Halyard Cleats

When we changed the sails to the High Peak design, the original halyard cleats were replaced with Barton K Cam Cleats. Recently I noticed the halyards were slipping at times and closer inspection revealed that the corner of the cam had worn. This is partly due to the halyard running through the cleat at a slight angle.

These are manufactured from a composite Kevlar/Zytal material. Barton claim ...  "This advanced material offers performance advantages over carbon fibre and conventional glass-reinforced resins; 'K' cams are very strong, lightweight and have excellent wear-resistance."

http://www.bartonmarine.com/products-k-cam-cleats.asp

I looked for other options from Allen and Harken. It was interesting to read the information about the Allen range, which is available in two materials. The Allen cleats are available in either Alloy or Allenite.

"Allenite is a proprietary material developed by Allen specifically for high wear resistance, low weight and good heat dissipation. This carbon composite material is ideal for cam cleats"

 

But Allen admit ... "for ultra-hardwearing applications you can't beat the alloy series cam cleat for strength and durability without shredding your line".

Therefore replacements are the alloy version and I'll watch for any wear. However, without realising this difference, the cleat I used for the centreplate is made from "Allenite", so this will need careful monitoring and will need to be replaced if any wear does occur. The line for the centreplate does run through the centre of the cleat and also this line is not pulled through at the same speed/distance of the halyards.

 

 

 http://www.allenbrothers.co.uk/item.asp?prod_id=56&cat_id=2

 

New Cooker Box and Perfect Weather

 

This is the original GRP cooker box. It took up a lot space with minimal storage. Looking at other people's boats, there was plenty of ideas to be influenced by.

 

The final design slides in/out and also gives space for an additional box underneath.

Scottish West Coast

The weather never totally cooperated, we experienced days of blue sky and others of rain, with the wind ranging from nothing to "quite lumpy". However, we did sail everyday during the week, if a little frustrating at times as the wind seemed to drop when we just about to "arrive". We also managed to launch the boat on Friday evening, which made for a good start to the week.

The first two days were based at Craobh Haven, before we headed north to Lismore. The marina at Craobh were welcoming and helpful. There was a "special rally" discount, thanks to both the rally organisers and marina for this.

 http://www.craobhmarina.co.uk/

It is interesting to read that not all marina's are as welcoming. http://daisyii.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/end-of-may-cruise.html

We also stayed at Oban Marina on Kerrera, which is under new management and it seemed in a far better state than last year. All the pontoons have been mended, the bar/restaurant was open, the water supply is safe to drink and there is a free ferry over to Oban every two hours (book this in the marina office, as the ferry can only take 12). For a Coaster the cost was £16 and £1 for a shower, which is the same as last year.

http://www.obanmarina.com/