Gadgets that improve the lifestyle on Sheer Tenacity

16.12.2011

Much as old school cruisers mock the need for Fridges,( for cold beer and salad stuff), Freezers,( for fresh meat, ice, and to freeze ones catch),

Calorifiers,( for hot water to spoil ones partner), water makers (to ensure reasonable quantities of drinking, shower and laundry water….to avoid degenerating into “grotty yachties”) ….we new kids on the block would never have been able to lure our ladies to into such a radical lifestyle without them!!

The price is once again, the never ending power struggle! Gensets are the obvious answer… Been there, done that… chucked it out!! Way too big, and too much of a hassle on a 40ft boat.

Another source of relentless pressure, is our ageing, aching bodies! Although the active lifestyle keeps one pretty fit and strong, there are times when the frozen shoulders, or degenerating discs make certain chores a pain in the arse.. or elsewhere! We have to make certain concessions, and start using brains and technology to compensate for our frailties, before we are forced to swallow the anchor!

Some of my friends and readers hate my technical digressions, whilst others are eager to hear more. So , for those who hate it , feel free to press “esc” now! In my defense however, I decided to rattle off a whole bunch in one go, rather than to phase them in like a slow intravenous drip! Some gadgets, I might have mentioned before, but collectively, they have done the job thus far for us!

First up is the 100amp Balmar Alternator, with smart regulator. I have resticted myself to the 100amp unit ,as it was the biggest I could use without changing the crank and water pump pullies from single to dual, which would make fitting the original spare alternator, in an emergency, a BIG job. Besides, I did not wish to use the main engine as my primary battery charging source.


I have changed to an array of 380w of 24v Solar panels, controlled by a Blue Sky MPPT controller. This set up puts in up to 24amps for 3 to 6 hours per day, and is way more efficient during the remaining hours as well. The AirX Marine windgen has been fitted with the new Silent Wind blue carbon fibre blades, which not only kick in at lower wind speeds, but are also quiet, and will not cause your neighbour to throw his towel into your wingen just to stop the screaming banshee!

With this “free” power input, we have added a 2000w Sinergex Puresine Inverter, which can cope with all my power tools, the vacuum cleaner, computers, and even a toaster or microwave if required!

We have added an Echo Tec water maker, which produces 55lts /hr, while using about 30 amps. We chose this ahead of the less power hungry Spectra , because it is so simple and can use non proprietry spares from most hardware shops. We have also built in an addition 60 lt tank to store non chlorinated water maker water, to enable easy flushing , which enables the unit to stand for 10 days between runs, before having to run again , or pickle it. We transfer “made” water in 60lt batches to our main holding tanks, into which we can also pipe rainwater from our rain catching bimini.

The final backup for all our power needs, and to make water without having to run the main engine, is our little 2.0kva Honda genset, which uses inverter technology. It only weighs 11kgs, runs on very little petrol, is extremely quiet, and can pump in up to 100amps via our Mastervolt 100 amp battery charger. !




In this age of “lock it or Lose it”, it is important to get into the habit of lifting ones dinghy every night. A good davit arrangement takes the chore out of this job. Our davits are hinged at the bottom of the two main gantry posts, so as to lift the dinghy clear of the transom hung rudder. A double block and pulley system to one of our secondary winches makes this a quick task .

My one concession to sore shoulders, back ( or to enable Mary to wind in the roller furler easily, or to lift the dinghy), is the hand held 28volt Lithium battery powered Milwaukee , right angle drill, fitted with a winch socket ! A full on power winch wherever we need one! Incredibly powerfulLast up…. To those of you who have made it this far, you might remember my blog about the fellow dribbling humungous nuts along the nudie beach at St Martin…. Well I found the tree in Grenada where he grew them!

Back at Home...Take Two!!!

15/12/2011

Sheer Tenacity was ready and waiting in her steel cradle, but sans the antifouling which we had purchased in St Maarten. We were told that it had “turned” and was unusable. I had been disappointed with the Micron 66 in the warm waters, and decided to try Jotun. This required a barrier coat, as the two products are incompatible. I returned the Jotun to IWW,from whom I had purchased it, but they never had any of the new Jotun as replacement. I had previously been told by a long term cruiser, that he had switched to Trinidad 75, which is a hard (non ablative), very copper rich antifoul. As IWW had this in stock, and the barrier coat had already been applied, I have gone this route.

We had a number of other jobs to tackle, such as replacing anchor lockers, and fitting new closed cell cockpit cushions, before beginning the task of preparing to launch : Fitting stackpack, sails, bimini, spray dodgers, running motor, commissioning systems and equipment. After 5 days of running around like hooligans, we were antifouled , fitted, tested, and ready to splash.

It then took another couple of weeks to provision and repack the boat, (and have a few sundowners as we renewed contact, and made plans with various cruising mates!),,, then we were good to go! Lobster season was open again too!!

Our first step was a shake down sail around to St Georges, catching a Tuna Mackerel along the way. St Georges is a pretty town, on the lee side of the island, with an anchorage, outside the lagoon, has clear water, and reasonably easy dinghy access to shops. We have decided to spend more time there when next we pass this way!
For once we picked a good SE breeze to start our way north, and enjoyed a 4 and 1/2 hr romp up to Carriacou, averaging 7knots, and catching a Dorado just past Gouyave. We arrived in Tyrrel Bay, and it was indeed, almost like coming home again! Stacks of well known faces, some of whom had not moved since we saw them last July! Paul Johnson,( he of the Venus ketch, many wives and sometimes artist), had managed to get knocked down by a car, and was nursing broken ribs and head stitches. His pain management system involves frequent sips of Westerhall Superb Light Rum, at all hours, from little 1/3 bottles that he always carries around with him. He needed this medical treatment while talking to me in the supermarket queue, waiting to pay for his breakfast sausage!

Elsewhere around the bay were a number of other boats and crews well known to Hout Bay! Australian Tony, musician and teacher, from “Ragin’ Cajun”, who had persuaded my ex neighbour, Lynn Rattle, to go sailing with him. She jumped ship in St Helena, and seems to have planted roots there now!

Another Hout Bay boat, is New Dawn. Mary and I used to enjoy our racing duals with Kyall and Ruth, on their previous boat “Suzanne”. They then bought “New Dawn”, and sailed over to Brazil. Sadly their relationship hit rough weather, and they went their separate ways, with Kyall buying out Ruth’s share in the yacht. We last saw Kyall down in Abraao, Ilha Grande in Brazil and suddenly he is knocking on our hull here in Tyrrel , with his new lady, Natasha . They are doing a quick circuit around the Grenadines, before heading down to Tobago to meet up with family.

Yet another Hout Bay boat, “Jervon”, with Jeremy, and Yvonne (who, thankfully, has been given the all clear after her 6 month check up in Trinidad after brain surgery in January). They are here to haulout, antifoul, and spend Christmas with old friends. “Olive” too, is here, also scheduled to haul out before making their way north.

Meanwhile , on Sheer Tenacity, we have spent a week remaking a new bimini , as after a few heavy downpours, it became obvious that 4 years is about as long as a Sunbrella bimini and rain catcher can be expected to last in the tropics.( we had ours up for a year in Hout Bay before we left, and it’s been up ever since we reached Brazil). Of course, no sooner had we finished, than the rain stopped, and we have had to commission the Watermaker!

After the Bimini, and a new set of saloon cushions to brighten up the interior, Mary has returned to full on cruising mode, even visiting fellow cruisers for sundowners with her top on inside out!

Home Visit

14th Dec 2011

To my shame and horror, my last blog was dated 17th July, and titled “Almost like being Home!”. Since then , we have in fact hauled the boat on to the hard at Spice Island Marina, repainted, varnished and generally put her to bed for the hurricane season…. stripped of all sails, canvas work, and strapped down to concreteblocks,between welded frames…. and hoped for the best!

We then headed for home, via Gatwick and Dubai to Cape Town, arriving exhausted and ailing from the usual long distance flight incubated flu, coughs and splutters. So this is more a bunch of excuses for not keeping up to speed with my blogs!!
The home visit was a whirlwind of medical and dental overhauls, financial reviews, political updates, Visa applications, leaving far too little time to spend with friends and family. We stayed with Kate in her beautifully renovated home in Tamboerskloof, and were lucky enough to be loaned a car by Maryandrew (as in Maryanne and Andrew), whose wedding we attended on our last visit home! We tried our best, and did a hell of a lot, but still fell short of meeting some of our friends on the “must see” list. Two months was just too short! Our apologies to all offended parties!
We did however, get a medical “all clear”, and were able to resolve a number of health problems that had threatened our cruising lifestyle. We also spent time with Steve and Kim, who have moved back to Cape Town after years in the Mozambican bush and islands. We even managed to get get Steve to to cook us all prawns on the braai for HIS birthday!

We spent time with Trevor and Shirl, both in Cape Town, and up the West coast in their new holiday home. We confirmed that the West coast area will be our probable landfall area, when we finally swallow the anchor, and give up cruising!
My Mom, Pam, had passed away shortly after our last visit, and she had made it quite clear to both Deb( my sister) and I that I should not rush home for a funeral, should she pass on. It meant however that Debs was custodian of her ashes for nearly two years, and so she arranged a small ceremony at Christ Church, because this was one occasion where we, as a family, were all together in the same country for a few weeks. Richard and Tina, the other family wedding we were lucky to share on our last home visit) with their new baby Maximillian, were also back in town for a visit from London. So with Mary and I, Steve and Kim, Richard and Tina, all in Cape Town for once, this was the ideal opportunity to do so.
Mom’s ashes were thus laid to rest besides my Dads, in a relaxed ceremony conducted by a former colleague of his, Rev Keith Griffiths, who changed callings, and is now the Rector of Christ Church. Deb mentioned that she felt a little awkward about having stored her ashes in the hall cupboard until such time as we were all together. Rev Keith put her mind at rest by telling her that he had kept his Mom’s ashes in the garden shed for five years, waiting for his brother and family to come over from Canada for the same reason. He said it was absolutely fine and very common in today’s world! He then went on to tell us that when Steve & Kim looked like being a little late, due to the traffic, he started having a panic attack, because he knew the automatic sprinkler system turned on at 5.20pm, and he did not know how to reprogram the system, or turn it off, and he imagined us all getting soaked as we tried to sprinkle Moms ashes! Thankfully Kim & Steve arrived on the dot of 5pm, and we were done by 5.15pm!
We retired to Deb and Graeme’s home for a family dinner , and were able to share family news and get to know Ingi, Nicks fiancé.

On the other side of the family, Andrew and Maryanne had also been doing what newly-weds do, and Mary attended Maryanne’s baby shower, for little Jessica, who made her appearance shortly after our return to the Caribbean.
In the blink of an eye, so it seemed, the two months were over, and we were on our way back to Sheer Tenacity, all safe and sound at Spice Island Marina, Grenada, having survived the Hurricane season without us!