Modifications Storm 19

kleppar · 29 Dec 2015, 04:46

I am the owner of a Storm 19, built by Swallow Yachts in 2005. It is standard gunter yawl rigged, and has a bowsprit and an asymmetric.

I may do some small modifications. I do find, at times, that stepping the mast takes a bit of effort. A lighter mast? Another rig? Also I use the boat with a Honda 2.3, but it is not possible to reverse with the engine. Any suggestion for a better outboard arrangement?

Ideas are welcome!

Best regards,

Erik

Anthony Huggett · 13 Mar 2016, 22:42

When you say not possible to reverse, does the Storm 19's outboard well not give sufficient clearance to turn the engine around?

Tony · 14 Mar 2016, 18:14

Hi, Erik.
Just come across this thread....
What a great looking boat the S19 is! Are you as happy with her as I am with the CBL?

I have the same outboard problem with "Four Sisters" - the CBL being just, as you know, a "breathed on" S19 with knobs on!
From new, I fitted a 4hp fourstroke Yamaha. She copes ok with the extra weight and it gives me enough power to fight tides while towing a broken BayRaider (!) and,of course, a reverse gear - very handy in all sorts of situations from backing off of a sand bar to stopping her dead in a hurry.....but, it is impossible to swivel the Yamaha around in the well. It can only turn 10 degrees or so off centre, meaning that most, if not all, steering is done with the rudder when under power. (Top speed about 6.5 knots, by the way) I would have thought that the Honda would have room to rotate 180 degrees, if you tun the prop away from the rudder i.e. anti clockwise. Is that not so?
She also has 90Kg of lead ballast bolted down inside the cabin which adds stability and helps keeps up her momentum when sailing to windward in a chop - but makes her more difficult to shove around hotel car parks.

All this weight + cruising equipment must adversely affect performance and her balanced lugsail is less weather than the usual sprit rigged gunter so I dare say your S19 will sail rings around me most of the time. I like the Lug sail for its many advantages (which I need not go into here) and for the way I can sail past most BayRaiders on a downwind run - until they hoist a spinnaker, that is, and so I dare say that the S19 would give them a run for their money on any point of sail.

Why do you want to change the rig? More performance? Easier rigging? Some other problem?
If you really want to change the rig it might be possible to use a one-piece CF mast and a fat head BayRaider mainsail. How much of an advantage that might be is debatable. It would certainly cost a fair bit and you would no longer be able to store all spars inside the boat when trailing.
If you just want more sail area in light airs (and more string to play with) you could follow Graham W's example and fly a mizzen staysail.
A way around the mast stepping problem might be to use a tabernacle. I wanted to do that to make shooting bridges possible but I would need to change from an unstayed mast - not an option with a balanced lug sail - and I would need very tall chainplates to clear the cabin top!
Let us know how you get on.

kleppar · 15 Mar 2016, 16:33

Hi Tony,

Thanks for long reply. As I probably have informed elsewhere, I am in the process of having a Vivier Jewell built (http://www.vivierboats.com/en/product/jewell/9) - ready for summer 2016. Not that I am unhappy with my Storm, but I shall try out a boat with a lid (as you have). I am considering selling my Storm 19 - let me know if you know anybody who is interested.

Motor
I can turn my Honda away from the rudder, provided I mount it far enough away from the rudder blade, so there is room to turn; for some reason I have not done that.

I am also looking at another motor; a petrol Tohatsu 4 HP is supposed to be very reliable. I am also looking at electric - Torqeedo and others. Range is an issue; also I need a motor with some power, as there could be quite some resistance in motoring with the mast up.

Rigging
I am not unhappy with the sliding gunter (as I believe it is called), but the mast can be a bit heavy. I am not sure if my deck will support a tabernacle, but maybe a hollow mast is the simplest solution.

Best regards,

Erik
http://www.segling.info/

kleppar · 15 Mar 2016, 16:34

Quote from: Anthony Huggett on 13 Mar 2016, 22:42
When you say not possible to reverse, does the Storm 19's outboard well not give sufficient clearance to turn the engine around?

That is correct.

Erik

Tony · 19 Mar 2016, 14:28

Hi, Erik.
Francois Vivier is definitely one of the best small boat designers out there so I dont think you will go far wrong with a "Jewel" (..although I would have gone for a Swallow BayRaider Expedition myself for the extra performance and the advantages of water ballast.) I haven't sen a "Jewel" on the water yet but I have sailed with an "Ilur" at SeaFair (an excellent dinghy) and saw the man himself sailing "Pen-Hir" at the Morbihan. He went past me on a reach, easily sailing three feet to my two, with a cheery wave. The boat looked solid , powerful and as if she had a gear or two in hand! (Don't you hate it when that happens!) No good for my kind of sailing, though, having a keel. Sails well but needs legs to dry out and a crane to launch!
"Jewel" looks like a lighter "Meaban" with a yawl rig and so should be easy to live with. It will be interesting to see how she compares with the Cardigan Bay Lugger.

Peter Taylor · 20 Mar 2016, 08:58

Quote from: kleppar on 15 Mar 2016, 16:33
I am also looking at another motor; a petrol Tohatsu 4 HP is supposed to be very reliable. I am also looking at electric - Torqeedo and others. Range is an issue; also I need a motor with some power, as there could be quite some resistance in motoring with the mast up.

Hi Erik,

My attempts to use a Torqeedo 1003 with my BC20 are documented elsewhere on this forum and on my "Seatern" blog. In the end I had to admit defeat and now use a 6hp Tohatsu (same weight as the 4hp). If you haven't already read of my experiences a summary can be found via a page of my blog...
http://www.seatern.org.uk/SeaternDiaries/firstyear01.php?year=-1
(make sure you click on the link in the short summary description... e.g. "Torqeedo 1003" to read a detailed account about the motor, similarly for the Tohatsu)

I also did some bollard pull comparisons of electric motors which are described in my SeaternDiary pages starting in September 2014. I'd recommend anyone thinking about using an electric outboard to read these pages, written by someone who really did want to use electric but failed!

Peter

kleppar · 20 Mar 2016, 20:24

Quote from: Tony on 19 Mar 2016, 14:28
Hi, Erik.
Francois Vivier is definitely one of the best small boat designers out there so I dont think you will go far wrong with a "Jewel" (..although I would have gone for a Swallow BayRaider Expedition myself for the extra performance and the advantages of water ballast.) I haven't sen a "Jewel" on the water yet but I have sailed with an "Ilur" at SeaFair (an excellent dinghy) and saw the man himself sailing "Pen-Hir" at the Morbihan. He went past me on a reach, easily sailing three feet to my two, with a cheery wave. The boat looked solid , powerful and as if she had a gear or two in hand! (Don't you hate it when that happens!) No good for my kind of sailing, though, having a keel. Sails well but needs legs to dry out and a crane to launch!
"Jewel" looks like a lighter "Meaban" with a yawl rig and so should be easy to live with. It will be interesting to see how she compares with the Cardigan Bay Lugger.

Hi Tony
I searched extensively for my new boat; I am sharing a link for a document with info about the various boats I looked at; see here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXLvomtR9Q7bp7QFLNZQxQqIcctE2YHSuEziKjADV9I/edit?usp=sharing

As you can see from the document, there are many swallows worthy of my interest...., but the exchange rate made me turn in the direction of buying a plan and finding a builder. Since Swallow Yachts no longer sell plans or kits, I had to look elsewhere; for some reason I have stuck to two sticks, even though a single mast sailboat would probably suit me fine. It was a long process (actually not more than a couple of months); in the beginning I was determined to have water ballast, since I wanted a trailer sailer, but I think Jewell with about 650 kg is manageable. I have only considered boats about 6 metres, since a longer boat/trailer would not fit my drive and garage.

I spoke to the Australian Jewell builder claiming that his boat is faster than a friend´s BayRaider 20.....

Erik

kleppar · 20 Mar 2016, 20:29

Quote from: Peter Taylor on 20 Mar 2016, 08:58
Quote from: kleppar on 15 Mar 2016, 16:33
I am also looking at another motor; a petrol Tohatsu 4 HP is supposed to be very reliable. I am also looking at electric - Torqeedo and others. Range is an issue; also I need a motor with some power, as there could be quite some resistance in motoring with the mast up.

Hi Erik,

My attempts to use a Torqeedo 1003 with my BC20 are documented elsewhere on this forum and on my "Seatern" blog. In the end I had to admit defeat and now use a 6hp Tohatsu (same weight as the 4hp). If you haven't already read of my experiences a summary can be found via a page of my blog...
http://www.seatern.org.uk/SeaternDiaries/firstyear01.php?year=-1
(make sure you click on the link in the short summary description... e.g. "Torqeedo 1003" to read a detailed account about the motor, similarly for the Tohatsu)

I also did some bollard pull comparisons of electric motors which are described in my SeaternDiary pages starting in September 2014. I'd recommend anyone thinking about using an electric outboard to read these pages, written by someone who really did want to use electric but failed!

Peter

Hi Peter,

Very useful information! Your BC20 is similar in size and weight to my Jewell, so I shall have to re-consider the use of an electric. I do not really need an engine getting in and out harbour (very short distance), but it is useful returning home with either too strong headwind, or no wind at all. I will probably go for a Tohatsu 4 or 5 HP.

Regards,

Erik