Bow Transom and Stem Post

I accidentally ripped a hole in the bow when towing the boat up a slipway. In making the repair, I decided to double the thickness of the bow transom by laminating a new sheet of ply over the old one, and also to give the boat an oak stem post. At the same time, I took the opportunity to laminate a double thickness floor in the centre area of the bow tank. The stem post would give strength in a collision, making the boat fit to 'shunt ice'. Although I would have preferred a soft structure that would absorb shock, I could find no effective way of doing it. The Dutch Zeeschouw boats sometimes have a praam bow with a stem post, and it can look very pretty. The forestay now attaches to the top of the stem post, creating a slightly better sheeting angle for the jib when it is raised up with a tack strop for visibility.

New Pivoting Centre Board

Misfortune caused me to strike a whale carcass (or maybe an uncharted rock) off Kings Quay Creek and it ripped out the dagger board case, causing me to be shipwrecked on the Island. I subsequently decided to install a pivoting centreboard to avoid a repeat of this heart-stopping occurrence. The board is a little longer and narrower than the original but retains the same area. The leading edge is placed in the same position. The top edge of the board, when lowered, is level with the thwart, giving maximum strength. The pivot uses a hard plastic bush to avoid crushing the sides of the case (Eric Coleman's idea). The new board works very well, acting as both depth sounder and landing brake, whilst the sailing performance is at least as good as with the old dagger board.

SECUMAR anti-capsize device

The SECUMAR anti-capsize buoyancy cushion can be installed on the mast. In the event of a capsize, the device blows up to 20 litres in the same way as an automatic lifejacket and this, in theory, is ample to prevent inversion. The device can be raised and lowered by a halliard. Although very expensive, it is reasonably compact and does seem to be a professional answer to the problem of preventing inversion.

Foredeck Dam

A little dam or water barrier can be made for the foredeck. This will encourage water on the foredeck from rain or spray to run into the 'scuppers' and hence out via the transom holes rather than into the cockpit. I have not yet taken real solid water on the foredeck, even crossing the wake of high speed ferries and the P&O liner Oceana, 77,000 tons.