Editors Notes
Tablets from the Mount
Thanks to Les
The Right Price for your Iroquois
Boat Price Guide
MkII Iroquois - "Catcracker"
Wacky in the Med
Readers Write
Last Words
Editor - John Rolfe
Chairman - Ken Pack
Treasurer - Thelma Pack
Secretary - Sue Keeler
It's been a funny old year, I’ve not sailed for such a long time, that I’m sure I’ve forgotten how. My boat is laid up awaiting some T.LC. and although I have supposedly lots of free time being between engagements as they say, I have found it somehow difficult to get on with the work. There always seems to be so many other things which take priority over working on the boat, such as the house, the garden, etc. etc., well according to Madam anyway. You know it's quite strange how much she’s changed since we got married, you know every time I want to go down to the boat she suggests rather forcefully that it would be better to redecorate the living room! And she’s hidden the rum.
We had a most splendid holiday on some Island in the Indian Ocean, now that’s the place to sail - crystal clear waters, hardly any tide, consistent winds, powder white beaches. I saw only three cat’s out there, two very large French ones and a small Prout.
Apparently they are all booked fairly solidly for day trips and fishing parties and the owners of these boats are earning a fortune. So there you go, quit the job, rent the house out, load the cat and off you set. You turn left at Gib., straight though the Med., wizz down the Suez Canal, turn right out of the Red Sea and keep an eye out for palm trees. Simple.
And if "Her Indoors" objects, then don’t tell her you're going, you can always find lots of native girls to look after you when you're there! I’m seriously considering it, except I’ve got to decorate the living room first.
We’ve not had any response to the article written on Sailing Catamarans by Victor Aspey in the last news letter, apart from Ken Pack muttering under his breath that "it’s not the way I used to do it when I was a boy", to which I say that things have changed since the time when the biggest problem in sailing was getting woad on the sheets!
In fact I’ve not had much response from many readers on anything, hardly any letters, not many phone calls and then just as I’m gearing myself up to have a go at you all it suddenly dawns on me that I’ve moved and not changed the address on the cover!
So here’s the new address:
John Rolfe
4 Greenhill Road
Copped Hall
Camberley
Surrey
GU15 1PE
In this issue we have various titbits including our regular features and a short article by yours truly which tells the story of a sailing incident last year which I have been trying to get off my chest for some time now. We have also an adventure written by Mr Jim Campbell, who sadly died earlier this year, relating a trip back from the Med. in his boat Wacky Two. And as a last note I must inform you that our cartoonist Mr Tom Adcock is on Holiday.
Good sailing
John Rolfe
Now I suppose the Iroquois has to be considered a classic yacht, but it seems only yesterday when I bought "THELKEN", it really was the "in thing".
Classic this and classic that always seems to have a price to pay - like it’s inconvenient, dated, expensive to maintain, etc. I must say that this has never been my experience, the boat has however come through an era which will quickly fade, heavy radios and D.F. gear, intricate water pumping, unreliable outboards, to name but a few. And we all have one thing or another left over from this era.
Iroquois performance, accommodation, lines etc. are all still very nice and well sought after. Present equipment now on the market can turn her into an even more efficient and effective offshore cruiser. It would so useful if we could have some feedback on the goodies you have found pertinent.
The 9.9 Yamaha outboard, does it have an adequate charge? Does one NEED a boost from solar panels or is a wind charger better? The engine is probably a good place to start one’s requirements.
This is how the exercise starts but if a comprehensive package is envisaged it probably has to start with money. The more reliable hand held instrumentation and small consumption lighting is an early consideration and so on. Is there one loo that’s most appropriate or do we hold our breath for a storage /pump out system?
Where does the practical, ideally sited set up lie? Personally I do not think there is one, I only recognise it when I see it on someone else’s boat.
Ken Pack
Les is my friend, he comes round my house, he comes with me on the boat, I married his step daughter. He drinks all my vodka and then talks too much, he is alright, is Les. He does not regard himself as either important or clever, he drives a van and just about makes ends meet. He is married to Christine, who’s sweet and does not speak much. He doesn’t know much about sailing, Les is like everybody else.
He is also a hero!
We were en-route to the boat, we had driven down to Christchurch fairly late that Friday night, stopped for a curry, and then about l2.30am set off from Mudeford Quay in the tender loaded with all the gear needed for a working weekend on the boat. It was a warm night and the tide was sluicing out of the harbour entrance past the quay. We rowed across the tidal flow towards the dark mass of Hengistbury Head, I was happy and looking forward to the weekend with just the two of us on the boat, Les is one of those people whose company is very easy with you.
About a third of the way across to the boat the starboard side chamber of the tender suddenly deflated and without much fuss we, and the entire contents, slipped into the water. It seemed at the time to be no great disaster, worst was that we had lost all of our things, most of which had sunk, the rest were floating away. I was gripping onto the inverted tender, while Les, who was some way from the inflatable began swimming.
He had quickly noticed the effect of the tide, moving us very swiftly towards the open sea, and that just off to our right there was a moored fishing boat. I was still more concerned with my lost equipment, but Les began calling "over here", I now began swimming which is very difficult with sailing jacket and boots, neither of us had lifejackets on. Les made it to the mooring chain and with one hand gripping on reached out to grab me as I drifted past.
Having pulled me over, I grasped onto the seaweed covered chain and was promptly pulled straight off by the force of the tidal stream and passed the boat with nothing between me and the open sea. Les was up on the boat and along it to the bow. He began shouting "I’m coming, I’m coming", I shouted back "no its alright" which of course was not true, but I did not see how another body in the water would help.
I was quite convinced that I was going to drown, the speed with which you become exhausted is astonishing. Les was going to leap in and my pleas for him to stay put were not registering. I remember looking out towards the entrance of the harbour and seeing the dim outline of the Isle of Wight in the distance, I had a momentary thought that perhaps I might survive, thinking irrationally that I would end up on the Island.
Forgetting for a brief instance that it was rather a long way from where I was to there. My body was very low in the water, due to the weight of my boots and sailing jacket, I did not for one instance think of removing them, I probably could not have done so and spent good money on them and was probably being tight.
Just before the narrowest part of the harbour entrance where the tide is fastest and the water deepest, with me beginning to panic, the toe of my boot touched something and then touched again, it was the bottom. I had been doggy padding in order to try and keep my head above water, now I tried to force down to make contact with the sea bed.
Sand and gravel does not make for a good grip and the surface of the bed at this point was slipping away from the tip of my boot. By leaning forward against the tide, with my head below the water I was able to stop myself from moving with the tide, great I thought till I remembered that I needed to breath. I began to walk along the sea floor leaning forward allowing myself to come upright in order to take a gulp of air before continuing. Of course every time I did this I would lose the few steps I’d made, so I was not making very quick progress, in fact it took me an hour and a half to get back to the general area of the fishing boat.
On my second gulp of air I shouted to Les that I was still with him. The exhaustion which I felt was the biggest problem and by the time that I arrived close to the fishing boat I was very weak. By this time I was standing some 30 foot from Les with a very much deeper water channel between me and the boat on which he was standing.
Les however was ready and he had found a rope, this he threw up tide of me realising that I could not catch it if he threw it directly. Les began to talk to me telling me exactly what he was doing in a calm almost conversational tone. The rope floated down on me and I began to follow Les’s instructions to the letter, "put it around your middle and tie a knot", I kept trying but I was so cold and I was shaking badly, my hands did not seem to be obeying my mind.
I do not know how but I eventually shouted that I was secure. Les pulled me across to the side of the boat and made the rope secure, saying "right you’re not bloody well going swimming again". Well by this time I thought I may live, just get up onto the boat and things will be fine. The boat had sheer sides of about 5 to 6ft and I weigh around 15 stone, Les weighs about 9 stone and is of compact proportions i.e. he’s short. I could not help in lifting me anywhere, I was by now in the first stages of shock. Les had to do it all by himself.
All he had to hand was the end of the inflatable painter, but exactly what method he used is rather vague, he remembers tying rope to various limbs and being worried when I was comatose and that it took over an hour to get me on deck. It was of course not over, we were moored in a boat still some 100yds from the shore. After dealing with me, Les got the tender inflated, and using the floor slats as oars, loaded me into it and began to paddle towards the shore. I was also required to paddle by Les who had convinced me that we were still in great danger and that I had to row for my life.
I took this to heart and rowed like a madman stopping only when Les gently removed my oar from me when we were almost 25yds up the beach. We walked around to my boat arriving just as the dawn arose, having spent some 3 hours since we first set off from the quayside.
If we had been properly prepared, if we had been wearing lifejackets, if I had secured the valve on the tender, yes I know all these things, and nearly paid for them with my life. Of even greater certitude was that if I had not had Les with me I would have drowned.
I have not, since this incident, been able to express my gratitude to him, such is the reserve which passes between male friends, so I am now, via this story, finally to say properly and sincerely:
THANKS TO LES.
John Rolfe
To any half active multihull broker it is painfully clear that we just do not get enough good used boats to satisfy demand, and this is particularly so in the ever popular 30 foot area. The choice in "affordable" boats of this size is CATALAC 9m’s,OCEANICs, ARISTOCATs, PROUT, QUEST 3 l’s, plus, of course, the famous IROQUOIS.
But why is it that the last listed also consistently achieves the lowest price of all this lot? Even in our brokerage boat park at Emsworth we find it difficult to persuade buyers to part with anything much over £23,000, even for an immaculate Mark IIA with loads of new gear. Yet we also regularly sell the rest in the top twenties, or sometimes even low thirties. Even modest old HEAVENLY TWINS often go in the thirties and forties for the newer examples. So why can’t IROQUOIS make the grade? What is it about the others that makes them "worth" so much more?
Are they better boats, perhaps? Ouch- that’s my eardrums gone in your roar of disapproval. More appealing to the eye? (Splat !!!) Better performers? (Smash !!!) Better accommodation? (Kerrum). Well maybe the last- a bit - but this is not enough to explain the difference. When Reg White was building them in the hundreds, they were fantastically popular, and outsold all the competition, and on the used boat market, the competition is still the same. What’s going on?
I think there are a number of contributory factors, all conspiring together.
So what can be done about it?
Brian North
Reports suggest market still buoyant, with strong and growing American demand. Main sales this last period include SPIRIT OF EUROPE the stretched version of the Iroquois, which many of you saw at the last Southampton Boat Show. Reported price at a very low £50,000, against an asking price of £86,000.
|
YEAR |
TYPE |
LOCATION |
PRICE |
NAME |
|
69 |
MkII |
S/COAST |
£17.5K |
Boyd |
|
72 |
MkII |
E/COAST |
£16.0K |
Boyd |
|
74 |
MIIA |
BALEARICS |
£17.5K |
Boyd |
|
66 |
MKI |
TURKEY |
£12.0K |
Boyd |
|
74 |
MKII |
S/COAST |
£18.5K |
Multihull Intern. |
|
79 |
COMANCHE 32 |
S/COAST |
£35K |
Boyd |
|
85 |
CHEROKEE 35 |
S/SPAIN |
£63K |
Boyd |
Mr and Mrs Allen are selling their boat "Catcracker" having just acquired "Spirit of Europe". The details are on the following page. This boat is reputed to be in absolutely first class condition and certainly better than most others of the same age.
"Catcracker" was built by Sailcraft for the 1978 Round Britain Race and was sponsored by B.P. Originally only essential internal fittings were installed for the race, subsequently the interior was completed to a high standard for cruising in 1980, we have owned the boat since 1983.
|
Leeboards |
New in 94-unused |
|
Hulls |
White - Gelshield -7 coats [1993] on treated hull |
|
Topsides |
Pale green grp |
|
Mast |
"Tall rig" [1983] and boom, slab reefmg |
|
Sails |
Main - 200 sq. ft., 3 rows of reefing points, boom cover |
|
Engine |
25hp Evinrude LS, electric start [recon 1993] |
|
Instruments |
Stowe Navigator - Wind Speed, Direction and Trim [1993], Depth [1993], Log [1994], 2 x Bulkhead Steering Compasses |
|
Equipment |
Heads - SL 400 |
The overall condition of this boat is very good and she has been kept ashore each winter. Guide price is £25,000 and the boat may be seen at Sholley Marine near Ipswich.
The story starts on the 4th of December1992. My wife and I decided, having spoken to Brian North of Multihull World, to bring our Iroquois back to the U.K. for sale. We had two boats and really only one was necessary for our long term plans.
The weather for the most part of that year had not been particularly good from a sailing point of view. We had had a number of very bad Mistral’s blowing for days on end followed by a few days of good sailing before the next Mistral had appeared over the horizon. I say "appeared" because the Mistral’s are always preceded by the appearance of cigar shaped clouds floating apparently aimlessly above the horizon and slightly higher. Some of them are fairly large, some quite small, but all are of a dark brown colour and all are elliptical in shape. We have come to call them Zeppelins and have a saying - never be zapped by the Zep’s! A phrase which came to mind later as you will see from this article, in no uncertain manner.
On the third of September we left our moorings at Porto Petro, Mallorca en-route for Alcudia where we would spend the night anchored off in the bay. The morning was bright the sea calm with a little swell and the boat was sailing well. We arrived at our anchorage at Alcudia and went ashore to speak to English friends who own a ship repair business in the marina at Alcudia, Mahon Nautica. From them we received the latest weather reports. It was good and we decided to make a dash across the Golfe du Lion the next day.
We were awake at first light and watched the sun rising over the horizon. The portents appeared good. The sky was clear and the sea calm and the small fishing craft not much larger than rowing boats were making their way out to the fishing grounds. We weighed anchor and made our way out of the bay towards Cap Formentor. Pollensa bay came up and was left behind as we made our way towards the Gulf proper. I made a statement to my wife that after Cap Formentor, the weather pattern would change and we would be into the continental weather system.
We have a GPS Navstar XR4 system aboard which works like magic. Easy to operate deadly accurate and utterly reliable and "user friendly". We also have on our boat a Volvo Penta MD 215 diesel engine with steerable outdrive, both of which, although we didn’t realise it at the time, were to thank our lucky stars we had them.
We set our three waypoints into the GPS. One for Port Vendres, one for Se’te and on the off chance of our hitting bad weather, another for Palamos in Spain. No matter which ever part of Spain you are making for in a yacht, you are going to have to spend one night at sea.
So Cap Formentor came up on our portside and we rounded it and headed out across the Golfe du Lion in the direction of Port Vendres. As always happens the weather changed immediately. The sea became choppier, the wind came more dead ahead and even the sky began to take on a different hue. When you have sailed for some time in the Med., you get a feeling for the weather. You can’t quite say exactly what the feeling is but it’s something to do with the way the boat moves, the wave pattern, and somehow a general feeling that everything is not quite what it appears to be on the face of it.
At the time of rounding the Cap I was below making coffee and immediately I could sense that the weather had changed drastically. I suppose with hindsight I should have aborted the journey there and then but we had been sailing for a number of hours by then and I calculated that even if we turned about then it would be well after dark before we reached the anchorage we had left that morning. So I decided we might as well continue.
There is only one harbour on that coast at Soller, but we were too far out on our journey to turn for there. Night came and the sea, instead of becoming calmer, took an ominous choppy swell with the occasional white top breaking near our quarters. I had reduced sail before dark taking the mainsail down four wraps around the boom and leaving the furling genoa as it was fully out. We can always roll that up whenever we want but the mainsail is a very different matter, with a Mediterranean swell and a rising sea.
Dawn on the 5th found us well on our way, and by now the wind was directly on the nose. The waves had risen to about 3 or 4metres in height and the tops were breaking on all sides of our boat. The dawn was a bad omen for us. A very watery sun, a bank of dark gray clouds on the horizon, a pale yellow and white coloured sky and the worst sign of all, both large and small "zep’s" flying in the sky. They don’t, they just hang suspended in the air, until eventually they are joined by the remainder of the clouds coming up from the horizon and merge as one murky sky. The time factor for this to happen is usually two to three hours although we have known the wind to increase and strike within minutes of the clouds being first seen, maybe 20 minutes.
Suffice it to say that having observed this dawn it was decided to reduce sail drastically and immediately. Always reef early for safety! I managed to climb onto the cabin roof with some difficulty because even in that short time the seas had increased and the boat was taking water over the bows from time to time. The wave height had increased and the wind was rising, to make matters worse we noticed that the port rudder was now jammed into the horizontal position, the rope which pulls it vertical having slipped out of the groove in the rudder blade and was now lying between the rudder and the outer rudder casing. We could no longer pull the rudder into the vertical position. However at that time this did not appear to make any difference to the steerability of the vessel as we were heading directly into the wind and into the waves.
We were about forty miles off the Spanish coast and we had decided to change direction and were now on a course for Palamos on the Spanish mainland. At about 11.30 hrs. on that morning on the horizon we noticed a large cargo carrier apparently and deliberately changing course and heading directly towards us. We had our radar reflector at the cross trees and our VHF was set on dual watch channel 16 and 67, the two most used channels in the Med. She came on and it was obvious to us that she intended to come across our bows.
This eventually, after a longtime, she did and then she stopped almost dead ahead of us. The radio crackled into life and the voice of the Captain calling us up on channel 16 was heard.
"Good morning Captain’ the voice said. "Good morning Captain" I replied.
"Go to channel 6" was the request and await my signal.
I tuned to channel 6 and waited. I wondered what on earth such a large vessel could want from us or could wish to say to us. I hadn’t long to wait. The importance of the message was now made know to us. The carrier was an Italian vessel who wanted to know where we were going and had we heard the latest weather forecast. I said we were the British Catamaran "Wacky Two" enroute for Port Vendres but now headed for Palamos in Spain due to the deterioration of the weather.
The Italian vessel’s Captain then told us that he was running for Barcelona because the forecast was for Beaufort strength force 10 - 11 winds with seas at least 6 to 7 metres in height with the possibility of even 8 metres!
He suggested that it would be a prudent move if we were to follow his advice and head out of the Gulf to Barcelona. So we put our waypoints in for Masnou which is a port close to Barcelona and from where I had started on my way across to the Islands at the start of my journey to Mallorca the previous summer.
Very soon the Carrier was just a smudge on the horizon and we were left like orphans in the storm to fend for ourselves.
The boat was turned onto the new course and now instead of the wind and waves coming from ahead we found ourselves with both coming at the boat from the starboard beam and the rhythm was extremely erratic. The white topped waves were now approaching and sliding under our boat from the starboard side as well as crossing our bows and stern. It was whilst examining in detail our new predicament that we realised that the waves were in fact coming across our stern and were being physically stopped in their progress by our port rudder in the horizontal position.
After a discussion of all the probabilities it was decided to angle the boat across the seas so that there was less drag on the rudder and to ensure that at no time were either of the hulls out of the water. The motor had of course being on since first light and now we were able to bring the boat head to wind long enough for me to climb with considerable difficulty onto the cabin roof and clipping away my safety harness to the hand-rails, I made my way forward to the mast. Then waiting till the motion of the boat was right I quickly unclipped from the handrails and clipped myself on to the spinnaker pole ring on the mast. I then reduced sail almost completely and having done that quickly made my way back to the safety of the cockpit.
Thank goodness I never had to go back up there again. Because an hour later just before dark the storm really hit us and our problems started. At about 02.00 my wife called down to where I was doing the 02.00 plot that she had lost all steering and that the rudders were not responding to the steering wheel. Our boat is fitted with Wheel steering with Morse attachment to the port hand side rudder.
I dashed outside, the wind was terrific, the seas were mountainous, so hard was the wind blowing that the white tops were being instantly flattened and all you could see was a sea of white foam continuous to the extent of your vision. With the search light beam we could see nothing but totally white seas to the horizon. It was an horrendous night and the sound was mind-numbing. Neither of us had ever experienced anything like this in our lives before and nothing we had ever experienced before could help us in this situation that we found ourselves in.
I then turned the search light back towards the stern and to our horror in the glare we could see that the portside stern locker was rising up and down with the swell and furthermore that the clamps that held the Morse system rigid and fixed to the deck had been torn loose and there was a large square hole into which the seas, now coming more astern than abeam, were pouring.
Frantically we pulled the lid of the locker off and to our horror could see in the light of the search light that the locker was indeed totally filled with water to the brim and that the diesel tank that normally sat on the sole the locker was floating on the surface of the water, and it was that which had moved the locker lid up and down.
It is often said that there is nothing like two frightened people with buckets to remove water quickly and that is what you had at that moment. Two people scared to death baling like mad with buckets and pumps. It took us an hour to clear the water and restore things to as they had been.
During this period the boat was sailing perfectly steady. At no time did she falter in her progress towards the Spanish coast. Not one note did the engine miss.
We jammed black bin liners into the hole and fixed them down with heavy duty waterproof tape. We then steered by emergency heavy wooden tiller which fixes into the top of the portside rudder by means of stainless steel claw and peg secured by a split pin. It was by this means that we brought our boat through the storm and safely to our destination. As we progressed nearer to Masnou so eventually the storm became less until the following dawn saw us exactly where our GPS said we should be, right in line with the light on the harbour mole.
It had been an horrendous experience for us because of the noise, the darkness, the size of the waves and the fact that we could not judge in the darkness exactly where the direction of the waves were coming from. But not for one minute did we think that there was any danger of our boat floundering. She took all the punishment that was given her in those cruel dark hours and proved herself over and over and over again to be a very well built, strong and seaworthy vessel.
During that period which lasted fifty two hours, the last fourteen under emergency tiller the most alarming noise was the continuous heavy slamming at the rear of the main cabin. The noise is both alarming when it happens because not only is the experience of that frightening sound but the whole craft shudders under the hammer blows of the waves and for seconds afterwards there is a slowing down of the forward motion and an unnerving silence before once again she picks up sufficient speed for the whole process to start again.
After fifty two miles you become immune to it all and only stand to make an observation if one explosion happens to be larger than any of the others. The slamming of course makes sleep almost totally impossible because of the noise and the under-floor vibrations. Although for a lot of the last fourteen hours of the journey the seas were sweeping into the cockpit and out again the other side, surprisingly little of it actually went inside the main cabin.
During that storm four large yachts were torn from their anchors and driven hard ashore. Three people were swept overboard off Mallorca and drowned. One person died when the boom hit his head. A woman had her arm broken and the entire area was in chaos for a period.
As this was happening our boat dashed by storm force winds came safely through. We like to think that the reason was because we never for a minute lost faith in our vessel. Her beautiful lines and the strength of her construction ensured our safety plus the sailing experience both of us have enjoyed over the years and which we were able to call upon when it was really necessary. The strength of our boat and its sea worthiness gave us the necessary confidence to be able to get on with the work of getting us through those terrible hours without having to worry as to whether or not our vessel was up to it or would break up under the strain. Our eternal thanks are with McAlpine-Downie for his design work and the constructors for the strength they built into those two hulls. Both did a wonderful job.
My thanks also go to my wife without whose superb seawomanship and helmnswomanship brought us safely through those hellish dark hours of the night of the 5th. Barely for more than two or three minutes did she leave the helm during those hours, but kept the boat on a true course sailing across the face of the waves till we eventually arrived safely at the harbour mouth at Masnou fifty two hours later.
Then with the sun high in a cloudless hot blue sky, we slept.
It was the 6th September 1992.
This is a true story of our experiences.
Wacky Two was repaired at Masnou marina, then sailed to Port Vendres where she was prepared for her journey back through the French Canal system to England and Portsmouth where she is at present out of the water awaiting a new proud owner to buy her.
Wacky Two will always hold a very special place in our hearts because to us she is a very Special Lady.
Jim Campbell
Dear Sir
I write as new owner, sailboat Iroquat. I buy in Aden from English and bring to my place in Jedda. We now fix up to my requirements and need some help.
First problem is beds, I need space for at least two wifes as myself, the beds not wide enough and not good head space for young fit, wifes to action. Does you sail in England with only men or can you help with modification to beds to provide more room.
Also how you get tiles to stick to floor is good help for us.
I will come to meeting in England with my household for you to help at August on Island of White, bring much gifts and 2nd wifes for borrow.
Goodnight
Muspha Hugejuan, Jedda.
Well sir, somewhat of an difficulty with this one, although our members are most inventive when it comes to solving problems and it maybe that they could work some plan out to assist you.
I hesitate to comment further excepting to suggest forming an orderly queue at your cabin door. In answer to your question regarding the sexual mix on board most English boats, well it is certainly true that most boats in the U.K. tend to be sailed by men only, but it would be dangerous to jump to conclusions. Your kind offer of visiting us with gifts and wifes to borrow is noted although it would only be fair to advise you that in England it is somewhat unusual to have more than one wife at the same time!, but we will do our best to find some members who would be only too willing to take up your kind offer. - Editor
From Steve Leming, USA.
Dear sir,
I am writing to you in regards to a 1972, 30ft Iroquois MkII which my brother currently owns. He is currently cruising on his boat in Central America [Honduras]. Unfortunately he has broken his starboard leeboard and has asked me to help find a replacement. Do you know of a way I could possibly acquire a scaled drawing or print to have a board made. At this point in time I am at a loss for any other way to acquire a leeboard. I would be grateful for any suggestions or help you may be able to offer.
Steve Leming
Thank you for your letter and we enclose a couple of Newsletters which are relevant. Since these boards were designed the West System has arrived and we have had reports that built-up ply sheets are adequate as long as the system is strictly adhered to. A good boatyard should be capable of the job.
Should the leeboard be broken by grounding, the hull around the bearing should be inspected to ensure that no cracking is visible. It is believed that this failure led to the loss of "Neron".
Hope this is helpful and we would be most grateful for a report from your brother on cruise.
From Sandra Hather
Dear sir,
You asked for readers to write in - so here a bit more. We wondered if readers would be interested in the details of the alternative layout of our Iroquois seating area. We have had the boat [No. 317] since ‘91 and we have found the living space extremely comfortable both for ourselves and our guests.
The seat forward of the table is only suitable for children due to lack of headroom, but there a "hidden" locker behind this seat which is very useful. The back of the seat facing forward now incorporates a glass locker and a book locker instead of the bottles shown in the photo. The table has a drop leaf. The chart table hinges down front the aft end of the main cabin. Another innovation which I don’t think is standard, but which is a tremendous advantage when anchoring, is the teak beam going from in front of the anchor locker to the forebeam.
As you can see from the rather blurred photo. she is a lovely looking craft, though other owners we have met, have not recognised her as an Iroquois, due to the stripes on her hulls and the cabin window layout.
Sandra Hather,
Lincoln, UK.
Thanks for the suggestion and photos. Some questions back to you. Does your cabin seating allow for a double berth within the wraparound settee?
My reasons for asking are that I’m interested in doing a similar layout on my boat, but I still need to have a possible double berth in the cabin and not for the same reasons as the chap on page 17!, no it’s just that me and madam don’t fit in the rear bunks comfortably due to the fact that I’m rather wide lying down (come to think of it I’m fairly wide standing up too!).
Of course if I do this modification there’s no way I’d ruin a perfectly good drinks locker by keeping books in it.
Do you find that with your rather sexy looking windows, that ventilation is a problem when compared with the opening type? Please write and let us have your thoughts.
From Mr Philip Coruidan
9 May 1994
Dear Ken
The brass triangle plaque is just great, many thanks. Alleda’s rudders must be renewed so I will mount the plaque on part of the old starboard rudder. (Alleda is ashore and will remain so for a rebuild this season.)
I can only apologise profusely for the delay in writing to thank the IOA. The excuse is that I was writing other things including a manuscript for a book on the circumnavigation. Like many voyagers I wrote newsletters which were posted home from various places. They were then distributed to friends, relatives and fellow CYC members.
As you know, ‘how-to’ has dominated publishing at the expense of narrative of late and, unless you had an important bit of yourself shot off in the Yemen, or were attacked by killer whales or pirates, the probability of being published is extremely small. However, some weeks ago there was a maybe from a publisher so I have put into the newsletters those parts originally left out for fear of worrying aged aunts.
I also spell checked the originals (what an embarrassment!) and removed the worst examples of my 10 line, 14 comma sentences.
Enclosed is the contents page of the proposed book which is 98% written and will, I hope, be finished by the end of next week. Can I ask for a little help with appendix 3? Obviously I have a rough idea of the Iroquois history (the compilation of past IOA newsletters produced by Reg Crampton and Pat Boyd weighed Alleda down the whole way around!) but it would be good to have the answers to the questions overleaf and a copy of that cut-away drawing of the MK1 (complete with the prices in £sd) plus permission to reproduce them.
Significant building works were carried out on my home while I was away and, certain that somewhere I had all the information I now ask for, I delayed contacting you... the need is pressing now.
If commercial publication proves impossible over the next couple of months then I will do 50 bound copies (the manuscript should end at around 210 pages) and distribute them to the original recipients plus two for IOA records.
Philip Corridan
Thelma Pack has advised me that most of you have not paid this years sub’s. Indeed some of you have not paid up last years either. This has created somewhat of a shortfall in funds, to the extent that we are having to fund the production of the newsletter from our own pockets. This must stop, and you lot must pay up. The Iroquois Owners Association is run on a shoestring as it is, when sub’s are late it does make things rather difficult for young Thelma to balance the books.
One option would be to increase the membership fee to a rather more appropriate level, perhaps we should discuss this at the next A.G.M.
This August event is to be held appropriately on the 20th August at this most pleasant of south coast anchorages, Newtown. And this next bit is a bit embarrassing, you see I need a lift, only my boat is out of action but I would like to attend. So if any of you who are intending to visit this most exclusive of venue’s would be prepared to allow Maureen and I passage, we would be very grateful. (I promise not to touch anything or fall overboard and Maureen promises to do all the washing up!)
This to be held again at the Star Hotel, in Southampton, on the 17th Sept. 1994. I have enclosed a proper notice and would like youto return the attendance slip as soon as possible.
You will note that this issue of the newsletter is properly printed. This is somewhat of an experiment and I would be pleased if you could advise if you prefer this kind of reproduction, it does increase the costs of production but still is worth it if you approve.
John Rolfe
