Being there where nobody likes to be.......

I personal like to sail, when it is a little bit tougher out at the sea. I am not that adrenaline junkie who just need the kick. Personally I am fancy about the force mother nature can show and you know like any man I like to wrestle and fight with her. But I try always to have a certain respect to elements.
I am not that insane to drive out in a gale 8 to 9. But I have been outside when a gale hit me and the good shelter was out of reach. I have seen the North Sea after a gale 8 and expierenced the sea state after that. I smashed down with Geronimo in a wave where I thought I would have break her back. Well there are some stories.
Nevertheless my crew, Geronimo and I were always prepared. And I always like to have a plan B. You know if something breaks, I have somehow an idea how to handle that. Hopefully it works. ;-).

But what you do if plan B and C etc. doesn´t work and you are really in trouble. There are these brave men and women who are outside or come outside when nobody wanted to be there anymore. They save lifes.
Good material is necessary for that. Everybody tries to put the best equipment on her / his boat, the best cloths etc..
But these brave guys, who partly volunteer for that, need our help because most organisations are supported by fundraising.
I never thought about fundraising before, but through a project my brother in law started, I started to rethink , maybe also through the fact that I am now a father. Maybe through the fact I remembered the stories the father of my brother in law told me or I just getting old and settled....
I changed my mind.

So donate because they will give you a hand when you are out, where nobody else likes to be.... 

And it is a good project for next year :-)

The project from my brother in law:

https://www.justgiving.com/simonperks76/

The backstory:

http://simonperks.com/2014/10/17/a-new-project/

Or direct to your country Coast Guard or lifeboat station

German Coast Guard:

http://www.seenotretter.de/wie-sie-uns-helfen/

Netherlands Coast Guard:

https://www.kustwacht.nl/en

British Coast Guard:

http://rnli.org/howtosupportus/Pages/How-to-support-us.aspx

A Merry Christmas to you all

A Very Merry Christmas to you all. Let all seaman and ships be safe and sound.

Gear test: Jako-0 Softshell Overall

Well as you might have noticed this year a litte bit had changed, we sail or stay on board with an infant.

But as tall as Chris is for his age, he is still a baby, who needs some additional cloths. My wife Kathrin is responsible for this task. It took her some time, nobody could give her an advice, because none of our friends is sailing.
But after restless nights and lots of looking in catalogs she found something, that fulfill her high requirements. I am very proud of her first gear test.

Hi Kate speeking, mmmm writing. I am very satisfied with a Jako-O Softshell Overall. Our son is a small canonball, if you know what I am talking about. It is always a fight to get some cloaths on him. The overall is easy to put on through the big front entry with 2 zippers, especially out on sea. It seams that it is very comfortable, because he doesn´t cry, fight it off, what he normally does with some jackets, and he seems somehow relaxed. What I really like as a mother is the fact that he doesn´t get a cold back as usuall when he wears a jacket. I also like the fact that hood can be taken off, which is lovely on warmer days.
The only disadvantage of the overall is that it hasn´t any integrated socks and handshoes on it like the other overalls from Jako-O

Baby-Softshell-Overall JAKO-O 

(Order: 598463)

http://www.jako-o.de/produkte-baby-baby-mode-ab-gr-56-62-jacken-und-overalls-overalls-baby-softshell-overall-jako-o--598463.html?stat=598463

Gear test: Sound absorber

Through the fact that our "normal" sailing behaviour had changed, since we are parents, meaning motoring a little bit more, we decided that we will invest this year in engine room sound absorber.

There had been one, but I had rooten over the last couple of years and due the fact we just used the enginie to enter and exit the harbour there was no need. So I started to clean up the engine room, well actually getting rid of the old sound absorber.

After I cleaned up, I started with cutting new wood plates for the engine room, where I will fit the new sound absorber on. It took some time to get right fitting of the wood plates but finally I made it. Then I cut the new sound absorber, till I satified with my work.

And the result, you will ask. I used an app for my new smart phone to measure the sound pressure in dB(A). With the old sound absorber I was around 100 to 103 dB(A) now I am down to 85 to 89 dB(A).

Well after some testing with the App, I am quite sure that there is something wrong with it. My normal speech is around 90 dB(A). But I see it as a tendency.

After I fit the new sound absorber in, I made a test drive with Kathy and Chris, and Kathy said it quiten down. But we both think there is still some improvements to make. I will add some additionl plates to the wood plates to gain some weight, in order to get rid off the low frequencies.
http://www.svb.de/de/antidrohnplatte.html


So my personal test results:

• Handling during appling: perfect, (for cutting you just need a carpet knife and it is self adhesiv)
• Sound reduction: good
• Cleaningness: very good, through the aluminium tape on the surface. If you drop some oil you can easily wipe it away
• Looking: very good

http://www.svb.de/de/motorraum-dammplatten-495.html

Gear test: Variprofile

For quite a while (half a year), I drive around with the Variprofile and I really love it.

I have more power at the shaft, I accelerate and deaccelerate faster, I have a better speed at 3/4 Engine power ( 5 kn) and at full power (6- 6,5kn). The big advantage is that I can manover at the point. With the old fold propeller that wasn´t possible. I had to run the engine in full reverse that it infolds, quite a show, you can imagine.
Also it seam if you head up against the wind, it seam that Geronimo got much more strengh to punch through, which gives us quite a comfortable zone. 
At sail, it turns itself at a boat speed at 2kn in neutral and I can´t see any speed reduction through drag during sailing.

So the invest of the Variprofile is a defently full return of invest and I can really recommend that propeller.

 

 

http://www.spw-gmbh.de/de/

 

Being aboard with an infant

Being on a boat with a small baby, changes a lot. The lesser sailing time is one thing. But for us also the engine running time gets up. You can´t tack up on a force 5 with an infant rolling around in the cabin.
I met Sjaak last week in the harbour, who sailed with 3 childs on his boat. He said that every year a child grows is a sailing hour. Well you could argue with that.
On the other hand I sailed once in a fleet with a couple who raised their child during an Atlantic surrounding. Their son of an age of 3 as I met them, was well very close on the skirt of his mother, to say so. I met other 3 years olds, who seems much more open to the world and other children. I think, also hope, that these 2 extrema. In the end everybody has to find a way for themself. And for us ?

Well, there are certian things which might catch up on 27" boat for a small familiy. Geronimo has two cabins, the main cabin and the aft cabin. In the main cabin you have this big bed, if you lower down the table. It is an excellent playing area for an infant during stays in the harbour. But you lose the area as a living zone, especially during a rainy day. But more to this later.

Due the fact that an infant goes quite early to bed, you have to change your normal day routine. The problem is that the kitchen is next to the "big bed". So if you cook it is of course a little bit noisy, bad for baby´s sleep.
So you have your diner quite early or as we have done it, quite a bit, use a portable cooker and cook outside. What we will do to improve our life on Geronimo?

Buying another boat, no not up to now.

Well first of all we will order a couch roof for the galley. That gives us some additional room in the cockpit, especially for rainy and cold days.  We already have a cockpit tent, but if the wind comes sideways, it´s becoming nasty.

Second step is to rearrange the main cabin, but that will be done in the winter. The idea is to change the washroom area to a separate cabin and use the starboard aft cabin as bed with connection to the main cabin. The washroom area will be completly rearranged.

My wife in I think that we will motor a bit more than we have done the past. In the past the engine was just for getting in and out of the harbour, but now how will you handle your child in a force 5 or 6 when you traveling agianst it. The engine seems the comfortable way for it, but not the nicest.
So fhe first big step for improving our lifes on Geronimo is to improve the soundabsorber of the engine room. It is quite noisy in the aft cabin, where Chris sleeps during traveling. But thats an easy task.  I already ordered the Noise Absorber Foam 2600 and will install it this weekend. My test results will follow.

As you can see Chris sleeps very well in his "sleeping basket" back in the aft cabin. I also applied an transperant wind shield for the entry, so that Chris won´t be hit by the wind or incoming waves. 

In the moment we just use the Chicco Travel Seat just for feeding but, when Chris will sit without help the plan is to put him in the seat outside with us. You can fix it to a hatch, with it´s own straps.

What we also bought for chris is the Julbo Looping 3 child sunglass to protect his eyes from the sun

and the wind. It fits perfect and he doesn't start argueing with you, if you put them on. So I can recommend this glasses for a baby.

Back in the season 2014 with a new captain on board

Well it had been a couple of months since my last post, well there is a new captain in the neighboorhood. His name is Chris and he small but he knows how to handle his crew. During this season he had his stays on Geronimo. First contact was a get to know each other, but due the fact that it is a playground 2,5m width, all soft and cosy, it became great, the night a littlte bit frisky but no problem. The second stay was stormy, but we did his first manovers under engine a trip 4nm long, and well he slept on the arm of his beloved mother. The skipper got all the wetness from the waves but he loved every second of it.

Then a rather long break, through weddings. But now he is back on the ship. Driving by engine is fine, under sails a little bit strange but so nice that he fell to sleep, ok with a little help of Avici's Hey brother his favourit song. Tacking is fine as long as it very quite and gentle. If it is a hard tack then he cries. Yes it is a little bit loud but you will see my son, it will be your favourit sound.

A nice story by the way, passed a 47ft charter boat, which hit the ground, on a for wind course. They didn't take down their sails and there was a force 4 to 5. They started their engine and tried to pull backwards with full sails. So we tacked back, to give an advice:" Drop your sails completly and try then backwards". But it seems that a skipper with a small captain on his shoulder, who laughs at them,  isn't a serious one. They were still on the sand as we entered the harbour. It will be the captains first seamanships story

New Gear: propeller

Ich weiß seit einiger Zeit, das die Schiffschraube vom Geronimo, nicht ganz der richtige ist. Ich habe einen rechtsdrehenden Motor, aber die Schraube dreht links herum. Damals habe ich einfach den Vor- und Rückwärtsgang getauscht. Es funktioniert, außer das ich mehr Leistung im Rückwärtsgang habe, als im Vorwärtsgangs. Also war es Zeit für was neues.
Den richtigen Propeller zu finden, scheint irgendwie Magie zu sein, das versuchen uns die Hersteller weiß zu machen. Man gibt Ihnen die Schiffs und Motordaten und Sie schauen in alten Büchern und Tabellen und kommen nach ein wenig Wuuusch Wuusch da, ein wenig Wuuusch Wuuusch hier, mit einem vielleicht richtigen Propeller. Manchmal scheint die Magie auch sie zu überraschen.
Also rannte ich über die Boot in Düsseldorf und fragte bei den namhaften Herstellern nach den richtigen Propeller. Mmmmm, namhafter Herstelle waren von einer Delanta 80 etwas verwirrt,

"Ja ein Langkieler, ich kenne den Schiffstyp sehr gut...."
"Ich glaube nicht...."

Ich fand einen kleinen Stand, wo mich 2 Frauen echt beeindruckten. Sie wussten worüber Sie sprachen, stellten Möglichkeiten vor die man diskutieren konnte und das alles ohne Magie. Ich bin sehr glücklich das ich diesen Hersteller gefunden habe, nicht nur wegen der guten Beratung, aber auch wegen der Technik, die dahinter steckt.
Mit dem Propeller kann man die Steigung nämlich einstellen, wie man sie braucht. Steigungseinstellung ? Yepp, kommt man in die missliche Lage, den Motor zu wechseln kann ich von meiner "gelben Zicke" ohne weiteres auf einen 10 PS Motor wechseln.  Das einzige was ich tun muss ist die Steigung von 13" auf 14" ändern. Oder ich kann die Leistung noch optimieren. So hier ist Geronimos neuer Propeller der Variprop der Firma SPW.

I knew for quite a while now, that the actual propeller Geronimo has, is not quite the right one. I have right turning motor, but a left turning propeller, so I switched simply the forward gear to backward gear. It works, but I good better power backwards than forwards, so it was time for something new.
Finding the right propeller is something to magic, that´s the idea of the manufacturer. You gave them the specs of your ship and engine, and they start looking up in old books and lists. A little wibby wobbly there, a little wibby wobbly here and then they came up with an idea which propeller you might need. Somehow it seams magic to themself.
I was on the BOOT in Düsseldorf and ask some manufacturer which propeller might be suitable for me. Well, some were quite confused by my type of boat,
 "It´s a long keeler, I know her very well....."
"I don´t think so...."
But I find a small stall, which impressed me a lot. There were 2 women, who actually know what there were talking about. They gave you some opportunities for propeller and you can discuss it with them. Without magic.
So I very happy that I found this manufacturer, not only because of the good counsel but also of the good ideas of the propeller. You gonna say, "man it is a propeller", yes of course, but have you a propeller where you can adjust the pitch. Pitch? Yeah the pitch, if you have to change your engine than normally you have to change also your propeller. I have now the possibilty to change from my "Yellow Bitch" up to a 10 hp engine without changing the propeller. The only thing I have to do is to change the pitch from 13" to 14".

So here is Geronimos new propeller The Variprop made by SPW.

The Variprop

 

 

http://www.spw-gmbh.de/

Strange no baby gear...........

Ja es ist still geworden auf meinem Blog. Aber es ändert sich alles, mit einem Neugeborenen.
Seit dem mein Sohn geboren ist, schaue ich verstärkt nach nützlichen Babysachen fürs Schiff.
Aber es gibt so gut wie nichts für Babys auf dem Markt. Außer natürlich Sponge Bob Schwimmweste, jetzt mal im ernst Sponge Bob, ist das einzige Muster für eine Schwimmweste. Ich bin über die Boot in Düsseldorf gelaufen, aber nichts anders
Die Auswahl für "nützliche Sachen" für Hunde und Katzen ist größer.
Wo sind die kardanischen Maxi Cosis, kein vakumdichter Mülleimer für Pampers......
Es scheint wenn man ein Baby an Bord hat, heißt es "Bau es dir selber...."
Wie Barney Stinson sagen würde, "Herausforderung angenommen"

Erste Ideen:
Kartentisch als Wickelkommode
Kardanisch aufgehängter Maxi Cosi
Laufstall

Yeah it´s been a long time, since my last post. But somehow it is a New Beginning of life, when you have a newborn.
Coming back to New Beginning, since my son is born I am looking for actual some baby gear, which might be handy on the boat. But strangely there a very few to nothing items on the market, except Sponge Bob Lifejackets. Seriously Sponge Bob is the only option for a newborn lifejacket cover. I run over the Boot in Düsseldorf, to find some handy stuff for an infant on a boat, but nothing.
The variety is greater with lifejackets for cats and dogs.
But it seams that the lifejackets are the only thing for a newborn or small child. No cardanic Maxi Cosi Dockingstation, no swaddling cloths container air sealed......
It seams that if you have an infant on board, you have to customize the stuff you need....
As Barney Stinson would say: "Challenge accepted"....

First ideas:
Chart table as a baby changing table
Cardanic Maxi Cosi / Baby Bay
flexible playpen