A new seal housing from Belgium, quick work by Dave Crawford, plus overnight pressure-testing, and it looks like our gearbox is in good shape. Looks like it.
Next job ought to be so easy. The rules say we must show our race number - '10'. But to display the number where the rules say it must go means a mega job for Scorpion. Moulds are having to be made for two panels - and these have to be bolted to the back of the boat. (We can remove them after the race.)
Looks like we might be the first boat to spend nearly a thousand pounds on putting up two race numbers!
This week Motor Boat and Yachting magazine, usually at the quality end of the publishing spectrum, puts the odds on us winning overall at 40:1. It would have been much more interesting to look at the race class by class, and then compare the odds as the race unfolds.
Writing this on Wednesday evening, just a week before scrutineering starts, it's hard to comprehend that the whole project will be over in three weeks.
This weekend, co-driver Roger will be down for our last run. We will launch Black Gold in Lymington on Saturday, swing the compass at 10.30 am in the Hamble, then do the start and part of the first leg of the course for the first time, wearing helmets, intercoms, lifejackets etc.
We will also have all the safety gear on board.
Black Gold is quite light, but we hear that some boats have been having trouble getting up on the plane with a full fuel load, plus all the other stuff we have to carry. This shouldn't be a problem at the departure in Portsmouth. But in Plymouth, with the long leg up to Milford Haven which will require much more fuel, weight could be a challenge.
The project feels like it's coming together although there are still a load of details to cover, and deliveries still to be received. There's the satellite phone card, for instance, and mini flare packs which we haven't been able to buy over the counter. And as I have been known to suffer from seasickness (though not yet in a rib), I have those pills to buy, too.
One thing we haven't sussed yet is loading routes from the PC Planner software to our Northstar GPS. Might be easy to do, but we haven't done it yet.
We have found, though, that routes are much more easily planned on paper charts. So I have been in the loft rummaging for the 1978 Round Britain Race set. They are probably hopeless for buoyage, but as Roger says, 'Most of the Scottish islands won't have moved.'
Will be back with the next update after our weekend run.
- Gavin Wednesday night 11th May
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Challenging times
I said in the last post that I was keen to do the Alderney run to get some hours on the new gearbox prior to what was to be the final pre-race mechanical check by Dave Crawford who has been doing Black Gold's engineering.
Imagine how I felt when I heard they found water in the new gearbox again.
This time, the selector shaft assembly had split. Dave said he thought he could fix it as we've caught it so soon. However, when they pressure-tested it on Friday morning, it wasn't right ... and the assembly needed won't be available in the UK for three weeks.
At times like this, you think you are being set a deliberate challenge similar to one on a management course - only this is for real!
The Belgium supplier agreed to send two assemblies over by DHL. We should have these on Monday or Tuesday. But, of course, the plans that Roger and I had for a Plymouth run were out of the window for the second time. And both due to gearbox failure.
So what happened? The Belgium dealer and racer expert, Nico, thought that there was a risk of the selector seal coming out and said he'd fix it on the new gearbox. What seems to have happened is that the self-tapping screw he used split the plastic assembly causing the leak.
Hopefully, with a new assembly we will be back where we started. We will just need to check the gearbox oil again for swarf or water.
With no boat again, what about the rest of the programme?
Working with the RYA, Roger seems to have located sports physios for us in each port - something Roger considered necessary after our first trial.
Ben at Scorpion fitted the fuel cut off, the on/off labelling on the power, the satellite transponder, and the liferaft straps on the floor. He was thwarted by the race regulation for race numbers, though. It seems impossible to fit them on our extreme tapered tube rib.
Racer expert Chris Strickland suggests putting them on boards fitted either side like wings on a F1 car. We will also take some spare stick-on numbers, too.
We need mini-flares which we are meant to be carried in our pockets. But a search of Lymington and Hamble chandlers failed to find any and it seem they have been withdrawn by their makers.
The regulations also require an orange retirement flag of 60 x 40cm, but it too was not found. (Another call to the chief scrutineer required.)
Some good news came from the searching, though. We found a sea anchor of the right size, and Micro SD chart cards for our emergency Garmin GPS.
Joy at Scorpion also had a chart chip for our Northstar system. We wanted a second one so that we could plan remotely on a laptop with the PC Planner program, and then write the routes to a card for the boat's instrument.
I found a set of paper charts for most of the UK - a safety requirement - and I also found a waterproof cover for my work Blackberry!
The pressure is on. Next weekend we will retrieve Black Gold from Lymington as the compass is to be swung in the Hamble with a compass adjuster on Saturday morning.
Then follows the sea trial that we missed this weekend. On Sunday, leaving nothing to chance, I attend a one-day sea survival course.
Gavin, Sunday June 9
Imagine how I felt when I heard they found water in the new gearbox again.
This time, the selector shaft assembly had split. Dave said he thought he could fix it as we've caught it so soon. However, when they pressure-tested it on Friday morning, it wasn't right ... and the assembly needed won't be available in the UK for three weeks.
At times like this, you think you are being set a deliberate challenge similar to one on a management course - only this is for real!
The Belgium supplier agreed to send two assemblies over by DHL. We should have these on Monday or Tuesday. But, of course, the plans that Roger and I had for a Plymouth run were out of the window for the second time. And both due to gearbox failure.
So what happened? The Belgium dealer and racer expert, Nico, thought that there was a risk of the selector seal coming out and said he'd fix it on the new gearbox. What seems to have happened is that the self-tapping screw he used split the plastic assembly causing the leak.
Hopefully, with a new assembly we will be back where we started. We will just need to check the gearbox oil again for swarf or water.
With no boat again, what about the rest of the programme?
Working with the RYA, Roger seems to have located sports physios for us in each port - something Roger considered necessary after our first trial.
Ben at Scorpion fitted the fuel cut off, the on/off labelling on the power, the satellite transponder, and the liferaft straps on the floor. He was thwarted by the race regulation for race numbers, though. It seems impossible to fit them on our extreme tapered tube rib.
Racer expert Chris Strickland suggests putting them on boards fitted either side like wings on a F1 car. We will also take some spare stick-on numbers, too.
We need mini-flares which we are meant to be carried in our pockets. But a search of Lymington and Hamble chandlers failed to find any and it seem they have been withdrawn by their makers.
The regulations also require an orange retirement flag of 60 x 40cm, but it too was not found. (Another call to the chief scrutineer required.)
Some good news came from the searching, though. We found a sea anchor of the right size, and Micro SD chart cards for our emergency Garmin GPS.
Joy at Scorpion also had a chart chip for our Northstar system. We wanted a second one so that we could plan remotely on a laptop with the PC Planner program, and then write the routes to a card for the boat's instrument.
I found a set of paper charts for most of the UK - a safety requirement - and I also found a waterproof cover for my work Blackberry!
The pressure is on. Next weekend we will retrieve Black Gold from Lymington as the compass is to be swung in the Hamble with a compass adjuster on Saturday morning.
Then follows the sea trial that we missed this weekend. On Sunday, leaving nothing to chance, I attend a one-day sea survival course.
Gavin, Sunday June 9
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Some days, everything works well!
I had been talking with Phil Boarer (another Scorpion owner and Round Britain competitor) about doing a long run to put some hours on my new gearbox and also to try some of the race gear over a reasonable period of time at sea.
Phil had managed to put together a good group of like Scorpions for an Alderney run. So after getting up at 6.30am, it was down to the Hamble in the Caterham 7 to collect my salopettes and hand-held VHF off Black Tie. Fortunately, Black Tie was ashore in the yard, as planned, with a ladder alongside, and the first challenge was completed. Black Gold was launched by Hamble Point dry stack despite short notice.
Phil had managed to put together a good group of like Scorpions for an Alderney run. So after getting up at 6.30am, it was down to the Hamble in the Caterham 7 to collect my salopettes and hand-held VHF off Black Tie. Fortunately, Black Tie was ashore in the yard, as planned, with a ladder alongside, and the first challenge was completed. Black Gold was launched by Hamble Point dry stack despite short notice.
Still just on schedule to meet in Yarmouth early for our Alderney sortie, I ran out of the Hamble and off down the Solent in the morning sun.
With engine up to temperature and a quick run up to 60mph, I was soon at Yarmouth for 9.15am. No wait at the fuel jetty, so a big fill of our 450 litre tank in order the check the fuel used calculator (Smartcraft) for the race. It was within 10 litres which is very accurate in this world and certainly much better than the tank gauge. We will rely on this for the race.
With engine up to temperature and a quick run up to 60mph, I was soon at Yarmouth for 9.15am. No wait at the fuel jetty, so a big fill of our 450 litre tank in order the check the fuel used calculator (Smartcraft) for the race. It was within 10 litres which is very accurate in this world and certainly much better than the tank gauge. We will rely on this for the race.
Phil called to say don't rush as he was running a bit late. Soon the other two Scorpions joined us: Martin and family with an 8.75 metre inboard, and Vince and family with an 8.5 metre with stepped hull and an Etec 250hp.
Phil had come from Portsmouth with Martin, but was joining me for the channel crossing.
Phil had come from Portsmouth with Martin, but was joining me for the channel crossing.
We agreed on a 40 knot cruise which given the calm conditions was no problem. After a beautiful run across an oily, calm channel - stopping only to retrieve my hat and to look at a dolphin that didn't want to play - we arrived through the haze into Braye Harbour - in time for lunch.
We had used 100 litres for the trip. The three Scorpions picked up a buoy and the harbour taxi had us ashore.
We had used 100 litres for the trip. The three Scorpions picked up a buoy and the harbour taxi had us ashore.
A beautiful lunch on the terrace in the Braye Bay Hotel (recommended) was followed by a walk into St Annes and back.
We left at 4.30pm and one hour 45 minutes later were at the entrance to the Needles Channel. I transferred Phil back onto Martin's boat to go to Portsmouth and then took Black Gold into Lymington for its final list of jobs and engine checks to be done at the builder's yard.
We left at 4.30pm and one hour 45 minutes later were at the entrance to the Needles Channel. I transferred Phil back onto Martin's boat to go to Portsmouth and then took Black Gold into Lymington for its final list of jobs and engine checks to be done at the builder's yard.
My only concern was that our speed seemed to reduce on the way back and the run up the Lymington river had the engine feeling less than silky smooth. We need to get this checked.
Next weekend, Roger is down with the helmets and intercoms and we plan to do another long run, but perhaps in a sea not quite so horizontal.
- Gavin Sunday June 1st
Monday, 26 May 2008
A sailing weekend
The weather this season has been very odd and hard to predict. This weekend the BBC's good days have been bad and Sunday, billed as the worst, was the best. First stop on Friday was Dave Crawford Marine to pay for the work so far and to discuss how to ensure that the unit stays reliable in the race.
I booked a pre-race engine check-in the week commencing June 2nd when the boat is back in Lymington for Scorpion to address a list of jobs driven by the race regulations - liferaft mounts, EPIRB, transponder, fuel cut off, electrical labelling etc.
Outside Dave Crawford's Lymington premises were two other boats doing the Round Britain Race - although thankfully not in our class.
The first was Chris Strickland's record breaking Scorpion cruiser which was having new stern drives fitted.
Alongside was John Caulcutt's new Revenger 32 which still had a lot of work to be done. Interestingly, he has flown in from New York two of the same engines we are using. He has a seating arrangement with three bolster seats, with electrical adjustment of the seat part.
John is one of the two competitors who did this race last time - 24 years ago - in a small Flatacraft. He did very well. This time his boat is allegedly capable of 80 mph - no doubt helped by its stepped hull. Seeing this boat with no electronics and no engines fitted - and less than a month to go - cheered me up when I compared the pages and pages of my To Do list for Black Gold.
We launched the boat after lunch and while Paul drove round to Hamble Point (he did the BP regatta this weekend), I took Black Gold round.
Even though the gearbox is still being run in, the boat beat the car in the best traditions of Top Gear. It was also a chance to try out the new Henri Lloyd salopettes that we are using for the race, and the very bulky Grabner racing life-jacket.
Both were fine, but I wanted to check that the back protection in the life-jacket didn't push me to far forward on the seat. The suspension is at the back of the seat so you need to be right back to get the benefit. On another rib in Lymington, a passenger was injured using the same seat as he lent forward to read a chart.
We had auctioned a day on our sail boat, Black Tie, in a charity event. Friday night meant a trip over to Cowes in Black Gold to collect Black Tie for a day with six friends who had paid for the pleasure of the sail - a strange concept for our three daughters to grasp ...
Needless to say, the weather turned rough. We went out in F5 and ended up finishing the day with F7. Not ideal for people who rarely go on a boat, but we did manage to fit a short rib trip in for them as well while we were in Cowes.
Browsing in the Hamble Point chandlers on Sunday morning meant that I found a radar reflector that wouldn't damage anything else, and another foghorn. The sea anchor required by the rules is a bigger challenge as not many small boats use them. We have been told of a possible source and that's a project for next weekend.
Monday (today) was planned as a rib testing day with a run to Poole and back. However a gale and driving rain meant we stayed at home.
So not a bad weekend's work and Black Gold feels like she is running well. A brief dash in the short sharp sea off Cowes in F7 left me impressed with her ability to cope with this kind of chop both upwind and down.
Gavin, Monday May 26th
I booked a pre-race engine check-in the week commencing June 2nd when the boat is back in Lymington for Scorpion to address a list of jobs driven by the race regulations - liferaft mounts, EPIRB, transponder, fuel cut off, electrical labelling etc.
Outside Dave Crawford's Lymington premises were two other boats doing the Round Britain Race - although thankfully not in our class.
The first was Chris Strickland's record breaking Scorpion cruiser which was having new stern drives fitted.
Alongside was John Caulcutt's new Revenger 32 which still had a lot of work to be done. Interestingly, he has flown in from New York two of the same engines we are using. He has a seating arrangement with three bolster seats, with electrical adjustment of the seat part.
John is one of the two competitors who did this race last time - 24 years ago - in a small Flatacraft. He did very well. This time his boat is allegedly capable of 80 mph - no doubt helped by its stepped hull. Seeing this boat with no electronics and no engines fitted - and less than a month to go - cheered me up when I compared the pages and pages of my To Do list for Black Gold.
We launched the boat after lunch and while Paul drove round to Hamble Point (he did the BP regatta this weekend), I took Black Gold round.
Even though the gearbox is still being run in, the boat beat the car in the best traditions of Top Gear. It was also a chance to try out the new Henri Lloyd salopettes that we are using for the race, and the very bulky Grabner racing life-jacket.
Both were fine, but I wanted to check that the back protection in the life-jacket didn't push me to far forward on the seat. The suspension is at the back of the seat so you need to be right back to get the benefit. On another rib in Lymington, a passenger was injured using the same seat as he lent forward to read a chart.
We had auctioned a day on our sail boat, Black Tie, in a charity event. Friday night meant a trip over to Cowes in Black Gold to collect Black Tie for a day with six friends who had paid for the pleasure of the sail - a strange concept for our three daughters to grasp ...
Needless to say, the weather turned rough. We went out in F5 and ended up finishing the day with F7. Not ideal for people who rarely go on a boat, but we did manage to fit a short rib trip in for them as well while we were in Cowes.
Browsing in the Hamble Point chandlers on Sunday morning meant that I found a radar reflector that wouldn't damage anything else, and another foghorn. The sea anchor required by the rules is a bigger challenge as not many small boats use them. We have been told of a possible source and that's a project for next weekend.
Monday (today) was planned as a rib testing day with a run to Poole and back. However a gale and driving rain meant we stayed at home.
So not a bad weekend's work and Black Gold feels like she is running well. A brief dash in the short sharp sea off Cowes in F7 left me impressed with her ability to cope with this kind of chop both upwind and down.
Gavin, Monday May 26th
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Good news at last
Good news is that a new warranty Sport Master gearbox arrived from Belgium at Dave Crawford Marine on Friday. 
They have still to check that we have all the bits back that they took off. Once checked, we need to get Dave to put it back together with care so that we can launch next Saturday.
In the meantime here is the list of boat-related items still to be done:
Although this won't be the fastest boat in the class, it is being driven by a very experienced and tough looking team. Greg told me he was going to take it easy to Bangor then see where they stand. (Not sure racing a rib from Portsmouth to Bangor could be described as taking it easy, but I know what he means.)
At the other end of the class spectrum is the new Artic Blue 27 being built with twin BMW/Yanmar engines giving 520 hp and a stepped hull.
This boat should easily do 60+ knots which is just under 70 mph and with Paul Lemmer at the wheel, will be an obvious candidate for running at the front of the fleet.
Out of interest I calculated the weight of their engine installation compared with ours.
For Artic Blue it's 810kg including drive legs. Black Gold is 300kg including spare engine and fuel for the spare which is in the aft locker. So loads more power but the equivalent of 6 large men standing near the back of Artic Blue in terms of weight. No wonder they were keen to explain to me the workings of the bow ballast tank...
No boating this weekend - just a big push to get some of the items off my list.
Gavin 17th May
They have still to check that we have all the bits back that they took off. Once checked, we need to get Dave to put it back together with care so that we can launch next Saturday.In the meantime here is the list of boat-related items still to be done:
- Fit transponder to boat for web site feed - need to find a suitable location which is non trivial as we have few external surfaces and it has to be outside with power
Hire 4 man raft and 406 EPIRB which will both need to be securely mounted. The raft will go aft as that's where we want the weight
Fit second fire extinguisher
Get race numbers - (no response yet from chosen supplier) and stick to boat
Get an hour's tuition on the engine and gearbox from Dave Crawford Marine
Buy set of spanners for engine as current boat tool kit is all metric and the Mercury isn't
Buy a suitable sea anchor. An odd safety requirement but maybe it will be useful one day
Get compass deviation card and swing compass
Get second engine cut out lanyard as we both need one
Buy retirement flag, new foghorn, radar reflector, appropriate first aid kit, safety blanket and torch
Fit fuel cut out switch and mark battery isolator switch
Order ship's radio license - money for nothing as I have the user's certificate and a license for my sail boat Black Tie
Get satellite phone
Sort charts and batteries for Garmin Etrex pocket emergency GPS
Put National flag on boat as well as some sponsor's stickers. Not sure what these are for as we are not sponsored by these companies
Fix clothing, hotels and plan route for supporters
Although this won't be the fastest boat in the class, it is being driven by a very experienced and tough looking team. Greg told me he was going to take it easy to Bangor then see where they stand. (Not sure racing a rib from Portsmouth to Bangor could be described as taking it easy, but I know what he means.)
At the other end of the class spectrum is the new Artic Blue 27 being built with twin BMW/Yanmar engines giving 520 hp and a stepped hull.
This boat should easily do 60+ knots which is just under 70 mph and with Paul Lemmer at the wheel, will be an obvious candidate for running at the front of the fleet.
Out of interest I calculated the weight of their engine installation compared with ours.
For Artic Blue it's 810kg including drive legs. Black Gold is 300kg including spare engine and fuel for the spare which is in the aft locker. So loads more power but the equivalent of 6 large men standing near the back of Artic Blue in terms of weight. No wonder they were keen to explain to me the workings of the bow ballast tank...
No boating this weekend - just a big push to get some of the items off my list.
Gavin 17th May
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
We know what's finer than to be in Carolina
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning, so the song reckons, and today Gavin will know because he is arriving in Charleston for a brief visit.
Some sailing is in the offing, but mostly the dash across the Atlantic is for his work.
For most of us in Gavin's party, what would be finer than Carolina, or anything across the pond, would be for Black Gold to be perfectly tuned and ready to take on the big boys in the Round Britain Powerboat Race.
Speaking from Heathrow, Gavin confirms that Mercury, the engine manufacturers, have agreed to replace the gearbox.
Their experts believe that the seal failed on the control mechanism. That the fault is diagnosed and the repair under way is the good news from a very sad situation.
The bad news is that the engine is unlikely to be up and running by next weekend.
With just 38 days to go to the race start, the pressure is well and truly on Gavin now. Of course, his work comes first, and hence the visit to South Carolina.
In the meantime, Gavin reports that he is gradually progressing through 'a seemingly endless list of jobs.'
Gavin said, 'I visited Ribex this weekend in Cowes and met with two of the other competitors in our class.'
- From Gavin's Rib-Racing website
Some sailing is in the offing, but mostly the dash across the Atlantic is for his work.
For most of us in Gavin's party, what would be finer than Carolina, or anything across the pond, would be for Black Gold to be perfectly tuned and ready to take on the big boys in the Round Britain Powerboat Race.
Speaking from Heathrow, Gavin confirms that Mercury, the engine manufacturers, have agreed to replace the gearbox.
Their experts believe that the seal failed on the control mechanism. That the fault is diagnosed and the repair under way is the good news from a very sad situation.
The bad news is that the engine is unlikely to be up and running by next weekend.
With just 38 days to go to the race start, the pressure is well and truly on Gavin now. Of course, his work comes first, and hence the visit to South Carolina.
In the meantime, Gavin reports that he is gradually progressing through 'a seemingly endless list of jobs.'
Gavin said, 'I visited Ribex this weekend in Cowes and met with two of the other competitors in our class.'
- From Gavin's Rib-Racing website
Sunday, 4 May 2008
No boat, but preparations continue
Down to Dave Crawford marine in Lymington with Nicki on 
Saturday morning to pick up the errant gearbox for me to take to Belgium this weekend for exchange. Scorpion had finished their work with the aft locker floor and I also collected the bulky Austrian Grabner racing life jackets from Scorpion.
While on Black Gold, I removed the SD card chart cartridge so I could experiment at home with the PC Planner chart package and their USB multi-media reader which will allow us to plan routes remotely.
Next stop was the Rib Show at Hamble Point. I didn't want to buy anything there, but I had arranged to meet racer John Cooke (Cookee) there. John is a constant source of wisdom and advice on the Rib forums and it was good to see his race boat with many of his ideas incorporated. Main take-aways for me were:
1. Drive to finish rather than to beat the boat next to you (a good theory!!)
2. Look after the engine cradle and ensure the throttle man (Roger in our case) keeps the propeller revs down when landing
3. John uses buttons rather than switches to reduce the risk of them turning of when the boat lands hard
4. He has multiple bungees round the engine leg to reduce the movement of the leg as the power comes on and off
5. He also suggested bleeding the two stroke oil every night at the engine mounted tank as air in this can trigger the alarms
6. John also strongly recommended that I buy a device to manage and reset the Mercury alarms
Next stop was the E P Barrus stand. This is important as Barrus will be providing a three-person team and truck full of parts to support Mercury engines.
We have given them information on our engine, drive and propeller. It was very good to hear about their plans and they even wanted to know what filter elements that we have in the fuel pre filter so that they can load them on the truck.
Up at 5 am tomorrow in order to get across to the Belgian Mercury Racing dealer with my three week old gearbox.
- Gavin May 4th
Saturday morning to pick up the errant gearbox for me to take to Belgium this weekend for exchange. Scorpion had finished their work with the aft locker floor and I also collected the bulky Austrian Grabner racing life jackets from Scorpion.While on Black Gold, I removed the SD card chart cartridge so I could experiment at home with the PC Planner chart package and their USB multi-media reader which will allow us to plan routes remotely.
Next stop was the Rib Show at Hamble Point. I didn't want to buy anything there, but I had arranged to meet racer John Cooke (Cookee) there. John is a constant source of wisdom and advice on the Rib forums and it was good to see his race boat with many of his ideas incorporated. Main take-aways for me were:
1. Drive to finish rather than to beat the boat next to you (a good theory!!)
2. Look after the engine cradle and ensure the throttle man (Roger in our case) keeps the propeller revs down when landing
3. John uses buttons rather than switches to reduce the risk of them turning of when the boat lands hard
4. He has multiple bungees round the engine leg to reduce the movement of the leg as the power comes on and off
5. He also suggested bleeding the two stroke oil every night at the engine mounted tank as air in this can trigger the alarms
6. John also strongly recommended that I buy a device to manage and reset the Mercury alarms
Next stop was the E P Barrus stand. This is important as Barrus will be providing a three-person team and truck full of parts to support Mercury engines.
We have given them information on our engine, drive and propeller. It was very good to hear about their plans and they even wanted to know what filter elements that we have in the fuel pre filter so that they can load them on the truck.
Up at 5 am tomorrow in order to get across to the Belgian Mercury Racing dealer with my three week old gearbox.
- Gavin May 4th
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