Shorthanded session holmsbu

Pic from the first day of the shorthanded session at holmsbu. Tomorrow Tom Humphreys will have a presentation after the training

First sail.....

Season 2....

Silverminken is ready for the new season!

Here's Silverminken waiting for the truck to come lift her into her true element.....

Quite a few things were done this winter in preparation for the new season.

Like last year we've used VC-17 antifouling on the hull, with Trilux on the keel and rudders.

As mentioned in a previous post, we moved the speed transducer, and do a small repairjob in the bow - these turned out great.

The boat was washed twice with SeaJet boatwash, then I rubbed her down to get rid of all smudges, fastened dirt and other foul things. Then she got SeaJet Polish all over the hull, followed by SeaJet hard wax.

Here you can see the new placement of the speed tranducer before the antifouling is applied.

And....here is a picture from the inside. You can clearly see the old placement.

The depth transducer was originally in the now filled-in hole, and the speed transducer was in the leftmost hole (where the depth transducer is now). This was not especially good since the speed transducer was not close to the centerline. We switched places when we got Silverminken, but with the obvious problem of not being able to replace or "plug" the speed transducer due to the floor boards.

So, this is a great solution which works out in every dimension:

* The transducer is very close to the centerline
* It can be replaced by opening the panel in the floor

And....it wouldn't be a new season without some new gadgets!

Here you can see that we have mounted a Raymarine SmartController wireless basestation (to the upper right of the smartpilot).

They have now fixed the software so that if you have another autopilot controller on the network (like I have - the ST6002) then, when the batteries die, it doesn't revert to STANDBY (!!!). Anyway, this means it is now safe to use for shorthanded crews, and I am sure we will cherish this addition to the setup.

Looking good!!

Moving the speed log.....

The original placement of the speed log transducer on Silverminken was not optimal, so this season we are optimizing this so it is placed correctly and aligned perfectly.

....just a little scary seeing the hull like this.....

Here you can see the area prepared before creating the new hole. The depth transducer is the dark patch beside it.

Hopefully she'll be ready soon!

Steel "cage" for plotter ready for mounting

Excuse the poor quality of the picture, it was taken in broad daylight, but anyway - here you can see how we are mounting the "cage" around the plotter so that it is better protected in the cockpit. The plotter can rotate freely inside the cage.

We'll see how it works out on the water, but it does look very nice.

It is fixed to the board that covers the backstay purchase, so it doesn't hinder the removal of the board.