Author Archives: sybefur

About sybefur

Retired engineer (computer, steam, racing etc.), and builder of the steam yacht Befur

Winter’s Coming: Sailing notes…

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Time for an update.

Well as Winter approaches in the Norther Hemisphere (Mid October), it seems time to add a few notes on actually sailing Befur. I see it’s 23rd July since we posted an update, so I am clearly getting lazy! In the interim it seems WordPress have “improved” their editor, duh! more unnecessary software to learn. grrrr!

Befur moored at Ferry Nab
Befur sitting on her berth at Ferry Nab

While we have continued with the stream of maintenance-cum-repair-cum-development that seems to be the bread and butter of steam-based boating, we have made progress and have usually got where we are planning to go without mechanical break down. 🙂

The decision to relocate to Ferry Nab “Marina” has been an excellent one. We get power, loos, showers, a burger/coffee hut and a complete absence of Rib/Seagull! Well done Louise for realising this was the answer….

Sailing

We have actually got to do some sailing! Four of five trips. We’re being rather cautious, as we are rank amateurs, and we have yet to prove the stability of the hull with sailing rig attached. So far we seem to have done quite well in the light winds we feel comfortable learning in….

Here’s a short video shot by some (far more experienced) sailing friends during a short trip down the lake… We have one panel reefed, so there’s quite a lot of creases, it does set better than this, but it’s working.

Sailing with the Moirs – Poor Angie isn’t enjoying the cold!

What have we learnt:

  • She really is hard to tack if there’s not much wind/headway (lots of stuck-in-irons) – although gybing does seem to work.
  • The leeway can be quite pronounced (witness being driven over some danger marker buoys while attempting to tack) – quickly raising some pressure and starting the engine saved the day…
  • … On the same subject Lou got an object lesson in “where you are pointing may not be where you ae going” as we ran aground returning to the berth via slightly different route (note to steersman: we installed the depth sounder for a reason, but you do need to turn it on!)
  • She is quick when you motor sail – just a few revs on the steam plant and a full sail and 4-5knots is easily achieved (with far less diesel being consumed). This also makes the tacking easier, and allows escape from impending disaster on a lee shore!
  • She steers well (the barn door rudder was a good call), not enough experience yet to determine if she has a pronounced weather/lee helm, but thus far seems neutral.
  • The fumes from the stack can be a pain, but switching to steering from the wheel is OK, but takes a minute or twos set-up.
  • The rig seems easy to set and handle, without much continual tweaking required.
  • She seems “quite” stable, although our cautiousness prevents too much experimentation. We did take some advice from a man with a deal of marine architectural experience and (following some measurement and computation) we now know that Befur exhibits a “MetaCentre Height” of about a metre – I wish we knew if that was good!

So, all in all, good. We just spent a day on a number of maintenance jobs (re-packing stuffing boxes, adjusting drive belt lines, and cleaning stray oil out of the bilges etc!), so we are ready for another trip. We also discovered that none of the chandlers on Windermere stock decent wet weather gear, lots of flash stuff for the wakeboarders, but nothing serious….

We’re going to fit some demountable tubular heaters in the boat to help avoid the risk of frost damage over the winter. (fingers crossed).

Hopefully we will have some more dry/bright autumn/winter days to enjoy the lake- and get better at sailing…

HP valve to Cylinder Joint & Lubrication

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From Experience two other issues to consider

While these are not drawing errors, they have emerged over the first 3 seasons with the engine, and should be considered by builders.

HP Valve Chest to Cylinder Joint

In the BOOK the designer suggests using Araldite? as a jointing/sealing material… its not a solution, particularly for this joint.

The joint between the HP Valve Chest and the HP cylinder is problematic, as the sealing faces are very thin, and the two components are only secured by 4 bolts, which are hard to tighten and not well positioned to ensure a steam tight joint.

My first attempt was using “SteamSeal” jointing compound  – this failed quite quickly.

The second attempt was using “Heldite” jointing compound – this failed within a few hours.

My last attempt was using “Oakenstrong” gasket paper, I had resisted this, not wanting to affect the overall block dimensions. However, rebuilding with gasket paper and jointing compound (Heldite) does seem to have cured this problem.

Lubrication of “small ends”

I spent a long time chasing a knock that appeared to come from the LP small end. Rebushing the piston rod and a new pin did not cure this, and it was clear that the pin was suffering.

This was finally cured by increasing the size of the Lubtech pump units feeding these bearings and slide ways. A “black” one (0.1cc/stroke) silenced the knock instantly.

I am sure that a better builder than me might make the sideway fits better, but the lubrication points at the bottom of the piston rods have to lubricate the “small end” and the slide-ways, and so need a heavy oil flow to ensure that both bearings are supplied on each cylinder, as I think the oil preferentially flows to the slide-ways, starving the bush at the lower end of the piston rod.

Is this the end? Probably not!

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Timeframe missed a bit

Well, looking back the first post here was on 8th June 2011, and we aimed to finish and launch by 26th June 2015 – planning was never my hot spot! We did change the goal posts in mid-flight (adding a sail, loo, etc, and stretching her from  a planned 16ft to almost 27ft to get everything in, but hey we did get there!), and on the 20th July 2020 we took her for a steam and sail on Windermere with a cameraman (Roger Heise from the SBA) on hand to record her 2nd trip under sail (thank you Roger).

Notes on the Steam Bit

Before I inflict an album of sailing photos on you, a couple of notes on the steam side, especially for Leak Compound builders….

We had been suffering with a loud knock through most of last year, and despite my efforts to engineer it out over the winter it announced its presence on launching about a month back – very disappointing. We narrowed this down to the LP slideways/”small end” connecting rod bearing. Inspection showed there was too much clearance in the crosshead/slideway and a few thou of wear and some galling on the crosshead pin.

So I re-machined the slide-way cover plates to close up the clearances and made a new pin – full of optimism we fired her up again to see (hear) no difference at all – very, very disappointing.

The galling suggested a lubrication problem. You might remember that we have a lubricator which has a separate pump for each bearing. The design for the engine means that a single feed to the top of each connecting rod has to deliver oil both to the crosshead slideways and to the small end (via a t-junction in the rod). My conclusion was that this results in most (all?) the oil leaving via the crosshead, as there is a lot more space there, leaving the small-end pin without sufficient oil. So I replaced the two pumps feeding the HP and LP crossheads with a larger (black-coded) version, delivering 0.1cc/stroke. Miraculously this cured the knock at a stroke! very happy!

We also replaced a leaking clack on the condenser, and had some (but only 6 to 7-inches) vacuum, so it was time to discover if the sail worked….

The sailing log

Grayling and BefurWe left Ferry Nab at about 10:00am and steamed south to pic up Roger from Windermere Marina and the Maltbys (Jill, John and grandchildren) from their boat house.

The Passage North

Then we turned north for a passage to Ambleside. It was a day of light winds (small gusts with moments of near calm blowing from the North). We steamed to just north of Belle Island/Bowness Bay, and then raised the sail and attempted to “beat” upwind…

Befur performed well, managing to claw her way into wind despite our rather poor sail handing (sailing friends are asked to cut us some slack as complete beginners when looking at these pictures, please).

(Larger versions of the images in the slide shows, are also included at the foot of this post…)

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In the interests of keeping the flotilla together, we fired up the boiler to catch up with the others and steamed the rest of the way to the YHA pier at Ambleside for a welcome lunch and coffee…. Does it always rain in the North Basin of Windermere?

The trip south

We steamed off the pier to get off the lee shore, and set to on running back to Bowness with a slightly stronger wind – again she seemed to perform well, although we seem to be reefed down to 5 panels in all the pictures – you could even hear the wash from the bow and stern at some points  – high performance stuff…. Once in the lee of Belle Island at Bowness we steam/sailed the last half mile to Ferry Nab, and Roger’s provided bubbly – we were all very happy… (sorry about the fenders, we are really just not posh enough for the Winermere crew!)

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A snatch of Video

Finally a few seconds of us attempting to tack upwind, with apposite commentary from Roger!

…and thank you all

Thanks to everyone (friends, SBA Members, JRA members and suppliers) who have helped us on the journey to 2020, with generous advice, support, practical help (work), equipment, and good humour)  – and thank you to Louise for allowing me the time (and money) for us to do this and her ever more skilful work as a seamstress, with cushions, beds, covers and that beautiful sail!…

Pictures in full size

Click to enlarge…

Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Steaming our from Ferry Nab
Steaming out from Ferry Nab
Steaming out from Ferry Nab
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind Windermere
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Beating? Upwind
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Running? downwind to Bowness
Louise and her sail, we just need some wind now!
On the water with an almost fully rigged sail
On the water with an almost fully rigged sail

Cast Off Captain!

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Well, this really is a milestone!

Today (8th July 2020), we finished rigging the sail, stowing all the stores, and getting her ready for the first steam and sail…

A picture is certainly worth a few hundred words… but Lou’s sail, Arne’s instructions and David Tyler’s advice have produced what looks like a working solution – just need some wind now.. (and some HK parrels to make those creases disappear!).

Junk-rigged steam yacht

Louise and her sail, we just need some wind now!

SY Befur moored under sail

On the water with an almost fully rigged sail

A bit of a blow to progress!

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Well two bits of good news, and two less positive points, for this entry….

Positive #1 – She’s in her berth at on Windermere

Ready for the tow to Windermere, she makes quite a long train – but now has her “SY” prefix being a real Steam Yacht!

So, having dispensed with the medical matters (see below), we set about trying to complete the list of 60+ jobs that needed to be done before we could put her back in the water (some of which were discussed here…. Continue reading →

Thank God for the Lockdown!

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Well, here we are in May 2020, and we are actually looking like Befur will soon warrant her “S.Y.” prefix, being a real Steam Yacht and all!

Almost all 6 panels, but missing a few bits of string – hence the creases….

Nine years work, and we feel like we are getting close to the end – the lockdown has been a blessing, as it has removed the stress of trying to be ready for the 1st of April, when our Windermere berth became available, and allowed us to work through the near-endless list of jobs that needed doing…

Today we managed to hoist the sail for the first time, and while there are several more bits of “string” to be added, it actually looked something like the CAD drawings we have been working from for a couple of years. Rather satisfying!

Missing String List: Continue reading →

Sails, Cabin, Boiler & Gally – February ’20 update

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Just a note to record the things we have been doing over the last month or so.

Most importantly we have secured a berth at Ferry Nab on Winderemere, so Befur will be exploring new waters this year. So, as always, the cosh is upon us, with the berth being available from the 1st April (yes, we know, not an auspicious date!).

The work has divided into annual maintenance, finishing/installing the sailing rig and finishing the fit-out of the galley – and sundry diversions. Continue reading →

Raising the Mast

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Today, the weather was calm (pretty unusual for Heggerscale), dry (very unusual for Heggerscale) and almost 8-degrees C (almost unheard of for January at 900ft), so it’s time to hoist the mast and cast the rubber foot for the mast to fit into the tabernacle…

It’s the second time we have hoisted the mast, but last time involved so much trepidation we forgot to take any pictures… So this time Louise (on light duties having tripped down the stairs yesterday) was pushed into being the team photographer.

The “running foreguy and bipod”, as recommended by PJR, can be seen doing it’s job. Once up we poured the casting rubber into a plastic bag surrounding the mast foot (to make sure it didn’t stick to the sides of the tabernacle).

The pictures tell the story:

The team assemble to plan to deed. Colin, Mike and Malcolm
Pulling the boat out of the barn – Colin and Malcolm were helping from the stern!
All rigged and ready to go.
A lift from the stern to get the lift started, and the foreguy (and Mike) take the strain.
50% of the way, Malcolm inside getting the foot set true.
Very nearly in place, with Colin on the safety line.
A close-up of the bipod and foreguy rigging…
The mast in place, temporary clamps on, ready for the rubber to be poured. – and the weather closing in!

The photographs make the bury of the mast look short, but it really is 10% of the mast as recommended. It also looks quite vertical (it should be according to the drawings and machining of the foot block… Now (once the rubber has set) we can drop it down, fit the masthead fittings and wiring, and then set about rigging the sail!

December ’19 – a progress update…

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Well winter is with us

A quick note on where we are at, while we wait to hear from Windermere Lake Wardens on our application for a berth at Ferry Nab next year….

The boat is back in Heggerscale, and we are working on the following items:

  • LP cylinder “small end” (crosshead bearing) replacement: This had worn, partly due to a severed oil line at some point last year, and partly due to the fact I had to “re-ream” it at erection time to correct some misalignment. So a new bush fitted and reamed to size.
  • HP valvechest to HP Cylinder block leak: This is a recurring problem, there just is very little sealing surface round the port pockets. This year’s fix is an Oakenstrong gasket and Steamseal – let’s see if this works!
  • Cabin roof: Learnt a lesson here about cheap plywood…A small leak around the  antenna cable resulted in the delamination of almost the complete forward part of the cabin roof. So it’s now been cut off, and will be replaced with “genuine” marine ply, and clad in epoxy and cloth like the hull – hopefully with more resilience! As it happens the removal of this rotten wood made the next job much easier.
  • Erecting the mast: As you may have read in an earlier post the Mast Partners had been made, so in the last few weeks we installed this on the boat, inserted the mast, and then started to wonder how on-earth we were going to raise the mast to a vertical position. Practical Junk Rig as usual came up with a good solution. This involved using a “bi-pod and running fore-guy” which worked faultlessly, so we saw the mast upright for the first time yesterday! This is almost a single-handed job, which is good, as it will be repeated each time we need to trailer and re-launch her.

    Mast-head fitting

    Masthead fitting, with halyard crane, and other blocks for various parrels and lasy-jacks.

    The next bit of this process, is to fit the masthead fitting (pictured above), (with navigation lights, VHF antenna and various shackles and blocks. Then we will cast a hard rubber square block at the foot of the mast, to secure it in the tabernacle base – the only problem with this is that the rubber components say they need to be mixed and poured at over 20-degrees C to cure, and it’s currently about -5-degrees C….

  • Once all this is done, we will put the boiler thru her annual test, and then reinstall the engine and hopefully enjoy SY Befur in her intended mode as a Sailing Yacht!
  • Oh yes, and we also need to turn a pile of sailcloth, blocks, shackles, rope and ally battens into a sail – more on that later!

Continue reading →