Our Boat – Page 2

Rustler Yachts

In Wales we discovered that the windows leaked. We already knew that the hatches leaked but they seemed to leak more in Wales. We also had a list of smaller jobs that we were going to need some assistance with. Rustler Yachts are based in Falmouth so as we approached we sent them an email saying “we have a 25 year old Rustler and it leaks. Can you help us?” Once management had explained how busy they were, we were passed on to Barney, their refit manager who agreed to meet us the next day. We met on the pontoon and showed him our problems. He thought that everything was doable and told us to be back in the same place the following Monday.

On Monday Gary appeared and set to work on the first hatch. The next three days he was joined by Steve and together they worked their way through our list with Barney supporting them in the workshop. When they removed the heads hatch we discovered that it must have been leaking for a few years as the ceiling was completely rotten. No problem for these guys, they made all the parts new. Continue reading “Rustler Yachts”

A working engine.

The engine problems that I mentioned in an earlier blog entry were still there. Every time we tried to sail the engine filled with salt water and was then almost impossible to start.

Via the broker we contacted the previous owner and he assured us that this had never happened, no matter how hard he sailed or on which point of sail.

Three people had looked at the system and all were convinced that everything was as it should be and there was no way that the water could be coming in through the exhaust. But neither could any of them suggest where it was coming from.

Information_Sign Douglas works for Northwind Engineering Ltd. You can contact them as follows: Camusteel, Applecross, Wester Ross, IV54 8LT. 01520 744467 or 01520 733261, ewenapplecross@aol.com

And then Douglas came to help. He listened to our description of the problem, took a long hard look at the system and then declared it was the stern gland lubrication that was letting water in. This is a small tube that should be connected to the salt water outlet on the heat exchanger. When the motor was reinstalled, after being cleaned and painted, two pipes were mixed up so that the feed was from the exhaust. As soon as we sailed with no back pressure from the engine, the water flowed back up the tube and in to the engine.

Douglas giving the engine a long hard stare

On Sunday we went out for a test sail with the tube disconnected and confirmed Douglas’ theory. Today he “replumbed” everything correctly and finally, after three weeks of problems, we can sail and still have a working engine when we take the sails down.

And Douglas took Heidi to buy engine coolant and they came back with fresh fish.

Repairs (probably just part one)

We have now been on board for two weeks. After all the work we had commissioned over the last year, we were expecting a few teething problems and they came as expected.

The engine runs well but loses various fluids and occasionally refuses to start when needed. This is not a good state for an engine. Three times now we have reached the end of a journey to not be able to start the engine without considerable effort. Sailing backwards and forwards in front of a port instead of entering it is not fun.

First it was losing fresh water coolant. We refilled it twice and both times it lost the refilled amount. This turned out to be an easy problem; the system was overfilled to begin with. Once we stopped topping it up, it stopped losing coolant.

There is also a small diesel leak whch we traced to the fuel filter and is now on the “wait until it gets worse” list.

Heidi in the "engine room" — Heidi in the “engine room”

The strangest problem was that there were occasionally liters of salt water below the engine. These appeared randomly and once they did the engine would no longer start. Yesterday, while sailing up the Sound of Sleat, we saw water dripping out of the air filter. In Mallaig a neighbouring motor boat owner in consultation with the local guru decided that in heavy following seas the water was being rammed back up the exhaust. So now we need a “cat flap” on the back of the boat. Continue reading “Repairs (probably just part one)”

Registering Artemis

When we bought Artemis we were told that she had been deregistered from the British Registry. That fitted well with our plan of registering her in Gibraltar. Little did we know that this was the start of a tragi-comedy that would take months to run its course.

Gibraltar Registry

Our first information was that the Gibraltar Registry “only” needed originals of the bill of sale, the builders certificate and (of course) some money.

The bill of sale wasn’t a problem but we had never seen a builders certificate. The broker and the previous owner also did not have it and we received information that “back then” there wasn’t always a builders certificate. We contacted the first owner and he had a photocopy of the certificate but wasn’t sure if he had ever seen the original. We now knew that it had once existed but it could no longer be found.

Back to the registry.

Continue reading “Registering Artemis”

Ship radio license and EPIRB registration

After months spent trying to register Artemis, I approached the task of obtaining a radio license and registering the EPIRB with trepidation. I was already stressing about pages of forms and days of work. It turned out to be extremely easy and less than an hours work from beginning to end. Continue reading “Ship radio license and EPIRB registration”

Marine Insurance

This is a subject I approached with great respect. My research in Internet forums led me to believe that the insurance market is peopled by evil, money grabbing scrooges who hide behind small print and set unreasonable conditions before they will even agree to consider taking a huge chunk out of your boating money.

sinking

This turned out not to be true.

Continue reading “Marine Insurance”

History of Artemis of Lleyn

In 1991 the original owner paid the deposit to Orion Marine in Falmouth for a Rustler 36 that was to become hull number 56, “Artemis of Lleyn”. In 1992 she was displayed at the Southampton Boat Show. Her first season of use was 1993.

Artemis in 1993 being sailed by Mr John Hodges (photo: Martin Turtle)

During 1995 she did a circuit of the Atlantic and cruised in the Caribbean. After that she was in the Baltic for three years and cruised as far as the Russian border in Finland to the East and the Aaland islands in the North.

Continue reading “History of Artemis of Lleyn”

Buying Artemis of Lleyn

I knew that I wanted to sail; that was the easy bit. The hard bit was knowing what I wanted to sail.

Two weeks on a brand new Dufour 350 with self tacking jib showed me exactly what I didn’t want. A roll threw me on to the chart table and it broke. The locker fittings broke as you opened them and we found some screws on deck at the bottom of the mast. And the noise of the flat bottom at the bow slapping the waves was awful. Four weeks on a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37 were fun and most of the time I could actually reverse in to a marina, but deep down I knew I was looking for something else.

Dufour 350 in Croatia — AWB – exactly what I didn’t want

After 18 months I had read all the arguments in the Internet about sail area/displacement ratio, stability index and the angle of vanishing stability and was thoroughly confused. The only useful result of all my reading was that I was slowly getting a feel for what I should be expecting to pay for the boat of my dreams.

Continue reading “Buying Artemis of Lleyn”