"Papillon" is a Robert Tucker designed 'Fantasie 19' and my first boat.. I've been sailing since the age of 15 (when I did my RYA Part 1 and 2 at Emsworth Sailing School) so I've been on the water (but more in it) for going on 30+ years now... this blog is about our adventures together - they may be small one's (because despite the years I have little experience in boats - I was mostly windsurfing!), but they are adventures none the less..

Thursday, 25 November 2010


Thursday, 18 November 2010

A nice Fantasie 19 on eBay..

This looks like a nice example that Phil Brook has just found on eBay...

Just down the road from me, so I'll see if I can get a bigger picture for the register on the owners website..

It's also the first Fantasie I've seen with a spray hood - very plush!

Only £1300 as well, which I think is reasonable - the last one I saw on eBay went for more than this...

Very clean cabin... (I'd have to change the lino though... free smileys)


Monday, 15 November 2010

Job Update #2

Two new items added to the job list... not major but they need doing:

13. Replace bolts holding tiller - not stainless steel and beginning to rust..

14. Replace nuts & bolts for the sliding hatch with s/s; currently galvanised and beginning to rust

Monday, 8 November 2010

Job update... #1

First jobs completed... loads more to do..
  1. My mother-in-law has offered to sew me up some new cushions for the cabin to replace the current one's which I think must be original...having slept on the boat on at least two occasions I can confirm you may as well lie on newspaper!
    1. Find the material - needs to be waterproof but sew-able - apparently my wife knows just the stuff
    2. Find the foam - a quick glance at the web would indicate this stuff is priced like gold dust.. more research is required!
  2. New s/s shackle for where the bottom of the cunningham (down-haul to us unrepentant windsurfing types!) connects to the bottom of the mast - currently a nasty galvanised job
  3. New s/s shackle for the top of the jib where it connects to the roller furling foil - currently a very small shackle with split pin - not up to the job
  4. Small plastic eye to whip into the end of the new topping lift
  5. Replace/renew topping lift
  6. Replace/renew jib halyard

    Here you can see why.. very worn by the eye - with a roller reefing jib the sail stays up all season. with the halyard under pressure - so basically it's worn where it sits over the pulley...

    Sew the end of the old one to the end of the nice new one, butting them together... loads of stitches - you do not want to lose the end in side the mast...

    Old eye whipped into the end of the new halyard - rubbish picture of a right proper job...

  7. Rip out old cabin lining below the shelving - take back to GRP, prime and paint - extend the paint into the quarter berths, and forward as required.
  8. Investigate cabin lining forward to see if I can make an interim repair that's neater than fourteen strips of gaffer tape!
  9. Re-splice rope to anchor for main anchor - looking worn and slightly frayed..
  10. Finish off the electrical connections for masthead and deck light that I put back together earlier in the summer but haven't tested - need to confirm positive..
  11. Rub back and refresh the varnish down below, and on the washboards - do this after the painting
  12. Build "A" frame for easier mast lowering and raising - two bits of three by three, hinged with an eye bolt, and with a big lump of pulley and tackle should make raising and lowering the mast a whole lot easier - and may mean I can take advantage of the club lift in rather than having to trundle the trailer along the road.. this is not a high priority item - the advantage is it can be built at home in spare time.

Sunday, 7 November 2010


Monday, 1 November 2010

Soo that was 2010....

Just a review in brief of my 2010 the format of which I have shamelessly ripped off from Julian's Daisy Grace website... (hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right??! smiley emoticons)

Like a spider dipped in blue ink and left to wander all over Google Earth - here's where Papillon went this year - click and then click again for a far bigger view of the pictures in this post:

...so many times up and down the harbour I'm amazed there aren't tracks in the water!:

Number of visits down to the boat: 18 - but if you count all the times I visited in the mornings/evenings while she was on shore, and the days I worked on her pre-season - easily triple that...smiley emoticons

Total distance sailed: 154.23 miles (GPS is a wonderful thing for calculating distances!) compared with 125 miles in 2009... amazing when you consider she was out of the water for two months right at the start of the season..

Nights on board: 2 - I have plans to make her more comfortable for 2011 (new cabin cushions etc.) which will see this increase next year hopefully..

Crew on occasion: 2 daughters - long may it continue - they're good company...

Cruising range: Seaview in the west, Printead/Thorney in the East & the west Pole beacon to the south... my mooring is as far north as I can go..

Biggest Cruise: Seaview on the Isle of Wight (30 miles in a day - ace!) and then returning right through the middle of the Laser Worlds racing - cue race officer "I say..."

Best Cruise: So hard as 2010 was brilliant - but probably down to a choice of two Seaview was monumental for me (there'll be others out there laughing at this, but it was a big deal for me!), but also the picture session where I happened to meet up with Rod - for me that day was what it was all about, just the right amount of breeze, some sunshine, and good company...

Worst cruise: Dismasting no competition... free smileys

Oddest cruise: Up the Prinstead Channel - run aground on mud but managed to get off...

Best anchorages: None... didn't anchor this year...

Best mooring: Vistors buoy Hayling Island sailing Club - brilliant place to watch the world go by..

Best Marinas: None..

Worst mooring: None... they're all good when you need a cup of tea!

Plans for next year? The Nab Tower!! Grr.. wanted to do it this year... Overnighter at Bembridge and/or Cowes - it would be good to meet up with Phil and Jelly Bean

2010 sailing mileage...

  • 4th April : 3.4 miles (Year to date 3.4 miles) - force 4 gusting 5
  • 12th April : 12.65 miles (16.05 miles) - force 3 gusting 5 - dis-masted!
  • 27th June : 13.6 miles (29.65 miles) - force 2, later 3 - long beat up the harbour to CamberMet pole.
  • 4th July : 18.24 miles (47.89 miles) - force 4, later 6 - double tider...
  • 11th July : 10.67 miles (58.56 miles) - force 4 gusting 5...
  • 17th July : 5.03 miles (63.59 miles) - force 5 gusting 6...
  • 9th August : 1 mile (64.59 miles) - force 3 gusting 4 - mooring practice under sail...
  • 20th August : 10.62 miles (75.21 miles) - force 4 gusting 5 - interrupted breakfast and first time back to Eastoke Point...
  • 28th August : 13.86 miles (89.07 miles) - force 4 gusting 5 - WNW for a change - West Pole Beacon trip
  • 30th August : 8.31 miles (97.38 miles) - force 2 gusting 3 or 4 - NNW - goose winged down the harbour
  • 3rd September : 30.99 miles (128.37 miles) - force 4 gusting 5 - ESE - Priory Potter - IoW
  • 18th September : 9.98 miles (138.35 miles) - top end force 3 - NNW/NW - three seals doing aerobics
  • 6th October : 15.88 miles (154.23 miles) - force 4 - SW (northerly and easterly for weeks and just when I don't need it, it goes back to "prevailing"!) - Round Hayling