Your shows are the best part of the internet...informative, colorful, philosophic. You are the bluewater Anthony Bourdain! Looking forward to some port activities, local color, local salts, dinner drinks for 1 at the watering holes...merci beaucoups, Patrick!
Love your videos Patrick, you have a great way of showing sailing like no other channel does. We wouldn't have thought it would be that difficult to use the emergency tiller.
I have filmed an alternative for an autopilot failure. I'll post it in the near future. Hopefully I won't have to use either the emergency tiller, or the back-up for the autopilot ever again. That said, it's good to practice.
Patrick Laine We are buying our first boat Patrick, it's a Bavaria 38 Cruiser and unfortunately it doesn't have autopilot YET, It will be one of the first things we buy, after an epirb and life-raft service. It's all good practice to try your emergency backups, I don't think enough sailors do it. [Gav]
You dock with confidence and that is always a pleasure to watch. I have seen to many tentative sailors poorly approach moorings and fail to properly protect the other boats around them from their carelessness. Kudos to you.
Many thanks, but I still manage to get caught out by the tide or wind at times. I have enough experience now that my dockings are always safe, but not always pretty. :-)
We enjoy your journeys and observations. Our Older Brother was an avid sailor. We had opportunities to, come or go, to the sea when younger but now are much more drawn to its wonders, solitude and awesome beauty. Of the poets we offer this brief recommendation - Basho, Japanese and Dard, Persian. For those not fully aware Dard is in the Iranian/Persian tradition offering wonderful insights. An expression our Grand Father alway said to us as we went out - "Keep the Wind to Your Back and Way Good". Thank You. Enjoy the Sea.
Patrick, great video. The emergency tiler may be lighter if the wheels were disconnected from the rudder (as that is the sernario you would use the emergency tiller)? And that you for the kind comments about my poetry, it is really appreciated, as it comes from a sailor I respect.
Had to use my emergency tiller due to the wheel/rudder linkage disconnecting. It was only manageable at speeds of 3Kts or less. Any faster, and I had the same problem as Patrick demonstrated.
i have come to really enjoy your videos. I think that your aviation background, makes for a thorough and pragmatic approach to single handed sailing. i find your videos very informative. Thank you, and please keep sharing.
Excellent again. It's really useful showing the final pilotage and the docking - I'm gradually adding a few places to my list of places I want to visit.
Darn it, I have a permanent smile on my face as I observe your passages...it hurts, ;-) Have many good friends from Lewis, can't say I've met a Harrisman!!
Hi Patrick. I am just catching up on your videos which are filled with good vibrations. Many thanks for your efforts, and are all appreciated very much.. I own personally a Mason43 ketch, sailing around the Med-Aegean seas.. You are invited these warm waters having almost no tide issues, well probably other issues might involved to square with that but all is good anyways.. And one thing I would mark on that is your dockings cannot be as straight forward as you do, clean, direct as precise as (I know you are a pilot in profession :) ) the pilot lands the plane which never accepts any sort of collisional manouverings.. ;) Good to having you around!
Very kind of you Cu T. On the subject of dockings, I must admit I have a boat that is quite easy to maneuver ----- very little prop walk (due to a sail drive) and a fin keel (much easier to turn than a full keel). Despite the relative ease of my boat, I still manage to have some very 'entertaining' arrivals and departures at times. :-) Fair winds to you.
I had no problem with your small blip on the last video. I am new to your channel and I am just happy to share your adventure. Fair winds and thanks. You are an amazing driver!
See what you mean , you would need block and tackle, but as others have said probably works better with wheel disconnected, hydrovane looks cool you can mount it off centre and gives you an extra rudder when yours drops off, truly boot full views
Hi Patrick, Very nice and interesting as always. One comment regarding the emergency tiller: Probably, if disconnected from the linkages and gears (if one or some are broken, which is the likely event of having to use it), you will not have to move all the system. It would just move the rudder, which is what most tillers do. The effort would me much less. Yet, the ergonomics of it is a different discussion. Of course that would not help with your specific problem, since what was broken was the autopilot, not the steering. Wish you safe winds., my friend.
Kleman500 you bring up a very good point. The other I’d raise is leverage. If you concentrate the force on the end of the tiller - not at the middle - you are using more leverage and it’s easier to move.
Thanks gents. I just don't think the emergency tiller is the best solution for this. I've come up with a better idea -- that I am waiting for moderate winds and seas to test (and film).
Wunderschon! God, Scotland is beautiful! "Sail occasionally right into the wind" to know you're ALIVE! Ab-so-damn-lutely right !!!!! Or as Blake said, "Man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a Heaven for??"
I like you eternal optimism about sailing against the wind and the current, Patrick, but you know what they say, "Pessimist and a well informed optimist."
Yeah -- I get that a lot...... I don't for two reasons: 1) I don't really have the quality of camera to do justice to travelogue type filming, and 2) the videos are already too long. I aim for 15 minutes --- and my first edit is ALWAYS at 25, which I painfully cut back to 16-17 minutes. (Average viewing time is about 8 minutes, so adding extra stuff better be really special, or it will not be watched.) I'd probably change my mind if I had a pretty girl with me to film. :-)
You sir are still alive. Thanks for another great one. ,,,,,,,/),,,,,,,,fair winds to you Isabel. Tobermore, best scotch in the world (at least one of my favorites) in the sound of mull. Just up the hill from where you berthed. Called the Tobermory distillery the scotch Is called Leidag.
Yes -- I was going to mention that. Several of the places I visited had distilleries literally next to the marina. ! I am sure they are responsible for more than one Scotch fisherman missing the tide.
Hi Patrick, I see more and more solo sailors having pennant number one on their backstay; those who know can come up to help you mooring. Few harbourmasters show up to help you dock, are we too vain to say we're by ourselves, unless its blowing 25+ . No nasty weather yet, looks like the pre-season is the right time to travel these waters. Cheers.
I haven't heard of the 'pennant one' trend Guy, though I think it is a good idea. I have seen a few AIS signals saying 'lone sailor' in the name -- which is also probably a good idea. You are right regarding the wx: I have had less than 5 days where the wind got above 23-25 knots, and only one I can remember with gusts above 35. That's remarkable for what is now a 9 week passage. I would even go as far as to say, I would have liked a bit more wind the last 8-10 days --- as I have been doing much more motor sailing than I usually do (or like). (That sentence will probably curse me with two gales in the next two weeks!) Thanks for commenting.
Yes -- too much so. When the wind blows there, it can be very ugly --- but I had 10 days of almost no wind. I'm not sure that is unusual for these protected waters. Not great for sailing, but wonderful for peaceful, beautiful experience.
Its rare that people understand taking the stem for a single hander. Bravo HM Stornaway. I'm afraid folk don't understand emergency tillers. Or what they are for!! I have to attach mine though fairleads to winches and my E Tiller is massively strong and short. The winches steer the ship! A person, without winches, could not steer! My ship does sail to windward .... very well and I do beat ... often ... unless there is a foul tide and then I don't make the passage. And of course if its a mirror calm like you had in the Sound of Mull and then its engine if you have to get somewhere. Bravo Patrick. One hell of a voyage! I'm in the Beaulieu River at Bucklers Hard. Tomorrow France .. I hope. Fair winds to you Patrick and stay safe. James
I see you on the hook at Bucklers James. Hope you have a great passage to France. I'm off to Dublin tomorrow, but may pull up a bit short if the wind does not make the rendezvous. I'll have a Guinness for you.
I thought the 19sec version was fun. A very quick trip as it were. I hope you got to see the island of St Kilda which has such a historical connection with my home town of Melbourne. When the inhabitants left left the island, I believe a large number of them settled in Melbourne. Also, there was a vessel called the Lady of St Kilda that was moored for ages off what is known as the St Kilda Esplanade in the suburb that carries the name. I believe that the name is Norse for “shield” and the emblem of the St Kilda football club is, in fact, a shield. So many stories about the place. Love the videos Patrick.
I didn't get to St Kilda Ian. it's a bit disconnected from the rest of the islands ---- about 20 NM out into the Atlantic if memory serves me right. I'm definitely coming back some day -- so next time around.
St,Kilda is definitely worth a visit. I was there in 2016, a very strange place with the village in village bay all abandoned. Nice wee museum in one of the restored houses
Garry Crothers On my list of places to go. The connection with my home city, Melbourne, is huge. St Kilda, an inner suburb, is a place far from quiet. Just spent my first night on my new home, a Hallberg Rassy 38, an Bruinisse in Holland so the time to visit St Kilda might not be far away
Hi Patrick, great video as always. The Emergency Tiller is always going to be fairly impossible at that speed with the prop wash. It would be nice, wind allowing, to see how it performs with the engine off.
Nice idea to try the emergency tiller in the absence of an emergency. I will try this too on my next trip, I never did so far. Yet I believe that it will be much lighter to operate once your regular tiller and wheel mechanism IS broke because that would take a lot of friction and inertia out of the system. Let me know when you are heading to German ports should you have the idea one day!
Yeah, I think all of those comments about it being much easier to use if the system is broken are probably true. That said, my friend who had to go a very long distance on the emergency tiller had a very difficult time. A bracket broke which made the autopilot inoperable, but the rest of the system was still in place = very heavy load. I hope I never have to do it for real.
Nice explanation of the use and usability of the emergency tiller. If the autopilot fails, use the wheel and if the wheel fails, use the autopilot. The emergency tiller is the last resort. I don't know if this is the case for your boat, but the Bavaria 40 Match has double redundancy as the wheels are connected to the quadrant independently.
Thanks Rusty. I did not know about the redundancy on the Match. Mine, unfortunately, does not have that. I'll look into whether or not it can be retrofitted like that.
I have been waiting for this update and it sure didn’t disappoint - thanks. I wasn’t too impressed with the geometry of your Emergency Tiller, the angle above the connection appears odd and effectively reduced leverage, however I suspect (that as other commentators have pointed out) the resistance you encountered was caused by the gearing of linkage to the twin helm positions, So in reality and in ‘emergency situation’ they would not be connected. Even so it looked loose and not ideal for steering for any length of time. I suspect Bavaria have there reasons for putting the ‘kink’ in the tiller arm, but it’s not clear to me.
The kink is so that it clears the wheels, on a charter holiday our 50ft bavaria wheel drive snapped, the emergency tiller on board was home made (I think) it sat vertical with the arm at a right angle but it hit the wheels giving us around 25% movement. We were entering a busy port and didn't have time to take the wheels off so we had to quickly reverse it and one of us had to steer backwards hanging off the bathing platform!
I have a similar setup for a emergency tiller with an 3 ft long ax handle as the tiller. It takes about 20 pounds of pressure. To get a longer tiller for more leverage I would need to remove the wheel. It did occur to me to setup a 2:1 block and tackle to lighten the load.
I am going to film a block and tackle test in the near future Pomodoro. I just need some wind and waves to make the test realistic. Thanks for commenting.
Most of the time when I'm sailing my tiller can be operated with my baby finger and if I tune the sails just right , I don't even need to touch the tiller. I think if your chain broke from your helm , it would get a lot easier. Plus being under motor power could also make it stiffer. Great Video . Cheers
I just don't know about the chain effect Robert --- but I'll try it again without the engine running. My friend whose autopilot did break/disconnect had the same problem as me (very stiff to control) -- and he has a similar size boat. I'll try it again though.
I don't know much about it either , but I can't see any other reason why your tiller would be stiff. Old ancient ships 3 times the length and ten times the weight had tillers and if they were as stiff as yours, they'd wear out helmsmen and I never heard of such a thing. Let me know when you find out the problem with your tiller. There should be no forces involved with tillers as far as I'm concerned. I've been wrong about things in the past so take my advice with a grain of salt. LOL
Well done Patrick, wish I’d known you were going to Tobermory, I have a friend there who would have gladly shown you around. Another friend and I have noted that you are not stowing your fenders on passage, he doesn’t either, but I always would, as they present a potential hazard. Trivial I know, but then we disagree about the knot used to tie them on! Good job we’re best of friends. Safe passage and fair winds.
Thanks Anthony. I have 9 finders (and sometimes ten), that I must mount at every docking, because I don't know if they will put me port or starboard side to. I can only carry two forward at a time..... you see the problem of having to go through that twice (take down and put up) on every outing, and then having to set three lines on each side as well. I now it's not very nautical of me, but life as a solo sailor requires some compromises. :-)
Patrick Laine i hear you. I always request port side from the harbourmaster. They always oblige, depending which way the stern kicks it’s worth a try. Love the videos, let me know if your calling into Cardiff or any other Welsh port.
Hi Patrick, really enjoy following your journey and watching your videos. Now your heading down the West coast of UK if you plan is to visit Liverpool a place not to miss. Let us know and I will buy you a well earned pint. Roy
I have lost steering before on a long delivery. The sails will help you steer the boat. Not easy with squalls but in can and has been done. A major pain in the butt getting everything set right only to have a wind direction change that really messes everything. I did it for about 1,000 miles until I fixed the auto.
Ouch. 1000 miles -- now that is a challenge Lynn. I have been experimenting with a new block-based 'emergency' system. It works in flat waters, but will it work in gusty conditions with moderate seas. I'll film it in the near future.
You're certainly getting your approach to the docks down pat! That is the most unnerving moment for me but you execute it with ease again and again, nice job! Good tutoring on that emergency tiller, how about that? LOL
Hey Patrick, when your using the emergency tiller it may be easier to steer using a sail on the forestay... From the forestay to the rudder is probable 30 something feet which would be way less force to turn(with no engine). I could be totally wrong as i never have used one... I may find out the hard way lol, peace.
I was not trying to one up you Patrick. I worked on the docks in Florida catching boats coming in from Bahamas etc... I mean hundreds in a month! I am the authority on docking lol. Serious i'm not being rude it's just i've worked in the boating industry and lived on the water also. Not just take a couple months off and go on a trip. So when i see you dock i cringe along with everyone else who lives on that peir!!! If your that afraid of docking you should not be on a boat in the middle of the ocean. If lightning strikes your mast your could be putting another person in danger! The rescuer... Your boat is not designed to be in the locations that your in! That's one reason your not seeing similar boats around. That boat will not take a large wave crashing on the deck which can happen in any weather. All of your rigging and mast will be swept away instantly... just not designed for it. So don't get mad just don't try and convince other people its safe cause it's not, peace...
You are not the first person to cringe at my docking technique Jeffrey. I respect your experience and expertise. Why don't you make some videos of 15-20 solo dockings on a 40 foot boat in all kinds of wind conditions? The thousands of solo sailors who watch my channel would love to see the demonstration of a better technique. I've filmed 90 arrivals now in every condition possible, and will change the technique in a heartbeat if someone shows a better way. As to your comment about my boat not being seaworthy: really? That might come as a surprise to the thousands who have crossed the Atlantic both ways in a similar boat. What is it that you think is not seaworthy? The Selden mast, boom and rigging? The Lewmar winches? The Volvo Penta engine? The Elvstrom sails? The Raymarine electronics? The Dyneema halyards? Or is it the glass reinforced hull made by Bavaria? The insurance companies of thousands of Bavaria sailboats would like to know why it is not seaworthy. ;-) Fair winds to you Jeffrey.
Looks like beautiful sailing and ports. We have nothing like that in the Pacific unless you head way north or go to the south pacific . Central American ports can be interesting but can also be a PIA.
Hi Patrick. On my Bavaria the bearing on one wheel jammed up out in Bass Strait. The emergency tiller was terribly hard but we also needed to disconnect the chains on the wheels. In hindsight we only needed to disconnect one wheel and we could have used the other wheel but we didn’t identify the particular problem until back in port. 14 hours on emergency tiller!! Not fun. Thank you for your comments.
Yeah -- somone else suggest I have a special tool/process ready to disconnect the chain quickly should the need arise. Good advice! Access to that area is a real challenge on my boat ---- I'd hate to have to it in any seas.
Hope you visited the Famous Mishnish pub...great place. We used to take part in a race from Inverkip to Tobermory or as we called it Kip to the Mishnish.
I did indeed! You can barely hear me, but as I am entering the port, I say, 'The first building I see in North Ireland is a Pub --- Mishnish." I had a Guinness there!
Wow that tiller is sure tough . Like trying to turn a worm gear from the wheel side of it. bunje's just hooked to your wheels is what I'd try . Because there is very little movement once it's set up . You can hardly see any movement at all actually.
I don't remember which episode it was Robert, but I did do exactly that --- hooked bungies to the wheel. It worked very well in light to medium weather, but not at all once the wind was above 20 knots. I'm still tinkering….. :-)
I don't have the right camera equipment to do that justice Bob, nor the editing skills. Finally, the videos are too long as is........ Others do that very well.
Thank you Patrick for showing the emergency tiller in action. Love your videos with your tips and thoughts, always. Would you mind share with what settings you use for CPA and TCPA on your AIS alarm when you sailed inshore to Shetland and later offshore if you change the settings? I think you once said you sleep around 40 min when offshore but only 15 min coastal sailing. So I am very interested in ais alarm settings fit you. Kind regards, Peter
To be honest Peter, when inshore I really don't use the AIS other than as an interesting source of info (name of boat, etc.). I crank the range way down so the alarm isn't going off all of the time -- and only glance at it after I've seen a boat that interests me. No science there. Off shore --- but in busy area, I set the range scale at 6NM, and the alarm for 2 NM -- as I may be distracted by preparing dinner, etc., I prefer an early warning. Off shore but in a remote area, I set the range scale at 24 NM and the CPA for 3NM to have plenty of warning. Again, not a lot of science in that.... just feeling.
Patrick Laine thanks Patrick. I use iSailor on an iPad and unfortunately they max out at CPA 2 nm and then I can set TCPA as well. Where I sail there are lots of big container commercial traffic that go 15-20 knots and go around 5 knots. So I really don't like the small window of 2 nm as I want time to access and react. I can't just quickly "get out of there way" :)
Hydrovane windvane would be an excellent addition to your vessel, tracks better than the auto pilot, and can be used as an emergency rudder. You can also hook it up to a tiller pilot...Fair Winds!!!
I'm not going the be the bearer of sad news:) You can mount them off center a bit, we did it on a friends Morgan 383, and still could use the swim ladder..
A beautiful journey, Patrik. Thank you for sharing. I am not familiar with Bavarias and I have heard so much about the quality of these "production" modern boats that I am a little puzzled. I have a Scandinavian boat myself and so did my father as well, so I have never sailed with any other kind of boat. Apparently, your experience is satisfactory. What is your view on the quality of Bavarias, Beneteaus, Jeanneaus, and so forth? What do you think are the differences, if any, between these boats and the Scandinavian (Swan, Malö, Najad, HR, etc.)? If you had to choose a boat for your sailing needs, regardless of the price, which one would you go for? Keep squashing your life and having fun!
You are trying to get me in trouble with a lot of people Carlos. ;-) For certain, the Scandinavian boats are excellent in quality and seaworthiness.......but also very expensive. I've never really bought into the criticism of the production boats (at least the ones built since about 2005). All of the key components are built by world-class manufacturers, e.g., Lewmar winches, Seldon mast, Volvo Penta engine, North Sails, Raymarine electronics, Rocna or Delta anchor, etc. That leaves the hull form and internal comfort as differentiators...... I personally don't think there is a great difference in seaworthiness of modern boats and their predecessors ---- and the thousands of them that cross oceans without incident each year is proof of that. I'll let the old timers argue the perceived benefits of a 'full keel with a skeg rudder'......I'm from a different school.
I think the emergency tiller would be a little easier if the wheels were actually detached--there's probably a fair bit of friction involved in moving both wheels. Also being under power with the prop wash over the rudder will make turning the rudder a bit harder. As far as sailing poetry, I'd recommend John Masefield's "Dauber" if you haven't already read it, it's a classic from the commercial windjammer era (by someone who actually sailed on one).
Thanks Kevin. I'll try to check out Dauber. I have tried the emergency tiller before on several occasions, but don't recall if it was motor on or off. Always seemed very stiff to control to me. I'm going to film an alternative soon.
I was at first amazed to find out Lewis and Harris is actually a single island, but then I found this: “Another common method of dealing with cattle that strayed across the (Lewis-Harris) boundary was to cut one ear off before driving it back to its own pasture.” Well... I guess both gentlemen might be earless by now 🙉
Now, you see, when I sailed these waters there were no pontoons, no marinas, of course its better in many respects, but we spent two days trying to find diesel , on a Saturday, in the end a little fishing boat sold us some at 11P a litre!
one more "tiller theory" :-) I experienced similar difficulty handling emergency tiller on my bavaria 33. what i realized was that as long as there is a strong stream of water generated by the propeller under engine power the fin feels almost stuck. The moment i idled the engine and boat was moving under its inertia (similar to going under sail) the pressure eased significantly. I guess what it means is you'd hope for some wind to move forwards after loss of steering on these modern factory boats :)
I really enjoy your videos, thanks for taking the time to create them. When you pull in to these marinas with only your bow tied off, how do you keep from clashing with the boats on either side, and how do you get onto the dock?
Thanks DJ. Not sure I understand the question. There is usually a finger pontoon (catway in France) on the side that you brace against with power/helm. If you are referring to those Mediterranean moorings with no finger pontoon, there is usually a line attached to the 'pier' called a 'slimeline' that is moored to the bottom of the bay directly opposite you --- 40 meters out. You pick up the slime line, and attach it to the bow (if you have reversed in) or stern, if you are bow first. It holds you in a stable position perpendicular to the pier. You get off by jumping off the bow (many boats have a wooden ramp they attach), or via the stern platform. Sorry if I misunderstood.
Thanks. My mistake, I watched again and now see the finger on your port side at 13:10. The first time I didn’t see it and thought you were tied to the dock between the two boats with a single line from your bow.
Yeah, you are not the first to suggest that Steven. I don't for two reasons: 1) I'd need to invest in much better filming equipment and editing systems if I want to capture the 'travelogue' aspect; and 2) the average watch time on my videos is 8.5 minutes -- and has not changed since about episode 3. My videos are already generally between 15 and 20 minutes long, so I'd have to cut out quite a bit of 'sailing' to show more shore time.........
@@patricklaine6958 Hi Patrick, Have a look at the adventures of an old sea dog.........he set of from PLymouth about 2 years ago and gone across the atlantic and the pacific oceans alone, he shows some brilliant footage ashore etc. He's in his late 60's I think. Worth a watch though when you have time. BTW I am from Saltash, Cornwall.
Good video Patrick, nice seas beautiful scenery. I dont understand why the emergency tiller was that hard. I've seen it on other yachts and it was effortless, maybe a different design of some sort but one thing is for sure, you couldn't steer your vessel with that for a long time. 😎 cheers.
I just don't know if it would behave differently if there was a 'real' breakage. I'll test it again with the engine off, but I don't think that will make much difference.
It is not so much about the engine off, as for the removing the effects of hydraulic transmission. The wheel pump allows for ~5 turns end to end translating into 1/4 of a turn of the rudder, assuming rudder deflects 45° to each side = 90° total. That results in ~20:1 leverage. So whereas pushing the piston by rotating the pump may be trivial, rotating the pump by pushing the piston might not be. Try with the boat in port and piston/actuator disconnected from the rudder quadrant, if possible. See how it feels. Curious....
Patrick Laine Not the engine the chain and hydraulic system will make the emergency rudder very hard to operate. If they are not involved because of failure the rudder is free.
Thanks Gary. I found UK ports to generally be about 10-15% more expensive than French ports (Atlantic). I would say that average berthing fees for my 12 meter boat were 30-32 GBP per night, and many make you pay for electricity (and even a shower) on top of that. Average French Atlantic ports 27-29 Euros per night --- and I am a member of a number of organizations that receive discounts/free nights as well.
The travel is very inexpensive (unless you motor-sail a lot due to lack of wind). The marina fee was very low --- like 10€ per night plus you pay for electricity as you go. Restaurants there are fairly expensive --- but you can purchase food in the supermarket and cook on board if that is an issue.
Hello Patrick, I'm wondering what are the costs/fees are for docking/staying in a marina? these looked like nice little towns, if you have any video of your excursions into town that would be nice to see.
It is usually based on the length of the boat. On the Atlantic coast of France, I can count on paying about €25-32 per night, but there are often special deals ---- 3 nights for the price of 2, etc. In the UK, I found pricing to be about 10% more expensive. In Iceland/Faeroe Islands, they were for the most part free of charge or very low cost. In The Med, prices are much more expensive --- even the double of what I normally pay.
I totally love your Bavaria Patrick, but that emergency tiller setup would be enough for me to craft a cassette rudder being as how the ones they sell are hellishly expensive and more often than not do not seem to provide the type of fit I would prefer.
Hi Patrick watch all you videos...Question for you I see the winch is almost in line with the emergency tiller . Could you not take a rope from the winches and stabilize the tiller ? Something to think about if that really is required. Let me know your thoughts
That was the point I was trying to make Jim. Others suggested running bungy lines or chords to the tiller to use it to control the direction of the boat. It wont work. The problem is that you DON'T want the tiller to be fixed rigidly. It needs to be able to move naturally to oppose the motion caused by wind and waves. There are much easier ways to do this than with the emergency tiller. I am going to film one that I hope will work as soon as I get a bit of wind and some waves.
Patrick Laine it would be cool to see some of those! Although...not too much... One of the reasons I, and I think many of your subscribers, like your channel is the sailing! So many “sailing” channels are more “hanging out on land” than sailing. Maybe tell us your favorite sites ashore? Hoping to follow in your wake!
Yeah, I've thought a lot about that Benjamin, and made a purposeful decision not to do the 'travelogue' thing. I thought if I tried to mix sailing and travel, I would do neither very well. That is why you don't see any hiking in the forest or on the beaches in my videos. (My videos are already much too long for UA-cam anyway.) Thanks for commenting.
If the steering linkage between the wheel(s) and rudder broke would that not mean less resistance for the emergency tiller? I think it would. Though probably not enough reduction in resistance to make a sheet to tiller arrangement viable as a stopgap for a loss of autopilot. (Oops I see Jonathan the sailor already brought this up)
To be honest, I find the UK marinas a bit expensive --- usually around £34 for my 40 foot/12M boat, which is anywhere from 10 to 20% more than I pay in France. Ouch.
This emergency tiller is so scary!!!! You better maintain the regular system and know how to fix it in weather conditions where it may become prone to brake!
I have filmed a new set-up Philippe for use if the autopilot fails. It seemed to work OK, but the conditions were not too difficult (seas/wind). I'll post that video soon.
Hi Patrick, I'm an internet sailor thoroughly enjoying your videos. One question, you appear to not carry a dingey, is that the case? If so, does it restrict your choice of mooring? I'm guessing its less of an issue in northern Europe with its many marinas. Sorry if a silly question from a landlubber who wishes he wasn't :-)
Not a bad question at all. I have an inflatable dinghy stored below decks. I use it, but don't want to film rowing ashore to clean laundry. This current season I brought a kayak. I may film some short segments in it.
@@patricklaine6958 Thanks for taking the time to reply, what got me thinking was when you had the engine failure. I didn't know if a dingey engine could be rigged to move the boat. I'm assuming even if you had one it wouldn't have been powerful enough in those conditions. An aside, I very much enjoy seeing sailing from the perspective of....someone as equally mature as myself :-) I'm just finishing a post-retirement PhD, and have promised myself some lessons as a finishing treat, inspired by your adventures
Ok you convinced me - if I ever have a nice boat with an emergency rudder I’m gonna have something with mechanical advantage, not 3€ of chromed bent French iron.
:-) My friend that I mentioned that did it for 200 NM in high seas, has since built a framework to hold the tiller more securely should he ever experience this again. It was a nightmare for him --- not to be relived. Thanks for watching Cliff.
Patrick, I feel you should show your location and passage details in every episode. At the moment there is no relationship as to where you are. Also a few views of the harbours you enter would add interest. However I do enjoy your videos.
Patrick Laine no problem im just very grateful you take your time to do the vlogs ,I've just finished watching and the islands look so nice and the docking areas look so sturdy well maintained and clean looking forward to the next vlogs :)
Wouldn't it get much easier if the chain is in fact broken and gone? (Please don't try :-) ) Now you have to also turn both wheels with the transmission ratio opposing you.
You could be right Stefan. That said, in the case of my friend, a bracket broke and his autopilot fell to the bilge --- and his boat (same length length as mine) was very difficult to control in high seas/winds.
Your shows are the best part of the internet...informative, colorful, philosophic. You are the bluewater Anthony Bourdain!
Looking forward to some port activities, local color, local salts, dinner drinks for 1 at the watering holes...merci beaucoups, Patrick!
As always it is a pleasure to watch your videos. Thank you for sharing.
Very kind of you Jose. Much appreciated.
Thanks again. I spent many weeks in summers diving out of Tobbermory and too many nights in the pub. Fantastic spot.
Love your videos Patrick, you have a great way of showing sailing like no other channel does.
We wouldn't have thought it would be that difficult to use the emergency tiller.
I have filmed an alternative for an autopilot failure. I'll post it in the near future. Hopefully I won't have to use either the emergency tiller, or the back-up for the autopilot ever again. That said, it's good to practice.
Patrick Laine
We are buying our first boat Patrick, it's a Bavaria 38 Cruiser and unfortunately it doesn't have autopilot YET, It will be one of the first things we buy, after an epirb and life-raft service.
It's all good practice to try your emergency backups, I don't think enough sailors do it. [Gav]
You dock with confidence and that is always a pleasure to watch. I have seen to many tentative sailors poorly approach moorings and fail to properly protect the other boats around them from their carelessness. Kudos to you.
Many thanks, but I still manage to get caught out by the tide or wind at times. I have enough experience now that my dockings are always safe, but not always pretty. :-)
Beautiful place Faroe 🇫🇴island and beautiful romantic Scotland coastlines
Loving these videos giving me a great perspective on sailing hope they continue be safe and thank you
From PL to PL, thanks for the kind words. :-)
Quite the philosopher! Enjoyed your video as always, and particularly, the first couple of minutes.
Very kind Ian. I remind myself of that every time I complain about having to beat into the wind. ;-)
When you’re sailing under sail let us enjoy with you. Great info. You are easy to listen too.
Much appreciated Silky. Welcome back.
Fantastic videos. I love your adventures.
Very kind of you Sue. Much appreciated.
We enjoy your journeys and observations. Our Older Brother was an avid sailor. We had opportunities to, come or go, to the sea when younger but now are much more drawn to its wonders, solitude and awesome beauty. Of the poets we offer this brief recommendation - Basho, Japanese and Dard, Persian. For those not fully aware Dard is in the Iranian/Persian tradition offering wonderful insights. An expression our Grand Father alway said to us as we went out - "Keep the Wind to Your Back and Way Good". Thank You. Enjoy the Sea.
Thanks for the suggested authors Triton. I'll check them out. Many thanks. :-)
Patrick, great video. The emergency tiler may be lighter if the wheels were disconnected from the rudder (as that is the sernario you would use the emergency tiller)? And that you for the kind comments about my poetry, it is really appreciated, as it comes from a sailor I respect.
My poet friend. You are very welcome. Your book is delightful. Best regards.
Had to use my emergency tiller due to the wheel/rudder linkage disconnecting. It was only manageable at speeds of 3Kts or less. Any faster, and I had the same problem as Patrick demonstrated.
Dear Patrick, as usual, another greatly inspiring video. I find myself now waiting for the next every time :) Fair winds and keep safe!
Thanks for the very kind feedback Vincenzo.
i have come to really enjoy your videos. I think that your aviation background, makes for a thorough and pragmatic approach to single handed sailing. i find your videos very informative. Thank you, and please keep sharing.
Much appreciated Jason. Thanks for watching.
Excellent again. It's really useful showing the final pilotage and the docking - I'm gradually adding a few places to my list of places I want to visit.
Thanks again JAS. I still owe you a private note. I'll get to it.
I sent you a 'message' on your UA-cam account. Best regards
Thanks. I have sent a reply.
Your videos are always very interesting. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Thanks for the support Patrick. Much appreciated.
Darn it, I have a permanent smile on my face as I observe your passages...it hurts, ;-) Have many good friends from Lewis, can't say I've met a Harrisman!!
Well it looks like I've got passed 19 seconds so I'll enjoy the rest of the vid!
Hi Patrick. I am just catching up on your videos which are filled with good vibrations. Many thanks for your efforts, and are all appreciated very much.. I own personally a Mason43 ketch, sailing around the Med-Aegean seas.. You are invited these warm waters having almost no tide issues, well probably other issues might involved to square with that but all is good anyways.. And one thing I would mark on that is your dockings cannot be as straight forward as you do, clean, direct as precise as (I know you are a pilot in profession :) ) the pilot lands the plane which never accepts any sort of collisional manouverings.. ;) Good to having you around!
Very kind of you Cu T. On the subject of dockings, I must admit I have a boat that is quite easy to maneuver ----- very little prop walk (due to a sail drive) and a fin keel (much easier to turn than a full keel). Despite the relative ease of my boat, I still manage to have some very 'entertaining' arrivals and departures at times. :-) Fair winds to you.
Scotland's shores are amazing and I've seen only a little. Awesome docking demonstrations!
Much appreciated William. Thanks.
Thank you for share another amazing video . I would like to see more about techinical issues, for example the autopilot.
Thanks for watching Wander N. I'm giving a lot of thought as to what content would be best for the next series….. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks again for another great video, as a someone who wants to solo your videos are inspirational
Thanks for the nice feedback James. Very kind.
I had no problem with your small blip on the last video. I am new to your channel and I am just happy to share your adventure. Fair winds and thanks.
You are an amazing driver!
Very kind of you David. Thanks for commenting.
Awesome. Thanks for posting these Patrick - Hope to cross paths one day.... Matt, St Augustine Fl (Sailing V Libertè)
Very kind of you Matt. I'll buy the first one.
See what you mean , you would need block and tackle, but as others have said probably works better with wheel disconnected, hydrovane looks cool you can mount it off centre and gives you an extra rudder when yours drops off, truly boot full views
Excellent, as always. Well worth the wait. Thank you.
Much appreciated Wynn.
Hi Patrick,
Very nice and interesting as always. One comment regarding the emergency tiller: Probably, if disconnected from the linkages and gears (if one or some are broken, which is the likely event of having to use it), you will not have to move all the system. It would just move the rudder, which is what most tillers do. The effort would me much less. Yet, the ergonomics of it is a different discussion. Of course that would not help with your specific problem, since what was broken was the autopilot, not the steering.
Wish you safe winds., my friend.
Kleman500 you bring up a very good point. The other I’d raise is leverage. If you concentrate the force on the end of the tiller - not at the middle - you are using more leverage and it’s easier to move.
Thanks gents. I just don't think the emergency tiller is the best solution for this. I've come up with a better idea -- that I am waiting for moderate winds and seas to test (and film).
Kleman500 7
That was a very flimsy tiller, would invent a better solution, look forward to see how Patrick attacks this issue.
Another interesting and informative video Patrick.
Many thanks Greg.
Master of solo docking ! Great video
I'm not sure about that title Jacob, but many thanks for the kind remark.
Interesting coincidence docking in Lochboisdale beside a boat called "Am Frangach" (The Frenchman). I'm enjoying your videos immensely, Patrick.
Many thanks Mike. I had a nice dinner at that hotel across from the marina there. :-)
Wunderschon! God, Scotland is beautiful! "Sail occasionally right into the wind" to know you're ALIVE! Ab-so-damn-lutely right !!!!!
Or as Blake said, "Man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a Heaven for??"
Will Shaw Browning, not Blake
As always great video about great cruising grounds.
Thanks Patrick. I needed to spend more time there really.
Thank you again for the video,another great video.
Thanks for the kind feedback Rimas.
I like you eternal optimism about sailing against the wind and the current, Patrick, but you know what they say, "Pessimist and a well informed optimist."
Hi Patrick, Been following you on marine tracker, and looking forward to this video. very informative, keep them coming.
There is no hiding in today's world! Thanks for the kind remark Steve.
Just a little thought maybe we could see a touch of the amazing places you visit.
Yeah -- I get that a lot...... I don't for two reasons: 1) I don't really have the quality of camera to do justice to travelogue type filming, and 2) the videos are already too long. I aim for 15 minutes --- and my first edit is ALWAYS at 25, which I painfully cut back to 16-17 minutes. (Average viewing time is about 8 minutes, so adding extra stuff better be really special, or it will not be watched.) I'd probably change my mind if I had a pretty girl with me to film. :-)
Glad you fixed it. Tough crowd.
I'll probably get 70 comments, "The original 14 seconds was better." :-)
Nah, went downhill after the first 10 😁😁😁
You sir are still alive. Thanks for another great one. ,,,,,,,/),,,,,,,,fair winds to you Isabel. Tobermore, best scotch in the world (at least one of my favorites) in the sound of mull. Just up the hill from where you berthed. Called the Tobermory distillery the scotch Is called Leidag.
Yes -- I was going to mention that. Several of the places I visited had distilleries literally next to the marina. ! I am sure they are responsible for more than one Scotch fisherman missing the tide.
As always great video
Much appreciated Frank.
Hi Patrick, I see more and more solo sailors having pennant number one on their backstay; those who know can come up to help you mooring. Few harbourmasters show up to help you dock, are we too vain to say we're by ourselves, unless its blowing 25+ .
No nasty weather yet, looks like the pre-season is the right time to travel these waters. Cheers.
I haven't heard of the 'pennant one' trend Guy, though I think it is a good idea. I have seen a few AIS signals saying 'lone sailor' in the name -- which is also probably a good idea. You are right regarding the wx: I have had less than 5 days where the wind got above 23-25 knots, and only one I can remember with gusts above 35. That's remarkable for what is now a 9 week passage. I would even go as far as to say, I would have liked a bit more wind the last 8-10 days --- as I have been doing much more motor sailing than I usually do (or like). (That sentence will probably curse me with two gales in the next two weeks!) Thanks for commenting.
Thank you very much! What a mirror like sea 😲
Yes -- too much so. When the wind blows there, it can be very ugly --- but I had 10 days of almost no wind. I'm not sure that is unusual for these protected waters. Not great for sailing, but wonderful for peaceful, beautiful experience.
Time of reflections, upon sailing and life, on a mirror of water! 😉
Its rare that people understand taking the stem for a single hander. Bravo HM Stornaway. I'm afraid folk don't understand emergency tillers. Or what they are for!! I have to attach mine though fairleads to winches and my E Tiller is massively strong and short. The winches steer the ship! A person, without winches, could not steer! My ship does sail to windward .... very well and I do beat ... often ... unless there is a foul tide and then I don't make the passage. And of course if its a mirror calm like you had in the Sound of Mull and then its engine if you have to get somewhere. Bravo Patrick. One hell of a voyage! I'm in the Beaulieu River at Bucklers Hard. Tomorrow France .. I hope. Fair winds to you Patrick and stay safe. James
I see you on the hook at Bucklers James. Hope you have a great passage to France. I'm off to Dublin tomorrow, but may pull up a bit short if the wind does not make the rendezvous. I'll have a Guinness for you.
Enjoy Dublin .. I'm now in France which is lovely. Enjoy the proper Guinness!
love ur videos keep safe
Another short story is 'Alone Together' by Christian Williams.
I'm a big fan of his Robert. He makes great videos.
I thought the 19sec version was fun. A very quick trip as it were. I hope you got to see the island of St Kilda which has such a historical connection with my home town of Melbourne. When the inhabitants left left the island, I believe a large number of them settled in Melbourne. Also, there was a vessel called the Lady of St Kilda that was moored for ages off what is known as the St Kilda Esplanade in the suburb that carries the name. I believe that the name is Norse for “shield” and the emblem of the St Kilda football club is, in fact, a shield. So many stories about the place. Love the videos Patrick.
I didn't get to St Kilda Ian. it's a bit disconnected from the rest of the islands ---- about 20 NM out into the Atlantic if memory serves me right. I'm definitely coming back some day -- so next time around.
St,Kilda is definitely worth a visit. I was there in 2016, a very strange place with the village in village bay all abandoned.
Nice wee museum in one of the restored houses
Garry Crothers On my list of places to go. The connection with my home city, Melbourne, is huge. St Kilda, an inner suburb, is a place far from quiet. Just spent my first night on my new home, a Hallberg Rassy 38, an Bruinisse in Holland so the time to visit St Kilda might not be far away
Hi Patrick, great video as always. The Emergency Tiller is always going to be fairly impossible at that speed with the prop wash. It would be nice, wind allowing, to see how it performs with the engine off.
I'll do that. I have tested it in the past (with the same result), but don't recall if it was engine on or off.
Nice idea to try the emergency tiller in the absence of an emergency. I will try this too on my next trip, I never did so far.
Yet I believe that it will be much lighter to operate once your regular tiller and wheel mechanism IS broke because that would take a lot of friction and inertia out of the system.
Let me know when you are heading to German ports should you have the idea one day!
Yeah, I think all of those comments about it being much easier to use if the system is broken are probably true. That said, my friend who had to go a very long distance on the emergency tiller had a very difficult time. A bracket broke which made the autopilot inoperable, but the rest of the system was still in place = very heavy load. I hope I never have to do it for real.
Great video
Thanks for the feedback Steve. Much appreciated.
Nice explanation of the use and usability of the emergency tiller. If the autopilot fails, use the wheel and if the wheel fails, use the autopilot. The emergency tiller is the last resort. I don't know if this is the case for your boat, but the Bavaria 40 Match has double redundancy as the wheels are connected to the quadrant independently.
Thanks Rusty. I did not know about the redundancy on the Match. Mine, unfortunately, does not have that. I'll look into whether or not it can be retrofitted like that.
Interesting yacht to starboard at 10:00. Anyone recognise it?
Thanks for sharing Patrick, you are a master in docking!
I have my share of colorful arrivals too John. :-) Fortunately; though not always pretty, they are not unsafe. Thanks for commenting.
I have been waiting for this update and it sure didn’t disappoint - thanks. I wasn’t too impressed with the geometry of your Emergency Tiller, the angle above the connection appears odd and effectively reduced leverage, however I suspect (that as other commentators have pointed out) the resistance you encountered was caused by the gearing of linkage to the twin helm positions, So in reality and in ‘emergency situation’ they would not be connected. Even so it looked loose and not ideal for steering for any length of time. I suspect Bavaria have there reasons for putting the ‘kink’ in the tiller arm, but it’s not clear to me.
Certainly not an ideal situation. It's clearly made for a 'short distance' emergency....... Let's hope I never have to use it in real conditions.
The kink is so that it clears the wheels, on a charter holiday our 50ft bavaria wheel drive snapped, the emergency tiller on board was home made (I think) it sat vertical with the arm at a right angle but it hit the wheels giving us around 25% movement. We were entering a busy port and didn't have time to take the wheels off so we had to quickly reverse it and one of us had to steer backwards hanging off the bathing platform!
I have a similar setup for a emergency tiller with an 3 ft long ax handle as the tiller. It takes about 20 pounds of pressure. To get a longer tiller for more leverage I would need to remove the wheel. It did occur to me to setup a 2:1 block and tackle to lighten the load.
I am going to film a block and tackle test in the near future Pomodoro. I just need some wind and waves to make the test realistic. Thanks for commenting.
Most of the time when I'm sailing my tiller can be operated with my baby finger and if I tune the sails just right , I don't even need to touch the tiller. I think if your chain broke from your helm , it would get a lot easier. Plus being under motor power could also make it stiffer. Great Video . Cheers
I just don't know about the chain effect Robert --- but I'll try it again without the engine running. My friend whose autopilot did break/disconnect had the same problem as me (very stiff to control) -- and he has a similar size boat. I'll try it again though.
I don't know much about it either , but I can't see any other reason why your tiller would be stiff. Old ancient ships 3 times the length and ten times the weight had tillers and if they were as stiff as yours, they'd wear out helmsmen and I never heard of such a thing. Let me know when you find out the problem with your tiller. There should be no forces involved with tillers as far as I'm concerned. I've been wrong about things in the past so take my advice with a grain of salt. LOL
Well done Patrick, wish I’d known you were going to Tobermory, I have a friend there who would have gladly shown you around. Another friend and I have noted that you are not stowing your fenders on passage, he doesn’t either, but I always would, as they present a potential hazard. Trivial I know, but then we disagree about the knot used to tie them on! Good job we’re best of friends. Safe passage and fair winds.
Thanks Anthony. I have 9 finders (and sometimes ten), that I must mount at every docking, because I don't know if they will put me port or starboard side to. I can only carry two forward at a time..... you see the problem of having to go through that twice (take down and put up) on every outing, and then having to set three lines on each side as well. I now it's not very nautical of me, but life as a solo sailor requires some compromises. :-)
Patrick Laine i hear you. I always request port side from the harbourmaster. They always oblige, depending which way the stern kicks it’s worth a try. Love the videos, let me know if your calling into Cardiff or any other Welsh port.
You are sailing to all the place me and my wife have on our to-do... or should that be, to-go-to list? 😀 super videos. Thanks for sharing.
Super. Much appreciated Phil.
Hi Patrick, really enjoy following your journey and watching your videos. Now your heading down the West coast of UK if you plan is to visit Liverpool a place not to miss. Let us know and I will buy you a well earned pint. Roy
Many thanks Roy. I'll give a shout if head that way. Am very tempted by the Irish coastline though......
I have lost steering before on a long delivery. The sails will help you steer the boat. Not easy with squalls but in can and has been done. A major pain in the butt getting everything set right only to have a wind direction change that really messes everything. I did it for about 1,000 miles until I fixed the auto.
Ouch. 1000 miles -- now that is a challenge Lynn. I have been experimenting with a new block-based 'emergency' system. It works in flat waters, but will it work in gusty conditions with moderate seas. I'll film it in the near future.
You're certainly getting your approach to the docks down pat! That is the most unnerving moment for me but you execute it with ease again and again, nice job! Good tutoring on that emergency tiller, how about that? LOL
Thanks Bill. I still get surprised on arrival from time to time. :-) It adds color to the video! Thanks for watching.
Hey Patrick, when your using the emergency tiller it may be easier to steer using a sail on the forestay... From the forestay to the rudder is probable 30 something feet which would be way less force to turn(with no engine). I could be totally wrong as i never have used one... I may find out the hard way lol, peace.
I'm sure that is correct, and exactly how I would intend to use it if I had to in realty. ;-)
I was not trying to one up you Patrick. I worked on the docks in Florida catching boats coming in from Bahamas etc... I mean hundreds in a month! I am the authority on docking lol. Serious i'm not being rude it's just i've worked in the boating industry and lived on the water also. Not just take a couple months off and go on a trip. So when i see you dock i cringe along with everyone else who lives on that peir!!! If your that afraid of docking you should not be on a boat in the middle of the ocean. If lightning strikes your mast your could be putting another person in danger! The rescuer... Your boat is not designed to be in the locations that your in! That's one reason your not seeing similar boats around. That boat will not take a large wave crashing on the deck which can happen in any weather. All of your rigging and mast will be swept away instantly... just not designed for it. So don't get mad just don't try and convince other people its safe cause it's not, peace...
You are not the first person to cringe at my docking technique Jeffrey. I respect your experience and expertise. Why don't you make some videos of 15-20 solo dockings on a 40 foot boat in all kinds of wind conditions? The thousands of solo sailors who watch my channel would love to see the demonstration of a better technique. I've filmed 90 arrivals now in every condition possible, and will change the technique in a heartbeat if someone shows a better way. As to your comment about my boat not being seaworthy: really? That might come as a surprise to the thousands who have crossed the Atlantic both ways in a similar boat. What is it that you think is not seaworthy? The Selden mast, boom and rigging? The Lewmar winches? The Volvo Penta engine? The Elvstrom sails? The Raymarine electronics? The Dyneema halyards? Or is it the glass reinforced hull made by Bavaria? The insurance companies of thousands of Bavaria sailboats would like to know why it is not seaworthy. ;-) Fair winds to you Jeffrey.
Looks like beautiful sailing and ports. We have nothing like that in the Pacific unless you head way north or go to the south pacific . Central American ports can be interesting but can also be a PIA.
Yes --- really needs much more time to explore these places...... Thanks for commenting.
Great vids. I hoped you were going to head for Norway!
The winds dictated otherwise.......but I haven't given up on that region yet.
Thanks a lot
De rien..... thanks for watching.
Hi Patrick. On my Bavaria the bearing on one wheel jammed up out in Bass Strait. The emergency tiller was terribly hard but we also needed to disconnect the chains on the wheels. In hindsight we only needed to disconnect one wheel and we could have used the other wheel but we didn’t identify the particular problem until back in port. 14 hours on emergency tiller!! Not fun. Thank you for your comments.
Yeah -- somone else suggest I have a special tool/process ready to disconnect the chain quickly should the need arise. Good advice! Access to that area is a real challenge on my boat ---- I'd hate to have to it in any seas.
Hope you visited the Famous Mishnish pub...great place. We used to take part in a race from Inverkip to Tobermory or as we called it Kip to the Mishnish.
I did indeed! You can barely hear me, but as I am entering the port, I say, 'The first building I see in North Ireland is a Pub --- Mishnish." I had a Guinness there!
We've all had a Guinness there!
LOL You were still in Scotland....so many ports in so many places. Now if you had a girl in every port that would be a problem.
Wow that tiller is sure tough . Like trying to turn a worm gear from the wheel side of it. bunje's just hooked to your wheels is what I'd try . Because there is very little movement once it's set up . You can hardly see any movement at all actually.
I don't remember which episode it was Robert, but I did do exactly that --- hooked bungies to the wheel. It worked very well in light to medium weather, but not at all once the wind was above 20 knots. I'm still tinkering….. :-)
I only wish that you would give us a little tour of the places you visit too.
I don't have the right camera equipment to do that justice Bob, nor the editing skills. Finally, the videos are too long as is........ Others do that very well.
Thank you Patrick for showing the emergency tiller in action. Love your videos with your tips and thoughts, always. Would you mind share with what settings you use for CPA and TCPA on your AIS alarm when you sailed inshore to Shetland and later offshore if you change the settings?
I think you once said you sleep around 40 min when offshore but only 15 min coastal sailing. So I am very interested in ais alarm settings fit you.
Kind regards, Peter
To be honest Peter, when inshore I really don't use the AIS other than as an interesting source of info (name of boat, etc.). I crank the range way down so the alarm isn't going off all of the time -- and only glance at it after I've seen a boat that interests me. No science there. Off shore --- but in busy area, I set the range scale at 6NM, and the alarm for 2 NM -- as I may be distracted by preparing dinner, etc., I prefer an early warning. Off shore but in a remote area, I set the range scale at 24 NM and the CPA for 3NM to have plenty of warning. Again, not a lot of science in that.... just feeling.
Patrick Laine thanks Patrick. I use iSailor on an iPad and unfortunately they max out at CPA 2 nm and then I can set TCPA as well.
Where I sail there are lots of big container commercial traffic that go 15-20 knots and go around 5 knots. So I really don't like the small window of 2 nm as I want time to access and react.
I can't just quickly "get out of there way" :)
Hydrovane windvane would be an excellent addition to your vessel, tracks better than the auto pilot, and can be used as an emergency rudder. You can also hook it up to a tiller pilot...Fair Winds!!!
Yes I know. You'll have to explain to my daughters why I condemned the swimming platform Chris. :-)
I'm not going the be the bearer of sad news:) You can mount them off center a bit, we did it on a friends Morgan 383, and still could use the swim ladder..
A beautiful journey, Patrik. Thank you for sharing. I am not familiar with Bavarias and I have heard so much about the quality of these "production" modern boats that I am a little puzzled. I have a Scandinavian boat myself and so did my father as well, so I have never sailed with any other kind of boat. Apparently, your experience is satisfactory. What is your view on the quality of Bavarias, Beneteaus, Jeanneaus, and so forth? What do you think are the differences, if any, between these boats and the Scandinavian (Swan, Malö, Najad, HR, etc.)? If you had to choose a boat for your sailing needs, regardless of the price, which one would you go for? Keep squashing your life and having fun!
You are trying to get me in trouble with a lot of people Carlos. ;-) For certain, the Scandinavian boats are excellent in quality and seaworthiness.......but also very expensive. I've never really bought into the criticism of the production boats (at least the ones built since about 2005). All of the key components are built by world-class manufacturers, e.g., Lewmar winches, Seldon mast, Volvo Penta engine, North Sails, Raymarine electronics, Rocna or Delta anchor, etc. That leaves the hull form and internal comfort as differentiators...... I personally don't think there is a great difference in seaworthiness of modern boats and their predecessors ---- and the thousands of them that cross oceans without incident each year is proof of that. I'll let the old timers argue the perceived benefits of a 'full keel with a skeg rudder'......I'm from a different school.
@@patricklaine6958 What you say makes a lot of sense. It gives me a better idea of these boats. Thank you.
By the way, another terrific book for a salt in the doldrums is "Life on the Mississippi". You'll laugh your arse off...
I think the emergency tiller would be a little easier if the wheels were actually detached--there's probably a fair bit of friction involved in moving both wheels. Also being under power with the prop wash over the rudder will make turning the rudder a bit harder. As far as sailing poetry, I'd recommend John Masefield's "Dauber" if you haven't already read it, it's a classic from the commercial windjammer era (by someone who actually sailed on one).
Thanks Kevin. I'll try to check out Dauber. I have tried the emergency tiller before on several occasions, but don't recall if it was motor on or off. Always seemed very stiff to control to me. I'm going to film an alternative soon.
It seems it should not be that difficult to turn the rudder, interested to see what you find
I was at first amazed to find out Lewis and Harris is actually a single island, but then I found this:
“Another common method of dealing with cattle that strayed across the (Lewis-Harris) boundary was to cut one ear off before driving it back to its own pasture.” Well... I guess both gentlemen might be earless by now 🙉
Now, you see, when I sailed these waters there were no pontoons, no marinas, of course its better in many respects, but we spent two days trying to find diesel , on a Saturday, in the end a little fishing boat sold us some at 11P a litre!
The good ole days! I wish diesel were still 11P. :-)
one more "tiller theory" :-) I experienced similar difficulty handling emergency tiller on my bavaria 33. what i realized was that as long as there is a strong stream of water generated by the propeller under engine power the fin feels almost stuck. The moment i idled the engine and boat was moving under its inertia (similar to going under sail) the pressure eased significantly.
I guess what it means is you'd hope for some wind to move forwards after loss of steering on these modern factory boats :)
I'm heading off again tomorrow MK and will try it engine off. Many thanks.
You must see apart from the scenery interesting other sailboats in the marinas you pull into. Noticed a few in your videos.
Indeed, and very nice people are in almost every one. ! Thanks for watching.
I really enjoy your videos, thanks for taking the time to create them. When you pull in to these marinas with only your bow tied off, how do you keep from clashing with the boats on either side, and how do you get onto the dock?
Thanks DJ. Not sure I understand the question. There is usually a finger pontoon (catway in France) on the side that you brace against with power/helm. If you are referring to those Mediterranean moorings with no finger pontoon, there is usually a line attached to the 'pier' called a 'slimeline' that is moored to the bottom of the bay directly opposite you --- 40 meters out. You pick up the slime line, and attach it to the bow (if you have reversed in) or stern, if you are bow first. It holds you in a stable position perpendicular to the pier. You get off by jumping off the bow (many boats have a wooden ramp they attach), or via the stern platform. Sorry if I misunderstood.
Thanks. My mistake, I watched again and now see the finger on your port side at 13:10. The first time I didn’t see it and thought you were tied to the dock between the two boats with a single line from your bow.
how about showing some of the sites whilst ashore. would be interesting.
Yeah, you are not the first to suggest that Steven. I don't for two reasons: 1) I'd need to invest in much better filming equipment and editing systems if I want to capture the 'travelogue' aspect; and 2) the average watch time on my videos is 8.5 minutes -- and has not changed since about episode 3. My videos are already generally between 15 and 20 minutes long, so I'd have to cut out quite a bit of 'sailing' to show more shore time.........
@@patricklaine6958 Hi Patrick, Have a look at the adventures of an old sea dog.........he set of from PLymouth about 2 years ago and gone across the atlantic and the pacific oceans alone, he shows some brilliant footage ashore etc. He's in his late 60's I think. Worth a watch though when you have time. BTW I am from Saltash, Cornwall.
Good video Patrick, nice seas beautiful scenery. I dont understand why the emergency tiller was that hard. I've seen it on other yachts and it was effortless, maybe a different design of some sort but one thing is for sure, you couldn't steer your vessel with that for a long time. 😎 cheers.
Hydraulics or cable? If hydraulics depressurization may help. Or unlinking the piston.
SokreChannel
Yes when the hydraulics or chain are not involved because of failure,i think it would be a lot easier to steer with the tiller.
I just don't know if it would behave differently if there was a 'real' breakage. I'll test it again with the engine off, but I don't think that will make much difference.
It is not so much about the engine off, as for the removing the effects of hydraulic transmission. The wheel pump allows for ~5 turns end to end translating into 1/4 of a turn of the rudder, assuming rudder deflects 45° to each side = 90° total. That results in ~20:1 leverage. So whereas pushing the piston by rotating the pump may be trivial, rotating the pump by pushing the piston might not be.
Try with the boat in port and piston/actuator disconnected from the rudder quadrant, if possible. See how it feels.
Curious....
Patrick Laine
Not the engine the chain and hydraulic system will make the emergency rudder very hard to operate. If they are not involved because of failure the rudder is free.
You spoke graciously about the horror of garbage in the ocean. Soon it will be impossible to see water. Oh well.
Enjoying this trip to the Faroe Island. Just curious, what are the average costs for the berths you have been at.
Thanks Gary. I found UK ports to generally be about 10-15% more expensive than French ports (Atlantic). I would say that average berthing fees for my 12 meter boat were 30-32 GBP per night, and many make you pay for electricity (and even a shower) on top of that. Average French Atlantic ports 27-29 Euros per night --- and I am a member of a number of organizations that receive discounts/free nights as well.
@@patricklaine6958 hello Patrick if I want to travel Scotland to faroe islands how much will cost me one trip
The travel is very inexpensive (unless you motor-sail a lot due to lack of wind). The marina fee was very low --- like 10€ per night plus you pay for electricity as you go. Restaurants there are fairly expensive --- but you can purchase food in the supermarket and cook on board if that is an issue.
Hello Patrick, I'm wondering what are the costs/fees are for docking/staying in a marina? these looked like nice little towns, if you have any video of your excursions into town that would be nice to see.
It is usually based on the length of the boat. On the Atlantic coast of France, I can count on paying about €25-32 per night, but there are often special deals ---- 3 nights for the price of 2, etc. In the UK, I found pricing to be about 10% more expensive. In Iceland/Faeroe Islands, they were for the most part free of charge or very low cost. In The Med, prices are much more expensive --- even the double of what I normally pay.
Patrick Laine Thank you 😊
I totally love your Bavaria Patrick, but that emergency tiller setup would be enough for me to craft a cassette rudder being as how the ones they sell are hellishly expensive and more often than not do not seem to provide the type of fit I would prefer.
My friend did a custom build on his unit after his bad experience. I should probably do the same Spencer.
Hi Patrick watch all you videos...Question for you I see the winch is almost in line with the emergency tiller . Could you not take a rope from the winches and stabilize the tiller ? Something to think about if that really is required.
Let me know your thoughts
That was the point I was trying to make Jim. Others suggested running bungy lines or chords to the tiller to use it to control the direction of the boat. It wont work. The problem is that you DON'T want the tiller to be fixed rigidly. It needs to be able to move naturally to oppose the motion caused by wind and waves. There are much easier ways to do this than with the emergency tiller. I am going to film one that I hope will work as soon as I get a bit of wind and some waves.
I don't understand how you tie up with no pilings on either side. How do you keep the stern from the boats next to you?
What do you do ashore in all these cool places you’re visiting?
Like every former fighter pilot Benjamin. I visit cathedrals and historic monuments. ;-)
Patrick Laine it would be cool to see some of those! Although...not too much...
One of the reasons I, and I think many of your subscribers, like your channel is the sailing! So many “sailing” channels are more “hanging out on land” than sailing.
Maybe tell us your favorite sites ashore?
Hoping to follow in your wake!
Yeah, I've thought a lot about that Benjamin, and made a purposeful decision not to do the 'travelogue' thing. I thought if I tried to mix sailing and travel, I would do neither very well. That is why you don't see any hiking in the forest or on the beaches in my videos. (My videos are already much too long for UA-cam anyway.) Thanks for commenting.
If the steering linkage between the wheel(s) and rudder broke would that not mean less resistance for the emergency tiller? I think it would. Though probably not enough reduction in resistance to make a sheet to tiller arrangement viable as a stopgap for a loss of autopilot. (Oops I see Jonathan the sailor already brought this up)
Agree completely JM! Thanks for watching.
You need a Crew Chief to show you how to operate that emergency tiller.
;-) Thanks buzzkillean.
Love your docking camera. Not many people do it. Please continue! What are you being charged at these "marina's."
To be honest, I find the UK marinas a bit expensive --- usually around £34 for my 40 foot/12M boat, which is anywhere from 10 to 20% more than I pay in France. Ouch.
Where are you from originally? Maybe Canada ?
I like your travels very much.
Regards
Christopher Goat
I grew up in California --- but have spent more of my life in France than in the USA. (Mother was Canadian!)
This emergency tiller is so scary!!!! You better maintain the regular system and know how to fix it in weather conditions where it may become prone to brake!
I have filmed a new set-up Philippe for use if the autopilot fails. It seemed to work OK, but the conditions were not too difficult (seas/wind). I'll post that video soon.
Hi Patrick, I'm an internet sailor thoroughly enjoying your videos. One question, you appear to not carry a dingey, is that the case? If so, does it restrict your choice of mooring? I'm guessing its less of an issue in northern Europe with its many marinas. Sorry if a silly question from a landlubber who wishes he wasn't :-)
Not a bad question at all. I have an inflatable dinghy stored below decks. I use it, but don't want to film rowing ashore to clean laundry. This current season I brought a kayak. I may film some short segments in it.
@@patricklaine6958 Thanks for taking the time to reply, what got me thinking was when you had the engine failure. I didn't know if a dingey engine could be rigged to move the boat. I'm assuming even if you had one it wouldn't have been powerful enough in those conditions. An aside, I very much enjoy seeing sailing from the perspective of....someone as equally mature as myself :-) I'm just finishing a post-retirement PhD, and have promised myself some lessons as a finishing treat, inspired by your adventures
Congrats on the PhD. That takes real commitment. Best wishes for the future.
1,2,3............14! yeah!
Sorry about that......bad internet connection I guess, and I didn't verify. My bad.
Ok you convinced me - if I ever have a nice boat with an emergency rudder I’m gonna have something with mechanical advantage, not 3€ of chromed bent French iron.
:-) My friend that I mentioned that did it for 200 NM in high seas, has since built a framework to hold the tiller more securely should he ever experience this again. It was a nightmare for him --- not to be relived. Thanks for watching Cliff.
or I guess you could get the wife a gym membership...
Patrick, I feel you should show your location and passage details in every episode.
At the moment there is no relationship as to where you are. Also a few views of the harbours you enter would add interest.
However I do enjoy your videos.
Thanks for the suggestions Melvyn. Others have suggested this too. I'll try to show a chart more often. Thanks for watching.
Nice boat, which type is it?
A 2008 Bavaria 40 Cruiser. A really comfortable boat, and easy to sail solo -- as everything can be done from the cockpit.
Patrick Laine thanks, Nice video's, keep it going!
the tiller handle should be longer so that the effort to steer the boat will be reduced.
I'm going to film another solution in the near future Sean. I don't think the emergency tiller is the easiest way to solve this problem.
Sailing poetry? Are many of them rhymed with Nantucket?
Yay it works :)
Sorry about that Chris: the curse of sailors in marinas --- perpetually bad internet connections........
Patrick Laine no problem im just very grateful you take your time to do the vlogs ,I've just finished watching and the islands look so nice and the docking areas look so sturdy well maintained and clean looking forward to the next vlogs :)
Chris Atkin I second this.
Wouldn't it get much easier if the chain is in fact broken and gone? (Please don't try :-) ) Now you have to also turn both wheels with the transmission ratio opposing you.
You could be right Stefan. That said, in the case of my friend, a bracket broke and his autopilot fell to the bilge --- and his boat (same length length as mine) was very difficult to control in high seas/winds.