Captain Stubing and the Love Boat

[Captain Stubing]

Since we have a new section for Project Builds (Thanks, Bongo Boy!) I'll kick off with what's been stopping me playing with cars.
BJust over a year ago, my wife suggested we needed to upgrade the runabout boat to something we could sleep on, so I started looking around, deciding we could learn to be sailors! What could be better than free fuel to get around Moreton Bay and surrounds? So I located a decent project yacht... a trailer sailer.



Forum member Burnout offered his RTV to tow it down from Gympie, where it had sat for many, many years.




Reversing down the driveway at it's new home to where it would sit for months...










And so it began!

[Captain Stubing]

Weeks of working out what included in the yot, I finally had an attempt at raising the mast, after many hours of YouTube tutorials, finding sailing forums with people that knew all about it able to tell me stuff, and I stuffed up.

I'm not sure what it weighs, but you take 8 metres of aluminium, and the more vertical you make it, the heavier it gets, and the mast base broke...



This boat was made in about 1982, in Clontarf, Qld, and there aren't any spare parts available. So forum member 73 4V XB lent his expertise to the project.



And for the first time in a long time, with lots of huffing and puffing, heaving and ho'ing, we raised the mast, and tried fitting some sails, playing the game, "What rope goes where?"

I've learnt when it comes to yot's, ropes are called either lines, sheets or stays.



Next was how to repaint the hull. I bought some marine two-pack paint, and had to move it away from the trailer to repaint it. I've never sprayed two-pack before, so back to YouTube. What could possibly go wrong?

[Captain Stubing]

Sanding and prepping on days off..




Followed by a primer coat...



Then some nice exciting white top coat!



And then with a blue coat of anti-foul on the bottom. At this point the hull was supended about 10 centimetres above the trailer.

[Franco Cozzo]

Wow sweet project - no internal combustion engine power hey? Are you going to have solar panels and an electrical system?

Could you use it to do something like QLD to TAS?

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wow sweet project - no internal combustion engine power hey? Are you going to have solar panels and an electrical system?

Could you use it to do something like QLD to TAS?

So far I've got a 120W solar panel, I have to work out how to fit more panels on, and I've only got one battery on board so far. I've got space to fit another couple of batteries.

But it does have an outboard... the mighty 9.8hp 4 stroke Tohatsu!

I guess it could cross the Tasman, I've seen 28ft vessels doing that trip, or sailing up to the Whitsundays from Brisbane, this old gal is 22ft. The longer the hull, the faster the speed it's capable of.

Having no prior sailing experience.... I dunno!

[Captain Stubing]

Next job, while the paint was hardening, was the interior. There were a number of cushions on the berths inside (it sleeps 5), and they were all covered with an 80's brown fabric, complete with ciggy burns. This was my wife's job to have them recovered by a friend who was an upholsterer, but she hadn't gotten in touch.

How hard could it be??? So I went to Spotlight, found some more modern fabric, found a sewing machine on sale at 50% off, went home and studied sewing machines on YouTube. After a few weeks, I had a couple of recovered mattresses...



Then I tackled the complex main boudoire in the bow..



It's an easy job, and I saved buckets of money!

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wow sweet project - no internal combustion engine power hey? Are you going to have solar panels and an electrical system?

Could you use it to do something like QLD to TAS?

Damo, I've seen it do about 85 kph...... It does get up and boogie......



































































































































































































It may have been on a boat trailer heading towards Bribie thou.......

[Captain Stubing]

Next was finding a way to raise the mast single handed, so the bride can sip Long Island Iced Tea while I'm preparing for launch. Enter the MastMate - essentially a bungee chord...

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Captain Stubing

So far I've got a 120W solar panel, I have to work out how tow fit more panels on, and I've only got one battery on board so far. I've got space to fit another couple of batteries.

But it does have an outboard... the mighty 9.8hp 4 stroke Tohatsu!

I guess it could cross the Tasman, I've seen 28ft vessels doing that trip, or sailing up to the Whitsundays from Brisbane, this old gal is 22ft. The longer the hull, the faster the speed it's capable of.

Having no prior sailing experience.... I dunno!

When you get to the stage where you're going to fit it out with electricals, put pen to paper about what you want and its power draw and with some number crunching thanks to ohms law it'll give you a figure you can work with in amps and it'll give you an idea on how much batteries you want (batteries are relatively cheap) and how much solar you'll need - 120W worth of panel is 10A worth of juice on paper in a perfect world (you know how it is, efficiency losses in real world, shaded panels etc)

Remember if you use lead acid batteries you'll need to vent them to atmosphere as well.

Also if you use lead acid batteries for them to live longer than 30 seconds you should only be draining them down to 50% SOC (ie 50% of its rating is actually usable if you want it to live).

[Captain Stubing]

Next was to reproduce the original logo, because I liked it. I took a photo and used the photo editing program, GIMP to clean it up.



And went to visit a signwriter to have some vinyl lettering and logos cut. Then to paint on some two-pack stripes...

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

When you get to the stage where you're going to fit it out with electricals, put pen to paper about what you want and its power draw and with some number crunching thanks to ohms law it'll give you a figure you can work with in amps and it'll give you an idea on how much batteries you want (batteries are relatively cheap) and how much solar you'll need - 120W worth of panel is 10A worth of juice on paper in a perfect world (you know how it is, efficiency losses in real world, shaded panels etc)

Remember if you use lead acid batteries you'll need to vent them to atmosphere as well.

Also if you use lead acid batteries for them to live longer than 30 seconds you should only be draining them down to 50% SOC (ie 50% of its rating is actually usable if you want it to live).

For electrics, the biggest consumer will be a fridge. After that is a depth sounder/fish finder, cabin lighting (LED), anchor lighting (LED), car stereo, and phone/tablet charging.

I've got to look at different types of batteries for the best system, such as deep cycle batteries.

[Captain Stubing]

As a side project, my FG/X XR6 Turbo manual ute had issues... only being able to legally tow a maximum of 1200kg. The wife's car was 12 months old and could tow 1800kg, and is a lease vehicle, so not suitable to upgrade too soon. The ute's hanging around, so the cheaper option was to buy a cheap second hand 4x4, which I could fix up, and wouldn't mind leaving unattended at a boat ramp overnight some time in the future.

Enter the tow pig... a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, 5 speed auto, 4.7l Hemi V8, heated seats, leather interior. For $1250





The suspension was shagged, engine, gearbox and diffs leak.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Captain Stubing

As a side project, my FG/X XR6 Turbo manual ute had issues... only being able to legally tow a maximum of 1200kg. The wife's car was 12 months old and could tow 1800kg, and is a lease vehicle, so not suitable to upgrade too soon. The ute's hanging around, so the cheaper option was to buy a cheap second hand 4x4, which I could fix up, and wouldn't mind leaving unattended at a boat ramp overnight some time in the future.

Enter the tow pig... a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, 5 speed auto, 4.7l Hemi V8, heated seats, leather interior. For $1250


image


The suspension was shagged, engine, gearbox and diffs leak.

Welcome to the ****box fleet

I'm expecting to see the Jeep come to AFF Heathcote.

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Welcome to the ****box fleet

I'm expecting to see the Jeep come to AFF Heathcote.

I dunno... the DVD player won't fire up...

[Captain Stubing]

Then, more recently, I got some boat and trailer registration!



And the ElCheapoJeepo towed her up to Bribie Island for the first launch in a long, long time.




About an hour and a half to set up at the boat ramp by myself, and then the launch...




It was a fail... as soon as the yot left the trailer, the cable holding up the swing keel failed, and 340kg of lead swung down and pinned the yot to the boat ramp.

So I pulled it back in on the trailer and went back home. The bride was not amused.


I replaced the old hemp rope with some modern Dyneema, then picked a weekday for a repeat attempt, this time with the handy forum member, 73 4V XB



Next minute... we're sailing! Both with no experience, we did a 20km trip, complete with a passing storm!

[Captain Stubing]

Then I took the bride and family out for a sail, we saw a deserted white beach on Bribie Island, so headed for that and anchored up. Jumped overboard for a swim.



Now I'm up to the electricals....

I bought a bimini canopy from BCF, cut it to pieces and added pipe from Bunnings to make a solar panel mount



Along with a charge controller, I installed this at the start of the Covid 19 lockdown, and it's working.

Another system I changed is the loo. The '80's style dumps the dumps out to the water, which is not allowed, so I've disconnected that and installed a Portapotti (For emergencies only!!!)

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

When you get to the stage where you're going to fit it out with electricals, put pen to paper about what you want and its power draw and with some number crunching thanks to ohms law it'll give you a figure you can work with in amps and it'll give you an idea on how much batteries you want (batteries are relatively cheap) and how much solar you'll need - 120W worth of panel is 10A worth of juice on paper in a perfect world (you know how it is, efficiency losses in real world, shaded panels etc)

Remember if you use lead acid batteries you'll need to vent them to atmosphere as well.

Also if you use lead acid batteries for them to live longer than 30 seconds you should only be draining them down to 50% SOC (ie 50% of its rating is actually usable if you want it to live).

In a yacht you should only use tinned DC wiring, otherwise you'll have a lot of corrosion in the future. I use lead acids as well but in a trailer sailor AGM batteries would be better, especially in a knockdown which does happen. Lithium marine is just too expensive ATM.

A removable stainless gantry reaching over the stern is usually the best safest place to mount solar panels on bigger yachts, I've seen several smaller ones hinging them off the pushpit rails.

[whitelion65]

Great project, Cap’n.
What’s in the anti-foul? I wouldn’t have thought it would be needed for a trailer-sailer, only being in the water for, what, 1 week at a time max?
Looks to be a great job you’ve done on the resto.
Enjoy many happy hours cruising with the bride ��

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by whitelion65

Great project, Cap’n.
What’s in the anti-foul? I wouldn’t have thought it would be needed for a trailer-sailer, only being in the water for, what, 1 week at a time max?
Looks to be a great job you’ve done on the resto.
Enjoy many happy hours cruising with the bride ��

Thanks Steve, I wasn't sure about the reason for anti-fouling, as powerboats don't use it, but as it was there when we bought the yot, I found it easiest to recoat it, as it can be brushed or rolled on.

I'm a bit wiser now, and when I work out a system of supporting the hull away from the trailer, I might look at a big sanding session, and respray with two pack acrylic.

As it happens, while we were packing up the yot after the keel cable broke, an older gent pulled up and parked beside me. He struck up some small talk while looking over the yot, then asked me what the original name was.

I had no idea that there was anything other than the name she had when we bought her, but then he told me the name was either Meg or Elizabeth.

I asked him how he knew this, and he told me he was the original owner, having had two built in the early 80's for his yacht hire business in Tin Can Bay. How did he know this?

He designed the logo on the bow for all his boats

Seeing the logo I had just had reproduced was what drew his attention, and made him stop to look. On top of that, he is part of a trailer sailer club on Bribey Island, and offered membership... not a bad idea!

Edit: one point I forgot to mention, as the yot was available for hire, so probably lived in the water, hence the anti-fouling.

[whitelion65]

Yeah, I’ve never done it, but I know the stuff is a PIA to maintain. But mates cruiser was in the water all the time, so a necessary evil.

[Franco Cozzo]

Sail her along the Yarra River and pick me up at the Casino when you're in Melbourne on the super yacht!



Might need to lower the sail to get it under those bridges

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Sail her along the Yarra River and pick me up at the Casino when you're in Melbourne on the super yacht!

image

Might need to lower the sail to get it under those bridges

At least with a trailer sailer, that's do-able! You can't step the mast on a super yacht!

[73 4V XB]

I must admit, the ol’ freckle puckered up a little sitting under a lightening rod when the very noisey storm passed over us

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Captain Stubing

At least with a trailer sailer, that's do-able! You can't step the mast on a super yacht!

At 30ft, mine's no superyacht but I had a tabernacle made for it so it can hinge it down to motor up the Hawkesbury river.

re... the antifouling for a trailer yacht like yours a scrubbable coating might be the go. Trailer power boats don't need it cause they can usually plan or are fast enough for marine growth not to take hold. A yacht however is a different thing especially around the keel and stern.