So my little April Fool article on helium in the boat got taken down on facebook IOM sailing group site yesterday. It appears we IOM sailors take life very seriously and did not see the funny side so it is back to the day job. I did offer a public apology just in case anyone had got really upset. Why don't we like April fools any more?
Of course I take the rules and regulation very seriously and would never knowingly breach them so moving on swiftly.
I took the boat out in 15 knots of breeze today. It was a delight to watch the boat under B rig. Balanced upwind and stable on the waves down wind with the bows staying out of the water. BG has done a great job on the design. However she did take on a lot of water as there are two small holes in the top of the mast well as I discovered. Pour a jug of water into the forward cockpit well and watch it disappear as quickly as I pour it in. Easily fixed, so two less holes in the boat. Fingers crossed it is the last one. All the pin holes are fixed just by smearing a very thin layer of epoxy over them.
I found a useful tip to help tacking in a chop. Ease the sails slightly as the boat goes through the wind which allows the boat to accelerate rapidly as the boat can bear off. As soon as the boat is up to speed sheet in again . Keep everything pinned in and you risk getting in irons.
I use a piece of kit that has been invaluable for spotting leaks on my new IOM.
A while ago we had a leak in a loo pipe behind a panel. I wanted to look behind the panelling without disturbing anything but there was only a small hole to give me access so a bit of research led me to an endoscope by www.Depstech.com.
The device is cheap, rechargeable and connects to your phone by wifi. There is a bright LED light and the camera quality is amazing. If you want to look deep inside your boat, this is just the thing. I am using it currently to track leaks in the fin box and the bow. A couple of pictures below show up the quality of the images. In addition I also use the light on my iPhone on the outside of the hull to show up the pin holes which I plug by smearing epoxy with my finger. I also put the phone in the boat with the video to show the developing leaks which I could review at high speed. The leak in the hull was caused by 2 pin holes in the bottom front of the fin box itself. Serves me right for not checking it.
Here is the endoscope
And here is a view of the bow using the endoscope
