The AGM Outing

Issue 6December

2009

The magazine of the Seamaster ClubVolume 18

CONTENTS3 Diary Dates

4 Chairman’s Report

5 From the Editor

6 Urgent Safety Notice - New WorldCookers

6 Membership News

9 Letters:

The view from Norway

Seamaster Logos

Steering - 28 Commodore

Views of the Broads

Props for Tsunami (30)

Solex Carburettor

813 Hull Coating

On all sorts of things about a 27

Engine type & Boat Registration

17 The Canta Libra Tales

18 Later Voyages of Second Melody

20 Tales of Sailbad the Sinner

Cover Picture: The cover picture shows some of the 39 members enjoyingthe trip through the Blissworth Tunnel on Narrow Boat Indian Chief on theSunday following the AGM. The AGM, the members’ dinner, this trip, and avisit to the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, were part of the members’ weekend.

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Disclaimer: The views, opinions and any other content ofentries in this magazine are those of the contributors; TheSeamaster Club, and the Editor, do not accept responsibility

A lock-full of Seamasters(Marsh Lock on the Thames)

Dennis Taylor presents aSeamaster Cap to our hostess on

Indian Chief

Feb DIARY DATES2009

December 6th Thames, Christmas lunch - The Three Horse-shoes, Benson

December 12th Norfolk Broads - The Christmas Bash

2010

January 9th Norfolk Broads - Sutton Staithe Hotel lunch &dates meeting

March 20th Norfolk Broads - Reedham Ferry Inn - lunchmeet

March 21st Great Ouse & Fens Spring lunch at The LazyOtter

May 1st - 3rd Norfolk Broads - Lion Inn Thurne - Lunch meet& Sid’s Bank Holiday Treasure Hunt

June 25th - 27th Norfolk Broads - Ranworth Island Moorings -The Big One

July 17th Norfolk Broads - Museum of the Broads lunchmeet

August 20th - 22nd Norfolk Broads - Beccles Yacht Station - TheSinner Weekend

August 28th - 30th Thames - IWA National Festival & Boat Show2010 at Beale Park

September 10th-12th Norfolk Broads - Lion Inn Thurne - The AutumnWeekend & Will’s Quiz

October 9th Norfolk Broads - Red Lion Coltishall -Lunch with Dilham Boat Club

December 11th Norfolk Broads - Christmas Bash -venue t.b.a.

All copy should be sent to the Newsletter Editor: email: editor@seamasterclub.org or post to:

Brian Rowland, at 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG

Coordinators are requested to notify the editor as soonas new events are scheduled for their area.

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CHAIRMAN’S REPORTWelcome to this edition of the magazine, I have just returned from Towcester andour members’ weekend. Despite gales and downpours, the turnout was notdisappointing with more than 60 members attending. A very big thank you to all ofyou who came thus making the weekend extremely enjoyable.Naturally the high winds and horizontal rain came just after we laid out the boatjumble; luckily the venue had an undercover area that we all managed to squeezeunder. Sadly the weather did little to encourage customers so after an hour we gaveup and joined the others in the main meeting room for coffee and a superb buffet.

The formal AGM took place with some interesting discussion over the committee’s proposal to havea form of disclaimer signed my members taking part in waterborne events organised by coordinators.Your committee had been debating the issue for a long time now and had sought advice from otherclubs and the Royal Yachting Association before having the final wording cleared by our insurers. Oursole intention is to protect organisers from blame in the worst case scenario of an incident happeningduring an event and nothing else. Our proposal has attracted a lot of interest from other clubs askingto put a similar procedure in place and the Broom owners club are looking very favourably at ours andhoping to introduce it themselves. Neil Frost, Dennis Taylor and Derek Crombie retired from thecommittee and Jon Male (Norfolk Broads) and Sylvia Rowland joined the committee during themeeting. The Club’s thanks go to the retiring members for all their hard work.During Saturday afternoon a nautical quiz was handed out, we had an interesting talk from the curatorof the local waterways museum, a raffle with more prizes than I could shake a stick at and a technicalquestion and answer session. In the evening about 40 of us enjoyed an excellent three course mealfollowed by a few of us lounging in the bar feeling rather full and tired until it shut. Some locals keptus amused by their wailing (Singing they called it) but by then we were just looking forward to bed.For those of us who stayed over, after a leisurely Sunday breakfast most of us booked out of ourrooms and headed off to Stoke Bruerne where we had booked a boat trip and waterways museum visit.Forty of us piled onto a narrow beam river tour barge in glorious sunshine only to be plummeted intodarkness as we entered the famous Blisworth Tunnel. At 1.75 miles long and built in 1802 this wasquite an experience. The tunnel is wide enough at 16 feet for two narrow boats to pass, but narrowboats are not the easiest of craft to keep in a straight line whilst being just inches from the wall. Theeffect of the wake is to push the bow out away from the wall. About half a mile in and you guessedit! Another boat approaching from the opposite direction. Some thought the light ahead was thetunnel exit, wrong. Narrow boats fit large searchlights forward but when two boats get close eachswitches off their searchlights so as not to dazzle each other and rely on the running lights only. Thetension builds as both skippers get as close to the tunnel wall as possible, sods law dictates that thisis when the bow starts to be pushed away from the wall just inches away. You can’t reduce power asthis makes the situation worse; you have to increase power to force the head back into line. Both boatsbows glanced off each other causing a slight jolt but soon the boats found their own position and weslid past. All in a days cruising for narrow boaters but for us slightly daunting and certainly different!After passing each other the next step is to get the head back away from the tunnel wall, not easy asnarrow boats have very straight sides and at 60 feet plus long some reverse thrust was required and alittle cheating from a bow thruster. Soon after another two boats passed, this time without touchingso the first one must have had his bow out a little too far from the wall. Fascinating experience andvery interesting, most of the tunnel was brick built. Millions and millions of them! The middle sectionwas re-lined with sections of concrete forming a circle after a collapse, this cost millions of pounds anda few years to repair. Water was seeping through forming all sorts of mineral deposits and largeirrigation ducts poured water into the tunnel to stop the build up of weight overhead.Another first for the Seamaster Club, what an eventful weekend and so very enjoyable throughout!Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Paul Killick

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From the EditorI thought the Members Weekend and AGM had been very well preparedand organised by the working group and congratulate them all for a verysuccessful event. As a member of that working group I would say that,wouldn’t I.Neil Frost, retiring Minutes Secretary, has prepared a short questionnairrethat has been circulated with this magazine and requests that memberscomplete and return it to help him assess the success of this event from the members’viewpoint.Members’ Weekend & AGM 2009:Please tell us what you thought of the weekend.Your committee has tried, especially over recent years, to make the AGM an event thatmembers will want to attend. Rather than it being like many AGMs, a potentially boring andvery brief meeting - which quite reasonably many members will feel is not good use oftheir time - we have tried to ensure that we provide interesting and entertaining things todo for those who want to attend for just the Saturday, and for those who like to make aweekend of it.The Club’s Committee thinks that it has got it about right – and the feedback we got lastyear, as well as a number of complimentary comments made by members this year,suggests that this is the case.If you attended any part of this year’s Seamaster Club AGM weekend at Towcester andStoke Bruerne on 14th / 15th November we would be really grateful if you would find the timeto complete the Feedback Form sent with this magazine and return it to the address at thebottom of the form. As you will know, it is often the case that people onlygive feedback when there has been something wrong. Please give usyour feedback whatever you thought of the weekend as it is only whenwe hear from everybody who attended that we can get an accurateview of what people thought.If you think we got it right please tell us; if you think there are otherthings that we could do to make it even better please let us know; ifyou think there are things we should change we want to know whatthey are; if we did things wrong we need to hear of them.Please don’t put off filling in the form; complete it and return it now!If you did not attend we would still appreciate hearing from you and knowing whetherthere is anything we could do to attract you to next year’s event.Thank you.

Brian Rowland

NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE MEMBERSYou may have been handed this magazine by a friend, and now be wondering how to find out moreabout joining the Club. For more details, please contact:

Brian Rowland, 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG Tel: 01689 824531

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSThe Fens & Great Ouse

End of Season LuncheonThe Wheatsheaf Tempsford

Sunday 4th October 2009Members present:Jane – Claire MarieDavid & Brenda – Eastern PromiseGordon & Doreen – FantasiaBarry & Marion – White KnightBrian & Rose – Wild ThymeMike & Alison – Jameson IIDave & Christina – River PugMike & Eileen – HideoutMike & Sylvie – Boat now soldMichael & Christine – Wild RoseDerek & Pearl - L’ArtisteAveril Penny – RallentandoPhillip & Valerie – Boat now soldAlistair & Thelma – FireflyAndy & Brenda – Ouse MistressAlan & June – Ben VarreyPaul & Mo - SaratinaGuests: Alan & Hazel Moody

Thank you everyone who came to the “Endof Season” luncheon at The Wheatsheaf,Tempsford. This being Dave Rogers’ (RiverPug) first event as Social Co-Ordinator Ithink that you will all agree that it was a verysuccessful luncheon. The Wheatsheaflooked after us well and the food was verygood indeed. It is always difficult to serve alarge number of people all at the same timebut on this occasion the staff pulled out allthe stops. Many thanks to Brenda Miles(Eastern Promise) for selling the raffletickets. We had a large number of donatedraffle prizes which were gratefully received.£53.00 was raised in the raffle and afterexpenses of £32.00 a net sum of £21.00will go forward to the Pre-Season Luncheonto be held at the Lazy Otter in March 2010.Jane Wall, the Club’s President, thenpresented Sylvie Chase with a framedphotograph of the Sans Souci rally held inJuly at Little Paxton by way of thanks andappreciation for all the work which she haddone as Social Co-Ordinator, ably assistedby husband Mike. Flowers were also

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Richard was a well known person onthe River Gt Ouse and helped many aboater over the years when they brokedown and needed help. He lived life tothe full and was never a person whomade a drama out of a crisis. Richarddecided to retire from the marina thisyear and it is his sons, Jon and Paul,who have now taken over the business.Our thoughts go out to Richard’s wife,Wendy and the family.Finally, may I take the opportunity to wishall members a very merry Christmas anda healthy, happy and prosperous NewYear for 2010.Eileen Phillips

THE NORFOLK BROADSThe Broads ReportAn excellent lunch meet at the Red Lion,Coltishal, lots of good company andgreat food, all arranged by David andGisela (Touchwood) who must bethanked for all the work they put in. Thisincludes writing a report for themagazine. I will assume, David, you arewilling to do the same next year, (please).As the nights draw in I like to look backover the year and the events we haverun, looking for improvements I canmake. It has been great to meet not onlythe regular crews but some of the newermembers so lots of thanks for turning,and even helping out, without your helpand input our Broads social events

presented to Sylvie. Sylvie then thankedJane and the members for the lovelyphotograph and said that she would betaking this to New Zealand when she andMike depart later in the month. Sylvie alsoconfirmed that there would be a 2010 rallyin the garden at Sans Souci. Alan Gaylor(Ben Varrey) then thanked Dave Rogers onbehalf of the members for arranging theexcellent luncheon. Dave informedeveryone that the “Pre-Season” luncheonwould take place on Sunday 21st March2010 at The Lazy Otter, Nr Stretham. Details

would be circulated to members in the NewYear. May we wish Sylvie and Mike bonvoyage and look forward to seeing themboth in 2010 when they return to the UK inthe summer.It is with great sadness that I would like tonotify members of the death of RichardBrearley the owner of St NeotsMarina who died suddenly on19th September 2009.

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would disappear. Lets hope my sometimeschaotic style of running things does notscare any regular, new or potential crewsaway. After recent official meetings I amreminded of the words of Abraham Lincolnwhen he was elected “You can please someof the people all of the time, you can pleaseall of the people some of the time, but youcannot please all of the people all of thetime”.

I hope you all enjoyed your boating this yearand the many of you who came to our eventsthought it was worth the effort. Don’t tell meabout it but tell other Seamaster ownersabout us and maybe a few more will turnout next year. I have sorted out someprovisional dates. If you have anysuggestions or offers of help please cometo our dates meeting and lunch at the SuttonStaithe Hotel on Saturday January 9th, or letme know by phone or post.

The next event, our Christmas do, is soonand many people have booked their places.It will also include the “Silver Duck AwardsCeremony”. I know it is late but nominationsare needed for this from you the members.If not I will pick my own favourites. If youhave not sent your form back or had forgottenthat it is on Saturday 12th December at theLion Inn, Thurne and dress is smart, youcan call me on 01362 668 849 and I will sortyou out.

This brings me to a serious bit. Soon youwill have to sign a disclaimer beforeattending a Club afloat event to stop yousuing myself or the Club if someone makesa mistake on your boat at a Club afloat event.I know some of you are unhappy about thisproposal and I have accordingly argued veryforcibly against it in the Club Committee andwill do so again at the AGM.

I am now off to the AGM to support and putforward the Broads side of things and I willhope to have several of you there. If not,have a good Christmas, a fine New Yearand lets look forward to a wonderful year of

boating in 2010 and meeting like mindedpeople at our events.

Dates for your diaries: Check inside thefront for more information on the provisionalprogramme for January 9th, March 20th,May 1st-3rd, June 25th-27th, July 17th, Aug20th-22nd, September 10th-12th, October9th and December 11th.Will Hawkes, Norfolk Broads Coordinator

Lunch MeetRed Lion Hotel,Coltishall

Saturday 17th OctoberThe now annual get together of theSeamaster Club (Norfolk Area) and theDilham Boating Club took place at the RedLion Inn, Coltishall on Saturday 17thOctober 09.A very convivial time was had with tales ofvarious kinds being related. The food wascertainly better than last year (under newmanagement since August 09) and thelarge fruit crumble and custard was to diefor!It was very good to see some 35 peoplepresent, coming from 11 Seamaster crewsand 6 crews from Dilham Boating Club.Some folk came by boat, most arrived bycar and fewer still by foot; our Stan-the-Manstaying in a local hostelry owned by boaters!We all seemed to mix pretty well - in fact thelast of us left the lunchtime do at about19.45!Seamaster crews attending included:-

Canta Libra - WillEmma Louise - Stephen and AngelaGoosander- StanKorali - Alan and Hilde

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Lady Margaret - Eric and DorothyMarnia Girl - Brian and SueNew Moon - Roger and PatRum Navy - CarolineSpirit of Adventure - Will and SueTadorna - David and JackyTouchwood - David, Gisela, Sabine,Adrian & Alistair

We are now looking forward to the AGM andour Christmas Do in December.David & Gisela, Touchwood

NORTH WEST

Sunday Lunch SuccessFifteen diners attended the first North WestArea social event organised by recentlyappointed Area Coordinator John Topping,assisted by Norman Gallagher.Crofters, Garstang was the venue for asuperb lunch and much informal chat.John Topping said:‘These events are excellent ways formembers to share information, experiencesand build networks. We are looking forwardto April 2010, when we intend to arrange acanal-side ‘Jacobs Join’; the emphasisbeing on fine food and drink. Between nowand then, today’s team of fifteen will beseeking to increase the membership readyfor the April event’.Photo – John Topping (front left), NormanGallagher (third from back right) with NorthWest members enjoying Sunday Lunchtogether.

THAMES

Thames Christmas LunchThree Horseshoes, Benson

6th December 2009We have again booked the function room atthe Three Horseshoes Benson for up to 25members to wine and dine lunchtime (12:00for 12:30) on Sunday 6th December. This isnormally a very popular event and each yearwe fill the room. The format is simply a goodlunch (Christmas or normal choicesavailable) at a very reasonable price in the

convivial company of fellow Seamasterowners.

If you have not already booked with me, Iregret there is no more room at this event.Better luck next year.

Brian Rowland

LETTERS, Etc:

The view from Norway:From David Lovett in NorwayHei BrianThanks for your promt reply. My maincontact with the club has been via PaulKillick who has given me much soundadvice about engine-room ventilation andtransmission cooling on my 813. As theinduction inlet was in the enginecompartment, the Thornycroft 1.8 ltr enginewas drawing in hot air. I have fitted an airintake louvre 1 metre from the stern on theport side and installed trunking leading toa Hyundai air filter (taken from a wreckedbut fairly new vehicle at a breakers yard)and thence to the induction manifold. Thismodification, together with a thoroughcleaning of the Bowman heat exchanger,engine and transmission oil coolers, andthe fi l l ing of an engine compartmentextractor fan exiting on the starboardside has cured the overheating problemand given a substantial power increase. Inow achieve 7.5 knots at 2500 rpm (max). The 813 gives us great enjoyment on theOslo Fjord and in the summer months weoften sail out to the skerries where weanchor up in a bay for lunch and aswim. Being an enclosed stretch of water,the fjord quickly warms up when the sunshines and the temperature isusually between 18 and 25 degrees C. Two summers ago we sailed the length ofthe Dalsland Canal in Sweden from Ørjeto the Gøta Canal. With all the locks andfresh water lakes it was a great experience.We are planning on taking a similar trip onthe Skien Canal in Norway taking you fromthe Oslo Fjord well into the centre of thecountry.

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As you may know we met Alan and HazelMoody several times in Norway and wewould love to see you here one day. The besttime for a visit is undoubtedly May wheneverything is fresh and the leaves arespringing out.Kind regardsDavid

Re: Seamaster LogosFrom David Taunt:Hello Brian,Just one thought regarding the itemof ’stickers’. Being in motorsport all myworking life I have ‘stuck on’ hundreds if notmore stickers and logos on Rally cars. Bestway I have found without doubt is the soapywater and sponge method. This gives theopportunity to adjust positioning before thensmoothing out air and water with somethinglike a credit card or such like. To remove...gentle heat with a hair dryer to soften thevinyl and peel away. Just whilst I wasthinking about it!!Regards,DavidKnotalot 1

Re: SteeringFrom: Peter Jackson Saturday, November 07, 2009Dear Paul & Brian,Steering failure on returning to my mooringat Lower Halstow, Stangate Creek lastSaturday has prompted an overhaul of thesystem and an enquiry whether the makersof the steering box are still in business.There does not appear to be any data on thebox. The boat is a 1969/70 SeamasterCommodore with cable steering.Problem 1. The steering box behind thewheel is an aluminium casting withreduction gearing and a chain for the innercable. The outer cable is held in place by aferial which has been flanged out for the boxto stop it moving. The casting has worn onthis side allowing the ferial to slip out. I haveincreased the width of the ferial which shouldhold it in place but ideally it would be good

to make a more permanent repair orreplace the casting or a differentreplacement box. The outer casing allenkey bolts should also be renewed.Problem 2. Before the tiller arm is a smallbox which is apparently for easytransmission for the cable to the rod. Ihave not taken this apart at present. Itappears to be a socket and ball system.Intriguingly there is a bit of plastic throughthe box. Is this to compensate wear or inplace of grease.Any guidance would be much appreciated.Thank youKind regardsPeter (Jackson)

Reply from Paul Killick to Peter JacksonHi PeterYou moor at one of my old hauntinggrounds, is the pub “The Three Tuns” stillthere? Sadly your steering problem will probablyrequire a complete new system as whatyou have is long gone!I would suggest you look at the optionsavailable from ASAP / Vetus / MorseThere are basically two types availablethese days, cable or hydraulic.My preference is cable, its cheaper, lighterand has less wheel turns from lock to lock.Does your boat have an autopilot, if so whatdrive system?Keep in touchPaul

Re: Views of the Broads:Hi BrianI had a call to say that the engineerwho looks after Rum Navy had been to theAylsham Show over the August BankHoliday and had seen a guy exhibitingsome photographs and lo and behold hadseen one of the aforesaid boat enteringRockland Broad.I looked at www.jduckettimages.co.uk andsure enough there was Rum Navy lookingthe part entering, not surprisingly,Rockland Broad. I have ordered a copy formyself and had a good look round at some

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of the other photos which are really good.I think it’s worth a surf now that the eveningsare pulling in - the Broads photos are in thesection headed Inland Norfolk (page 2 forRum Navy) and there are some great shotsthere.Might be worth sharing with members bothlocally and nationally.RegardsJonRe: Props for Seamaster 30 TSUNAMIHi Paul,Can you help this member please? His boat is Tsunami moored Bristol.Membership No 1544YoursBrian

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009Hi Brian,We have a Seamaster 30 which iscurrently out of the water for anti-foulingand we were quite surprised at howsmall the props were. Could you let meknow, if possible, what would be therecommended prop size for use in theRiver Severn and coastal.Many thanks,Pat & Den Ludwell

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From Paul KillickHello Pat and DenI have been passed your enquiry forassistanceI take it your 30 is a factory fitted boat? i.e..One that’s not been completed/engined elsewhere as hundreds were!Once I know a few facts I can possibly helpyou with a better prop size to meet yourneeds.If she is factory fitted you will have eitherSingle or Twin Perkins 4107‘s or 4108‘swith a TMP transmission and TMP 2;1reduction or Thornycroft T154‘s withTMP 2;1 transmission or possibly butrarely Newage gearboxes?The original props wouldhave been a pair of handed

phosphor bronze (Rh/Lh) counter rotating16x12 Turbine style. The shafts would havebeen phosphor bronze also but many havenow been replaced with stainless steel.?Just before the props you will have a “P”bracket with a rubber water lubricatedcutlass bearing pressed into it fixed ontothe hull on a raised section of moulding byfour machine screws. Am I right so far?Whilst she is out the water check thebearings for wear by applying up and downforce onto the propeller. If you get any playin the bearings at all they will needreplacement. The shafts can wear badlywhere the bearings run on the shaftsurface, if badly worn they might needreplacement also. An indication of wear atthis point is rattling shafts when underwayat high RPM very noticeable in the rearcabin. Excessive vibration in rear cabinindicates props being out of balance orworse bent/chipped. Props do need to beremoved and checked every few years andrarely will a cutlass bearing last more thanten!What would be useful to know is what propsizes you have now? It should be stampedon them somewhere and could be eitherbehind the securing nuts, between theblades on the boss or even the back bosssurface where it can’t be seen withoutremoval.The most important facts are what do theengines rev at flat out in neutral and ingear? If the engines aren’t set up right youwill never get an improvement!Do you know for sure what speed you getat a particular RPM? GPS is the mostreliable indication.And what conditions is the boat used under,tidal, non tidal or both?Sorry to ask a lot but sadly its onlyguesswork without the factsLook forward to some answers and tryingto assist youRegardsPaul Killick (With my technical hat on)

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From: patricia ludwellSent: Thursday, November 12,Subject: PROPS FOR TSUNAMI - Seamaster30Dear Paul,Just to give you an update of what we didregarding the props for Tsunami - your advicewas invaluable.Having taken the old props off we found theywere 14" diam and the blades were chewedup and they were 5" blades which looked asif they had been, at some time, ground back. We scraped and sanded back old antifouland gave 2 coats of new antifoul, the hull wasin really good condition.We sourced our new props and went withyour recommendation of 16 x 14. We found alittle place in Abbotskerswell, Newton Abbot(we needed a satnav to find it!!) - the name isC & O Engineering, Unit 11, WatermotaWorks, Abbotskerswell, Newton Abbot,Devon, Tel: 01626 367782. The cost for 2new props was £384.10p incl. vat. We foundthese people very helpful and veryknowledgeable and they are as good as their word. We took them down one Wednesday,they said they would be ready the followingWednesday and they were.We fitted the new props, we tried Tsunami inthe harbour because we haven’t been ableto get out into the Channel yet due to badweather. First indications are that we have alot more thrust and she handles a bitdifferently. Looking forward to the new season and manythanks for your advice and help.Pat & Den

- - - -ReplyFrom Paul Killick to patricia ludwell, BrianRowlandHello again Pat & DenJust back from the Seamaster membersweekend that was fantastic to say the least.Very glad to be of assistance to you and hopevery much for a successful sea trialPlease let me know of any reservations youmay have regarding the prop size

recommended.Good cruisingKind regardsPaul

Re: Solex Carburettor:From: Julian Affleck To: Paul KillickSent: Monday, November 16, 2009Subject: Seamaster 27 carburettorHello PaulThe Solex carburettor on my 27 constantlyleaks, I have tried various ways to stop itbut it still leaksCan you still get hold of new carburettorseither Solex or an alternative? it has a FordWatermota 1.6 non crossflow engineRegardsJulianReply:Re: Seamaster 27 carburettorFrom Paul Killick to Julian AffleckHi JulianI have checked your membership numberon our database and found it first timethanks.Firstly a mystery as Ford did not make a1600 pre-crossflow engine but going bythe information you have given I think itmust be a 1500 Ford (109E) block as youhave the Hydrive gearbox? In which caseit will have a “Side Draft Carb” made bySolex that allowed Seamaster to keep aflat cockpit floor with no engine box?This carb is very rare now. Two years agoI bought one from “Southern Carburettors”when they said there were only three leftin the whole country. Until very recently Ihad one but sadly that was sold out of theSeamaster magazine included with a fullyreconditioned Wortham Blake Ford1500cc engine! I suggest you contact“Southern Carburettors” first, sadly I don’thave a number but they must be on theinternet! If you have no luck let me know

and as soon as I have time I will do someresearch as I heard recently from a marineengineer that he had discovered someservice kits for that carb.I have just got back from the SeamasterMembers weekend and am now on aMarine electrical training course until theweekend when I will be slipping boats!RegardsPaul

Seamaster 813 Hull CoatingFrom Richard TurpinI have just obtained your e-mail fromthe Seamaster club site.Can you advise me please?I have a Seamaster 813 purchased lastyear and will be taking it out of the water injust over a weeks time. The previousowner informed me that the boat did notsuffer from osmosis as it had a“rubberised hull”.Can you enlighten me on what is arubberised hull and the best way ofservicing it?Thanks in advanceR TurpinNIMROD III

Reply from Paul Killick:Hi RichardHave we communicated before, the nameseems familiar?Your surveyor should have picked up anyhull coatings and as for a boat having “NoOsmosis” that would be very rare indeedgiven the boats age. Maybe the previousowner meant “No Blisters” noticed?There are rubberised coatings / paints butas far as I know the only proper hullprotection system against GRP watersaturation is a Two Pack Polyurethanepaint applied in the correct conditions.I know something about that as I have donea few Seamasters myself, due to the costbeing very high if done professionally.My present boat was stripped back to the

bare gel-coat in 1990 and allowed to dryout for eight months before the moisturereadings of the underwater sections werelow enough to start. Any blisters, and therewere several hundred tiny ones, were cutout and treated separately then filled with aspecial filler. The whole hull was lightlysand blasted and washed with fresh waterevery weekend for the eight months ashore.I then applied eight coats of the specialcoating - a system named “VC TAR” Thiscures to being very hard and totallywaterproof. Finally two coats of antifoulingpaint were applied. I got a marine surveyorto oversee the job at each stage and had itsigned off as satisfactory at the end. Thisadded five thousand pounds to the boatsvalue! Since then she has been takenashore every winter and only last year did Inotice a small blister re-appearing. This Iintend to treat this winter as a local repair!Basically the only way to really ensure boatsdon’t get saturated hulls is to have themlifted ashore for the winter, the bilges keptperfectly dry and coated with the above typeof prevention system.People assume that GRP is waterproof butits not and can soak up its own weight inwater in three years.There is lots of Osmosis information onthe web!Boats with blisters or saturated hulls areworth much less than those that are dry.Surveyors use a special GRP water meterand hull tapping checking for voids and thecorrect sounding ring. They scrape severalareas of paint off to check the gel-coat.Surveyors save lots of purchasers bundlesof money. Buying a boat is much like ahouse - never buy without a survey. Lots ofhorror stories in the magazines on thissubject! I hope the above explanation is helpful andI haven’t frightened the life out of you?Regards

Paul, Seamaster club technical

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The following is an interesting andgenuine exchange that demonstratesvery well the sort of technical support wecan provide to members.

—— Original Message ——From:Ron StricklandSent: Friday, October 09, 2009Subject: Seamaster-Club-EnquiryDear Brian, I have a Seamaster 27ft cruiser1974 powered by a Perkins diesel. I amunsure which type of oil to put in the gearbox.Can you please advise.Many thanksRon Strickland.

Reply from paul killickSent: 12 October 2009Hi RonAssuming you have the TMP transmissionthat was factory fitted use 15/40 Engine oilfor the gearbox section and 20/50 for thereduction (Rear) part. Always fit a new filter.Best make sure though! Wrong oil in wrongbox could be an expensive mistakeSend me a photoRegardsPaul

From Ron Strickland to Paul KillickSent: October 15, 2009Subject: RE: Seamaster-Club-EnquiryThanks again Paul. Oil situation now ok.Sorry to be a pain but I’m about to winterizeand I’ve discovered what looks like a radiatortank beneath the mass of wires etc in thecupboard under the steering wheel. I’ve noidea what this is. It’s empty and looksunused but could it be anything to do withcooling. I can’t see where (if) the pipinggoes to. ?RegardsRon

From: paul killick To: Ron Strickland;Sent: 19 October 2009Subject: Re: Seamaster-Club-EnquiryHi Again RonSounds like the Perkins Heat Start fuel tankto me!

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Does it look like an old tin can, black andhave a thin pipe coming out of the bottomthrough a small brass tap?The thin pipe/tube should lead to the top ofthe inlet manifold on the engine under thesmall mushroom shaped air filter andconnect to what looks like a large nut withan electrical connection on it. This is in facta heater element, diesel flows down thetube dribbles over the electrical element thatglows red when used and ignites thefuel that then flows into the engine’scombustion chambers inside the cylinderhead above each piston. This aids coldstarting but is rarely ever required asPerkins are good cold starters. The headertank should have diesel fuel in it for it towork!Hope that solves another mystery for youRegardsPaul

From Ron Strickland to Paul KillickSent: Monday, October 19, 2009Subject: RE: Seamaster-Club-EnquiryHi Paul, here are the photo’s of the“whatever” - it’s at the bottom to the left ofthe green heat start fuel tank.RegardsRON

Sent: 20 October 2009From Paul to RonYour boat is now starting to intrigue me.In the photo I can see the engines frontmounted Bowman heat exchanger showingthe radiator style cap that looks like whatyou would expect to find on a car radiator?To the right I see the higher mounted heatstart header tank in light green that’s adifferent shape to the ones I am used to.The surrounding area mystifies me.You say you have a Seamaster 27 with aPerkins Diesel?Would that be one engine or two? If its oneengine what is the heat exchanger doingthere!Are you sure its a 27 and not an 813 as theinstrument panel & steering position pointsto an 813 although I can make out some

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possible changes to the original so it couldbe a 27 and someone has changed thepanel to the 813 design? The electrics arefar from Seamaster factory fit.I can see alternator control relays from avery early system named the LUCAS 11ACNot that there is anything wrong with that - itwas a brilliant system well suited to marineapplications.Has your boat got the oval plate saying“Seamaster Ltd Gt Dunmow” and a numberengraved on it? If so what’s the number?I would now love to see some more photosof the boat exterior and interior?Look forward to the next installmentRegardsPaul

From Ron Strickland to Paul KillickSubject: RE: 27 SeamasterThanks ever so much Paul. I now realiseI’m on a rather steep learning curve ! Thankgoodness for The Seamaster Club.Keep in touchKind regardsRon

From Paul to Brian Rowland, 22 Oct 2009A happy member I think!Paul

From: Paul Killick [To: Ron StricklandSent: 21 October 2009Hi RonAll pics received.The (HIN) Hull identification number of3697 was a Seamaster 27 built in 1971 andthat’s all the records we have on that boat.The boat itself (going by the photos) hasb e e n rad ica l l ya l t e r e d f r o moriginal over the years, I don’t doubt shewas a factory fitted boat originally.That engine would not have been originalfit, she was probably petrol engined.Better take a look at the fuel tank as theoriginal petrol tank would have beengalvanised steel and not suitable for dieselfuel. The reason is that the diesel breaksdown the galvanising and pollutes the fuelwith minute particles that can block the

filters and in the worstcase destroys the injectorpump.I can see all sorts of items that wouldnot satisfy the boat safety schemeexamination, the flexible fuel hoses areancient and not fire resistant.The instantaneous water heater worries meas it looks to be venting inside the cabinand not overboard via a flue. If this is thecase a warning notice would be issued ifseen by a CORGI / GAS SAFE or BSSexaminer! Be very aware that the biggestkillers on boats are those things so whenyou use it make sure the cabin door is openas it discharges huge amounts of carbonmonoxide into a small space. Get adetector fitted!Looking at the top front of the engine thereis a large rubber hose connected onto thethermostat housing, I suspect that couldgo to the mystery heat exchanger in thebottom of the electrical locker. Fitting itremotely like that has kept the overall engineheight down. It should have an antifreezecoolant mix in it and be filled to the top justlike a car radiator would.The cockpit floor height has definitely beenraised to accommodate the engine beinglarger than an original petrol engine.The gearbox is, as we thought, a TMP withoffset 2:1 reduction box and probably notthe original as in 1971 she probably wouldhave had a Wortham Blake hydrivetransmission connected to a 1500 FordCortina engine.As soon as you get a chance look at localbrokerage (Boat sales) adverts and see ifany Seamaster 27‘s are listed. If so go andlook at as many as you can. The law ofaverages suggests that at least one shouldbe original then you can see the differences.I am always doing this and it can be veryconstructive, I have picked up some goodideas from looking at other boats.You should ring Brian and get a copy of theoriginal Seamaster 27 brochure.The main thing is that you like the boat andshe is reliable and gives you pleasure,

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anything you are not sure about is what theclub is all about.I hope the area you are in has an activecoordinator and organises some meets orrallies. If not, consider having a go yourself.All you need do is contact us the committeeand we will help you all we can. We cansupply mailing lists, a Seamaster bannerand a gazebo. To arrange a rally you willneed to find a suitable public mooring for agathering of Seamasters and think of adate. Different areas do different things Onthe Thames I arrange a BBQ weekend oncea year, we have a Christmas lunch in a puband have been known to have Seamastercruises in company. London is the favourite,I book all the boats into St Katharine’s DockMarina for a bank holiday weekend and wehave a wow of a time! The Norfolk BroadsArea are very active with more gatheringsthan I can shake a stick at. I took my boatfrom the Thames to the Broads for one oftheir rallies and had a great time. I hope you can make the membersweekend / AGM, its a good event and therewill be loads of others there with the sameboats. Lots of talking Seamasters, Lots ofphotos too! Would be great to meet youHope the above is informative and lookforward to further correspondenceRegardsPaul

Re: Engine type & Boat RegistrationHi Paul,Thanks for your prompt response. Sorry forthe mix up. I hope I have it right this time. Ihave attached the engine numbers etc. andtwo photos of the boat. I will take photos ofthe engines as soon as I can.The boat was brought over from Englandtwo years ago approx. I bought it from adealer at Lough Ree, Glasson, Co.Westmeath on the river Shannon. I believethe boat was last used in Englandsomewhere on the Thames.As to the identification of the engines. Ibelieve they are Perkins 4108. But that namecast on the engine that looks likeRomidiu has me confused.

My membership number is 1640 and thename of my boat is Alanya 3. I joined theclub last May.Regards,Dan

From Paul Killick to Dan SmithThe Seamaster records I have are not thatprecise and are mostly what I have learntfrom club members who provide as muchdetail / history as they know about their ownboats. I also troll the brokerage company’slooking at Seamasters or in some caseswrongly identified Seamasters sold and forsale. Original bills of sale are very usefulas well as other documentation.I can see by the photo that you have aSeamaster 30 Mk 1 Highline. The plateindicates she was built in 1971 andpossibly commissioned in 1972. We haveno records on the engines fitted but a photowould give me a good idea. Perkins were apopular choice for that year but I doubt theywill be 4108, more likely the earlier 4107.The timber registration plate is Lloydsregistry of shipping. Whoever has the officialdocument has title for the boat unless itspast expiry date or bills of sale showotherwise. It is probably well out of dateunless all the previous owners have re-registered it in their names. Lloydsregistration was required if the boat wasoriginally purchased on a Marine Mortgageas the lender would hold on to theregistration documents until the debt waspaid in full; the holder of that document isthe legal owner of the boat and will havetitle to it under Maritime Law. If the borrowerdidn’t pay the debt the document holder(Mortgage company) could legally sell theboat without the owners consent. Years agothis meant that the legal registered ownercould do the same but things have changednow and you should be safe from that everhappening. RTT Stands for RegisteredThames Tonnage which is the officialdisplacement weight of a British Vessel. Inthe old days it would have been used forcargo carrying capacity.Boats are the same as ships and come

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under maritime law and not statute law,These are very old fashioned, not wellknown about out of the boating fraternity andcan be a minefield so its a case of “BuyerBeware” and get proper marine adviceusually from a marine consultant/surveyorwho should look after your interests duringa purchase.A photo of the engines should allow me toidentify them and I don’t recognize the name“Romidiu” at all. Not all the boats werecompleted by the Seamaster factory, somephotos of the interior would help me to tryand authenticate whether she is factory builtor not.Seamaster Club members pay a yearly feeto belong to the Club and get many benefitsof membership, without funds we cannotexist and could never have built up our vastknowledge on the boats that we now have.That’s why I had to ask for your membershipnumber! I am sure you can understand andlook forward to receiving more informationRegardsPaul Killick, Seamaster technical

The Canta Libra TalesIt is the time of year when I really love usingCanta Libra. I find the Broads absolutelybeautiful in the winter, cruising empty riverson a bright frosty morning in a warm boat isone of life’s finer things.I have modified a car heater to fit under thefloor, a quite simple job if your boat has acalorifier fitted. My own came from acrashed Alpha Romeo 156 complete with4 speeds and variable temperature controlwhich means I can adjust the temperaturefrom cold air in the summer to super hot inthe winter. It’s just like your car and evendemists the windscreen. This coupled withthe Eberspacher I recently fitted makes theboat fully usable and extremely comfortableall year round. This also saves on thetiresome chore of winterising or payingsomeone to do it for you. The only worry isthe horrendous noise transmitted throughthe hull as you break the ice that forms onthe shallow rivers which tend to freeze up.Worry? Me? No, I put Bruce Springsteen on

the dash-mounted CD player and turn upthe volume.It is a wonderful feeling cruising the emptyBroads – no hire boats, no idiots (exceptme), not even a Broads Ranger to be seen,empty free moorings abound. Theoccasional wave from another happy boater,often in a Seamaster, relaxed cruising in awarm cockpit, dreaming about the pint ofreal ale and the big open log fire that awaitsme at my destination, no rush, just anamazing way to spend some winter time .Will Hawkes.

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LATER VOYAGES OFSECOND MELODY

The relief of knowing that your holding tankis empty can really be appreciated only bythose who have suffered the oppositesituation. Would we have been happier witha porta-potty? It would have neededemptying far more frequently, but would thathave been possible at every stop?

There had been a big street market inLeerdam that day. The streets had that tiredappearance, as though they needed a goodscrub. There were fortifications and apleasant walk beneath them but, even in thelate afternoon, it was very hot. We soughtshelter from the sun in a large shed. Whywe thought that it might be cooler at ademonstration of glass blowing I cannotimagine. It was, of course, very much hotter.Fascinating though it is to watch othersworking, and their skill was impressive, wehad to come out after only 20 minutes or so.

The following morning was overcast withthe possibility of rain. After an idle morning,we got underway at about 12.30. We had leftit too late. Between starting the engines anduntying the ropes, thirteen other boats leftthe marina heading downstream ahead ofus. “Oh, no,” we thought, “what if they shouldturn right at the junction? With so many liftingbridges in prospect, they could delay us forhours. They were all over the river, sometravelling side by side in lengthyconversation. The river Leer is not wide, soI thought this very inconsiderate.Nevertheless, by increasing our speed justa little on the straighter reaches we wereable to pass most of them. They were a verycheerful bunch and waved excitedly as wepassed, probably because of our ensign,which is so rare in those waters. As the T-junction came into view, only two remainedahead. They both turned left. We turned right.The eleven boats that we had passed allturned left. We need not have bothered!

That day we passed through one swing-bridge and seven lifting bridges. Road

bridges were not much of problem but thetwo railway bridges must have delayed usover an hour between them. One needs tobe quick passing through too. We saw twoboats miss their chance by approachingtoo slowly. A dozen boats had come throughalready. The light changed to red. The twounfortunate skippers had to stop and it wasour turn. Trains run on time in theNetherlands and have priority overpleasure boats

At the next town, Vianen, we lockedthrough onto the Lek, another distributaryof the Rhine, but much less wide than theWaal. On the other side, we locked intoanother small town, Vreeswijk.

The whole town had been destroyedduring the war but the reconstruction hadbeen sympathetic and many trees hadbeen planted. The whole effect wascharming and we spent a very pleasantevening wandering through its shadystreets. There are several waterways andbeside one was an angler. To his left wasa group of ducks and to his right a heron.Delighted with the effect I decided aphotograph was required.

It took a while to compose the shot asthe ducks kept moving. The heronremained stationary. So still, in fact, that Iwas sure it was a piece of sculpture whichis so popular in Holland. As soon as Isnapped, the angler took a fish. The ducksbecame excited, but at about half a poundit was too large for them. To my

VREEWIJK

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astonishment, the”sculpted” heronstepped forward and took the offering fromthe man’s hand. What a shot that would havebeen! but I missed it.

At the marina we found the harbour-mistresswas now in her porta-cabin-type office. Shewas eager to chat and was delighted to hearthat we had encountered the Vreeswijk BoatClub on the cruise to Leerdam andGoringhem - all thirteen of them! She gaveus good advice, to avoid the Rhine/Amsterdam canal but to take instead the riverVecht. Shesaid the canal was veryuncomfortable, like the Albert canal inBelgium, but the river Vecht was the mostbeautiful in the Netherlands. She was notwrong about that.

Our next destination was Utrecht.

We knew little about the town except that itwas old, the capital of a province and hadbeen important as the setting of the treatywhich ended the war of the SpanishSuccession in 1713/14 (someone wasawake during O-level history).

The day was dull and the landscape had littleto recommend it; dreary even. As weapproached Utrecht and a few factories andchurch towers came into view, there was ahigh hedge reinforced with netting on the rightbank. As we passed a gap in the hedge wewere presented with an amazing sight. Ireversed as quickly as I could and it was stillthere. On perfect turf, in immaculate whites adozen young men were conducting a gameof cricket.

When we were able to drag ourselves awayfrom that most unexpected sight, weapproached the town itself. We had beentold to expect many bridges. The first wasof a new type. Four towers raised thecentral section with a system of cables and

pulleys. Soon we were faced with anarched bridge. This was high enough forus to pass under, but we lowered the mastso that we did not need to keep to thecentre. I reduced speed too as immediatelybeyond the bridge was a junction, a regularcrossroads. We knew that our route wasstraight on, but that bridge was angled tothe left and seemed dark enough to be atunnel. When the traffic had cleared Iswitched on the lights and entered thegloomy cavern. As we turned the bend itbecame obvious that the tunnel was veryshort, maybe sixty metres. The canal wasnarrow too, no more than ten metres wide.

I was adjusting to this when from theopposite direction appeared a bateau-mouche. It seemed to fill the canal. Wasthere really space for both of us? Had Imissed a red light? As these and otheranxious thoughts rushed through myhead, the other boat approachedrelentlessly and much quicker than we. Iedged even further to the right and,somehow, squeezed by. The skipper of thebateau-mouche, quite undisturbed, glidedby with a cheerful wave and suddenly wewere breathing fresh air again.

We were charmed by the view that met usUTRECHT

UTRECHT

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as we left the little tunnel. Each side of thecanal was a promenade maybe ten metreswide thronged with strollers. Beyond themstretched a continuous line of smallbusinesses; cafes, restaurants, boutiquesand artisans, but no traffic. The city, roads,offices, stores, churches, traffic etc. startedat a level five or six metres higher. We learnedlater that the small businesses beside thecanal started life as the warehouse cellarsof the merchants who had lived and workedabove during the 17th century. One, now avery popular restaurant, proved to have beenthe vaulted strong-room and mint of theprovincial bank. Full of wonder at this oasisthreaded through the heart of a modern city,we could not wait to find somewhere to moor.

Twenty bridges later we arrived at theharbourmaster’s office. He was busy anddid not speak English anyway, so we weredealt with by his assistant who couldcommunicate... almost. He directed us, wethought, to a quay across the canal junction,by the line of the bateaux- mouches. In orderto allow these commercial boats tomanoeuvre, we passed under a bridge andleft a space of about fifty metres before tyingup.

As I was lifting the second bike from theforedeck to the quay, a voice from behindasked, more or less, what are you doinghere? and indicated moorings opposite thetourist boats. O.K. I re-loaded the bikes andstarted the engines. Mary untied us and weset off. Suddenly there was a crash! We hadhit the bridge! Our beautiful mast, varnishedto a high gloss, the most attractive feature ofour lovely boat, was in pieces. I had had toraise it to access the bikes and had forgottento lower it again. Our joy in the day was muchreduced ... .and I could not even blame Mary!Could it be repaired? I was not sure, but,just in case, I dismantled it carefully, stowedthe pieces in a plastic sack and re-arrangedthe flags on the pulpit.

Despite the set-back we assembled thebikes and set off to explore. For a city it isreally a pleasant place; crowds of

pedestrians, many students and few cars.The shops and cafes were busy. Peopleseemed relaxed and cheerful. When, in adreaming state, I stepped in front of a car,the driver stopped and waited for me tomove; no klaxon, no cursing, no shouting,no arm-waving, just a calm acceptance thatbearded old gentlemen are likely to do thatkind of thing and allowances have to bemade.

Thus spared we were able to proceed to avery busy pancake establishment for a “reetgud trough-up” as some old pals from mystudent days used to say.

The following morning we played the tourist;shopping, visiting the broken cathedral (partof it blew down in a storm 700 years agoand they haven’t got round to rebuilding ityet) and then to an extremely interestingmuseum - The Speelklok Museum. It wasfull of clockwork objects. There weremedieval town clocks, great beams andcogs, some of which still work. Visitors wereencouraged to lift levers and set them inmotion. Lots of fun! There were clocks of allages, automata of various types, pianolasand even an automatic grand piano. Wewere honoured to be allowed to join a groupof ten-year olds, whose guide took thetrouble to explain to us in English when shecould see that we were puzzled. Thereactions of the children to the wonders ofclockwork were truly entertaining and Maryand I spent a very happy hour with them.

Tales of Sailbad the Sinner

Myths and Scares

As those of you who have read our earlierwritings will know, I hate winter, not justdislike it, I hate it. It stops me driving the carwith the roof open, stops me living in shortsand tee shirts, and it restricts our boating.We keep the Sinner in the water as much aswe can and this year the plan is to take it outfor a couple of weeks for checks, change ofanodes, antifoul, a bit of painting, and a fewother odd jobs, and then straight back in.

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There is little point doing all this beforethe worst ravages of winter which willundo the paint and varnish so it willhopefully be left until the New Year and I’llhope for an early and mild end of winterand spring

But the bonus this year has been the greatautumn, well, until now as I sit insidewriting this piece looking out over a wetand windy October day. It’s not been anuneventful autumn though, lots of cruising,a few problems, and a myth dispelled(sort of!).

The Sinner has had a tendency over thisyear to develop a little touch of vibrationoccasionally, I had quickly sussed out theproblem which was one of the metalasticcoupling bolts coming loose, a quicktighten and all was Ok. Suspicious of whythis was happening I had checked thecoupling and alignment, but all was inorder, just the vibration from the engine Ithought, as we had done a few cruises onthe dark side (Northern Broads) where thecongestion can result in a lot of time spentat tick over, right in the Perkins 4108’srattle and shake zone. I had made amental note to take out the bolts and fullycheck the coupling on my winter check butnot now as it entailed dropping the shaftback a bit to get out the coupling and bolts,for now I just regularly checked the bolttension.

It’s not just the Thames that has problemswith rowers, we were on the SouthernBroads, and after manoeuvring to astandstill several times to avoid a very sillyand rude man I felt a bit of vibration as wepulled away, hmmm? This was not thenormal vibration and it had come oninstantly? Clearly something was wrong.Floor up, I could see everything shaking,we were very close to a mooring so welimped in for a closer inspection. Acoupling bolt had sheared, oh dear, thatmeant splitting the coupling to replace thebolt and besides we did not carry a spareof the special coupling bolts. As it would

entail leaving the boat we decided to gentlymove from the public mooring we were onat Surlingham to the pub opposite and askthe pub if we could leave the boat thereovernight.

The first bit of luck was that the landlord wasan ex Brooms engineer, “they’ve got thosein stock” he said, “Give Chris a call”. Thesecond bit of luck was that Brian and Sylviawith Planters Punch had been cruising withus for most of the weekend and were onhand to ferry us the mile to Brooms and back.Well, actually they ferried us twice! The firsttime I brought the new bolt back but left oneof the good old ones on the counter, it’s anage thing! Besides they now know that bit ofriver a bit better! Thanks Brian and Sylvia itwas much appreciated.

The job went well, the shaft slipped back,coupling out, checked, bolts replaced, allpulled back in line perfectly first time. Thecause? At some time the bolt had been overtightened and the threads stretched, alessoned learnt, I was suspicious of why itwas coming loose I should have droppedthe lot and inspected it instead of justretightening an already stretched thread, Ialso now carry a spare bolt and have a newcoupling on order although the old one isserviceable. New pattern metalastics arestill available but are on long delivery fromMermaid Marine in Wimborne Dorset.

We now have the Sinner set up for theoccasional coastal trip and had planned togo out three times this year, every time theday before, the weather has been fine, thenup comes the wind and gale force winds tobeat the sea into a non Seamaster 27friendly state. We have decided withexperienced guidance that the boat’scomfortable limit is force 4 maximum withless preferred, this results in a local seastate of slight, 1 to 1.5 metre waves, up tomoderate which at 2 to 2.5 is starting tobecome a bit uncomfortable. In this part ofthe North Sea a force 4 off the land is noproblem but the other way it can be too livelyfor pleasure, besides we boat for fun not for

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endurance, we do not take risks. I know thatthe 27 is perfectly safe in a force 12, solelybecause it will be securely tied up to ourpontoon in our marina!!

In the middle of September we were happilyenjoying a two week Broads cruise, we hadplanned a trip along the coast but yet againthe winds were high and the forecast said itwas building. Others in our marina use usas a weather guide, if we are going out theysay it will blow a gale for sure! The windsgot steadily higher all week reaching galeforce several times, we heard that theBroads Authority had closed Breydon to hireboats several times, and they evenconsidered it too rough for their launch whichhad returned to the marina! So well, you’vegot to go then haven’t you! It would be anopportunity to test the myth, us, and the boat,no risk, if it was as bad as the myths saidwe would simply turn back.

The low tide which we needed was midafternoon, we moored up at Polkeys Mill towait for the tide, the waves on the river wererolling down at three feet high, and thecoastguard came over the radio with a severegale warning for our area, Yehaaa! Welistened to the port radio on channel 12receiving requests from vessels to come inout of the weather and the pilots advise oneship that asked for a pilot to leave the port,“Are you sure???”

The Myth is that Breydon can be as roughas the sea when the wind is from the NE,and this was force 8 from the NE. As weturned onto Breydon from Turntide jetty therewas an Ocean 30 a 100 yards in front of us,He hit the first big wave and appeared tostop as a wall of spray cleared the top of hiscanopy, we took the clue. Mrs Sailbad wentstraight below and took down all theglasses and bottles and wrapped them intowels, packed towels into the cupboardsand quickly secured all breakables. TheOcean 30 went down to very slow speedand was struggling to make way. We wentto 7.5 knots and were flying, the waves wererunning up to 2 metres and in the traditional

Breydon short pitch which is a result of theshallowish water. We were impressed, the27 was superb, it cut through the wavesrather than lifted or bumped and with only aslight roll in the three quarters sea. As theSinner cut into the waves the wind carriedthe spray in a wall to hit the screen with abang in a solid mass of water which was alittle disconcerting with the wiper hardlycoping, and then some of the spray wasbursting between the screen and thecanopy so it was getting a little damp at thewheel. We were so engrossed with thewaves and maintaining a correct coursethat it was some while before we realisedthat the remainder of the water was clearingthe screen and coming in the open back ofthe canopy like a water fall!

With a bit of tide we were now running at 8Knots, the Ocean 30 was disappearingbehind us, and it was fun! The waves keptcoming and water was running down theside decks and overflowing over the toe railsin a solid stream but the most impressivething was the stability of the Seamaster 27.We passed other boats going in bothdirections all down to a crawl and appearingto struggle whilst we sped through andreached the Breydon Bridge all too soon inaround 25 minutes and the water calmedas we reached the turn and the shelter ofthe entrance of the Bure.

So was the myth dispelled? Partly. Breydoncan be as rough as a moderate classifiedsea in a much lower wind perhaps a four orfive but it needs a gale to do it. Dangerous?Yes, for a very small or unstable boat, butfor a compatible boat to the 27 it wasperfectly safe, although those of a nervousdisposition might not have enjoyed it . Theconfidence inspiring performance of ourtwin bilge keel 27 was most impressive.As other boats hit and plunged through thewaves the Seamaster cut through. As theypitched and rolled it stayed much morestable It has given us the confidence totake the 27 to sea and whilst we will stillavoid heavy going we know that the boatcan take much more than we want to.

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The clear up of salt water tooklonger than the crossing andwe enjoyed a few days on thedark side dodging the hireboats before returning to thelight, and the scariest boatingexperience certainly that I haveever experienced. I have raced(and crashed!) at World level,and it was nothing comparedto this! We got caught by a veryhigh tide and were unable toget through Gt. Yarmouthresulting in us having to moorat Yarmouth Yacht station forseveral hours, scary!

There are four signs like thisup river, this is the last, yet they still hurtledpast!!!!

The BA staff were having to stop the hireboats from attempting the bridges eventhough they had no chance of getting under,and then they were coming in to moor withthe tide behind them ignoring guidance toturn and come against the tide, it was like

being in an air raid! They were coming at usfrom all directions, for five hours we had toendure six ton boats with an incompetent atthe helm rushing at us completely out ofcontrol! Most of the time I spent on deck witha big fender ready for the next incomingmissile! Never again!The crew of Sailbad the Sinner.