Re: Looking at an Ebbtide 36

[Bill Robinson]

Hi Ben,

I have an Ebbtide 36 called Jenain. She is round bilged, and I had the steelwork professionally done in Cape Town by Ankon Metal Yachts. I then spent 4 years building her, doing everything including the mast, rig etc. I launched in 1996, and have live,d aboard full time since then, doing well over 100,000nm. a lot of that as a single handler. She was built pretty much exactly as Alan Pape designed her, but I built a metal rudder, and a SS pipe as a toe rail. Originally, I had teak hatches, dorado boxes etc, but maintaining teak in the tropics is a pain in the arse, so now I have Bomar hatches, and polypropylene dorado boxes. The only teak items on deck are the tiller, boom gallows, cockpit grating, cockpit seat slats and a bit of trim. It is also a good idea to weld as much as possible directly to the boat, bolting anything is always the start of rust problems. I added mast " granny bars", and guards for the dorades, all welded. I started out with a Perkins 34 HP engine, but 2 years ago, I replaced it with. 50HP Beta Marine motor, as it was very underpowered. As with all boats, there have been continual upgrades, and improvements, mainly to do with comfort, or ease of maintenance. The basic boat is great!

As regards her sailing ability, she is a great,safe sea boat. I have been in a 3 day storm with winds over 80 knots, and a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. The boat was great, no problems and I never felt in any way anxious.  

I am in the middle of a delivery from Langkawi to the Philippines at the moment, (just dodging ships in the Malacca Strait, near Singapore ). As soon as I get back to Jenain, I can send you more details, and photos of which I have many. If you email me a list of questions you want responses to, I can respond with specific answers.
Bill
Aboard yacht Habagat.

Malacca Strait.
On 9 Jul 2015, at 18:46, Ben Dyer <ben...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hey Bill,

Whilst researching boats I googled Ebbtide 36 and your name came up.  I read some of your posts on a google groups page.  It would appear that you are one of the few people that I could find online that is sharing information on your Ebbtide.  

The reason I am emailing you is because my partner Kate and I are looking seriously at buying an Ebbtide 36 at the moment.  It appears to be a solid boat but it will need some work done.  Starting with a new rudder (the one on it is wood and original I would suggest).  The stanchions and mounts will also need to be replaced reasonably soon.  We went to look at the boat yesterday in Sydney Australia and were very impressed with how simple it was inside and also how dry, rust free and accessible the hull was.  

We would love to hear any information you have on your experiences of the boat, sailablity, advice or otherwise.  We would also love to see some pictures of your boat and if you are happy to divulge any information regarding your own rudder replacement that would be great.

Regarding how she sails and handles I would love to hear your views as it sounds like you have done a bit of stuff.

The link to the boat we are looking at is here

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/ebbtide/36-steel-cutter-sloop

Anyway, warm regards and happy sailing,

Ben

[Bill Robinson]

Hi Ben,

Yes, with the miles and the years, one is forced to learn a lot. I look forward to sharing some of my experience with you, and hopefully a few beers too. My Ebbtide was built with high latitude sailing in mind. She has about 70mm of foam sprayed onto the hull and deck, then 6mm of marine plywood, and then oak slats. She is set up for double glazing on all hatches and ports. There is also a Taylor's kerosene/diesel heater. The result is that she is cool in the tropics, and easy to keep warm in cold weather. I have 6 kerosene lamps, and a few of these are often enough to keep the interior warm. Of course we use LED lamps in the tropics. I spent a few years in South America, we crossed non stop from Cape Town to Brazil, then did Uruguay and Argentina. I plan to go back again one day.

My stanchions, and pushpin and pulpit have solid SS stubs welded to the deck. The tubes then fit over these, and are bolted on. 

The SS toe rail is a 25mm pipe, welded on. Initially, it was polished, but that resulted in very long edges where the paint ended on the SS pipe, and corrosion developed. The solution was to just paint the toe rail, and if the paint gets scratched, the underlying SS is usually rust free. 

I also lined my fair leads and scuppers wit SS for the same reason. I do not have gates in my lifelines, we just climb over them if we are at a dock. We have a small folding boarding platform on the Starboard side of the transom, so from the dinghy, we board over the stern, where we do have a gate. 

I now have a RIB, which I stow on the foredeck, between the mast and the inner fore stay. For ocean passages, I deflate the RIB about 90%. I can then stow it easily and it does not impede foredeck work too much. It will still float in an emergency, and the pump is tied and stowed inside. I originally had a two piece nesting dinghy, that I loved to row and sail. It stowed on deck, between the mast and coach roof, and we even stowed our inflatable inside of it. However once I started serious fishing in Chagos, I needed a RIB, and a 15hp outboard, so that is what I have had for the last dozen years.

I built my hard dodger after years of a fabric covered one. It is a major improvement. Mine is just so high that I can see over it when standing in the cockpit,( and my head clears the boom then too). One soon learns the technique to get inside, basically, you sit on your arse on the bridge deck, and then pivot your legs down the companionway. Much easier to do than describe. 

Dudley Dix  designed my rudder for me. The 

forward edge is a 6 mm SS plate, the sides and rear are 3mm steel, and it has 3 mm ribs as well. The SS pintles are welded to the forward 6 mm SS, and matching SS pintles are welded to the transom. They are bushed with Vesconite, and three 14 mm SS bolts form the pivots. The box that the tiller fits into is also SS. It has survived a serious grounding in coral which would have wrecked a wooden rudder.

I will post photos of all the above, when I get back from the Philippines, in about 2 to 3 weeks. At present, we are passing Singapore, so I have Internet access.

I usually do about 6 thousand miles of deliveries a year.  I did two deliveries to Australia, year before last. One to Sydney, and the other to Philip Island. It helps the cruising kitty, and also I learn a lot of what really works, and what does not on the boats I sail. Makes me very glad to own Jenain!

Cheers
Aboard yacht HABAGAT, ( A Waquize Centurion)

On 10 Jul 2015, at 07:01, Ben Dyer <ben...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hey Bill,

It sounds like we are at the opposite ends of the spectrum us far as experience in yachts and sailing go.  That sort of milage doesn't come without a whole lot of knowledge and I must say I would love to sit down and pick your brains over a beer.  I had come to a similar conclusion regarding welding directly to the boat.  I would be interested to see and here about a few things.

We are looking to start sailing around South East Queensland in Australia and the take leave/resign from work in 2017 and head north along the coast and see where it takes us.  We are looking at boats that have the potential to take us where we want to go, and all things considered we would like to go to south america.

At the moment we are at the stage of finding a boat and we like the ebbtide 36 as an option.  

Firstly, I would love to see how you have done your stanchions, pushpit and pulpit and if there is anything you would change or suggest.  They will be due for replacement as one of my first jobs.

I would be also interested in seeing your stainless steel toe rail, 

Another thing that would need consideration for is the method for getting in and out of her.  I would be interested in finding out a little more about your means of boarding and disembarking Jenain.

What sort of tender do you have and how and where you store it?

One thing we noticed was the dodger, and, that is was a bit of a squeeze to get below.  It seems similar on Jenain, although you might have a touch more space.  Interested to hear what you thinks as it obviously hasn't been too much of a problem for you.

Regarding the rudder replacement, would you suggest I take the wooden one off and use it as a pattern?  Any information regarding the rudder construction process you underwent would be invaluable.  

Obviously no rush, and thanks for the info.  

I am assuming you take delivery jobs from time to time as your work?

Great to hear from you Bill!

Ben

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CC: ebbtid...@googlegroups.com
From: jenai...@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Looking at an Ebbtide 36
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2015 20:07:40 +0800
To: ben...@hotmail.com