Bimini top

With the prospect of being able to do longer trips thanks to the extra range allowed by the EPIRB, a Bimini shade would be a useful addition to keep the suns rays off the crew while sailing. Some Investigators have fitted 2 or 3 bow biminis, the 3 bow needed some shortening of the canvas though. A Bimini is almost essential for enjoyable boating in Queensland.

Economical mass produced off-the-shelf biminis are designed to fit small open power boats of 3-6 m LOA, nearly every small fishing boat i saw on the water in Townsville has one fitted, and the boaties looked very cool in the shade too.!  Not many small trailer-sailers have biminis maybe because of the difficulty to get them to fit among all the complex ropes, rigging, sails, hatches and deck hardware. A bimini must also have a snug and out-of-the-way lowered position for rigging up and trailering.

At home the mast and mainsail were raised and measurements taken of the available free space for the Bimini.  There was 1.2 m available space from deck to boom and 1.7m available between the boom vang and the mainsheet. The coaming width was 1.7m.

Had a look at the Bias boating catalogue and it looked like a 2 bow bimini (size C) by "Ocean South" would fit the space without modifications. Soon had one back at the boat for fitting. They are premium quality - nice yacht blue canvas, anodized 22 mm diameter aluminium tube bows and all-stainless fittings. This one cost $210.

Put it together (spring loaded push pins) and tried different base positions. It  had to go outside the coamings on deck, not on the coaming top. The deck mounts can spread out to the needed 1.83 m from their 1.7 m width to achieve this. Checked it in the raised and dropped forward positions with the bases outside the cockpit coaming. The boom was about 10 cm above the bimini top.

Shade for the forward end of cockpit and main hatch area.

The boom vang sits just ahead of the bimini. Crew can exit cockpit through the V formed by the 2 bows.

Narrow bimini allows for side deck walking access

Room for the main sheets and boom to run freely (may move the aft strap from the pulpit to the cockpit coaming)

In the lowered forward position the folded bimini frame sits in the notch between the pop-top and the mast tabernacle. This allows the mast to be dropped to horizontal in the tabernacle. It also allows the pop-top to be raised when the bimini is stowed.  This size bimini can't safely fold back without risk of breaking the base pivots. (could be possible with a wider base 3 bow bimini?)

Bimini lowered

Bimini lowered - frames lay alongside cabin, side decks clear.

Mast lowered, bimini sits in notch between hatch and mast step.

The 2 bow bimini's top canvas is only 1.4 m (4'7") wide, but the narrow top makes it easy to walk along the side decks to enter the cockpit from forward (at the expense of losing a little shade area). It also looks ok, the frames slope inwards the same as the cabin sides. There is 1.6 m (5'3") standing headroom under it. The Bimini is only 1.57 m (5'2") long so the skipper can stand up behind it and lookout over it's top.

Selleys epoxy putty was used to fill the gap between the mounts and the sloping decks. It's in tube form with epoxy and hardener as layers. Just cut a bit off and knead it awhile, then it goes on like Plasticine and sets hard in 10 minutes. (It's staying aboard incase a hole or crack appears, it can make a quick acting patch job too)

Pivot base with epoxy putty to level it securely

Deck fitting for bimini strap

The guy strap eyelets and pivot bases are screwed down to the deck.

It was cool under there already! The bimini will definitely make the decision to set sail an easy one, especially on a scorching sunny day.  It's ready to test out on the next trip..(There is one thing i may have to modify yet - the aft straps hold down position from the pulpit to the cockpit coaming,,this may increase crew access to the side deck)

Mast and bimini stowed ready for the road.

406Mhz EPIRB fitted

It is time to prepare for more extended coastal cruising, so fitted a 406 Mhz digital EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) to "Teria".

In Australia it is maritime law to carry an EPIRB if you go outside semi-protected waters or more than 2 nautical miles off the coast in open waters. The Qld recreational boating guide has maps of these areas. With the EPRIB aboard Teria can now legally sail between Island Groups along the GBR and travel well offshore if that's the shortest course, perhaps even visit a reef on the great barrier reef one day, the options are there.

The 406 Mhz EPIRB is a sealed unit which is only used in dire emergency situations as a last resort, after other methods like good seamanship, jury rigging, auxiliary motors, waiting out bad weather, calling on the VHF radio, mobile phone or signaling another boat have failed.

406 Mhz EPIRB on Teria - easy to find but also out of the way

Activating an EPIRB is a serious business as it instigates an air-sea search and rescue effort and most times the crew is located and rescued.  Being near the coast and coast guard/water police bases increases chances of boat retrieval too, if it's still afloat that is.

An activated 406 MHz EPIRB sends signals to satellites in geostationary and polar orbits (COSPAS-SARSAT system) which can store and  relay the vessels data (position) to shore based receiving stations. It has global coverage. Hope this one is never used and remains in the corner, touch wood.

406 Mhz EPIRBs here need to be registered with AMSA - The Australian Maritime safety Authority. I registered on their web site. Details of the boat and owners names, registration number, call-sign, description of vessel, it's size and capabilities, 4 contact names and numbers are sent and are kept on AMSA's computer database. When an emergency EPIRB signal is received they will know where the boat is and information about it to pass on to rescue authorities.

My EPIRB is a GME MT400 model, designed and made in Australia. It's the entry level unit which cost me A$260, fortunately the price of 406 Mhz has come down recently. The MT400 has a position accuracy of 5 nautical miles and is manually activated.  It also emits a 127 Mhz homing signal. Rescue vessels here are equipped with EPIRB direction-finders,  so they can locate the direction of an activated epirb, then steam towards the homing signal source. The rescue vessels often have radar and FLIR (infra red night vision) and a strobe-light on the EPIRB further aids the search at closer quarters.

If i had a bigger budget or was foreign going then the GPS enabled EPIRB would be a better choice, it emits a position accurate to 100 m. High-tech rescue boats could be scarce is some places but they probably have a GPS with a go-to function. 

The most expensive EPIRBs (~2x the $) have water pressure-activated switches and external housing mounts that auto-release when the water reaches it as the ship sinks. Suits serious offshore or commercial vessels.

I mounted my EPIRB inside the cabin on the mid-ship bulkhead, a dry place out of the sun. The signal can pass through fiberglass, so left room for the antenna to pop up under the side deck. It could be activated in it's holder below deck. There is a chance that you could loose the EPIRB when deployed overboard if the thin tether line broke off in rough conditions. (NB Steel boats EPIRB antennae must be outside the hull and cabin, with clear sky view).

The switch design is improved over the old ones, it has a protective flap, which covers a sliding switch. Also it takes one minute for the signal to begin to emit after the switch is slid across. There is a switch seal, which is never to be broken as this ensures that the 6 year life of the Lithium ion batteries is maintained. There is a test button to test it before going on a big trip. GME offer a free battery replacement in 6 years time (2020) to get another 6 years of life.

The EPIRBs ID sticker arrived on a letter from AMSA a week or so after online registration. It has boat name, rego number etc on it so stuck it on the EPIRB so it wouldn't hide any serial numbers etc.

In the 1990's i owned a 127 Mhz analogue EPIRB. It cost $150 then, so after inflation the current price is comparable if not cheaper. The old units could be transferred between boats as they were not registered then so some boats could even share a unit. If one was activated the authorities had no idea who or what vessel it was. Sometimes accidental activation resulted in a big search only to find the boat safely at anchor somewhere, occasionally 127 Mhz EPIRB's activated in a landfill long after being thrown out.  Now they have your mobile phone number and VHF call sign to check with you first. The satellite system stopped monitoring 127Mhz in 2009.

The 7th cruise - Day 2, solo to Radical Bay. Day 3 Ross river

The morning bought Clear sky and a light cool southerly offshore breeze. So prepared for a solo sail - my first solo sail to Magnetic Island in Teria. Around 0900 the light weather gennaker was raised and Teria broad reached clear of the Duck pond at 5 knots, passing a sunken fishing boat with it's cabin just above sea level, it's only 2-3 meters deep. Something to watch out for if entering the harbor at night.

The wind increased to 15 knots and headed us to SE so dropped the lightweight Gennaker and unfurled the working jib for a fast reach towards the Island. A rope on the tiller allowed for limited self-steering to windward, enough time to do deck work or have  a tea break.

Sailing eastwards

Magnetic Island inched by to leeward and motor-sailing kept Teria moving well in failing wind. Checked boat speed with a smartphone GPS navigation app. The Johnson 10 Hp drove us at 5.3 knots on full throttle, tried half throttle and the speed dropped by only 0.1 knot to 5.2 knots!  The Johnson will only see 1/2 - 1/3 throttle in future which should double the fuel - range in theory, until a more suitable 4 HP motor is found to replace it.

Hours later NE headland was cleared. wind and seas increased so cut the motor, and Teria broad reached downwind tacking past Orchid Rocks and into Radical Bay around noon.

Orchard rocks - quite a balancing act

Orchard rocks - mark the entrance to the calm waters of Radical Bay

Ghosting into Radical Bay 

Fishing Chart - Radical Bay and Horseshoe Bays, Magnetic Island

It was flat calm in the anchorage, the sun awning was up quickly and lunch was good.

A shaded cockpit with a view

Sustenance - The hatch board doubles as a table - Esky full of food and cold ice water

Making a cuppa - Trangia stove and thermos of coffee for the trip home.

Kayaked around the bay in 9ft "Scamp", steep hills made of pale granite boulders with many Norfolk Island pine trees rose from the ends of the bay and a pale yellow-brown beach stretched between. Barnacles exposed by the tide encrusted the rocks. The waters below looked good for diving, so the plan to buy a mask and snorkel set was hatched.

Teria in Radical Bay from the Kayak

The rocky shores, the clear waters look inviting.

It's always good to step ashore onto solid ground even if only for a while.

There are no dwellings just the end of a 4 wheel drive track ends here. Only few people reached the bay some would have hiked over from nearby bays with hotel accommodation, and only one 4wd was parked among the trees.

The Sun was beginning to fall in the west, so headed back to Townsville. Fist with motor-sailing to clear the NE headland, then with sheets free raised the Gennaker again to sail at 4 - 4.5 knots before a light easterly breeze.

Heading home - The large lightweight Gennaker extracts considerable power from the light breeze

Altered course to see a huge barge being towed out to sea by a tug boat. It had 4 fair sized houses sitting on its deck! A strange sight, like a real life mega-moves show on TV. Later heard that they were destined for Palm Island which is about 20nm NW of Townsville.

Strange sight - Houses cross the sea on a giant barge

Dropped the Genaker about a mile from Ross river, which allowed a trawler closing in on the port side to pull ahead and enter first. It was important to get the big sail in and reduce speed before getting too close to the rockwall, narrow channel and other boats. Being solo without an auto-pilot means the Teria heads-off on its own best most stable course for awhile, plenty of sea room required while on the fore-deck pulling the gennaker down. Once the jib was unrolled, boat-speed was a safer 3 knots, it's easy to control and furl from the cockpit just before anchoring. The sunset was spectacular, at one point the sea went a mauve color.

Night had fallen by the time the rig was lowered, so motored into Ross River in the dark using green/red  channel beacons, to clear the bridge and stay in the channel, and some shore and star-light to located anchored and moored vessels in the river. I was pretty tired and didn't want to meet a crocodile the hard way, so decided to anchor overnight instead of try to haul-out on the trailer at the ramp.  Found a free spot between some anchored motor-launches. Set up the anchor light. It was dead flat with a light cool southerly, so the outgoing tide pointed Teria into the 17C land breeze. A good view of the milky way galaxy - I often forget about our small place in it when city living. The night sky was only slightly dimmed the lights of Townsville, the nearest suburban streets were about 300- 500 m away to the north. Nature to the south. Lifted the kayak onto the fore-deck so it wouldn't bump the hull if the tide turned or worse still came adrift and got lost. No sandflies or mozzies either, but lit the mosquito coil anyway.

Closed the hatches, had a bite to eat, rugged up and lights out.

The morning light reveals Ross River anchorage

In the light of day, it's always good to see the boat was anchored in a good spot. The Kayak was stowed below, it fits nicely through the main hatch, through the oriental arch and up into the fore-peak. This is a great place for it when launching/retrieving and  towing on the road. It wasn't coincidence that the Kayak was chosen as the hard dinghy, it's stowage potential was a major factor.

Kayak stowage for the road trip