sasa – Page 7 – Voilier 'HIR 3'

Men Wanted!

‘HIR 3’ needs crew! I would like to invite everyone who is willing to help with the restoration of the legendary sailing yacht to contact me. I need all the help I can get… because sooner we restore her, the sooner we can sail together!

03/11/2014 sasaLeave a comment

We need equipment (the list below), help with working on the boat, electric installation, rigging check, promotion and fundraising, marketing, PR, crowd funding, photography and film making.

Equipment list:
– Ropes
– VHF DSC radio station
– Batteries, charger & cables
– Navigation lights
– Cushions
– Lazy bag, bimini & spray hood
– Spinlock tiller extension
– Winch handles
– Charts & Pilotbooks
– Lifejackets
– Lifebuoy
– Fog horn
– Barometer, thermometer & clock
– Flares
– Stove
– Gas installation
– Sea anchor
– Fire extinguishers
– Fenders
…

You can find us online:

Blog in Croatian: http://blog.vecernji.hr/hir3
Blog in English: https://hir3.wordpress.com/
E-mail: sasa.fegic@gmail.com
Mobile: +385 (0) 98 389 482
Skype: crosail
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingyacht.hir3
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iJedrenje
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/sasa-fegic/60/554/a65
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ijedrenje
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/crosail

I would also like to thank everyone who already helped with the project. Thanks to Maja for the work and support, Jelena & Andrej for the hospitality and help, Tomislav for the work at the very beginning, Mario for borrowing the multi master tool, Davor for restoring the tiller and borrowing the tools, Tomislav for donating the protection masks, Elvis for all the work on antifouling, support and sponsorship, Special thank to Kruno for everything he did with the new electric installation and hospitality on his boat… and thanks to everyone who got in touch and supported the project. THANK YOU ALL!!!

Tender to HIR 3

Recently I found a good old rubber dinghy for a great price. I went to see it, I liked it and bought it.

21/10/2014 sasaLeave a comment

I constantly browse ads on the internet in search for good deals on boat equipment. Recently I found a good old rubber dinghy for a great price. I went to see it, I liked it and bought it. I just have to repair a couple of small things on it and it will be my new tender to HIR 3…

My way

Whenever you are starting a new project, people are always keen on giving their opinions and advices. The same thing happened to me when I was thinking about buying ‘Hir 3’. I will probably do everything MY WAY! 🙂

03/10/201403/10/2014 sasa1 Comment

Whenever you are starting a new project, people are always keen on giving their opinions and advices. The same thing happened to me when I was thinking about buying ‘Hir 3’. It was interesting because my friends who are beginners in sailing, or don’ even sail at all supported my idea… but people who I think know quite a bit about boats were all very much against me buying a boat in such a bad condition and they wanted to talk me out of it…

I decided to buy ‘HIR 3’ because I just thought it was the right thing to do and that if I didn’t do it, that I would probably wonder for the rest of my life if I should have done it.

Now that I started restoring her, everyone support me (at least they say that they do:), but again everyone has their own idea what I should do and how I should do it. Some people say that I should completely remove the interior and start from scratch, others have ideas on what to do with the deck equipment… I fell lucky that over the years I have learned a thing or two about boats, so I always listen to what everyone has to say, but in the end… I will probably do everything MY WAY! 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egY8rUpxqcE

Good old boat

HIR 3 is definitely a good old boat. She was build to last and she proved bulletproof too:)

17/09/2014 sasa1 Comment

Back in the day, boats were built to last and the main requirement was that she had to be seaworthy. Now, most shipyards (with few exceptions, of course) build boats that have to be cheap, light, fast, pretty and have accommodation for a lot of people. Build quality and seaworthiness unfortunately belong to the past and are now synonyms for good old boats.

HIR 3 is definitely a good old boat 🙂 The hull is made of thick solid laminate that shows no signs of osmosis, has a lead keel connected to the hull with twelve stainless steel plates and a full skeg to protect the rudder. She has an oversized 15-meter keel stepped mast with backstay, running backstays, baby stay and double spreaders that end up on a stainless steel plate on two bulkheads connected to a 2.5 ton keel made of lead with added antimony for stiffness. There are eight oversized winches (on a 34 foot boat!), two large travelers on each side for the genoa and one on the coachroof for the mainsail. All the bulkheads and main frames in the interior as well as her tiller are made of solid teak. In the galley and in the salon there are boxes for plates, glasses, cups and bottles, and one special for a bottle of Jack Daniels:)

She was build to last and she proved bulletproof too:)

True colors

I finally decided that it was the time to start painting the interior. I just couldn’t watch the boat like that anymore, so I had to do it to boost my moral:)

05/09/2014 sasa2 Comments

I finally decided that it was the time to start painting the interior. There might be more important jobs to do, but I had to make the cabin more appealing. I just couldn’t watch the boat like that anymore, so I had to do it to boost my moral:)

I‘ve put on my working clothes, mask and gloves and then I started… First I put one coat of primer, which actually bleached the wood, and then another coat. After that I painted it and finally I varnished the wood.

It was really a difficult job to do, because even though I opened all the hatches and windows and in spite of the fact that I had a mask on all the time, I just couldn’t stay inside for more than half an hour at the time because of all the (probably toxic) evaporation from the paint. The only real joy was the swim I took at the end of every day.

It was a long and painful process, but it had to be done… The only problem was that when I was finished, it all looked much better, except the bilges that looked simply awful, so although I didn’t plan to do it, I then painted the bilges too.

I know that there is still a lot of work to be done, but I think she looks much better now… 🙂

Tiller

The first time I checked the boat it was good to see that the original tiller made of solid teak was still there, so I took it off and brought it to my friend Davor for restoration.

28/08/2014 sasaLeave a comment

The first time I checked the boat it was good to see that the original tiller made of solid teak was still there, so I took it off and brought it to my friend Davor for restoration.

Davor who is a great guy and runs a boatbuilding school for kids repaired a few holes, cleaned it and put some teak oil… and it looked great!! THANK’S Davor!!!

Navigare necesse est

According to an ancient roman phrase ‘To sail is necessary; to live is not necessary’ (Navigare nemeses set, vivere non set nemeses)… HIR 3 is far from being ready to sail, but the summer season has arrived, and it is time to set sail, but on other people’s boats. Many people think being a skipper is a dream job, but is it really? I have been doing it for 15 years, so now I have decided it is the time to tell the truth about what it’s actually like.

14/08/2014 sasa4 Comments

According to an ancient roman phrase ‘To sail is necessary; to live is not necessary’ (Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse)… HIR 3 is far from being ready to sail, but the summer season has arrived, and it is time to set sail, but on other people’s boats. Many people think being a skipper is a dream job, but is it really? I have been doing it for 15 years, so now I have decided it is the time to tell the truth about what it’s actually like.

My typical working week in charter during summer months in Croatia looks something like this…

First thing I have to do is get to a marina where the guests chartered the boat from. The most popular charter bases are around Split and getting around Dalmatia in busses on a Saturday during peak season is no picnic. The bus is usually completely full and because of heavy traffic the trip takes much longer than usual, and then the hardest thing is to carry all your luggage from the bus station to the marina which is always quite far away.

When I finally arrive to the marina, I have to go to the charter company’s office and give them my license and check when the boat will be ready for us and meet with my guests. It usually always takes longer for the charter company to service and clean the boat than the guests would like, so I have to keep them entertained while we wait, which means shopping for groceries, lunch, drinks and discussing the weather forecast and the route for the week… When the boat is ready for embarkation, I have to check everything (engine, sails, electrics, instruments, equipment…) and get the responsible technician and do the check-in… and finally we are ready to go!

It’s already late, so we have only a couple of hours to find a suitable anchorage in the vicinity of the charter base because nobody wants to stay in the marina on the first night, but as soon as we sail out of the marina, everyone is much happier, more relaxed and my job is suddenly nice & easy. On the first night we discuss where we can go and what we can do that week. I have to figure out what my guests would like to do, if they like swimming and anchoring, quiet cruise, good restaurants, busy towns, beaches, bars, if they enjoy sailing all day long or they have no idea what they want. Sometimes people won’t listen to recommendations and it’s impossible to explain why some destinations are too far or why it might be a bad idea to anchor in certain bays in strong winds, but others really listen and accept expert advice which makes it all much easier and more enjoyable, not just for me, but usually for everyone on board.

First thing every morning I check the weather forecast and think about what our options for that day are and I discuss it over coffee or breakfast with my guests, so everyone is involved in planning. Of course, I always try to make some recommendations and I am very happy when people take them seriously. Since I always wake up first, the time from my first coffee until our departure passes very slowly, so I use it to check my e-mails, read and of course, take a swim.

We sail for a few hours if there is favorable wind and anchor somewhere nice for a short break to swim and have lunch, and in the afternoon a few more hours of sailing (or motoring) to our final destination. If we are going to a marina, the trick is to do everything you can to arrive as early as possible to get a berth, because they get full very quickly, especially if there is a weather warning in place. When we want to spend the night in a bay at anchor, sometimes in July and August it gets so crowded it is hard even to find a good spot to drop an anchor. Evenings are always the best time for me to relax and enjoy the fact that I am on the boat.

On Friday we have to refuel because we have to return the boat to the charter base with a full tank and during the summer moths this usually means an hour, or even two hours of waiting which is extremely annoying, but there is no way around it. Friday is our last night on the boat and usually nobody wants to return to the marina until the last possible moment. Instead we have to anchor in a bay that is very close to the charter base, so we can come back to the marina before eight o’clock on Saturday morning, do the check-out and leave the boat by nine o’clock latest when it’s time to say goodbye to my guests, run to another charter base and meet my new crew…

Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not, but the job definitely has some advantages. If you are lucky and get nice people who you can get along with, it is probably the best job in the World… so if you need a skipper, visit my web site: http://crosail.com/

Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse.

5 reasons why I bought a boat

It’s really difficult to rationalize a boat purchase, but when you spend all that money on something (and this is only the beginning), you just have to justify it to yourself somehow. For your own mental health and peace of mind.
Size, type, model, price, equipment, condition, location… all of that is irrelevant. You just have to fall in love with her! 🙂

04/08/2014 sasaLeave a comment

5. Investment. Believe it or not, buying a boat is the best investment in the World. You are always gambling with your money whatever you do. Stock market, real-estate market crash, cars lose value fast, so the only money that is actually yours is the one you have already spent. I invested in something I love, so I’m thinking it’s a safe investment. Buying a boat is really the only smart thing you can do with your money 🙂

4. Lifestyle. Living on the boat, or at least spending a lot of time on the water is the best lifestyle I can imagine. A boat will not just take you to many beautiful places where otherwise you couldn’t have gone, but she will do it in style… Owning a boat is also very cool. You can invite friends or business partners, or even make new friends 🙂

3. Health. Spending time on the water is good for your health, both physical and mental. You can really relax and unwind while sailing on the boat far away from everything and everyone. It’s a healthy way of living. You can even exercise and drink beer at the same time 🙂

2. Fun. Sailing is the most fun you can ever have (besides sex, of course)… and you can even share the experience with your crew. You can really get in touch with nature, sea, waves and the wind. It gives you freedom not only to sail away, but also to have fun while doing it.

1. Love. Well, it’s really the best reason to do anything and everything, isn’t it? To be completely honest, I have to admit that the previous four reasons were just my attempt to justify myself, but the truth is that you simply have love boats and sailing. That’s all there is to it.

One final advice for people who are considering to buy a boat: Size, type, model, price, equipment, condition, location… all of that is irrelevant. You just have to fall in love with her! 🙂

Bottoms up!

18/07/201422/07/2014 sasa1 Comment

The time has come for the boat to go out of the water. It was actually the moment of truth, because I wasn’t really sure what to expect to find under the waterline which was covered in shells and seaweed.

At 8 o’clock two mariners came on a dinghy and towed the boat under the crane, but the moment we arrived, it started to rain, so I had to wait for a few hours… The whole thing took a bit longer than I expected, but when she was finally on the cradle I was relieved to find out that the hull was sound and that there is no sign of osmosis! YES!!

My friend Elvis came in the afternoon from Zagreb to help me and Maja was in the neighborhood, so we started scraping the bottom and then had a great pizza in Vrsar.

The next day, Elvis and I started early in the morning. First we sanded the hull, then sealed the keel to hull joint, put primer paint and at the end of the day we put the first layer of red antifouling. It was a lot of work for one day, so we rewarded ourselves with a steak tartar and a mojito later in the evening.

Elvis had to leave the next day, so I finished putting the second coat of antifouling and polished the topsides while the guys from the local yacht service replaced all the seacocks and valves, checked the propeller and prop shaft and installed new seals… and she was ready to go back in the water!!

A great reason for celebration… Bottoms up! 🙂

Bulletproof

The boat was moored in ACY marina in Dubrovnik when the war in Croatia started. There were 286 bullet holes in the hull! This was one of the antiaircraft bullets that was found in the bulkhead. She proved to be bulletproof…

13/07/2014 sasa1 Comment

I have found a bullet when I was cleaning the bilge. It was a big one! It had small screws, so it was obvious that it was a ‘souvenir’ that was mounted on the bulkhead.

The boat was moored in ACY marina in Dubrovnik when the war in Croatia started. The whole town and the marina were surrounded and heavily bombed. Mladen Šutej negotiated and got a permission to enter the marina and leave with a boat before marina was occupied when all of the boats were destroyed.

There were 286 bullet holes in the hull! But Mladen Šutej assured me that everything was carefully repaired. This was one of the antiaircraft bullets that was found in the bulkhead.

She proved to be bulletproof… 🙂