Annie Hill wrote:

Oops, sorry, I forgot to mention that I'd blogged.

For those who enjoy videos, Rob Lovelace took one recently:

Wow! I had not thought a video could be that much different than stills. But this video shows what has been missing in the blog for sure. I think sailor turned master boat builder, Annie, had better keep her feet wet or she may be too busy building boats to ever sail again.  ;)   Very pretty.

Oops, sorry, I forgot to mention that I'd blogged.

For those who enjoy videos, Rob Lovelace took one recently: I hadn't realised that he was, assuming he was taking some stills, and I was even more stunned to hear that it was out 'on public release'.  Probably just as well I didn't know because I get horribly self conscious when people start filming me.

Anyway, Rob deserves to be much better known and is an amazing sailor.  He decided he'd fancy trying this boating lark several years ago and bought a little Aussie boat, a Top Hat 25, thinking it might be nice to sail to Indonesia. He then proceeded to sail anti-clockwise around Australia.  He told me that for a one-week period, coming down the W coast, I think it was, he couldn't even brew a cup of coffee!  This is probably the reason why he is now sailing a Westsail 28.  To be honest, I hadn't heard of these boats before, but it's a small (and it has to be said, less tubby) sister of the much better-known Westsail 32.  Last year he sailed Sans Pareil to Tasmania, and while a very well-known sailor and writer was waiting for a 'weather window' aboard a 40ft, steel yacht, Rob had visited Port Davey, gone up Mt Aubrey and miles along a tramping track in his jandals (flip flops) and turned the corner to explore Tasmania's west coast, which he thought was quite wonderful.  From Tasmania he sailed to Nelson and thence to Whangarei, where I met him.  He is quiet, down-to-earth and insists that he is just a novice sailor. 

To be honest, I was so surprised at him that I quite forgot to get his email address.  However, he does these videos regularly, I'm told, so I can follow him this way and the good news is that he's coming back to NZ next year.  After which he's heading for Indonesia.  He says.

Len,

There's a catch with having a boat that's insulated too well, in the tropics: it won't cool down at night! If the water is at 30C, keeping the bottom warm, excess heat accumulated during the day needs to be able to escape elsewhere, if you're to get a good night's sleep, and I think the best compromise is an insulated, light coloured deck that will keep out the heat from the sun, with uninsulated darker topsides, that will radiate heat away. In cooler climes, there's no question, you go for plenty of insulation. One thing that's overlooked is that unshaded windows and hatches will produce a strong greenhouse effect, and putting some awnings over these is actually just as important as  awnings over the majority of the deck. Annie's weathered teak deck should be no different from a light grey paint finish, in terms of heat gain and loss, and the lack of glare will be welcome - anyone who has sailed in the tropics with a white deck will know how hard that is on the eyes.

Len Ovens wrote:

I can well believe the extra stiffness, All good. The one thing I did want to ask though, I was reading a blog (another one) where they were painting their deck (standard glass sandwich thing). The comment was that with the grey primer, it was too hot inside (Azores) and they were happy to have the white final on for that reason. Does the thicker wood deck isolate things that much that a teak deck that is darker than primer grey is not too hot?

The insulating properties of a deck, even thicker timber deck will depend on the type of wood used. We had one yacht which had a 30mm thick cedar deck with canvas overlay. Cedar is not a very dense timber so I imagine it would have better insulating properties than a dense hardwood. Foam core decks would insulate better, but remember there is not much actual thickness of the foam. I think Annie has insulation material between her deckhead and the outer deck in some areas, that would insulate very well.

The outer colour of the deck, (and the hull), will make a big difference to its heating effect on the interior, especially in the tropics. Ever tried putting your hand on the fur of a black cat which has been lying in the sun? White, or other lighter colour is best because the very light colour helps deflect the heat of the sign. The trouble with white decks is that the glare produced is hard on the eyes. Eric Hiscock, one of the early gurus of ocean cruising maintained that the best deck colour was a pale green which deflected the heat of the sun but was also easy on the eyes. A light cream also works well.

But probably the best way to keep the interior cool in hot climates is to have effective through ventilation, and a big awning also helps.

Gorgeous!