Editor's Notes
The Chairman’s Page
Guernsey to Weymouth August 93
My Boat
Letters
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Boat Bits
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Boat Price Guide
MOCRA News Release
Cartoons
Editor - John Rolfe
Chairman - Ken Pack
Treasurer - Thelma Pack
Secretary - Sue Keeler
Welcome to our new style newsletter. I hope that you will approve of the changes we have made and that you will find the newsletter interesting. I do have somewhat of an act to follow Mr Ken Pack’s style of newsletter was always fascinating and wonderfully informative. My efforts are going to be less credible, although produced with the benefit of modern equipment, at the very least more legible.
Any Association works only if the people involved commit themselves to a considerable amount of work, Ken’s efforts over the years in writing and producing the newsletter is worthy of great praise and I would like to join with those who have written and phoned and offer our thanks to both Thelma and Ken for all their hard work.
But now comes the payoff, I’m not as clever as Ken Pack, I need help. This newsletter will not flourish unless you assist. I need copy and bearing in mind that each of you owns easily the best boat afloat! There must lots of stories out there of daring-do and or at the very least information concerning your favourite sailing area. Please, please send it in.
I am particularly interested in stories from overseas as the bulk of the membership is UK based and other peoples cruising grounds are always more blue and warmer than our own. In this issue we have a mixed bag of stories, articles and items of interest most of which relate to multihull ownership. I am going to try to keep to this narrow brief only because proper boats are the only thing I’m personally interested in. I’ve never sailed half-boats and feel that we have a perfect right to have considerable reservations about the wisdom of taking to sea in something which is so unfitted to its task, being slow and having this alarming tendency to tip over.
For too long we have been far too apologetic about multihulls, putting up with long boring articles in the popular boating media about stability for example and allowing the argument to be conducted along the lines of some doubt about our craft’s so called problems - Well no more, it’s monohulls which should be now in the dock along with the poor misguided fools who sail them. So lets start fighting back, what about some blunt letters to the yachting press, we should get them published especially as we now have a multi-hull agent carefully placed at the very top of the media tree. A great coup that, Ken.
See you all at the Newtown meeting.
John Rolfe
Please note our change of address.
I now know moving is on a par with self-inflicted grievous bodily and mental harm.
The move has brought to light copious papers on Iroquois Owners Association matters, unfortunately most of it is now very dated and I have a mental note to sift through.
One interesting piece of equipment of equipment was a bronze sheet load automatic release. I recall a member who fitted them saying it kept him fit diving over to re-engage the sheet when a heavy wave or wash induced a snatch load.
Navtec have recently introduced a new rigging load indicator system. Whilst the object of the equipment is greater efficiency it could be easily adapted to operate a clutch release particularly of the system advocated by Chris Hammond sometime ago. The advantage of this as against the original system is that it could be adjusted to a known read out for conditions prevailing. I shall actively pursue this but would be grateful for any information on adaptable clutch releases, or an unrelated switch that could be adapted to release the clutch.
The Iroquois Owners Association affiliation with MOCRA from my seat has been really worthwhile. Obviously the initial results benefit our European members but in the long term it will be universal.
Two matters that have come to light recently are:
The miniaturisation of Locat’s PLB 7 should enable a new look at safety aimed at life preservation rather than property. Of course such equipment requires responsible control and use.
Our new enthusiastic Newsletter Editor John Rolfe, I welcome as a breath of fresh air, he has certainly moved the goalposts
The author of this article is a monohull sailor of over 30 years experience, and sails a Moody 29 out of the Hamble. The trip described was his first taste of multi-hull sailing - Ed.
Having been a dedicated monohull sailor ever since I started some 32 years ago, I never gave much thought to multi-hulls ("well they capsized and broke up didn’t they?"). So I was intrigued and somewhat pleased, last summer to get a phone call inviting me to assist with a passage from Guernsey hack to Weymouth with some friends who owned an Iroquois. Maureen and John had journeyed across to the Channel Islands on their very first trip in their newly acquired boat. They had by all accounts a fairly difficult crossing from Cherbourg to Alderney, and apparently Maureen had refused to attempt the return journey unless someone came over to help, ideally, she said someone who knew what they were doing.
After crossing by Seacat to Guernsey, I duly joined ship full of anticipation, to be given a great welcome by the ship’s Mate who greeted me like a saviour, and the Skipper, who dipped into his vast store of bottles, passed me a couple and informed me that unfortunately all the glasses were broken as a result of his earlier sailing endeavours. I felt it prudent to make no comment.
The weather forecast for the following day was all high winds and seas, but in the morning we decided to put our nose out and have a look, as we corkscrewed out of the harbour with Mad John at the helm I decided I would prefer living a little longer, fortunately Maureen took pity on me, so back into the marina we went.
Wednesday dawned bright and clear with a forecast of SW F3/4 rising F4/5 later. So at 0700 hrs, we cast off and motored up the Little Russel at a smart 8 knots - " Faster than my boat" I thought. We raised sail as we passed the Roustel Tower, and I could not believe my eyes, the log was registering 11/12 knots and we were sailing upright too - fantastic.
Directly on route to pass the island of Alderney on our starboard side, there is a isolated rock called "Vraic" which has been known to catch out unsuspecting sailors, being just below the surface. I was concerned that we give this a wide berth because at the time of passage we would have as little as 1 metre of water over the rock, I explained this to the skipper who seemed strangely unconcerned. He told me that the boat’s draft was 15 inches!, another interesting aspect of multi-hull sailing which I had given little thought to.
The Casquets were passed in fine style, whilst drinking hot soup and scudding along at great speed - life was just wonderful, until Guernsey Radio gave a warning of strong winds in the north and gales with rough seas on the English side of the channel. For once the Forecasters were correct. As the wind increased so we rolled up the Genoa and put a few rolls in the main sail without loss of speed, in fact at one point we were sailing at an indicated speed of 16/17 knots, I knew John liked fast boats, but this was ridiculous.
By this time Moe had taken to her bunk not through sea sickness, but because of the terrifying size of the waves, which had built up. She simply preferred not to see them, sensible lady. The seas were coming from the port quarter and looked enormous certainly the biggest seas I have experienced in all of my sailing years. As we came off the top of each wave the distance to the bottom of the trough seemed the be around 3/4 boat lengths, this would seem to indicate a wave height of 25/30 ft, unless my trigonometry has failed me. The cat handled them with the greatest of ease however and we could still stand up in the cockpit, I would have been thrown all over the place in my own boat.
I can still see the slender bows hurtling down into the troughs, but always rising up just as the sea reached over the bow rollers, and the only water coming aboard was heavy rain - this was really exciting sailing!! Holding onto the boat however was a problem, as each wave passed the rudders were knocked aside causing the boat to try and turn broadside on to the approaching seas, and it required all of John’s strength to hold the wheel, I, having sensibly relinquished the helm to the younger man. I was struck by the thought that our inexperienced Skipper was unaware that these were highly dangerous and unusual conditions, particularly as he was trying to sing at the top of his voice, the Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner.
We seemed to be sailing at 18/20 knots and sooner than I would have thought possible we sighted Portland Bill, or more accurately I sighted what I believed to be Portland Bill. I shouted over the screaming wind to John, that we should change course because we were too far to the west of Portland and were in danger of running into the race off the Bill. We turned to the east and now with the seas coming from directly behind, ran for some 4 miles in front of the gale (later reported to be force 8 or 9). Strangely the distant image of Portland Bill seemed to keep pace with us, and I was confused by this mystery until suddenly the "lighthouse" took its mainsail down. We had been tracking another boat. We turned again, this time on a course for the East Shambles buoy.
It was John’s turn to make a "minor" error for as we drew closer to land, I was suddenly aware of the fact that we had missed the buoy and were in fact about to cross through the Shambles at some speed. I again shouted to him to change course, but if he did not hear me or was unwilling to accept any future advice from this discredited crew member, I’m not sure, because we shot straight across the Shambles bank into Weymouth Bay. During this time I had become convinced that the boat must suffer some damage as the seas across the bank were violent in the extreme, but no, in fact the passage through seemed relatively smooth another attribute of the multi-hull, or just the luck of the devil?
As it happens just before we arrived at the Shambles we had passed by a mono-hull of perhaps 30ft which was fighting its way in the same general direction. We waved and continued on our way, but just after we had exited the race over the Shambles bank we noticed that this boat was following our track and was already beginning to rear up in the action of those confused seas. Luckily he made it and followed behind some ½ mile off, into Weymouth Harbour. There we tied up at 19.30 hrs, tired and happy. So thanks Maureen and John, I’ll crew for you anytime in that wonderful boat. And I suppose there is no Iroquois owner willing to swap his boat for a Moody 29?
PS... Incidently that mono-hull owner came alongside some time later and proceeded to thank our Skipper most fulsomely, apparently one of his crew had been injured and he had been most desperate to make Harbour as quickly as possible. Believing that we had heard his VHF messages to the Coastguard and that we had proceeded to show a shortcut over the Shambles to save him some time, aided by obviously superior "local" knowledge. John accepted his thanks without any glimmer of shame, explaining that when you had been sailing as long as he had then these things came naturally and waving airily made for the nearest pub.
The other Skipper then respectfully asked me just how long had this local hero been a veritable Master of the oceans. I began to count on my fingers one, two, three, etc, and on reaching the conclusion announced, "why it must be nearly 9/10 days now". The look on that face I’ll remember for a long time.
Charles James
In 1989, the insurance company demanded a survey and I could not find any insurance company that would give me full cover without one. Some offered third party only. I let this state of affairs run for one year and then when I had to do something about it I found I could not even get third party. The owners of the moorings require you to have insurance and so a decision had to be made.
I was quite happy with the state of the boat, knowing her well over the last fifteen years but just the same a survey she had to have. So in September 1990 she was dried out on the slip at Wicor Marine and the surveyor came along with his "Novanex" moisture indicator and having removed the anti foul in many places he applied the meter, which reads on a scale of 0 to 30. He got some readings of 10 to 25 but many areas were all right. In some of the suspect places, with the greatest of difficulty, we could see signs of gel coat blistering and a few prominent fibres. The surveyor then went to work with his tap hammer, now one can argue about the moisture meters being useless but you cannot deny what a hammer tap indicates. A few areas of possible slight delamination were found.
The top sides were surveyed in the same fashion and where there was known to be some old collision damage, the tap hammer found it and the moisture meter also gave an excessive reading at this point. The decks, the rig and everything else were passed, the lee boards and their slots were not examined; the surveyor was a traditionalist. The recommendations were that work to the under water parts of the hull should be put in hand within a year or two. Not too bad but the insurance company wanted it done anyway before they would insure again. Option time again, as usual only one option, get on with cure.
Osmosis treatment consisted of grit blasting and steam cleaning, all done outside. The mast was then removed and Chiquita was moved into the boat shed which was a new building with good secure doors etc. The boat was then tented from the top-sides down and the drying commenced with infrared heaters and dehumidifiers for a period of several weeks. When the readings came down to a maximum it was ready for the next stage.
Chiquita was by now looking her worst with large amounts of glass torn off all over the hull where it was found not to be sound but this is where she was to start looking up. The next stage was a four coat solvent free epoxy system to be applied. Then the filler to make a nice fair hull again and once more the epoxy system over all this. This all has to be done under controlled conditions, it just cannot be done outside properly. Then the primer for the anti foul. The skegs, being aluminium, need a special process of their own.
Meanwhile the topside had been repaired and after all these years were rather patchy, so while the boat was inside they were given a spray. They now look like new. The inside topsides were as usual in good condition and a polish up was all they needed.
The tipping boards were removed before all this, of course, and they had not been out for many years when I last renewed the bushes in them. They were in good condition so a nice repaint job and now have new nylon bushes which run on stainless steel board pins. (A year later, trouble with barnacles in slots, boards removed to get more antifoul in and all was found to be well.)
The mast was the next item to sort out. We found corrosion at the spreaders, it was generally tatty and at twenty years old - untrustworthy. It was always aggravating with the sticky sheaves in the truck, and a lousy luff gate. So at the boat show in January 1991 an order was given to Keeps to come up with a new mast to match the slab reefing boom already installed. With the standard old Sailcraft mast, any tension on the baby stay produced a bow forward. We have got round this with a double jumper installed at the spreaders area. I have seen it done with running backstays, but they are a bit of a bother for single handling. This has really cured the problem but you need a line taken from the spreaders all round the front of the jumpers to prevent the genoa fouling. Nothing lasts, the old Mastnav. light and VHF aerial had to be replaced also.
The old Walker Wind Instruments were now playing up a bit so this now seemed the time to go for a new complete set of Stowe equipment with much more information to hand than ever before. On the debit side, the echo sounder although giving much better readings than ever before, does not register under one metre and even gives nasty "porkies" under this depth, which has to be watched out for.
So yet another set of standing rigging, I still prefer the old standard Norseman terminals, but they are so expensive compared to normal swaged ones, but these are better than the Talurits that Sailcraft fitted at the top ends of the old backstays, once one failed me, I was glad of two that day.
The original trampoline, was by now quite UV degraded, this was replaced with one of the new mesh types. I used to like to be able to tie things down to the net, with mesh you cannot, so I had plenty of nylon tape loops stitched in. The water seems to go straight through this mesh and it is most satisfactory.
The two bolts that hold the "A" frame down onto the bridge deck were also looking in poor condition. These are now replaced. The main shroud chain plates had lost some of the galvanizing. This leads to rust expanding where these plates pass through the cabin top thus causing leaks, so these were withdrawn and regalvanized to complete the whole rig.
I have also fitted one of these built-in sail covers with integral lazy jacks, this is by "Alpha Stack" but the newer ones are better.
The rudders were replaced many years ago with the old Hirondelle style of blades that vertically lift up in the stocks. So she is VERY strong in the steering department now and still answers to the helm as perfectly as ever.
Whatever the argument might now be about if it was worth all the effort, at least she now has a very fair bottom and seems to go better, and must have longer lease of life. I am now more worried, than before, about putting her aground and spoiling the good work.
Keep it sunny side up.
David Smith
From Janet and Doug McKay
Congratulations on your elevation to position of editor and best wishes for a long and successful career.
We hope you find it possible to include our thanks to Ken Pack for all his hard and good work in the many years that he held that esteemed position. The newsletter may be modest in size, style and cost, but it is always interesting, informative and helpful about owners, boats and mods. Ken has done pages of sketches of good ideas from owners and these have been very thought-provoking for us all, in fact KAWA is easier to handle, and to maintain and more comfortable as a result.
Also when he has some of the more outlandish ideas to comment on, he has always been kind but firm in giving them the thumbs down.
So many thanks to Ken and good luck to you.
(Hear, hear - Ed)
Janet and Doug McKay, KAWA
From Angela and Terry Moody
Many thanks for the newsletter, and the list of owners, which we always find so interesting. For the first time last summer, Terry and I went off in our Commanche - TWO BEARS - for six months. We decided to explore the Netherlands. We had spent three weeks the year before and found the Dutch people so friendly that we wanted to see more.
Two Bears asleep up Titchmarsh creek
Through the winter months they slumber deep
Then one bright and sunny morne
They find themselves back in the water again..., and free
Free to roam the seas as much as they please
With Angela and Terry……….and happy!!!!!
We started at Breskins in the Westershield and gently meandered through canals and meres to the north, then out to the Friesian Islands, our lovely catamaran took it all in her stride. We arrived back home at the end of September, already to work hard through the winter, and dream of the last summer and the next cruise. The Baltic, Denmark and Sweden. We will write again to let you know how we fared.
Angela and Terry Moody, Two Bears
From Per Gjerde
Centerboards once again
Once more I ask you a question about the Iroquois’s centerboards.
I have given up repairing the leaking centreboard case, and that is why I have come to think of another solution. Why not make a new centreboard case under the bridgedeck with a centreboard pivoting right under the main beam ? I see some benefits in this solution:
The side forces would be quite big, so the case would have to be made accordingly - rather straightforward - but is the bridgehead/main beam area strong enough to take up the stresses? Has someone done this previously?
Per Gjerde - Norway
Thank you for your letter, you don’t know how many of us Mk2 owners envy you your aluminium centreboards, but having said that it does give a measure of the frustration you must feel. I do not know of anyone who has tried the centreboard solution you mention.
Sailcraft tried the idea in their 35ft Cherokee which was a scaled up model of the of the Iroquois hull with a very different top section and by all reports it was not a success largely because of the board re-siting. The board was not as your proposed case but slung underneath with a system of wires and I think that is desirable as breaching the bridgedeck would be dangerous when slamming or sailing over waves down wind. As you say the forces to be resisted at the root are very large and are detailed in my earlier Newsletter. The loading would be increased by the added height of your pivot point over the existing leeboard bearing. The proposed centreboard would have to have a similar area and depth to the leeboard and the centre of areas would have to match in a fore and aft aspect.
But if you do try this out please do let us know how you get on.
Ken Pack
From Ken Boswell
You may be interested to note the way I have solved the problem of the fore beam corrosion.
I contacted David Beech of Sailspar Ltd in Brightlingsea, who made the original spar. He recommended that I put sections of the same dimensions over the holes that emerged when the fittings were removed, extending one foot either side of the main holes. These were rivetted on, not welded, which was likely to weaken the original spar.
As a result he supplied three sections one of 2ft and two of lft. He cut off the track, faired down the ends and corners then anodised the lot. These we have now "sprung" over the existing beam and rivetted into place (Sailspar provided 60 rivets for the job), and they look very smart.
The cost of the three sections and rivets was £120 inc. VAT. My yard had said that the best way to change the whole beam would have been to cut a hole in the side of the hull and draw the old beam out sideways
Ken Boswell
Doodlesack 2
I’ve only had one centreboard since the Alderney Race last year when due to wave action, one broke off along the hull line. Since then I have attempted to find a replacement and hit some problems. Firstly the original plywood used by Sailcraft was l0ft x 5ft x 1.125" and 9 ply, this is not available and the nearest is 21 ply and £250 per sheet.
I questioned Mr Reg White, and he felt that the use of a panel 19mm thick encased in GRP giving the required 28.6mm overall would be OK, but this involves the scarfinq on of butt extensions, which is not a job for an amateur and the plywood used is not cheap being a hard mahogany, anti-fracture type covered with unidirectional GRP sheathing. Mr White will make you one for £900.
But what if you do want to construct your own board, is it possible for example to produce by gluing two 8 x 4 ft panels of say 12mm and 9mm with overlap extensions to bring the blank size to the 9 x 5ft required.
Again the original board was of a particular configuration in relation to the ply grain with 3 vertical, 3 at 20 degrees off vertical and 3 horiz. It may be that by playing around with the orientation of the two panels it produces sufficient strength? Reg White believes that this would not be the case, but we need to check. I have contacted West Systems who have kindly offered to test the existing construction along with various samples of composite fabrication to determine which is closest to the original board strength or to that recommended by Reg White.
As the final choice will not affect the cutting details (we hope!) as any changes should relate to the thickness and type of plywood panel used. If the use of 12 + 9mm panels is proven Then this method of construction is quite inexpensive at around £55 for the wood.
Of course a better long term solution is going to be a full blown GRP version made off a purpose built mould. I have asked a well respected moulder to give some idea of the costs to build a mould along with the resultant total board unit cost.
It may be that if there is sufficient interest from members willing to contribute to the up front costs of such a mould, that the Association may commission the redesign and building of a new board.
This could incorporate all of the design changes which Ken Pack has mentioned in previous Newsletters, such as a quick release mechanism to allow on deck removal of the board without drawing the pivot pin. Comments please!
I have redrawn the standard centreboard to help illustrate the possibility of using two standard 8’ x 4’ sheets of as yet undetermined thickness, to make the required size. (For this example I have guessed at 12mm + 9mm).
Simple isn’t it, all right I’ll try to describe what I mean. Firstly you place two 8ft x 4ft plywood boards together with a overlap of 225mm in one plane and 180mm in the other.
Roughly tack them in place and mark out using the drawing of the centreboard from previous newsletters, you will see that some edge off-cuts are required to bring the board to the correct size and thickness. These are
All of these are cut before any glueing of the panels takes place. You should see hopefully that these off-cuts are then placed in the positions marked "place" on the drawing.
Next issue = The assembly and glueing of the board.
I intend to run this feature on services of interest to multi-hull owners to complement the technical input from members and the New Products Page (p22). This will include any information on costs covering all aspects of boat ownership along with any such discounts or offers which come our way. If any of you have knowledge of particularly good or cost effective goods or services, please write in. Two Items of note this Issue:
C & J Marine Textiles offer the following to members only:
A complete set of standard interior upholstery tailored to your own boat at £700 per set if ordered, paid for and delivered during Sept- Dec (which is 10% down on the price I was able to beat them down to last year).
And if this was not cheap enough, if 5 members order en masse then the price drops to a unbelievable £650. C & J, having produced a set of excellent upholstery for my boat, have all the basic patterns and therefore can sell at a significant discount.
C&J Marine Textiles can be contacted on 01243 573764
They have just made new trampolines for PEN-Y-MOR DAU and OCEAN HABICAT at a very good price - Webmaster
A quotation was received for transporting an Iroquois from Wicor Marine to Camberly In Surrey at a cost excluding cranage of £165.00. Does this seem cheap! Company involved is:
TIDEWAY MARINE DELIVERIES
7 Hart Plain Avenue,
Cowplain, Portsmouth, Hampshire,
P08 8RP
0705 250463
This company has considerable experience in moving multi-hulls.
Yes someone does want to charter that boat of yours, and is willing to pay cash! Contact Mr Victor Asprey on 0705 200123. It has been whispered that substantial sums maybe involved!
As I hope you will understand, this page is less than full this issue. Obviously as it’s a new feature in the Newsletter, not many of you anticipated it and wrote in. By the next one however I hope to have rather more in the way of your unwanted boaty bits to sell on your behalf, so please write in and post your wares:
1960 Johnson 25 hp outboard
Ultra-long shaft,
Electric Start,
Electronic Ignition,
Control Box and Cables,
Many Spares,
Good Runner,
Well Maintained,
£450.00.
TELEPHONE 0795 535186
As my friendly local police constable said " forget yer expensive alarm systems, git a set of fangs in the backyard ", and yes some figures do seem to bear this out. You are far less likely, it is said, to be burgled if you own a dog, ideally one with some guard breeding such as a Doberman or Bull Mastiff ! " Hang on a minute - I want to be able to get into my own house as well and anyway what happens when we go sailing and ‘Thor or Jaws’ comes with us?"
This set me thinking, what is the ideal dog for a catamaran, is there some special animal which is especially qualified for the life of multi-hull dog. So I set off to my neighbourhood pet shop for guidance, and emerged with armfuls of books on the subject to enable me to conduct this important research.
Well, well, we appear to have quite a range of choices, but firstly what characteristics are we seeking? Rover should not be too large, quite apart from the difficulty of extracting for example a waterlogged Old English Sheepdog weighing several stone from over the side (imagine a frightened crew member with teeth!), the problem of er, let’s not put too fine a point on it, waste products, is substantial. We should look for some affinity with water such those dogs bred for working in shallow marsh retrieving ducks with holes in them, for example.
Sure-footedness is a must, a greyhound with those long elegant legs looks to be a non-starter. As we said earlier long-haired coats are going to be a problem, what we need is a short waterproof coat, what is referred to in the canine world as a Musto Mutt. Weight plays a part depending on the size of your boat, if for example you have a 20 footer and your dog weights in at 3 stone keep him away from the edges.
What about uses? It would be helpful perhaps to have a dog which could be trained for some nautical activity, say taught to recognise buoys or to bark in the correct sequence in fog. Imagine creeping down the middle of the Solent in thick fog thinking you’re at least 2 miles off shore then you hear the bark of a dog approaching. What about swimming over to that mooring buoy or ashore with a line between its teeth, just think how impressive that would be in some posh marina! "I say old man, would you mind taking the line from Rover only he’s not mastered the Bowline yet".
So consider what actual activities a dog could help you with whilst sailing. I know what mine would be, a dog who could navigate, set sails, cook, take the tops off bottles and turns into Sharon Stone on command. OK, let’s look at the various breeds available in order of size. Largest first...
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Prout 50ft plus.
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Japanese Whaler
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Trader power boat
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Dublin Bay Old Gaffer
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Sardine Fishing Smack
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Dutch Barge
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Coracle
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Folkboat
Plus points
Minus points
Recommended boat - Iroquois Mkl
So there you have it, after extensive research conducted at great risk the ideal dog for your cat!
Next issue - Cat for a Cat?
J A Rolfe
This is Mr Innes’ page, Colin being our resident version of Ayrton Senna, and I’ve promised not to interfere except just this once and for good reasons. You see last Sept, our Colin took part in the 1992 Nab Tower Race and did exceptionally well and Mr Innes being a fairly modest chap is not going to illustrate his achievements if he writes this particular report. I will of course!
Most of the multihulls which took part in the Nab Tower Race were micro class racers and all relatively new boats. Those included Firebirds, Farrier 27’s, and a Dragonfly, all sailed by well known names in the racing league.
Guess what, old Col came 4th, yes, out of this collection of speed merchants and sailing a boat which is also used on holidays, and is what ? 17 years old, he beats 11 other speed machines and shows just what you can do with the "best boat afloat".
You can imagine the scene rounding the tower, there’s all these high tech tri’s and light weight racing cat’s and here comes Colin going almost as fast causing one would expect considerable embarrassment all round, although not as bad as in 1990 when ALLEZCAT came 1st.
On this occasion Colin came 4th with a time of 6hrs 30mins just 2lmins after DADDY LONGLEGS which took 1st overall. So congratulations Mr Innnes, any chance of some personal lessons?
Two Iroquois entered for this race held on 15th May this year, Allezcat and Sitting Bull, or as they’re otherwise known, the Tortoise and the Hare, (that’s quite enough of that - Ed).
The conditions were less than favourable with a F4/5 southwesterly right on the nose and a short chop in the wind against tide conditions.
The start was on port tack with the lighter boats quickly establishing a small lead over the leading Iroquois who in turn swiftly left Sitting Bull for dead (I’m warning you - Ed). Relative positions were maintained until just off Yarmouth when the second Iroquois who shall be nameless retired with what was later claimed to be steering failure. This was around 11 o clock which as most of you know is opening time.
As the fleet of multihulls closed the narrow Solent mouth the first of the mono’s caught up, aided by their ability to point higher than us.
By this time the combination of an increasing wind and some quite steep seas off the Needles, began to force the first proper retirements. We struggled on but eventually also had to succumb to caution and the changing conditions and ran back to Newtown. Only two multihulls actually finished the race. 1st was TRIHARDA an F27 and 2nd was STARLET OF POOLE an F24. With elapsed times of 6-21-53 and 6-32-21 respectively.
Colin Innes
The annual Iroquois Rally takes place on Sat. 24th July at Newtown, IOW. This is a good opportunity to meet, eat, and get totally legless with your fellow Association members, families and friends. Last years Bar-b-Que was considered a great success and this years will be even better. Attendance is absolutely mandatory and anyone not turning up will be keel-hauled personally by your chairman.
I unfortunately have been prevented from organising the cabaret by Mr Pack, who has vetoed my selection of artistes such as Miss Fifi’s Exotic Dancers and the Dagenham Girls Choir (they sing and move!). All of which fitted in so well with the other events namely the Rain Dances and Dwarf Tossing. Dress is optional for the Men, and anything in shiny black PVC for the ladies. There is a feeder race which Cohn Innes has organised, details in the AGM notice enclosed. This will be won this year by your editor.
This year again at the Star Hotel Southampton on Sat. 11th Sept at 7 pm. Details enclosed in separate notice, please let Thelma Pack know if you wish to attend in good time.
I will try to keep this section to those products which relate to Multi-hulls only, where possible. Most new products are already well covered in the boating media and so it seems sensible to limit our to items which are of specific use or interest to us brave few. These are what are generally called famous last words. The chances of me filling a column each issue with interesting new product which are just for multihulls is somewhat of a tall order. Still I can but try!
This first product is something rather special for it appears to offer at less cost than anything else on the marketplace, a considerable benefit. I am certainly impressed with the engineering and it is also significant that the bulk of sales made so far are exported overseas, with the USA being the largest single sales share. Anyway, see what you think of this brief description.
This is a most novel development and if the claims made by the designer and manufacturer are justified, then this is just what the cruising catamaran needs.
The system works by towing a drive rope with a small propeller at its end, this in turn is connected to a hydraulic torque converter system which provides fluid power to the control rams operating the rudders. A wind vane is trimmed to the wind and controls the direction desired. A later version does use a flux-gate compass, but this is still under development.
The clever bit is that the unit is designed to provide battery charging as well. The moment the control rams are not actually being operated, the unit switches automatically to charging in a split second, delivering a substantial amperage. Sufficient to run fridges etc at quite modest boat speeds
The loss from the towed propeller is said to be less than 0.5 knots. A major catamaran manufacturer is currently conducting sea trials and may include the Windhunter as standard equipment following the successful conclusion of these tests.
Your Association is also planning to repeat these trials with an Iroquois as a test bed and we will report at a later stage. Check out the ad. on the back page. (see below - Webmaster)
WIND HUNTER SELF STEERING
POWERS ITSELF
STEERS THE VESSEL
CHARGES THE BATTERIES
NO ELECTRONICS OR MICROCHIPS
This most important development in marine engineering technology naturally provokes repeated questions as to how an autopilot can PRODUCE power instead of CONSUME power. Further, electronics are the foundation stone of logic processing and if we require push button remote control conveniences it not so that we must live with the shortcomings of questionable reliability in a marine environment and the unlikely hope of electronic fault rectification at sea.
| An autopilot without electronics ? Push button fingertip control? Windvane self steering? Charges batteries? Powers itself? No such thing as magic. Just too good to be true. |
Windhunter Tec. Advice Service P.O. 80 Ilford Essex IGl 4XX 24Hrs.Help Line 081 500 0180 24Hrs. Brochure 081 501 0050 |
A periodic listing of how much and where?
Iroquois for Sale BROKERS GUIDE
|
YEAR |
TYPE |
BASED |
CONDITION |
EQUIPMENT |
PRICE |
|
|
1 |
1969 |
MK2 |
S/COAST |
7 |
8 |
£15,000 |
|
2 |
1972 |
MK1 |
GUATEMALA |
N/A |
N/A |
£13,000 |
|
3 |
1980 |
MK2 |
THAMES |
UNFINISHED SHELL |
£12,000 |
|
|
4 |
1969 |
MK2 |
GREECE |
6 |
6 |
£15,000 |
|
5 |
1972 |
MK2 |
E/COAST |
7 |
8 |
£16,000 |
|
6 |
1976 |
MK2a |
FRANCE |
8 |
9 |
£32,000 |
|
7 |
1980 |
MK2 |
FRANCE |
5 |
5 |
£23,000 |
|
8 |
1968 |
MK2 |
GREECE |
6 |
7 |
£14,000 |
|
9 |
1967 |
MK1 |
S/FRANCE |
8 |
8 |
£18,500 |
Members Boats
|
10 |
1968 |
MK2 |
ATHENS |
- |
- |
£15,000 |
(Refer to Pat. Boyd listing 0293-773775)
I am prepared to list members boats for sale, but only under certain conditions, firstly they must be offered without having been placed with a UK based broker, I do not intend to undertake an brokerage service which is more properly conducted by professional companies, ideally those who are Members of the Yacht Brokers Association, all of whom have to carry the appropriate insurances and run themselves in accordance with a strict code of conduct.
Secondly, I must advise that the Iroquois Association undertakes no responsibility for that which members may list in relation to their own boats for sale.
Thirdly, I would suggest that offering boats for sale to some 100 odd people all of which already own the very item you are trying to sell, does not seem like effective marketing to me, unless of course you are aiming at the two boat family! Boat bits, of course are always welcome, see page 16.
Having said all that, I do mean to list boats for sale In order to keep members abreast of current prices, and in fact hope to produce an article on general price trends over the last few years in conjunction with that most experienced of Yacht Brokers, Mr Pat Boyd.
The following news release has been received from MOCRA and I have, in view of its importance, reprinted it in full.
UK CRUISING BOAT USERS GROUPS WIN CONCESSIONS FROM BRUSSELS IN FACE OF OPPOSITION FROM BRITISH WATERWAYS.
Opposition to the directives worst provisions - with recommendations for improvement - was mounted by MOCRA and the OGA in 1992. Supporting the European Boating Associations representations, which were then being ignored in Brussels. Heavyweight political influence from Sir Edward Heath MP and John Gummer MP was exerted in Whitehall and through EC Comm. Sir Leon Brittan - in Brussels. This pressure resulted in Trade Minister Richard Needham and EG Vizeprasident Martin Banqemenn conceding that "HMGovernment have no intention of allowing the Directive to be used to regulate the actual use of recreational craft on the high seas" and that "The directive will not cover existing craft".
Representatives of the main UK user groups - the RYA, the Cruising Association, the Old Gaffers and MOCRA - were brought together in March ‘93 to draft and present to the DTI a joint statement of UK boat users main concerns and requirements. At a short-notice consultative meeting in Whitehall, the agreed joint users’ 3 main requirements were accepted, with BMIF support, into the official UK position.
The sole dissenting voice was that of the BRITISH WATERWAYS BOARD, which seeks from this Directive powers - well beyond those proposed in the Waterways Bill currently before Parliament -which would enable the BWB to control use of all coastal and estuary recreational craft. It is understood that budget projections for the new BWB Waterways Inspectorate assume substantial revenues from "tidal waters craft" over the next several years. The BWB representatives David Allison and Neil Frazer, repudiated by all at the DTI consultative meeting, gave notice of bringing inter-dept. pressure to bear, via the DOE, to block the agreed changes.
While BWB staff are not civil servants but employees of a nationalised industry, they have twice been represented in the formal UK delegation to Brussels, contrary to EC Council rules, while the European user’s representative, RYA Cruising Secretary and EBA Sec-General Robin Sjoberg, has so far been excluded. Should the Empire builders of the BWB, behind closed doors, succeed in taking such powers against the intentions of the Treaty and written assurances of both Minister of State Needham and EG VP Bangemann, then our boating charges will rise substantially only to employ another tier of regulators, while further restricting our sailing freedoms. In that event, the users group oppose the measure with vigor.
So the message is, if you want to sail free of restriction you are going to have to fight for it, write to your MP.
