New Mooring

[IanS]

Can't you just hear the barnacles making their homes on the bottom? Hopefully this is going to make it easier to get out sailing.

I think I mentioned that I got a cheap Honda 2.3 short shaft. It's easy to lock away in the locker, but only just adequate in a strong wind and current. I'll stick with it for while. A few other jobs were done to get it ready: tie downs inside for the pop top, barrel bolts on the top washboard, latches and padlocks on the main hatch and cockpit lockers. Next job: barrier coat and antifoul. Not ideal for resale but if it means I use it more and save my back, I am happy.

[Ozzie]

I don’t believe you will regret it Ian . Adds a new dimension to ownership.

[Watto]

How are you getting to your mooring? I’d be putting the Honda on a dinghy and bringing it home. I’ll be avoiding leaving fuel onboard when I moor fathom.

[IanS]

At the moment it's a sit-on kayak. I have a 5l plastic fuel container in the cockpit locker along with the outboard. One of the reasons for going with this outboard is that it fits in the locker nicely. No doubt someone will "borrow" it at some stage but that can't be helped. I have a rapidly decaying spine so it's a good weight for me as well. I just finished making a new mounting board that gets the outboard another 50mm or so into the water.

It's nowhere near as good as the Tohatsu 5HP long shaft that came with the boat, but it's a good compromise at the moment I think.

Do you think the fuel is a spontaneous combustion risk? I always left the fuel in the boat when it was on the trailer. The main issue I had with this was that fuel vapour got out of the locker and into the cabin and I'm pretty sure it was that that always gave me a headache when sleeping on the boat (I must be sensitive to volatiles).

Cheers,
Ian

[Watto]

Yeah the lockers are open to the cockpit. I always make sure the fuel is outside when sleeping.

Have seen others cut some vents from the locker to the cockpit and that would help with dispersion of the vapour/fumes.

I like the weight of the 2hp long shaft I have and it also kicks up a fair way when you are sailing.

[Peter T]

Another thing you can do is to fibreglass up the gaps between the cockpit locker and the berths in the cabin, but I would always have a vent fitted into the side of the cockpit locker as well. If you stick your head into the cockpit locker, you can see where it's open to the cabin. Also at the back towards the back of the cockpit is open as well
Cheers

[IanS]

Hi Peter,

I just fitted a bilge pump outlet in the transom using the gap at the stern of the locker.

Cheers,
Ian

[Peter T]

Hi Ian, thanks mate looks great. Cheers

[Ozzie]

Regarding theft of engine. I designed but never built a frame to bolt into my port side locker to take the ancient mariner that came with the boat. Design was simple really a cradle made of off-cuts of 4x2 treated pine bolted into the locker side and forward bulkhead with half circle cut into cross pieces through bolted on top and long u bolts placed through the timber. You can tack weld the bolt ends to make them difficult to remove. Lay the donk in the cradle and strap a short length of thick square section security chain and a good ss padlock.

This is designed as much as anything to look intimidating and make the casual crook look elsewhere. I have a loud sonic alarm in my cabin at the moment and these are cheap as chips so you could also bung one of them in there as well I guess but not sure how they would stand up to dampish environment of a locker. Maybe a trip switch activated piezo that is in the dry cabin would scare them off.

If you want to lock it in the cabin as I finished up doing sometimes with the old mariner, I welded an old seat belt bracket to the stub of the metal lift ring from the ballast block. On this I put a padlock and later a d ring with the head of the pin cut off and a chain through it. Just passed the bitter end of the chain through the OB handle and SS padlocked it to itself. Anyway the essence of sailing is invention, I’m sure others will have good ideas.

I hate thieves but running 20,000 volts through the locker pad bolt is illegal.

[Peter T]

Hi Ozzie, regarding illegal mate so is break and enter as well as stealing. Go for the 20000Volts I say, also, I wonder if you could cover yourself with a sign that read " All attempts to steal or break in on this vessel will cause instant death "
Cheers