Canal Boat on Salt Water

Dave and Natalie bought this old English narrow boat on a French canal ‘as seen’ for a remarkably

good price. It had languished on the water for six years, used only occasionally as a weekend cottage at the beautiful Breton village of Evran. Dave took a risk but not a huge one. He’s a skilled seaman and has already restored a Channel Islands 22 motor vessel – bringing her back to, and then beyond, her initial spec. Paul, his good friend has done similar restoration jobs on vintage cars.

Having bought the vessel they had the Volvo Penta engine running within half a day and then they discovered that the value of the wood-burning stove installed aboard almost covered the price paid for the entire vessel. In effect Dave bought a fully functioning eleven meter steel vessel for the price of a new stove. What’s more, the range of gear and equipment on board was pretty comprehensive – even down to cutlery, crockery and the all important corkscrew and bottle opener.

The main concern now was to make her secure for the winter and to ensure that the hull, after six

uninterrupted years afloat, remains sound. It isn’t easy to lift an eleven meter canal boat, she’s heavy and has to be supported in the right places along her hull. Fortunately the guys at Estuaire Marine at Plouer Sur Rance have the gear so all that was required was to get the boat there from her mooring at Evran on the canal. The trip involved several miles of canal travel through four locks and then through a much larger lock out of the fresh water canal into the salt water of the estuary.

They planned to do the trip in two phases – first from Evran to the beautiful medieval town of Dinan, then the following day, from Dinan out of the canal locking into the estuary for the five or so mile trip down to Plouer. We had no concerns for waves on the estuary, neither, given our 0.5meter draft, did we fear running aground. Our main concerns were whether the engine would be powerful enough to counter the tide and the potential for leeway if a cross-wind caught the boat in a tight spot. The first issues was easily dealt with – lock into the estuary just after high water when the ebb would assist the journey. The second issue would be one of choosing decent weather.

Initially the trip down the estuary was planned for Wednesday but given a forecast of 30 knot winds, the timing was brought forward to Tuesday when the wind would be less strong and from a favorable direction for most of the time.

Davy and Paul brought the boat from Dinan and I hopped aboard at the sea lock. All was well with gentle wind and tide, even the sun came out briefly and the entire trip was without incident save for a moment of minor concern when we crossed the wake of the passenger steamer coming up-channel as we were turning to enter Plouer Marina. Dave turned into the bow wave and we took the waves effortlessly, except for the fact that the automatic bilge-pump suddenly kicked into life and started pumping gallons of water out of her. Where had the water come from? The bilges had been dry when Davy checked them at Evran. I went forward to see if a wave had splashed over the foredeck but it was dry. Then, within a couple of minutes, to our relief, the pump stopped. The only explanation is that the motion of the boat in the ferry’s wake must have been enough to open one or two limber holes in the bilges enabling trapped water in fairly obscure places to run aft. The water was not salty so at least we weren't leaking.

Thursday morning, top of the tide, the boat was run onto a waiting trailer on the slipway. Estuaire Marine hauler her out and hosed her down. The hull was clean and sound and the anodes were as new. So now we’re waiting for a survey report on the hull but, given our initial findings, I don’t think Dave has much to worry about.

Seaward

Canal Boat

Regular readers (and there are a surprising number of you) will recognise this boat. She’s a Channel Islands 22 belonging to my good friends Dave and Nat. Before they bought her, she lay in Jersey pretty much neglected for several years. She was for sale but no purchaser could be found because she was slow and seemed unable to reach the speed needed to lift the semi displacement hull out of the water above her bow-wave. Over the years the asking price fell and fell. That’s when Dave took a look at her and noticed something that everyone else had missed. At some time in her past an owner had fitted bilge keels to her hull. It’s understandable, in that most Channel Island harbours dry out at low water. Bilge keels means that this boat could take the ground and remain upright without the need to carry and fit ‘legs’ each time. But those bilge keels were the reason why she behaved like a slow displacement motor-vessel rather than a semi-displacement boat capable of a good turn of speed. Dave, bought the boat, removed the bilge keels and then invested 1000 hours of work on her, bringing her to a condition better than you would expect of a new boat. He and Nat now have a luxury vessel with a cruising speed of over 12 knots.

Why am I telling you this? Simply because a few weeks ago, Dave and Nat were cruising North Brittany waters and took time to come up the Rance estuary and into the  canal. For a while they have been considering purchasing a holiday home here – they didn’t find one, but, they did find an eleven metre English narrow boat for sale on the canal in the beautiful village of Evran. Here’s the story.

Several years ago, someone decided to purchase a fleet of English narrow boats and operate a boat hire company here. The venture wasn’t particularly successful and as a result several of these boats were sold to private purchasers – mainly English people who know and love these vessels. Other nationalities probably failed to see the point in buying such a narrow vessel when continental canals are so much wider than English ones.

This particular vessel moved into private ownership and was used by a Guernsey family as a waterside

holiday home for several years but when Dave came past in his boat last week she was for sale, and had been for some time. Dave looked her over but the owner couldn’t start the engine. So Davy took a risk, made a reduced offer to purchase her immediately ‘as seen’. The seller, probably thinking of the lack of interest to date, the coming winter and the costs of insurance, mooring, maintenance and visits, accepted the offer and the deal was done.

Davy came back to the boat this weekend with a
friend who is a car enthusiast. The car, a beautiful 1968 MGB roadster attracted a lot of attention locally and within half a day, Dave and his friend Paul gained additional support and expertise from a local aircraft engineer and another guy who acted as translator. Dave and Paul stayed on the boat two nights and when they left, the engine was fixed and there was a fresh coat of paint on the cabin roof.

The plan now is to bring her down the canal into the tidal estuary and lift her out for a thorough inspection and re-fit over the winter months. She already has a wood burning stove for heating and a fully functioning galley so they’ll be comfortable even in the coldest of winters. Now if I were a gambling man, I’d make a significant bet that by the end of next summer Dave and Nat will be sailing one of the prettiest and most comfortable barges this side of the English Channel.

Seaward

The Ideal Boat

One of the most difficult aspects of buying and renovating a small boat is choosing the boat to work on. Three factors make for the difficulty:

all boat design is a compromise – a boat good for this may be useless for something else – so you have be clear about what you want your boat to do;

the boats you inspect will differ in the amount of work needed to bring them back to serviceable use – and you will need to be able to diagnose the treatment before you spend your money;

the cost of renovation will be greatly affected by your own skill or lack of it.

For me the first of these problems was the most difficult.

While marine architects are happy to design

boats for particular purposes, builders need a volume of sales so they try to market craft as being all things to all people. To get the right shortlist of boats for you, it’s important that you can compare hundreds of boats and know which ones might be worthy of consideration.  By way of extreme examples, an old trawler might make an excellent motor cruiser but she wouldn't get far up most UK canals. A 19ft sailing cruiser might be great fun – but would be unlikely to offer comfortable accommodation to four adults and a dog for extended cruising – despite what the builders and brokers may say.

Now, there is a book that I wish I had known about before I began my search. I’d like to think that I would still have chosen my Westerly Nomad – but I also think that I would have arrived at my decision much quicker, and with less road miles under my belt in the search process.

Anyway, for anyone embarking on this process, and already committed to a sailboat of no more than 26ft, as opposed to a motor vessel, here is the first weapon in your armory – you’ll recover its cost in time and petrol which could be wasted visiting inappropriate designs.

The Book is called:  The Sailors Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, by Steve Henkel.

You can get it here:

The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats: Reviews and Comparisons of 360 Boats Under 26 Feet (USA Readers)
The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats: Reviews and Comparisons of 360 Boats Under 26 Feet
(UK Readers)

Seaward

Sailing a Cornish Shrimper

Regular readers will know that the purpose of these pages is to explore the possibilities of getting on the water for less money. My own endeavours towards this goal have been centred in the renovation of a 1960s GRP sailing cruiser – a Westerly Nomad. Its taking a lot of time, much more than I envisaged, but there again ‘time’ is something I’ve got. Money, I have less of it.

Before I focused on the Westerly Nomad I had been very interested in Cornish Shrimpers. In the end I gave
up the search. Shrimpers are very expensive to purchase new and they keep their second hand prices. They are very attractive boats, tan sails and somewhat ‘retro’ looking, but with a reputation for seaworthiness and a reasonable turn of speed. A friend bought one recently – she had been lying neglected for several years in a local marina and looked pretty bad. He made a reasonable offer based on what a similar boat in good condition could command – minus the costs he might incur in bringing her back to good order. His offer was accepted and he hitched the boat to the car and drove her home. Fortunately it was a short journey.

The following day was spent replacing hub bearings on the trailer and then he began to work through the inventory of fittings, gear and equipment. The more he inspected the happier he became. In fact by the end of the day, despite stains and dirt, the faded colour on the hull and decks and cobwebs on the engine, he decided all her problems were cosmetic. She could be launched and sailed immediately. All this is a rather long-winded way of saying that I spent a couple of days last week, rigging, launching, sailing and recovering a Cornish Shrimper.

Rigging and raising the mast took a morning. Much of the time was spent reading the handbook and finding the relevant parts in the jumble of gear. Next time, we could get that time down to less than one hour. Launching, using the Shrimper’s break-back trailer took ten minutes. The inboard engine fired first time and we were away. The wind on the estuary was light force two at best, but with all sail set the Shrimper performed well, slight heal, hint of weather helm, enough power to tack without effort and a feeling that she was a bigger boat than the mere 19ft hull length. The cockpit was spacious for the two of us (and we aren't small guys!). The angle of heal barely changed with both of us sitting to leeward. She certainly felt like a real boat – not a dinghy.

The following day we set out in a force three which increased to a four that was pushing a five on our return. Under these conditions she behaved as impeccably as before. Across the wind with all sail set she was over-pressed but the angle of heal wasn’t alarming and the weather-helm was handleable. With reef in her, she maintained the same speed and tramped along without a care in the world. Sailing the Shrimper was safe, satisfying and exciting. The downside was the diminutive size of the cabin. A one-burner stove, sleeping accommodation for two, with a centerboard casing between you and not much else – it is possible to purchase a cockpit tent however, and this would make a huge difference to comfort if you wanted to use her as a weekender.

With her lifting centerboard, retractable rudder and shallow draft, recovering the Shrimper was easy and
quick. She sits low on the trailer too so I’d have no worries about taking her on reasonably long trips for a change of cruising scenery now and again. All in all, this boat would fit the bill in most aspects of ‘simple sailing low cost cruising’ except her second hand price which is usually quite high.

The one I sailed was bought for a very low price because of her apparent condition which turned out to be much better than expected. So how much work /money will be required to bring her back to excellent condition? Well, to date, the price of a set of hub bearings for the trailer. Later there will be one or two shackles and bolts to replace. These will cost pence. The Shrimper, despite her high price is fitted with galvanised fittings (in keeping with her traditional looks). Galvanised parts are usually half the price of stainless steel. Finally the mast and bowsprit need stripping cleaning and re-varnishing – the cost of a bottle of Oxalic Acid and a tin of varnish. . It’s comforting to know that cheap boats are there to be found if you look long and hard enough AND sometimes maybe sometimes they won’t need as much restoration as you might imagine.

Seaward

Channel Islands 22

There are times when renovating an old boat can be a lonely business. Too few take on the challenge and

too few succeed. So to cheer myself up I spent some time with Davy and Natalie on their boat recently.

They live on the Island of Jersey but frequently visit my home port in France to stock up on wine, calvados etc – and also to gain a respite from the hustle of an Island only 45 square miles (at high tide) with 90,000+ inhabitants.

A few years ago Davy wanted to purchase a boat and spent a good deal of time looking at vessels he simply couldn't afford. A Channel Islands 22 would be ideal. Designed by Alan Buchannan specifically for these waters, she is a safe semi-displacement motor vessel, capable of some speed, with enough cabin and cockpit accommodation to make two people very comfortable. With, her cockpit tent she becomes almost luxurious.

Davy visited several but even the oldest were beyond his price – until he was invited to see one that had been for sale for several years. Problem with her, according to the broker, was that she was ridiculously slow.  Normally a CI22 will lift onto a plane at 7 knots but no-one had been able to get her to that speed so there had to be something seriously wrong.

Davy looked her over. She was dirty but sound. He also though he had discovered why she wouldn't lift and fly so he took a chance and made a very low offer – which was accepted.

First thing Davy did was to cut away two bilge keels that had been molded onto her hull by a previous owner. They were not part of the original design and Davy estimated that the drag they caused was the reason for the poor performance. He was right. Without those additional keels she flew!

Similar vessels

Next job was to attend to her cosmetically. Davy estimates that he spent 1000 hours sanding, polishing,

painting and varnishing. Natalie also contributed most of her out- of- work hours to the project. The boat is now in better condition that when she was new. There are hot and cold domestic water systems. The heads is now a ‘wet-room’ and the cabin is lined in thin exterior ply, routed, filled and varnished to look like individual planks. There is a 24 volt circuits for use in port where hook-ups are available and a 12Volt system for other times. Floors are carpeted and every window has an individual blind (bought from Mothercare rather than expensive Chandleries). At sea there is stowage for two folding bicycles and on the river, they sit on the cabin top ready for use. This isn't sailing as I know it – this is luxury.

Davy and Nat married last year and spent their honeymoon cruising Jersey, Guernsey, Sark and Herm islands. Initially they had a slight problem getting up to speed. Some guests had tied lines of cans to the stern of the boat (as is the custom in the UK with the bride and groom’s car ) – never seen it done on a boat before though).

Seaward

New Boats & London Buses

Londoners often comment that you can wait hours for a bus and then three will appear all at the same time. There was a TV programme about this recently where the mathematics of the phenomenon were explained and yes it seems that buses do have a power of attraction to each other. I couldn’t hope to replicate the maths to explain it but essentially if buses leave the same location at say ten minute intervals along the same route, they will tend to bunch up during the course of their journey. The first bus has to stop at every stop, the second bus less so, because the first bus has picked up all the passengers. In effect the later buses tend to travel faster and catch the first.

What has this to do with buying a new boat, well not a lot except that having spend a fairly lazy year looking for a new boat, and renovating a house in France – and guess what – a number of factors coincide to make this not the ideal time to become the owner of a boat requiring major work. Firstly, having stepped out of mainstream nine to five full-time work, I now find myself in demand as a sort of fixer, and I have just agreed to undertake a project described as ‘maybe ten days work’, Well, already I know it’ll take a good deal longer than that.

Secondly, the house renovation has reached a critical stage. The ground floor is wet cement, I’m ‘camping’ on the upper floors, access via a ladder, cooking on a single burner camping stove and washing up in the bath. And finally, winter is on the doorstep – with lots of rain and wind – not the perfect weather for renovating anything – house or boat. And so I look back to those idilic wasted days of summer and autumn when I should have been getting on with things rather than dreaming.

 

Still the good news is that the boat is here with a beautifully painted green hull and she is parked up in the prettiest boatyard I have ever seen.

First job is to make a kind of list, I guess, of all the obvious tasks, and then determine to best order of work. Actually, two lists might be better than one - a list for dry days and a list for wet ones. A bonus with this boat is a charcoal stove in the cabin so no matter how cold and wet, I should still be able to move something forward. Who knows, if the house renovation doesn’t pick up speed I may have to relocate to the boat for a while anyway.

The delivery, by the way, was pretty uneventful but there was one funny incident when I met Mike at a pre-arranged rendezvous so that I could direct him for the final few miles along the back-roads to the boatyard.

We had agreed to meet at Joe’s bar, by the harbour at Plouer. Joe buys the drinks from the local supermarket and sells them from his trailer on the quayside. Mike’s wife who accompanied Mike, asked Joe for a coffee. Well he tried his best, borrowing a spoonful of Nescafe from the local marina office, a couple of sugars from the boatshed next door and using his microwave to get some heat into it. There was no milk – but well, if you ask for something exotic, as Joe explained, you need to give him a bit more notice.

Seaward

Buying a Boat

Checkout new posting on Essential Reading and Quiz Pages - Updates for the Galley Page coming soon!

 

SO, I’m waiting for my boat to be delivered with a shiny newly painted hull and I’m hoping that the paint job is up to standard. I’ve put a good deal of faith in this guy to deliver on this and would hate to have to renegotiate the deal because his skill at painting isn’t up to it.

Meantime, I need to acquire a whole raft of DIY skills if I am to launch within my cost target. Suddenly I need to become a plumber, electrician, mechanic, woodworker, painter, and I need to understand glass fibre.

Now this may be escapism, but my natural inclination is to resort to books and read up on the subjects. It would be helpful of course if I knew the sequence of tasks facing me, then my reading could be ‘timely’, i.e. read about it tonight, do the job tomorrow. One of the frustrations of my previous life was that the Department would introduce new software and on occasion I might need to use it maybe four times per year. So, I’d undertake the training and then have no practical use for it for maybe three months – by which time, I’d forgotten the training.

Three things I do know however:

The boat (apart from the hull) will be in a sad state and will require cleaning and polishing at least. Large areas will also need painting but I’m hoping to avoid using paint where-ever I can.

From what I have seen of the boat, she will need a new electrical system

There will be woodwork to do

So, I now have a collection of books on order and one or two have been delivered. I’ll review and post notes on the ones I find most useful next door on the Essential Reading Page, and the jewels of information, hints and tips I discover, will be posted here. So, if you’re interested in getting afloat, it may help you avoid pointless reading.

As usual, all comments are gratefully received especially if they offer, different, easier or cheaper solutions.

Here’s one I picked up from John Almberg on the ‘Unlikely Boatbuilder Blog

Varnishing – cheap brushes shed hairs and are a pain – they can completely ruin a good job – BUT you can use them IF you comb them first. So, get a cheap brush and comb it vigorously until it stops shedding hairs (two minutes maybe?) and then she’s as good as a much more expensive item.

Well, that’s something I’ll definitely try!

Seaward

Boat Renovation

How do you eat an elephant? This seems to be the big question for us at the moment. A boat that you want to fit out for cruising seems to have multiple aspects. There are the obvious issues about hull, deck, keel, rudder, sails and mast – is she sound how will she behave – but then other thoughts crowd in – are the seacocks safe? What about the hoses and clips? Then, there is an engine and fuel system to be considered. What about the electrics and electronics, and the sea toilet, and the plumbing for the galley, and ropes and rigging, and the state of the woodwork and the gas pipes and connectors, the cooking and heating systems ... and ... and... and.

AND suddenly a simple sailor has to become at least competent in a whole range of skills and disciplines – maybe it was always that way. So new thoughts crowd in – do I have an adequate tool box and space to do the work? Do I have power and a supply of water to hand? What are the most appropriate materials and where do I source them?

This is all slightly stupid  - this is work we could have (should have) been getting on with while we were looking for the boat to buy and so there is an important lesson here for anyone aspiring to get afloat cheaply – don’t spend your time kicking your heals and dreaming – be practical and prepare, read, make notes and get your stuff together to takle the jobs.

So,

QUESTION:                How exactly do you eat an elephant?

ANSWER:                   One bite at a time!

Now having found the boat, lack of preparation, may cost me time or money. I should have known of course – as a teacher (where I started my working career) it was drilled into me that preparation and planning were the keys to successful learning. Now, idiot that I am, I am having to re-learn that essential truth all over again. As a kind of academic, my first recourse is to books – and they all seem to say the same thing – preparation is the key.

So, before the first bite of the elephant I need to plan carefully and try to sequence the work – some things need to be done before other things, some things can’t be done until other things have been completed – but what are these things?

AND even before all that, I have to find somewhere to put the boat. I could put her in my garden. There are obvious advantages here. She would be close to water and power, there would be no charges and she’d be close by. Not everyone finds a boat on a trailer attractive however, and the neighbours might find a long stay unreasonable. A boatyard on the other hand would be an expense I could do without. Well in the end this is what I have opted for, partly out of concern for the neighbours but mainly because I feel I need boating people around me. I’m not confident enough to heroically go it alone. I’m hoping that the casual but expert advice available in the yard may help offset costs by speeding the work and helping me to get jobs right first time around. There may also be some tasks I really don’t want to take on, in which case the boat will be better located in the yard than at home. Finally, when ready, the boat can be launched directly from the yard – so no further road transport required – might even be able to sell the trailer.

I think I have found the boatyard, a couple of miles along the estuary from where I live – ‘Chantier Marine de Tannet, run by a very friendly Monsieur Seccourdan. It's close to the water, it has all the amenities including workshop, a small store of chandlery, and it has several building and renovation projects already under way. As a bonus, to my eyes at least, its a beautiful location. The sort of place you'd be happy to visit anyway, and I'm hoping there is a small but helpful community of like minded enthusiasts. 

 

Also, as a kind of bonus for me, M Seccourdan speaks no English whatsoever, so that should help my French enormously. Must make a note – first acquisition needs to be a yachtsman’s French / English Dictionary – Puis je peux commencer a manger cette elephant, morceau par morceau!

Ah - found one!

Yachtsman's Eight Language Dictionary

Seaward

Engaged to a Westerly

Well, controversially, I’ve got myself engaged to a heavy old girl, she’s sound and as solid as you could hope for, a bit long in the tooth and she needs some time in a beauty parlour. I hope she scrubs up well. Please don’t assume I’m talking about Susan here! Actually, my engagement is with an old Westerly boat – a Nomad. Her name (for the moment is ‘Sea Spray), a name I’ll probably change when the relationship is fully cemented.

I say my engagement is controversial because in my last post I asked for opinions on the deal. Well, I certainly got them but there was no real consensus. The arguments however, seemed to polarise and I’ll summarise them as best I can. Sorry, if I’ve misrepresented or misunderstood a particular point of view.

Firstly there are those who advised I walk away from the deal. The argument seemed to be that every boat, no matter how well maintained has a top value. A real low cost cruising person should know this value and then calculate the cost of bringing that particular boat back to that state. Once you have determined that cost, you can calculate the value of what you are looking at – this should be your top offer. If you can’t achieve that then you should walk away. There are lots of other boats out there. Do not get wedded to a vessel that will simply eat your money. Putting this argument to my situation, some would say that a Westerly Nomad in excellent condition may be worth 6,500 Euros. The cost of getting this one to that condition may be 4,000 Euros (more or less depending on what I can do myself and what I expertise I need to buy in). On that basis the offer I made was insanely generous.  

Others argue that this approach, whilst commercially sound, is a bit hard nosed, the kind of logic that a house developer might use – logical if your aim is to buy renovate and sell on without incurring irredeemable expense. They seem to make a number of points some of which are a bit on the romantic side, but here they are. Firstly, if everyone took that hard-nosed view, then no-one would ever purchase a new car. In the UK at least a new car loses at least a quarter of its value the day you take ownership of it. You will never recover your money on a new car. Boats are actually a better investment in that they depreciate more slowly.

Second argument (probably where I am coming from) I need a boat with certain qualities so she can do what I want of her. The list of qualities, meant that several writers wondered whether a short list could ever be achieved – few boats are built to those specs anymore, and those that are, are either horrendously expensive – Cornish Crabbers or lack comfortable accommodation Shrimpers for example. Now in assessing the cost of purchasing a suitable boat there are other expenses – I wouldn’t want to purchase a boat unseen – so to visit UK boatyards I would have to cross 120 miles of the English Channel, with a car and cover all the associated costs of food and hotels – in the hope that I would find what I was looking for within the space of a few economical days somewhere along the south coast. Car ferry alone would be in the region of 600 Euros per return trip. You wouldn’t have to make many of those to be seriously out of pocket. Then I’d need to arrange delivery, and that would require additional ferry charges if I could tow her – or a professional delivery service which would cost even more.

So, the price you pay for a boat is only one aspect of the cost of her purchase and delivery.

Stainless Steel charcoal heater - bonus!

This particular vessel could use a paint job on her hull. Internet research tells me that price and quality of finish are variable – but in my neck of the woods 30 Euros per foot seems to be the going rate. Some yachting chat sites suggest that DIY hull painting is fine as long as you are prepared to stay 10ft away from the hull afterwards. If you make a closer inspection, all the blemishes due to lack of skill and suitable working environment become obvious.

So, the deal I struck was to purchase a boat, have her professionally painted and delivered. The cost to me 6000 Euros, but instead of paying for the three items separately to three different individuals or companies, the payment will be made to one person who will undertake the work. I think I have made a reasonable deal to buy this boat – given my location and the costs associated with looking wider afield – and yes, the seller, by undertaking the painting and the delivery, has made close to his money by providing those services.

The alternative, I guess would have been to purchase another boat locally, but there is a real question as to whether she would have met my checklist of requirements.

There were other comments – which I try not to subscribe to – such as ‘well everyone knows, that boating is like standing under a cold shower tearing up bank notes’ and all boats are simply holes in the water that you pour money into. So what’s your problem whatever boat you buy will try to bankrupt you.

I’d like to think I’m somewhere in the middle of the road, I can’t imagine stopping the transformation of this little vessel into a comfortable long term (semi live-aboard) cruiser simply because the outlay won’t be recoverable but there again I can’t afford to throw money away.

So, the jury is out – different people have different philosophies and approaches and I’m not here trying to change anyone’s views – it’s been a good discussion though and lets see how things progress.

Actually, she doesn't look to bad from here

One view sent to me, which I saved to the last, was that there is no economic sense in owning a boat at all! Charter, what you want, where you want, when you want it - in truth you’ll only be paying for a boat when you use it and you have none of the responsibility of ownership. Well, no thanks, I can see the point of view, but no boat can compare with the one you own – she’s yours, she’s an extension of your personality, she talks to you and looks after you. Even guys who never leave the slipway will say that there is something primitive about boat-ownership, the relationship pre-dates scientific economic theory by a few thousand years. Ah, the idiot old romantic is surfacing again!

Seaward

Buying a Westerly

 The Nomad on the Mountain

Ok the deal is done – well almost. Mike, the English guy I am buying the boat from is a fascinating type, retired, living on the top of a mountain in Normandy and keen to become a sailor. So, he has this boat which is too big and heavy for him to trail easily and anyway, for the moment, until he becomes a little more confident in his navigation and seamanship, he wants to sell her and purchase something lighter and more suited to sailing a lake rather than the open sea. His ultimate goal is to sail around the UK.

We agreed that with luck and honest speaking we might be able to put together a ‘win-win’ agreement.

Now, like me, Mike has time to spare but money is tight. I know I can afford this boat because I have seen the prices they tend to bring. The boat is sound but cosmetically sad. I’ll need to paint the hull and that instils fear in me – never used a spray gun in my lifeand won't trust my competence on this job with a handbrush - painting non-slip on a deck is one thing - bringing a hull back to shining brilliance is something else. I’ll also need to arrange transport and given this boat’s location it won’t be cheap.

As I’m thinking of these fators John (the unlikely boat buider) Albugh’s advice is echoing in my ear ‘if an old boat needs restoration, you will need at least twice the money spent on her purchase to bring her back’.

I’m under no illusions here – there is a lot to do and a good deal of the gear that comes with her will need replacing – the compass for example is stuck on 280 degrees. Now that in itself might be an omen – 280 degrees is the course to steer to enter my home port - Plouer Sur Rance. I know the entrance well enough now not to need the compass – but it’s kind of good to know that when I bring her in, the compass for once in its life will be reading true.

I think I mentioned earlier that whilst I am looking for simple low cost cruising, I’m not prepared to rip anyone off to obtain my goal – essentially, if I ever feel that’s what I have done – then I’ve  blown the project.

So, here is the arrangement – Mike wanted 6,500Euros, for boat, trailer and all the gear. I worked on the assumption that everyone-over values their boat – they can’t help it, and much of the 'gear' isn't worth a great deal. My entire budget for this project is 10,000 Euros – so I need to bring the purchase price down significantly. I know Mike will balk at an offer of 4,000 Euros and yet I know I could purchase a craft similar to this in the UK at that kind of price – probably with a trailer but then there would be delivery charges and that could push the overall cost back to 6,000 Euros (or pretty close) – and then I would need to paint the hull. We discussed the dilemma and then Mike came up with something.

In a previous life Mike had made a living painting horse-boxes, trailers for carrying horses behind family cars from event to event. The trailers are generally of wood and aluminium construction and owners like to have them painted in the livery colours with their names on them. We walked around the back of his house to the barn and he showed me a few examples of his work – the quality of finish was outstanding. Ah, so now I know why he’s living on a mountain – he keeps horses on it.

He needs 6,000 Euros, effectively reducing his price by 500  Euros, but he has plenty of time. His offer is to meet the cost of paints fillers, degreasers etc, prepare and paint the hull and deliver the boat to my boatyard within the price. I pay him the money when the work is done to my satisfaction and the boat is snugly berthed at the boat yard near my home. Once she arrives I’ll probably sell the trailer to recover a little of my expense.

I think we both got a good deal, he gets the money he needs but has to devote time and skill to the project, I get the boat I want delivered with a shiny, newly painted hull.

What do you think?

Seaward

Westerly Nomad (2)

Rig and Rudder

Well there seems to be quite a bit of support for the idea of purchasing a Westerly Nomad and this one seems to tick a significant number of boxes (although a few boxes remain unticked and there are still a few unanswered questions) Maybe someone can offer suggestions.

Firstly, the boat is ‘sound’ to the best of my knowledge. I undertook a boat surveying course last year organised by the International Institute of Marine Surveyors and seriously considered taking it up as a part-time retirement activity. Unfortunately, the cost of professional indemnity insurance for a rookie surveyor is such that I would have had to work full time to cover the fees, and that would have put me back to the 9-5 routine I was trying to avoid – so it didn’t happen. I do feel qualified to survey a small boat however, so I’m satisfied she is sound and, if I get it wrong, well, I can blame the surveyor but I can’t sue him.

She certainly fits the bill for shallow draft and as a triple keeled vessel, she’ll take the ground without falling over – so she’s good for estuary and canal. Previous Nomad owners have crossed the Atlantic and everyone tells me she is a good sea boat although she is slow. Cabin accommodation is likened to that of a 26 or 27footer, so she’ll be comfortable for two.

The Nomad is essentially a modified Westerly 22 and the Westerly 22 was Günter rigged – so maybe (and this needs further research) just maybe I could rig this Nomad as a Günter. The question is whether in developing the Nomad  from the 22, the designer moved the chain plates for the shrouds - I don’t know. Why does this matter?  Well, there can be no backstays with a Gunter rig so the responsibility for stopping the mast falling forward rests with the shrouds, attaching them as far aft as possible. The Nomad was always produced as a Bermudan sloop with backstays – so did Rayner move the shroud fitments forward when he added the chain plates on the transom? Interestingly enough, the Nomad has twin forestays, one of which sits inboard and attaches to the mast at two thirds the height of the mast – pretty much where the forestay on a Günter rigged vessel would have been. This seems a little like over-egging the pudding (as we say in Yorkshire) So, did Rayner simply add a mast headed forestay and backstays to the existing Gunter rig arrangement to accommodate Bermudan, or did he alter the location of the lateral stays as well? If the answer is the former, then I could perhaps consider conversion to Gunter. Either way this isn’t top of my list of priorities – it would be nice to do – if and when all the other issues have been dealt with.

At the moment I am more concerned with another modification which has been made to this particular Nomad. The rudder has been changed and moved to the transom and the space saved in the cockpit has been used to create an outboard well. Now this is both exciting and worrying. The new rudder looks strong enough and her fittings seem robust. The outboard well seems to be well-made and strong. If this modification works it frees up inboard engine space and makes for a cheaper and easier to maintain power source. The rudder however, is in a new location and is more exposed. Allain, a professional boat builder and sailor suggests that the new location for the rudder should improve performance over the original design and that if I am worried I can protect it and strengthen it by fitting an iron bar between from the bottom of the rudder and the bottom of the keel. A job, I might consider after a season’s use when I have got the measure of how she performs. 

With these modifications there is no question of bringing the boat back to her 'factory setting' so I certainly won't be 'restoring' a Westerly Nomad, instead I will be 'renewing and updating' a modified version. This isn't a problem for me, in that I always wanted to end up with something more comfortable that the rather austere vessels typical of 1960's GRP. 

So, you can guess my interest in this Nomad is more than casual. I know this boat will be in my price range (because they all are) but a price has to be negotiated and my concern is to achieve a fair settlement neither feeling ripped-off nor feeling that I have ripped anyone else off. I’m into Simple Sailing and Low Cost Cruising but I don’t want to achieve this at anyone else’s expense (unless they are a banker of course – they seem to be able to look after themselves well enough!). Now, these boats are old and so relatively cheap in the UK but rare in France so lets see what happens.

Seaward

Westerly Nomad, Westerly Centaur

Westerly Nomad, Westerly Centaur

New Recipe Page for September - see 'A view from the galley'

So, this weekend we took an expedition to the remote and obscure regions of Normandy to see a guy called Michael, an Englishman who has settled here and who has a Westerly Nomad for sale.

I have been attracted to the Westerly range of Sailing boats for some time but was disappointed recently when I inspected a Westerly Centaur, the most famous of the Westerly range. Let me not be misunderstood here, she was a lovely boat and I can easily appreciate why they sold in such huge numbers in the 1970s and 1980’s – a solid more seaworthy boat you could not hope to encounter – but for me, she was just too large. There is a balance I guess between comfort which frequently comes with size, and easy handling and maintenance which comes with a lack of size. At 26ft the Centaur was just on the wrong side of the equation. With a Centaur, I felt I would need use of a crane every time I wanted to lower the mast (and I do want to lower the mast easily to make use of the canal). I loved the centaur but she was not for me.

Then I heard about the Westerly 22ft, the first boat that the designer Commander Raynor put in production. A strange quirky looking vessel that wouldn’t appeal to many people today, but Susan fell in love with her unusual shape and the heaviness of her build. I liked the Gunter rig and the fact that she had Atlantic crossing under her belt.

But then I heard about the Nomad – varying reports – Michael, another Michael, who often comments on these scribblings told me he’d had one and wouldn’t purchase another – Michael however, likes speed. Another web site is actually dedicated to them and there is a Yahoo group specifically for Nomad owners. They delight in the vessel and wax lyrical about her accommodation, her heavy build and safety record. Elsewhere on the net, someone commented that she was ‘built like a tank – but sails ----- like a tank!’

So, what to make of a Nomad? Well, they have an international following and there are several examples in the USA as well as UK, but in France, she is a rare boat indeed.

But by pure chance I heard of the Englishman trying to sell one in Normandy, a two hour drive from my home in Plouer Sur Rance Brittany. If nothing else, a trip to see her would make for a pleasant day out. So, armed with a good map and a couple of sailing friends (whose role it was to take a dispassionate view and point out the downsides), we set off from Plouer for a somewhat obscure farm in Normandy.

At Avranche just across the border we stopped for lunch at the Restaurant de la Post and the four of us enjoyed a three course lunch with wine and coffee for about 60 euros total (£50ish ?). Normandy is famous for chicken in cream, and apple deserts with wafter thin pastry. Guess what – we had chicken in cream, and apple deserts with wafter thin pastry, a pleasant change from the Sausage pancakes of Brittany.

After lunch we climbed through heavily wooded deep cut valleys until we reached Michael’s place 1,200 above sea level and at least 80 miles from the sea. Strange location for a boat and her skipper. Michael, explained that he’d bought this place after falling in love with it on a holiday. Only when he took the plunge and moved in had he realised the altitude.

So, here was the boat – pretty much as I had expected, sitting on a large road trailer and looking pretty sad. Having crawled all over her however, it became clear that she was sound albeit cosmetically sad. Two things impressed me:

1. the cabin accommodation is enormous, there are no side decks and the cabin is stretched almost all the way to the bow.

2. She has a charcoal burning stove inside her – immediate fantasy pictures of late autumn living aboard and cruising the canal in real comfort.

As for Susan, well she was cold – dressed for a lunch in a restaurant rather than clambering about an old wet boat in such an exposed location – but guess what – she loved her. It’s that quirky whaleback shape and turned up nose that did it. So, this Nomad is a serious contender. 

 

So what did you think of her Jack?      'Rough'!

 Any thoughts anyone .....before I jump?

Seaward