Out of the shed and into the water

After months of work the last paint went on in the middle of December. Even inside the shed it was getting a bit cold for painting by then and we had to warm the topside gloss by putting the tin in a bucket of hot water.

All done! Varnished, painted and anti-fouled. Rather a shame
to put her back in the nasty cold water.

On Sunday the 27th Capella I finished dressing the mast and there was no excuse left for staying in the shed. Ian Palmer and I took her outside and parked her near the top of the slipway.

Capella leaving the shed in the Slipmaster.

Another view of the Slipmaster with trusty Ford tractor.

The mast was put up the same day which is a bit fiddly being keel stepped. But with Ian and Thomaz's help it was done in an hour. However it took another weekend to get the rigging set up and the sails bent.

Capella sat in a cradle for a couple of weeks while
we sorted out the rig.

Setting up the standing rigging is a bit of a job. Including her bowsprit and bumkin Capella has ten pieces of standing rigging.

The bowsprit is done first, whisker shrouds and bobstay. The forestays are next. These both have reefing foils with no bottlescrews, only a threaded fork that screws into the swagged fitting on the end of the wire. These need to be set up nice and taught if the sails are to set properly. To achieve this the mast has to be pulled forward using the foe halyards and winches. Then the stays adjusted to length and attached to the stem and bowsprit end fittings. Then the halyards can be eased off and the rest of the rigging set up.

When finished the mast should be vertical and straight and the forestays taught. If the forestays are to tight or too slack then you have to repeat the process again. It took me a couple of goes and a lot of climbing up and down the ladder to get it right. Next time I take Capella mast down I will make a note of the number of threads showing on the forestay adjusters.

Rigging complete, engine tested and Capella is back in the Slipmaster on launch day.
Master and first mate looking forward to being afloat again.

Finally on the 11th of January we are ready to launch. It was a lovely bright windless, perfect conditions

Off we go, down the slipway and into the water. With Ian Palmer driving the tractor with his usual skill and care and Thomas and Hal helping we are soon afloat..

There was one hitch during the launch. We couldn't start the engine. When launching from the Slipmaster it is usual to start the engine as soon as the cooling water intake is submerged. We tried but nothing happened, the engine turned over but would not fire.

Ian ran down to the club pontoon and brought the work boat round and pulled us out of the Slipmaster. It was a bit touch and go as we were just about aground and the tide was ebbing fast.

Of course once we were tied up to the pontoon the engine started first time. I later worked out that the engine failed to start because the fuel tank was not full and Capella was sitting at an angle in the slings that the fuel therefore wasn't reaching the lift pump.

Early evening, at low slack water, I took Capella up to her berth and moored up. No sign of any leaks. I had not heard the bilge pump go all afternoon.   

Penryn and my first sail in Capella

I have been neglecting this blog. My excuse is that I have been hard at work refitting Capella for the last six months. Here's a little article about my first sail in Capella. 

After her launch in June of 2014 I berthed Capella at Freeman's Wharf in Penryn. A nice spot, lots of wooden boats and friendly staff. Freeman's Wharf is also handy for the town and railway station.

Capella in her berth at Freeman's Wharf. The town quay is in the background. Still lots off work to do getting her rigged and putting on the toe rails and guard rails.

I spent a couple of week ends getting the rig sorted, the heads serviced, and various other small jobs to make her seaworthy and liveable. Then on July 7th John and I took her out for a spin around the harbour.

Motoring down the Penryn river. That's me
on the left, John has the cap and the better beard.

It was a great day for a sail, sunshine and a southerly force 4/5. We motored down the Penryn river and set sail once clear of the moorings off Falmouth town.

We made a long board on the starboard tack out towards the harbour entrance. Once we were out of the shelter of Pendennis Head Capella really took off with the decks awash. We should really have had a reef in but the water was pretty flat and it was good to see how she performed when driven hard.

On the wind heading towards the Black Rock.

After a couple of tacks we were out of the harbour and past the Black Rock beacon. The sea was now much rougher and we were getting wet. Capella was still standing up to it, the hefty iron keel plus a ton and a half of lead inside ballast probably helped.

However it was getting a bit uncomfortable for us so we put the helm up and headed back home to Penryn.

Falmouth Working Boats racing.

As we reached up the harbour we passed the Falmouth Working Boat fleet out for a race. The were about ten of them, a lovely sight with their multicoloured topsails.

It only took twenty minutes to get back to Falmouth Town and soon the sails were down and we were motoring back to our berth at Penryn.

Once back at Freeman's Wharf I dis covered that Capella had developed a leak. She had been absolutely dry since being launched so this was a bit disconcerting. It was also worrying that I couldn't find where the leak was, even after taking up the sole boards and lifting out half the lead ballast. Fortunately the leak stopped after a couple of hours and I decided that Capella was still taking up and I had pressed her a bit too hard that day for a seventy year old lady.

Motoring back towards Penryn.

Of course that wasn't the end of the leak, it reappeared several times over the next year. Usually it was after a hard windward sail. I did later discover the leak, right up forward water was trickling in from behind the apron. I thought at the time that a hood end must be failing although I had given them a thorough check while fitting out. It was not until lifting out this year that I discovered the actual cause.

That evening I headed back to London feeling quite pleased with Capella (and myself) and looking forward to the Summer holidays and getting some proper sailing done.

Fitting out 2014

Capella has been in commission all Winter and is now awaiting a haul-out at Greenwich Yacht Club for this year's fitting out. This should happen in the next couple of weeks once a cradle becomes available. In the meantime I thought I would look back at last year's fitting out at the Ponsharden Boatyard in Penryn.

The topsides paint was in good condition. I gave
it a good flatting down, a bit of filling and spot
priming, one undercoat, and one gloss coat.

I improvised a linseed oil bath for the standing
rigging.

Capella had been standing ashore for about two years but was in pretty good nick considering. This was fortunate because I did not have much time in which to do the work, just the two May bank holidays and a weeks' leave in June, altogether about fifteen days. All I could hope to do was to get her sea-worthy with enough paint and varnish applied for her to look reasonably presentable.

Capella's previous owner Chris Daniels helped out a lot particularly in painting the deck, replacing fittings, rigging the mast and getting the engine running.

Working in the open made things difficult at times. We had a few days of rain when little could be accomplished. The yard was also very basic and muddy which didn't help.

I mostly slept aboard but did spend a few nights at the Kings Arms Hotel which I can recommend for good, cheap accommodation and decent food.

Painted, rigged and ready to launch.
Chris Daniels taking a well earned breather.

Finally, by the middle of June, we we ready to launch. We had put a good four coats of varnish on the mast got it rigged and stepped. The hull and decks were well painted and the engine was running.

There was still much to be done such as refitting the port-side toe-rail and attending to the bright-work but I was keen to get her afloat and away from the dirt and mess of the yard. Besides, a wooden boat shouldn't be standing ashore for too long, she dries out and can get out of shape with out the water supporting her.

Altogether quite a hectic month but we made good use of the time available and had done a pretty good job.

Capella resting on the deck of the mobile crane.

Launching a boat at Ponsharden is an interesting and somewhat frightening experience. The boat is first lifted and rested on the bed of the mobile crane. The crane then drives to the edge of the wharf and drops the boat into the water.

I'm not sure if Coles had ever envisaged their equipment would be used in this way but the crane crew assured me that they had done it a hundred times with out an accident.

Capella's launch went smoothly despite complaints by the crane driver that at nine and a half tons she was a great deal heavier than when she was lifted out.

Looking across to Penryn's Town Quay
from Capella's berth at Freeman's Wharf.

The engine fired up first time and we motored up to Capella's new home at Freeman's Wharf.

This is a lovely location. It is close to the town and the wonderful cooked breakfasts to be had in the cafe on the Town Quay. There are many wooden boats there including some of Luke Powell's pilot cutters.

The berths all dry out and the boats sit in lovely soft mud. Just the place for Capella to get used to being afloat again.

First post

Capella anchored off Tolcarne Creek, Falmouth August 2nd 2014

I've been meaning to start a blog for Capella since I bought her in the spring of 2014 and have at last got around to it.

Capella is a Hillyard 9-tonner built at the Hillyard yard in Littlehampton in 1937. She is more or less original except for having a modern diesel installed. She was given new spars and rig about ten years ago, including modern roller furling for the head sails and slab reefing for the main, but maintains her original sail plan.

I found her in Penryn in Cornwall where she had been standing ashore for a couple of years. After a minimal fit-out we had a couple of weeks holiday exploring the Fal Estuary after which I brought her up to Gillingham on the Medway which is now her home port.

This blog will record Capella's voyages, the travails of maintaining a vintage sailing yacht, and such historical detail about her history that I can discover.