Rigging for Offshore Part 1 of 3
All of Herreshoff's yachts were designed to be seaworthy, and
the H28 was no exception. Many of the Compass Yachts fibreglass versions have
made long ocean passages, safely and comfortably; probably the most notable
being the circumnavigation by two young Wellington lawyers in "BEN GUNN".
Bob Elliott is a retired air traffic controller, who had
previously served in coastal vessels as a master mariner, and who has a
consuming interest and love for the sea. Since, launching "BELO VULA"
seven years ago. Bob has carried out two extensive cruises in the South Pacific,
visiting Fiji, The Yasawas, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Queensland. Much of his
deep water sailing has been done single-handed.
He tells us here why he chose the H28, and how he made
modifications to the standard configuration to improve its safety for blue-water
single-handed sailing.
In 1973, realising that time was passing by, and that, if the
sailing that I had always dreamed of doing was to come to pass, (that is;
sailing around the Pacific,) this was the time. Therefore, I began looking
around for a craft that would meet my needs.
These were:
a proven design,
b. handy, and capable of one-man operation,
c. suitable for incorporating the ideas I had gathered over
the years, and which I could finish off myself, and, last but not least
d. within my budget.
As the H28 was the only yacht on the market that fell within
the parameters I had set, I approached Compass Yachts and hull No. 27 was
allocated to me. I say allocated because in those days, such was the demand for
this popular design that one was lucky to get one within six months of ordering.
The legal requirements demanded by the Ministry of Transport
for pleasure yachts proceeding overseas are contained in the NZ Yachting
Federation's Handbook on Yacht Racing 1981-85. It was with the earlier
equivalent of this in hand that I set about fitting out the hull and decks
eventually delivered to me by Compass Yachts.
On looking over the hull, I realised that a few modifications
were, to my way of thinking, essential. These were:
a. Blocking off the companionway to deck level,
b. Attempting to minimise the size of the cockpit which,
if full of water, would lower the reserve buoyancy to below ' acceptable
levels,
c. Finding somewhere to safely stow two 10 kg gas bottles
so they were outside and could be 'drained' overboard rather than leaking an
explosive mixture into the cabin,
d. leak-proofing the sliding hatch, and
e. providing better ventilation below decks.
Furthermore, I noticed that the hull was fitted with cockpit
drains leading directly through the transom, a practice which I note was later
discontinued by Compass Yachts. I considered this provided inadequate drainage
for such a large cockpit, so one of my first tasks was to fit another two 32mm
cross drains about halfway up the cockpit, and attach gate valves at each hull
fitting. A gate valve was also attached to the transom-mounted exhaust fitting.
Both these jobs, I might add, were done before the engine was installed and
entailed a lot of squeezing and swearing in such a confined space. Nevertheless,
as well as being a sensible precaution, the installation of these gate valves is
necessary to meet the very thorough MOT inspection carried out by officers of
the Royal Akarana Yacht Club before clearing a boat to proceed offshore.
Two manual bilge pumps were also installed, one attached to
cockpit sole and port seat bulkhead so that it could be operated by the crew on
deck, and the other under the port quarterberth with an extension hose which
could be passed through a hole in the companionway door, and could be operated
from inside with the hatch and doors shut. These pumps were the best I could
obtain, as one never knows when they will be needed in real earnest. Little did
I know at the time of fitting, how thankful I was to be ' for the reliability of
those pumps later! Both the intake hoses to these pumps were fibreglassed to the
hull to prevent them getting in the way of the propeller shaft.
The standard washboards were discarded and in their place I
constructed a bridgedeck with the top opening flush with the cockpit seats. This
bridgedeck was in the shape of a box and, after lowering the cockpit sole inside
it 10cm, I fitted drains to it which were connected to the main cockpit drains.
In this way I killed three birds with one stone; I provided a blocking
arrangement for the companionway, I substantially reduced the volume of the
cockpit, and I provided stowage for the two 10kg gas bottles for my stove. These
bottles which are very heavy, were clamped immovably to the sole, and have never
moved, no matter what antics I allowed the boat to get into. A further advantage
of this arrangement, which I subsequently discovered, was that, when at sea and
under self steering, this position provided a very comfortable thwartships bunk.
I consequently had special cushions made for this position.
In place of the washboards above the bridgedeck, I fitted two
32mm mahogany doors. I beefed up the companionway edges to take the hinges for
these doors, and constructed two strong grab-handles on the inside, through
which I can pass a 32 x 50mm bar, thus making it impossible for any seas to
burst the doors inwards.
Part 2
