Fitting Out

Fitting Out

Living for six months or more on a yacht is a whole lot different from a couple of weeks sailing vacation. We decided that we wanted to customize Rafiki for her new role with the following items:

• • A cockpit bimini that can be fully enclosed

  • An inner (Solent) forestay on which we can rig a heavy staysail that can be rolled down to a storm jib

  • A mast-stowed whisker pole for down-wind sailing

  • A folding propellor to improve light air sailing performance

  • Solar panels

  • Wind generator

  • Watermaker

  • Uprated ground tackle

  • LED navigation and cabin lights to conserve electricity

  • Corian countertop in galley

  • Bookshelves in saloon

  • A better mattress for the forward cabin

  • Cushions for cockpit seats

  • SSB radio tranceiver with Pactor modem

Rafiki ashore at Tortola Yacht Services prior to her re-fit

Fitting out Goals

After sailing Rafiki for a couple of weeks at a time over several years in the Caribbean, we realized that we would like to make some changes to her to make living aboard for extended periods more enjoyable. We plan to spend as much time anchored as possible (i.e. away from shore power), so we want to use wind and solar power to furnish as much of our electrical needs as possible to minimize fuel and engine usage. Also, to this end, we are replacing all the navigation and cabin lights with LED versions, which have a much lower power consumption.

We chose the largest solar panel array that we thought could be mounted on top of the bimini (two Kyocera 200 watt). The solar panels will charge the batteries through a Blue Sky maximum power-point tracking (mppt) controller as these devices continuously match the output voltage of the solar panels to the battery voltage, thereby getting around 25% more power from the solar panels compared to a simple charge controller. For wind power we chose an Airbreeze wind generator. We hope this device can keep the autopilot in electricity when we make night passages, especially to windward, and is not too noisy.

As we plan to spend a lot of time at anchor, we want to up-rate the ground tackle from her current 45lb Delta anchor. We chose one of the newer designs, a Manson Supreme, which seems to perform well in comparative tests.

We find that we spend most of our time in the Caribbean in the cockpit, which is large and comfortable on the Beneteau 473. We decided to fit a fully enclosed bimini that can also act as a spray dodger. Clear unzippable panels should keep the rain and spray out when required. Removable net screens should keep the sun out when it is not wanted.

The original equipment mattress for forward berth was a 4" sprung affair. Although this might have looked good at boat shows, it was horribly uncomfortable and Claudia insisted on a better alternative. We have had a conventional 5" foam mattress made and have ordered a custom Tufted Topper quilted top covering.

Currently, Rafiki has no spinnaker and is a bit languid downwind. As there will just be the two of us sailing most of the time, we did not fancy having a symmetrical spinnaker, although an asymmetrical spinnaker is a future possibility. We plan to improve our downwind speed by the use Forespar whisker pole to hold out the jib when running. Also, we are upgrading to a folding propeller, which has less drag in the water, to improve our speed in light airs.

Currently, Rafiki is rigged as a sloop with a large (140%) roller-furling genoa. This does not work well in heavy weather as the aerodynamic shape of the sail is lost when it is rolled right in. Also, the cloth of a genoa would not be heavy enough for strong winds if the sail is designed to work well in moderate airs. We have decided to fit an inner masthead forestay (Profurl C350) that will carry a roller furling 95% staysail made of heavy cloth, so that it can be rolled up into as storm jib when required. Other B473 owners have found that this arrangement works well. We decided against a trysail, as we are not confident that we could easily deploy one in heavy weather. We hope that when the wind gets too much for a second reef in the mainsail, we can drop it and just use the rolled up staysail as a "storm jib". We will have to see whether this arrangement works in practice.

In order to minimise time spent in marinas and fueling docks, we are splashing out and installing a Spectra Ventura 150 MPC watermaker. We chose this particular make as it appears to be the most efficient in terms of water produced per watt/hour.

We, like many people, have become accustomed to high-bandwidth connections to the internet; however, this is not possible on board a yacht on our budget. We will therefore try and get our internet fix at cyber cafes and beach bars that provide WiFi. We plan to use these hookups with Skype to communicate with family and friends. We will keep our cell-phones as these can probably be used in most places in the Caribbean, although we will be paying roaming charges. John is a radio ham and is taking his rig down to Rafiki (an Icom 706 IIG with an AT130 antenna tuner). This can be used with a Pactor modem to provide a low bandwidth digital link using Airmail software running on a PC laptop. A network of radio relay stations have been set up by hams (Winlink 2000) that provide connections to the internet allowing e-mail to be sent. However messages can only have small attachments and the speed of transmission is dependent on propagation conditions. A single sideband (SSB) transceiver is also useful for getting weather forecasts and participating in cruiser nets - chats that take place at set times and frequencies between cruisers in a particular area.

Progress

August 2008

The following items have been ordered and delivered to the BVI:

• Two Kyocera 200 watt solar panels

• Airbreeze wind generator

• Forespar line control whisker pole (15' - 27') with mounts to allow vertical stowage on mast.

• Profurl C350 Roller furler for the inner forestay.

• Deck fitting for inner forestay.

• Gori three bladed propeller together with a Shaft Razor rope cutter.

• Spectra Ventura MPS watermaker

• New Force 10 stove

• Manson 60lb anchor

John went to the BVIs to organize fitting out in early August. At that time a design for an all enclosed bimini on which the solar panels, wind generator, radar scanner and a crane for the outboard would be mounted was commissioned from Doyle Caribbean. Doyle was also commissioned to make a light weight 150% genoa and a heavy jib for the new solent stay. The rest of the fitting out was to be undertaken by TMM and local sub-contractors.

Rafiki was slipped by TYS and surveyed while John was in the BVI. The surveyor's report revealed several items that need fixing, such as corroded through-hulls and damaged cutlass bearing; this work is being undertaken by TMM. Fortunately, no major problems were uncovered by the survey.

The old propeller was removed while Rafiki was on the hard and the shaft pulled so a new cutlass bearing could be fitted. Unfortunately, the flange at the end of the shaft that connects to the gearbox was seized on the shaft and defied all efforts to shift it. Eventually it was removed by a portable 10 ton hydraulic press.

October 2008

Progress in fitting out has been steady, if somewhat slow. The new propeller plus Razor rope cutter was fitted and a couple of through-hulls replaced while Rafiki was on the hard. An additional through-hull was added for a water inlet for the watermaker. After antifouling and a hull polish, Rafiki was launched and the new propeller was reported to work well.

Mounting the new inner forestay was delayed because stainless-steel studs had to be fabricated for the deck fitting so this project is still in progress. Unfortunately, this has delayed the manufacture of the staysail as the inner forestay has to be fitted so that the height of the tack can be measured so that the sail can be designed.

The watermaker has been installed (in the port lazarette) and work is currently in progress on the stainless steel frame for the new bimini and the new counter tops in the galley.

John ordered the wrong stove! By mistake a non-gimbaled version was ordered, which turned out to be bigger than the gimbaled version. Returning the stove would be expensive and time consuming so the yard shoe-horned in the stove using the gimbal components from the old stove. We hope this is satisfactory.

We are planning to fly down to the BVIs on 5th November (the day after the US elections!). However, there is still much to be done to fit Rafiki out and precious little time in which to do it.

November 9th - John

We had had a hectic time in Madison, shipping some of our house contents to the UK and selling the rest. Unfortunately, we were less successful in selling the house which remains on the market. I arrived in the BVIs on Wednesday, loaded down like a pack-horse and suffering from bronchits and feeling rather stressed-out. However, the news that the US had finally elected a president who appears to be intelligent and has the makings of a good statesman cheered be up. It always takes me a few days to adapt to a tropical climate. I have learnt to drink plenty of water and electrolytes, as my heart can go into atrial fibrilation if I my electrolytes get unbalanced. This is exacerbated by alcohol, so I limit myself to one beer a day in my aclimatisation period. Otherwise the tropical climate seems good for my health - my bronchitis is on the way out.

Hurricane Omar was forecast to make a direct hit on the BVis a few weeks ago; fortunately it ended up the Anagada passage and there was no damage on the BVI. However, shipping was diverted and TMM had to divert all hands to securing down its fleet of yachts and then setting them up again when Omar passed. The general disruption caused by all this activity has delayed Rafiki's fitting out. The stainless steel tubing for the bimini ended up in St Thomas, and Robert, who is fabricating the bimini frame, has been struggling to get the tubing out of customs. This has now been done and the frame is being assembled and, hopefully, installation should start tomorrow. The canvas work cannot start until the frame is assembled, so Rafiki is not going anywhere soon. Claudia decided to put off her flight for a week as fitting out has been delayed.

Rafiki looked a bit forelorn without her bimini. When I went oun board, I found that the inverter/charger had failed - a big ticket item. An unfortuante characteristic of yachts, particularly in a hot humid climate, is that all systems deterioate with time. This process can only be reversed by the continuos infusion of cash.

There was a sizable pile of boxes in TMM's office that contained equipment and belongings for Rafiki. A small printer that we ordered to to help us compile our US taxes had morphed into a honking great combined FAX/copier/scanner/printer contraption. I felt a bit overwhelmed at all the jobs that still needed to be done and could not see how everything we had accumulated was going to be stowed. To cap it all my tool bag has gone missing.

On my second day I took myself off to the TYS chandlers and bought a new tool box and some tools. After spending some time feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what to do first, I picked on a simple job - mounting the EPIRB (a satellite distress beacon) near the companion way. After that I began to get some momentum and started unpacking and stowing and fixing other minor items.

December 23rd - John, Marigot Bay St Martin.

One job that I was concerned about completing before Claudia’s arrival was to service all the deck hatches, as most of them leaked. Critically, there is a hatch above the top of our bunk that leaked on or heads when we were in bed. New rubber seals were ordered and Dougie fitted new lenses on several hatches that had become crazed by the sun. Unfortunately, Lewmar (the manufactures of the hatches) had no spare seals in stock, so Dougie repaired some split rubbers with 5200 (a strong flexible polyurethane adhesive used extensively in yacht construction). All seemed well, although the weather was dry after the work had been completed.

Claudia arrived on 25^th Nov. and, predictably, was somewhat taken aback with the general chaos, confusion and lack of progress. Also, several packages that had been sent from Madison had not arrived. Adding to our woes, we had been unsuccessful in our efforts to sell our Madison house, so we had to leave it empty. However, Claudia set to clearing up the cabins and making the boat more habitable. She installed the New Tufted Topper cushioned mattress cover, which made our bunk much more comfortable than the original.

We started taking some of our meals at the Royal BVI Yacht club, which is a stone’s throw from the TMM Marina. This is a very hospitable club that has a pleasant bar/restaurant overlooking the sea and distant islands. This club did much to make life enjoyable while we were fitting out. There is a weekly routine that we got to know well – Tuesdays Taco night (only 2$ each!), Wednesdays quiz night and Thursdays Sushi night. We used to regularly have a smoked fish salad for lunch; sitting there cooling off in the trade winds was a real pleasure. At the yacht club we got to know Bob and Linda Phillips who run Doyle Caribbean, and several of the TMM employees.

Even while stuck in a marina fitting out, one notices the wonderful wild life in the Caribbean. The magnificent frigate birds are so aerodynamic, they seem to make virtually no effort to stay aloft. The pelicans have a slightly comical appearance but are impressive when dive-bombing for prey. Occasionally the water in the marina seems to boil as all the fish seem to panic, probably because of the presence of a large predator. Chickens are everywhere. Joyce of the TMM boat preparation crew, feeds them and has named many of them after boats in the TMM fleet. The cocks seem to have rather inaccurate circadian rhythms as they often start crowing at 3am or earlier. When one starts, the others join in so sleep becomes generally ends at this point. Mosquitoes are not too much of a problem when there is a breeze blowing, but a few usually seem to find themselves into the cabin at night, so one often lies awake waiting for their whine and trying to swat them in the dark. We have enjoyed working with the folks at TMM since we bought Rafiki from them in 2001. Barney Crook (the owner of TMM) and his wife Lynn arrived in Tortola soon after Claudia. They invited us to a delightful reception to celebrate Barney’s 25 years with TMM. The event was held at a restaurant situated at the very top of Tortola. Everyone that had anything to do with the BVI sailing scene seemed to be there enjoying the excellent wine and munchies. Barney and Lynn were heavily involved in the setting up of VISAR, the Virgin Island Search and Rescue Service. It was interesting to hear how this excellent organisation came to be. They brought over consultants from the British RNLI, although they found after a few years that VISAR developed different sets of priorities. Hypothermia following immersion in the sea is not such a problem in the Caribbean as in the North Sea, whereas many VISAR calls were for medical emergencies such as heart attacks. We had tremendous help and support from TMM while we were fitting out. Dougie set up the whisker pole system, Joe wired up the solar panels and wind generator, Peter did some fiberglass work and Bobby polished the cabin roof and cockpit. Jock and Mark helped locating and organizing external contractors for the watermaker installation and new counter top in the galley. After a while we began to feel like we worked at TMM, particularly when Joyce started letting us in on one of the big perks – the left-over food and drink from the charterers. Penny, Sally and Sayula in the office provided us with a lot of support for sending letters and FAXes and advice on where to get things done, such as laundry and haircuts.The new bimini was designed by Bob Philips of Doyle Caribbean. The stainless steel frame was specified to take the solar panels, wind generator and radar scanner. When I arrived in Tortola I was somewhat put out that work on the frame had not started, but was charmed by the abject apologies of Robert who was had been hired to make the frame. Robert had started his own metal fabrication business in the back yard of his father’s rigging shop, Richardson rigging, an establishment I got to know quite well. He was totally over committed with work, but my presence in Tortola spurred him into action on our project. Much of the frame construction was done under the palm trees next to Rafiki. It was fascinating to see the structure take shape. Most of it seemed to be made by eye with only occasional use of a tape measure. He cut out two of the verticals from the original pushpit and replaced them with longer larger diameter tubing to hold the wind generator and radar scanner. Tabs were welded into the top frame to take the solar panels. A small crane was made and attached to the starboard vertical tube for use in lifting the outboard motor out of the dinghy to its storage location on the pushpit. As soon as the frame was finished Lester and Junior from Doyle Caribbean started work on the bimini fabric. The two solar panels were mounted after the bimini top fabric had been installed. The bimini has a clear plastic front and removable clear plastic side panels. There is also grey netting fitted to the sides and back to act as a partial sun shade and a wind brake. When finally finished, Rafiki reminded me of the African Queen. Initial impressions are that the whole set up works well providing good shelter both when we are sailing and at anchor.

The hardest job in fitting the solar panels, wind generator and radar was running all the wires through to where they were connected. A bent coat hanger proved an invaluable tool for this task. Radar is not really an essential navigation aid in the Caribbean as fog is rare. However, Rafiki was supplied with radar installed when we bought her (there was an unanticipated promotion), with the scanner mounted on the mast. When Rafiki was delivered to TMM in Tortola, Barney predicted that the scanner would not last long. His words were prophetic as, after a few months charter work, the scanner was plucked from the mast by a flogging genoa and ended up at the bottom of the sea. The charterer had the decency to buy a replacement scanner, which stayed in its box for six years. I was delighted when we finally got it out and wired up the scanner and found that worked. Radar is useful for detecting squalls and for approaching an anchorage at night. The radar display also duals as a chart plotter so we can see the chart plotter and radar displays both at the helm and the navigation table.

The wind generator and solar panels are proving to be great additions. We have been anchored for a couple of days in Marigot Bay St Martin and have not had to use the engine to charge batteries, even though the fridge/freezer is on full time, we ran the watermaker for three hours and we have been using the inverter to charge our electronic gadgets. However, the trade winds are strong and it is mostly sunny and so we will not always be as flush with electricity when the weather is not so cooperative. Some of the earlier designs of wind generator were offensively noisy, however, this unit makes a gentle whine until the wind speed increases to a point where it can’t be heard at all. The solar panels make about 25A at noon but soon fall off. They would provide more power if they tracked the sun, but a system to do this would be difficult to implement. It was very satisfying to be able to move away from having to charge batteries by running the engine several hours each day, particularly as we have had repeated problems over the years of alternator failures due to overheating. It was no surprise to find that a rectifier had blown yet again in our Balmar alternator when I arrived in Tortola. I took it to an alternator repair shop (Al’s Marine) and was amused to see a bench full of similar burnt out alternators there. In my opinion, small frame high output alternators have inadequate cooling for heavy duty work in the tropics. Use of a temperature sensing probe and an appropriate charge controller that reduces output when they get too hot is essential. The probable reason for this latest failure was that the temperature probe had become disconnected. The downside of not running the engine every day is that we don’t have any hot water for showers; however, half an hour of engine will heat the water adequately when we feel desperate for hot water.

Our short trip to St John (USVIs) and our long windward passage to St Martin from Virgin Gorda have given us a taste of Rafiki in her new configuration. As mentioned, the alternative power sources are proving to be a big success and are making life aboard more pleasant. The salinity probe in the watermaker failed after a few days, but Spectra rapidly dispatched a replacement, which was easy to fit. This device is now working well. I am pleased that we splashed out and bought the MPC version as all the purging, flushing and watermaking cycles are automatic. One just has to press a button for every hour’s watermaking that is required. Currently, it seems to make about 5.5 gallons/hour. I was delighted with the performance of our new staysail. This sail was designed to be used for windward work and can be set inside the shrouds. It has a high aspect ratio so probably is fairly efficient. It is much easier to handle and gives much better performance than a 150% genoa in winds above 10Kts. Nearly all our sailing thus far has been to windward, so we have yet to try the whisker pole system.

Our first few trips predictably revealed a few problems. The mainsail had lost a batten due to chafe through of the retaining strap. Doyles soon fixed this problem (their sail loft is in the TMM marina). The autopilot and the compass illumination are not working. The autopilot failure is probably because the fluxgate compass is not working. After our trip to St Martin I noticed that the starboard lazerette had salt water in it. This was disturbing as glass fibre boats are supposed to only leak once. Further examination revealed that the tabbing between the hull and counter moulding was cracked and probably leaking when heeled over on the port tack. It seems as if Rafiki has suffered a bump up the bum at some time in her charter life. The fluxgate compass is mounted low the lazerette and was wet with sea water after our trip, which probably explains the failure. I have brought a fiberglass repair kit and a new compass, so I am ready to start my next boat repair project.

Initial observations on the performance of the upgraded yacht systems, Les Saintes, 28^th Jan 2009

We are slowly getting into the groove of cruising life and are generally pleased with the modifications and upgrades that we did to Rafiki to adapt her to her new role as a cruising home. The biggest improvement from our point of view is the solar and wind generation systems. We find that, in the prevailing conditions in the Caribbean, these systems give enough energy to completely obviate the need to charge the house batteries by engine. We run the fridge/freezer continuously, make water for two hours a day, use the inverter extensively for charging laptops, use the cabin lights for as much we need and sometimes even toast bread for breakfast - all without running the engine for days on end. This is in contrast to previously when we the only source of power away from a marina was the dodgy Balmar alternator which required the engine to be run for more than two hours a day just to keep the fridge/freezer going. The only down side to our switch over to alternative engine sources as we no longer have hot water (generated by engine waste heat). We initially used to run the engine just to heat water for showers, but gave this up after a few days. Claudia bought a delightfully low-tech solar heated shower device, but as we both like our showers first thing in the morning we have not got round to using this yet. Instead we have simply become used to taking cold showers; not that showering in 80F water is much of a hardship.

The watermaker gives us yet more independence as it can fulfill our needs (about 10gals/day) when run for a couple of hours a day. The Spectra Ventura MPC is easy to use as it flushes the RO membrane automatically at the end of a watermaking session. It uses a patented Clarke pump to recover some of the energy used to pump seawater up to high pressure. The 9/10 of the seawater that does not go through the RO membrane powers the Clarke pump as it is brought back to atmospheric pressure. This pump augments the electric pump and increases the efficiency of the system by about 100% compared to most systems, which do not recover this energy. However, the Spectra systems are large, complex and relatively expensive. Nevertheless, these systems are ideal for a yacht such as Rafiki, which is primarily powered by the wind and the sun. All watermakers have to have pre-filters to protect the RO membrane. The Spectra system informs us when the filters need cleaning, usually after 30-40 hours use.

The dodger/bimini has proved a great success. It essentially allows the cockpit to be used as another cabin. It also provides secure, unobtrusive mounts for the solar panels, wind generator and radar scanner. We have been experiencing quite windy conditions thus far, so we really appreciate the shelter that the bimini provides. The only down side is a slight loss of visibility ahead. I think that perhaps, if we were starting again, I would include dinghy davits. We can carry the dinghy when partially deflated on the fore deck, but it is a bit of a struggle getting it up there. We did this when crossing the Anagada passage, but recently have been just mounting the engine on the pushpit (using a crane that we had built into the bimini) and towing the dinghy for the relatively short passages between islands. The dinghy seems to ride well and does not take on water (even on our rough passage to Nevis). However, it must be slowing us down a bit.

We have been delighted by the performance of our new staysail. It really allows us to drive to windward well when the trades are piping up from 18 – 22Kts. The sail is easy to tack and has a much better shape than a rolled genoa of equivalent area. As the inner forestay goes virtually to the masthead, the sail has a high aspect ratio and so is aerodynamically efficient. The down side has been that the chainplate for the forestay has been lifting from the deck and has been a significant source of leaks. Closer examination revealed the chainplate is not being pulled out, but being bent backwards. It appears to have a design flaw in that the position of the attachment of the forestay allows tension in the forestay to generate a bending moment around the axis defined by the joint between the part of the chainplate that is on the deck and the attached lower plate that bolts to the bulkhead between the forecabin and chain locker. The bending does not seem to have worsened in the course of the last two passages. I am hoping it has stabilized to an equilibrium point so that I can seal the gap with copious 5200 and stop the leaks.

Our biggest annoyance has been the leaking deck hatches, particularly following a rough passage when salt water gets below. They have always been a problem on Rafiki. I had new lenses fitted to replace the sun-crazed originals and new rubber seals were ordered. Unfortunately Lewmar seemed to have run out of them and we have been unable to obtain any. Some of the worst offenders have splits where the butt join on the rubbers had become separated. Dougie at TMM made a valiant job of trying to repair these split seals with 5200, but this only partially stemmed the flow of water. I discovered that were are getting significant leakage of seawater into the forecabin from a region in the vicinity of the port forward bullwark when we have a rough sail (i.e. often). I need to track this down as our mattress is getting sodden with sea water.

The Raymarine RL 70 radar works fine, but I have not really found it useful down here in the Caribbean. With the advent of good chart plotters, particularly those with AIS capabilities, radar is somewhat redundant. Radar must surely be useful in fog, but fog is rarely encountered down here.

The single sideband (SSB) radio with its Pactor modem is somewhat of a work in progress. We use an insulated backstay for an antenna and mounted an Icom AT 130 tuner in the port lazarette close to the backstay/hull attachment. I should have installed a sintered bronze plate under the hull as an electrical ground but was reluctant to put yet more holes in the hull. I had what I thought was the bright idea of using the bimini frame as a counterpoise for the antenna. When I tried this all the electrics on the boat went crazy because of the intense RF field near the cockpit. The microprocessors on the radio and the solar charge controller crashed and had to be reset. Many of the panel lights that are normally off blinked on when transmitting. I abandoned this scheme and grounded the tuner on the engine. This is not entirely satisfactory as the ground cable has to be rather long,and therefore acts as a radiating element. Nevertheless, the system now works after a fashion. I use the SSB radio exclusively in digital mode using a Pactor modem and the excellent Airmail 2000 software used in conjunction with the Winlink 2000 international network of internet portals. The whole system was set up and is run by radio radio amateurs (you have to be a ham to use it). With patience, I can generally connect to one of the Winlink portals and download a GRIB weather file. This is a very useful capability when the internet is not accessible. The system can be also used for e-mail (including short attached documents), although we prefer to wait until we find a WiFi hotspot to use email, as we prefer to use our web-based email acounts (Gmail).