Practical Boat Owner - July 2018

Readers share their thoughts and opinions

Letters

Email [email protected]

or write to us at the address on page 5.

Photos are appreciated, letters may be edited.

Spoiling the fun

Having been involved with RYA

dinghy coaching, I’ve

witnessed just how much

parental pressure is infl icted on

young aspiring racing sailors

now. Parents often seem to be

trying to re-live their own failed

aspirations through their

children. The results end up

putting off many fi ne young

sailors. Having a grown-up or

parent breathing down your

neck whilst having fun with

friends spoils any fun/love of

being on the water.

Unfortunately, these young

folks often give up water

sports altogether for life... this

is a tremendous waste.

When I was a lad some of

the most fun we had was

taking part in yacht

seamanship races at

Burnham. These early season

races began with everyone in

the clubhouse with tenders

tied up onto the hard. After the

gun was fi red everyone had to

row or paddle their dinghy out

to their boat, then get

underway using sail power.

Many of the crews were keen

racing types; quite a handicap

if you had a large, heavy crew.

The seamanship elements

evened up these races for

many of us family crews. We

weren’t that serious and many

of us were much smaller than

these men. And the training

was fantastic for everyone with

the season ahead, as they

involved anchoring, a MOB

practice and sailing off and on

your mooring.

John Simpson, Inveraray

Bavaria 42

window seals

Does anyone know where I

can obtain a seal for the side

portlight of my Bavaria 42? I

refer to the seal between the

glass and the frame rather

than the seal between the

fi tting and the hull. I have tried

the UK Bavaria dealership, I’ve

Googled ‘seals and gaskets’

and I’ve tried standard hatch

seal tape. If any readers can

help I’d be most grateful.

Mike Olive-Jones, via email

Please reply c/o PBO

Sick of

stripping

I am indebted to Russell Eden

for his timely article on

replacing a mast cap (PBO

June 2018) which has saved

me a lot of hassle. One of the

fi rst jobs I did when I bought a

20-year-old Cornish Shrimper

in 2010 was to strip the

discoloured varnish from the

mast, down to clean wood,

and then re-apply several

coats of varnish.

Since then I’ve been working

round the woodwork,

replacing varnish with

International Woodskin for

ease of maintenance. I always

regretted re-varnishing the mast

and, this winter, laboriously

stripped it back to the wood

once more, ready to apply

Woodskin. Then I read Russell’s

article where he recommended

Sikkens Cetol HLS Plus

followed by Filter 7 Plus as

being a much better option. A

hasty search round local

suppliers located the necessary

tins and the fi rst coat is now on.

I am hoping this change of

Seadog Wanda has been sailing for four

years and is a regular fi xture on the boat.

She loves getting wet swimming, but hates

rain or wave splashes. She ensures no

food matter is left aboard that might attract

rodents. Generally well behaved, she has a

tendency to lean heavily against the

skipper’s legs and this has been known to

move the throttle, just at the worst moment.

Charles Godden, by email

SEADOG OF THE MONTH

Send us your seadog photos for our web gallery

http://www.pbo.co.uk/seadogs and your pet may be lucky

£30 enough to become Seadog of the Month and win you £

Smitten by the Western Skiff

Zennor Compton

Last month’s practical feature on installing an outboard well in the Nigel Irens designed Western Skiff struck a chord with one reader

Am I the only one trying to

fi nd out if plans/kits are still

available for The Western

Skiff – the beautiful boat

featured in ‘A man’s best

friend’ in PBO June 2018?

Andy Phillips,

Milford on Sea,

Hampshire

Editor replies: We

understand from the

designer, Nigel Irens, that

although the boat was

never sold on the open

market he does get fairly

frequent enquiries – we

may have more soon...

watch this space.