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She floats!

"It" has now become "She" and "Three Summers" has now done 10 miles on the River Thames today! I think maybe two to four litres of petrol, but seriously guessing there!

Getting ready to launch:





Reversing off the trailer:





How do I make it go?





And how do I make it turn?





A couple of posed shots:







Cruising up the Thames at 5mph...





Parked at the pub for a Coke:





And the First Mate enjoying being on the water:





I can't give any figures (YET!) as this was all done in a speed-limited area, but the motor was faultless, and the cruise was very relaxed.

The launch and recovery were certainly not relaxed, never having done this before! But we managed, and got home, and nothing broke. Or creaked. Or groaned. Which I guess is a good thing!

What I can say, is at 1500 RPM we were doing 6-7mph. 2000 RPM and she felt like she wanted to go over the hump already. I think I hit 2500, maybe 3000 for second or two once, 12mph, and she was definitely past the 'displacement' mode, but I had to cut the throttle really quickly. Rowers! So, not yet truly on the plane, but close. Soon.

I have to say, again, thanks to everyone on this forum for the support, it's been a great help and has nudged me over many periods where motivation was starting to wane, or frustration setting in.

My building thread will still be going, as it's not finished yet, but WOW, does it feel good to be afloat.

Right - that's my first boat built. What next?

Go well,

Tim.

Congratulations on the milestone. The picture are wonderful. Thanks for posting them. You will love that etec engine!

This must be a fantastic day for you! She looks beautiful, have a lot of fun with it.

jaap

Your boat is ridiculously good-looking. Congratulations!

Here are a few things that I've learned:

1. Your boat will never be finished.
2. There's always another boat.
3. Making your boat that pretty just makes the rest of us hostile and jealous.

The shots of you craning your boat over your house provided lots of amusement around here. Thanks!

Good Luck with her, she is beautiful.
You really got her rigged quick. In jersey USA the boat dealers in the northeast are the worst in customer service. Too much local business for them to treat us right. Where I live boats are a dime a dozen. Getting back to you she seems to sit well in the water. It has great lines and it looks crisp. Please post some more pictures and performance data.
Dave

A beautiful thing, and from your own hands. While seldom known for being at a loss for words, I'm.....

Darn near speechless Dougster

Congrats, Tim! As beautiful as the detail pics of the work in process have been, these pics are the way to view the boat! Beautiful! The C17 plan sales will soar once these hit the web pages!

REally great Tim and what a beautiful place to cruise. Where exactly on the Thames were you?
Daddy

Tim,

Congratulations. she looks wonderful. Love how you finished the cockpit. I watched the video your neighbor filmed of the crane lifting her. It was pretty cool.

What size outboard did you get? I like how it sets lower than the top of the MW bulkhead.

Jacques, perfect photos for the C17 boatplans page.

Hope you get plenty of time on the water.

George

Where is the link to the video?
Daddy

First class Tim. Not much else to say. Sam says you done good

Congratulations!!!

Beautiful, and congratulations.

Huck

Very nice work All the sweat, planning and hard work have paid off

I really like the lettering. Dumb question, do you have to put registration numbers on the bow like we do here in the states

AA

Now there ya go! Classic look... beauty...

Rick wrote:The shots of you craning your boat over your house provided lots of amusement around here. Thanks!

Yes... could you do that again Tim? But video this time please. I could do all sorts of fun stuff with it on the computer. Wire removal...

Congratulations Tim! She's absolutely beautiful, you've got to be proud of the pay off to all that careful work. Enjoy it, and I for one have enjoyed sharing the build with you. Post pics on plane when you have them or video, would love to see it.

-Dave

It's beautiful, it flies, and it floats. Nice

Wonderful!! Awesome!!!

Congrats Tim. Oh! What a Feeeeliing...Enjoy


Bushmaster

Sorry I meant
SHE'S beautiful, she flies and she floats.

Nicely done! Beautiful work. She looks so perfect on the water. Congrats on such a nice build.

I can't say anything that the other folks have said, so I will just add my congrats and best wishes to a great looking boat and very proud builder. Thanks for keeping us up to date on the build as it was happening.

ENJOY

Robbie

Tim, great work and congratulations on the launch. Can't add much to what the others have said. The ETECH looks awesome sitting on her ready to push her around. Can't wait for numbers.

Regards and a beer to you and SWMBO!

Tom

Well done Wobblylegs!
She looks perfect on the water.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the comments and compliments on my boat - I was barely awake when I wrote the post last night. I didn't sleep very well on Saturday night, and got up around 05:00, trying to figure if I had missed or forgotten anything. Checked the car, trailer, stuff loaded etc. about six times. All there!

Only after the trip, and getting back in the car did I spot the fire extinguisher, still in the car!

CRANE VIDEO Filmed secretly by my neighbour, unknown to me until a few days later after he posted the YouTube video. He set up the camera in his front room and left it running all day. Much appreciated by me though! The trees obscure much of the lift, but you can make out the boat hovering above the house.

LAUNCH VIDEO Filmed by same neighbour. It's fairly long, 10 minutes, and if you don't have time to watch it all, at least check out the last 30 seconds, where she wants to jump on the plane! Later. The time will come! At 03:19 minutes you can see the lurch when I pushed the throttle a bit more than I should have, and almost fell over backwards. I think I might need a leaning post.

It feels great to finally be on the water, and the boat got many stares and nods of approval - with all that woodwork showing it is so obviously not a moulded plastic boat. Best moment was when the two guys working at the big boatyard who obviously knew their stuff judging by what was floating around there, waved and shouted "That looks good!" across the water to us. Worst part - towing through London Traffic, and London roads where speed-bumps have been spreading all over the road network over the past few years. Certainly got me to slow down!

We felt a bit small entering Teddington lock (the end of the tidal Thames) with five other twin-diesel 35? 40?-footers! Guessing, but they were bigger than us! You can see some of them passing us in the launch video. We followed them up the river. Coming back down we had the lock to ourselves.

What a day!

You really got her rigged quick.

The whole process was over three weekends, from paying deposit on the first, getting them to drill the transom on the second, and then fitting on the third. I took the instruments and wiring home on the second weekend ran them through the boat, along with the steering cable. So when the time came to install the motor it was pretty much bolt-on and plug-in. We did it in about three hours, including some interruptions when the mech. had to go and launch a couple of their boats on the river.

Where exactly on the Thames were you?

We launched about half a mile upstream from Richmond - if you have Google Earth or similar, you can see the slipway here:

51°26'54.82"N
0°18'21.22"W

The pub we went to is here, opposite Hampton Court Palace:

51°23'50.48"N
0°20'5.47"W

About 6 miles each way, I think. I haven't checked the GPS yet.

I just want to say "thanks" to each and every person that has commented on the building thread. You've all helped me do this and if it seems like I don't reciprocate as much, it's basically 'cos when I started this I was a beginner, never having done much more than flat-pack furniture assembly and putting up shelves before. I have more experience in mechanical stuff though. So, everything was new to me, and I couldn't really comment on others' builds too much, not having the knowledge and experience that you guys have!

Now, unfortunately, I have the 'bug'.

The build thread will be continuing a while longer, as the boat gets properly fitted out and then moved on what might be the longest voyage by a Bateau motor boat - Southampton to Cape Town (though not under her own power). It's time to go back home, and "Three Summers" is coming with us.

My future slipway is here, 6000 miles as the crow flies away from London:

34°25'59.56"S
19°13'29.51"E

Best regards to all of you.

Thanks,

Tim and Cait.

Well done you two. Awesome video! She looks like she's going to haul-ass when you get to openning her up. That e-tech is suprisingly quiet. I didn't realize they were so hushed these days.

Tim'

You have done an excellent job, you should be very proud of yourself.

I for one will hate to see her finished, I've really enjoyed watching her being built.

don

nm

34°25'59.56"S
19°13'29.51"E

Wow Tim . That is a long ways from London, in more ways than one

Is that your home? It is a beautiful place, at the end of the world

Congratulations on your lifes' changes Hope it all works out for you and Cait:D

Stolen from my friend Jimmy....

And there's a party at the end of the world (end of the world)
Where the locals do the tango twirl
Forget the temples and the golf pants
Over there in Montreal
There's a party at the end of the world

It seems like I've run out of reasons to be here
So I'm just going to steal from myself
If your attitude has fallen
There's a latitude that's calling
Take yourself past that continental shelf

Tim, the boat looks fantastic on the water, bet you just couldnt wipe the smile off your face when pulling in to the pub!
Watched the vid, your neighbour did a really good job. I especially like the token 'shove', and off she floated.
The advice above is excellent, especially the bow eye safety chain. I learned this trick from someone who has over his time, witnessed two boats slip off the trailer, and slide down to the waters edge on concrete!
Its always manic at launch time, but you will get used to it. By the way, remove the numberplate before launch, electrics and water dont go well together

Cracker Larry wrote:Stolen from my friend Jimmy....

It seems like I've run out of reasons to be here...

Larry, that pretty much sums it up.

I've been in London for 13 years now, and it's time to go. My family has always been ready to travel or move (one brother in San Francisco, and another in Vancouver). I stopped over on the way back from California in '95, and ended up staying longer than anticipated. Much longer. Cait's family all live in South Africa, and we'd been planning for this move to happen next year, but your quote above, combined with 'why wait?' made us decide to go earlier.

Neither of us ever intended to leave there (like so many unfortunately do), so it's an easy decision to go back. Our time here has been good, we've travelled a lot of the Western world (never had a desire to go east for some reason), made a home, done some things we never, ever would have done if we had never left, and now it's home-time.

New chapter. With lots of boats. Reminder to self - have to buy more plans before going...

Regards,

Tim.

PS, tell Sam I say thank you for his approval - I know he can be quite critical!

D2Maine wrote:few suggestions,...

...i know way too much info, just my .02 and yes i tow a lot!

Not at all, and thanks for that. I have copied all of that and e-mailed it to myself at home to print out this evening.

fmiles wrote:By the way, remove the numberplate before launch, electrics and water dont go well together

Yeah, we found out when we got there that there was no way to unplug the lighting board.

Number one job to do before launching again!

we'd been planning for this move to happen next year, but your quote above, combined with 'why wait?' made us decide to go earlier.

Good decision Never wait to do the things you want to do. Time is too short.

That isn't my quote though, it's from my friend Jimmy Buffett's song. Here are the lyrics if you haven't heard it.

http://www.jackis.com/lyrics/ss_fall_07 ... _world.htm

Effortless launch... effortless planing! Congrats! Now to provisioning for the 6000 mile trip...

late as usual on my part.

Congrats! I am pensively waiting for the planing and ocean trip characteristics, you should go this weekend!

E

ks8 wrote:Now to provisioning for the 6000 mile trip...

I'm flying, she's going in a container with the car...

nm

Tim, again a great launch, and as D2 said practice makes perfect doing it during the slow times is great if you can. The 3 straps, 2 rear, 1 to the bow eye are the minimum, I also like one or two over the gunnels to hold it down to the trailes better, I don't remember if you had any there.

Hey good luck on the move home! From the pictures I have seen of it it is a vast and beautiful place with different climates depending where you are located. One item we have come across in the forum is that the South African builders need two motors on their boats by law. Something you might want to start looking into as the time draws near. Your C17 should be great down there, I can just see you hooking into a Great White.

Tom

What a beautiful boat!! I can't wait to see more photos and hear how she performs when you open her up!

Congrats!!

She is really beautiful. Your work was very inspirational.

Thanks for sharing.

HOLY COW! Sorry I'm late to the party!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm in shock seeing you on the water! I know it has been a long time coming and you have certainly put in your time on this forum. You have one beautiful boat to show for it!

Fantastic Congratulations

Fantastic looking boat and really good balance as well. Let us know if you get a good weight on her sometime. I always like to compare with the design estimates. Happy boating.

I watched the build and had no idea how nice that boat was..

man is she beautiful..

Very nice, clean epoxy work, beautiful wood treatment, congratulations.

DANG! 34°25'59.56"S
19°13'29.51"E I was crossing my fingers that it was going to be somewhere closer to me.... but dang! You are really going all out to test your boat! South African Cape... dang! Make sure you bring your 200lb test fishing line .
The pics posted on google earth remind me of the YouTube video of Old Man and The Sea where he remembers the African coast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1EbNvHDxbA

I know I probably don't need to say this, because you know that you have to protect any epoxied bright work with some kind of top-coat. But maybe it should be mentioned for those newbies looking on.

Guys, your comments add to the great feeling I had yesterday driving the boat. Thanks again.

TomW wrote:Tim, again a great launch, and as D2 said practice makes perfect doing it during the slow times is great if you can. The 3 straps, 2 rear, 1 to the bow eye are the minimum, I also like one or two over the gunnels to hold it down to the trailes better, I don't remember if you had any there.

Hey good luck on the move home! From the pictures I have seen of it it is a vast and beautiful place with different climates depending where you are located. One item we have come across in the forum is that the South African builders need two motors on their boats by law. Something you might want to start looking into as the time draws near. Your C17 should be great down there, I can just see you hooking into a Great White.

Tom

Tom, I had two straps over the boat while towing, but am looking at getting more. All helpful points being taken on board.

Thanks for the well-wishes on the move - it's kinda stressful at the moment, and getting the boat launched was one more thing to be crossed of the to-do list before we go. We'll be using it more before we go though...

I know of the SA comments about twin motors, and have commented on one that I remember, mentioning the law. I have been looking into it, and the single engine on the C17 will restrict me to within one mile (if I remember correctly) of the shore. Anything more needs twins. I haven't been able to find whether a kicker is required, but it would be crazy to go without one anyway. So, I will be able to use this boat within view of the coast, which is pretty much my limit anyway. I'd want a bigger boat for further out. The water is very different there than anything I've seen here, with much less chop than I've heard you guys talk about and a big swell coming up from the roaring forties. Its also very regular in when it 'goes well'.

This pic (about five miles from our new home) was taken in December when we were last there (my sister on the rock):




I've driven Navy Zodiacs in these swells before, and it's great fun, flat out, staying in the trough, then hard left across the swells a bit slower, then 'tween the swells again. A bit of a zig-zag course, but much more comfortable than trying to go diagonally across them. Looking forward to doing it again. Also driven a minesweeper through them. I've also seen it flat as glass, but not often.

Oh, and great whites are a protected species there

Happy to go out shark spotting though. Sharks are very common there, and I don't think I've been to sea without seeing one, and have only done a couple of dives without seeing them. They generally leave you alone.

T.

jacquesmm wrote:Very nice, clean epoxy work, beautiful wood treatment, congratulations.

Thanks Jacques!

Am I correct that you are the designer of this boat? I know that Evan has designed for you before, and is doing a tug at the moment.

It's not all going to stay bright!

Tim.

MadRus wrote:I know I probably don't need to say this, because you know that you have to protect any epoxied bright work with some kind of top-coat. But maybe it should be mentioned for those newbies looking on.

Correct.

The horizontal wood at the very least is going to have to be painted! It was getting almost too hot to touch yesterday in the sun.

Plan is to have a white (or something similar, not too reflective) roof, deck and cockpit. Cabin sides and coamings will be sanded (again) and varnished.

T.

Any more thoughts about windows Tim?
DAddy

Tim that is a gorgeous shot of the cliffs, shore and swells that I remember seeing before. A member of your family makes it even more special.

Tom

What can I add? Absolutely stunning,congratulations.
Good luck on your move,a lot different from London
steve

It must feel good to realize that at the end of all your hard work, she is now the flagship for the C17s (check out the boat plans page).

Congrats

You know, Tim, I think your next boat will be the first CS-25 in southern Africa!

Simply Awesome. Congrats and good luck with the move.

-Mike

Hey TIm, That is fantastic. She looks so quick and rides nice and light in the water. Can't wait to see some from S Africa. If you're ever near Vancouver, look me up. I was all smiles watching the launch video, even though I am way late to the party! Three Summers looks great on a plane and she got there fast too. Like everyone else said, Congratulations!!
regards, bob

PS, I think S3 clear (satin or gloss) has better UV blocking than most varnishes, and its very hard/durable stuff. Maybe you know this, but thought I might add it. I like the less shiny satin myself...

WobblyLegs wrote:Guys, your comments add to the great feeling I had yesterday driving the boat. Thanks again.

I think everybody would agree that your fantastic work has been an inspiration. We should be thanking you!

In any event, good luck with the new life in SA, and thanks for sharing your hard work.

Congrats on the launch! Best of luck with her.

Hey Tim,

and late congratulations from Finland as well! 3 summers looks absolutely great on water, but that was to be expected following the build. A big thanks for the time you have put into the "C17 (Classic 17) in London"-thread, it's been a big help while building.

markus

Tim, I imagine with a good VHF and other boats around you could easily venture more than a single mile offshore, especially with a brand spanking new E Tec. Caveat, being that there are other boats nearby/around. I take my little Lund aluminum 14.5 ft. boat around Puget Sound, routinely with 60 plus miles trips with only one motor. I have a kicker, but only bring it if I want to troll.

My motor is in good shape and has good compression and I rest easier knowing I can call for help if need be - it is a 33 year old motor - on an antique Lund. But it runs like a champ. Caught my limit of Dungenest Crab tonight which are boiling as I write. Just my HO. best, bob

Hi,

Sorry to be late to the party, congratulations. Your boat looks superb I've really enjoyed reading the updates.

Liked the videos as well!

Rikky

Some pretty good lookin' boats being launched these days!

Tim
I heard you mention that it is the law to have two engines for offshore trips past one mile. We in the northeast USA have to travel at least 4 miles to catch anything good. A popular spot called the monster ledge is about 17 miles out and the spot for Tuna and Shark is 100 miles offshore. The seventeen mile trip is done by most serious guys without attention to motor count. We have companies here that tow you back if you have a problem. there are not any regulations like that here. It sounds like the making of the second Revolution Ha Ha
Dave

The seventeen mile trip is done by most serious guys without attention to motor count.

I would think that if the motor count was only one, that the radio count should be a bit higher.

I only expect to use my little 17 footer always within sight of land (and in cell range), but I will still have a portable VHF and a built-in Digital VHF on board. Motors might be heavy and expensive, but radios are light and cheap!

-Mike

Tim, I know you are getting ready for the big move, but have you been able to get out and give your pretty lady a real shake down yet. When is move day also we're all rooting for your new life.

Tom

So sorry for the late congrats Tim, she looks like a right proper little ship. Great feeling, isn't it?

We've been on a forced holiday since the beginning of July so haven't checked the board in a month or so.

Enjoy, my friend!

Better late than never, but well done Time boat looks fantastic as I'm sure we all knew it would from your early build photo's. Excellent standard of work that inspires us all.

Thanks for the build thread, it's great to see threads as detailed as yours.

Good luck in SA, we're hoping to leave the UK too in the future. Seems to be a growing trend...

Dave

Lucky_Louis wrote:Great feeling, isn't it?

...forced holiday since the beginning of July...

Enjoy, my friend!

Thanks Louis, It would be even better if I had a chance to use it again. But, it looks like summer is officially over already - just heard a weather report on an approaching AUTUMN storm. Oh, well, it's Spring soon further south!

Forced holiday sounds ominous.

Norbas wrote:Thanks for the build thread...

Good luck in SA, we're hoping to leave the UK too in the future. Seems to be a growing trend...

Dave

Dave, the build thread isn't finished yet, and will be continued, but not until we've moved - I had hoped to get some more work done on the boat, but the project has stalled, what with rain, packing, and everything that goes with it.

Tom, as you can see above, she's only got wet the once, though I am hoping to get her on the Thames one more time! Move date is the end of this month.

Just had an e-mail from a friend in Cape Town, reporting howling gales and 7m waves coming through. Yip, that's 7 metres! Apparently one shorefront restaurant opened the windows so that it could get flooded without breaking the windows as well!

Must go, more packing to do, and got to go secure the cover for that autumn storm coming tonight....

Tim.

Hey Tim look on the bright side it will be spring when you get down south and summer soon. Plenty of time to play with 3 Summers when you get there if you don't get a chance here. I still hope you can give performance numbers before you leave but you have other more important things to do and you can always report from your new harbor.

Good luck with the move it is always an adventure in how things will come through.

Tom

Did we ever hear how the move went?

Did the boat ever go over semi-planing speeds?

E

Spokaloo wrote:Did we ever hear how the move went?

Did the boat ever go over semi-planing speeds?

E

Hi E,

Next week - household container goes on Tuesday, boat and car go on Thursday. Wife on Saturday 27th, and me sometime soon after that, after I've tidied up the house to rent out. Not a sellers market at the moment, so will be holding on to it until its worth selling.

Not had a chance to use the boat since launch, so it will be November before I can get it going properly, if it survives the move OK.

On a brighter note, just heard from a friend in SA, and main motor plus a kicker is good for 50 miles offshore, so I won't be restricted to one mile as I thought I would be!

Regards,

Tim.

PS, just noticed you've revived a couple of old C17 threads - you looking for a new project?

Best of luck with the move. It's not a sellers market here either . Your gonna have a blast with your boat down there! 50 miles is a long way! What size kicker are you thinking?

Hope the move goes well!

At least you will be in the Southern Hemisphere at that point, so Nov will be the beginning of the nice weather!

Yeah, seriously considering a C17 right now, SWMBO called yours "nice looking".

E

OK Tim, you've had enough time off. We need an update on the move and what's what down there. Have you got Three Summers wet yet?

Hey Louis, how's things? Cold there yet? 30ºC here yesterday, a bit cooler today, but summer hasn't really arrived yet.

I got word from the shippers that the ship arrived in Cape Town on Oct 27th, and that customs is being dealt with, but no news since then. The container might be released any time, but hopefully not until next week as we have nowhere to park the boat and car until then. I think transfer of our house happens tomorrow, but nothing in Africa is ever certain...

If you want to have a read on what's going on, I started a blog shortly before I (First Mate had already gone) left the UK, here: http://movingbacktoafrica.blogspot.com/

Rules are different here. In the UK, anyone can have a boat and head out to sea, no qualifications, no boat inspections, nothing. Here, I have to get a skippers ticket, and have the boat surveyed for seaworthiness before touching salt water. Looking forward to it, and it makes sense.

I am hoping though, to get "Three Summers" on the water on our local river almost as soon as she arrives - still want to find out how quick she goes! No speed limits here except common sense! Also, the river runs into quite a large lagoon, but this is unfortunately not open to the sea, as the water flows through the beach sand, not over it. It only opens to the sea after big floods, which do occasionally happen.

As soon as she's afloat again, there will be pic's. Also, as she's not finished yet, neither is my other thread.

Best regards,

Tim.

Thank's for the update and the link Tim, glad you guys made it safe and sound. It's still Indian summer here, over 10°C every day but fog starting to show up.

I'll be following your blog closely. Keep us posted how the survey goes and when we have to start calling you "Captain Wobbly".

"Odyssey" has had her final run in the lake to flush the last of the salt off her hull, trailer, and engine. Now she's tucked in her new building, a portable garage for the winter with a belly fuel of fuel stabilizer.

I'm in the process of trying to change jobs and if that works out, I'll be travelling quite a bit - Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, and Ghana. Who knows, we may get together yet...

Hi Tim glad things are so nice and warm there. Been cold here in the NC mountains so much so we had snow in fact I beat the guys up north for the first snow fall. I posted a picture of it. Been -2-0C here the last few nights and 10C during the day. Not much boat building or painting going on along the east coast the past week or so.

Can't wait for you to re-launch and get figures out on your boat and that ETEC. The new 90's supposedly have been improved, better economy and quieter, and I just got a quote for $5500 for a 60, $6200 for a 75. What size prop did you end up with?

Sounds like you have a lot of water to explore around you and all that ocean to. Here's to finishing 3 Summers and enjoying her with your spouse.

Best wishes to you and yours

Tom

Is this the lagoon Tim? If it is, I see what you mean by "no ocean access " unless you take a really good run at it.

Google Map Link

Looks like a pretty nice harbour facility beside the Naval Base at Simonstown to the west..

Simonstown

Lucky_Louis wrote:Is this the lagoon Tim? If it is, I see what you mean by "no ocean access " unless you take a really good run at it.

Google Map Link

Looks like a pretty nice harbour facility beside the Naval Base at Simonstown to the west...

Hi Louis,

 Fairly close (150km) but not quite...

Sorry about the late response, but my internet connection only came on line last night!!! Started to develop withdrawal symptoms, but finally I can surf again. I have lots of catch-up to do, seeing what's been going on in the world of Bateau over the last couple of months.

There's no update on the status of Three Summers, suffice to say she is here with me and safe. No damage in transit, not even a scratch! I've been unable to work on her as there has been too much to do on the house, but hopefully she will be re-launched early in the new year, after fitting some windows, and getting her certified seaworthy (as one has to do here), registered and her skipper (me) ticketed, which shouldn't be too difficult, just that time is scarce.

I know the Naval Base at Simonstown a little too well - I went to Warfare School there to learn how to sink ships...

Later, and keep well,

Tim.

Welcome back Tim glad things are progressing and your getting the house fixed up. Big step getting back to the internet. Bet you missed it. Glad 3 Summers made it home also.

Keep us updated on your pregress and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I forget before then. Keep well!

Tom

Great to hear from you! I've been following your blog too...

Keep us posted, that's a gorgeous section of coastline there - real raw beauty.

That is a fine picture of Three Summers! Glad all is settling in...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__D9KV0TY_3s/S ... ummers.jpg

Fired up the E-tec today, started first time which is not bad considering it's not been run for five months and a day (not to mention 6000 miles in a container), and we are planning on taking Three Summers for a bit of WOT tomorrow on the river!

Tom, to answer an earlier question, I've done no more work on the boat so she's still window-less, but the load tomorrow will be four (light-ish) pax, 15 litres of fuel, and the prop is as supplied with the motor; 13.25 x 17" pitch, aluminium (or aluminum if you prefer )

Expect some pic's and figures soon!

Man, I can't wait!!!!

Tim.

Go get 'em Tim. Aluminium is fine with me. Works for most of the world except the US.

Tom

Can't wait to see the pix

Woohoo back on the water! I have watched your video several times recently!

What a morning!!!

We did about 15km (9.5 miles) on the river this morning, some slow, some fast. I don't know how fast a boat like this is supposed to go, but it was definitely fast enough for me, a confirmed speed freak when out on the bike!!

So, a few pics first...

First time at full throttle:





Detail from the above picture, showing about 5300 rpm:





Would you believe that the next pic was taken at full throttle as well? Spray? What spray? I saw none at all when planing from the sides of the boat - I guess the spray rail works, though I'd love to see a pic of the boat itself at WOT. I'm sure the rest of you would too. I'm working on it!





A couple of wake shots, nice and tidy:







And after the First Mate disembarked before recovery:





The skeg is taking a bit of a beating. I noticed this after the first launch in London and temporarily repaired it, and after driving the boat onto the trailer today ended up crunching it some more:





So, a bit of a run down - she goes fast! At WOT, running between 5300 and 5500 rpm, four people of average weight, top speed recorded on GPS was 54.7km/h (34mph/29.5 knots). The motor is supposed to run up to 6000rpm, and I'm sure with two of us on board we would have achieved that, so as far as I can tell the prop on there seems to suit the boat and motor quite well.

Steering at slow speed takes a bit of attention, but that's my experience of all boats I've been on. On the plane, which starts around 15km/h (9mph/8 knots) if I remember right, she goes exactly where you point her. This is one hell of an easy boat to drive! Though, it might be different if there were waves and/or significant chop. I'll let you know when the time comes. High power tight turns are good too - no problems tracking, very predictable, and no skidding or aeration around the prop as far as I could tell!

The only problem is that when approaching top speed she starts to porpoise, which gathers pace very quickly once started. First time at WOT it didn't happen. Second and third (last) times it did, and I think everyone was still in the same spot on the boat. Second time I had the motor trimmed a little away from the transom, but on the first and third, it was tucked right in.

I'm hoping to go out again soon and play around with this a bit; today we had my mom and the First Mate's mom as passengers, so we didn't want to go flat out for too long. I think next time will just be the two of us (well, actually, three as the First Mate is carrying our first full-time crew member, due near the end of April).

As far as the damage on the skeg is concerned, I'm now treating it as sacrificial. Let it get wet, worn and scratched. When the time comes to re-paint I will probably either put a new (epoxy mix) one on, or put a couple of layers of biax over it. Suggestions are welcome. Even if the wood takes in water, it is totally separated from the hull by glass and epoxy, so it's only one piece of wood to worry about.

The motor is fairly quiet and smooth, starts straight away with no smoke, and the only niggle so far is that the tell-tale squirts out the back, and I can't see it from where I stand... I would have preferred it to come out the side.

So, that's about it for now. Will post more details when I have them.

Stay well, and all the best for 2009!

Tim.

Nice report Tim, and a beautiful place for a test ride Glad things are working out for you in Africa. Happy New Year from the USA

Great report!!! Sounds like you have a great area to run the boat.

Tim Congrats on crew member #1 Nice report you sound happy with the results. It has helped me also I hve the motor selection process down to an ETEC and a Suzuki for various reasons, so we'll see.

Happy New Year

Tom

UHMW or HDPE bedded to the strakes, its tough as snot.

Also, if it is just trailer damage, maybe you should raise your bunks an inch or so to alleviate some of the pressure on the keel rollers. Bunks do a great job of load distribution, so less keel pressure might be good.

E

The boat looks great Tim, congrates on the new cew member.
On my evinrude you can rotate the pee tube nozzle were you
want, take a look at youre's mite be the same.

Congratulations on your new addition Tim. Nice boat pics as well.
A Dolfin will stop the porpoising suprisingly well. I used to fish from an Alaska 500 that did it badly until it had one fitted, after which it did not do it at all.
Steve

Awesome report Tim. Thanks for all the detail. I'm motivated again to get working on my own C17 when the weather heats up enough here for epoxy to cure.

Congrats on Crew member #1. You're in for a wild ride. One word of advice as the time draws near... Get as much done on all your various projects before the new crew member arrives. Time will be scarce afterwards.

We too have a new crew member here. (#4 for us). I was hoping to have my project completed before her arrival, but she had other plans and decided she wanted to come three months early.

Now, after three months in the hospital everything turned out fine. She came home on the day before thanksgiving and the only real casualty was my build schedule. Oh well. "one more year" won't kill me, and I'll be able to name mine "four summers"

Michael - glad to hear crew member #4 is doing well, congrats!

E. What is UHMW and HDPE?

And everyone else, thanks for comments; now for a question:

Been playing with spreadsheets, prop pitch and theoretical speed/rpm, and unless I'm missing something, I am achieving speeds that the prop is not capable of!

I understand that the gearbox on this motor is 2.67:1 (2 2/3?), and according to that I should be able to do 53.5km/h @ 5500 rpm (zero slippage), yet I'm doing 55km/h @ 5500 rpm. Sorry 'bout the metric, but that's how my mind works.

Soooo, either my calculations are wrong, or my GPS is wrong, or my tachometer is wrong, or my boat is magic! I'd like to achieve 5750-6000 (max) rpm at some stage, but she won't go past 5500.

Anyway, I'm not going to change anything until I have a few more Hours on the motor - who know's what kind of run-in restrictions are built in - I do know it squirts more oil for the first ? hours of operation, but I don't know how many hours, or what else happens in the electrickery of the thing.

So - assuming my calculations are wrong - can someone tell me how to calculate theoretical speed per rpm?

More news on performance though - took her out on Saturday for about 4 hours, did 40km on the river, two up. Same top speed as four-up. Used about 10 litres of petrol, so in a normal run of high speed, trolling, and cruising, we're getting 4km per litre (9.4 miles per US gallon) and 2.5 litres per hour (0.66 US gallons per hour).

Most comfortable cruising speed is about 35 km/h (21 mph) @ about 3400 rpm - conversation is possible! And I can see where I'm going without the wind causing tears in my eyes!

So far, so good! Sorry no new photo's, but all the jetties on the river are private, and when we asked to do a drop-off, they said no. One day I'll buy one of those jetties (and the land that goes with it) and open a pub!!!! Judging by the number of boats on the river last weekend, I think I might even make money!!

Later,

Tim.

UHMW = Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic

HDPE = High Density PolyEthylene

Both are ultra dense plastics, similar to those used in plastic cutting boards.

E

Did the tacho come with the outboard? Mine has several settings, and depending on how many poles your flywheel has, needs to be set accordingly. A friend of mine suspected his tacho was off, but couldnt prove it. Some Digital Multimeters have frequency measurement, all I did was celltape a tiny magnet to the flywheel, and hooked up the DVM to a homemade coil (wind around 30-40 turns of wire around a nail). It works very well.

Jealous as ever, my folks in SA report some lovely weather now, congrats!

E: Thanks for the info.

fmiles: tacho came with motor, so assuming it's fairly accurate. Will see if I can test it. Are you a Saffer?

T.

Tim, I agree with your calcs..

Here's my calc... assuming zero slippage

INPUT: 5500 rpm engine, 2.67 gear reduction, 17" pitch

5500 r.p. minute = 330,000 r.p. hour

reduce gearing 330000/2.67 = 123595.5 prop turns per hour

17" per turn then equals 2,101,123.5 inches/hour

175093.62 feet/hour = 33.16 mph or 53.3 km/h

Is there current in the channel?

Louis, no current that is measurable, and nice to know you come up with a similar figure - took me a while to work out and I thought maybe I was missing something.

It's all academics really, playing with figures and an interesting exercise, but then again something doesn't quite figure...

At the end of the day, this boat goes way better than I expected!

Tim.

Tail Wind?

Thanks for the mileage tests on that 60hp E-tec. Your numbers certainly confirm their claim that they only sip the fuel when you put them in a sweet spot. I have had some easy-going days with my 90HP that looked like less than 2 gal/hr and always encounter skepticism if I mention it to the older 2 stroke crowd.

Tim, I pulled my numbers that I had run using both Crouch and Stavinsky for theoretical boat speed with a ETEC 60 HP for the C17. I used a total weight including passenges and gear of 1950 lbs, 884.5 Kilos. Both showed a calculated top speed of right around 34 mph, 54.7 kph.

Now as far as pitch I would not change anything now. Your at the low end of the recommended range right now, but that could change as she gets broken in. My prop pitch calculator showed a 15.8 as ideal but the 17 is not to far off.

As I recall the oil enrichment is done for the 1st 10 hours then shifts to the 100:1 if its programmed for that, from my talks with the dealer here.

The boat sure looked pretty on the river.

Tom.

PS its snowing here today. Enjoy your summer down there.

Hi Tim

Just worked out your theoretical speed and I also came up with 53.37km/h.
You are probably running 95 octane instead of the 87octane listed so you might have slightly more power, but that shouldn't change the speed at a given rpm.

You are using GPS for speed? Clocks normally lie but GPS is accurate, must be a magic very lightly built boat

Another fine morning shaking down the boat, though apart from finishing it (painting decks and fitting windows, there's nothing really that needs doing! It's perfect!

Again, top speed achieved at 5500rpm (won't go above that) and full throttle always got more than 54km/h but never quite 55km/h (when I looked), both upwind and downwind (wind about 30km/h this morning). Bit difficult to photograph the GPS while driving, but I'll work on that

Conditions were a bit windy, and a bit choppy, at a guess 10" to a foot in some places. Even at WOT, she never felt nervous or out of control, though was most comfortable going with or against the wave direction (of course). Going across the wave direction induced a slight rolling motion, but minimal affect on steering, and still totally in control.

My passenger for today (also ex-Navy) is happy to go to sea in it!

Hope you like the pictures:













I'm getting better at driving the boat onto the trailer now - and getting the trailer to the right depth on the slipway, which makes a huge difference! Today, with the front of the bunks out the the water, the motor could still push the bow right up against the snubber. Happy with that!

The only difficulty was keeping the boat lined up with the trailer on approach due to the wind, but once the bow was touching, it was easy to straighten out with the motor idling in gear.

And one more point - anyone thinking should I/shouldn't I? about spray rails on this style of hull - don't think about it, just do it (apologies to Nike)! Every direction, every speed, with, against or across the wind, not a drop of water on the deck or in the cockpit! Though, reversing away from the jetty, motor in shallow mode and going against the wind did wet the back, but there's not much to be done about that.

Once I've got my Skipper's Ticket (a case of going to collect it - passed the test) and all the legally necessary safety equipment (which could take a while $$$$!), we will give her a bit of a sea trial!

Oh, and maybe Bateau will sell some more plans - not once have we been out without a compliment on the boat by another boater, though I defer that to the designer rather than the builder

Later,

Tim.

She sure rides pretty on plane. Congrats on the ticket!

Good morning Tim,
The boat looks great on the water! You have every right to be proud of Three Summers, she's a very pretty boat. SWMBO saw your latest pics and she really likes the C17 (with an additional cabin structure) more than the HMD18. Now we will have to enter into negotiations (I'll probably lose)
Off to Dougster's today for the flip. Again very nice work on your C17, can't wait to see it with the windows.
John

JohnC wrote:Off to Dougster's today for the flip

Hope it goes well - I wish I could be there too, just for that pork!

Tim, she looks so good can't wait to get mine in the water. Oh well a year or two will see her in depending on the weather. I found my heating can't handle as cold of temps as I thought.

Tom

ks8 wrote:Congrats on the ticket!

Thanks, but it wasn't that difficult - common sense test really! It does make me wonder about the wisdom of the UK system; anyone can buy a boat and drive it away - no training, certification, licensing necessary. Nothing! Scary...

TomW wrote:Oh well a year or two will see her in depending on the weather.

Tom, it's never going to float unless you start building...

Tim the boat looks great up on plane.
did you ever straighten out the angle of youre pee tube
on the e-tec?
the e-tec looks like a good match on youre boat.

Tim you have to change youre location line under youre
avatar , i keep forgetting youre not in london anymore.

Absolutely gorgeous on the water, Tim! Sure looks like a big and capable boat packed into 17 feet!

The "Flying boat" really flies!!! Great job Tim
Daddy

topwater wrote:...did you ever straighten out the angle of youre pee tube
on the e-tec?

No, it doesn't move, but if I lean a little over to starboard I can just see it now.

Tim you have to change youre location line under youre
avatar...

Done. Thanks for the reminder

And yeah, the 'flying boat' really does fly. I imagine that when I take it out on a swell that it might just get airborne a couple of times. The hull certainly feels strong enough for it!

For a 17'er, it does seem like a really big boat - I have seen longer boats out on the water recently that seem crowded with four people on board; I think I could have 6 sitting comfortably in the cockpit (had four so far).

Thanks again for the comments.

Tim.

That's a beautiful boat Tim and the bright work looks fantastic.

Great report Tim, she looks happy in her element. I can report that the feeling doesn't really go away even after a few years.

IMHO, I would deal with your prop size issue sooner rather than later. I destroyed an engine (broken crankshaft) on a previous boat because I knew the prop was pitched too high but never "gottarountooit". Everything I've read or learned says that it's way better for your engine to achieve the top of recommended rpm range when the boat is loaded at it's lightest (one person, mininmal fuel). Logically, as you load the boat, you can still stay in the recommend range longer before having to change props.

Tim, agree with Louis on the prop going to a 15" pitch should raise your rpm's by 400 and put you in the upper range of the limit where you should be. May slow you down a little at top end, very little mid-range. But much better on your engine.

Tom

Hey Tim,
I've been looking at your gallery (again..) especially the pics from your post from Jan 17. I'm still playing with the dimensions for the windshield and hardtop height. For a frame of reference, how tall are you? (If i may ask, I'm 6'0" which by my math is 183 cm (some of us Yankee's figured out years ago that the metric system is much EASIER to use )) That number will help me a lot in trying to scale your pics.

I did find the plywood for the model C17 at Michaels (thanks, Daddy), hope to have that together very shortly.

John

JohnC wrote:For a frame of reference, how tall are you? (If i may ask, I'm 6'0" which by my math is 183 cm.

Hi John,

About 180cm, depending on the shoes I'm wearing

I can sit in the cabin comfortably without my head touching the roof, and lie straight on the berths.

Regards,

Tim.

Tim I'm going to put your memory to a real test. I was going through your early build photos this weekend and was looking at your framing. Do you remember how tall you made your uprights and how wide you made the bottom frame. Don't worry about converting to inches I can do that.

Thanks

Tom

TomW wrote:Do you remember how tall you made your uprights and how wide you made the bottom frame.

Hi Tom,

Sorry 'bout the slow response, been away for a few days.

Which uprights and frame? Do you mean the jig?

Regards,

Tim.

No problem Tim, yes the jig if you can remember doesn't need to be specific just something close. Also were you able to get under the boat if you needed to.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Sorry, I don't have any record of the exact dimensions, and I know that you've been looking at the pics, but the following is probably the most helpful...



The uprights are more or less the same distance apart as the stringers, around 85cm between the inside edges of the frame. It might be better to make them a bit closer, as you'll be able to secure frame "A" better that way - as you can see there's not much holding it in place here.

As to the height, nothing specific, but I made sure that the keel was at or below eye level. This makes the boat high enough to get under, though getting in front of frame "A" is a very, very tight squeeze (note that the ground the jig is resting on is a slope, with the bow at the highest point - so if you build on level ground it will be easier to get in there). I had to go there to secure the spray rails from inside. 160, maybe 170cm posts will be enough.

One more thing - don't make the frame longer than it needs to be (like me). At the back is OK, but at the front, I had to cut away some of the wood holding the two sides together as the bow didn't quite fit:



I think that last picture will convince you to make the jig higher rather than lower, and the jig as close to the ground as possible - it was a tight fit!!!

Hope this helps. When are you starting?

Tim.

LAST BLAST

Well, we took her out yesterday, and had permission from one of the riparian land owners to use his jetty to take photo's, so I finally have some close up shots of planing fly-by's...

Had a great day, boat performed as well as ever - even got on the plane with 9 (yes, nine) people on board, though four of those were little 'uns... this must be the biggest 17'er ever!!












The reason I've titled this "Last Blast" is that the first mate has an appointment on Tuesday morning for a caesarian, and from what I hear, once the mini-skip comes along there won't be much time for boating. Still, how many kids go for a boat ride four days before they are born - get them hooked early I think!!!

Oh, and before you ask, we've been rebuilding a house down here, so the windows on the boat have still not been fitted...

Tim.

Thanks for the great shots of Three Summers in her beautiful new home, Tim! Congrats in advance on the "mini-skip" That's how to break them in! Can't say that my son was cruising 4 days before his birthday, but he definitely was doing so a month before and a month after!

Tim,

You have images not showing because they point to forums.bateau2.com/gallery. Please change that to gallery.bateau2.com - I edited the post above your last one.

BWM

bateau-webmaster wrote:Please change that to gallery.bateau2.com - I edited the post above your last one.

BWM

Thanks BWM - I take it this applies to all previous posts before the forum-change? I will go though sometime and mend the links.

BTW, there is no C17 gallery on the main Bateau pages - if you want you can use any pic's of mine you feel appropriate.

Have a good day.

Tim.

I'm amazed by how little of the hull is actually in the water on plane

WobblyLegs wrote:LAST BLAST
from what I hear, once the mini-skip comes along there won't be much time for boating.

You don't want to believe everything you hear Tim. From 0 to 18 months no problems and you have a cuddy for naps, changing nappies, lunch, etc., etc.

Then they start walking and it gets a bit more complicated.

Then they get bigger - like boats, small kids = small problems, big kids = big... Jr that you met last year is now around 1.85 and 73 Kgs and... well...

Tony

Tim, good luck to your wife and you, hope all goes well. The C17 is impressing me more everytime you have her out, I'm so glad I'm going to build her.

Tim, I also haven't thanked you on your wonderful commentary and time you took in describing your set-up for the frame on your C-17. It will really help a lot especially the cut out on the front as that was one issue I was worried about. I'll try not to have to do that. Thanks a lot!!!

I'm shooting for a May 1 start, I have some of the panels cut. Finishing up the Mirror as we speak. Winter was brutal here this year so slowed things down on it. Was only 50, 30 here yesterday even, should be 65. I wish it would warm up and stay that way.

Cheers!

Tom

Great pictures on plane. Looks like she is very happy with the new waters. I hope the rest of your Rez Day is rich in joy.

Tim, CONGRATULATIONS on the new first mate. Rachael is a beautiful name. Glad to hear mother and daughter is doing well and are home. Get some sleep when you can those young lungs are as powerful as boats horn in a fog bank.

Best wishes to all!

Tom

TomW wrote:Tim, CONGRATULATIONS on the new first mate. Rachael is a beautiful name. Glad to hear mother and daughter is doing well and are home. Get some sleep when you can those young lungs are as powerful as boats horn in a fog bank.

Best wishes to all!

Tom

Thanks Tom. She's a darling!! (with lungs!!)



I know this is boaty place, so 'scuse the pic!

Tim.

No apology needed Tim! Won''t be the first or the last baby pic here, we've even had twins. She is a cuty! Congrats again and now come all the stages of growth for the next 20 years.

Tom

Tim,

Congratulations, she's beautiful! I think the slow down in boating with kids is more about being exhausted, but if you set yourselves up with routine early- my kids love routine- you'll get some sleep and be fine for boating.

-Dave

Sweet boat.. I love it... and the scenery..

Rachael is gorgeous. Once you see her growing you will beg time to slow down.

Great picture!

Don't blink... she'll be asking for the car keys. Treasure every moment of the unspeakable privilege.

Congratulations to all three of you!

Congrats Tim, she really is beautiful. I'm partial to the name Rachael, seeing as how it's my wife's name. We are actually 33wks pregnant right now with our first little one. You bet I'm gonna have her picture plastered all over this forum (it's our jobs as proud new papas )

Congrats,

Will

Congratulations Tim.
My oldest is 41/2 now, the others are right, time goes quick. Having kids soon brings home what is important in life, the boat can fit in around your family.
I like where you live BTW,not as wet as London, I bet
Steve

Hullo again Tim,

congrats in this thread as well! She's beautiful! Our daughter is almost exactly as old as my C17 project (2 and half years). I'm glad for the high sides on her (the boat). I'm sure Milla will be safe, especially in the bow behind the windshield.

markus

Update on "Little-Skip"

First trip out on the boat for her today... she LIKES the water (but not the camera)...



She'll be a year old in ten day's time.

How cute, man they grow fast. I never realized I was getting old until one day I got home and there was a wife and two girls waiting to see me

George

Looking good... all 4 of you

Good to hear from you Tim she sure is growing fast. A little sweet heart!

Tom

Nice to hear from you Tim. Happy almost 1st to Rachael! We had a new grandson arrive last Friday, it never gets old even after 4

Those new windows fit really nice, very transparent and can't even see the seams

Lucky_Louis wrote:Those new windows fit really nice, very transparent and can't even see the seams

Yeah yeah...

But you're right, I need to get them in - when I find time between 'things'. I had a good weekend on the water, total of eight hours running and 95 kilometres - various speeds typical of how the boat gets used here, so once I've figured out how much gas is left in the tank I will be able to get some accurate consumption figures. I do know that a spare 5 litre can of petrol WILL get me home from anywhere on the river/lagoon, and I was hoping to run the main tank dry this weekend, but that darn motor just doesn't burn it quick enough

Great engines, seem to holding up well too. Kidding aside on the windows, the way that you're using the boat, I would be tempted to leave them out. The fresh air through the cabin and cockpit is probably much appreciated and more comfortable than with them in.

Now if you were heading out to Walvis Bay, that would be a different story...

cheers mate!

Great looking boat and family....ive been studying your build thread and your launch thread and i must say amazing job. Im seriously considering this one for my next build. Just one question, i you were to change anything on the boat what would it be?

thanks again

Lucky_Louis wrote:Great engines (see below), seem to holding up well too.Now if you were heading out to Walvis Bay, that would be a different story...

Cape Town is the 'big challenge'... From my limited experience so far, I reckon I can do it with two tanks, non-stop...

JamesT wrote:Great looking boat and family...

Just one question, i you were to change anything on the boat what would it be?

Thanks - changes? I made the cabin/cockpit bulkhead into a doorway, rather than open according to the plans, which I'm happy with in use.

More importantly, I'd make the skeg under the hull out of a fibre-epoxy mix rather than wood - it takes the brunt of the load when retrieving on to the trailer (my trailer has rollers under the keel, and bunks on the sides) - I stripped about 30cm of it today trying my first solo retrieval - not happy!!

I went out today, solo launch and retrieval (launch was fine, retrieval, see above) and played with the trim while at full throttle:

58.1km/h @ 5500 rpm on my Garmin!!!! Then she started porpoising, but corrected by trimming in again.

31.4 knots, or 36.1 mph (rounded...)

Nice!!!

Oh, dear. I managed to crash my boat.

Still, having built (still building) it, I can fix it - n-o-o-o problem!

More in a moment. I know I have two threads running about Three Summers in this section, so I'm going to keep them separate - this thread about using/maintaining/fine tuning and/or fixing any collision damage, while the other thread (link to latest post) will still be updated with continuing building notes...

Last time I used the boat I noticed it was harder to turn left than right (in retrospect, I think I was aware of it all the time, but hadn't woken up to it, if that makes any sense?). The pic below shows the fin on the motor at it's setting as supplied, near mark #2, which I moved to #4.




I went out with a friend on Sunday, mainly to test the depth sounder and steering, which is now almost spot on, but I'll move it to #5 before I go out again just to see. I've seen reports here about boats pulling left or right, but my no-feed-back system works quite well, and the pull was limited to a difference of effort (not much, btw) required to turn each direction.

Depth sounder is perfect too. I never realised that the river was so deep - over six metres in some places, but on average around three to four metres. Oh, and I never even realised that the sounder gave water temperature and battery voltage reading when I bought it.

Anyway, to the collision (two boats involved) - you can see the damage on the rubrail clearly, and then also a small mark on the hull between the spray rail and the blue part of the hull.




The hull is just a scratch really, with some paint chipped off down to the fairing. I can't see any cracks in the fairing or glass under it, but I'm going to put some epoxy over the chip just to be safe. Repainting can wait until I replace the keel.




The rubrail on the other hand took most of the impact, as you can see. I guess it did its job




And this is the damage to the other boat - you can see that the rubrail caught the hook, and has actually bent it over a bit, pulling the right-hand screw out of the gunwale. Crunch. That's wood from Three Summers still lying there.




Now the embarrassing part - they're both my boats! It happened while towing Three Summers into the boatyard, a.k.a. my back garden, and I was looking where I was driving, not where the boat was going. The other boat is Platanna (local name for African Clawed Frog), my newly acquired business in the tourism industry, doing river cruises. She's out the water at the moment 'cos the steering mechanism was totally jammed up and had actually stripped the gears in the helm. That problem is now sorted out, and I just need to put all the bits back together again - then we're in business.

There are worse jobs, you know...

Have fun.

Tim.

Not too bad Tim, as far as collisions go it sure could be worse No telling what my rub rail would look like by now if it wasn't 2" of solid rubber

As ouchies go Tim, that's pretty minor - I'd say you got off cheap On the rub rail, I'd sand through the finishing glass on either side to a feathered edge, lay in a new piece of the same glass soked with epoxy, then stretch a piece of visqueen over the wet repair rolling over the top and bottom edges. A bit of edge feathering on the patch and the rub rail is good as new. Don't forget that your paint is epoxy based too so I wouldn't worry too much about pre-epoxying. I would do the same thing there - clean/scrape the damage, dabble on some new paint and immediately seal with some shiny plastic sheet stretched in all directions held with sticky tape. Some wet sanding and machine polishing, you'll never see it. Good to hear you found work that involved messing about in boats. I had a pretty quiet summer up here, only got out 3 times. Did finally add a bimini to get out of the sun or rain a bit.

Tim, running river cruises every day she's going to get beat up. Tour boats take a beating. I'd put a big rubber rail around it, or you'll probably be patching it every week

Did finally add a bimini to get out of the sun or rain a bit.

LL, do you get much sun in Western Canada?

The rubrail for Tim would be an excellent idea Larry!

As to your weather question, I'm not sure what 'much' is... never enough for me! That's why i go hide in Yuma, AZ for a month every November. Here's what the officials say -

The climate in Powell River is moderate all year long. In the summer, temperatures range from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius (between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit). The average temperature year round is 9 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). Powell River enjoys between 1,400 and 1,900 hours of sunshine every year, and it has an average annual rainfall between 101 and 120 cm (45 to 47 inches).

Compared to Seattle or even Vancouver (BC), yes we get a lot of sun.

Cracker Larry wrote:Tim, running river cruises every day she's going to get beat up.

Larry, the river cruise boat isn't Three Summers - its the other boat/business I bought a couple of months ago and is built like a tank. On the river here there isn't much to bump into at gunwale level, mostly the scratches come from running the boat onto a muddy river bank.

Louis, a rubber rail makes sense, but once I'm finished with her, she's the 'show boat' for future builds, so I want to keep the wooden appearance; and I have had enquiries already...

Been there and done that. I always laugh a little bit when I read about some builders targeting the perfect finish. I don't mean any disrespect, but boats get cuts and bruises with normal use.

My first damage was very similar to your in the end. I, however, hit a big giant green channel marker that no human should miss. I hit it at about 6 knots while fiddling with the gps. Hit it just to the starboard side of the bow and ended up with nearly identical damage. Rubber rubrail went on the boat before the following season!

Great name for a beautiful boat!

I hope she’s still treat you well!

Best.
Dan