Saving Old Seagulls

First test on the water. Boat as is with cracked paint and rough hull all untouched for 10 years or so.
Launched in Daniels Bay Monday 16 November in perfect weather and flat calm (at least to start)
Tried out both long and standard shaft WSPC'S mounted side by side. As per the photo attached
Both motors ran independently at full throttle both achieved 4.8 to 4.9 average speed by GPS.
Next ran both together again at full throttle and gained a further 0.5 knots to 5.4, not great for double the fuel consumption but sounded good.
The Displacement maximum for the boat, using the standard 1.4 rule in flat water gives 5.37 knots so was spot on the money.
Next motored her back to my boat landing a distance of 8.3nm. and to start, crossed the bay with the long shaft only, we reached the Ventenat north cardinal mark a distance of 2.14 nm at an average speed of 4.28 knots. Rounding Ventenat and out in the channel for the run South we were out of the lee and into stiff sea breezes which were kicking up steep short breaking waves. Under these conditions the speed dropped away
The total time for the 8.3nm was 2hours and 15 minutes at an average of 3.69 knots.
The exact fuel consumption was 4.5 litres at 2 litres per hour.
Based on these figures crossing the Bass Striate will take 44 hours with a fuel load of 88 litres. (plus reserve)
The next stage is to finesse the engine mounts, making sure the standby motor is clear of the water and that the driving motor has the prop at the correct depth.
Sort out the steering and seating positions to optimise trim
Provide a high gloss finish to the hull to reduce the HP required to reach hull speed and improve the overall averages.
As the waves yesterday were very short and steep they were not really representative of the Bass Striate except for the entrance to Port Philip so we can be reasonably confident that an average of 4 knots can be achieved over the whole distance.
As for the Name please make your suggestions we have a fair list at present..

Fuel tank for the crossing now completed ready to install Note the Seagull filler cap.. couldn't resist. Tank holds to the brim 150 litres but will be loaded to 100 litres for the crossing at 2 litres an hour that provides 50 hours running time, with an estimated run time of 36 hours.

Progress on the boat has been slow, but fairing and painting is now close to complete so it will be turned over and fitting and equipment added. In the mean time the two engines are under service with main spares also being readied. Still a lot to do though and I am having a fair bit of pressure from family and friends to postpone.

AJ

Baffles in that AJ?

Yes.. two plus sump

AJ

Looking good. You are taking a support vessel with you I assume?

That is the issue (support vessel) Both trips I have done with a support vessels have had limited success. The first puled out because of bad weather and the remaining time, the second was to slow and often many miles behind. Support vessels like crew require looking after!!! an extra worry. Never the less I will have one other person on board having Master 5 qualification and also currently in commercial tourism in the area.

On a different note, hope you will be joining me for a few days in the summer on the canals. Starting June 5th from Wolverhampton Sunbeam land factory gates (about 1 mile to the nearest drop in point at Dixon street Bridge). A testing time for the Marstons.

AJ

I will try my level best to meet up with you from Bristol, and aim to get the other side of Bath (somewhere) where i'll have to leave you. (work restrictions i'm afraid)

Just going right through 2 motors at the moment, double checking EVERYTHING is 100% with them. Must have 'em looking ship shape and bristol fashion.
Dont want to break down (heaven forbid )

Best of luck with Bass straight A-J.
Dont go doing anything silly now will you...


Jon

Yeh, come on A-J, what's the boat's name gonna be?

Dont leave us guessing!

Jon

Well march is almost upon us, so we are all waiting with baited breath.
For the next up date on the greatest Seagull voyage, know to man.
And AJ the rest of them are to polite to ask. So how its all going mate?

Yes A-J, how are things progressing?
Have you decided on a name yet for the boat?

I'm sure this will be an epic journey for any seagull, so any update will be followed with massive interest from most of us.

Just remember the 6 P's...which are
Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Presentation.

Check and double check everything before you go. You know the score coz you've done it before.
Best of luck

Jon

Unfortunately the trip is postponed until I get back from the UK in the summer.
Various things have conspired to make it impractical to proceed at this time, not least the pressure to have an escort vessel. All my family and close friends are of the opinion that some sort of accompaniment is provided. I do not subscribe to this as discussed in an earlier post.
In addition, the boat is not quite complete and although I could rush it through I feel it would be more prudent to wait till later in the year. Having spent a sizable amount on both boat and engines not to mention time and effort I am extremely disappointed with this setback; however this is just a postponement and another attempt will be scheduled in for later in the year. On the positive side I now have three excellent, fully serviced WSPC engines to chose from.
My apologies to those who were watching this with interest. I will continue preparations with the new time frame in mind.
AJ

Better to be safe than sorry A-J.
YOU STILL HAVN'T TOLD US THE NAME OF THE BOAT YET!

Perhaps on reflection, an escort might not be such a bad thing after all provided you can stay fairly close to one another AND travel at the same speed.
A bit more careful planning and you'll get there.

More time to concentrate on the "canal run" now.
Any further developments with that or are you waiting for me to get my arse in gear with the harbourmaster's office in Bristol


Jon

Maybe you could schedule it until the finish of the Sydney Hobart. There would be plenty of sailing activity back to the mainland to keep an eye on you.