I read about many people doing (3) - a seacock in the exhaust. Many boats have 
the same problem (apparently).

 

Marek

 

From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of ed 
vanderkruk via CnC-List
Sent: October-27-15 15:24
To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Cc: ed vanderkruk
Subject: Re: Stus-List Bermuda1-2 lessons learned

 

David ... sounded like quite the adventure. 

For (3) an owner of a C&C 115 added a seacock to the exhaust hose before 
heading  to the Mediterranean ... better remember to open it before ( trying to 
) start the engine and a bit inconvenient to get to.

For (4) I recall a diagram of routing the vent through the base of a stantion 
with some added venting high in that tubing. Complicates the stantion base 
support. Not sure if that venting path is standards-compliant but interesting. 

Ed

On Oct 27, 2015 2:51 PM, "David Paine via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> 
wrote:

Hi All,

 

As I mentioned last spring as part of a question about life rafts, I had 
planned to sail  my C&C33-1  solo to Bermuda and back (double handed) in the 
Bermuda1-2 race.  I did,  It was fun, it was terrifying, it was expensive to 
prepare for, and it was frustrating as I did not do well (dfl) in my class in 
part because of the high winds and seas near the gulf stream probably favored 
the  HR49 and other heavyweights in my class but mostly because I was climbing 
a steep learning curve.   Of course, a C&C35-1 won the return and did well on 
the way there so (in my case) it's the sailor not the boat.  In preparation for 
the next one, I need to resolve a few issues with the boat and a lot with the 
skipper.  I was putting together a list that I thought I would share.

 

(1)  The autopilot has to be more than bullet proof.   I thought my below deck 
pilot was, but I was wrong, and as a result I found myself upside down in the 
cockpit locker and crawling deep underneath the cockpit floor in horrible 
conditions to tighten bolts that allowed the tiller arm to slip (no woodruff 
key or slot to put it in).  I lost a lot of time bobbing around with the sails 
down repairing the autopilot or sleeping.   The fix for this one is obvious but 
will require dismantling the quadrant and figuring out how to bolt the tiller 
arm to it.  Other issues with the autopilot were completely my own fault as I 
made changes to the electronics but did not have time to proof test the 
changes.  

 

(2) When a wave fills the cockpit and it gets flooded (and it did repeatedly) 
the engine instruments are going to get wet.  This is not good as the switches 
will (and did) fail, I am considering relocation or creating a waterproof cover.

 

(3) Following seas WILL drive water up the tailpipe and into the engine.  As a 
result, I sailed into St Georges harbor and up to the customs dock then I spent 
a day in Bermuda sucking water out of the engine and drying it out enough to 
get it started.   For the return trip, I put a plug in the exhaust pipe but the 
plug was washed out in the "washing machine like conditions" and ... we got to 
sail the boat into the Newport Yacht Club dock at 3:00 am on no sleep.  Then 
spend another day pumping oily water out of the engine.  Yeah, slow learner.  

 

(4)  The fuel tank vent on my boat is high up on the starboard side but by the 
time I got to Bermuda, the tank had a quart of water in it (which I siphoned 
out).  Good filters (a racor) helped but I need to relocate the vent -- the 
question is where?  It may not be wise but on the return trip I wrapped the 
vent with tape (which, if I had run the engine I would have removed)   A better 
solution is needed.

 

(5)  Reefing has to be quick and easy -- I spent far too much time screwing up 
enough courage to go to the mast to reef and shake-out.  My current reefing 
system (probably original to the boat) has a winch on the boom which makes the 
first reef fine but I used all three reef points and releasing the last reef 
before pulling in the next in 35-40 kn of breeze is a nightmare.   I need to 
work on leading the lines to the cockpit.

 

(6) A removable inner forestay and a blade foresail might be nice.  My new 
furling 130 spent a lot of time furled 50% and that really has screwed up the 
shape of my formerly new and now blown out 130.

 

(7) The boat was reasonably dry inside (a result of hours of rebedding 
hardware) but somehow the mast collar leaked like a sieve.  The boot looks 
perfect so it has to be the where the Al collar (mast partners) meets the deck 
-- who would have thought that the one place I didn't rebed would be a problem!

 

(8) Hoisting a radar reflect on a flag halyard to the spreaders seems like a 
good idea until the line breaks and you lose both.  

 

(9) The one turnbuckle that I did not wire was the port diamond stay.  Turns 
out the mast will stay up without this - whew!   It is extremely unnerving to 
see a piece of wire swinging around at night in a blow.  Wire everything. And 
use lock tight on critical bolts -- my solar panel broke loose as a result of a 
bolt getting unscrewed.

 

(10)  Fighting with a 10 foot long spinnaker pole to fly the spin gets really 
old. Luckily the wind only died down enough to fly the spinnaker at the end of 
the race but if the conditions had been more benign, I would have had to fly 
the spinnaker much more.   An assymetrical with a short prod would be nice (but 
probably outside my ability to rationalize the spending).

 

(11) Getting a decent weather (GRIB) file occasionally would have been really 
helpful.   I suppose I need to figure out how to do a SSB or Sat phone modem.

 

Tons more lessons learned but that's enough for now.

 

Best,

 

David

 

 


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