We're now Pagans!


Erbas has now been sold and we've moved onwards and upwards to a Westerly 33 ketch we've renamed "Pagan"

Come and visit our new blog at svpagan.blogspot.co.uk

Monday 28 September 2015

The Great Escape - the story so far

This will be the first of an ongoing series of posts which, whilst not directly concerned with Erbas herself, record for posterity our efforts to break free from the rat race and make a bid for freedom upon the high seas. Oh, OK! Maybe not the high seas 'cos we're wimps! We'll settle for spending our summers pottering around the coast of the UK and Northern Europe

Inevitably, I'll be repeating myself in places catching up to where we're at now so if you have been keeping up at the back, my apologies!

To summarise, the cunning plan is..

Step 1. Sell the house
Step 2. Buy a flat up in the Kettering area with our eldest son
Step 3. Buy a larger yacht more suitable for long term live-aboard use
Step 4. Refit the new yacht as necessary
Step 5. Make sure our finances are in order and then ...
Step 6. Jane "retires" from full time work

(The flat will give us a base near where we currently live in an area where temporary work is plentiful in case we need to top up the financial coffers. It also gives us a base near to family and friends, somewhere to retreat to in the depths of winter or if the boat needs major work, the long term security of having somewhere ashore to live if something goes amiss and, crucially, a legal residential address)

When steps 1 and 2 have been achieved, we'll be mortgage free and we'll have a modest sum of money to spend on a new bigger boat. Hopefully we'll have a budget of between £30k and £40k to buy and refit a suitable vessel so we're going to be talking something older. Probably a 1980s Westerly or Moody but we're keeping a very open mind on that

So that catches up on and consolidates stuff I've previously posted but what progress have we made?

I have to admit that it's getting off to a slow start! The house and garden are a complete mess and it is a frankly daunting task to sort out which I've been struggling to find any motivation or enthusiasm for.

It's also proving tricky to try and co-ordinate my time and workload trying to develop my marine electrical engineering business with the demands of taking Jane and Carl to work and actually getting to see something of each other, we are leaking cash at a gradual but mildly (at this stage) worrying rate and what little has been done around the house has not yet achieved a great deal!

Ready and waiting ...
We have, though, had the leaky roof repaired and the plasterer is booked to come and deal with the resulting damaged ceilings. And last Friday a skip landed on the drive as we start the key process of getting rid of all the accumulated junk that is everywhere.

There's the remains of all the stuff we no longer need from the festival days, loads of worthless boat junk, old electrics and electronics, dead tools, surplus materials and general crap because we hardly ever throw anything out!

Well we're making a start now! Not only is all this "stuff" in the way of  putting the house to rights, we can't take most of it with us. So it's time to be utterly ruthless and ditch anything that is not of immediate use and/or which we won't be able to take with us to the flat or on board Bigger Boat.

There's some stuff that is worth passing on or flogging off but I'm not planning on wasting too much time worrying about that. If it's going to waste any time at all, in the skip it goes.

So far, I've cleared various cupboard around the house, the big under stairs cupboard and made a start on the loft. Carl and I are about to tackle some of the heavier stuff that's up in the loft in a few minutes




Friday 25 September 2015

Tides, keels and mud berths - the mathematics of mud


As we think ahead to Bigger Boat, one critical issue is draught - the depth of the keel below the waterline - and when, or indeed if, we'll be able to get in and out of our drying mud berth (which we're very happy with and would be loathe to give up)

So I sat down earlier and plugged the daytime high tides for 2016 into a spreadsheet and then used conditional formatting to highlight the tides which would give us access to the berth with our current 3' draught, with a draught of around 4'6 and again with a draught of 5'6 (which I reckon is the maximum we can realistically entertain)

This is based on our experience to date where we've found that we need a tide of 4.3m or better to comfortably get in and out of the berth with Erbas although we did scrape in last time with just 4.2m albeit leaving a groove in the mud with the starboard keel!

Here is the resulting table ...





2016
January
February
March
April
May
June
Fri 0117:134.6 Mon 0117:554.3 Tue 0117:084.4 Fri 0118:254.2 Sun 0106:344.5 Wed 0108:474.8
Sat 0218:004.4
Tue 0206:184.3
Wed 0217:584.2
Sat 0207:024.2
Mon 0208:014.5
Thu 0209:585.0
Sun 0318:554.3
Wed 0307:274.1
Thu 0306:254.2
Sun 0308:404.4
Tue 0309:214.8
Fri 0311:005.3
Mon 0407:214.3
Thu 0408:474.2
Fri 0407:524.1
Mon 0409:574.7
Wed 0410:275.1
Sat 0411:555.4
Tue 0508:294.3
Fri 0510:004.4
Sat 0509:214.3
Tue 0510:585.1
Thu 0511:245.4
Sun 0512:485.5
Wed 0609:364.4
Sat 0611:004.7
Sun 0610:314.7
Wed 0611:515.4
Fri 0612:165.5
Mon 0613:355.6
Thu 0710:364.7
Sun 0711:525.0
Mon 0711:285.0
Thu 0712:405.6
Sat 0713:065.7
Tue 0714:085.5
Fri 0811:284.9
Mon 0812:405.3
Tue 0812:185.3
Fri 0813:285.7
Sun 0813:505.7
Wed 0815:015.4
Sat 0912:155.1
Tue 0913:265.5
Wed 0913:065.6
Sat 0914:085.7
Mon 0914:335.6
Thu 0915:425.3
Sun 1013:005.3
Wed 1014:065.7
Thu 1013:485.7
Sun 1014:505.6
Tue 1015:155.4
Fri 1016:255.0
Mon 1113:415.5
Thu 1114:475.7
Fri 1114:295.7
Mon 1115:335.4
Wed 1115:595.2
Sat 1117:114.8
Tue 1214:205.6
Fri 1215:285.6
Sat 1215:105.6
Tue 1216:165.1
Thu 1216:464.9
Sun 1218:004.6
Wed 1315:005.5
Sat 1316:095.3
Sun 1315:525.4
Wed 1317:044.8
Fri 1317:384.6
Mon 1306:354.5
Thu 1415:425.4
Sun 1416:545.1
Mon 1416:355.1
Thu 1418:014.5
Sat 1406:104.6
Tue 1407:384.4
Fri 1516:245.3
Mon 1517:444.8
Tue 1517:244.8
Fri 1506:364.6
Sun 1507:194.5
Wed 1508:464.5
Sat 1617:125.0
Tue 1606:044.9
Wed 1618:234.4
Sat 1608:004.5
Mon 1608:364.5
Thu 1609:494.6
Sun 1718:064.8
Wed 1707:174.6
Thu 1706:564.5
Sun 1709:224.6
Tue 1709:454.6
Fri 1710:444.7
Mon 1806:264.9
Thu 1808:494.5
Fri 1808:304.5
Mon 1810:284.8
Wed 1810:394.8
Sat 1811:304.9
Tue 1907:434.7
Fri 1910:094.7
Sat 1909:524.6
Tue 1911:184.9
Thu 1911:244.9
Sun 1912:125.0
Wed 2009:074.7
Sat 2011:144.9
Sun 2010:584.9
Wed 2012:005.0
Fri 2012:045.0
Mon 2012:525.1
Thu 2110:204.9
Sun 2112:065.1
Mon 2111:475.0
Thu 2112:365.1
Sat 2112:405.1
Tue 2113:305.2
Fri 2211:225.1
Mon 2212:505.2
Tue 2212:295.1
Fri 2213:105.1
Sun 2213:165.2
Wed 2214:065.3
Sat 2312:165.2
Tue 2313:275.2
Wed 2313:055.1
Sat 2313:405.2
Mon 2313:475.2
Thu 2314:415.3
Sun 2413:035.3
Wed 2413:595.2
Thu 2413:365.2
Sun 2414:085.2
Tue 2414:205.2
Fri 2415:185.2
Mon 2513:415.4
Thu 2514:305.2
Fri 2514:065.2
Mon 2514:385.1
Wed 2514:525.1
Sat 2515:555.1
Tue 2614:185.3
Fri 2615:015.1
Sat 2614:345.1
Tue 2615:085.0
Thu 2615:275.0
Sun 2616:375.0
Wed 2714:535.2
Sat 2715:295.0
Sun 2715:025.0
Wed 2715:414.9
Fri 2716:054.9
Mon 2717:245.0
Thu 2815:275.1
Sun 2815:584.8
Mon 2815:304.9
Thu 2816:174.7
Sat 2816:494.8
Tue 2818:194.9
Fri 2915:594.9
Mon 2916:304.6
Tue 2916:014.8
Fri 2917:024.5
Sun 2917:414.7
Wed 2906:594.8
Sat 3016:334.7




Wed 3016:374.6
Sat 3017:594.4
Mon 3006:144.7
Thu 3008:174.8
Sun 3117:104.5




Thu 3117:234.4




Tue 3107:294.7


























July
August
September
October
November
December
Fri 0109:334.9
Mon 0111:325.1
Thu 0112:545.4
Sat 0113:065.4
Tue 0113:385.4
Thu 0113:475.3
Sat 0210:425.1
Tue 0212:245.3
Fri 0213:315.5
Sun 0213:365.5
Wed 0214:085.4
Fri 0214:195.3
Sun 0311:405.2
Wed 0313:125.4
Sat 0314:035.5
Mon 0314:055.5
Thu 0314:385.3
Sat 0314:515.2
Mon 0412:355.4
Thu 0413:505.5
Sun 0414:345.5
Tue 0414:345.4
Fri 0415:095.1
Sun 0415:265.1
Tue 0513:235.5
Fri 0514:265.5
Mon 0515:035.4
Wed 0515:035.3
Sat 0515:425.0
Mon 0516:045.0
Wed 0614:055.5
Sat 0615:015.5
Tue 0615:335.2
Thu 0615:335.1
Sun 0616:194.8
Tue 0616:484.9
Thu 0714:455.5
Sun 0715:335.3
Wed 0716:045.0
Fri 0716:054.9
Mon 0717:044.7
Wed 0717:404.8
Fri 0815:245.4
Mon 0816:065.2
Thu 0816:374.8
Sat 0816:424.7
Tue 0818:034.5
Thu 0818:434.7
Sat 0916:025.2
Tue 0916:415.0
Fri 0917:184.5
Sun 0917:294.4
Wed 0906:344.4
Fri 0907:144.6
Sun 1016:405.0
Wed 1017:204.7
Sat 1018:134.3
Mon 1018:364.3
Thu 1007:594.5
Sat 1008:334.8
Mon 1117:214.8
Thu 1118:094.5
Sun 1106:504.2
Tue 1107:214.2
Fri 1109:164.8
Sun 1109:465.0
Tue 1218:084.6
Fri 1206:434.3
Mon 1208:174.2
Wed 1208:494.4
Sat 1210:205.1
Mon 1210:495.3
Wed 1306:404.4
Sat 1307:534.2
Tue 1309:364.5
Thu 1310:004.8
Sun 1311:165.5
Tue 1311:465.6
Thu 1407:424.3
Sun 1409:074.4
Wed 1410:414.8
Fri 1410:575.1
Mon 1412:075.7
Wed 1412:385.8
Fri 1508:494.4
Mon 1510:184.6
Thu 1511:335.1
Sat 1511:485.5
Tue 1512:575.9
Thu 1513:285.9
Sat 1609:574.5
Tue 1611:154.9
Fri 1612:205.4
Sun 1612:365.7
Wed 1613:426.0
Fri 1614:125.9
Sun 1710:544.8
Wed 1712:045.1
Sat 1713:065.7
Mon 1713:225.9
Thu 1714:266.0
Sat 1714:575.7
Mon 1811:455.0
Thu 1812:495.4
Sun 1813:455.8
Tue 1814:026.0
Fri 1815:105.8
Sun 1815:425.5
Tue 1912:305.1
Fri 1913:315.6
Mon 1914:245.9
Wed 1914:436.0
Sat 1915:555.5
Mon 1916:285.2
Wed 2013:135.3
Sat 2014:095.7
Tue 2015:035.9
Thu 2015:265.8
Sun 2016:475.1
Tue 2017:184.9
Thu 2113:515.0
Sun 2114:485.7
Wed 2115:435.7
Fri 2116:105.5
Mon 2117:454.8
Wed 2118:114.6
Fri 2214:285.5
Mon 2215:255.7
Thu 2216:265.5
Sat 2217:025.1
Tue 2218:514.7
Thu 2206:314.5
Sat 2315:055.5
Tue 2316:045.6
Fri 2317:165.1
Sun 2318:074.8
Wed 2307:234.5
Fri 2307:384.4
Sun 2415:435.4
Wed 2416:465.4
Sat 2418:234.8
Mon 2419:274.7
Thu 2408:404.5
Sat 2408:494.4
Mon 2516:225.3
Thu 2517:345.1
Sun 2519:504.7
Tue 2508:074.5
Fri 2509:464.7
Sun 2509:534.5
Tue 2617:055.2
Fri 2618:374.9
Mon 2608:394.5
Wed 2609:264.7
Sat 2610:394.9
Mon 2610:464.7
Wed 2717:565.1
Sat 2707:284.5
Tue 2709:584.8
Thu 2710:284.9
Sun 2711:245.0
Tue 2711:324.9
Thu 2806:354.8
Sun 2808:594.6
Wed 2810:595.0
Fri 2811:175.1
Mon 2812:035.1
Wed 2812:145.0
Fri 2907:504.7
Mon 2910:184.8
Thu 2911:485.2
Sat 2911:595.2
Tue 2912:395.2
Thu 2912:545.1
Sat 3009:144.7
Tue 3011:195.1
Fri 3012:305.3
Sun 3012:355.3
Wed 3013:155.3
Fri 3013:305.2
Sun 3110:294.9
Wed 3112:105.3




Mon 3113:085.4




Sat 3114:055.3























Highlighting bands are at 3'0", 4'6" and 5'6" draught and err on the side of caution











The lightest blue is the 3' band and as you can see Erbas, or a boat with similar draught, is rarely neaped (unable to get in or out of the berth). Some months we wouldn't be neaped at all and at worse it's only for two or three days a month

Move up to around 4'6", the medium blue band, and we inevitably get neaped a lot more often. Twice a month and for periods of up to a week in fact. That's tolerable as we are rarely if ever inclined to go out for a sail on a whim. If we know we want to go out or come back during the period that we'd be neaped we can move off the berth onto the river pontoon or a spare mooring or do the same in reverse coming back

At 5'6" the scenario gets somewhat worse. It knocks a day off either side of on week where we can access the berth but it's the other window of access during the lower of the two tide cycles each month that really takes a hammering. There are times in the spring especially when we would be unable to get on or off for ten or eleven days at a time and then we'd only have a narrow window of opportunity

And this of course presupposes that the tides weren't suppressed by high atmospheric pressure etc. It is not unknown for the tides to be considerably lower than predicted

It could be managed but it isn't ideal so we really need to consider the draught of Bigger Boat closely and anything over 4'6" has to be so perfect in every other respect as to outweigh the drawbacks of being neaped for nearly a fortnight at a time (or worse)