Island Packet 35 & 37 Owners Association & Information Exchange

News for All Island Packet Owners Volume 7 No. 3 Winter 2000/1

The New Millennium is upon us!

From the Editor: For us diehards that believe a century is a full 100 years, a millennium is a full 1000, and when you count you start with 1 - just like a month or a year begins - 2001 brings about the real change. No changes here in terms of boat ownership. We're still "boatless in Annapolis" and anxiously awaiting the new catboat, but no date on that one yet. It's on order and much anticipated.

It's hard to believe that I've been doing this newsletter for almost 4 years (my 1^st one was the April '97 issue) and that Don Nemitz started it all in the Fall of '94. Don is off playing trawler guy somewhere on the ICW (NC), by last sighting this past September and we're going into catboats. What will happen to the newsletter come this July when my last "paying" customer (that's intentional) falls off the books - is anyone's bet. Any takers on the duties? Not a peep  yet.

Also for those who have not been to the factory lately, or at all, there was a very good article on the factory and its compliance with EPA and other environmental regulations in the most recent issue of ProfessionalBoatbuilder. There were some good photos of boats in flow and a very positive feeling was presented with respect to the factory's very positive attempts at meeting all future requirements. What is not stated is that Island Packet is light years ahead of many in the industry. Heck, it is very rare to see someone working with gelcoat or resin that is not required to wearing a respirator. What is also not stated is that there is a lot that goes into building an IP and the increases in price also come as a result of Island Packet's dedication to process and compliance. I think that many forget that when it comes to looking at the $$ for new Island Packets.

Of course it is all relative. No manufacturer ever seems to reduce their prices.

For now - Publisher/Editor: Butler Smythe

79 Silopanna Road-Annapolis, MD 21403

(Home) 410.990.1898 - (Work) 301.286.1095 (for now)

CAERULEAN@GO.COM or WWW.CAERULEAN.COM

Published in Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct (or so)

See WWW.IPHOMEPORT.COM

Sel. "Owners"/ "Owner's Groups"

FROM THE EDITOR:

Hull colors - I made a small purchase of a laser "thermometer" (just point and shoot), with which I hope to undertake a little study this winter/summer on boats in the Annapolis area. My hope is to document hull temperatures under various conditions in order to thoroughly assess just what color in boat hulls and boat bottoms does to surface temperatures, etc..

It just arrived in the mail and even playing with it in the house is extremely interesting. I now get to look at what the temperatures of the floors, ceilings and walls really are and may even find a use for it in detecting external heat leaks as well. We'll see.

I did make a quick trip to a local yard on a clear sunny day - 25 degrees F - and looked at three rudders, all in direct sunlight, albeit from different rudder construction. The one with black bottom paint was 130 F, the light green 110F and the white gelcoat (no paint)..... 50F! The dark green metal door to our house on the same day was 138F (just opened the storm door to read the temp.) while the siding (yellow vinyl) was 55F. Not scientific but a clear demonstration.

Also... Al Powell and I have chatted just a bit about doing another seminar in Annapolis this winter and we'll try to get the word out should that come to fruition.

The Mustache - Well, I thought I had it solved - the elimination of the mustache on the transom - but I was wrong. After several years with no mustache, it reappeared with a vengeance during our transit from Annapolis to its new home in New Jersey following her sale. I was on board for the first day only.

No consistent solution - but here is the answer. Prior to that time I'd regularly operated the boat either alone or with my wife in the cockpit. The boat was either fully loaded or relatively empty, but she rode on her lines (balanced) at all times. On this particular trip the boat was empty, but there were three adults and three children (2 of whom were not small). For a most of the trip a great deal of that 800 lbs (or so) was in the cockpit area (aft) and there was no weight forward to really balance the boat out. Running under power the stern was sitting at the end of a more pronounced squat and the stern wave put the exhaust under water, more than it had ever been. With no weight forward the boat's bow bobbed, much as a car with too much weight in the rear end would.

One answer - one that I think solves more than this problem on any boat - is to ensure the boat is balanced at all times. If you sail/motor with lots of weight in the cockpit, you should be bow down at the dock. We never did so this was a first for us, in a sense.

A Pound of Prevention

BOAT STORAGE

Do yourself a favor this winter. If you are one of those that hauls their boat out of the water each year - now that I think about it, this applies anytime the boat is placed on the hard with jack stands - stop by the boat every once in a while to check on a couple of key items.

1. Inspect the cover (if you use one) for integrity and security. No cover should be secured to jack stands or be airtight.

2. If you have no cover, check the cockpit drains to make sure no leaves or other materials restricts water drainage that could lead to the flooding of the cabin or lockers.

Short story - A year ago our boat was in a marina with LOTS of trees. One rather pesky tree left leaves all over the boat - every day. I returned to check on the boat after a hard rain and found that the drain to the propane locker was plugged and both tanks were floating as a result of an unsecured lid (that's OK). No damage, but what if this had been the cockpit?

Another - As a community harbormaster in Washington State, I was checking the docks and boats in our community marina one winter. I found one sailboat with cockpit scuppers full of leaves and frozen snow, and water from a recent rain was pouring down the companionway through the hatch boards. No bilge pump was on.

3. Check the condition of the hull. What do I mean? A boat can shift, as can the jack stands and the ground beneath them, which can lead to uneven support of the hull. Remember the word "frost-heave?" This is especially critical when stands are placed where no internal supporting structure is able to prevent hull flexing. This flexing can lead to cracking of gelcoat, fiberglass and even penetration of the hull under extreme conditions (think about it you southern hurricane folks who haul in the summer or fall). Wind effects on covers, masts, dodgers, etc. can create very strong pressures on the hull, the stands and the ground. Use three stands to a side, plus one at the bow - at a minimum!

You will, in most cases, never see the cracks that can develop near improperly positioned jack stands because many people never strip the paint to bare gelcoat as often as they should. The more paint the more you hide the blisters, cracks and other damage that develops until someone really looks. The more critical hull areas to inspect are those with the greatest expanse of hull surface with no internal bulkheads. In the IP this is generally in the stern where the cockpit lockers are but check all areas where stands might have been placed.

In a past issue I wrote about an incident in Annapolis where I found an IP35 improperly stored in a yard. The hull in the starboard cockpit locker area was deflected over 3 inches. It took 2 tries to get the yard to fix it. When the jack was properly placed, the hull regained its shape. I do not know about cracks in the gelcoat because the boat was put in the water that summer with an additional coat of bottom paint.

In a recent issue of DIY Magazine (2000-#3) there was a VERY good article on gelcoat, fiberglass, respective issues and repairs. It is worth the purchase.

Maintenance

PLASTICIZERS

Don't think you're alone when your dodger glass yellows and glazes over. Just take a look at some convertibles that suffer the same or similar fates, due in no small part to the heat that is generated under a folded black cover and the harsh cleaning solvents in car washes.

Platicizers help maintain the stability of plastics, but when degraded, allow color changes and cracking in the base material to occur. An analogy is your teak, that when dried of its oils, causes the wood to crack, splinter and discolor. In some cases nothing can be done to save it.

One of the common cleaning agents that removes a plasticizer (on the surface at the very least) is one that contains ammonia. Ever cleaned your dodger glass with "Windex" with ammonia? Don't! The same also applies to the new rub rails on Island Packets that have been prone to color shifts and other complaints.

When you get down to it, think of other plastic materials topside. Those cowl vents for example (dorade vents). Are yours dried, discolored or sticky on top? They're joining the fate of the "Landau" roof.

Use only the mildest soaps, soft rags and wax to clean and protect. This applies to all plastics, including lifeline covers.

I used 3M's "Marine Fiberglass Cleaner and Wax" with great success on the hull, the stainless and on plastic!

Now remember the comments about Lifelines (remove covers) made by the surveyor? When the covers turn yellow and cracks, it is "history" and should be removed before water can cause more damage than you already have. Try it without the covers. Why spend the $$ when your lifelines are probably just fine?

FIBERGLASS DECKS - Protecting

How we love to take care of the decks. We wash and scrub with that bristled brush we replace as soon as it looses its stiffness in the hope that the dirt and mold spots will never return. You know - those little black spots that appear in the non-skid areas of the cabin top and side decks. No such luck preventing that from occurring.

What has happened is that the rough bristles and/or cleaning solutions that some might use, actually roughen up the gelcoat, much as we do to prepare it for painting. Once roughened it can not be repaired using any process that I know of other than by using a "restorer," but the company name escapes me though it was noted in an Issue of Practical Sailor within the last year. This process has to be repeated and does not "fix" the problem.

Think about it - would you use a bristled brush on the smooth gelcoat of your hull? I hope not. The best prevention is to only clean gelcoat using soft smooth rags, and when necessary, products like 3M's Marine Fiberglass Cleaner and Wax." This removes soot from the transom, the pollution streaks on the hull as well as dings from shoes, etc. It smoothes the surface and protects the hull.

Keeping a boat free of salt crystals and dirt does wonders to alleviate moisture retention problems and the amplification of sunlight that can dull the surface rather quickly.

We know that waxing non-skid is a no-no and can be dangerous so how to get the color/gloss back. You might try that restorer or use a very thin paste wax like 3M's "Ultra Performance Paste Wax" that can be applied and buffed off the high areas without leaving the dry paste that many others do (like the Cleaner and Wax). Try it in a small area to test. It won't bring the decks back, but it just might help. Remember it can make the decks slicker but the excess is more easily removed.

Little Tricks

GETTING ON AND OFF THE BOAT

We hear stories of people falling off boats all the time, but it never seems that people do enough to address their own options should this occur. Of course when the boat is speeding away from you the options are few unless it somehow returns to you. But think about being pulled through the water at 6 knots - from the end of a jack line. How strong will you be then. Here are some ideas should the boat be more accessible.

What if you were at the bow or were able to get there. Try this one of these days (be careful of the cotter pins!!!). Using the bob stay, pull yourself up the wire and use the bottom of the stay where it attaches to the hull (dolphin striker) to support your foot (better with good tied shoes).

You'll be surprised how close the bowsprit and pulpit will be to a free hand and how simple it is to walk up the wire and then to the security of the bowsprit, as you use your arms and upper body. You can assist yourself beforehand by adding a webbed loop to a forward cleat, or the bow pulpit, and a light line at the bottom end of the webbing - to the dolphin striker - to ensure the webbing does not end up on the bowsprit when you really need it.

At the stern you can buy a variety of ladders that can be used to help access the cockpit, but a simple ladder can be made with little effort. Visit a climbing store or other shop that sells nylon webbing (buy as much as you think you might need) The wider the better. It can be used for more than this so too much is not all that bad.

Double the webbing and tie double knots (one over the other) - evenly spaced - and repeat until the length equals the freeboard + 3 feet or so. This will give you enough ladder to step into the first "rung" below the water's surface. At the upper end find a suitable attach point and secure by reaving one end through the upper loop. At the lower end you can fasten enough line to secure the end to the steering vane, hole in the rudder or whatever you feel will aid in your getting to the line when in the water. Remember, do not have enough line attached that it could become entangled in the propeller!

It's important to think about your own particular boat's access problems (davits, engines, dinghy, bimini supports, etc. They can all restrict access to the cockpit.)

Note: Good health and some physical conditioning are important things that are often overlooked, so all this assumes that you can use your upper body and legs.

Safety

ACCESS TO SAFETY EQUIPMENT

The trend for some cruisers is to have so much "stuff" on board that the stern pulpit is both an antenna farm and a storage rack. It is also seems that many are using it as a support for the lower ends of the bimini frame such that it is all but impossible for one to walk around the perimeter (i.e. Deck) of the boat, including the stern, and be able to stand and use full upper body strength when needed. This fact, and the one that the bimini seems to be up all the time, restricts movement, visibility and even airflow. It degrades sailing performance, contributes to exhaust entering the cockpit, interfering with windvanes or worse.

Our approach was different. The "bimini", which was really just the aft extension of the full enclosure, was never up when sailing (or motoring if we could help it). The lower ends of the frame were secured to the cockpit coaming and the top did not extend beyond the backstays. There were no straps anywhere and when retracted lower support bars held the hoop off the backstays as well. In this manner full access to the entire perimeter was possible and the Lifesling was always within reach and would not become entangled by other obstructions.

Please remember that the Lifesling does NOT mount on the inboard side of the stern pulpit. For access and safety, it should be on the outside.

More Storage Space

WATER STORAGE

No, this is not storage of the boat in the water but the ability to store more water than is currently possible in the 90 gallon water tank. If you have a water maker this might not be a problem, but even if you do there might be times when making water is not possible or practical. This is of course if you are cruising. Since many who own Island Packets aren't - forget it.

Anyway, so many people have brushed aside the idea of flexible tanks because of stories they have heard. Bet many of them were as a result of installations that were suspect or that the bags and the installations were not checked on a consistent/regular basis. The bags I've seen have been well made and very resistant to chaffing and are worth a second look.

Here is something to consider in terms of location and access. The prime access and location for a flexible tank is via the access panel at the aft end of the main cabin floor. A bag can be placed on the glassed surface but it is much more advisable to place it on top of a rubberized mat that allows water to pass beneath it and which keeps the moisture that might form on the surface of the bag from developing into mold, etc.

All flexible bags come with 4 corner grommets (min.) that can be used to secure the bag from movement, both fore and aft. It is almost impossible to secure the bag from lateral movement or movement up and down should a boat roll. In that case I think you might have something more to worry about since the bag will not violate the water tank, hull or cockpit floor.

Hoses from the fill and retraction ports can be easily led to whatever pump is appropriate, whether it is the water maker, deck fill or the boat's water system pump. When not needed the bag can be removed.

The use of a bag should be thought out and decisions must be made on cleaning and inspection cycles, regularity of water use from the bag, and other factors. Why have water in it when the 90 gallons is enough?

You can also thank Bob Johnson for his smooth hull interiors, especially the bilge area beneath the water tank where chaffing concerns are not nearly as great as they might be on a competitor's boat.

One thought to keep in mind, and this applies to fuel as well - the most dangerous place (less efficient from the perspective of boat performance) to store water and fuel is along the deck rails, whether they are secured or not. They restrict movement, disrupt vision, are debris hazards in heavy seas with the decks awash, and they detrimentally affect the righting moment and sail performance of the boat. Anything along any rail will to some degree affect the ability of the boat to shed water.

VENTILATION

There may never be enough for all of us and for some there never is. Some of the older Island Packets did not even have the dorade vents that the 35/37 both have. Their help in increasing the turnover of cabin air is immeasurable, but to get more air without opening hatches we often resort to what are sometimes referred to as mushroom or solar vents.

They come in a variety of styles from manufacturers as Nicro and Vetus and each one has their plusses and minuses which I will not go into here, at least not yet. I will say that you do have more than one brand to choose from and my next choice will be different than my last. I will also have to install my own dorade type vent which is also available and easily installed. For a better selection than you'll find in some boat supply stores look at the Defender Catalog or on-line.

For me, the choice in location was easy. I do not put them in hatches as they weaken the glass, block the light when I want it and when I cover the hatch with sunbrella to decrease the heat and sun damage to floors, the vent would no longer have been useful. The head in the 35 was my choice, but the vent design will be different on the catboat. I'll write about that in my catboat newsletter.

Electrical

THE SURVEY

Vapor switches - Now what the heck is a vapor switch? Well, now I know and so will you, if you don't already know. They are what is more commonly referred to as a battery selector (i.e. 1/2/Both) switch. They have been called (Europe especially) a "vapor switch" because they are safe to have in a compartment where hydrogen gas (which is explosive in the right concentrations) can be generated by batteries. "Playstation", a very large catamaran due to start racing around the world on January, 1 2001, knows that well.

AC bleed through - When I showed a simplified electrical configuration to an electrical engineer I work with at Goddard he confirmed what I'd suspected.

In "my" configuration (the bus bars in the electrical cabinet) quite a few of the wire bundles are wire tied together and secured to the liner board, along with the bus bars.

The problem lies in the proximity of the wires between the 12V and the 110V systems. The power, especially when the load is high, will jump from the 110 positive, to the neutral or ground wires that they may be wire tied to. It is never advisable to mix wiring in such close proximity, especially when it comes from such different sources and we have such a concern over electrolysis.

An example of a load is when the boat's water heater or a cabin heater uses the AC system. This will cause the polarity light to come on, albeit faintly. It has in my case and many others I've talked to.

If I still had the boat I would have tested the "proximity/contact" theory (my inverter issue as well) by separating the bundles and observing the effect on the polarity light as I did so. We sold the boat before I had a chance to test it. I will not have the AC and DC so close together in the next boat!

T. H. Butler Smythe

79 Silopanna Road

Annapolis, Maryland 21403