NeraidaBlog

CTRL+ALT+DEL....... RESTART!!

2009-04-13T02:43:00.000-07:00

Right then.. I know nobody reads this but I'm going to write in it anyway.

Neraida is currently out of the water undergoing some serious maintenance. Her Keel is "off" and she has has all of the antifouling removed from her keel, and extensive scraping and sanding of her bottom, and so far, is primed and "boot topped". The keel is about to have an epoxy primer applied ready for it's CopperCoat.
During the dismantleing, we have discoverd the cause of the "thunk" from the keel, whereby the plates that hold the keel on via a stainless pin have badly corroded with some 4mm of play. These plates are currently at an engineers being welded and re-drilled. All the keel bolts were found to be is excellent shape with no sign of any corrosion, apart from the use of galvanised steel washers inside the boat, which just disintergrated!
We have also discovered that the worm gear used for swinging the keel up and down is bent, however this is not a major issue as Neraida's keel is always down!

This year she is going to have a lot of work done on her, so I figured I should document it, and the blog is the easiest way!

Antifouling and polishing today... pictures later!

Wot no sailing?

2006-11-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

Nope, none at all.

This time of year is hugely frustrating as the weather is normally very windy and wet. Today we saw 45knots in the Solent, as we did last weekend... Evening sails are out as a quick blast in the dark is not really much fun, so we are stranded.

This is where, as we did last year, we start browsing the brokerage sites for something with a bit more in the way of creature comforts, and heating.. definately heating. It's not as depressing as it has been, as there seem to be quite a lot of boats at more reasonable prices. This years economic instability seems to have taken its toll on the boaty communtity, so from what I can see its a buyers market. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Buying a boat is much more complicated that buying, say, a car, as the transaction is disrupted by EMOTION, so it enters the same realm as buying a home. However, when you buy a home you are concerned about location, resale, aesthetics and suitability to your lifestyle. When you buy a boat you have aesthetics, suitability, resale, safety, performance, reputation (of builder or class), maintenance costs and effort, lifestyle and even the name. It is alleged to be one of the most fun parts of the boaty lifestyle, but it is a fraught with pitfalls and angst. Boats take days to buy and (sometimes) years to sell, so getting stuck with a "lemon" is a foreboding prospect.

An Apology

2006-11-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers...

I feel I must apologise for the utter lack of bloggage. I am somewhat under the kosh at work so boats, blogs and other b things are a low priority at present.

Neraida is well, although a little weedy and bored...

All the best

Skip

Feeling boaty...

2006-10-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Feeling 32
"Nice" but...

Went to go and see the boat above this morning. Had a good poke around, and asked lots and lots of questions. So, here are the facts.
32' Yacht, decent beam, twin rudders, decent sized cockpit for her class and built well. Reasonable equipment, Harken hardware mostly, Raymarine ST40 instruments, Volvo 2020 inboard and an ENO cooker. She was, as you can see from the pictures below, very light and roomy for a 32 footer, nice comfy bunks and saloon, good sized head with pressurised water and a shower. She is a 2003 boat, used as a demonstrator in Les Sables d'Olonne and then to Lymington and now here in Southampton. She is, all in all, a new boat, and all the equipment you would need, bar maybe a plotter and heating, to sail her away for £50k; give or take a few quid...

Light, airy and very practical...

Sensible huh? I agree, she's very nice. I have, however, a few of "issues" with her. Firstly, she's a light boat, and at 4100kg, she's going to make hard work of any kind of sea in the same way that Neraida does.. better admitted, but not hugely. Secondly, she has a "B" catergory (Regional Craft Directive). So Brussels have decided she should not be on more than 70 or so miles of red tape from a safe haven. Why not? Stability I suspect, but its a concern.
Finally, and its very subjective, is a question of "soul". I.e. she hasn't got one. The interior is good, solid etc etc etc, but it doesn't feel of anything. Then there is her appearance from the outside.. bit bland. The Old Dog (my da') has quite a good comment on this. He would say, "She's not the sort of boat you would stop and look back at when you are rowing home" and i think, in this case, he is right. You'd have a job to spot her for a start, in amongst all the plastic fantastic's out there.

She will make somebody a lovely boat. But not me ta...

*** DISCLAIMER***
The Mate has not visited this boat, she was busy head shrinking this morning, so if she does and likes it, all the above comments are, naturally, null and void.

It's over

2006-10-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

I think it would be fair to say that the season is over. A steady stream of depressions are thundering across the Atlantic, causing a mass of deep depressions in the souls of sailors everywhere.

The marina is less crowded than it was, and the yards are filling up. The mate and I are now in "stand by" mode, so we can snatch a sail when the wind isn't hurling old boots and the sky isn't falling. This will be interrupted by a short period of manic activity, when Neraida will be lifted, stripped of her old antifouling, and a fresh shiny coat applied. Doing this in October/Novemeber has the advantage that the weed growth slows considerably from now on, so she will stay cleaner for longer... hopefully!

Tinkering will occur from now on also.. I will keep you posted.

Oh Borrox!

2006-10-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sigh Headroom, a table, a cooker...
Luxury!!

OK,
Lesson 1. Don't start looking too early.
Lesson 2. Never forget Lesson 1
No sooner do I veer off my normal boat gazing site that something nigh on suitable shows her prow and wiggles! Look at the pictures. 2001 boat, good selection of gadgetry (being in IT, and being a boy, I'm a sucker for gadgets!), well looked after and a smidgeon under our absolute top whack for dosh. She also has the advantage of being new enough to benefit from the plush stainless fittings as opposed to the galvanised bronze of the older Pilot Cutters.

Moving on...

2006-10-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am trapped in a dilemma.
Neraida is, and always will be, very very special to us. She is a simple fibreglass boat, with good lines, sharp performance and a wicked temperament. She will not easily be replaced.
This is where we both get a bit weepy and come over all 'nostalgic like...'
I am not sure where we should go next. Last season and this, although we have hugely enjoyed our cruising, we have been left wanting.
A Channel passage in Neraida is very hard work with only two people, and, due to her size, shape and speed, one can never "cruise" and relax on passage unless the wind is light and/or we're having our bones shaken by Cliff the outboard.
The Solent is not for cruising. Not only is it like sailing on the M3 without lanes, but also its inshore nature makes for concentrated effort in finding the right breeze, or avoiding the wrong one, somewhat tiring. Don't forget that an extra, say, 7 knots of wind in a First Class 8 can be the difference between a "nice close reach" and a "lee rail under, bruising gripe"!
Ramble ramble... where was I? Ah yes, left wanting..
You see, it's like this. It's quite hard, no matter how much you love your boat, to spend more than a couple of days with no headroom, weeing in a bucket, cooking on a camping stove and generally "living rough". Neraida also does not lay at anchor well. In fact, she swings around like a neurotic cork! Anchoring, even in the most tranquil setting can only be done in summer, as her un-lined hull and open plan means she gets VERY cold.
You see where this is going don't you? We "need" a bigger, more comfortable boat.
We don't want to go mad money wise, as we want to stay well within our means as is sensible (Bleugh!!) in all things nautical. We don't want an "average white boat" which will blend in (it's not in our character to be "average"). We don't want a money & time pit, so no to anything wooden! Finally, and bizarrely enough, we don't want anything too big just yet; 30-35 feet would do nicely thank you.
I have scoured, and I mean scoured, the internet listings for all sorts of boats that match the criteria. There are an amazing range of boats out there, and a staggering amount of stupidly priced boats too!! Most of them slip nicely into the "AWB" catergory, from old to nearly new, an awful lot of boats of this size were built with no, or very little, imagination.
Then, you have the "Classics", your Contessas, Nicholsons etc which are all very lovely, but there is usually less comfort than one would ideally like.
Finally, you have your "odd balls"... Boats such as Steel Sprays, Van de Stadts, Alubats, Crabbers and the like. I think we fall into this catergory. Neraida "turns heads" as she is a bit bonkers for cruising in, and we will probably like to carry on the head turning theme.

So, there we are. There are your choices. It's going to be painful and scary, and it's also going to break our hearts to say goodbye to "our girl", but I am sure we will cope, as she will continue to be loved long after she moves on. There is no rush however...

Americano...

2006-09-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

I have just realised I am becoming a stereotype blogger. I am sitting, pre-meeting, in Starbucks in Oxford, "blogging"...

Oh Woe!! Abandon hope all ye who enter here...

Gizmo

2006-09-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Winter Sailing??? Hmmmmm...

This is the only other thing that caught our eyes at the show. Is a diesel hot air heater in case you didn't know.
"Brilliant Idea" I hear you cry!!
Yup, you're right. It's only about 4kg's installed plus a couple of kilo's of diesel to run it, but there is another problem. It's about £1000 to install, and, unfortunately it isn't going to add a grand to Neraida's value. As she is a racing boat, and a little one at that, people aren't usually stupid enough to go cruising in a First Class 8, and wouldn't see a Webasto AirTop 2000s heater as a great selling point..

Shame really, I quite fancy waking up on the Beaulieu River, on a cold, crisp and hazy February morning....

We Survived!!

2006-09-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Firstly an apology to all my loyal readers (Ahem!) for leaving it so long between posts, but I have been a little busy again, and "blooging" is a bit down the list I'm afraid.

The Southampton International Same Show, sorry, Boat Show, has been and gone now, and we managed to make it through without any serious collateral wallet damage. As far as boats were concerned, our big weakness, the First 40.7 wasn't there, so that was easy (even though we had both vowed not to go on it even if it was, VERY close shave last year you see...) so we trotted about looking for something that would catch our eye amongst the acres of white gelcoat. It struck me at this point that an awful lot of boats are the same, just with varying degrees of trim and build quality. There are a few that stand out however: Firstly there are the big boys, the Hallberg Rassey's, the Najad's etc, which ooze quality, even if their styling is a little "conservative". Secondly, there are the Flash buggers, the Oysters, Swans etc which require long distance telephone numbers of folding to buy, and a wardrobe of haute couture to step on board.
Then, there are the "different boats". Most of which are just "odd" or aimed at a specific market niche. For example, I forget the name, but there were a range of motor sailers there, all with pilot houses and canoe sterns, and although lovely I'm sure, really required a skipper of octogenarain years to do them justice. Anyway, I'm rambling, I'll get to the point....
We stumbled across the Cornish Pilot Cutter on our travels, and were invited on board. The boat was truly delightful. The salesman was very attentive (probably as he fancied the mate rotten!) and I was rather taken by the whole thing.

The craft itself was very well put together. Gleaming stainless steel fittings, stunning spruce spars and a colossal ten foot Bavaria mashing bowsprit. She had her faults though too. Firstly she's a smidge too small at 30' LOD, we wanted a little more room, she has a linear galley, which is a bugger in a seaway, and finally, she has a pricetag which would buy you a 40 footer with the "big 3".

Food for thought however... who says you need to buy a brand new boat???

Dirty Thoughts

2006-09-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

It is apparent, from Neraida's speed through the water, or lack thereof, that she has a dirty bottom. We have avoided laying her up this year so far for a few reasons which I will explain.

Firstly, it's always a faff. Yards bleat on about how they need to find a "hull supporting cradle" and "we're so busy" bla bla bla etc etc etc I know, taking my money is soooo inconvienient!!

Secondly, ANTIFOULING!! Urrghh. Horrible, expensive paint which is a bastard to put on, and never works as well as the makers claim. This annoys us, as for £100 a tin, you'd expect it to!!

Thirdly, it means that we wont be ably to catch a "quick sail" for a week or so as Neraida will be high and dry.

And finally "JobDread". I'll explain to you non-boaty readers. You can absolutely guarantee that once the boat is out of the water, and you can actually see the bit you ignore for 11 months of the year, there is going to be a glaringly obvious job that you HAVE to do and will also be horrifically expensive...

Solent Breezes

2006-09-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Barely Full!!

It's been a funny weekend of sailing really. The Solent has been beset by light airs all weekend. Saturday provided a more than light northerly, barely touching eight knots and Sunday began with bright sunshine and all but no wind, followed by a flukey and intermittant south westerly maxing at twelve knots or so.
We did, as you can see from the picture above, manage to muster the energy to hoist the asymetric spinnaker, but in the process we discovered that out Lewmar Syncro blocks which we use to gude the sheets , had been stolen!!
We have never had so much as a winch handle lifted from Neraida in all the time we have owned her, and to say that it left a bitter taste is an understatement. It's not the money, the blocks were only about £30 each, but its more the fact that Neraida was boarded, while in Ocean Village Marina, and these scumbags, whoever they are, no doubt took them for their own boat!
I would be less upset if something "non-boaty" was taken, I would blame the run-of-the-mill shithead who will perloin anything that isn't nailed down, but thses blocks were obviously taken by a so-called "fellow boater" for their own use. (They wouldn't fetch much on ebay, they were a couple of years old and faded from the sunshine)

Sods Law

2006-09-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

Sitting in my office today, melting due to a duff aircon system, I had some consolation in the fact that; as I had to collect our car from its service close to home, I would be back early enough to get out on the water.
It had been a glorious day so far, and weather reports proposed a continuation of light winds (10knots or so) and a little cloud...

I made it, and we slipped lines and headed out. As we left the marina we noticed a bunch of murk over the New Forest, but we convinced ourselves that it was passing to the north and carried on regardless... Oh! What fools...

No sooner had we set the sails in a good 15knots of wind (funny... sure it was less than that earlier...?), The Mate said, "is that a bit of a squall coming?"
"Looks like it" says I.
The fastest reef in history was set and no sooner had the winch handle been removed, that Neraida tore off, with most of her leeward deck underwater, at "break-chandlery" speed towards Calshot, in 35knots of fierce warm wind, rapidly accompanied by lead like pellets of H2O.
As the marine dust cleared, glances were exchanged and a "see what happens when this has blown through" plan was formulated.

It didn't get much better, although the wind speed peaked at the 25ish mark so Neraida was quite happy with her one reef.
We went home after 2 knockdowns and a spinnakerless broach... ho hum.

Better day tomorrow hopefully!

A Fan!!

2006-09-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just had a email, via www.neraida.org.uk, it reads...

Hello !!!

I don´t know if you are the owner of Neraida, or just the webmaster, but anyway I just want to tell you congratulations, I have been walking in the ocean village marina looking the boats several times in the last two weeks, and your FC8 is problably the best boat of the all marina, and is very well maintained !!!!!!! (is just my opinion)

So congratulations !!!!!!!!!

And believe me, I know what I am talking about.
I hope that I will be able to see Neraida sailing soon.

Ander.

Well, isn't that nice? Thank you Ander for your kind words!!

You just can't beat it....

2006-09-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Kersplash!!!

This weekend, we managed to blow off a few cobwebs (Literally.. Little omnilegged bastards) and took Neraida for some much needed exercise. A couple of beats down Southampton water in a fresh SE'erly, followed by some gentle dead runs home again. Neraida performed wonderfully, giving a steady 6 to 7 knots on the beat with very little "complaining" despite being slightly overpressed at times. We are still in awe of our new mainsail, the performance increase is great, coupled with a much lowered tendancy to gripe.

The mate and I need to get out on the water a lot more than we have been this year, however 2006 has not been the best, and the last 3 months have been solid work, and somewhat blown our season into the weeds. Nevermind, brisk autumn and winter sails will be the standing order, with maybe even a race or two if we can get some regular crew...

Too busy to Blog!

2006-09-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the old fella's boat, Hephzibah...

In Your Face!

2006-09-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

Neraida in all her glory

Lazy days. This picture was taken by a friend soon after the purchase of the spinnaker you see. When ordered, the original plan was to have a red, white and blue one, but the receptionist at the sailmakers said "why not pink and purple?"
A glint appeared in the mate's eye, and here we are!

That said, I am rather fond of it!

Temptation time approaches....

2006-09-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Beneteau First 40.7.

Would you be tempted?

On the 15th of September, the Southampton International Boat Show begins once again. Neither of us particularly like the show, not because it isn't a well organised event, or because of the all day trudgery; mainly because of the huge temptation placed before us.
Last year, we all but succumbed to the beast above, a Beneteau First 40.7. We returned for 3 days, each time trying to find reasons why NOT to buy it, rather than the usual justification of a massive expense. We were well and truely smitten, the 40.7 had all that we wanted. It is 12m long, so will fit in our marina berth without costing us anything, it has an "L-shaped" galley for tea under way, it has a clear and simple arrangement down below, with a "ballroom" feel, and what's more, its FAST! Very very fast...
We survived however. We were strong. We are now quite pleased we didn't, as the events of this year, of which I will not bore you, would almost certainly meant that the pressure of a marine mortgage would have squeeked our pips!
Never the less, it's "Showtime" once more, and we are worried that we'll get tempted again. We should go anyway, we could do with some new hardware for Neraida, and the show is, without doubt, the best place to make "larger purchases".

TORTURE!!! Woe is me!! (and 'er)

More Earhole sailing...

2006-09-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

And the Red Duster...

I've just realised that I haven't said what kind of boat Neraida is! She is a Beneteau First Class 8. Rather than bang on about what they are, how great they are, etc, I will point you in the direction of the "official" Neraida website.

Fair Winds!

2006-08-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hooligan V

Good Luck to Edward and Crew on the RORC Solent to Cascais Race.
You need it!!!

Halcyon Days

2006-08-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Occasional crew, trainee sailor, professional drinker
and part-time ships cat, Andy...

It was a famous rat that some time ago said all that stuff about messing about in boats. He was right. Nothing quite like it. The Mate and I are very lucky to live in an area where it seems the world revolves around boats of all kinds. Thus we are never short of resources for advice, equipment and inspiration never more than a tea bag flick away. We both are fully aware of this, and we do count our blessings more often than not.
That said, we do, eventually, plan to leave this Mecca for sailors and move on to something a whole lot more, well, quiet... But that's another story, one which I will no doubt tell in the pages to come.
The Solent is a place with a "single minded diversity" if you will. By that I mean that all things nautical is its heartbeat, but the huge diversity of the types of activity, personalities, vessels and so on is outstanding. This has benefits and it has its drawbacks, and memory being the fickle entity it is, brings one to vivdly remember the bad points as the good times fade away into dusty corners.
That's why I posted this picture.
This summer weekend, we sailed and motored from Ocean Village to Cowes in nigh on naff all wind and a lumpy, motorboat induced slop. It wasn't a great trip by any stretch, but because of the company, the hustle and bustle of Cowes, a good (Thai) meal and plenty of libation, a wonderful weekend was had by all.

Boat Speed!

2006-08-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

Yup... 10.7knots. It went higher... but where's the proof??

Neraida is, when pointed in the right direction, a fast little boat. Considering her 25' feet of waterline, she behaves more in the manner of a dinghy than a yacht when it comes to performance.
Sure, she will bash upwind at 6 knots on an average day, but times like this, with the wind just abaft the beam, apparent wind creeping forward, full (and new) mainsail and a "Solent" jib, a good stiff force five, she goes like the preverbial train.
However she does this with some caveat. Another five knots of wind and a lack of attention to the mainsheet will send her griping up with six inches of sea over the leeward deck. Worse still, catch her unawares working hard on a broad reach, and she will fall off the plane and into a juddering broach before you can blink.
Still, we never claimed to be sailing a good solid cruising boat!

First Blood

2006-08-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Southampton Water, 15-20knots of wind, Yummy sailing...

Neraida spends the majority of her time "on her ear". This comes from having a somewhat oversized rig, a tender form (by modern standards) and little weight. She only has 1500kgs to her name, making her fast, if a little jumpy in a seaway.
Much fun can be had however, as there is ne'er a dull moment on board. It has been known for the mate and I to have an "epic voyage" from Southampton to Cowes!

2006-08-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

testing testing *cough* hello?