A mysterious mechanical problem leaves Simon Broadley and his young family sailing in 7½ knot tides with a new but unreliable engine.
We had changed the engine in Sirona, our Dehler 38, after losing faith in the previous one. Getting on for 30 years old, it still ran, but its death rattle was getting louder, its smoke blacker and over the five years we’d owned the boat we’d spent almost enough on it to buy a new one.
When the brand new engine refused to start, I dismissed it as a teething problem. The children were disappointed that we couldn’t go sailing but the weekend soon became a success. Bleeding an engine is a child-friendly job. There’s a lever that’s easy for small fingers to wiggle, there are bubbles to watch, and then the satisfaction of it purring into life. The magic was marred by the need to bleed it several more times as it wouldn’t run for more than a few minutes. We called the mechanic who repaired it once, and then again the next time we were at the boat.
The engine worked fine when we struggled to pick up a mooring off a bumpy lee shore, as we worked into Stranraer against a gale, and as we motored across a lumpy channel to Bangor. We were in Strangford Lough, where tides run up to 7½ knots, when the engine first faltered. I attributed its occasional hunting to the spectacular eddies teasing the prop. It took a few attempts to start on the pontoon at Portaferry, but then idled perfectly for a few minutes. All seemed well. We cleared the marina and headed for the sea, back north to meet friends at Bangor.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2017-Ausgabe von Yachting Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2017-Ausgabe von Yachting Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Midsummer on Hanö
This wonderful little island in the south-east of Sweden is a real gem off the beaten track
ADVENTURE SAILING TO HAITI
After spending two months in the Dominican Republic, Andy Brown sails west to Haïti bringing medical and school supplies to the town of Mole Saint Nicholas
In celebration of bad sailing
New owner Monty Halls tests his sailing skills with his family aboard their Colvic 34 ketch, Sobek. A recently qualified Day Skipper, Monty faces a few unexpected challenges...
Winter brings excitement and opportunity
Oddity’s double glazing, insulation and heating create a warm, homely environment as I bash out this column.
ADVENTURE MAISIE GOES TO GOES
To depart or not to depart? That is the question. Is it safer to stay, or suffer the wind and weather of a rough North Sea?
'MAYDAY, GRANDAD OVERBOARD!'
When David Richards and his grandson Henry went out racing from lowey, they didn't expect their sail to end with a lifeboat rescue
VERTUE
For a 25-footer, the Vertue has a huge reputation and has conquered every ocean. So what makes this little boat quite such an enduring success? Nic Compton finds out
Sailing siblings
Mabel Stock, her brother Ralph, a friend Steve and an unnamed paying passenger passed through the Panama Canal in December 1919 on the sturdy Norwegian cutter Ogre. They were towed to a quiet anchorage in Balboa away from the boat traffic but within rowing distance of the shore.
TECHNICAL MAINSAIL MODIFICATIONS
Safety and performance improved hugely when Mike Reynolds reduced the size of his mainsail and re-configured the systems controlling it
PILOTAGE DONE PROPERLY
Chartplotters are an amazing aid, but can detract from your real-world pilotage if not used with caution, says Justin Morton