Greetings from Adelaide, Australia

[Jazman]

Hello one and all,
a few months ago my partner and I gave up looking for a caravan and bought a boat. A 25ft Roberts sloop called 'Yellow Bird'. ( floating caravans they call them.) We are both new to sailing though I've done a lot of windsurfing and some dingey sailing as a kid. Most of our sailing has been day sailing to date though we spent our first night at anchor last Sat. It blew all night but the anchor held well. Very encouraging. It's a steep learning curve but very rewarding. I find I'm having to learn how to fix things I didn't even know existed; stuffing box etc. I now have a leak which I think is coming from the thru hull on the cooling water">engine cooling water sea cock. We plan to pull the boat out about May so in the short term I hope to seal it with some silicon sealer. As far as sailing goes I'm getting close to putting up the spiniker for the 1st time. We joined a small boat club where the boat is kept on a marina berth. The members are all very knowledgable and helpfull but it would also be nice to post questions on the forums. The local gulf waters are a good learning groung for would be cruisers like ourselves and 'Yellow Bird' seems a safe and sound boat to learn in. I look forward to being an active member on this site.
Cheers

[MarkJ]

Welcome aboard!

I was born in Adelaide! Lived in Glenelg for the first 6 years....

[Wotname]

Welcome aboard, good luck with the boat and the adventure. I have found a lot of people here to be very knowledgable and very helpful.

[mudnut]

Glenelg brings back a pile of memories for me also.Lived in a flat ocean side back in......Well lets just say,When ya were shoulder to shoulder on the Glenelg jetty fishing for king george whitting and pulling in 500gr eaters two,three at a time.1976.It's spelt the same backwards as well.

Iv'e seen some really well put together 25's on yachthub,one even set up for cruising,albeit in Vic.By far better than a caravan.Have fun.mudnut.

[swagman]

G'day Jazman,
Sounds like a plan. Enjoy.
JOHN

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Jazman,
Welcome aboard! I met a couple on "Yellow Bird" at Palma in the Med. many years ago. About the same size vessel. When I saw the photo it reminded me of them.
Silicone might not be the best way to seal a leak at a throughhull. You might want to ask around at your club.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Jazman]

Thanks for that John.
Got told the same thing at the club last night. Also found last night that the leak is not coming from that through hull but a dodgey repair job on an old through hull a couple of inches forward. Seems she has had a bigger engine fitted at some stage ( 15hp Yanmar) requiring the relocation of the through hull and sea cock to make room. The old hole has been pluged with a bolt and some filler. the filler has deteriorated and it probably wouldn't take much to knock it out alltogether.
The upshot is that she will get pulled out next week, after our current heat wave, and one of the members who does repair work, will do a proper repair with a fibreglass patch on the outside (she's wooden). Much as I didn't want to pull the boat just yet, it will be a comfort to know that all is well.
Cheers Steve.
P.S. The Jazman Handle is one I use on a few music sites. I'm a third generation jazbo (amateur) and play standards on guitar and do a lot of stuff with software synths. My music has been suffering as a result of 'Yellow Bird' but am looking forward to her being a sort of floating studio. Will post some links when I have some mp3s worth downloading.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jazman

will do a proper repair with a fibreglass patch on the outside (she's wooden).

I am interested to hear how it goes. I wasn't aware of any Roberts 25's done in wood. Look forward to hearing your music also.
Cheers.

[Jazman]

She's a 25 with a 2ft sugar scoop, making her 27ft. Apart from the obvious advantage, which every male who spends more than a few hours aboard soon decides is the best design feature of the whole boat, it makes a great swim platform for those who do not beieve in the existance of great whites. It also helps with upwind performance. I have a couple of 84watt solarex panels and have recently bought a 2man inflatable. There is more that enough stuctural timber in the stern to support a stainless steel support for the panels, facing forward either side of the rear stay, and a divot facing rear. I plan to make the divot detatchable to preserve the overall length when it's not in use. The inflatable packs into a quarter berth and there is room under the cockpit floor for the divot and an outboard.
As far as the repairs go, the tides rule next week out so it is tentatively booked for Mon 25th am, back in the water Tues 26th pm. Will keep you posted.
Steve.