On Board with Mark Corke

Electric outboards

2010-02-03T14:23:14-05:00

I've long had a fascination with electric power for boats. I can see that for many day sailors and those that do not venture far from the dock and a ready supply of shore power electric power is the way to go.

I have actually been using an Minn Kota electric outboard on the dinghy for the past few years and have been very impressed. Light to store on the mother ship I don't have to mess with gas and the quiet is a blessing. To supply the power to the motor I use a portable battery meant for jump starting cars. I can plug in into the main ships charging battery when back on board and it charges up from flat in a couple of hours ready for next use. The whole outfit, engine and battery weigh less than the 2 hp Yamaha that I used to use. In fact I use the electric outboard so much now that I gave up with the gas engine and recently sold it. I do love the quiet and so do the neighbors on adjacent boats when I have to run the dogs ashore early in the morning.

Although I have yet to try one out the Torqeedo motors look good at first glance. They have been out for while now and what sets them apart from the Minn Kota and others is that a detachable Lithium Ion battery is incorporated into the top of the motor itself. This means no cables in the boat with the engine as compact as a small gas outboard.

The 1003 model shown above has the equivalent thrust of a 3 hp gas engine the makers claim thus making it a realistic replacement for auxillary power on the back of a small day sailer, larger dinghy or RIB. Priced at $1900 it is not cheap but it does have some neat features such as a display built into the tiller handle showing the rate of discharge and remaining range based on the amount of battery juice left.

If they can get the price down a bit making the engine more attractive to buyers then I can see that I will not be the only person in the harbor zipping around in near silent motion.

Miami Boat show

2010-02-01T22:19:56-05:00

Next week I am off to the Miami boat show where I am acting as one of the judges for the NMMA innovation awards.In addition to judging the awards I shall also be trying out and inspecting some new products that will be debuting at the show. I'll take my camera with me and try to get them posted up on the blog as soon as I can. Some of the products are so new that they have been embargoed until next week so you will have to wait till then uintil I can tell you all about them. What I can tell you is that there is going to be some interesting developments in LED lighting. Several companies will be showing new underwater lights in addition to some new interior and navigation lights.

Basic outboard maintenance

2010-01-29T19:33:53-05:00

There are a lot of videos on the internet, some are good and some shall we say of dubious quality and content. While researching a story that I have just written for my column in the April issue of Lakeland Boating on engines I came across this video of how to look after an outboard motor. It is based around a 4 cylinder Yamaha engine but the basics hold true for every engine irrespective of the manufacturer. Not perhaps the best in terms of the way that it has been shot or edited but I do like the content.

Teak treatments- the results

2010-01-25T11:56:23-05:00

The board above was part of a survey that I started when I was with Boatworks magazine and is series of test samples of teak treatments. All of the teak decking sections were all machined from the same teak board and as such were all the same color at the start of the trial some two and half years ago. Since that time I have weathered the board and applied the treatments following the manufacturers recommendations both with regard to the initial treatments and subsequent applications.

The results are interesting, some of the samples look good while others look like they have had virtually no treatments at all. You can click on the picture to make it larger and although it is not the same as actually seeing it in real life you can see the color variation.

From left to right they are as follows; Teaqua, Starbrite, Mequiars, West Marine, Interlux and finally Amazon Gold.

Of course results are very subjective but to my mind the Teaqua is by far the best of the bunch with the Amazon Gold a close second. What you cannot tell from the picture however is the feel of the samples. The Teaqua feels very smooth, while the Meguiars and the West Marine feel rough to the touch. As these last two also have the most washed out appearance it would appear that the treatment has had the least effect both in terms of protecting the wood and maintaining the appearance. Of course teak requires no treatment and can be left to weather to a silver grey color if the owner prefers and it would appear that this is exactly what is happening to the West Marine and Meguiars samples albeit more slowly than would be the case had no treatment at all been applied. Interestingly the Interlux sample has quite pleasing color but the surface is somewhat rough.

So my final recommendations would be that if you want to keep the just laid teak deck look then a regular treatment of the Teaqua would be the way to go with the Amazon Gold not far behind.

Gus Davidson - Intrepid voyager

2010-01-18T16:16:49-05:00

I had an interesting talk with my friend Gus Davidson using Skype the other day. He is sailing his Golant Gaffer which is the same boat as Mallard albeit somewhat modified, across th Atlantic this year as part of the Jester challenge. The picture above shows him leaving the south coast of England in the summer of last year to compete in the qualifying 500 mile voyage.

Gus will be leaving Plymouth in the south west of England sometime in May and has hopes of being in Newport by the the 4th of July. Rita and I will be acting as a sort of reception committee and generally helping out on this side of the pond. Gus will have broadband access and so will be sending regular updates and pictures hopefully, which we will share with you here on On Board.

He is raising money for a cancer charity 'Macmillan cancer support' and is on target to raise over $150,000.

Gus reports that the boat named 'Just Right' performed superbly on the qualifier and averaged over 100 miles per day which is good for a boat with such a short waterline length.

Mallard - Golant Gaffer

2010-01-14T22:05:12-05:00

I have had a fair few enquiries about Mallard my Golant Gaffer that is currently up for sale. Specifically I have been asked for extra details and pictures. If you are interested you can find them by clicking here which will take you to the listing page of Gray and Gray yachts who are acting as brokers.

Loran C - R.I.P

2010-01-08T21:09:20-05:00

If you have a Loran C receiver on your boat which you use for navigation you have exactly on more month to use it before it will be useless.

The USCG have just announced that as part of cost cutting exercises the LORAN transmitters will cease functioning after February 8th.

The press release is brief which you can read here but it seems that the government seems to feel that with so many people now using GPS the Loran chains are now superfluous. I would be interested to hear what On Board readers think.

Canoe builder - Walter Walker

2010-01-05T21:06:41-05:00

Walter Walker is not a name that springs to mind for many readers of On Board but if you have an interest in canoes as I have then you will know that Walker was the last of the old time builders of wood and canvas canoes.

Born in 1907 Walker died just two weeks before reaching his 102nd birthday. Initially trained as furniture maker Walker soon moved the the Lakefield Canoe Company in Ontario where he worked for many years, but he is perhaps best known for his work at the Peterborough Canoe works where at one time there was in excess of 100 workers turning out the beautiful canoes.

Walker did not ever seem to really retire and although he stopped making canoes for large firms he continued into old age in his own shop making canoes and paddles until only a few years before his death.

Although Walker actually died at the end of last year it is only now that I have got around to mention his passing but it is heartfelt nonetheless.

Incidentally if you want to find out a little more about this method of canoe building or are perhaps interested in building your own wood and canvass canoe you might like to check out my friend Jerry Stelmok's website by clicking here.

Bowline on the bight

2010-01-02T18:27:45-05:00

The bowline on a bight forms two loops, which if the knot is tied correctly will be of the same size.

Easy to tie it does none the less require a little bit of practice so that it can be tied swiftly and properly.

In the bight of the rope or in other words the section of rope where the the knot is desired form an overhand loop then pass the working part of the rope through the loop coming up from the underside.

After passing the working section through the loop grasp the middle of the working section and pull it down towards you as shown.

Pull on the two loops formed to snug up and complete the knot.

As ever the best thing is to practice until it becomes second nature. The bowline on the bight has a lot of uses and I have even used a series of them in one piece of rope which spaced at regular intervals makes a rudimentary but effective rope ladder.

You can click on the images to make them bigger as always but for additional help click here for an animation of how to tie this knot.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T16:42:33-05:00

Here's to a happy, safe and enjoyable 2010 boating season.

Mark