Motoko has changed the owner

Well, off she went, to Henrik.

I think both will be happy with each other: Motoko got an owner who will use her more often than me and Henrik got a well renovated boat with new mast and rigg, brand new sails and renovated interior for the price of sails alone.

A note to myself - never again buy sails from Swedish sailmakers: they make them in China (at least Dacron sails) or Poland anyway with huge price overhead and they (Swedes) are really bad in terms of customer communication and relations.

Next set of sails I order directly from Poland.

As for the price I got for Motoko - I should not complain really. Swedish market is saturated with used boats. Getting one in decent shape in 28-34 feet range is a bargain these days.

I kind of benefit from that since wooden boats are even cheaper. Nobody wants them! Everyone here is scared by the fact that they need maintenance different than applying solidified snoot and some fiberglass.

Well, that’s true but no boat requires zero maintenance. It’s just a matter of if you like working with epoxy and glass fiber or with oak/mahogny and linseed oil, copper and bronze.

I definitely chose the second option, now when I own a classic havskryssare.

Good luck Motoko, I hope you will have decent time sailing with Henrik!

On the way to summer harbour - for the last time

This is our last trip from winter storage to summer harbour in Norrtälje.

I have found a new owner for Motoko, he will take over the boat after I install the mast and rigg her.

As every year, we go on engines to NSS harbour where we will put the mast with our simple crane.

I sail with Leif in proximity - in case one of us gets a problem with an engine the other will come to help. My engine is brand new and strong - but still, you should never fully trust these little brats!

Safir SWE13 - S/Y Motoko is for sale

My other boat has taken most of my sailing time so I've decided to sale Motoko.
I think that it is better for a boat to be sailed instead of just sitting anchored in the harbour.

Here is a list of her features, further below are some photos of her. 

Safir SWE13 "Motoko".
Built by Sven Belin around 1970, I am 4th owner.
Keel bolts in RF steel diam 15mm, lead keel.
Standard in Safirs

Hull is fully renovated:
- epoxied bottom (Hempel system)
- painted free board and deck (Hempel)

The bottom of the boat is not painted with any toxic paint. I dive and clean the hull a few times during the season.
New owner can, of course, paint whatever paint desired. No priming is needed.

I've made new cockpit floor, benches and totally rebuilt the interior this year.

Moreover:
- new aluminium mast and standing rig from Benns 2011
- brand new sails 2017 from Gransegel: main and fock
- old main - worn out but works
- old fock modified by Gransegel for storm fock
- genacker (I've never used it)
- spinakerboom
- self-tacking fock
- lazy-jacks
- all control lines in cockpit
- custom made, removable engine mount on the side - port or starboard
- supstuga (full size cockpit tent)
- brand new sail covers from Gransegel
- brand new cockpit cover from Gransegel
- emegrency ladder
- VHF (Icom, older model), antenna on mast top, high quality RF cable in the mast
- 3-color navigation light on mast top + anchor light
- 2 anchors
- Mercury 5hp 2-takt outboard
- 6x foldable cleats on the deck
- manual bilge pump
- electric bilge pump
- fenders etc...
- vagga

If desired the Buyer can also buy 3x12m boathouse made of wooden beams and metal connections. I erect it in 1 afternoon every autumn. 

Motoko is in Norrtälje, in NSS club harbour.

On hard again - end of summer season

As every autumn I’m erecting a boathouse around Motoko.

This time I hope it’s the last time: I need to sail her as I bought my long-dreamed Laurinkoster “Meritaten“.

There was not much sailing on Motoko this season. Even though I have now brand new sails for her - I tried them only a handful times. Meritaten has stolen my heart and time.

Anyhow - I’m building the boathouse which will serve as a workshop for renovation of my wooden yacht. I don’t plan to do much work on Motoko, she is more or less as good as I wanted her to be.
Maybe this is the reason I want to sell her now? I’ve noticed that in fact I enjoy working on boats more than sailing them. Boatbuilder soul, kind of.

Winter project finished!

Winter project finished!
Building interior for my boat.
My family approved the result so I hope they will join me more often on sailing trips.

The whole idea was to make modern, lightweight interior which will match the boat's racing character.
I wanted to make the interior habitable and comfortable enough for vacation sailing for 2+1 family. At the same time I did not want to make her heavy by introducing heavy wood furniture.

Hence there are 2 full-size beds as in the original Safir plus double bed in the fore part. Separation of the main cabin and forpik is meant to give some privacy to anyone sleeping there (my daughter) and serves as a base for pentry.
The board for pentry can be lifted when port bench is being used for sleep. 
Pentry is hanged so that it tilts with boat movements, enabling cooking while on the way.

New floor from mahogny plywood has openings enabling using bilge compartments for storing food and beer - it is always cold there, no need for a fridge really.

Oiled walnut lists are used on the walls and around the windows. I like their matt finish compared to varnish and it is less work.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Bare sky again!

After so many winter months - "Motoko" is under bare sky again!
On coming Saturday we put her in the sea - till then I need to tear down the whole construction and clean her from wood dust.
Quite a lot of work still ahead...

CADing interior

CAD in most cases when I work on the boat means Cardboard Aided Design.

In this case, however, I wanted to visualise the key components in the new interior.

The idea is to divide the main cabin into separate areas, giving some sense of privacy on this tiny interior.

It should also enable installing permanent kitchenette which we’ve found is a must during sailings longer than few days.

The front of the boat, forpik, will now be closed, forming a private space where - most probably - my small daughter could sleep while we still stay awake in the main part.

I wanted this to be visually pleasing so I tried simulating the layout in Solidworks.

To add some flavour to it I was experimenting with different shapes for openings, to have airy but functional layout.

Winterhouse

Every now and then I need to tidy up my “winter house” which happens to be a workshop for different types of projects. To celebrate the effort that everything is clean and tidy I’ve made this photo.

But just before - it was totally different situation…

View fullsize

View fullsize

Vinyl panels

First vinyl panel installed in "Motoko"'s forpik!
That prooves the concept of making them from sleeping matt (liggunderlag) and vinyl cover. Lightweight, can be easily removed (mounting on velcro) and provides heat isolation! 
Last but not least: can be done at home, in warmth!
Meanwhile I started renovation of koj bottom plates (marine plywood)
I'll paint them white, of course!

View fullsize

View fullsize

"Motoko" on hard

On the land - the longer boating season begins now!
I've already erected my boathouse so the boat is cosy inside.
Time to begin the next phase - interior building!
Right now Motoko is totally empty inside - walls look like drain pipe, floor is worn out and the whole interior is not very welcoming for my family.
The coming months will be devoted to change that!

Duathlon - on the way for winter

On the way to Rosättra, for lifting the boat from water.
There was none to pick me home so I took the bike with me.
Weather is good, little windy (10m/s) and chilly but no rain so managable.

Instruments 3D printed cover

3D printer tests continue. To test ability and precission when printing bigger objects I've designed new log instrument cover for my boat. 
The old cover was well beaten by sun and wind (lies below in blue bag). 
The new one carries the boat name and fits perfectly!

Motorsegling

Family sailing - or rather motorsegling. It is the last weekend of sailing season for me so I took my girls to Arholma.
This time it was almost no wind, no clouds and sunshine all the way!
We were forced to run on engine to manage this distance in one day. 
Boring it is so girls went to sleep and left me on the watch.
​With these views around me - how could I sleep???

3D printed sail stopper

Not to waste the material on smth totaly useless while experimenting with 3D print I have design sail stopper for my mast.
The function is simple: prevent the sail from going out of likspår but allow easy removal in case of reefing etc. 
Metal reinforced PLA plastic is perfect for that, shielding alu mast and stainless nut from each other, inhibiting galvanic oxidation.
The part fits perfectly!

Handling backstags singlehanded

While girls sleep under the deck I make some rigg modifications.
This is for bakstag lines which can cause trouble when one sails alone with the wind and needs to gybe (pass wind-line with akter of the boat).
With heavy wind, like today, this may be tricky. If not done according to the book the risk is that you break the mast and/or lie the boat on side in heavy waves.
On racing boats, like my "Motoko", the mast is rigged in a way which enables lots of adjustements: tilting the mast, bending it, tensioning standing rigg etc. All this to adjust sail shape to existing conditions.
That's fun but when you lack hands on deck some manouvers require perfect timing and quick actions to make them safe. 
Gybing in strong wind is the most tricky. Forces in the main sail are so big that if it flies uncontrolled from one side to the other most of the time you loose a mast. 
And head or teeth.
Procedure to gybe is to stay in the line of wind for a moment, take the main sail to the middle possition (parallel to boat) which de-powers it and holds the mast. Then in the same moment tension the "old" backstag and release the "new" backstag on the side where boom will go. And finally loose the boom to go quickly but controlled to the new side. All that while controlling the rudder in bumpy sea.
Sounds dounting? Yep!
My way of tacking this problem is to rigg backstag lines to the mainsail skott position so that at the same time when I take main sail (red rope in the middle) I tension also "old" tack bakstag (left or right white ropes).
Then it's just to open blocade on the new backstag and let the sail fly to push the backstag loose.
Nice and easy.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Silent sea

On the way back. 
No wind, empty sea, rain and fog. 
​I run on motor and appreciate dream-like views. 
If only I was not so tired...

A day at the races

First regatta day behind us. I'm both physically and menthaly exhausted: lots of work and tons of information. 
That's how it should be when one sails with experienced skipper.
The weather is perfect!
Tomorrow two more races and results.
Till then I fall on the face on my boat - time for a short nap!

Ray

I agree with "Motoko" that sometimes we need someone at the helm when I do stuff on foredeck. I've decided to introduce Ray to our crew. He will keep compass course and, if I get us wind sensor, he can steer to the wind at configurable angle. 
Good thing if I ever try sailing with spinnaker.
Ray can talk in NMEA and Seatalk slang so if we ever get a plotter he can do steering almost by himself. Nice fellow.
He will just drink some battery juice so my stores of dammsugare will not have to be shared. 
That I like too.
I had to make custom fittings to attach him to hull and steering rod. 
One can buy them ready made but I'm a cheap guy so I've made them myself in aluminium and bronze. 
​Tomorrow I will calibrate his compass and we are ready to go!

Arholma. David and Goliaths

Perfect weather this weekend!
Saturday was sunny with moderate wind - ideal weather for family sailing. 
Well, my girls decided to stay on hard so I sailed alone.
On the bridge I've met a friend from our boat club and after a short discussion we decided to sail to Arholma.
With convenient wind I did this route in 4h. He has faster and bigger boat so waited for me a while on open sea.
Together we sailed into a labirynth of small islands and underwater stones to finally reach well shielded harbour: Arholma Österhamnen.
When tied in the marina I noticed how small my Motoko is compared to modern, luxury boats. A sign of time - she used to be "just about OK" size boat when she was built!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Save money and the environment - go diving!

Rain is over so I continue playing with the boat. 
We got warning about havstulpaner so I decided it is high time to clean the hull underwater.
I did not use any toxic paint, to be "green" so I need to punish myself with cleaning instead.
Well, "Motoko" bacame green too :)
After 1,5 months in water the otherwise white bottom became green from seagrass and other organisms.
It took me 2x 30 minutes diving under her with scrubb brush to clean the hull.

I tried also my emergency rope ladder. Even though my boat is very low, one cannot realy climb into her from water. Good I tried it today, not during real emergency: I needed to reposition it so it is possible to deploy the ladder from water. 
​Now it works fine, using standing rigg as a support one can climb onboard!