Category: Boat Maintenance
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Gearbox Problem – Twin Disc TMC40P
23rd August 2025 Reading Time: Five Minutes The first thing I would like to say is that this engine has been wonderful since its installation about five years ago. The extra 4 hp above my previous 12hp Kubota has made a great difference to the ability of the yacht to punch into sea when needed.…
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Bigger is not always better – tools not boats
2nd April 2025 ..and I am not talking about boats this time, but just tools. Extractors. I made the mistake of buying a large Festool extractor. I forget the exact model but let’s call it the Maxi. It was a long time ago, but I remember my reasoning. There was a smaller “Midi” version, but…
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Heating on a Small Boat
17th March 2025 Reading Time: Ten Minutes When my boat was based primarily on the south coast of England, and, given that my sailing was mainly over the summer, the need for heating was very low down the priority list. On the rare occasions that I was sailing in the winter, my survival method was…
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Ten of my favourite, but slightly obscure, painting products
Here are some of the products that I use every year to help maintain my varnished Vertue yacht. By the way, I have no commercial interest in any of these products, I just thought it may be a helpful list for other fellow boat owners.. Number One – Owatrol Oil This wonder product is sold…
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It’s the end of 2023 Sailing Season
20th October 2023 – Ipswich and Titchmarsh It has been a great sailing season. I really enjoyed bringing Sumara through the Caledonian Canal, around to Edinburgh and then down the East Coast. Then I joined Will Stirling to sail through the North West Passage which was a brilliant experience. To finish off the season, just…
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The Vertue’s Little Cockpit
28th April 2023 Reading Time Three Minutes Following in the wake of the recent post on “Sailing Mea” about stopping leaks in his cockpit, I thought I would join in the fun. All Vertues are slightly different but it seems common that the cockpit sole is very close to the waterline. Sumara’s cockpit floor was…
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Rudders, Tillers and Self-Steering Gear – Part Three
9th February 2023 Servo Pendulum and other Self-Steering Gear I suppose it must have been the 1995 Earls Court London Boat Show when I bought my Windpilot Self-Steering gear. Those were the days when you could browse amongst the various suppliers and compare and contrast, before getting completely slaughtered at the Guinness stand. Did you…
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Rudders, Tillers and Self-Steering Gear – Part Two
7th February 2023 Trim Tab Self-Steering Last week I had intended to just post a short piece about the repair I have just made to my rudder hangings. Then I got a bit carried away and went on (and on) about rudders in general. That spurred Bruce Morley to drop me a line about his…
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Rudders, Tillers and Self-Steering Gear – Part One
2nd February 2023 Reading Time 10 Minutes Rudders and Tillers in general My Rudder Repair I have always regarded Sumara’s rudder as being pretty bullet-proof. It pivots on a strong bronze fitting with a 3/4″ pintle at its base. It has two sets of heavy bronze castings with a long 3/4″ bronze bolt linking them…
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A West Country Jaunt – South West Coast Path Mylor Harbour to The Lizard
21st October – 31st October 2022 We took our campervan down to Cornwall. Originally, we were just planing to visit Jo, Sim and Lotte who are currently living on their boat in Mylor. We hadn’t seen them for a while, so we were keen to catch up with their news. Their boat had been hauled…