How to fill the time.

[RogerLennard]

I ordered my Bayraider 20 in September 2021. The numerous hoped-for completion dates came and went. Covid has a lot to answer for with regards to the manufacturer of boats. My most recent dashed hope was for completion by the half term holiday in October. However, I was told that it still wouldn’t be ready. Sadly my job means that I cannot take a weekday off to collect the boat until a couple of days before Christmas.
 
While waiting, I have seen every Youtube video ever made about Swallow Boats/Yachts. I have researched boat tents and galley boxes. I have looked on enviously at videos of people having a great time cruising their boats.

As I still have many weeks to go, can anyone offer suggestions about activities I could try during those long, lonely boatless hours ahead?

[Graham W]

Help someone in your area to winterise their boat?  You can learn a lot about how things work that way, although putting it back together again in the spring is even more instructive, especially when the re-rigging goes wrong.

I spend time looking at charts (mostly electronic) of areas that I would like to know better; reading yachting magazines free of charge on my iPad, using my local library registration; and examining websites of the latest small boat gadgets.  None of this is a substitute for having a real boat in the drive but better than nothing. 

I collected my new boat in the snow just before Christmas 2010, when the temperature in the higher parts of the Welsh mountains slipped below minus 10°C.  Luckily I had a 4WD in those days.

[Andy Stobbart]

You could take a tip from Captain Mainwaring: he learned to play the bagpipes on his honeymoon in Scotland “because there was nothing else to do in the evenings”…

[Philip L]

Oh I feel your pain. My BC 23 was delivered in August and pride got the better of me when Matt asked if could use her for the boat show, so I was boatless again for 3 weeks in September and now we are close to time that the cruisers have to come off the water on Ullswater.
What do I know now that I didn’t before
It’s taken me ages to figure out how the outboard lowering mechanism works to lock the leg down in reverse gear - this may not apply to a lower powered outboard but try and download a manual if you are getting an outboard that’s new to you.
I bought fenders then found they are not quite suitable for the height of the sailing club jetty and have now bought Majoni low freeboard fenders.  Make a list of all the things you need to fit the boat out and prioritise against expense. 
Try and take someone with you when you pick the boat up. I’m guessing that the Swallow team will spend time with you to show how to rig the boat. Having someone to take photos of the stages helps. My mind was too full to remember all the things I was shown. Once again, a list of questions to ask on the day E.g what tyre pressures for the trailer (it’s on the wheels but Seemed really high compared to car tyre pressures.
Like Graham says, planning your first trip is fun and the Swallow team will tell you to make sure not to be over ambitious with the conditions
Hopefully someone can offer more specific BR 20 advice but I can reassure you that you won’t be disappointed

[garethrow]

How about making yourself some essential bits and bobs: A pair of nice oars? A burgee staff? A storage rack for thermos flask / beer bottles?

Gareth Rowlands
BR20 Halen Y Mor

[RogerLennard]

Some good ideas here and so encouraging. Thank you. I have lots of questions in response:

I did want to make a galley stove and asked Matt for stowage compartment dimensions. Matt told me that the seat stowage compartments were an odd shape so an exact size could not be given to me. Has anyone here made a galley stove that fits neatly into a BR20 (and presumably BRe) compartment?

Has anyone got the dimensions for a BR20 boat tent? What is the best material to use?

I have also been looking round at fenders. Do owners use the fender slots for their fenders or is that not the best size for the fenders owners use? Do most people buy ones like the Majoni low freeboard ones? Which size fits into the slots?

I like the idea of making oars. I have two oars from my previous boat. They are seven feet long, which is probably a bit short. Is it possible to extend an oar? How would I do it?

I do intend to make a video of the packing away/setting up process when I go to collect my boat. I did that with my last boat and it was extremely valuable. There hasn't been much in the way of BR20 videos for a long time on Youtube and I am feeling creative.

I will take someone with me to collect the boat as two heads are certainly better than one. I was offered a weekend day to collect the boat but this did not provide the extensive information that any serious boat owner would need. It sounded like a small time window in which I could just hitch up and go. I therefore opted for the day near Christmas, when I could have the day off work.

Winterising sounds worth researching. I went to my club's boat park one spring day to find that one owner had a bunch of ratty stowaways when he returned to his boat. They had chomped up and used his sail for bedding.

Not sure about the bagpipes. I already play saxophone and suspect that my family would prefer if I only played it while a long way out at sea!

Thanks for keeping my spirits up. I look forward to meeting some of you on the water.

[Graham W]

The potential galley stove area in the locker is a mixture of curves against the inside of the hull and quite sharp angles.  I’m thinking of using one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flexible-Transferring-Patterns-Carpentry-Woodworking/dp/B0747MXPKV/ref=sr_1_6.  Cutting the shapes with a router and a bandsaw might help ensure a good fit.  The eventual aim is to fit an Origo spirit stove with additional galley stowage at the front of the starboard locker.

7ft is way too short for BR20 oars - not nearly long enough for efficient leverage.  Even the standard 9ft oars that came with my BR20 were too short.  The most efficient length for the BR20 forward rowing position is in the region of 11ft and for amidships a lanky 12ft.  But unless taking part in competitive sail & oar raids like Sail Caledonia, that’s too long to stow easily, so somewhere in the region of 10ft may be a reasonable compromise for everyday use.  BRe owners have a shorter space for stowage and it’s not such an easy boat to row compared to the BR20.

I had always used the standard fenders in their special slots (for quick and easy deployment) until I bought two Majoni low freeboard fenders, which I think are a fairly recent invention.  Now I use both lots, especially on pontoons.

[garethrow]

Roger
I have two standard shaped fenders that fot in the stowage slots and two majoni angled fenders that also fit in the slots: https://marinestore.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ep79-316-510

As Graham says, if you are into competitive rowing you ned awfully long oars which are difficult to stow. Mine lie in the bottom adjacent to the centreoard case and just fit into the moulded channel with the handles of the looms being level with the aft end of the centre board casing. I made these from a Swallow Boats design which I could probably dig out if you want it - send me an email address.

Whilst I was waiting for my BR20 delivery I spent many a happy hour splicing / preparing bits of rope: Fender ties, anchor warps, painter, mooring warps etc.

Regards

Gareth Rowlands
BR20 Halen Y Mor

[Graham W]

….and you can never splice too many Dyneema soft shackles and loops for use on board https://www.animatedknots.com/soft-shackle and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5CZzAo0IxE.

[Ged]

Buy a cheap dinghy and go sailing

[RogerLennard]

Thanks for your suggestion Ged. I've been staving off the madness with my Hobie TI. A completely different concept but it fits on the top of my car and can be a lot of fun to sail.
I am looking forward to learning new skills with the Bayraider and taking more crew than the TI will hold.

[Sea Simon]

A neighbour has one of those Hobie T1s.
Looks like great fun, especially in a shallow/ v tidal area.

Btw...another vote for those majoni low freeboad fenders. Excellent design, esp against lowish pontoons.

[RogerLennard]

In an attempt to distract myself from thinking about my boat, I wandered into the garage and decided to make something. It can be a difficult task to attach a mooring line to a mooring buoy, especially when you have no other crew. I wanted to make a device to loop the mooring rope through the eye on the buoy. You can buy them but I just wanted to make one of my own for free. I took the shaft off a broken broom and some scrap plywood. This is what happened... https://youtu.be/6wLsUUD2ve0

[Philip L]

An outboard stand has been my DIY project over the last few weeks. We had just put up a new fence so the wood was left over and I only had to buy the castors.
If anyone is interested, the plans were downloaded from here:-
https://thisoldsailboat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/outboard-stand-rev-a.pdf
It feels very robust and I didn’t put the shorter verticals that fit under the horizontals that the motor clamps too. I did make it a little taller than the plans but didn’t need to as there is plenty of clearance with the castors on. I’m sure smaller sized wood would be strong enough for our size of motor.

[garethrow]

I made one of these outboard stands to this design last winter. My only observation is that I wish I had brought the front castors forward a little of their designed position. If I take the engine off and have left the fuel tank / battery on the front shelf - then the whole things tips forward!

Gareth Rowlands
BR20 Halen Y Mor
Ex S17 Gwenol Teifi