T&T: Trawlers & Teak Sealers

[Steve Frankel]

TRUE TRAWLERS
 
First my apologies to the list for all the misspellings in yesterday's
posting on "21st Century Trawlers."  However, despite my poor typing, I'll
stand by my ideas and give an example that just happened today regarding the
viability of "fast trawlers" such as my Albin 40 North Sea Cutter.
 
Here in Marina del Rey, the California Yacht club is hosting the Laser world
championships this week and next, and we have racers from about 80 nations
competing on about 80 boats from dawn to dusk.  I met one of the New
Zealanders the other day and he asked me whether I'd be willing to take him
and 3 other parents of racers (he will also be racing in the adult division
next week) out to follow the fleet around the marks for a few hours so that
they can see their sons and daughters race and (from about 500' away) cheer
them on.
 
I said sure and off we went today.  When we first left the breakwall, there
was a 1-2' chop and about 10-15 knots of wind coming directly over the bow
which Kindred Spirit took the 5 of us effortlessly at about 15 knots.  By
the time we reached the far mark and waited for the racers to arriv, the
wind had dropped to about 5-7 knots which meant the racers were moving at
about 4 knots.  Without any problems, I was able to throttle back to 800
rpm, bringing my speed to about 4 knots, and happily steer my craft through
the mix of observer boats and racing team boats (there was even a 20'
inflatable flying the Chinese flag), while maintaining full control over my
craft regardless of which direction the racers were heading.  Interestingly,
the only other craft that were able to dodge and weave through the observer
boats were the small inflatables.  It was clear that the other 20' + boats
that were trying to follow the fleet at that slow speed were having a hard
time of it.  
 
This flexibility of performance -- effortlessly moving from 15 knots through
a strong chop to complex maneuvering at 4 knots in the open sea -- is
another test which I think modern trawlers should be able to perform.
 
TEAK SEALERS AND VARNISH
 
Another advantage of being in the California Yacht Club is having a corps of
about 30 full-time professionals who do little else than varnish and wash
VERY expensive 50-80' power and sailboats; keeping them in Bristol condition
for owners who are at least as concerned about their boats' appearance than
their performance.  
 
Out here, unlike what I was used to when I kept boats on Chesepeake Bay,
most of these boat owners and maintenance professionals insist that the best
way to maintain teak decks is to wash them down with only seawater every 1-2
weeks; NEVER scrub them with any cleaner or with hard brushes; and bleach
them with a diluted Clorox solution every 2 months or so.  Since they could
be making a lot more reselling the owners teak sealers, it's now relatively
unusually to see relatively new high-end boats with teak stain on them.
 
At least 80% of these professionals will ONLY work with Schooner varnish on
the cap rails, stairs and other varnished portion of the craft.  Also, the
best of them will only work for owners who agree to go on a 3-4 month
varnish schedule in which a few layers of varnish are applied 3-4 times a
year; and the varnish is never permitted to get down to bare wood.  Boats
can be maintained in this fashion almost indefinitely, without ever having
to take the varnish down to bare wood, and therefore the cost is actually
less than only varnishing once a year or so; but having to redo the
varnishing completely every 3-5 years which was what most people I knew back
East seemed to be doing..
 
My last boat was a 40' Creala (Crealock) cutter with all-teak decks that I
traded on the Albin.  Largely because of following these maintenance
principles (salt water for the decks with occasional bleach and a 4-month
Schooner varnishing schedule from the time I bought it as a one-year old
demo in 1999 to the day I sold it) I was able to sell it for a substantial
profit last year when it was 6 years old.
 
 

Dr. Steven Frankel

8214 West 83 Street

Playa del Rey, CA  90293

(310) 430-1742

Home  (310) 827-9665   -   Fax (310) 827-6812

stevefrankel@comcast.net