Margherita Sailing

Over the past couple of years I have been lucky enough to have other people taking pictures of me at sea under sail.  Here are the best of them.

In Poole harbour

Sailing in Poole Bay

A Beat back from Christchurch  - F5 on the nose, and a reef

These last four were taken by David Harding of "Sailing Scenes.com" and are his copyright

Improving Margherita

Hello again You can tell that I am not much of a Blogger as I have been silent after that first burst of enthusiasm in 2008. Since then, nearly three sailing seasons have passed and I have made good use of Margherita in and around Poole, sleeping on board for some 70 nights in total. I have not been too far afield;  to Lymington once, Christchurch Harbour a few times, and to Swanage on day sails.  But it is always fun to sail such a lovely boat, even if only round in circles! Since 2008 Margherita has had a write-up in both Practical Boat Owner (summer 2010 issue) and Watercraft Magazines. I have also made a number of improvements and additions to Margherita that have worked well. Here are a few that may be of interest.

Transom height. The first improvement was to cut about 35mm off of the transom top to lower the engine further into the water. Phil Swift did this for me (I lacked the courage!) over the winter of 2008/9. It is still a bit too high but the clamping screws are almost on the deck so it is not possible to lower further. The shape of the boat and its light weight means that if you go forward by more than a few feet, the engine lifts out of the water and you get cavitation and lose cooling water pumping.

Cockpit Tent. This was designed by me using lots of bits of rope to get a workable space envelope and then patterned up and manufactured by Dawn Morgan who trades as "Cover Girl" in Swanage. She made a good job of it. What I wanted was somewhere to put stowage when two people were sleeping in the cabin, or for when I needed a bit of privacy or weather protection. You can see that it ties under the raised boom (I have put a whipping on the topping lift rope so that I know when the boom is at the correct height) and fastens to the hull throught the scuppers in the bulwarks. I did not want holes or hooks in the hull. The four corners have adjustable buckles the rest use velcro loops. You can tie the sides up to allow some fresh air in but when it is all battened down you need to be sure of your achorage as you cannot see much of what is going on around and about.

Adjusting the trim.  Margherita is very much a small yacht not a big dinghy, and she sits in the water with solidity.  This is aided by a 50kg steel centre plate and by around 90kg of steel punchings in 4kg bags.The boat builder and designer Phil Swift came up with a very neat  way of stowing the ballast.  He made two boxes that are bolted to the transverse frames and take the weight, rather than it sitting on the hull.  Each box has a curved base to match the hull shape and is divided up into 9 compartments and has a lid that ties down firmly.  I have moved ballast to starboard and forward to better balance the 25kg outboard and she sits almost level to the waterline now. 

Cockpit and Sail Covers.  I had these made in Windermere when the boat was being built and they work well.  The sail cover was initially too big hence the rope around it but was reduced by the maker and now fits well.  The cockpit cover was a work of art and fits brilliantly.  Keeping Gulls off is another matter.

Mooring.  She is moored much like the many shrimpers in the harbour, with the header chain clipped to the D ring that goes through the stem (and also carries the bobstay) and a rope strop from the sampson post that joins the chain, via shackle that is placed far enough down to make normal loadings go to the boat via the strop and the chain only takes load in a heavy blow.  The chain goes to a swivel and thence to the sinker.  As you can see , my mooring dries at low tide.

Some Design Details of "Margherita"

1. Stowage of long items. On other Shillings I looked at there was no where to stow long items such as a boat hook except on the side deck where it would catch the sheet ropes or you would fall over it. On Margherita we made cut outs in frames 6&7 in either side of the cockpit just above seat base height to allow such items to be stowed out of the way behind the seat, under the side deck. This works really well and reduces clutter. You can see this in use, as well as fuel stowage arrangements, in the cockpit shot in my second post.

Taking Margherita Ashore for the Winter

Some of the weather in September was as good as July should have been and it went on until around mid-October.

After a final sail on 8 Oct in brilliant sunshine and gentle winds, I took Margherita out of the water the following day, using the hoist at a local marina - it is easier if more expensive!

Building Margherita

Margherita is a "modern" wooden boat, held together largely with epoxy. The hull is cedar strip, covered in glass fibre inside and out and all of the remaining structure is marine ply and solid mahogany (or the modern sustainable equivalent!) Mast and spars are Douglas fir. and fittings a mix of bronze and stainless steel, Phil Swift, who runs Willow Bay Boats in Cumbria UK, designed the Shilling and builds them pretty much on his own. A clever man.

She is 17ft long over the deck, 19ft with the bowsprit; 6ft 6 ins wide and has a draught of 13 inches with the centre plate up and 3ft with it down. Sail area is approximately 170sqft. The lines were scaled from the Deben 4 Tonner, which originated in the 1930s on the east coat of England.

1. The hull is planked with 12mm thick cedar strip over the frames. Frames are covered in gaffer tape at ths stage to prevent the hull skin sticking to them.


















2. With the hull planked, it is faired using sanding boards ready for covering with glass fibre cloth .


























3. The hull is filled and faired again after covering with epoxy and glass fibre, and the keels fitted


















4&5&6 After inverting, the frames are removed and the inside of the hull cleaned up prior to sealing with a layer of glass re-inforced epoxy resin. The frames are then glued in place and the fit out gets under way.

7. The picture of her in the water was taken minutes after the first launch. You can see that the cabin is small, but there is room for two to sleep, as well as a small cooker and lots of stowage - but no toilet other than a bucket!

September/October 2008 - Getting To Know Margherita

Margherita is my new yacht. She is a "Shilling" 17ft gaff rigged cutter made by Willow Bay Boats. A company run by Phil Swift, in Cumbria England. His workshop is in an old barn close to the edge of Lake Windermere. Phil started building her early in 2008 and I took her home on August 11th, after a test sail on the lake. I think she is a thing of beauty!

Although late in the sailing season, I launched her on 28 August on the south coast of the UK, where I belong to a yacht club and have a swinging mooring. She sails really well and looks lovely. Phil has done a great job building her and she is much admired by fellow club members and passing yachts. September and early October have been good weather-wise and I have been able to sail her for around 15 days and have slept on board for around 10 nights.

The cabin is small, but plenty big enough for one person to live and sleep; and two if sufficiently friendly. The design is clever in that the base boards of the two berths are lowered during the day to form the bottom and back of two seats that give a comfortable sitting space. There is stowage each side of the cabin and more under both the side seats and bridge deck accessed from inside. The centre plate box is low through most of the cabin (same height as the berths) and fully sealed. The plate is raised and lowered using a rope and block system in the bridge deck.

The galley is simple, with a single burner "Origo" spirit stove. I have fitted thermal insulation all around the stove to protect the boat.



















Keeping the simple theme going, I have avoided hard-wired electrics in favour of dry cell battery power. For lighting I have used Osram "Dot-it" LED lamps bought in B&Q, my local hardware shop. They work OK and you can see to cook, work and read - but the light is rather cold. They are fixed to the structure with blue-tac.to avoid drilling holes or damaging the paintwork.



















The cockpit is large enough for two in comfort and three at a pinch when sailing. There are three sealed buoyancy come stowage areas and two open ones. One of the latter holds a 12 litre fuel tank and the other ropes and fenders etc.



















At the end of the day, happiness is sitting in the cockpit,with a glass of red wine in hand, watching the sun go down.....