Sailing Today Preview

june 2011 Issue 170

Total

Eclipse

60

p24

Photo rod lewis

Contents

Win a satellite TV system worth ÂŁ3,000!

78

My MARINA

Where is the best bog?

USED BOAT TEST Moody Eclipse 38.

108

PRACTICAL Service your outboard.

CLASSIC S&S 41 restored.

74

IN! 28 JUST New kit for yachties.

04 Sailing Today June 2011

www.sailingtoday.c www.sailingtoday.co.uk

Books p24 Missed a copy? Call 01442 820580

This month News AND views Sailing news

6

Readers’ letters

12

View from the RYA

16

Riding light

146

GEAR AND EQUIPMENT

66

NEW BOAT TEST Bavaria 36.

Books

24

Just in

28

Gear on test

34

Buyer’s guide: Heating systems

42

Group test: 2.5hp outboards

50

BOATS Used boat test: Moody Eclipse 38

60

New boat test: Bavaria 36

66

Your boats: S&S 41

74

CRUISING

84

CRUISING Searching for St Columba.

GEAR ON TEST. Tough phones to canvas restorers.

co.uk

34

My MARINA Port Solent, Portsmouth

78

In search of St Columba, Scotland

84

Rod Heikell’s 10 blue water tips

92

SEAMANSHIP Course to steer – in your head

100

Weather: The Azores high

106

PRACTICAL Servicing your outboard

108

Q&As with Nick Vass

116

WIN! WIN! WIN! Old Pulteney 12-year old whisky

12

Pair of Barton’s maxi ‘K’ cam cleats

14

Yacht TV kit worth £3,000 HIGHLY DED RECOMMEN

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UPDATE

June 2011 Sailing Today 05

UPD

SailingNEWS News briefs France’s canal network set to grow The inland waterways network of France promises to get even more extensive after President Nicholas Sarkozy announced a £3.9bn scheme to link Paris to Cambrai in northern France by a 66-mile long, 54m-wide canal.

The Seine-Nord Europe canal is scheduled to open in 2016 and although aimed at commercial traffic, it will also be open to leisure boaters and afford access to Rhine-Scheldt waterways network of the low countries and Germany.

Sarkozy believes that the new network ‘will put Paris at the heart of Europe’.

Multihull show returns Anyone pondering the benefits of more than one hull when it comes to going sailing should probably consider paying a visit to the Portsmouth Multihull Show this June.

Held at the Royal Clarence Marina over the weekend of June 10, the show boasts one of the largest displays of new and used multihulls anywhere in the UK. Entry is free, as is parking and the organisers are urging visitors to prebook a test sail aboard a boat on display.

For more details, go to www. portsmouthmultihullshow.com or contact 02380 450004.

Americas Cup comes to Plymouth 160 years since the One Hundred Guineas Cup was rather carelessly lost around the Isle of Wight, the competition fleetingly returns to our shores for a qualifying heat of the 34th America’s Cup. The Plymouth heats run from September 10 to 18 this year.

The 34th America’s Cup will be sailed in 72ft multihulls, but the World Series qualifying heats will be sailed in 45ft versions of the AC giants. The qualifiers from the World Series move on to the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series, thence to the 34th AC in San Francisco in 2013.

Sailing photos saved The work of yachting photographer Eileen Ramsey has been saved for posterity. The sailing archive includes iconic pictures of offshore racing in the Solent, and historic pictures of sailing pioneers from the first Observer singlehanded transatlantic races (OSTAR) and the solo voyages of Francis Chichester, Alec Rose and Eric Tabarly. PPL, a photo agency specializing in nautical photos stepped in to safeguard the collection.

Find out more by going to: www. pplmedia.com

06 Sailing Today June 2011

Cruising rallies buoyant despite credit crunch We may be living in straitened times, yet the indications are that cruising sailors are defying the economic turndown and heading across the Atlantic in droves: The World Cruising Club has reported record numbers of cruisers signing up for the 2011 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

Entries for the 26th ARC in 2011 have already exceeded 225 and a waiting list for places has been opened. In the meantime, the list of entrants for the World Cruising Club’s circumnavigation rally, World ARC, scheduled to run from 2012-13 are also up to 30 boats. Such is the interest that the decision has been taken to make it an annual event.

Jeremy Wyatt, Director of the world Cruising Club, said: “Interest has remained strong in both of our rallies throughout the economic downturn and I guess there are a number of reasons for this.

“A couple of years back, when the recession was at its height, a lot of people were

simply saying that they might just as well go for an extended cruise because things looked so bleak.

“We seem to be over that phase now, but happily numbers are still up and the fact there is a waiting list for this year’s ARC illustrates that enthusiasm is still high.”

Another ingredient that has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the World ARC, is the fact that it circumnavigates via the Cape of Good Hope, thereby cutting out the Horn of Africa and associated threat of piracy. In recent months

this threat helped to put paid to Blue Water Rallies’ round the world cruising rally, with piracy attacks leaving much of the fleet stranded in the Gulf of Aden. Nevertheless, BWR’s directors are currently in the process of organizing a one off round the world rally in 2013 to celebrate Oyster Yachts’ 40th anniversary.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in getting on the waiting list for the 2011 Arc, or want more details on the World ARC, you can e mail mail@worldcruising.com or phone 01983 296060.

Send your stories to sam.jefferson@sailingtoday.co.uk

Pied piper pensioner passes transatlantic rafting test on the lack of clean drinking water throughout the world for the charity Water Aid. Smith previously found fame by becoming the first Briton to

cross the Alps in a gas balloon.

All of the crew are delighted to have made their destination but profess that they will miss the nomadic life of a raft dweller.

Bowmoor Sailing Club welcomes Olympic Champion Photo: Trish Baily

A selection of elderly gents who opted to indulge in a late life crisis by attempting to cross the Atlantic in a raft made almost entirely of plastic pipes has proven that Columbus was right all along: They made a successful landfall at St Maarten in the Caribbean.

85 year adventurer Antony Smith led a crew of three elderly gents from La Gomera, Canaries in late January and after a gentle ten week drift, punctuated by some heavy weather mid-Atlantic, the intrepid foursome washed up on Caribbean shores.

The 20 foot wide raft comprised of four main polyethylene water pipes each approximately 39 feet long and blocked off at the ends for buoyancy. The purpose of the trip was to raise awareness

RYA: Scrubbing ‘ban’ rumours unfounded Rumours that Government is planning to introduce a ban on scrubbing posts have been dismissed by the RYA following extensive discussions with DEFRA on the matter.

There was some speculation that the potentially harmful runoff which results from scrubdowns could lead to a ban in traditional posts in order to incorporate more environmentally friendly units which collect the harmful runoff.

This led to suggestions that the UK would follow in the path of Germany, the Netherlands and France, where scrubbing posts are illegal. A few minor probings revealed

News briefs

that was not the case, as the RYA’s Caroline Price explained: “The RYA has had extensive discussions with the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and can confirm that the Government does not intend to require boat owners to obtain a licence in order to carry out hull scrubbing.

“Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge there has been no formal discussion to date relating to any sort of ban on hull scrubbing in English waters at all.”

The news will doubtless come as a relief to many thrifty yachtsmen, who like to save a few pennies by avoiding a

2008 Olympic Yngling Champion Pippa Wilson was guest of honour at a try sailing day at Bowmoor Sailing Club on April 2 and quickly won hearts and minds by taking local and visiting children out for a sail.

The occasion also marked the completion of a redevelopment of a network of Cotswold based gravel pits.

Going under the unusual name of the Lakes by Yoo, it’s a high end development of second homes. It is hoped that the development will provide a way for families to spend quality outdoor time together in a safe but natural rural environment.

You can find out more about The Lakes at www.thelakesbyoo.com.

Rogers wins again

costly lift out. On the other hand it’s a bit of a blow to environmentalists, as recent research has shown a direct link between scrub down areas in boatyards and pollution.

This is particularly evident in sheltered estuaries where, over the years the particles of antifouling scraped of the hull tend to settle, build up and have a significant environmental impact, particularly for bottom feeders.

Not content with winning more Round the Island races than you can shake a stick at, in addition to Yachtsman of the year 1974 and an MBE for services to yachting, Lymington boat builder, Jeremy Rogers has received the Ocean Cruising Club Award of Merit.

The award was presented in recognition of Jeremy’s contribution to the world of yachting over 50 years and was designed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the legendary Contessa 32.

During the 1970s Rogers was well known for producing cutting edge racing yachts in collaboration with designers like Doug Peterson but his most popular boat is the iconic 32 which is still in production at the Jeremy Rogers yard in Lymington Yacht Haven, Hampshire.

June 2011 Sailing Today 07

group test

8 four-stroke 2.5hp outboards With a new clutch of four-stroke outboard motors arriving in this country from China, we decided to put a collection of 2.3-2.6hp small tender outboards through their paces to see how the newcomers would fare against the more established models. Duncan Kent reports after the test team took turns to take each one out on the water.

Four-stroke technology Since the law that effectively banned small 2-stroke outboards (they are not actually banned, but the new emissions regulations mean only complex and expensive direct injection engines can satisfy the new emission levels) was introduced a few years ago, nearly all the regular outboard motor manufacturers now produce small 4-stroke versions instead. While these are generally quieter, smoother running and less smelly than their 2-stroke ancestors, they do have their own drawbacks. Requiring an oil-filled sump means they are fussy about how they are laid down when not in use. Lie one down on the wrong side and the oil can run up into the cylinder and sometimes out through the exhaust, if the appropriate valve happens to be

HI DE A

open. Apart from maybe making a mess of your car boot, it can also cause damage to the engine, due to excessive compression on starting and lack of lubrication around the crankshaft bearings. Most outboards will have a small diagram on them showing which way they should be laid down, but if not do read the instructions to find out and preferably stick a very evident notice on the outboard itself for everyone to see.

The second major drawback of 4-stroke engines is their weight. The requirement for valves, camshaft etc means they are unavoidably heavier, so lifting them on and off the stern rail of a cruiser can necessitate fitting a small boom lift – particularly for the 5hp+ models. The 2-3hp versions we tested here are just about manageable by hand, but still nowhere near as light as the equivalent 2-stroke.

• h ond a • mari ner

50 Sailing Today June 2011

Performancewise, while 4-stroke outboards don’t quite give you the instant throttle response of a 2-stroke, they will run at low revs or tick over quietly without oiling up and they are noticeably more frugal with the fuel.

Servicing Maintenance of a 4-stroke outboard is a little more stringent than with a simple 2-stroke in that the oil and oil filter needs to be changed regularly. The good thing, however, is that 4-strokes don’t oil their spark plugs so readily, so the days of having to lift off the cover and remove the plug for a clean at sea are virtually gone.

As with any outboard, it’s a good idea to run it in a reservoir of freshwater after use and to give it a quick spray down with the hose. The very least you must do is allow

PICS STEWART WHEELER

• parsu n • suzuki • tohatsu • vect

it to drain itself of seawater in the upright position before you stow it lying down.

Encrusted salt crystals in the waterways reduce the flow of cooling water over time and can cause the engine to overheat – especially if it’s left on tickover for long periods.

Unlike the old self-mix fuel 2-strokes, 4-stroke engines are less prone to ‘stale’ fuel problems. Of course it’s never wise to leave fuel in them all winter, but otherwise its not generally a problem, although I would always advise you to filter the fuel when filling the outboard from a can – dead spiders don’t go through carburettors that easily.

Another large item that needs annual attention is the water pump impeller, Each engine although was run at they do full throttle seem to find max to last pulling power. longer

tor • yamaha

2 STROKE CYCLE 4 STROKE CYCLE

ST Tips

2.5hp four-stroke outboards ST Your ST Tips Video Tips

ST

Facts

FIRST REVOLUTION

SECOND REVOLUTION

Camshaft rotates at half crank shaft speed

Induction valve open

Exhaust valve open

Exhaust

Air/Fuel vapour

ST

Asks?

INDUCTION

IGNITION

COMPRESSION

Purged gases

EXHAUST

Exhaust port open

Air/Fuel & Oil vapour

Transfer port open

Exhaust

Induction port open Air/Fuel & Oil vapour induced into the cylinder and purges any remaining exhaust gases

Air/Fuel & Oil vapour under compression

Air/Fuel & Oil mixture lubricates the crankcase running gear and cyliners

ONE REVOLUTION

than many of those fitted to inboard diesels and are usually only replaced every 2-3 years or so. The Honda BF2.5 alone is air cooled and doesn’t therefore feature a cooling pump at all.

Finally, annual attention must be given to the sacrificial anode, which is there to protect the engine from corrosion and will wear away gradually all the time it is in the water. Access to this is usually explained in the manual supplied.

tension on the tiller arm, locking it in place if necessary), ignition kill safety switches (worn around the wrist to shut the engine off should the driver fall overboard), oil level gauges and four-position tilt angles (for adjusting the trim depending on the load/transom angle in your dinghy).

All have forward and neutral gears operated by a simple handle on the side, except for the Honda, which has a centrifugal clutch.

Common features

Fuel tanks – All but the Honda’s is translucent so you can easily see how much fuel is in them when you remove the cover.

Note to manufacturers – it would be even

All the outboards we tested featured throttle locks (to set the revs to a pre-determined level), tiller clamps (for increasing the

• torqeedo • HIDEA • honda • mariner

• parsun •

June 2011 Sailing Today 51

NEW boat test

Sailplan and Layout

66 Sailing Today June 2011

bavaria cruiser 36

farr superior?

When Bruce Farr’s naval architects teamed up with the design gurus at BMW, the result was sure to be a step change for Bavaria. Miles Kendall stepped aboard the Cruiser 36 to see if the collaboration has succeeded. Photos Rod Lewis

You’ve got to take your hat off to Bavaria.

When the company decided to work on a new range of yachts they didn’t do a bit of budget tweaking, change the odd coachroof and announce a new yacht. Instead they signed up Farr Yacht Design and BMW’s design arm to work with them on producing a new range of yachts. Within 18 months there were six new boats in the ‘Cruiser’ line: the 55, 50, 45, 40, 36 and 32.

Each of the new Bavaria Cruisers share design features (though the twin rudders and twin wheels are restricted to the bigger boats). Most noticeable is the transom that folds down to create a wide bathing platform. It’s a superyacht touch on an affordable boat – and it does more than turn heads at boat shows. By dispensing with the traditional sugar scoop, the cockpit can be moved aft and more room created down below. The accommodation of the Cruiser 36 that we tested was very generous for a boat of this length.

The bathing platform certainly looks sexy,

and will be great in the warm waters of the Med, but how practical will it be for the average British sailor? We normally use the transom as easy access from a dinghy, rather than as a diving board. With no handholds and nowhere to tie a painter (apart from a removable bathing ladder), getting kit and

people from tender to yacht could be tricky.

Perhaps it’s a feature better suited to the Med where many of these yachts will end up. To make sure this new Bavaria was up to the job of coastal cruising in home waters we had a good poke around below, then set sail in a Force 6 in February. >>

June 2011 Sailing Today 67

Total

Eclipse Jake Frith took a 1991 Moody Eclipse 38 for a drift around Southampton Water in winds gusting up to, wait for it, 3 knots to see whether this forward thinking deck saloon yacht still holds her own.

60 Sailing Today June 2011

Photos: Mike Jones

USED boat test

moody Eclipse 38

Having picked yacht designer Bill Dixon’s brain for our rigs piece last issue, we thought it was about time we took a fresh look at one of the yachts that helped build his reputation.

Bill penned the Eclipse 38 for Moody Yachts in 1990, with the brief to fill a mid range gap between the pioneering (and top selling) Eclipse 33 and the range topping 43.

According to Bill, the trick when it comes to yacht design is as much in the timing as the design itself. The 38 was a case in point, launched as it was into the gloom of the recession hit early 90s and selling only 24 hulls in total. The 33 in stark contrast was launched at the 1988 London Boat Show, in more flush times, with some 30 orders taken at the show itself making it one of the fastest seller Moodys had ever had on their hands. Ultimately the 33 went on to sell over 250 boats making it a runaway commercial success, but according to Bill the 38 is every bit as good a boat.

The unspoken design brief for the whole Eclipse range was to ‘make a pretty deck saloon yacht as opposed to a pretty awful one’. When you think back to the 80s when the choice of deck layout was much more regimented along

the lines of aft cockpit, centre cockpit or trawler-esque motorsailer, the Eclipse range, taking many of its cues from contemporary powerboats both wowed and offended in equal measure. I think that the current crop of curvier and swoopier deck saloons demonstrates that Moody were definitely onto something though. Gliding up to this 38 for the first time on the River Itchen, I can confirm that her modern looks still hold their own in 2011, providing, like this one, she wasn’t specified with the optional radar arch which cost £650 plus VAT and makes her look like a pram. This forward thinking design is a tendency carried on in Moodys to this day. Following Hanse’s takeover of Moody Yachts in 2007, and still under the pen of Bill Dixon, the latest range of deck saloons including the 45 and 62 DS have once again pushed the

boundaries of sailing boat design by taking cues from contemporary motor cruisers just like the Eclipse range did back in the 80s.

Whether the new Moody deck saloons look like the dawn of a new era or like someone has carelessly parked a van on top of somebody’s boat, is an individual decision readers can only make for themselves. As the Eclipse 38 is a Moody from the early 90s, the general preconception is that she’s from a quality brand manufactured before the time all boats, regardless of brand, became somewhat more cost engineered.

This leads to the expectation that this vessel will have stood up to the years very well.

We took Jemma, a fairly standard Eclipse 38 out into fickle and largely non existent breaths of wind in late March to reflect on what such a boat would be like to own 20 years down the line. >>

About the owners Paul and Claire Hodson have owned Jemma for over 10 years. At the time of her purchase they lived in Holland with a Westerly Regatta 290 and wished to move up in size, so researched deck saloon yachts suitable for their then young family. The Moody appealed due to its balance of reasonable upwind ability with generous accommodation.

As the Hodson’s plans have moved on apace with fresh aims to circumnavigate (via the Cape of Africa) in a 50 -60 footer, Jemma is now looking for her 4th owners so is up for brokerage with Michael Schmidt & Partner. www.michaelschmidt.co.uk

June 2011 Sailing Today 61

My MARINA Berth Holder facilities Marina Office / hoist dock

OUter waiting pontoon

fuel pontoon

lock marina reception

Berth Holder facilities

Port solent marina Portsmouth, Hampshire

We visit cruising sailors at their home port to get the inside line on what makes them berth their boat there. From local attractions to nearby cruising grounds, we get their personal recommendations.

D

riving through the suburbs of Portsmouth can be a wearing experience at the best of times. Although there are beautiful parts to the city, large sections of the outskirts seem wilfully ugly and it’s often a blessed relief to get to the waterside. Thankfully, although my quest for Port Solent seemed to take me through a never ending selection of industrial estates and retail parks, it was mercifully quick, as the marina is located just off the junction of the M27 and A3 motorways.

By the time I had navigated my way 78 Sailing Today June 2011

through several acres of tarmac to the marina, I was looking forward to seeing the water and, once we started to potter around the pontoons and jetties, to face out onto open water and a vista that included the magnificent Portchester Castle, my frame of mind had improved.

This locked marina was built in the late ’80s as part of the property boom, this yuppie’s paradise was nicknamed ‘Port Solvent’ and incorporated many swish apartments, a shopping complex, pubs, restaurants and even a cinema.

You may have deduced that this is not the marina for the kind of rustic old salt who casts himself in the Bernard Moitessier mould, in fact it’s arguable that this was exactly what the eccentric Frenchman was sailing away from when he rejected modern values and set off on his second lap around the Roaring Forties.

Nevertheless, the marina combines the last word in creature comforts with excellent access to the Solent and all of its associated delights and convenient cruising grounds located nearby.

portsmouth hampshire

Antony and Anne Musker – Bavaria 34

Antony Musker and his wife, Anne, have kept their Bavaria 34 Bluster of Lymington at Port Solent for six years or thereabouts. They think that port Solent is the best marina in the area. We found out why.

“The main reason we went for Port Solent is quite an obscure one actually,” Paul explained. “The fact is that we have many friends who come aboard who actually don’t particularly like going sailing at all and we found that because Port Solent is a locked marina, it’s very calm and sheltered, so we don’t really have to worry about them feeling queasy as the boat just doesn’t rock.

“Prior to that we had the boat on a swinging mooring and we just found that many of our friends were a bit reluctant to come aboard.

Port Solent has proved to be the ideal solution and we’ve

been here ever since.”

I found this a refreshingly honest admission, as there are many sailors out there who go out five times a year at a push, but would never dream of admitting that a big part of boat ownership is simply to enjoy being aboard.

The Muskers reckon that they spend about a third of their total time aboard cruising and the rest of it entertaining family and friends.

Their son, Dan, is a Yachtmaster and he also takes full advantage of the boat. When I interviewed the couple, they were in the early stages of a spring refit and Antony was pondering doing a spot of antifouling.

“Obviously all the facilities you could need are on site and in addition to this, there is a first class chandler, so you don’t have to travel far to find what you’re looking for,” Antony added.

The couple live relatively nearby in Lee on Solent, which is a 20 minute drive away and have found there to be few disappointments to being berthholders at Port Solent.

“I know there’ll be plenty of people who disagree, but as far as I’m concerned, Port Solent is the best marina on the South Coast.

If you compare the facilities with any other marina I have visited, you’ll soon see what I mean. It’s really second to none.”

Having laid down the gauntlet for me, I felt compelled to pay these wondrous facilities a visit and I have to say, I have never seen such true luxury in a marina before. They almost made me wish I was in need of a thorough wash.

It’s clear that Antony and Anne are very satisfied with the marina, which combines home comforts with excellent access to an area that rightly retains a reputation as a rich cruising ground in every sense.

At pile 78, you need to contact the lock keeper

Outer entrance to port Solent

Follow the posts around; the channel is slightly s-shaped the waitng lock for the pontoon is here

port solent: lock waypoint: Wpt Latitude 50º 50’ 37” N Longitude 001º 06’ 06” W Port Solent is within Portsmouth Harbour opposite Gosport at the top of Portchester Lake. The most striking feature is the huge Norman castle of Portchester, which is to port as you make your approach. Look for a large barge in the centre of the channel by day. The channel is dredged to 1.5m minimum and access to the marina is via a lock which is manned 24 hours. Periods of free flow occur around high water.

Portchester Lake is a fairly long, winding channel, which is well marked. The channel

entrance is marked to the west by pile No.57 and to the east by pile No.95. The whole channel is marked by red piles to the west, numbered 57 to 74 and by green piles to the east running from 95 to 75.

Twenty of the piles are lit by navigational lights, but if it’s your first visit, this can become confusing at night, as there is a bit of a dog-leg around to port and its easy to cut the corner. In addition to this, there are a number of huge rusting naval mooring buoys in the channel that are unlit. As you come

level with Portchester Castle, you reach Green Pile 78 and at that point you need to call the lock keeper on Channel 80.

Port Solent is still barely visible, but you’re aiming for the waiting pontoon outside the lock. A conspicuous landmark from April through to October is the Sunsail fleet moored along these pontoons. Prior to this there are pile moorings to port and starboard. Head between these and the waiting pontoon is to starboard with the lock gates ahead. Normal lock signals apply.

June 2011 Sailing Today 79

practical

Small outboards are generally pretty tough and straightforward to service. It’s just a case of working through the engine methodically

Outboard servicing Most of us have a little outboard that we have for our tender and have a nagging feeling when we dig it out of the garage that we should service it.

But what does it entail?

Can you do it yourself?

Abi of Orca Marine talks us through the basics.

108 Sailing Today June 2011

Made simple

My father was no great sailor, but I do remember that he had a peculiar aversion to small petrol engines. He’s a reasonably frugal man and I was always puzzled as to why he spent so much money on new lawnmowers. I once quizzed him on this and he explained: “Well son, when I was growing up, my dad seemed to spend most weekends taking petrol engines apart and putting them back together to try and make the wretched things start. Life is too short for that.”

I took his advice to heart and have never owned a lawnmower. Unfortunately, when I bought a yacht, I also inherited a beaten up and old Tohatsu 3.5hp outboard and suddenly I understood how my grandfather wasted all those weekends. I read something in a yachting magazine last month that nearly made me wet myself laughing. I quote: “You shouldn’t have to stand over a small outboard to start it.” WHAT? I’d like to set said journalist to work on mine. The damn thing only starts when it

feels like it. “You want to get that serviced,” people remark smugly as I yank desperately at the starter cord. “I’ll do it when I have a bit of spare cash,” I reply. Given my line of work, this basically means, “I’ll do it when I die.”

The other option is to service it yourself, but here my lack of previous with a lawnmower came back to haunt me. I didn’t even know where the carburettor was. Fortunately, Abi from Orca Marine was on hand and talked me through the basics, both for 4-strokes and the Tohatsu 2-stroke.

He explained: “Small outboards are generally pretty tough and straightforward to service. It’s just a case of working through the engine methodically, but certainly if you service your engine once a year, it’ll last a long time.”

Although we were servicing a pair of Tohatsus, they share many common parts with Mercurys Mariners and Johnson Evinrudes. The principles are also the same for most small outboards.

Servicing your outboard Main features Tools

Nothing fancy here, the only specialist item is the compression tester, which you can get from Halfords or similar. Other than that, we had: Socket set (worth noting that Japanese engines will almost always use metric nuts and bolts) Screwdriver Set of spanners Hammer (just in case brute HOU force is required) R

3

S

Extra bits

New spark plug Carburettor cleaner New impeller Tub of grease New anode Gear oil Total

£6 £4 £10 £5 £5 £7 £37

Carburettor

Spark plug Remove the spark plug and you can access the engine bore for a compression test.

Impeller The impeller pumps water around the engine to cool it.

Time taken

This will depend on your level of expertise, but it should take approximately three hours.

Skill level

Moderately competent. You don’t need to be a mechanical genius to do it, but a basic understanding is required to ensure that you don’t just end up taking the engine apart and leaving it in bits.

The source of most engine trouble. Remove and clean.

Transom clamp Given that it’s holding the engine onto the boat, this is an important part.

Inspect for cracks, general signs of wear and tear.

Anode The sacrificial anode prevents corrosion and will need to be changed every couple of seasons.

Step by step guide – Servicing the engine

1 Compression check

Before you even start, you need to ascertain whether it’s worth servicing at all and a compression test will immediately let you know if your outboard is terminally ill with a cracked cylinder head or head gasket problem.

You can buy a compression test kit for about £15 from any motoring outlet and then you’ve got it for life. To carry out the test, unscrew the spark plug and screw the tester into the bore of the engine. The tester comes with a range of head fittings, so there will be one that fits your hole (so to speak).

Pump until the needle will go no further and then hope for good news. The reading needs to be 100psi or over. In this case, it was around the 130 mark. Very healthy!

June 2011 Sailing Today 109

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