As an explorer yacht builder, one lesson that I've learned is that in high-latitude sailing, just like in life, it's the small things that often make the biggest difference. This reminds me of the time I was at the UK National Portrait Gallery, and I was captivated by a single silhouette of a young woman. Today, we're going to explore one such detail - the helm station electronics. These intricate systems, much like the subtle hues in a painting, can make all the difference when navigating the high seas. Ready for this exciting voyage? Let's go! If humankind has a common failure, it may be that we do not appreciate what we look at. I once toured the UK National Portrait Gallery and was stopped by a single, rather ancient silhouette of a young woman on a turquoise background. Yes, it was a picture of a young woman, but it spoke to me of more than that, of the youth, her beauty, artistry of a long-forgotten human, their interaction, and on, all in perhaps twelve inches square. I learned from that experience to take time to examine what you are looking at. Last week, I included some pictures in this blog, photos of the helm station electronics (Wire tray covers yet to be applied). I skipped through the items, ticking off the familiar. Then, later, I looked again with the reflection that if all this does not work as planned, I may be the one asked to fix it at some juncture. What is a Buffer, and why is it needed? So I looked at the four items in this picture, repeated above. On the face of it, they say Furuno, Weather Station, GPS, SatCom, and NMEA. But they are different from the instruments we bought, and I see few familiar NMEA 2000 or NMEA 0183 databus connections save for one of them. Time, perhaps, to educate myself. Buffers are round things, sometimes considered as things that steam engines run up against. Not in this case. These devices propagate signals from single or duplicated instruments to various users, four channels to two users, or eight to one. They provide electrical isolation from each consumer, ensure signal integrity, and prevent the existence of potentially damaging circulating currents and similar. They can also switch input signals in the instance of a single failure. Firstly, what signals are we dealing with here? We have mainly NMEA 0183 CAN protocol from the various Furuno navigation instruments. The odd one uses the more modern NMEA 2000 CAN Bus. (For the uninitiated, CAN is an automotive or industrial data transmission standard or Controlled Area Network. It allows devices to communicate with each other sans the presence of a host computer. Your car uses one, so they are pretty ubiquitous!) Buffering instrument signals for multiple users Our installer (not me!) selected commercial-grade buffers from AEP. The navigation instrument signal can be NMEA 2000 (CAN), NMEA 0183 (CAN), or RS422 (Ethernet). Power and signals feed in on the left-hand block, and the users connect to the middle and right-hand blocks. See the diagram above. From the top left of the photo (GPS) buffer, output goes to two ICom VHF, AIS, 2 chart plotters (helm and flybridge), Navtex, and Miniplex (see below). Converting between protocol Moving on to the instrument on the top right, ShipModul. This device takes NMEA 2000 and 0183 signals in and sends them out again, buffered. So, in this case, it provides signals to the chart plotters and creates a data stream of NMEA 2000 PGN - Parameter Guidance Numbers for input elsewhere. Like the AEP buffers, it establishes an NMEA 2000 signal (see the out wire on the instrument's left in the helm photo). A useful additional feature is a wireless connection to a PC or similar to access the NMEA networks remotely within the vessel. It's our gateway into that system without a hardwired connection. Wrap up All this may appear a bit anal of me, and I'd agree it probably is my inner engineer not wanting to let go. Conversely, when the AIS stops working in a shipping lane, and the fog rolls in off the banks, you may be grateful for the understanding as you crouch under the helm chair, trying to trace the problem. I hope you remained awake throughout the above missive. I did not inflict the pain on purpose; the buffers did it! Chris Leigh-Jones

We have a problem. It's called ignorance, as in, " we don't know much about something we will need" . We will need to put Vanguard in harm's way, in narrow and deep anchorages subject to the vagaries of wind, depth, tide, and perhaps other yachts. So given that we have an existential issue and I do not own the solution, maybe others can guide us. The solution it seems is to moor using your "mother of all anchors," in our case 110kg of Rocna. But more than that, as she will still swing. Tie her by the stern to a solid, immovable object or two, rock, big tree, whatever. That is not likely to be conveniently situated 20 feet from your stern. You will also need a very long shoreline and a wire strop or chain to prevent abrasion snipping the line just as the wind increases and you fall asleep. This is the big Daddy of the stern-to mooring that so many sailors have practiced in the Mediterranean. Only instead of a light stern anchor and short rode, we have a much longer shorefast line tied to some convenient immovable object. So we looked in a few directions. Google, Morganscloud, Skip Novak, Set Sail, Youtube, and Trawler Forum. If in doubt, take advice from someone who knows their subject! Mooring in the PNW, Norway or elsewhere, you have issues of deep anchorages, massive tides, limited swing ... the perfect storm causing the need to stay in position. Hence a two or three-point mooring. Advice based on hard-earned experience. Reading the many posts available, we need 300 feet, 100m minimum. Lightweight line with a good breaking strain if you want to go there and back, double up and save taking the tender ashore again to "unhitch," as one may say. That is a lot of rope to stow. Back to the advice of others, which runs to either make a demountable reel (Trawler Forum), use a flat line that will store easily (Google/Youtube), or bag the line and throw it into the tender for deployment (Morganscloud). The illustration is what we went for, 316L Wedge reels and flat UV Stable Polyester line. Our choice was a line reel. We have both Vanguard and her tender, so we looked for two 100m reels on Vanguard and two more 40M reels on the tender. Our Wedge Reel units come fitted with Polyester webbing at 3.4T breaking strain; we can swap this out for flat tape Dyneema at 7.0T should extra strength be needed, or we want a narrower webbing "hums less" in the wind. We can also bring along a rope reel for a polyester-covered Dyneema mooring line with 10T or more capacity. Who makes these reels? Google revealed the following links: Ultraline (Quickline) - HERE Nawa - HERE Wedge - HERE Easyroll - HERE Hermp Marine - HERE Polypropylene shore fast lines on removable drums. Ref Morganscloud. I will not judge them; we are all adults, so do your own research. We chose Wedge as they are near Naval Yachts, our yard. Proximity makes delivery logistics easy. Two by 100m lines for Vanguard and two by 40m for the tender. Permanently mounted reels, all neat and hardly noticeable. If this works, great. We will also need some chaff-resistant metal strops for the shore connection, but that is a simple issue. To be safe, we might make up some small canvass stuff-bags for 100m additional, cheap Polypropylene line and keep them in the lazarette. You never do know what you don't yet know, right? Jeff Leigh-Jones

Jeff, a member of our crew, gained much of his experience on yacht deliveries UK and beyond with the highly regarded Halcyon Yachts. Jeff - "Deliveries with Halcyon taught me the nitty-gritty realities necessary to transform my skills from booky tactics to sailory intuition. I have a repertoire of delivery experiences I recall and use today. I remember on passing my Yachtmasters exam, the old boy said to me ‘now you’re going to start learning how to sail’ - I got it with Halcyon skippers who’d been around the block. I sailed with a variety of skippers, picking up tricks, traits and standards from all. My first delivery from Preveza, Greece, to Southampton included two qualifying ocean passages. My confidence grew until I was skippering myself - Pete assigned me first as skipper on a wooden 40ft Chinese Junk (Boleh) built in Singapore in 1949. I was also launched into adventure, and came home every time with stories. Many of these adventures occurred ashore in one of the far flung places you end up at sailing to. Halcyon was my entry to the real world of sailing both inshore and offshore." Halcyon Yachts have been delivering yachts internationally for over 12 years. The Managing Director is Pete Green, a professional sailor and Yachtmaster Instructor. We have invited Pete to talk about the opportunities they have provided to up-and-coming sailors over the years. Pete says, "At Halcyon Yachts, we have the best yacht delivery skippers. Our standards are such that our skippers are qualified to Yachtmaster Ocean as a minimum. Many also have RYA instructor qualifications. Because of this, the delivery crew that sail with us are able to develop and learn along the way. We do insist that our crew come with at least the Day Skipper ticket with enough experience and competency to stand a solo watch. One of the things that fills me with the most joy is hearing back from the crew at the end of the trip, listening to their sea stories and hearing their enthusiasm." When asked about the longest and most memorable trips Halcyon have done Pete said "We have delivered more yachts than I can remember across the Atlantic and we have a 60fter about to set off from Panama on route to Australia right now. Specific yacht deliveries that stand out though include a Hallberg Rassy 56 from Gosport to Texas, a Spirit 111 from Ipswich to Gosport and a Baltic Trader 85 from Falmouth to the Canaries". Hallberg Rassy 53 - Gosport (UK) to Texas (USA) - trans Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico! A really great trip on a wonderful yacht. We deliver lots of Hallberg Rassy's. For comfort and safety, the HR53 is just the perfect boat for a Trans Atlantic yacht delivery. The owners were with us and everyone had a fantastic time. The trip of a lifetime for everyone on board. Spirit 111 - Ipswich to Gosport. The Spirit 111 is a work of art. She was crowned "Sailing Yacht of the Year" during the World Superyacht Awards. She is the largest wooden sloop built in the UK since the J-Class yacht Shamrock V. We were no wonder delighted to be asked to help with her delivery from the Spirit yard to Gosport. Baltic Trader 85 - Falmouth (UK) to Las Palmas (Spain) We love delivering classic yachts though this yacht delivery certainly had its challenges. Several days were needed to get her ready for the passage across Biscay. Lots of TLC and running maintenance is often a big part of the job on an older boat. For the delivery crew, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the day-to-day management and sailing of a classic yacht. Jeff Leigh-Jones & Pete Green Halcyon Yachts will be part of our team going forward as we launch Vanguard and engage in the initial shakedown and delivery cruises up through NW Europe. This takes pressure off the owners whilst giving them time to learn unfamiliar systems and absorb the knowledge of others experienced with yachts of her size and performance. To find out more about Halcyon Yachts and to register with them as crew, visit their website: https://halcyonyachts.com/ Or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/halcyonyachtsltd/

Today, we're diving deep into a crucial phase of our latest project: commissioning our explorer yacht's systems. It's a meticulous process, filled with highs, lows, and plenty of steady progress in between. From testing the communications and marine ethernet to fine-tuning the navigation gear, every moment is a step closer to realizing our dream of a high-latitude sailing vessel. So, whether you're browsing ocean yachts for sale or just fascinated by the world of maritime exploration, grab your sailor's cap, and let's dive right in! Everyone who ever built a yacht will experience many highs and lows along the way. Those are the memorable instances, but between them lies the humdrum of steady progress. That is where we found ourselves this week, so I'll recap. Communications and marine ethernet Vanguard has a commercial-grade monitoring and control system from Praxis automation. Control is limited to engines, steering, and lighting, though most other things are monitored in some fashion. The backbone of this system is a dedicated and redundant Ethernet, the big brother of a more familiar NEMA 2000 CAN. Ethernet runs between a number of discrete Input/Output gateway and/or ruggedized PLC's to operate various machinery. One of our first actions after launching was to test the integrity of the data communications system, and with luck, Praxis engineers were already in Antalya at the Damen Shipyard. Our first-off installation was about 90% correct, with a few missing connections and one physically broken. An easy one-day fix all around. We also powered up the 24VDC and 240VAC systems to confirm control and navigation gear power. A first cation here was a sniff test, overheating plastic insulation is quite distinct! Once we are fully powered up all connections can be checked with a thermal camera, for now, a nose is good enough. Furuno Nav gear We have contracted a single company (OMS) based in the shipyard to supply and install all Furuno navigation equipment with the exclusion of our large X Band radar arrays supplied by Praxis. It is often cheaper to split a purchase like this into parts sourced by price from many suppliers. Having watched OMS spend three days connecting and commissioning everything, I'm glad we took the route we did. We now have functioning AIS(A), GPS, Sat Com, Fluxgate, Navtex, Sonar, Weather Station, Sat C, Irridium, VHF Radio's, Starlink, Pepwave ...... Grab handles Appreciating a physical feature from a simple two-dimensional drawing is often difficult. With that in mind, we fabricated six small grab rails before launch. Once on the vessel with a moderate roll, finding the locations where we needed additional security and preventing the crew from gaining momentum between handholds was easy. The principal being that the lifelines should not act as the first line of defense for a stumbling crewmember. Five rails were secured in such strategic areas, leaving one spare. Fuel system Fuel is a subject that brings some considerable risks for the more remote locations. Specifically bunkering contaminated fuel will play havoc with any filter system. To encourage good fuel husbandry we decided that all fuel being transferred would also be polished to the particulate specification as inlet to the John Deere engines. Filtration efficiency is one measure but there is also the need to retain capacity as they block. The answer here was to select Cummins Fleetguard duplex filtration system as this has a considerably higher capacity (150g/h) than the more typical and equally efficient Racor filters used in similar installations. It's not a low cost option but it does make life more simple going forward. Any reader wanting a great and practical explanation of fuel filters I'd recommend to Tony Athens of Seaboard Marine HERE. Stability Lastly, we move on to stability. Vanguard had no fuel or ballast in her hull when launched. The roll period was about 9 seconds, with quite a severe list at the extremities. Her design has water ballast compensation as we consume fuel on passage. Our first action was to fill 4.2T of water in the FWD water tanks. Once these tanks were pressed full, the roll period reduced to about 7 seconds, though we still have some way to go. From Gerr's book on stability (our Bible in this instance), our target is 1-1.1 times the beam, so 5-5.5 seconds. I'd like to understand some subtleties within this better, but that's the simple version. So now the task is to fully understand her "lightship" stability before proceeding further. A minimum 20% fuel reserve would put an additional 2t of fuel in the center tank, so there is plenty of scope to further bring that 7 seconds down. Looking at the draft, we also have the capacity for some permanent ballast up forward, making those FWD water tanks more useful than just for ballast, as we will not need to keep them full. Onwards and upwards as the saying goes. Chris Leigh-Jones I recently had occasion to bump in to shipmate from some 40 years past. Our families shared a common heritage in part as they had involvement with the same ships, two generations ago. SS Elidir, named after a Welsh mountain was my paternal Grandfather's favorite and last berth. Coal fired, triple expansion engine, oil lamps..... How the world has changed in the course of just two generations.

As an explorer yacht builder, I've been a part of many journeys, from the initial sketching of blueprints to the final launch of an explorer yacht. And today, I want to take you behind the scenes of our shipyard and share with you our top 40 tips for building one. Drawing from my experiences, I hope to guide you through this intricate process of bringing your dream vessel to life, whether you're in the market for ocean yachts for sale or just simply interested in the world of high-latitude sailing. Our shipyard journey has been a mainly peaceful co-existence. However, as completion nears, it has become obvious that the process is viewed differently from the perspective of the individual parties. (Download the full 40 points in the linked file BELOW.) Working across language and cultural barriers is an established science. Still, it does involve a deal of introspective thinking if the opportunities are maximized. So, with that in mind and to maybe provide a better understanding to help others contemplate their build, we put pen to paper with a reflection on how this unfolded and what we wished we'd understood before walking in those shoes. In this reflection, we have used the example of Naval Yachts, not to single them out as I'd wager the name could be easily substituted with any other similar shipyard. The full document can be downloaded here. How the Process Unfolds - Example The engineering task can commence once the "Specification" is agreed upon. Some engineering findings will affect other related documents. Open and comprehensive communication on these occasions is paramount. It is tempting to design as you go along, in the field, on the spot. Avoid that temptation and confirm all you can reasonably achieve at an early stage. Going the "semi-custom" route will considerably help as many potential design options are already field-proven. With 14 LRC/XPM Explorer Yacht designs from Artnautica now completed or in build, plenty of prior experience exists. As an additional fallback, there is also a great history of building the FPB range, and by comparison with our XPM-78, the contemporary FPB 70 is worth studying. The Design Phase for the XPM Explorer Yacht Range Stay vigilant to potential side effects or issues that could arise during the design process. Consider alternative solutions in case of significant problems, and be prepared to adjust your course early on. Never make it a battle of wills; there is more than one correct solution. Sometimes, showing flexibility is acceptable, and you will gain more later. Define minimum acceptable clearances — appliances, corridors, turning circles, door widths, and deck head heights. Do not leave that to chance, or you may not like the result. We have intervened three times to raise a ceiling height or accessway "built on-site." The Antalya tradesmen are, on average, about 100mm / 4" shorter than typical UK/USA males. What is acceptable to one person is not to another. Build this data into the Specification as a design rule. The Build Phase - Example Change orders should be minimized to prevent schedule disruptions. They often result in domino effects on the production line. Above a de minimus figure, Change Orders will be implemented once the agreed payment is made. All deviations or additions requested should be documented with Change Orders, including the effect on delivery dates. Change Orders are your friend, providing a documented history. We have had over 70 C/O as the build has progressed; the design was not locked down early on ina. rush to get going. This number reflects our requests and yard responsibilities, so no blame is attached. Sometimes a C/O documents a nil-charge decision; others record owner-instigated deviation or correct yard misinterpretations. Having lived through that pain, the semi-custom option is now more clearly available for the next build, especially the XPM-78 and XPM-85. Contracts and Project Management - Example Project progress should be verified, and time remaining documented by both parties. For personal and cultural reasons, there will always be a temptation for the yard to insist all is on time and budget, only to discover later that this is perhaps inaccurate. This was probably our biggest mistake; trust, but "always verify" would have been a better approach. Wishful thinking or group thinking takes over, only to fail at a later date. Cultural differences also play a role here, exemplified by the desire not to upset a client with bad news, eventually resulting in frustration. The time to discuss delays is when there is time to effect remedial action. It is too late to have this conversation after repeatedly missing launch dates. Final Thoughts There will be a constant stream of issues toward the end of your build. How to approach those problems greatly affects the journey itself. There are always solutions, whether acceptance, an engineering alteration, or an alternative path. The Owner and the Yard have the same goal: a successful launch. It is best to resist the temptation to blame or otherwise become adversarial. I'm just saying! Chris Leigh-Jones In researching this Blog, I found similar advice from Steve Dashew on Setsail.com, documenting his reflections on building the 18 x FPB vessels. The comments are more extensive than ours, as is his way. See if you can find the parallels! I also saw this video for Bering Yachts, in the same location as our builder, Naval Yachts. It shows the interaction between an owner and designer discussing the preliminary layout and their wishes or restrictions. We have been in many similar meetings not 300 meters away. There is a video link HERE.

Like a family before Christmas, the last few weeks have been a flurry of activity as our Explorer Yacht, Vanguard, inched towards her completion. There is nothing like a deadline; our yard set one, and that was the day it happened: Tuesday, 3rd October. After seemingly years of planning and building, we were about to get our first glimpse of our alternative future. The launch process Launching is a process like many others. The underbody of the hull is completed, antifouled, running gear attached, anodes in place, and chocks moved to paint the last few areas. Scaffolding was removed, and temporary handrails installed. Meanwhile, workers continued internally with the engine room, helm stations, and fitting Treadmaster high grip panels to the external decks. Chocks were then rationalized in number and repositioned so the transporter could manoeuver underneath to raise the hull from her slumber within the yard. Out of the Yard and down to the travel lift next to Damen Shipyard. The hull of our explorer yacht was then transferred to this lift and slowly lowered into the waiting Medditteranian. Half in, and some 14 anxious yard employees were on board checking everywhere for potential leaks, which continued until she floated under her buoyancy. Our Explorer Yacht floats with no leaks! Vanguard had a distinct port list and quite a tendency to roll like a football as she wallowed in the dock before being towed to her temporary stern-to-mooring. This is a time when it's very easy to panic: what have we done? It's also a time for cooler heads or maybe more experienced ones. Vanguard is a light ship with no fluids on board, so the center of gravity is much higher than planned. A time when several launches have gone wrong, resulting in a capsize or partial one at best. So what happens now? Initial results The first thing was to assess what we have, the easiest point of reference being the top line of the antifouling. Trim with 100mm below her marks on the stern and 500mm at the bow: 50 mm port list and a roll period of about 7.5 seconds. No one would go to sea in a hull behaving like this, but we have only started to trim her properly. Adding 3t of fresh water to the forward tanks, we have 150mm at the stern (which was gratifying), 300mm at the bow, and a 7-second roll period. Better, but we have a long way to go yet. The forward freshwater tanks will take in a total of 4.2t, and we can use one of the 1.5t aft tanks to correct the list. Globally, the hull will sink 12mm for each 1t added, and we have some 150mm to her marks all around, assuming the stern continues to rise as the bow approaches the horizontal. Video of my super tolerant wife, Sebrina, christening Vanguard in time honored fashion. She promosed not to miss with the bottle! Independant advice from the experts Given the resources that have gone into Vanguard, this early stage is nerve-wracking. Today, I feel slightly better, which I will take wholeheartedly. Dennis Harjarma from Artnautica is following as data arrives, and we have Eyos Expeditions helping with their expertise and experience of similar commissioning and voyaging with FPB hulls. More in the next blog as we begin to understand what we have. Chris Leigh-Jones Years ago I watched a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate being launched stern first on the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. They had two apprentices on the aft deck, underneath the flight deck. A truly mean trick, they got very wet on that day.

Today, I invite you to join me as we celebrate a new addition to our fleet - the LRC-65 Explorer Yacht. Launched at Aluboot in the Netherlands, this vessel is ready to conquer the challenges of high-latitude sailing. As Rob Westermann, CEO of Artnautica Europe, and a dear friend of mine describes it, the LRC-65 is a 'self-righting, long-range cruising boat, equally at home coastal sailing or crossing an ocean'. So, buckle up, and let's embark on the journey of the LRC-65, from blueprint to launch. The first LRC-65 from naval architects Artnautics has splashed! Hull was laid down in January 2022, and she was just launched in September 2023. LRC-65 is the largest LRC design range from Artnautica, including the LRC-58. One LRC-65 is launched today, and another is in production at Aluboot. Its nearest competitive example is probably the FPB-65. Though their designs differ significantly, both display the high length-to-beam ration hulls that exemplify economy and sea-keeping abilities. Two weeks will be needed to complete antifouling before returning to Dutch yard Aluboot to complete her outfit. To be added are deck cover, ground tackle, soft furnishings, and navigation mast. Sea Trails is set for October 2023. There follows a description by her owner, my friend, and CEO of Artnautica Europe, Rob Westermann. LRC-65, Rob Westermann "The design of the LRC65 passagemaker by Dennis Harjamaa of Artnautica Yacht Design (NZ) was finished in August 2021. It is a CE-A certified, self-righting, long-range cruising boat, equally at home coastal sailing or crossing an ocean. The designer kept the hull as narrow and low volume as he thought he could get away with, making the boat feel more proportioned than the LRC58. The hull’s length is 20m and 5m wide, including the rub rails. This allowed the boat to fit into European harbors and sail the French canals easily and, of course, passage-making. The draft is approximately 1.1m. The alloy weight estimate is 8.2 tonnes, compared to 5 tonnes for the LRC58. The displacement will be 22-25 tonnes, depending on her payload. The LRC65 is CE-A certified. For more detailed or supplementary information, visit HERE Description The extended wheelhouse roof allows the installation of 16 solar panels (155x105cm) for a yield of 6,8 kWh (and counting). Using walk-over panels on the foredeck, an extra 1 kWh can be added for a total output of 7,8 kWh. The aft deck ends with a bike locker (2 bikes). This locker can also be used to store dive gear. With her fuel tanks topped off, clean bottom, and sailing 9,8 knots on average, her range is 4000 nm. Slow down to 8 knots, and her range extends to 6300 nm. Build & specs The LRC65-01 BUILD started in January 2022 and splashed on September 1, 2023. LRC65-02 has been since March 2023 under construction at Dutch Yard, Aluboot, The Netherlands. Her main engine is an Iveco N40, 110 kW (147 HP) @2,800 rpm, 4 Cylinders, 3900 cc with a CPP Helseth 3H60-830 HS, Shaft diameter 60 mm, 3-blade Propellor 830 mm. Her navigational systems suite is from Furuno, and her 48VDC electrical equipment (power & lighting) consists of Victron units. Yard Aluboot (“Aluboat”) “with over 40 years of experience,” has specialized in building privately owned sailing yachts as well as motor yachts, the hull being built entirely in aluminum. The company has also produced over 20 lifeboats for the Dutch SAR organization KNRM. Aluboot is a full-service yard, which means that every part of the LRC/XPM is constructed to order in-house. Accommodations The layout comprises a master and guest cabin with an ensuite bathroom. A small lounge and a twin single-bunk sleeping cabin are positioned in the front. This area can be reconfigured as a crew cabin with an ensuite head and shower. The guest cabin downstairs has more than generous standing headroom at the entrance. The guest cabin either comprises twins or a double bed. Under the galley is a spacious basement with a battery compartment, room for air conditioning units, an extra fridge/freezer, and additional storage possibilities. The workshop/utility space is quite big. Access to this space is from the cockpit, with generous standing headroom. In the case of the twin-engine setup, there is also internal access to the engine room through the day head shower." Rob Westermann - info@artnautica.eu.

Here we go again, an update on the boat-building chaos that has temporarily become our lives. Nigh Vision Camera My vision at night is affected by age, and any chance I get to improve, I'll take it. By chance, we were offered a Mil-Spec night vision security camera, marinized, new but at a fraction of the price of a more commonly seen FLIR. On paper, it's equivalent to the FLIR 500 series from Teledyne. They are impressive instruments, including low light and IR Night vision, 4x digital magnification in IR, 40 times optical mag of visible light signal, stabilization, and an illumination laser in the IR spectrum. Ours has target tracking ability; though, unlike the FLIR, it is not linked with the radar (too much brain ache for that one). Probably our best advice is not to illuminate a warship! More on how this performs in a later Blog. Helm and Stabilisers The main helm station is now 85% complete, with the final large tasks being mounting the electric and emergency hydraulic helms. We will use the same wheel for both and swap it over in a crisis (practiced beforehand). From midships to starboard, it contains everything needed for the immediacy of navigation, Radar, ECS, and comms ... To port are the engineering functions such as MIMIC diagrams, stabilizers, and shore power controls. The helm is also fitted with a full (DP[O]) dynamic positioning system from Praxis Automation, functionally the same as used on anchor handling vessels and the like. Marriage protection is taken to the limits again; more on how that performs in a later Blog. Underwater and Anchoring Underwater surfaces are now completed, including anything previously shrouded by the shipyard chocks. The hull is coated in Intersleek 1100, and the running gear is in Propspeed. Both work pretty well on Mobius XPM78-001, so why change it? While on the subject of underwater, our chain, 350 feet of G40 13mm galvanized. The length has been identified with oil paint. To quote directly from Eyos "We now paint a 2m colored band every 20m in the following order: 20m = Red, 40m = Yellow, 60m = Blue, 80m = White, 100m = Green, the supposed British Admiralty acronym being "Rub Your B**ls With Grease." paint a 1m white band at the 10m marks between the colored bands and paint the last 5m fluorescent orange to warn that chain is coming to an end". We decided not to fit an anchor swivel as it's another potential point of failure. The bitter end is nylon, long enough to come out of the chain locker so we can get at it when needed. Instrument Mast Our instrument mast is now completed, including the usual suspects, radar, lights, AIS, GPS, Reflector, Sat Communications plus a cell booster, and shipwide WIFI aerials. We made some effort around future accessibility for the various attachments and cables. these are now all acessible via removable plates sealed to teh undersides of each arm. Starlink and Furuno SatCom were moved to the front of the flybridge roof, away from potential interference. Chris Leigh-Jones Food for thought It became fractious with the yard this week, an issue that has been growing for a while. It happens on construction projects also; the end is always a slog, and there is always a tendency to cut corners and do the easy jobs rather than the important ones. The future is in sight, and we need to recognize that and have remained friends so far. The next lucky client will have a far easier time of the whole process with everything that has already been specified and understood. Explorer yachts are more like building a warship than a cruiser; it's just not easy. To that extent, Aluboot, Circa Marine, and, in my case, Naval Yachts deserve some tolerance and understanding. Lastly - drones in Turkey! Our son, Rhys excitidly flying his newly arrived drone across the beach in Antalya .......... and 5 minutes later a Turkish police man arrived. Be careful - "Midnight Express"

Today, we're anchoring in a bit closer to home, focusing on a vessel that might not cover vast distances but plays a crucial role in our high-latitude sailing journeys. Fresh from our Factory Acceptance Test at the Hebbeke Shipyard, I'm excited to delve into the specifics of our Explorer Yacht Tender. Join me as we traverse the design, functionality, and challenges of creating a tender fit for the icy realms. Time has come to discuss our tender. We have just visited Hebbeke Shipyard for the Factory Acceptance Test. She is 95% complete. An earlier Blog, linked HERE, covered the high-level choices for solid hull vs. RIB construction and inboard vs. outboard diesel. Let's cover the points missing from that earlier Blog. Design criteria These were the main design criteria. Carrying capacity of 6 six crew. (We will bring a smaller Inflatable RIB as a backup and for beach landings.) Good carrying capacity for supplies and equipment Single diesel fuel operation, extended range, and cruising speed. My wife Sebrina does not like getting wet (hold that thought for later). Navigation system to be compatible with Vanguard (Time Zero on Furuno MFD). At least some protection for the hull from floating ice or debris. Depth gauge fitted, GPS & AIS so that she will be visible from our Explorer Yacht. Enhanced nighttime visibility Easy access from bow and stern and for a dive team from the water Ice and debris Hebbeke Shipyard makes Search And Rescue craft (SAR); these face similar issues of floating debris, especially SAR and Police craft used on inland waters. The advice of the yard is to strengthen the forefoot with a doubler placed on the skin and additional stringers internally. This adds little weight but protects from impact, especially when planning. It may get dented but is unlikely to leak. Similarly, we added a wrap-around D Section fender to the gunwale stake (see video). Hebbeke shortened the bow above the waterline, adding a pusher fender so we could easily hold against a dock when boarding. We also added vertical protection at the beam when alongside; the fenders will not hook up above the dock edge if hit by a wake or swell. Engine The engine is a 110bhp Yanmar diesel, Tier III emissions certified for EPA regulations in the USA. (It has a hot water heating option if we want to install it). We now have single fuel capability, refilling from the ship's main fuel tanks. A Castoldi jet drive provides Fwd, Astern, and Neutral positions (neutral is the jet pointed downwards). This is the same setup as Hull No 1 HERE. A back flush clears the inlet grate in case of blockage by weeds or debris. By removing the propeller, we protect any swimmers and the potential damage to the prop. We also reduce the minimum draft from 300 to 100mm, hardly enough to get one's feet wet! Jet drives are efficient at high speeds of the planing hull and provide superb maneuverability at slow speeds. In our trial, she will turn on her length Fwd or Astern. Diesel equates to efficiency, and we have a single 100 L fuel tank in the hull. A fuel consumption of 22 L/h gives 4.5 hours at full speed. During the trail (six on board), we maxed at 31 knots in flat water (35mph), providing a range of around 140 NM at full speed, loaded. Hull features Internal deck surfaces are coated with Treadmaster (remaining floor to complete), and the deck is self-draining if swamped. The hull is designed with two substantial spray rails, providing a dry ride even in choppy water. 2 shore reels carry 100 feet of flat braided Dyneema (to be fitted near the helm) each, and an additional two by 300 feet held on Vanguard that can be transferred to sail bags. Three Sampson Posts are on the stern, one for toys and two for towing on a yoke. The video below is the nearly completed dive access door. It has a built-in ladder giving access to the tender with weights and dive gear still on (though probably not flippers!). Visibility For visibility at night, we added a low-light camera from Black Oak and enhanced this with three infrared LED long-distance spotlights (blue). These provide much greater illumination but do not affect the helmsman's vision. We also have two visible light LED spots (clear) illuminating the hull and stern when working at anchor or organizing dive gear. We also added Nav and deck lights. All lights came from Black Oak, I like their products for their finish and reliability. (HERE) Both instrument mast and helm screen will fold down for better stowage on deck. Covers & instruments A steaming cover keeps things dry when operating in inclement conditions (think Sebrina), and a full deck cover for storage. We will fit the remaining instruments and Chart Plotter (Furuno GP-1971F) on delivery to Turkey. Coms are also yet to be fitted; ICom fixed VHF unit plus personal VHF per crew. We bought two of the new ICom 94DE with AIS function for this purpose, plus some more typical units. Specs LOA is 5.5M, draft is 0.1M, and an all-up weight is 1300kg with a full fuel tank. Top speed about 31kt, trolling speed with minimal wake about 6kt before the bow rides up. Launching will employ a carbon fiber davit from FEM in Italy. The launch winch is either a manual or a Harken electrical two-way winch. Further thought If I were to make these decisions again, it would remain a toss-up between an RIB (think Highfield or Bombardier) Versus a traditional hull. Both have advantages; RIB with a D Torque diesel is about 300kg lighter. An aluminum hull's extra power (110 vs 50 hp) carrying capacity and single-fuel capability probably wins the day. Chris Leigh-Jones Happy to share plans for free if anyone wants to build their own. (Donate a small sum to the Royal Navy and Royal Marine's Charity if you may.)

As an Exploration Yacht Builder, I've built vessels that have journeyed across countless nautical miles. But today, we're setting sail for uncharted territories - the icy realms of Arctic waters. I'm thrilled to share with you the riveting tales of my good friends, Magnus and Julia, who've braved these frosty seas time and again. Their experiences with mooring amidst shifting ice and undiscovered shorelines are nothing short of awe-inspiring. So, strap in as we navigate through the chilling world of Arctic mooring. My friends Magnus and Julia are no strangers to Arctic Waters, having sailed there frequently on their own keel Baltazar and for others more famous. Today they have taken a few minutes to share their thoughts and experiences of mooring in moving ice and uncharted shorelines. Reading their story reminds me of the old adage, "It's easy when you know how," so here is how! Words and Images by Magnus & Julia Day Pelagic Australis with four lines and an anchor in Southern Chile It’s wonderful to anchor in a wide, sheltered bay with great holding in 10 meters and plenty of swinging room. We discussed using a kellet to reduce scope, but that won’t always be enough. It’s prudent to be set up to use shorelines as well. Many folks who come to us at High Latitudes for advice expect us to recommend installing massive rope spools on the deck, but that’s only worth doing if they’ll be used regularly. Rope spools on the deck of Pelagic Australis. There are two on the stern as well We have tried almost every tying-in combination imaginable over the years: one anchor, two anchors, no anchor, and up to eight lines ashore—tied to rocks, pitons driven into cracks in the rocks, trees, and ice floes. We had to dig an enormous pit, bury some salvaged timbers or rocks, and rig off them on several occasions. This anchor was made by digging a pit next to a boulder on the beach, rolling it into it, and burying it with a line around it. So what do we carry? Four 100m lines (ours are 18-22mm polypropylene light enough to float). Two live on spools on the deck, and two live in a couple of old sail bags with drainage holes in the bottom. The advantage of having them in bags is you can chuck them in the tender and rig from the shore if that suits you. Given the opportunity, we’d swap them out for 12-strand co-polymer, which is lighter, tougher, and stronger. And more expensive. Spectra (Dyneema) lines are lighter still for a given strength and, therefore, easier to handle, but the smaller diameter makes them more susceptible to chafe. They also have hardly any stretch, which can make for an uncomfortable stay, so it’s nice to have something with a bit of stretch, like nylon or polypropylene, in the system if using Spectra. Spectra is very expensive if you’re looking at 400m of it. Rock or tree strops: we’ve tried chains, wire strops, homemade rope slings, and polyester rigger’s lifting slings, which seem to offer the best compromise. They won’t damage trees and aren’t particularly prone to getting wedged under rocks; they are fairly durable and don’t cost too much. Wire strops are more durable but damage trees and are a real pain to handle. We carry polyester slings in different sizes, but several in 4m and 2m lengths should cover most circumstances, and they can be shackled together to form longer lengths. These live in PVC duffel bags with a bunch of large bow shackles. If ordering lifting strops for this purpose, have the manufacturer fold the webbing of the end loops so it’s easier to fit the shackles. On top of these, we carry a few pitons of varying designs and a few wrecking bars of various sizes for banging into the ground or cracks in the rock. On that note, anything you can wedge in the rock and get a shackle onto will work, from the tender’s anchor to a combination wrench or, indeed, a shackle itself. We haven’t had much success with ice screws in sea ice floes; instead, we prefer to dig or scrape out a big hole and bury one of the tree strops above to make an anchor or an Ablakov/V thread anchor (Wikipedia description HERE). A note on shorelines and ice Of the materials mentioned above, only nylon sinks. The rest float, and any ice coming by on the wind and current will pile up against them, placing a huge strain on the system. Conversely, nylon can get fouled on the seabed, and larger bergy bits can get ‘parked’ on it, making it impossible to retrieve. It’s also just heavy and difficult to handle. So you’ll see me out in the tender at night, struggling to clear our lines of tons of ice. At the end of the day, there are pros and cons for each material when it comes to practical use on the ice. Some folks take the best of both worlds and carry a pair of nylon and buoyant material. You can’t win unless you find that perfect cove with steep sides where you can tie the lines up high enough to keep them out of the water. Stella Creek, Argentine Islands, Antarctic Peninsula is one such place. Stella Creek, Pelagic Australis tied into Argentine Islands, Antarctic Peninsula with lines conveniently out of the water As for laying out the lines, every situation is different, and the exact technique will depend on your setup, the number of folk onboard, and their strengths and weaknesses. Shorelines on deck spools are probably the most convenient (again, if you plan to use them a lot—otherwise, ropes in bags work fine). These can run out in the tender pretty fast if the tender crew knows where they’re going. If your tender is rowed or low-powered, tie one end of the shoreline to the yacht, take the whole line in the tender in a bag, and feed it out as you travel ashore. This is much easier than dragging large quantities of line through the water. Consider sending the tender ahead of the yacht, pre-tying lines to the shore, and bringing them out to the yacht as it enters the cove. Sometimes it’s enough to dump a load of chain on the bottom, even if the nodding is non-existent, to ‘hold’ the yacht roughly in position while you mess with the shorelines. Or, bulldoze your dock….. We have repeatedly rammed relatively soft decaying sea ice to form an ice dock and laid out a couple of bow lines to hold us in place. Before trying this, try to remove your speed/depth or other vulnerable transducer. Conclusion The list of options for tying in is as long as the terrain is varied, but talking it through and setting your gear up in advance should help this to be a stress-free experience. It’s often a case of being creative and using what’s around to park your boat safely. Then you can relax with your crew and enjoy your efforts to get someplace most people only dream of. Magnus and Julia High Latitudes - HERE Eyos Expeditions - HERE

As our Vanguard's launch day approaches, I thought it would be interesting to navigate away from the usual updates and delve into something a little different. We'll be guided by the expertise of none other than the renowned High Latitude Sailor & Ice Pilot, Magnus Day. So, ready your anchors and set your sails as we explore the nuances of shackles, anchor rollers, windlasses, and more! So we've got ourselves an impressive anchor and a mighty piece of chain. What else is required Magnus? Launch day is arriving but slowly. So rather than yet another update, why not change the tempo a bit? Here we continue a series of articles from High Latitude Sailor & Ice Pilot Magnus Day. For a short Bio, please look to the end of this Blog. The ground tackle is in line for ordering, so I thought an incite on anchoring matters would be germane. I also added comments on how each issue is addressed (or not) in our Explorer Yacht, Vanguard. Magnus Day, High Latitude Sailor and Ice Pilot So we've got ourselves a magnificent anchor and a mighty piece of chain. What else is required Magnus? Shackle A large, high-quality shackle to connect the anchor to the chain. This should be seized with stout seizing wire, pinned with a split pin, or even welded closed. Bow shackles are best as they allow the chain to articulate as the boat swings. Swivel Swivels are only required if a vessel is likely to be left for extended periods at anchor where tide streams and wind change direction regularly. The idea that a chain will become strained by being twisted is false except in extreme circumstances. At best, swivels are an expensive waste of time and probably form the weakest link in your anchoring systems. Let’s examine this more closely. 13mm chain has 27.7 links per meter. If you let out 40 meters of chain that’s 1100 links or so. If the vessel swings in a full circle it puts one twist (360°) in the 40m of chain or about one third of a degree per link. In most instances a boat will not spin around more than once in a 24 hour period so even if left for 10 days that’s still only 3 degrees per link. Swivels add an additional point of failure for a dubious advantage, especially if the roller itself will help feed the chain as it rolls over. They also only like in-line loads, if you are going to fit one, put some chain between it and the anchor to keep other directional loads at bay. Note: Anchor chain is fed over a grooved roller that sets the orientation. No swivel fitted. Anchor rollers Chain runs on and off the boat over one or more anchor rollers. These should be of large diameter and cut with a groove to fit the vertically-oriented links as they pass over. This way the chain can’t twist between the windlass and the roller and the anchor will always come up the right way. It’s not expensive to have these machined to your specifications in Delrin (Acetal), ideally with a bronze sleeve for the pin to run through. Note: As fitted, Wayne from Mobius designed it. The central groove acts to orientate the chain. Bitts/chain stoppers We need a way to take the load off the windlass once we are anchored—not only to avoid damaging the windlass, but to allow us to service it or use its rope drum independently of the chainwheel. My favourite method is shown below. The starboard side of the vertical post is in line with the axis of the chain. The chain is totally secure, lashed between the horizontal fingers. Remove the lashing and the chain can be kicked free to veer or recover. The fingers are slightly lower than the axis of the chain so the chain naturally runs over the fingers, protecting the deck. There are plenty of other commercial products to achieve the same end, though some of them require the user’s finger to be too close to the chain for comfort. As a guy with one middle finger slightly shorter than the other, this speaks to me. Whatever option is chosen, it needs to be absolutely bomb proof. Note: Maxwell windlass is fitted with a chain stopper. Windlasses A windlass consists of an electric or hydraulic motor to pull in and sometimes pay out the chain, a shaft, a chain wheel (also known as a gypsy or wildcat that grips the chain), and usually some clutch. There is also a stripper that peels the chain off the chain wheel and sends it down the Hawse pipe into the chain locker. They can have a horizontal or vertical axis to the shaft, and there is often a rope drum to allow for the winching in of dock lines. Power-wise, a windlass with a maximum pull of at least three times the weight of the entire ground tackle is recommended. Depending on their design, windlasses need to be positioned in such a way that the chain leads fairly onto the chain wheel and maintains contact for at least 180 degrees, ideally more. Shorelines need to lead onto the base of the rope drum at an angle of 8 degrees or so to avoid riding turns. Note: Vanguard is fitted with a commercial 3 phase Maxwell winch and windlass break. See earlier blog for positioning of the capstan height. Anchor wash Anchor chains spend their time settling in the filthiest, gloopiest mud imaginable. Inevitably some of that stays on the chain as you winch it back on board. The best defense is a powerful anchor wash. A fixed nozzle that sprays the chain from under the anchor roller is probably the easiest but on our own boat, we have a hose on deck that we direct at the chain as it comes up. A bit more effort but is equally more versatile as well. The key point is to fire as much water at the chain as possible under high pressure. We have an engine-driven bilge pump that also runs the chain wash. Note: We modified the fire main to provide a high-flow anchor chain wash at the forepeak. This also cleans and tests the fire pump on regular occasions. Anchor well The other thing that will help stop your decks from getting covered in stinky mud is to put the whole anchoring apparatus in a sunken well at the front of the foredeck with good drainage to contain any mud and dirty water from the chain. This can also be achieved with a dam or low wall around the anchoring area. Note: As designed. Snubbers and chain claws At its most basic, a snubber is an elastic rope to take the load off the chain and prevent snatch loading of the whole system. It’s a useful tactic in heavy weather, especially gusty winds. Use eight or twelve-strand plait nylon. Three strand is easier to obtain, but it’s prone to twisting around the chain under high load. Ensure it is protected from chafing with well-designed bollards, ideally without fair leads. The snubber should be long, around 20m to allow for veering more chain as the wind increases without having to retrieve the claw and reset it. It should be fitted with a proper chain claw and not a simple chain hook which will tend to fall off the chain if the load comes off it. Note: Commercial 5.6 T SWL chain claw fitted to an 8-strand nylon snubber 20m long. The cheaper 3 strand tends to wrap around the chain when under load. Anchor lock The anchor needs to be locked or lashed in position when underway. It will get smashed around by head-seas, and even the slightest movement can produce an annoying clunk that will drive the crew slowly mad. It needs to fit on the anchor roller securely, and then a mechanism to bring it home hard. Some folks choose a ratchet strap for this, but my preferred option is a bottle screw or a Highfield lever. On Baltazar, the chain is lashed into the bitts, and the anchor is secured with a bottle screw, which is lashed to the anchor chain to prevent it from loosening. Nothing ever moves. Note: Still in the works Kellets In somewhere north of 45 knots of wind, the catenary curve of most anchor chains diminishes to almost zero. This can work the anchor loose, especially if a short scope increases the pull angle from the anchor to the bow roller. Modern anchors are much better in this respect, and I have successfully anchored in severe hurricane conditions on several occasions. To make the most of anchoring gear in strong conditions and/or to allow for a shortened scope in tight or crowded anchorages, we can use a heavy weight that slides down the anchor chain from the bow to help hold the chain down and maximize the catenary curve. This is called a kellet. There are various models on the market but I’ve always found them to be a pain to use. Much easier and definitely more robust is to use a large shackle around the chain and lower it down on a length of line roughly as long as the depth of water. The bigger, the better. A 35 ton WLL shackle weighs about 24 kg and will do great to hold that chain down. Just be sure to practice fitting it and retrieving it in pleasant conditions before you do it in a blow! Note: I'd note here that Kellets have their limits. If weight at the bow allows, the weight could be better used in fitting a larger anchor with a higher holding capacity. Ultimately nothing is more effective than increasing the scope (max about 8:1) and/or a bigger anchor. For a good discussion, look at Peter Smith's excellent writeup on: https://www.petersmith.net.nz. Peter is the inventor of the Rocna anchor, and this is the design we have fitted to Vanguard. Chain marking It’s important to know how much chain you are letting out. Link counters are very effective and will run you upwards of a few hundred dollars. If you don’t fancy that, there are various other ways. Over the years, we have tried zip ties of varying color and number combinations, bits of colored rag, specially made plastic inserts, and painted bands. Of these, only painted bands are both highly visible and durable. We now paint a 2m colored band every 20m in the following order: 20m = Red, 40m = Yellow, 60m = Blue, 80m = White, 100m = Green, the supposed British Admiralty acronym being “Rub Your B**ls With Grease.” We also paint a 1m white band at the 10m marks between the colored bands and paint the last 5m fluorescent orange to warn us the chain is coming to an end. Old-fashioned gloss oil paint seems to last longest but is pretty messy. Note: In the works, the chain is 300M of 13mm G40, galvanized. The bitter end Clearly the non-anchor end of the chain needs to be attached to the boat or you risk losing it over the bow.. The usual advice is to secure the end to something stout next to or in the chain locker with a strong line long enough to reach out the hawse pipe and around the windlass so it can be cut on deck if you need to ditch the anchor and chain for some reason. The problem with this is if you do accidentally let out all the chain, it’s a real hassle to get it back around the chainwheel to retrieve it. For that reason we tie it short so the end of the chain cannot get up onto deck and live with the fact that if we want to cut it free we have to go below into the anchor locker to do so. The jury is out. Note: Secured within the chain locker. Windlass position and chain locker design There is an argument, particularly on sailboats for positioning the windlass at the aft end of the foredeck with the chain locker below it to centralize the weight. This has the added advantage of keeping the windlass out of most boarding seas and usually allowing for a deeper anchor locker that can store more chain with less need to flake. The windlass can even be kept more or less dry in a locker below deck if the chain runs through a pipe under the deck, but it must be carefully designed or it will interfere with foredeck hatches and other gear. Regardless the locker needs to be easily accessible for chain flaking and for cleaning. It must be fitted with a pump that can deal with muddy water, bits of rock, seashells and the odd starfish that comes up with the chain. It is ideal if the chain can be unshackled from the anchor and dropped below deck and the hawse pipe capped for long passages at sea. Indeed some people like to unship the anchor and stow it below for long passages, but having fought an anchor on a rolly foredeck a few times trying to get it back on the bow on arrival, I’m no longer a fan of this. Note: The design is the same as Mobius, hull No 1. The chain locker is self-draining with a support grate to keep mud clear. Kelp cutter Sooner or later, the anchor chain will come up wrapped in a huge ball of kelp. I’ve seen these the size of cars, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been anchored to the kelp instead of the seabed on occasion. Obviously, they must be cut away, but this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Dangling off the bow and slashing away with a breadknife isn’t the most desirable way to spend the morning. The best kelp cutters I have used are made from a stainless tube with a blade welded on one end, similar to a garden hoe but more robust. The handle needs to be long enough to reach the waterline from a standing position on the bow. A decent weight will help with strength and chopping ability. Note: We can modify the 4 part carbon fiber ice pole/boat hook with a special end for this purpose. Anchor alarms Modern electronics can make anchoring far safer. We regularly set shallow and deep water alarms, a position alarm (GPS), and sometimes a radar guard zone alarm. The most user-friendly is an app called Anchor that we run on an iPad. A robust anchoring system goes a long way to giving you peace of mind at sea or in an anchorage. Inspect your anchor while on passage to ensure nothing has come loose. Service your windlass and other gear regularly. And remember that alarms and electronics can help you rest a little easier, but nothing replaces a crew member on anchor watch when it’s blowing hard. Note: Covered in Time Zero Professional. Perimeter alarms for Anchor, Radar (if on), and AIS. Bio - Magnus Day - www.highlatitudes.com Magnus Day and Julia Prinselaar are commercially-qualified captains who specialize in off-piste destinations in high latitudes. They’ve logged well north of 200,000 sea miles, from 82°N to 67°S. Magnus is best known for his seasons as captain of Skip Novak’s Pelagic and Pelagic Australis in Antarctica; he and Julia work as skipper and mate of ArcticEarth, an expedition sailing vessel operating between Greenland, the Canadian Arctic and the Gulf of Maine. They also consult with private owners seeking to sail to unique locations in the Arctic and Antarctic through High Latitudes. Magnus and Julia are liveaboard cruisers sailing Baltazar, a French-designed Damien II and one of the first iterations of swing keel monohulls purpose-built for the icy Southern Ocean. Driven by a passion for wind and human-powered travel, they explore the backcountry by mountain bike and canoe whenever off-season travel allows. They are currently in New Zealand with Baltazar.

Sometimes in life, simple is, well, complicated. Comparable to a fractal image, the deeper you go, the more you find. Such a situation occurred with our steering gear. This Blog is for readers building their own projects. Not as a tale of woe, more woe betide anyone who does not expect this to happen. It's not a disaster, but it does take a few cool heads to work through. The players So here we go; firstly, it was a multi-part problem with each player seeing the issues through their own eyes. Will Ridley - supplier of our steering system. Praxis Automation - steering controls and Dynamic Positioning (DP0). Furuno - Autopilot (supplied and integrated by Praxis) Naval Yachts - boat builder. The Timeline: In spring 2023, Praxis substituted a component for a Furuno 711c Autopilot system as it is easier to support in the field, and their own Heading Control System is proving problematic. The Furuno 711c is a clever piece of kit with self-learning functions. This action resulted in an Autopilot system independent of the Praxis system; we lost the handoff and other coordinated functionality. Additionally, the loss of functionality with the installation of the Furuno 711c Autopilot dictated additional components at the helm stations, notably an NFU jog lever and FFU wheel. (None Follow-Up, Full Follow-Up) Wills Ridley had provided an initial design that placed all steering command selections at the main helm. A hand-off between the main helm and flybridge was missing from the picture. We did not look forward to a future of running between helms, so we needed a more integrated design. The problem The system was no longer "Praxis Centric" and now potentially had four modes of operation instead of just 2. And so the debate began on how to simplify this mess. It began with a considerable amount of circling, partly through a lack of understanding of systems by the players in the mix, including yours truly. The Good Points: All players kept civil and cool heads; no blame attached; it happens. Wills Ridley took time to educate everyone, filling the apparent knowledge gaps and helping to narrow the proposed solutions. All players provided feedback in real-time, limiting frustration and delays. The owner (us) was prepared to take different roles in the debate and help reconfigure a now suboptimal system design. The Rules: Require steering control from both helm stations. This included NFU Jog Lever, Autopilot linked to the TimeZero nav system, and FFU wheel. Helm control hand-off will be by a single crew member from one helm station to another (short-handed operation). Dynamic Positioning and emergency hydraulic steering are restricted to the main helm. Minimize the occurrence of systems daisy-chaining commands as this is a point of failure we don't need. Limit the thought processes needed when switching between various steering modes - look for instances of "no further thought is needed!". "Stupid, tired, cold, hungry" derived accidents are best avoided. The Solution and thought process Praxis/Wills Ridley/Furuno autopilot is selectable using a 3-function switch (plus dimmer) on each helm with an automatic handoff of each between the flybridge and main helm. Autopilot is configured as a stand-alone system and linked with the TimeZero navigation system for course tracking, waypoints, perimeter alarms, etc. Independent Furuno rudder feedback linked to Port (lead) Wills Ridley steering controller. Furuno 711c has a limited jog function built in (think COLREGS maneuvers in open waters), so we do not need an additional Jog lever. Autopilot 711c Units will automatically hand off within the system between the main and flybridge helms; no further thought is needed. Praxis: Praxis Steering controllers receive rudder position from Wills Ridley CAN bus communications ports fixed to both Wills Ridley Rudder Angle Indicators (RAI); this removed the need for additional RAI units linking both rudders. We removed two additional dedicated Rudder angle Indicators, and wiring became simpler. FFU wheel function fed directly to Praxis Steering Controllers. When Praxis Steering is selected, hand-off between helm stations is pre-configured as the Praxis engine controls are switched from the main to the flybridge. No further thought is needed. Praxis Dynamic Positioning System is set as stand-alone and works at the main helm station only. Controls drive line, independent rudders, and bow thruster. No further thought is needed. Wills Ridley: Steering units have two output rheostats linked one to each rudder. Rudder Angle Demand and Rudder Angle Indicator (Feedback) are displayed on the Praxis system, thus limiting duplication. Wills Ridley NFU jog lever is linked directly to Wills Ridley steering controller. Once WR steering is selected, then this will work on both helms no further thought is needed. We can now sail along happily on Praxis steering and switch to Praxis DP0 at will for any close-quarters stuff. Note Praxis have supplied a portable controller for their DP system, so we can work this from anywhere on deck or the nearby dock. Sort of like a video game, only with a 62 ton puck! When we want Autopilot at sea, we simply switch to that function and carry on. We have an integrated jog function within this for course corrections and COLREGS maneuvers. If all fails, we can switch to Wills Ridley manual steering. If even that fails (a bad day), we have a manual override for everything using a hand-steered hydraulic pump. Loose one rudder; we can lock it and sail with just the other with any system. All but the hand hydraulic function will automatically switch between the main helm and flybridge with a well-designed handoff. To facilitate all this, we have to upgrade the Wills Ridley steering controller; they have graciously offered a rebate on the original unit. What could we have done differently? Bought a simple sailboat that was Plan A and now faded into the distance. We needed a better brief at an earlier stage and to look more closely at the steering philosophy beyond a conceptual overview. The Autopilot change came from left field, to quote US jargon. That was unavoidable and forced a rethink of how it all interacted. No one panicked on this issue, and we did find a good solution given the very late stage of our build. Chris Leigh-Jones Note: FFU - Full Follow-Up - rudder reacts to achieve position set by lever NFU - None Follow Up - rudder reacts when lever moved off center. Useful Contacts : I thank the Wills Ridley staff for working with us on this issue and changing plans in mid-supply. Wills Ridley - Mike Kitchener, Director, mkit@wills-ridley.com