Bringing back the 70's....

For a while now, since getting the boat, I've been investigating what engine upgrades I might consider in the future. It started off life in the early 70's with a 50hp Johnson (pull start), and then in 1986 it got a new Johnson 70hp fitted (electric). This remained the setup until last week - don't get me wrong - it was a great setup for years!

The research came down to 2 main points:
- it had to be over 100hp
- it had to be of an age that would be in keeping with the boat (early-mid 70's)

The only engine that I knew of in the country that fitted the bill was a 1979 140hp Mercury inline 6 that was sitting on a Phantom 16 in a warehouse at O'Sullivans Marine of Tralee.
So a few weeks ago I found the boat and engine advertised on their website (advertised with the wrong details I might add, so it took a few more clicks to find it ).
After a few emails to and from Brian, I decided to bite the bullet and get serious about a trade. However, on the same day, with the help of Clinton Marine Services, I managed to sell the Johnson to an interested party (delivered the next day). So 2 days later I arrived in Tralee to lift the Merc into the back of the car (it took 3 of us!) and a box of parts and was back on the road within the hour.



That was last Saturday, and this afternoon Clinton Marine Services got the Merc onto that back of West Wind.



There's a few more hours of 'plumbing' to do, but already looking forward to the end result and getting a spin out in the coming weeks.

So a huge thanks must go out to Brian and Morris in O'Sullivans for their help in removing and lifting the engine, and of course the sale!

The help from Clinton Marine Services has been fantastic thoughout. From providing direct knowledge of the engine's history, to removing and selling the old engine, to making the time this week to fit it all up and getting it all running again.
They might be shy, but I managed to get a photo of them when they weren't looking...... Cheers lads!



And of course, the happy customer......here seen sizing up a new anchor.



See you on the water soon.....in my new 70's porno style boat :-D

Collected the new (well, it's a 1979) engine today from Tralee (235km from home). 7 hours of driving. Hopefully she's worth it!

A 1979 Mercury 140hp 'Tower of Power' - inline 6 cylinder.

It was stripped from an old Phantom 16 for me yesterday.

She'll need a few hours to fit to West Wind due to the extra wiring for the power trim and the extra dials for temperature, rev counter and battery charge, but I'm in no rush this month - and I'm not doing it. :-)





Given that the previous engine was a 3 cylinder 70hp, suffice to say I'm a bit nervous about how to handle the new setup once it's all complete.
One thing I'll be fitting is a foot throttle so I can keep 2 hands on the wheel!

Engine-less!

It's been a while, but tomorrow West Wind will be having the 70hp Johnson outboard removed as it was sold last night.

This engine has been on West Wind since 1986 when it was bought new with the proceeds of a lucky £10,000 lottery scratch card by my grandfather.

Alas, I've set my sights on something bigger and older - in keeping with the boat's age (and which will also hopefully have power trim and tilt to save my back!).

So I might have some news on the new engine in the coming days.

Club Powerboat.ie End of Season meet on Lough Derg

This event happened on the 26th and 27th September in Dromineer, Co.Tipperary.
12 boats met up from the club to spend 2 days out on the water in a mixture of sportsboats, ribs, motor cruisers and a hovercraft.


We met up at lunchtime on the Saturday at the slipway at lunchtime and were on the water an hour later.


Leaving Dromineer soon after, first stop was Mountshannon across the lake where we all went for a beer.







The motor cruiser crew tasked us with finding a chimney pot which allegedly pierces the water 1 mile south of Killaloe bridge. So off we went in the 6 fast craft to get the photo.






After getting the photos, we went further down river to Parteen weir for a toilet-stop and some more photos before heading home for a bbq by Dromineer Marina.


Video here:


Sunday morning we all headed out across the lake to Dromaan harbour for the raffle where we collected €380 for Crumlin Childrens hospital.







Lunch was had in Garrykennedy 10 minutes away, and then it was back to Dromineer to haul the boats out of the water, and wave goodbye until the next time.

A fantastic weekend where the fast craft racked up 73km on the water.

Parked up for a picnic in Corbally

Parade run caught on camera by someone in the crowd last Sunday

My wife managed to get a great video of Tremlett 15 and myself on our parade runs last weekend, but while reviewing them on our camera afterwards, I somehow managed to delete my run.

However, I've just found a video on YouTube by someone who was in the crowd and captured a lot of the boats - including West Wind.

So check it out here .
From 03:18 onwards is West Wind (Tremlett 15 was from 02:25 up to 03:18).

No more need for me to continue trying to find a way of retreiving my deleted file now :)

Of course - I went ahead to try and retrieve it and with Bob's help - got it here!

Settling back in after the big trip

So after getting home at 21:00 last night, the car is unloaded, the boat is rinsed and back under cover, Erin is back in creche this morning, Mum back at work, and I'm walking the dogs at Derryounce lake and dreading the return to the ratrace in 2 days. Of course in true Irish fashion the weather is feckin miserable! Still though, it won't dampen my spirits after an awesome journey to Cardiff.

Team Ireland all aboard

All aboard for the sailing home.

Tremlett 15 currently in the lead

...as we roll towards Fishguard on the way home. The Cardiff Bay Classic was even better than I expected, and I look forward to being back next year

The recovery team drag us out

The professionalism of all the team at Cardiff Yacht Club was exceptional. (Ignore the bottle of Budweiser in the winch mans hand).

They were hauling boats out every 5 minutes on Sunday evening.

In a holding pattern waiting for the parade

Tied up at Cardiff

This is at Mermaid Quay on Saturday morning.

Check out some further photos of the weekend here:

And a short vid on West Wind trying out 'Tosh the Splosh'

...admittedly the wrong way :-D

Fuel stop for West Wind

Just the last stop, 1mile from Cardiff Yacht Club. 50Ltrs of unleaded, shaken (not stirred) with 1ltr of top quality 2 stroke oil.

West Winds birthplace

This is Avenger Close in Chandlers Ford, near Southampton. In the 60's and 70's, this was where the Avenger Boat Company had their factory. We had lived about 5 miles away for a few years in the early naughties (long before taking ownership).

Mine's nearly ready!

Had to catch a glimpse of the Sunseeker 'yard' while I was in Poole. The missus let me have 10 minutes on my own to gawk in awe. I managed to get a flagpole and flag for West Wind.

Back in England - probably 1st time since built?

Parked up in Poole for 2 days. Next year I'll just go direct to Cardiff from home to keep the stress to a minimum :-D

Bon voyage!

This is onboard the Brittany Ferries ship in Cherbourg which took us to Poole on the south coast of England in about 4 hours.

Rolling to Cherbourg

5Hrs of uneventful driving in convoy only to go up a one-way street at the supermarket! To say I will enjoy the beer onboard is an understatement. Next port, Poole.

Sorted!

Disaster averted. With local knowledge, i got the address of a trailer centre in Brest and drove down earlier. Got 2 new bolts so i'll have a spare. Changed the bearings, and can now get ready for Claude's wedding in 50mins. Must dash!

A day of high drama

After collecting the repaired hub yesterday and refitting it,it turns out that i didn't tighten each nut properly. So after starting to tow the boat 2hrs north to Lanillis, i noticed the repaired wheel as we were crawling behind a tractor. In a layby i discovered another bolt sheered off the same hub. With 90mins of driving ahead, i stopped into a local supermarket where with the help of my father (who had joined the convoy) we jacked it up and swapped over a spare wheel. With a few circuits of the carpark to check for wobbles, we decided to head north at a moderate pace. Thankfully there were no more dramas and we got to the destination in good time - if only a littld tired from checking mirrors and speed all the way. So i'm currently typing this note into my phone as i can't sleep with worry about being able to get the hub fixed tomorrow morning before the wedding that we're here for! Oh yes and Monday morning we leave on the 5+hr drive to Cherbourg. My hub is in the lap of the wheel gods!

New toy!

Bought this in a shop in the historic old part of Concarneau, Brittany. Had found 2 old tin toys (not for kids!) in the shop and saw this behind the counter when paying. The 2 tin toys will be raffled off at the CMBA rally in Cardiff.

6Hrs of towing, 1 wheel stud down

First leg, home to Brittany

Left home Thursday morning before 11 headed for Rosslare. Managed a hearty lunch on the way. Arrived into Roscoff the next morning at 10.30 to blue skies...perfect. Headed over to Lanillis for lunch with old friends (polish style!) before hauling south to the Douarnenez area and the restplace for the next week. The only issue was a sheered wheel bolt which I should have fixed by Wednesday.

So what's it all about?

West Wind is an Avenger 16 powerboat. My grandfather bought her second hand in 1978 and owned her until he passed away in Spring 2007.
From what I've been able to find out, the Avenger boat company were based in Chandlers Ford near Southampton in the late 1960's and early 1970's.
The boat was desgned by Don Shead who had designed many top offshore powerboats being raced at the time.
http://www.classicoffshore.com/history%20ctc%20winners.htm

The following image is from an article in a 1971 Design Journal detailing the boat soon after it was released.


By 2007, West Wind had been laid up in a field by the coast exposed to all the elements for most of her life, but having not been used for between 5-10 years.
At the time I retrieved her from the field to begin the restoration, she was in a very poor state:


By now, it's been over 2 years of bit by bit restoring her to a decent usable condition. I got the engine running (1986 Johnson 70hp outboard) during last year after a complete rebuild. Thankfully she's had low hours, so there should be plenty of life in her yet.

So last week I finally completed the major tasks I had planned for this year. The aim is take her on a roadtrip into Northern France, then over to Poole before heading back to Cardiff for a long weekend at the Classic Motorboat Association of Great Britain's main annual rally.

She's now ready to go, and we leave for Rosslare to take the ferry to Roscoff in less than 2 days from now.


Watch this space for updates of the journey over the coming days.