Getting a routine with an infant

Sorry it had been awhile since my last post, kind of busy in the moment.

So back to topic, after we spent a nice holiday on Geronimo and did some small stays during the weekends, I finally find some time to post again. As said busy.

Chris loves new cabin. It gives all of us a little bit more freedom, when he sleeps. We now can use the main cabin also at the evening and I also sleep back in the main cabin. In addition with the cockpit coach roof it works out really fine. So nearly everything back to normal.
The sailing routine has changed a lot. A fact that I have to cope with.
You know as Chris was born, a sailing friend of mine said to me " You know Dom, every year of the life of a small child gives you one additional hour in sailing." I have to admit, he is right.
So no more sailing from dusk till dawn.
But finding a routine is from my point of view in the moment the most important thing, for your child and for you as a parent.
Finding our routine was little bit of luck. But it worked out perfect for the ongoing season.
After breakfast, we spent the time till lunch with Chris on the harbour playground, at the beach and going with him on a walk. Normally I return a little bit earlier in order to get Geronimo ready. Then we have our lunch. After that we put Chris in the aft cabin where he can have his afternoon sleep. As soon as I start the engine he quites down and normally sleeps when we turn out of the harbour. He normally do not notice when I pull up the sails.

We normally sail then in one direction, till he wakes up, normally after 1 to 1,5 hrs. Then we start with our journey back to the harbor.
He loves to be out at the sea, he looks at the waves, is fascinated by the sails, runs from one side to the other, especially during tacking. And laughs when he smashs with his body at one side of the boat. Seriously it gave us a heart attack, but he figured out, how to use his life jacket as an air bag. And due the fact that he doesn´t do it when he do not wear his life jacket, we get a little bit non nervous at that action. Meaning no more heart attacks, but still ready to jump between to catch him, before he hurts himself. So more or less a red aleart modus.
Anyway, he also loves to pull at ropes, especially when a winch is involved. We are still try to teach him, that during tacking his small hands should be out of the action. It put him all the time a little bit angry, but Dad pulls ropes with him  in the harbor the whole evening. I hope that make it up for him. It seems so.

We recognize that after one and a half hour, (he is 1,5 years old) he is running low on battery and he wants to have a little bit of rest and peace. Sometimes it seems that he is overloaded with the impressions after 1,5 hour. He then just want to cuddle up with Mom or spent some time in peace for himself. And then he is back to normal.
We once tried to sail further, but that did not work out. He started crying and was looking for a place where he could have his peace to work out the impressions of the sailing.
We try to be in the harbor within the 1,5hrs he is awake. That gave all of us the best of it. And the rest of the day we spent a nice afternoon / evening in the harbor.

So the it seems that "every year of the life of a small child gives you one additional hour in sailing", fits here.

In sum it gave us more or less 2-3 hours of sailing per day this season.

Ready for the season ! But infant safe ??

After a tough week of work on Geronimo nearly everything had been done.
Thanks to my Dad which gave me a hand with some work.
So here is the "Done" list:

• new engine is installed, a Yanmar 1GM10. It is settled on a stainless steel frame, which gave me a hard time. But it is in, running smoothly and sprang to life effortless.
• new exhaust system 
• the cabin for Chris is finished, new light, new inside coverage for the cabin hull etc. 
• new hand bilge pump with new separation system to the electrical bilge pump
• repaint of the walking area on the deck
• rebuilding of the keel paint (Thanks Dad), it was somehow damaged in the winter, through the lost of the anode 

Well Geronimo is back in the water and we stayed the first weekend on it. Chris was amazed on the ship, so much new things to see. But he was like a rubber ball and fast as hell. The first moment he was sitting on the cabin floor and Kathrin and I were looking in another direction and the next moment he was outside in the cockpit. Seconds later on the bench. Damm fast. So I installed a net around the cockpit. But is it infant safe ? We will see......

 What worked out pretty well, is the cockpit tent. It was rough weather outside and we were sitting below the tent quite comfortable.

What a spring storm "Hi Niklas"

A nice storm, called Niklas, hit central Europe last weekend and keep half Europe quite occupied.

Well I was at Geronimo to finish the new bed for Chris and the cupboard in the aft cabin as the storm hit the coast. It was rubbish weather since the morning that for sure. It was blowing with a force 6 to 7, straight west. Geronimo was with her nose right in the wind. The was tugging at her lines, besides the coverage from the harbour. The rain was falling quite heavy but I was working below deck and a canvas cover was spread. As long as would stay below it was somehow comfortable.
I was completlye drained while I put everything on board. But luckily my father gave me hand.
I just had to give him a hand 2 times at his boat, which left me complete drained again. But I won´t complain, I know what was coming, or had had a slightly idea.
By the way I love my new "New Zeeland Shepard Hat", it fits on my head in a Force 7 and keeps my head dry.
Anyway it was somehow around 2 o´clock. I just gave my father a hand. I was cowered down to take a measure, as I heard the wind raising. "Nice" I thought and moments later I flew around, hit my knee and shoulder and said "What the f**k". I crawled up to the hatch to have a look at the wind gauge. Geronimo was heeling in 20° angle without any noteworthy stuff above deck.
The wind gauge showed 34kn decreasing, it turned slightly south. "Pretty bastard" I said and went on with my measurement.
Some minutes later my father showed up. "Have you seen that?" "Yepp, I flew around a little bit" I said. "We should grap our stuff and should heading home, there is more coming, have a look".
I took a look at the horizon, it was pitch black. "Agreed, give me 20min, you need a hand with your cover". "Nope I took it away before the blow came by" my father said. "See you in 20 min"
 So I started to pick up my tools, closed down all hatches. The wind gauge showed 38kn, straight west again. And I got coverage from the dyke / harbour.
So that storm gave me some trouble to get my tool box off, I can tell. As I closed down everything the rain was starting again. You know with a little bit of hail and the wind..... I was soaking wet, as I reached the car. And it seams that the wind was still raising.

You remember Peter? Well he tried to apply his Sprayhood on his boat. Don´t know how this ended.

We were heading home and Niklas was giving us some punches during the ride. And showed off over central Europe for 2 more days.

        

Spring is coming, time to get the boat ready

It seems that the spring is finally coming to town. And so this ichty feeling start in the fingers to get the boat ready.
So what´s up for this year.
1. Chris will get his own cabin, in connection to the main cabin. For this I already started to change the star board side of Geronimo. I closed the starboard hatch, removed the locker and started to build a new bed in connection to the main cabin. In the aft cabin will be the new storage for the sails.
 Well that´s nearly finished as you can see.

2. The Yellow Bitch....... well I throw her out. Well she runs fine, but the way to running is rather long. I couldn´t get a clue one why. She had been repaired, but man 1-2 min for starting and draining the batteries, no more. I could have spent more time on that, but there another point which leads to the decision to throw her out, horse power. You know the power was fine, but if you just wanted to punch through a tide or storm, she was running at her maximum. And if there was something on the prop, well she was having her time. So long story short result, her is the new one:

A Yanmar 1GM10 engine. Lovely don´t you think. But it cost some time to get it in.

3. Some small paint repairs on the deck.

That it will be for this spring. Quite a bit. I keep you posted.


  

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

Married to a sailor means, ...... getting wet

Es ist etwas her seit meine letzten Blog, ja Arbeit, Schwangerschaft so was halt. Aber hier bin ich und seit gestern steht Geronimo wieder im Trockenem. Während ich alles winterfest gemacht habe, konnte ich eine wirklich lustige Szene beobachten.
 einer Meinung nach gibt es in jedem Hafen diesen Typen, der eigentlich nett und freundlich ist aber irgendwie einem auf die Nerven geht. Nennen wir meinem Peter. Peter fängt grundsätzlich eine Unterhaltung an mit "Man ist ja immer dran.....".
Gestern hatte er kurz nach mir seinen Krantermin und mein Vater und ich konnten beim vorbeigehen ein paar mal etwas beobachten.
Er spritzte mit einem Hochdruckreiniger sein Unterwasserschiff ab und immer erwischte er irgendwie seine Frau.

• Sie schrubbte die eine Seite des Kiels, er ballert mit dem Hochdruckreiniger die andere Seite sauber.
• Sie poliert den Rumpf, er knallt direkt über ihr mit dem Hochdruckreiniger übers Deck. 
• Sie schrubbt den Bug er spritzt hinter ihr herum, so das sie den ganzen Mist abkriegt. 

Im Endeffekt war Sie scheiß nass, man kann darüber streiten ob seit Beginn oder Ende seiner Arbeit.
Es war ein Bild für die Götter, aber ein Punkt der meinen Vater und mich wirklich verblüfft hat, ist Sie hat sich kein bißchen beschwert. Mein Vater und ich sind uns ziemlich sicher das unsere Frauen uns den Hochdruckreiniger abgenommen hätten und uns irgendwo hin geschossen hätten.

Aber im Endeffekt lieber Frauen, verheiratet sein mit einem Segler heißt immer irgendwie nass zu werden.

It´s been a while, quite busy at buisness, pregnancy stuff like that. But anyway I´m back and Geronimo is out of water since yesterday.
During gettung Geronimo ready for the winter I watched quite a lovley scene.
You know out of my point of view there is always a guy in the harbour which is actually quite nice but somehow annoying. My guy, let me call him Peter, normally starts a conversation with a weepy voice "Something is always......".
Anyway he craned out his boat, shortly after me.
My father and I recognized a couple of times when he cleaned the underwater ship with a pressure washer, that he always hit his wife.

• She scrubbed one side of the keel, he blastered the other side and she took all the dirty mist, secondary hits etc. 
• She polished the hull he hit the deck on the side were she worked. 
• She scrubbed the bow he was standing behind her and blastering around. 

By the end, maybe also by the start she was soaking wet.
It was quite amousing to watch, and the one thing which really puzzled us, was the fact that the didn´t complain.
My father and I are quite sure, if this would happened with our wife, the would literally catch the pistolf of the pressure washer and shot us into our....., well anyway.

But in the end dear ladys married to a sailor means ....getting wet.

Perfect sailing in autum .....but strange weather

Aus meiner Sicht hatte ich gestern einen perfekten Segeltag. Sonniger Tag, 17kn südöstlicher Wind, 18°C Lufttemperatur.
Der Wetterfunk meldete gegen Abend mögliche Regenschauer, 5-6 Windstärken und im nördlichen Teil der Niederlande mögliche Gewitter, komend aus dem Osten. Ok für mich, dachte ich mir.
Nachdem ich Hompelvoet nördlich passiert hatte, frischte der Wind auf 24kn auf. Also 2tes Reff rein, und schönes feuchtes Segeln. Es kamen ein paar schöne Wellen über, aber ich hatte meinen Spass dabei. Am Horizont bemerkte ich eine Front die südwestlich durchzuziehen schien, und mich verpfehlen würde. Falsch gedacht!
Zuerst kam die Warmfront, and dann wechselte die Front ihre Zugrichtung und kam aus dem SW nördlich. Der Wind blieb aber SE. Es zeichnete sich ein Gewitter ab, ich konnte in der großer Entfernung Blitze sehen. Der Wind lies schlagartig von 24kn auf 14kn nach. Ich reffte aus und versuchte weg zukommen von der Front. Aber sie zog jetzt östlich und folgte mir, als würde sie mich stalken.
Ich war 4sm vom Hafen entfernt mit Wind gegenan, also Segel runter und den Flautenschieber an. Ich hatte keine Lust im Gewitter im Hafen anzulegen, bzw. es draußen abzuwettern. Kurz vor dem Hafen schienen die Wolkenfron zu explodieren und der Wind lies nach auf 8 bis 10kn. Ich war im Hafen als sich eine dicke schwarze Wolkenfront am Horizont zeigte, kein Anzeichen von einem Gewitter und der Wind war wieder bei 14kn......

In der Summe ziemlich seltsam.

I was sailing yesterday and it started in my point of view perfectly. Sunny day and a 17kn of wind SE with an air temperature around 18 ° C. I really enjoyed the day.
The weatherforecast said it would become rainy, 5-6 Bft. and maybe risk of thunderstorms in the northern part of the dutch coast. Coming up from the east. Fine for me.
After I past the island Hompelvoet on the north side the wind increased up to 24kn. I put the second reff in and enjoyed the wetter sailing. I had my fun.
I started to notice a cloud formation SW from my position. Which I thought would pass without hitting me. I was wrong about that.
First the warm front hit me and then the front came from the SW which showed to be a thunderstorm. I saw flashes in quite a distance. And then the wind decreases from 24kn down to 14kn. I put on the whole main and tried to get away from this nasty front. But now the was moving in a eastern dirction right the way I want to go. Is she stalking me. Perfect!!
 I was 4 miles away from my harbour with wind coming from the direction so I started the engine, dropped the sails and pushed forward. I was not in the mood to go in the harbour during a thunderstorm or staying outside till it passed.
And then, right in front of the harbour, the thunderstorm clouds seam to explode and the wind was dropping 8 to 10kn.
As I was safe and sound in the harbour a big black front has appeard on the horizon. No sign of a thunderstorm and the wind was around 14kn again,......

In sum very strange.

The "LOW-Lights" of a Holiday

Ich hatte es in früheren Post ja erwähnt, das meine Faru und ich dieses Jahr zur Isle of Wight segeln wollten. Aber Gott hatte einen anderen Plan für uns. Und dabei habe ich Ihm einen guten Whisky gespendet. Aber anscheinend habe ich nicht seinen Geschmack getroffen. Also hier sind die "Low Lights" unseres Urlaubes.

1. Motorschaden, der just in time repariert wurde
2. Dieselbaktieren im Tank, also komplette Tankreinigung
3. Schlechtes Wetter mit Nieselregen, Kälte und Sturm
4. Kaputte Starter Batterie
5. Seekrankheit meiner Frau bei 0,5m Wellehöhe, durch ihre Schwangerschaft verursacht
6. Segeln im Heimatrevier
7. Gebrochner Unterlieksstrecker
8. Gebrochene Cunningham
9. Kurzschluss im Landstrom, durch Korrosion im Stecker
10. Wirklich schlechte Laune des Skipper, also ich

Well as I mentioned it earlier I had planed to sail with my wife to the Ilse of Wight this year. But the Gods had other plans for us, bloody Gods. And I spent auf real good glass of Whisky to the Sea God. It seams that I missed his taste. Anyway here are the LOW Lights of the Holiday.

 1. Broken engine, but repaired just in time
 2. Diesel bactaria in the fuel tank, so a complete cleaning of the fuel tank
3. Rather bad weather, misty rain, cold, stormy
4. Broken starter batterie
5. Seasickness of my wife at a wave hight of half a meter, due the fact of her pragnency
6. Staying in the usual sailing area
7. Broken rope cleat for the main
8. Broken cunningham cleat
9. Shortcut in the onshore power supply due corrosion
10. Bad mood of the skipper (me)

Gear test: paint test

Wie ich bereits erwähnt habe, habe ich über den Winter und Frühjahr, ein komplettes Refit am Geronimo durchgeführt. Da der Gelcoat von Geronimo beschädigt war, und der Vorbesitzer Farbe benutzt hat um den Gelcoat zu überstreichen, mußte ich mit Farbe weitermachen. Durch meine biisherige Segelkarriere habe ich schon einige Anstriche an den Schiffen durchgeführt,  die mir gehörten. Hier ist das Fazit von den letzten Farben dich ich verwendet habe. 

As I already mentioned I have done a complete refit of Geronimo this year. The Gelcoat of Geronimo had beendet painted by the previous owner so I had to follow with paint. During my sailing career I have done some paintjobs to the boats I own. Here is my personal quote about the paints I recently used.

International Toplack

Dieser 1 Komponetenlack läßt sich sehr gut verarbeiten, ich arbeite sehr gerne mit ihm. Hauptsächlich verarbeite ich ihn als Rumpffarbe. Das Finish überzeugt mich jedesmal. Normal streiche ich 3 mal die Farbe. Zuerst schmirgel ich den Untergrund mit 80 Schleifpapier. Nach dem Anstrich schmirgel ich den Anstrich mit 120 Papier, bevor der 2te Anstrich folgt. Beide Anschliffe führe ich mit der Maschine durch. Den letzten Anschliff mache ich mit 240er Papier und per Hand. Vor jedem Anstrich reinige ich die geschmirgelten Oberflächen mit Der Verdünnerung Internation No.1. 

This 1- component paint is quite lovely. I usually use the Toplack for the hull paintjobs. It is easy to handle and I am quite pleased with the finish. After the sanding of the hull I clean the hull with the special Thinner No. 1 from International. Normally I do 3 paintjobs to the hull. After the first sanding with a 80 paper, I do the second sanding with a 120 paper. Both sandings I do by machine. The last sanding I do with with auf 240 paper by hand. 

Was ich besonders an den Toplack Farbe marg, ist das man immer den gleich Farbton trifft, falls man einen Kratzer nachstreichem muss. Man muss schon sehr von nahen in schauen um die nachgestrichene Stelle zu finden. Außerdem läßt sich die Farbe hervorragend verarbeiten.Der einzige Nachteil an der Farbe ist, wie bei jeden 1 Komponenten Lack, das er nicht so wiederstandfähig ist, wie ein 2 Komponenten Lack. 

What I like about the Toplack is the fact that you can always match the paint, if you have to repair a scratch. You have to have auf closer look to find the repaired spot.The only disadvantage with this paint, every 1 component paint, is that it isn't very robust to mechanical abruse. You can get quite easly scratches in your paintjob.I am always satisfied with the finish. 

International Perfection

Da ein 2 Komponentenlack wiederstandsfähiger ist, verwendete ich von International den Perfection Lack für das Deck.Da der alte Decksbelag total hinüber war, habe ich das Deck mit Sand ausgetreut, damit das Deck nicht spiegelglatt ist.Ich habe den Perfection Lack öfters benutzt, aber er überzeugt mich überhaupt nicht. Er sieht super aus, wenn er fertig verarbeitet ist, aber nach einer gewissen Zeit sieht er echt schäbig aus. An einigen Stellen konnte ich die Farbeschicht wie eine Schlangenhaut vom Deck abziehen. Obwohl ich das Deck mit International Verdünnung No 2 gereinigt hatte. Dieses Jahr hatte ich nach dem Frischenanstrich sowas wie Wasserstropfen im Lack. Wie gesagt, diese Farbe überzeugt mich überhaupt nicht, und ich würde sie nicht weiter empfehlen. 

If you want to do a paintjob with a modernen robust finish you have to use a 2 component paint. International offers the Perfection paint. I use this paint on the deck of Geronimo in addition with sand, so that the deck will not be slippery as ice. Well I have done some paintjobs to the deck with Perfection but I was never satisfied with it. It looked really great after I did the finish but after some time the deck was a completly mess. On some parts of the deck you were able to pull away the paint like a snake skin. I have always used the recommended Thinner No2 from International, but always something happend to the paint. After the last paintjob this year I had some strange spot on the dried paint.

 

International Interdeck

Nach dem diesjährigen Decksanstrich mit Perfection und Sand, ist durch den finalen Anstrich das Deck glatt wie Eis geworden. Keine Ahnung wieso, zuvor hat das immer gut geklappt. Aber wie gesagt mit Perfektion kann alles passieren. Also habe ich von International die Interdeckfarbe verwendet, und ich bin sehr zufrieden mit der Farbe. Man sollte jedoch immer im Kopf behalten 1 auf 2 Kompenten geht, umgekehrt funktioniert es nicht. Vor dem Betreten des Decks, muss man 48 Stunden warten um einen optimale Haftung zu erhalten. 
Meiner Meinung nach eine sehr gut zu verarbeitende Farbe. Bis jetzt läßt sie sich auch gut reinigen. 

After the final paintjob with the Perfection on two bases with sand this time the decks got slippery like ice. Don´t know what´s now get wrong but the paintjobs before it didn´t get slippery. But it is Perfection and in my opinion everything can happen with this paint.So what to do with a slippery deck. I applied the Interdeck paint from International, and I am quite pleased with the paint. Due the fact it is a 1-component paint, you can easly repaint the 2 component paint.The only fact you have to consider, after you paint Interdeck the surface shouldn´t be used for 48h, because then it doesn´t built up the mechanical resistance. 

 

In my opinion a nice deck paint, afterall it leaves a nice finish, the grip is excellent, the handling is also easy and it is easy to clean up. 

Post now in German and English

Hallo, ab sofort werde ich die Post in Deutsch und in English bringen. Für die Navigation einfach auf die Flaggen klicken. Ich werde versuchen alle vorherigen Posts noch nachträglich in Deutsch zu ergänzen.
Und noch eine kleine Vorschau:

• Farbentest International Toplack, Perfection, Interdeck
• Mark II Windfahnensteuerung

Hi, I will no post in two languages in German and English. For navigation just push the flags A small preview: 

• paint test on International Toplack, Perfection, Interdeck 
• Mark II selfsteering wind vane 

Impression from a summer night

Ich mag es die Sterna am Meer zu sehen. Man kann sie klar und deutlich beobachten.

I like the stars at sea. You can see them clearly and absolutly bright.

Mark I: self steering wind vane

Hier sind die ersten Bilder meiner selbstgebauten Windfahnensetuerung. Während meines Urlaubs konnte ich sie am Heck von Geronimno montieren. Auf Grund der Tatsache das es im Ulruab meisten mit 20kn geweht hat bin ich noch nicht dazu gekommen sie ausgiebig zu testen.
Hier einige Bilder.

Here are the first pictures of the wind vane I built. During my holiday I was able to install it on Geronimo. Due the fact that we always had 20kn of wind, I wasn´t able to test it probably. But more to that later.
First some pictures.
As a base frame I used an old bath platform frame. On this I installed the wind vane mast and the whole mechanic. So I got a very robust base.

 

Der Windfahnenhalter ist komplett aus Aluminiumprofilen gefertigt.

The wind vane holder is completly out of aluminium.

Ich habe im Hafen ein wenig mit der Windfahne rumexperimentiert um Schwachstellen vorab zu finden.
Folgende Punkte werde ich noch ändern:

• Eine neue Windfahne, die jetzige Sperrholzplatte ist mit 5mm Stärke zu instabil und wellig. Ich überlege über einen Rahmen mit Stoffbezug oder eine Pertinaxplatte
• Ich werde das Ruder ändern.Ich möchte es klappbar gestalten um schnell die Steuerung aus dem Wasser zu klappen
• Die Schubstange ist zu schwach ausgelegt. Bei stärkere Auslenkung biegt sich die Stange durch. Ich werde hier etwas massiveres nehmen. 

I played a lot with the wind vane in the harbour, for balancing it, see if the mechanic is working probably.

What I will change for the Mark II are following points:

• new wind vane, the suggested 5mm wood plate is not even enough. I´m thinking about an aluminium frame with a cloth wind fane or a solid Pertinax wind vane.
• I will change the rudder design, because I want to be able to lift the rudder out of the water when I do not need the wind vane. I think I will make it foldable.
• the push shaft is to flexible. If there is a great force on it, it bends itself. I will built it in a more robust way.