equipment – Page 2 – Voilier 'HIR 3'

5 Skipper’s essentials

A list of equipment that is useful on a boat is long, but I think that a good skipper should always carry these 5 essential pieces of equipment…

23/01/2016 sasaLeave a comment

A list of equipment that is useful on a boat is long, but I think that a good skipper should always carry these 5 essential pieces of equipment:

1. Leatherman

The most important tool that every skipper should have is a multitool with pliers and a sharp knife. Forget about cheap Chinese knockoffs, for the boat you need the best and that’s a proper Leatherman.

2. Gorilla Tape

It’s amazing how many things you can fix temporarily on a boat with a good tape. Gorilla Tape is the biggest, strongest, toughest thing ever to happen to tape.

3. WD-40

On a boat there is always something that need lubricating, or another thing that got stuck and the solution is WD-40. It protects metal from rust and corrosion, penetrates stuck parts, displaces moisture and lubricates almost anything. It even removes grease, grime and more from most surfaces.

4. Headlamp

A good headlamp is a must for night navigation. The RAW Pro is a waterproof, light weight, high power white and red beam head torch. Engineered specifically to excel in the harsh marine environment, you can rely on it in any situation.

5. Storm Lighter

A reliable lighter is a must on a boat, weather you need it to light a stove, or burn an end of a rope. Silva Helios Storm Lighter is windproof, waterproof and with very high temperature flame.

Top 15 gifts for a sailor this Christmas

All I really want for Christmas this year is to set sail with my crew… but on the more practical side, here is a list of Top 10 Christmas gifts for a sailor this year…

25/11/2015 sasaLeave a comment

I have been working on the boat for a year and a half now and it seems that finally the day when we will be able to set sail is getting close, so I guess that all I want for Christmas this year is to set sail with my crew… but on the more practical side, here is my list of Top 15 gifts for Christmas this year…

1. Dubarry boots

Keeping your feet dry and warm in bad weather is important. Unfortunately, I only have simple rubber boots that are ok, but not great, so I would really love to have the proper Dubarry boots.

2. Leatherman

I’ve had a few multitools so far, but all of them have a tendency to jump overboard, so it would really be nice to have a proper Leatherman again.

3. Windstopper Hat

Warm hat is a must for me in cold weather, so a good, nice and warm and windstopper hat would be great.

4. Musto Hat

During the summer, it’s impossible for me to spend a day on a boat without a hat. I’ve had a few so far, but being constantly exposed to the sun, these wear off quickly, so I’d like a new Musto hat.

5. iPhone Waterproof Case

iPhone is a nice and useful toy on board for checking the weather forecast, navigation software, e-mails… but they don’t mix well with water, so a good waterproof case would be nice to have.

6. Nautical Charts

I would like to start preparing and planning for crossing oceans and for that I need proper nautical charts for passage planning.

7. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum

A bottle of fine rum is a must on every boat. My favorite is Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum.

8. DSLR Nikon Camera

There are so many beautiful moments that I would like to capture on camera. The one i have on my iPhone is ok, but a proper DSLR Nikon Camera would really make a difference between good and great photos.

9. Carbon Fiber Portfolio

Probably the coolest thing to put your boat documents in is a carbon fiber legal portfolio by RAGGEDedge Gear.

10. Navisafe Headlamp

A good headlamp is a must for night sailing. The best one on the market is Navisafe Headlamp with a red light to preserve night vision, a white floodlight to light the whole sail, and an ultra-powerful distance light shining up to 70 m plus tilt function for exact and comfortable beam positioning.

11. Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual

This manual takes both novice and experienced boatowner through minor to major repairs of electrical systems, engines, electronics, steering systems, generators, pumps, cookers, spars and rigging. Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual deserves to come standard with every boat.

12. Handheld GPS Garmin Montana 600

A handheld GPS is a must for a sailor these days. Great to use as a backup, or even as a primary navigation aid. Garmin Montana 600 is at the moment the best model. It has big 4′ touchscreen, waterproof and supports multiple mapping options.

13. Spinlock Deckwest 5D 170N Pro Sensor Safety Harness

Safety first! A mandatory equipment for every sailor on offshore passages. Spinlock Deckwest 5D 170N Pro Sensor Safety Harness is very light, comfortable design for use over long periods.

14. Safety Harness

On board, Wichard ProLine Safety Harnesses are an essential element in safety. ORC compliant with quick release snap shackles.

15. PLB

PLB McMurdo Fast Find 220 is a lifesaving beacon with buoyancy pouch included designed for marine enthusiasts and adventurers.

………………

LET’S SET SAIL!!! 🙂

Taylor’s paraffin heater & cooker

HIR 3 will get new Taylor’s paraffin cooker and heater…

17/10/2015 sasaLeave a comment

The old gas stove that was on board HIR was full of rust and it was beyond repair, so I had to buy a new one. Also, my big concern in heating on board, so I have been looking around and searching the internet for best options. My big issue is that I don’t want a lot of electric appliances on the boat, so the only options were gas and paraffin.I found Taylor’s paraffin heater 079K that I liked and it seems that the same unit was on the boat originally. The only problem was the price. 1.600 Euro for a heater was definitely too much for me… until I found one offer on ebay. I was bidding for more than a week and finally won it for about 200 Euro… but it came without a paraffin pressure tank, so I had another problem then… until I’ve found in Slovenian classifieds a complete Taylor’s paraffin cooker 030 for a fraction of the price, so now I have all the components I need and they both look great! I just hope it will all work as well…

‘Cruising boats worldwide use Taylors paraffin galley cookers. Rugged, reliable and easy to maintain, these classic stoves work on the Primus pressure system have many advantages and having no gas aboard is an obvious safety benefit.’

Sails…

Sails are an important and quite expensive part of a boat. When I bought HIR, I got one old mainsail, one completely new mainsail that has never even been used, one old spinnaker, storm jib, storm mainsail and a genoa that has been rolled around the forestay for years without UV protection cover.

11/07/201511/07/2015 sasa2 Comments

Sails are an important and quite expensive part of a boat. When I bought HIR, I got one old mainsail, one completely new mainsail that has never even been used, one old spinnaker, storm jib, storm mainsail and a genoa that has been rolled around the forestay for years without UV protection cover. We took it down immediately and I have stored in in my basement in Zagreb and almost forgot about it.

Recently I decided to have a closer look, so I took the sail out and cleaned it a bit. T be honest, it doesn’t look great, but I decided to patch it up and use it for a while, since I really can’t afford a new one. I stored it in the forepeak for now and hopefully it will work well it light winds, since it’s 42m2… until we get a new and shiny one 🙂

My good friend Marko from Biograd recently got me a slightly used, great looking, big gennaker in a sock which I think will work great on HIR. I can’t wait to try t out!!! Thank’s Marko!!!

The Italian Connection

it was great when Maja offered to buy sheets and halyards and when my friend Pavel offered me to use his really major discount at Italian ARMARE.

01/01/2015 sasaLeave a comment

I knew from the start that all the ropes, halyards and sheets had to be replaced and that it would be an expensive… but it has to be done, because we had to cut and throwaway everything the first time we came to clean the boat. Good ropes are quite expensive, so it was great when Maja offered to buy sheets and halyards and when my friend Pavel offered me to use his really major discount at Italian ARMARE. Pavel lives on his wooden yacht in La Spezia and works on Minis, Class 40s and a Wally. He came home to Zagreb for holidays and brought a few hundred meters of ropes in an Ikea bag. Thanks Pavel!! Thanks Maja!!!

It’s good to have connections in Italy 🙂

The Italian Job…

Every little helps

It’s been a while now since I returned home to Zagreb and I am getting a bit frustrated because everything seems to be happening very slowly, but my friends are trying to help me.

17/12/2014 sasaLeave a comment

It’s been a while now since I returned home to Zagreb and I am getting a bit frustrated because everything seems to be happening very slowly, but my friends are trying to help me.

Maja bought a new Croatian flag, info chart, teak oil, polishing paste for stainless steel and a cleaner for the water tank, Zoran was in Vrsar the other day and noticed that one of the stern lines snapped, so he replaced it and said that he will pump out the water from the bilges, I was in Rijeka with Elvis and we bought a new exhaust pipe for the engine, gelcoat filler and a new windex and we ordered a new stainless steel fuel tank.

The progress is slow… but every little helps. 🙂

Electricity

I new from the start that after years of neglect, all the cables, wiring, connections, control panel and batteries had to be replaced. I don’t know much about electric installations, so I was really worried about that… until my good friend Kruno called me one day and offered to help!

25/11/2014 sasaLeave a comment

Kruno is an engineer who lives on a 10-meter sailing yacht that he refitted and equipped himself, so he knows everything there is to know about my problems. He anchored his boat in front of Vrsar and waited for me to come. It took him only 15 minutes to make me a shopping list, so he could start working. It took me a bit more than that to buy everything though. Mario who is a member of my ‘Dobro More’ Yacht Club sponsored me and his company ‘Kibernetika’ payed for the most expensive cables for the anchor windlass. THANK YOU MARIO!!

When I got back to Vrsar, Kruno started working on the new electric installation. He was incredible. Really fast and productive. He did everything himself in just a couple of days, including a complete wiring plan. He also saved me a lot of money by fixing some of the old switches and giving me recommendations on where to buy thing cheap. THANK YOU KRUNO!!!

The work is not completely finished. There is still a few more things to buy and install – navigation lights, VHF station, repair the fridge and anchor windlass… but everything else works!! 🙂

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…

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!!!

Patience…

Patience is the word of the week… People think that I am a very patient man, but when I think about HIR, it seems that I just can’t be myself.

28/04/2014 sasa1 Comment

Patience is the word of the week… People think that I am a very patient man, but when I think about HIR, it seems that I just can’t be myself. I wanted to go to Vrsar again this weekend, but the weather forecast was really bad, so I had to give up on that. Instead of working I spent the weekend browsing catalogs and ebay in search for anything that I might like to have on the boat.

I realized that having too much time is dangerous. I have found so many cool gadgets that I liked. Now the difficult part is to restrain myself from buying anything I don’t need right now, so I don’t spend little money I have left. I need it for much more essential things, like crane and dry berth, antifouling, marine plywood for the interior etc.

However, I am trying to do as much as I can, even when I am not on the boat. I have contacted the original owner, Mladen Šutej to tell him about my plans. He was very supportive and I think he is pleased that someone is trying to restore the boat. He told me about a few items I have found on the boat and sent me a cool photo of ‘HIR 3’ in Torres Strait with Australia in the back from 1989. We’ll be back! 🙂

In this project PATIENCE will be essential…