Drascombe Rally Loch Lomond 7th/8th September 2013

Due to working overseas, Kathleen agreed to be the contact point for the 2013 Loch Lomond Rally. The plans for the rally were basically two days sailing around the islands within the south area of the loch, meeting each morning at Millarochy Bay on the east side of the loch and with an group meal booked  at the hotel on Inchmurrin. Worryingly with only two weeks to go Kathleen had received very few enquiries but this changed just before the event. While it was great that there was late interest in the Rally it did not make planning a meal for 2, 4, 6   …. 19 people very easy!

I had arranged my leave to coincide with the Rally as this would probably be my last opportunity to sail Tra Bhui in 2013. It was disappointing therefore to come down with a severe flu bug on the Wednesday before the rally which put me in bed for a couple of days! With a number of large outstanding jobs to do on Tra Bhui before we could go sailing the last place that I felt like being that weekend was on the loch, however I knew I would regret it if I did not at least make the effort to get there.

A number of boats having launched on the Friday spent that evening at anchor amongst the many islands on the loch. Saturday morning saw the remaining boats launching from Balloch or Balmaha and heading to meet the boats, which were already on the water at the rendezvous point in Millarrochy Bay.

Looking northwards from north of Millarochy Bay

With the jobs completed my son Scott and I arrived early at Balloch on a windless Saturday morning in order that we could sail / motor around to the meeting point at Millarochy Bay. Unfortunately only 200m from the slipway at Balloch our outboard unexpectedly started to overheat. A quick inspection revealed that there was no water discharge from the head outlet. With no alternative we had to return to the slipway. A quick recovery and de rig allowed us to drive around to Milarrochy Bay to get to the meeting in time. Fortunately Kathleen as the Rally Organiser had decided to drive there with some friends who were joining us for a day’s sailing so she was on hand to meet the boats as they arrived.

This year saw an increase in the number of boats attending with attendees travelling up to the Highlands (the Highland Boundary Fault crosses Loch Lomond between Conic Hill at Balmaha and Arden) from England and Wales. As most attendees had previously sailed on the Loch a typical DA style plan was made to vaguely head off in the direction of Luss with the option of pulling in behind Inch Cruin or Inchmoan for lunch depending on the wind and weather conditions before arriving for the planned evening meal at the hotel on Inchmurrin later in the afternoon.

By this time all I wanted to do was go home to bed.

As the DA is not the most formal of organizations and with a number of the attendees having sailed on Loch Lomond before the loss of the organizers boat was not seen as a problem. Thanks must go to Bob Heasman who generally steered the boats off in the planned direction. While Kathleen drove our friends around to pick their own car back up and I headed back home to fix the outboard on Tra Bhui our Gig. 

An hour later and feeling slightly better I dropped the bottom of the engine leg off the outboard to gain access to the impeller which I had only replaced a couple of days before. The impeller was fine so the garden hose was attached to the pipe leading up to the head and the water turned on. After a pause a goof flow came out of the outlet. With everything appearing to be working the leg was re assembled and the engine set to run in a barrel of water for 20 mins. Everything again seemed to be OK. I can only assume that there was silt or some other material in the system somewhere.

Setting off again I were back at Balloch 3 hrs after leaving Milarrochy Bay without Scott who had arranged to meet up with friends when it appeared that our sailing was going to be knocked on the head. 
 

Launching for the second time from Balloch on Saturday

After meeting Kathleen and our friends Iain and Kathy at Balloch we quickly rigged Tra Bhui and set off down the loch under jib and mizzen to meet up with the fleet for dinner on Inchmurrin

Sailing (slowly!) under jib and mizzen

Unsettled weather produced varied and interesting sailing conditions. Typically with Loch Lomond sailing, some boats and crews sitting becalmed while a few hundred yards away others were reducing sail as the wind was overpowering! As we ran down towards Inchmurrin we could see a number of tan sails coming towards us.

Arriving just ahead of the fleet off Inchmurrin, the hotels small jetty which was exposed to the easterly wind did not look particularly enticing and so we anchored in the lee of the island to consider our options. Shortly after anchoring and having walked to the hotel, the wind shifted slightly making the jetty a bit more enticing. This coincided with the rally arriving and soon everyone was tied up with a number of the boats – ours included moored on the inside of the jetty and well protected from the weather.

Tied up alongside Tangram at Inchmurrin Jetty

With the wind appearing to settle in the south east the small jetty looked reasonably sheltered and so mooring lines were fixed and cockpit tents erected for the night. A number of crews had chosen to stay on the island either camping at its east end or staying in the lodges attached to the hotel.

Inchmurrin - Rally prepares for overnight stop

 

Tra Bhui's "Big Budget" tent is erected just before the rain gets heavy

As pre dinner entertainment it was decided (by whom?) that the clearly visible and shortly about to arrive heavy squall would be an ideal time to drop the rudder out of Coaster Prawn Pipe as it had bent its shaft striking the bottom of the loch earlier in the day. 

With the boat mostly unloaded and numerous willing helpers on the jetty the squall arrived with a vengeance! With a bit of perseverance, and the help of Tangrams dingy and our friend Iain in the water (who luckily happened to be wearing a dry suit) and the weight of most of the rally on main halyard, Prawn Pipe was careened sufficiently to allow the rudder to be dropped out. After a visit to the small boatyard on the island it was quickly straightened and dropped back in again

Dinner was a resounding success with 19 skippers, crew and guests sitting down to an excellent and reasonably priced meal served in the Inchmurrin hotel. This was the first time that the Rally had used this venue and based on the feedback to date it will not be the last!

The Sunday morning saw calmer conditions and most boats headed out into the loch mid morning. While two boats headed back to Balloch the others headed north east past the islands of Creinch and Tominch to Inchcailloch for lunch before departing back to their various launching sites.

Niall enjoys the morning sun

Packed up and ready to go

Tangram prepares for rain

Route Planning

Kathleen is all smiles - the Rally draws to an end - until next year!!!

Drascombe Rally - Norfolk Broads 20th to 22nd September 2013

Norfolk Broads

20^th to 22^nd September 2013

Due to a delay in my forthcoming departure date for Kazakhstan and having been unable to sail at the Loch Lomond Rally due to illness, we decided that as we had never explored Norfolk nor had we been on the Broads, we would travel down for the Broads Rally. This would allow us to sail Tra Bhui once more before the end of the season.

Leaving early on the Friday morning we had a pretty uneventful 400-mile journey to Hinkling stopping en route for breakfast at the services just south of Carlisle on the M6 and for lunch at a Sainsburys just outside Kings Lynn (We travel in style!).

Windmill at Horsey Mere

Arriving at Hinkling Broad just after 3pm we rigged and launched at the Whispering Reeds Boatyard along with a number of other Drascombes before the slipway closed at 5pm. The slipway had a number of interesting and unusual features such as the overhead cables which crossed the access just before it (necessitating the lowering of the mast to allow passage) and the short approach which included a sharp 90 degree bend which despite having a 29 foot trailer we successfully negotiated due to the excellent turning circle of our tow vehicle. 

Whispering Reeds Boatyard - Traditional House

Friday evening saw us motor approx 50metres to our overnight berth next to the pleasure Boat Inn. Due to our very informal tent and sleeping arrangements we decided to berth away from the other boats attending the Rally, not to be unsociable but with the tent having one completely open end and one partly open end (is this a tent???) we wished some privacy.

Again Tra Bhui's tent is a stylish structure

 

It was busier on the other side of the dock

This was the largest Rally that we had attended with circa 25 boats in attendance, all of which were berthed alongside the pub. An abundance of ducks and geese made interesting neighbours in what was a great setting.

Saturday morning briefing

 

Saturday morning saw a rising wind which was forecast to reach force 6 by mid day. The Broads are very deceiving as the limited expanses of water are sheltered to a height of at least 6 feet by surrounding read beds. This means that the disruption on the water surface does not necessarily reflect the strength of the wind.

The plan at the morning briefing was for the rally to sail in Hinkling Broad, which is a more open expanse of water in the morning before sailing to Horsey Mere for lunch.

Plot of our trip Sat and Sun

By mid morning the wind had not yet reached the predicted force 6 within the sheltered end of the broad where we were berthed so once underway we set the full main, jib and mizzen. Tra Bhui certainly rose to the occasion and we flew across the broad.

With the rising wind and the greater exposure at the far end of the broad we decided we would be prudent to put a reef in the mainsail. This was quickly followed by a second reef in the mainsail and a reef in the jib as the wind continued to rise. It was only when we came to reef the jib did we discover that the jib sheets were whipped on and could not be easily moved up to the reefing points – this was blindingly obvious but neither of us had noticed it before!

Not our best sailing - unable to set jib - our learning curve!!!!

After a number of strong gusts I decided to drop the main altogether as we had previously sailed our Lugger in windy conditions simply by using the jib and mizzen.

This was where we began to find the differences between the Lugger and the Gig as with only the jib and mizzen  we were struggling to get closer to the wind than 65 degrees and we could not get through the wind when tacking.  At this became very frustrating as the rest of the boats sailed off into the distance, while we experimented with the sails (yes we did let the mizzen go as we started to turn). The stop gap solution was to use the outboard to force the bows through the wind, a technique which was mortally embarrassing and one which will I am sure never find its way into any sailing handbook!

On entering the narrower section of Hinkling Broad and catching up with some of the other boats we reverted to simply outboard propulsion as I had visions of us causing a major incident as we bumbled around with our sails. We and a number of other boats were put to shame by the traditional broads sailing boats which skillfully sailed by us putting in a tack every 20m or so!

Creek crawling

Arriving at Horsey Mere we berthed alongside for lunch. With the sea only a mile or so away we set off after  lunch to walk to the beach where we spent some time watching the local seal population cavort in the breaking seas. The sea state was certainly more representative of force 5 / 6 winds than the Broads were.

Lunch stop at Horsey Mere

The afternoon saw us heading back to Hinkling after we entertained a local sailing school with my attempts to raise the mainsail while Kathleen helmed. After circling the open expanse of water outside mere twice we eventually had the mainsail set. This highlighted a number of modifications which are required to the way the halyards are rigged – which does not really fully excuse my own efforts.

With the mainsail set, Tra Bhui became a different boat and one which was a joy to sail as we caught other boats and sped by them on our run back to Hinkling.  Before arriving back at our berth we put in a number of tacks without any problems which did a lot to lift my spirits after our dismal performance in the morning.

The Saturday evening meal in the pub was first class – thanks to Julian Merson the Rally organiser for arranging everything.

Saturday evening meal

Sunday morning saw windier conditions with a number of skippers choosing to motor around to the slipway and recover their boats. We were keen to get out on the water and put our poor performance on the Saturday behind us, however as soon as we cast off and Kathleen jumped aboard we discovered we had no gears. Luckily the bank was still in reach of the boat hook and we managed to rebirth without too much embarrassment. A quick inspection showed that the one of the retaining clips on the gear linkage was missing. Spotting it below the engine allowed its recovery, but only after a walk to the car which was close by to find a suitable bit of wire to snag it with. The clip was brand new and had been fitted when I installed the remote controls. After refitting it I discovered that it was probably looser than it was designed to be when it jumped off again, probably due to wear on the lever activating the gears on the engine. Further investigation could wait until we got home – we had gears and we were going sailing!
 

Having just been pulled over for speeding we dropped the mizzen

Leaving an hour later than planned we met more boats heading for the slip to pull out due to the weather conditions, but we had a great sail down Hinkling Broad and into the River Thurne, where we were pulled up for speeding with only the jib and mizzen up! After that we motored the final part of the trip to Martham due to the strength of the wind. 

River Thurne

Just before reaching Martham we met Julian Merson in Daisy 11 heading back, but following his directions we found a good coffee shop and enjoyed a well-earned coffee.

Heading back we again motored up to the junction of Hinkling Broad and the River Thurne as we were heading directly into the wind, but once around the corner we ran back to Hinkling under just the jib, making excellent time and passing a number of boats on the way.

All too soon it was time to haul Tra Bhui out as we had arranged to meet Eilidh our daughter for dinner and the slipway was again due to close at 5pm. Eilidh who works in Dunstable had driven across to meet us with her boyfriend.

Tra Bhui was easily recovered and was soon back on its trailer.

Where we went

The Rally was a great event and is one that we would like to come top again. It was also nice to meet other owners and those who regularly post items on the Drascombe Forum. Thanks again to Julian Merson for his organisation.

What we learned!
 

While we never expected to simply rig the Gig and sail it without any problems we (I) certainly managed to create the impression that we had never set foot on or in a boat before! 

Some of the issues we encountered can be attributed to the way the boat is rigged – we are currently changing a number of things such as the halyard tie off positions, the connection of the sheets to the jib and a number of snap link fittings. 

Some issues we encountered were not every day occurrences such as  the jib sheets being whipped onto the jib, the main sheet cleat position not being flexible enough to allow the second reef to be made in the sail (I have since then made up three different length traces to be used with the main sheet allowing the cleat to remain opposite the helm – this makes more sense if you are familiar with Tra Bhui’s rigging) and the lack of any foot blocks for the helm to stop the embarrassing slip across the cockpit when the boat is healing!

The main problems we encountered were associated with heading into the wind under jib and mizzen. These were (I think) caused by a number of factors.

• ·       The Gig as we sail it sails far better under mainsail than under the jib and mizzen – this I put down to the design of the boat and is something that we started to get to grips with during the course of the rally. The solution is obvious – we need to learn the boat and how each sail affects its performance. By the end of the weekend we were starting to sail a bit better.

• ·      The keel shape on the Gig is significantly different from the Lugger that we are used to. While the Lugger has a shallow keel with a certain amount of rocker, the Gig has a pronounced keel with very little rocker – this explains why our turning circle under outboard power is similar to some supertankers. Anyone having seen me manoeuvring when launching or within confined spaces may have noticed how close we go to fixed objects. This is not due to our interest in said objects but is due to our turning circle or lack of!

• ·       The depth of the broads only allowed us to put the centre board down halfway which had the effect of pushing out pivot point back.  The situation in the broads was fairly unusual for us in that the water depth was so shallow. Similar conditions may must also be common in Holland so it would be interesting to see Dutch sailors cope with them

• ·     With only two of us on board the boat sails slightly tail heavy so we have marginally more windage on the bows than we would have if the 8 hulking sailors that it is designed to carry were on board. I am not sure how much of a difference this really made. The obvious thing is to fill some of our storage barrels with water and see how altering the weight distribution affects the trim and handling

• ·      Due to the shallow depth proximity of shallows, narrow channel etc we ended up sailing with the outboard down which certainly did nothing to help our sailing capabilities. When we tried to go about with the outboard up we nearly made it, but not quite which resulted in a rush to get it back down and the boat turned before we ended up in the reeds. Solution - learn to sail and trim the boat – outboard to remain out of the water. Addressing the above where possible hopefully will solve these issues

July 2013 Drascome Rally - Clyde

Clyde Rally Friday 12th July to Sunday 14th of July 2013

 

Plot from Navionics software installed on my I pad. This is a fantastic bit of low cost software which gives a very simple but accurate chart plot, allowing route planning, positioning etc. with the added ability of switching on land features as well

Thursday 11th July

 

Due to many other things filling my home leave, the planned leisurely preparation for the Clyde Rally disintegrated into chaos, when at 6pm on the night before the engine was getting lifted onto the boat for the first time – only to find that the last owner had removed the cable pivots from the throttle and gear levers and therefor the new control cables could not be fitted. A bodge would be required!

Another outstanding task was the replacement of the standing rigging, the original having benefitted sometime in the past from some very temporary repairs. Due to time this would have to be delayed until the rally itself.

The fact that we had not actually tried to rig the boat was of a slight concern as we could only hope that we had all the bits needed and that it would be relatively obvious what went where.

On a plus side the engine did start first pull even though it did not actually fit the outboard well.

Trusting that everything would work out OK on the day, the spars were tied to the roof off the car and everything else (including the running rigging from our Lugger and a good assortment of tools) was flung into the back.

After bowing to pressure from my "crew" the planned early start of away by 6.00am was put back to what I was told was a more reasonable time of away by 7.00am (ish). This would mean a likely arrival time at Largs by 8.15am, 1 and 3/4 hrs. before the planned rally departure time.

Friday 12th July 

Surprisingly we left exactly on time without too much of a last minute rush, which is something of a rare occurrence!

Due to having just extended the trailer and not having had time to fabricate new mountings, the only way the cables would reach the new mounting points for the light boards was to put each light board on the wrong side i.e. right became left and vice versa. (the trailer has two independent light boards on top of the launching guides that simply turn to the side to allow launching and recovery). Despite having to put the trailer lights on the wrong sides, the journey to Largs was uneventful and we arrived at 8.15am.

Arrival at Largs Marina

First things first - the "crew" set off to
a) inform the rally organiser of our arrival and b) more importantly find coffee and bacon rolls for breakfast. Meanwhile I unloaded everything we had flung into the car and set it out in an orderly fashion making good use of the large area set aside in the marina for preparing boats for launching.

Prior to stepping the mast – is that to grand a statement for a Drascombe? - the standing rigging had to be changed for the new set supplied by – well let’s just say they know who they are. The new rigging was far too long, with the forestay and shrouds all being exactly the same length and all too long! A slight set back but with some non-nautical rope work a solution was found. Despite its size the Gig mast was easy to lift up into position. The large cockpit allows one to simply walk it up, making it even easier than the Lugger's mast that I was used to. The mizzen rigs just like the Lugger’s and while bigger it was easy to step. The mizzen boom though clashes with the outboard engine; something that I presume is a problem on other Gigs?

The yardarm was a new experience as our Lugger has a gaff which while looking generally similar is entirely different to rig. On the Gig, the sail attaches to the yardarm by lacing it on – similar to the typical Drascombe mizzen sail. This seemed pretty straightforward. The yard arm then simply hooks onto a metal ring which in turn is attached to the main halyard. The ring circles the mast and is of a larger diameter than the mast. When the sail is raised the ring simply slides up the mast. The yardarm also has a peak halyard attached which allows it to be raised stowed vertically against the mast when the sail is not in the raised position. The sail despite its size was surprisingly easy to handle and once raised could be easily lowered and stored against the mast, with the surplus sail tucked neatly under the front thwart

However time passed quicker than we would have liked or perhaps we took longer than we had allowed for as the incorrect standing rigging delayed our preparations to the point were when we launched the rest of the fleet had already left the pontoons and were heading over towards Cumbrae.

No matter with the engine starting first time and with 10 willing horses pushing us along we quickly caught up with the rest of the boats.

Unfortunately there was not a breath of wind and so with everyone motoring we headed west towards the Kyles of Bute. After a while a slight breeze threatened to appear and optimistically along with few other boats we broke out the sails. At this point we realized that the sail was not stretched tightly enough along the yard arm which stopped it really setting properly –part of our learning curve.
To coincide with raising the sails two things happened at once
a) the wind died away completely and b) the engine stopped dead without even a cough or a splutter. The prospect of drifting around in the shipping lane while waiting for the wind to pick up and while investigating the outboard malady did not seem the best plan. Luckily Jasper in Claraoch Mary was nearby and generously offered to tow us to Port Bannatyne on Bute.

While the "crew" enjoyed a quick promotion to helmsperson for the duration of the tow, the toolbox was retrieved from the aft hatch and the engine fault was investigated. With no spark and with no low tension output but from the spark unit the diagnosis did not look good.

 

Early evening heading down the Kyles of Bute with island of Arran and peaks of Goatfell and Caisteal Abhail the distance


Just off the pontoons at Port Bannatyne, we were cast adrift – thanks to Jasper for the tow - and we rowed unceremoniously onto the outer pontoon. It was obvious from the effort required to row a Gig why it has 4 sets of rowlocks and can accommodate 8 oarsmen!

Luckily the marina at Port Bannatyne has an outboard mechanic whom the marina manager helpfully called for us. Being advised that he was currently on a job nearby, but that he would be back within 2 hrs. we went "walk about" but not wanting to be too far away in case he came early one of us was always near the boat.

3hrs. later the marina manager suggested we crossed the road to the adjacent boat yard as the mechanic was working there – 50m from her office!!!!!

After a quick visit to the boat the mechanic advised us that the engine would not run because we had no spark and that without the workshop manual he was unable to do anything for us.

Determined to continue onwards to Portavadie we were face with the option of getting the ferry back to Wymess bay, a taxi to Largs to get the car and going home to get the out board from our Lugger before returning by car / ferry to Bute. While this was all possible it would be both time consuming and expensive and would mean a repeat trip to get the car back to Largs. Luckily the Boatyard agreed to hire us a 5hp Mariner Outboard for the weekend and so fifty pounds lighter we were off again, having spent nearly 5 hrs. in and around Port Bannatyne.

While we enjoyed the exceptionally good July weather the little Mariner pushed us onwards to Portavadie and with the sun setting behind Stob Odhar we arrived at the marina just after 9pm.

Sunset over Stob Odhar looking up Loch Fyne

Saturday 13th July
After a leisurely breakfast we headed down to the pontoons for the morning briefing. By chance on the way to the pontoons we met Richard, a friend from Lenzie who had moved down to Portavadie after retiring. Having arranged to meet Richard for a drink later, we attended the morning briefing on the pontoon.

With mixed weather forecast, everyone headed off up Loch Fyne in the general direction of Ardrishaig. After leaving the Marina we hoisted our sails in the shelter of small island lying off the marina entrance before heading north. Practice obviously makes perfect and while not yet perfect our sails were definitely better set today!

With the wind blowing a pretty steady force 3 Tra Bhui began to come alive and we made good progress although I am sure we will be able to head a bit further upwind with more practice on setting the rig up.

During the late morning the wind became patchier and as lunchtime approached it dropped altogether with the rally fleet spread out over a large area. At Niall and Nigel’s suggestion on Tangram we motored to the bay below Stonefield Castle hotel to anchor for lunch to be joined there shortly after by Jasper on Claraoch Mary

After lunch we decided to use the light wind from the north and motor sail into Tarbert for a walk about. Tying up to the harbour pontoons , the mariner manager stamped our ticket to give us the free hours berthing plus an additional half an hour which was really decent of him. An hour and a half is plenty of time to explore the waterfront and find a coffee shop

Whenever we go to Tarbert it always seems to coincide with their summer fair and with this year being no exception we wandered around the harbour while the locals raced rafts and demonstrated rescue techniques which involved the local fire brigade cutting up what seemed like a perfectly good car. Perhaps that’s what happens if you illegally park near the harbour!

Fortified by coffee and home backing we headed back to the pontoons and left within the allotted timescale. Outside the harbour, the wind had picked up and we enjoyed a bracing reach back over to Portavadie with the wind blowing a good force four. On approaching Portavadie we dropped the sails behind the small island off the marina entrance and motored the remaining quarter mile to the marina. While this may seem a bit cautious we are still getting to know Tra Bhui and finding out the best (and worst) way to drop the sails and secure the boat for harbour.

After tying up at alongside the pontoon I met up with Richard again and we caught up over a couple of beers in the sun while sitting in the boat. Having explained our outboard troubles, Richard with his typical generosity offered to lend us his outboard for the return trip to Largs. As he was coming up to Lenzie later in the week he would collect the outboard then.
 

Rally boats in Portavadie as we left on Sunday morning


 
As I was flying back to Manila on the Monday Sunday would be our last day on the rally as we had to be back in Largs by the Sunday evening. Faced with the logistical challenge of returning outboards and getting the boat back to its trailer we gratefully accepted Richards offer to loan us his outboard.

Saturday evening saw the traditional evening meal in the marina restaurant.


Sunday 14th of July

Our planned early start ran into problems when the computer system at the marina failed and they could not take our payment for the accommodation. Eventually this was resolved but our planned 7.30 start became a 9.00 start. We left the marina and immediately headed to Richards moorings to collect his outboard. Another learning point when sailing the Gig – the turning circle is a lot bigger than the Lugger – demonstrated to Richard’s surprise when we ended up circling his boat twice when my first attempt to turn and come alongside missed by a good ten feet!

Unfortunately when we left the marina there was no wind and we settled down to another long plod down to Garroch Head at the mouth of the Kyles of Bute, where according to Richard we would see a dolphin. The dolphin it seems has been swimming around the same buoy for the last two years – why Richard was not sure but he thought it may have been separated from its pod and it was patiently waiting for it to return. Sure enough as promised when we approached the buoy the dolphin broke surface alongside us. To get the best view we tied up to the buoy allowing Kathleen and Richard to climb onto it while I stayed in the boat and tried to get some pictures. The dolphin swam around us for a good 20 minutes until conscious of the time we decided that we really must get moving again.

With a slight breeze developing we raised the sails as Richard wanted to see the Gig sailing and we beat back and forth across the Kyles for an hour or so before motoring into Kames to drop Richard off. Richard had arranged for his bicycle to be dropped off there as he needed to get back over the hill to his work at the marina where he should have been some 2 hrs. previously!

Tighnabruaich pier


Motoring on we decided that a coffee was in order and following a local recommendation we tied up at the pier in Tighnabruaich in order to visit Suzy’s Tearooms, a local coffee shop of repute. Should you ever be in Tighnabruaich and find yourself without an anchor, I can definitely recommend the scones that we were served. While they may have not been edible, I am sure that given their weight and density they would serve admirably as a secondary anchor. The coffee was perfectly matched in quality with the scone, but unfortunately I have been unable to think of an alternative use for dark brown luke warm water. The morning coffee experience was most disappointing!

Onwards to Port Bannatyne where we gave the hired engine back, retrieved ours from the boatyard store and put Richards 5hp Yamaha on the back. Leaving port Bannatyne again under power it was noticeable that the Yamaha while running well did not drive the boat forward at any great speed. This was I assume due to the size and pitch of the propeller. Luckily as we passed Rothsay the wind began to pick up and we had another great sail right across to the entrance to Largs Marina. Sails dropped we motored in, tied the boat up and went to fetch the car.

Recovery of Tra Bhui was really easy. The guide rails on the trailer worked a treat and we winched the boat straight on to the trailer without any fuss.

After another uneventful trail home and some judicious use of the wrongly wired indicators we had Tra Bhui back in the driveway after it first outing by 7pm.

Thoughts now turn to the Loch Lomond Rally which Kathleen is organizing and which I will manage home for.

Thanks as always to my long suffering "crew" Kathleen for an excellent and most enjoyable weekend despite the engine problems that we suffered.

Tra Bhui’s crew and part time helmsperson.

Trailer

Trailer

When I purchased Trá Bhuí it sat on a converted car transporter. While this trailer had the strength to carry the boat with ease and with 4 wheels had the stability for towing that is desirable, its configuration meant that it had to be submersed every time the boat was launched or recovered. This had worked well for the previous owner who kept Trá Bhuí on a mooring but was not ideal for my use as I intended to launch Trá Bhuí each time I  sailed her. The obvious answer was to put Trá Bhuí on the trailer that I used for my Lugger “Braveheart”.

The existing trailer was solid but not ideal for frequent launches

Preparing to lift Tra Bhui off it's original trailer

My own trailer was an ex MOD trailer which I had bought to carry the Lugger as it was in my opinion  a far better engineered trailer than those supplied with modern boats. With Landrover wheels, a break back set up and its robust build, it had allowed me to launch and recover my Lugger from any beach without having to put the brakes or bearings into the water.

 I had originally modified it the trailer to carry the Lugger by removing 3 feet from the tow hitch as there was too much trailer in front of the bow of the boat. Measuring it against Trá Bhuí, it looked like putting four feet back into the spine and moving the axle back 2 feet along with moving the swing cradle and side rollers, would be all that was required to carry Trá Bhuí.

Being only home in the UK for a week or so, with plenty of other things that I needed to do and intending to get use the boat at the Drascombe Association’s forthcoming rally on the Clyde at the end of the week, I decided this time to get a local fabricator to carry out the welding required to lengthen the trailer

With four feet of new spine welded into my existing trailer the axle now needs to be moved back and some additional rollers fitted

Once the spine had been lengthened, the next step was to swap the trailers over in order that the swing arm cradle and auxiliary rollers could be welded in place. Without local water this was accomplished by jacking the boat up and securing it in the air with a mixture of jacks and load straps – perhaps not to the relevant industry standards for lifting, but as I had no intention of being under it at any time it seemed a reasonable solution. Probably this should come under the heading of “don’t try this at home”

In the air!

Still in the air!!

Once the new trailer was under the boat it sat rather nicely, more importantly the balance seemed to be pretty good. All that remained was to move the swing cradle and secondary rollers to support the hull and stop the boat falling over.

Trailer with axle moved ready to be placed under the boat

Using the trailer winch to move it under the boat - the boat is secured to a metal post driven into the lawn behind the car port. Bodge it and Scarper have nothing on this operation!

Once the boat was set up a set of guide rails were welded into position along the side of the keel rollers to ensure that the boat sat on the middle of the trailer. Having had some minor problems with the Lugger due to the keel rocker making the boat run off the rollers if it was not sitting upright when loading, I realised that the Gig was simply too heavy to lift back into place on my own. The tubes are not shown on the pictures below as they were fitted once the boat was on the trailer. This was simply due to time as I did not know if I would have time to fit them or not before we needed to head off to the forthcoming rally.

Arrival at large for the Clyde Rally

The guide tubes proved to work well and during our first launch and recovery we only needed to put the trailer into three inches of water, with the boat going off and on very easily.

Time however did not allow me to complete everything on the trailer. The new bits still need to be painted, the twin light boards need to be moved further back and a cradle made to sit inside the boat to carry the mast and spars. These are things I can look forward to tinkering with the next time I am home!

Hauling out after Baltimore Rally (Ireland) 2014

Cradle - trailer before refurb - August 2014