All systems go...

Sjösättning.  The boat is back in the water... and thanks to an early Saturday morning slot we had time and the chance to get the mast up the same day.  All of which meant the chance of an evening out on the water over across to Ornö. 

The bay was perhaps unsurprisingly pretty deserted, and we anchored up on our favourite spot - a big rock about halfway along the northshore - and headed off to catch the sunset and grill supper.

Back in the cabin later it was time to try out the new heater - which worked fine.  Even with the hatch ajar to ventilate we could work up a good fug - and a lot easier to handle than the Wallas. At breakfast time we even tried it for making the tea.  A bit slower than the normal spirit stove but it got there...

In fact the only downside on the trip was finding that the leech is coming unstitched - I restitched a length during last season where the old stitching is falling apart.  Several seasons on the roller reefing is taking it's toll.  Now another section is giving up which meant an hour on the foredeck on Sunday morning to put it right.

....................

14/15 May 2011
Karlslunds - Kolnäsviken (& back)
Paul, Pål, Kia

Thermal trials

Mata Hari came with a Wallas parafin heater installed.... .but over the years it has had very little use. To be sure to get it going at the start of the season you need to clean the points and that doesn't happen that often.
So this year we are trying something new - or rather, secondhand. An Origo HeatPal. Basically a meths burner in a tin. You can also use it as a stove if needed.
Today I set it going on the balcony - both to check it works and to see how safe it is to be around.
It was a bit slow to light but then burnt well and seems to push out plenty of heat. The case stays cool but the lid gets uncomfortably hot - except on the low setting. And turning it down to 0 doesn't extinguish it...
So... It could be just the thing to keep up cosy - with some care in positioning and remembering to keep the boat ventilated.
We will soon see....

In the cellar

The great day approaches... just a little too quickly as it happens, so there is frantic activity in the cellar to catch up with
the winter job list.
Maybe I
should have bought quick drying varnish?!

Galley trigonometry

We were out to the boat today to collect the last of the things on the boat before the winter.  At the same time I took the chance to measure up inside.

At some time the stove has been moved from by the door to a new location just aft of the forepeak on the port side.  Cooking in the boat is a pain - no headroom and nowhere particular for the steam to go.  So, we plan to put the stove back in the locker by the door to be able to stand in the entrance when cooking.

The stove is an old Origo twin burner spirit stove.  In principle we could just have it stood straight on the drop down flap on the locker - but right now it's gimballed so I'm looking to build a frame to hold it that can be slid in and out.

The locker is not as tall as the existing suspension points so we need some re-engineering for the stove to fit...  so I'm sat down this evening with notebook and laptop to look at the geometry.  It's a long time since I needed to play with sines and cosines!

The first thing I find is that the existing solution is designed to just clear the surface below - it will work in principle with any heel angle. Nice!  With less height to work with we don't have that luxury, unless I make it height adjustable.  But - we never run the stove with the boat on the move - so that's unlikely to be a big problem.  Gimballing is to keep supper safe when we get waves coming in when we're anchored up.  How much is enough is hard to say, but 20 degrees maybe? 

Like most things the solution is going to be a compromise:  for a given pivot height, as you move the stove up to get more clearance (to tolerate more heel) but the result gets less stable. 

And you need to think about the pots as well.  Within the height available, more clearance quickly means the pots will be above the pivot.  Weight high up reduces the effective length of the pendulum - making it quicker -and too much weight too high is simply unstable..

So... a quick spreadsheet later, and the answer is.... 

Well not 42! 

The pivot moves down from 210mm today to circa 170mm. Then losing 5mm from the clearance should give me those 20 degrees of tilt and still keep stable operation.

Feasibility study: Check. Done

Autumn sunshine

Last trip of the season... Nothing ambitious but lovely to be out on the water... Or sat in the cockpit with a beer :)

Sailing away...

At the end of a fantastic week, with plenty of rain, good food, good company, and not least dance it was time to set sail and head off south again.  We were three boats travelling together (well almost), heading round the south side of Runmarö weaving our way amongst the skerries and islands heading for Nämdö.

It was a super sail.  Light southerly winds, the sea was calm and the sun warm, sinking slowly down towards the horizon.  It wasn't quick, but what's the hurry when the scenery is so great?

The clip below is us reaching down towards Nämdö and Långviken; Karin at the helm.

Great - and a great evening grilling on the cliffs, admiring the stars and enjoying a last night in good company.