Tag Archives: waterproof

5 things that annoy me about my boat!

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While sailing I have plenty of time to get truly annoyed by the smallest of bothers. So much so that I’ve decided to catalog the 5 most bellicose features!

  1. Suicidal block

    The jib-sail blocks have suicidal tendencies on Eileen. If the sail flogs whilst furling, they immediately go into self destruct mode, bashing themselves to pieces against the stanchion bases. I need to either cushion the bases or buy stronger ones!

  2. Mainsail lacing gets caught

    The mast lacing always gets caught on something while hoisting the mainsail, forcing me to take a trip to the mast… Sure to happen after reefing in a Force 6 or greater… Grrr…

  3. Problems unfurling jib

    My jib sail wont stay fully unfurled unless it’s blowing a gale, and it’s what happens as a result of this that causes me no end of trouble! The loose furling line has a habit of falling under the roller and jamming it. The only way to correct this is to take a walk out on the bowsprit and put the fallen loop back in place. Somewhat precarious, so much so that I’ve dubbed it ‘walking the plank’! The problem is that the wire rather than the swivel at the top of the sail twists and no amount of swivel lubrication seems to rectify the problem.

  4. ST-2000 not waterproof

    My ST-2000 Tiller-Pilot is not waterproof! The only way to ensure it works in foul weather is to wrap it in plastic… When I get the chance I’ll spray the electronics with lacquer as an electrician advised and perhaps spray some sealant along the edges for good measure!

  5. Rope holding hatch shut

    Eileen’s companionway hatch opens automatically in a seaway! I tried to have this corrected at Eileen’s last refit but all I managed to get was an inside bolt mechanism on the top washboard! Perfect for locking myself into Eileen (but I have yet to figure out why would I want to do that?). The interim solution is to tie a rope from the boom gallows base round the top of the hatch. Odd, but surprisingly functional!

Stay tuned for 5 things that I love about my boat!

R.I.P. Raymarine ST2000

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Between Crete and Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes the winds are Force 7, and having put up with a gale upon my return from Egypt, I was in no mood to relive that sopping experience.

My Tiller Pilot ST2000 never recovered from the gale. Despite my patient attempts at electronic resuscitation, the unit stayed unresponsive. Having opened her up (my Autohelm was so temperamental she warranted gender designation, but I draw the line at that. In my opinion assigning all the inanimate objects on my boat familiar names such as “Tilly the Auto-Pilot” is carrying things a bit too far), I discovered that the casing is not so waterproof after all. I’ll wrap the next one in plastic bags when conditions deteriorate.