tenth year, the organisation is a well oiled machine, a very well oiled machine. This year we were blessed with spectacular weather which was to promise some dramatic racing. With wind speeds in excess of 2 kn it was all the skippers could do to prevent broaching in downwind leg. Remarkably the first race passed off without major incident but the next sailing race saw some athletic tiller waggling from Peter Mercer (yes you recognised the name – Sumara’s Diversity Officer) which saw him race ahead only to realise that Yunus had spontaneously shortened the course leaving him no chance of achieving the lifetime dream of top prize. Grit Eckert had been appointed Commodore’s Assistant, a stroke of genius by John Halsall to maximize the skills available to the Cholsey Judging Panel. Grit, however, was unaware of Rule 174B: 2005 which allows the Commodore to make spontaneous decisions regarding the length of the course, or any other matter that he feels fit. Once Grit was made aware of this bye-law the adjudication proceeded smoothly.
This year the rowing races saw the introduction of the “Extra Paddle Rule” and in future I feel we may see more developments regarding oar lengths and numbers available. The Children are proving to be excellent rowers. Ella is a true rower of those long thin boats that we often like to ram but she took up the challenge like all the rest of the team to propel these beautiful craft at speeds never before witnessed. As usual the Cholsey Classics excelled with the catering and a fine lunch was provided for all the athletes.

The Prize Giving was held in the evening. The Gala dinner commenced with Rosie’s Bits sponsored by Glossip Garden Centre for which we are indebted. In previous years commercial sponsorship has been frowned upon but it has been agreed that it provides a useful revenue stream so long as subliminal advertising is not used in any way whatsoever. After the delicious tit bits we came to the highlight of the evening – The Race Results and Official Prize Giving. There being no official protests lodged, Yunus came succinctly to the point and after 30 minutes four pansies for £1.00 we came to the first award.
Grit and Yunus handed out the treasured cups and the athletes gave some truly emotional speeches.
The Official Race Results will will posted up on the usual websites as always.
Once the prizes were awarded, the Chefs presented us with a selection of food cooked on an amazing paella cooker available online at Glossip Garden Centre for just £678.00 ex vat, so delicious that I am unable to find the words capable of portraying it’s yummyness.

The evening was a huge sucess and after a good nights sleep the team were presented with breakfast under the shade of a gazebo. The althletes disbanded by lunchtime ready to partake in the victory parade – details of which are to be found on the Glossip Garden Centre’s website where you can also browse and excellent range of tomato fertilisers.

All the competitors and spectators are indebted to our hosts who, as always, provide a day to remember. Selma and John and all the Halsalls in particular need special thanks but Rosies nibbles always deserve a special mention. Yunus and Grit ensured an unfair playing field and entertaining prize giving and everyone did their bit to help including all the children who were just fun and no trouble!

The Commodore and the Commodore’s Assistant look on as an incident unfolds. Grit isn’t happy that Rule 15.5 part B is being followed but Yunus doesn’t seem to care.

Aberystwyth showing Robin and Rosie waving us off despite Sumara still being moored in the harbour!

Jannicke in Aberystwyth

Log 8498 Distance approx 230nm
Grit and I arrived in Aber (as they call it) on Thursday 17th August to have a day preparing and provisioning before setting off towards Falmouth. We went to the Christopher Williams exhibition again where I was surprised to meet Jannicke (I’ll put up a nice picture of her later). In the morning we were greeted by Robin and Rosie who are best friends of Terry, who made Sumara. Robin said he had seen her as a log cut through as planks and he gave a hand casting the keel. We needed to catch the tide so unfortunately couldn’t spend long with them. Robin saw the Scottish Three Peaks sticker on the hull and said he had done the Tilman Three Peaks three times and I should try it! Mnnn, maybe.
We set off at high water-ish with a favourable tide. Robin and Rosie were at the pier head to wave us off. The forecast was a bit uncertain in terms of wind strength but for sure it would be a beat the whole way. Definitely SW or S winds between F3 and 6. We waved goodbye to Aber, a lovely town with plenty to do, and tacked off away from “The Patches” to get a long board down the coast before tacking again a few times to clear St Davids Head. It was spring tides and they run at 4 – 5 kts off St Davids so we were keen to give it a wide berth. We headed for a waypoint between the Smalls and the shipping lanes. The shipping lanes can be quite an obstruction to yachts adding considerable mileage and spoiling advantageous tacks. In this case a wind shift acted in our favour and we managed to slip past the south corner by using a little bit of engine to assist us as the wind had nearly failed.
Across the Bristol Channel the wind varied in strength but was never too strong, one reef was needed at one point but then the genoa was hoisted.

Grit en route to St Davids Head

I was up a lot whilst we sailed around St Davids so it was good to catch up on some snooze. We were making almost south in the SW breeze and after two days or so we reached a point on the coast near to St Ives.

Sailing Off St Ives

Here I hoped to pick up a sea breeze by staying inshore and also I also wanted to catch a reverse tide which proved elusive.We were going to try to use the favourable tide on Monday evening to round Lands End. We were making 4-5 kn SOG but very little boat speed. I was looking forward to easing the sheets after so much windward work but when we reached Longships to bear away we were stuffed by slack winds and needed to motor. The tide here runs strong, very strong. It shifted against us one hour before prediction and there was no twelve’s rule here. It pretty much stopped us dead at one point shifting sidewards in a fierce tide rip towards the rocks. The little Kubota 12 hp did some sterling work and eventually after a long unpleasant struggle we broke free. The wind returned and we romped towards Lizard picking up a favourable tide. Although we gave the headland three miles offing with this spring tide there was still a very confused sea.

Falmouth Marina

Soon Falmoth was in sight and we moored safely in the visitor marina at 1138 on Tuesday morning. Cost £21.00 per night. Fair price for spotless showers with piped Radio 2 (?)! Log 8710.

How nice it was to bump into Torsten during our visit to the National Library of Wales! Torsten is, of course, one of the worlds experts regarding sea bed geology. There can hardly be a sand or mud bank along the east coast that Torsten doesn’t know intimately.

I remember sailing from Ramsgate to Dover in dense fog when the dedicated Torsten decided to spend six hours studying Brake Sand in preference to joining us for a beer in Dover.

Torsten Looking Very Smart!

Aberystwyth Mooring

We reckoned the best time to leave would be 1800 but the sun was out so we left at about 1500 with a very gentle southerly breeze. The wind gradually veered to become a westerley generally around force 3-4 but with a couple of light patches which meant a few hours of motoring. We sailed through the night, passed Bardsey Island and had our destination in sight. Sadly, once again, my Lopo light caused radio interference and I had to resort to a handheld radio in the cockpit. This is now my forth Lopo Light and I think I will have to give up. They look beautiful but just don’t work! Aberystwyth only has about .5m of water at MLWS so the pilot books advise new visitors to arrive two hours either side of high water. So it was rather unfortunate that we were going to arrive about an hour before low water with and onshore breeze. Luckily it was neeps. I had a chat with the Harbour Master who was very helpful and basically said proceed with caution. We knew there would theoretically be enough water so long as we found the channel. Care should be taken as you near the north pier  because the leading line of 133 degrees leads you very close to the aptly named “Trap” and a slightly more southerly approach would be advisable. A J29 was lost on the trap not so long ago according to the Marina Manager. The huge floods they had earlier in the year have actually improved the entrance by scouring away some of the banks. If you are thinking of a low water approach (neeps only) I would suggest a call first to the marina or Harbour Master. Waves break on the trap and I would imagine an onshore force five wind would be tricky. The problem is that the next port of refuge would be Milford Haven!

We had about 0.9m under our keel at the lowest point (2.3m deep). We motored up to the marina and found an empty pontoon berth with no trouble. I am leaving Sumara there until mid August so we later moved her in to a snug berth nearer the gate.

Petzl Ascension and I’D for Single Handed Mast Climbing

Sadly my crew had to pull out at the very last moment from my planned sail to the Isle of Man due to work pressure. So I think the sail will have to be cancelled as I don’t really fancy walking in the Isle of Man by myself. While I am in Troon I will tackle some of those jobs which never happened before the Peaks Race.
My AquaSignal steaming light has been a bit unreliable recently so I decided to have a look at it. I prefer someone else to be around when mast climbing but that is not always possible so I’ve got some gear which allows me to climb by myself. I use a piece of Petzl kit called an I’D. That stands for “Industrial Descender” but it can actually be used for ascending and descending. I secure a suitable braided rope halyard so a length of rope hangs down from the top of the mast. I then clip on a Petzl Ascension with a foot loop which is used to rise up the rope using leg power. The I’D is attached by a karabiner to my harness and then the halyard is correctly threaded through the I’D. The slack tail of the rope is pulled through the I’D and then you sit back in the harness so the I’D takes the weight. You can now slide the Ascension up the halyard and climb another couple of feet using the footloop and again take up the slack through the I’D. It only takes a few minutes to climb halfway up the mast. The footloop can be used to occassionally stand on and relieve pressure from the harness while working in position. Once the work is complete the Ascension can be removed from the rope and a fully controlled descent can be made through the I’D. The lever on the side has to be held in the exact position or the device will grab the rope and stop the descent. The descent is very easy and smooth and you don’t need to swop equipment. The I’D does it all.
Obviously there is no safety back up to this method of climbing so it is crucial the rope and equipment are thoroughly inspected before climbing.

Chart Plotter off Kintyre!

By now we knew we were the last boat to leave Jura for Arran. Barbara, who was one of the organisers had politely asked if we were still competing. “Of course we are” was Chatlottes reply. To get to Lamlash on Arran we would have to round the Mull of Kintyre – a notorious headland with fierce tides and overfalls. The wind was now coming from the south east and we couldn’t lay off the course. We eventually had to tack to avoid contravening the shipping lane regulations. Tim had told me how one year a yacht ended up nearer to Northern Ireland than Scotland. How I laughed, but guess what? The wind became very light and the tide turned and the good ship Sumara found herself nearer to Northern Ireland than Scotland! Of course eventually the tide would become fair and we were able to tack in towards Arran. Rick and I thought it best to grab a couple of hours sleep while Sarah, Grit and Charlotte took the last short watch into Lamlash. Sadly it wasn’t to be so easy. The wind turned and headed them and soon they were closer to Ailsa Craig than Arran. We ended up with everyone rowing as hard as they could. I tried pulling in the dinghy. It took a long old time but we finally picked up a buoy in Lamlash ready for the last run – up Goat Fell.