We put the latest kit through its paces
TRIED& TESTED
Helly Hansen 90L
Classic Duffel
Seajet 033 Shogun antifouling
£85
£79.95 for 2.5 litres
VALUE
RATING VALUE
RATING A superb solution to the increasingly
punitive luggage restrictions inflicted
on travellers by budget airlines, this
good-looking holdall swallows a heck
of a lot of kit for its size.
The pocket on the inside flap is
good for storing small items and the
external pocket that’s positioned at
the end of the bag means documents,
passports and keys are accessible,
even when the bag is standing.
Made of a tough waterproof fabric,
it feels like it’ll go the distance and the
durable zips are hard wearing too.
One feature I really like is the ability
to either wear it as a proper backpackor carry it with the shoulder strap.
When hauling a lot of heavy kit
around, plus laptops and cameras,
the backpack straps come into their
own and make transporting the bag
much easier.
It comes in four sizes (90, 70, 50
and 30 litres) and a variety of colour
options from classic black to a bold
(and rather cool) shade of orange,
which will certainly be easy to spot
on the luggage belt. A good weekend
bag, easy to chuck in the boot or take
as hand luggage and a competitive
price. Jack Haines
Contact http://www.hellyhansen.comRegular readers may remember
the story I wrote last year about
the restoration of a lovely old motor
launch that has been in my family for
over 70 years. The work was carried
out by students at the International
Boatbuilding Training College in
Portsmouth and although they were
mostly learning complex skills such
as steaming wooden frames and
installing teak decks, they were also
happy to take on more basic tasks like
painting and antifouling. Given they’d
stripped her pitch pine planking back
to bare wood, this was an opportunityto start again from scratch with a
quality antifouling that would look
the part as well as keep the critters
at bay. That meant finding something
that was compatible with a wooden
hull, gave excellent results even on a
drying mud berth during the summer
months and came in the right shade
of red to suit her classic colour
scheme of white topsides, blue
boot topping and red hull.
Lastly, we needed
a true self-polishing
antifouling that
gradually dissolvesin water to leave a fresh layer of paint
even when the boat isn’t used for long
periods. Because we keep Isabel II
afloat all year round to prevent her
hull from drying out, she barely moves
from her berth in Salterns Marina,
Poole for much of the winter. Seajet’s
033 Shogun ticks all those boxes.
With the Shogun beautifully
applied by the IBTC team, she looked
resplendent at her launch
in June 2017, and when
she finally came out
of the water again for
her annual wash and
touch-up in April 2018,
I was pleasantly surprised
to see how good she still
looked. There was a slightbuildup of slime from her ten months
afloat and the odd whisp of weed
dangling from her keel band, but no
barnacles or jelly growths that might
have slowed her progress – unlike
her unprotected propeller, which
looked like it had the beginnings
of a coral reef forming on the blades.
In fact, after a quick hose, the
Shogun looked almost as good as
when it was first applied and probably
could have lasted another season (it’s
designed to last two seasons when
applied thickly enough), but having
gone to the trouble of a lift-out, we
decided to add another coat anyway.
You can never be too safe when
protecting a loved one! Hugo
Contact http://www.seajetpaint.comAfter ten months afl oat,
there is some growth
of slime and weed but
no barnacles or jelliesIsabel II shows off her fresh
red, white and blue livery
after a refi t at the IBTCBy contrast, the
uncoated propeller
is heavily encrusted
with barnacles
The largest 90-litre bag
swallows plenty of kit but
folds fl at when emptyRucksack
straps make
carrying easy