HURLEY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
President: Ian Anderson M.R.I.N.A.
Affiliated to the RYA
www.hurleyownersassociation.co.uk


NEWSLETTER MARCH 2006


FROM THE EDITOR

Only three years ago it was a real possibility that the Association would fold, how encouraging therefore to be able to produce a newsletter full of reports of growth and activity.

On the March 4th 14 members attended the AGM at Gosport. A copy of the minutes is enclosed.

Below you will find details of four planned and two proposed rallies for this year. These are great opportunities to get to know other members and their boats.

Those of you on the net will already have seen that the newsletter is available on our website. But more is to come! Shortly brochures of the various Hurley designs will also be there for you to view - but only HOA members. So you will need a password to access them and that you will find added to the end of the AGM minutes.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

A GREAT YEAR ASTERN - A PROMISING SEASON AHEAD!

The recent AGM was a good opportunity to take stock of the last year and Mark Turner, in his closing report as Chairman of the Committee, highlighted the most successful 'Not-the-Cherbourg Rally' (rallies); the new website (many thanks Rod Coomber); the regular newsletters (thanks Mike Sheridan plus contributors) and the great progress which Nick Vass has made in building an impressive archive of Hurley material. These are really solid and important achievements which show that the Association is very much alive and kicking.

Mark, having moved to Holland and adopted the international jet-setter lifestyle (!), has handed the tiller to me (steady as she goes!) and sensibly decided to step down from the committee. Thank you Mark for your initiative and direction and strong support over the last couple of years. All best wishes for your future explorations of the Ijsslemeer!

The minutes of the AGM which accompany this newsletter, as it is essentially a business meeting, may not communicate the full sense of what emerged. The first thing which I found a great encouragement was the attendance. In addition to 6 committee members an additional 8 members wound their way into the Gosport peninsular for the meeting. In addition, we had a number of written apologies from members as far dispersed as Scotland, Cornwall, Germany and Canada. I am sure that many more of you would attend if it were feasible, but clearly this is not possible for the majority of people. Suffice to say that the overall membership was represented by a significant number who were able to scrutinise the administrative aspects and contribute a good deal to the general discussion.
The next impressive factor is the way in which the membership has been virtually re-constructed over the last year to give us some 140 subscribing members - with new members being added weekly. To date some 70 new members have joined since January 2005! There are a number of channels for recruiting new members, including the web site and personal contacts. Nick Vass, in his new full-time profession as surveyor, is personally responsible for many of these, and he continues to proselytise energetically. Still, given the numbers of Hurley boats built (maybe in the order of 16,000) and allowing that many were exported, there must still be thousands of Hurleys out there. So may I encourage you to become a Hurley 'spotter' and encourage owners to sign-up to HOA.

The final impression I took away from the AGM was the sheer energy, activity and enthusiasm there is within the membership. Far from being a retrospective organisation fussing over past glories of the marque, there is a lot going on. We are hearing stories of people taking up sailing from scratch, buying Hurleys for preference and taking on restoration projects. There is also a current spate of interest in rallies and we hear of a Scilly Isles rally and a Bristol rally under consideration, in addition to the East Coast, Solent and Plymouth rallies already publicised. This is all great news.

Another picture which emerges is people enjoying their Hurleys, using them to enhance quality of life, beating stress, making new friends, facing new challenges and exploring new places. It seems to me of particular value when folk are able to invest in the younger generation by giving them the opportunity to sail, appreciate the sea and enjoy the beauty of the creation. To close by illustrating this I would like to introduce the Barrett family (with their permission). Adrian and Jan Barrett have just joined HOA, having purchased Tafetali (22), which is in need of considerable attention. Living in Camberley makes working on the boat in Chichester a challenge, but they are fully 'up for it'. Their budding crew (Katherine age 11, Sarah age 9 and Nicola age 3) are fully a part of the project and all five of them made it to Gosport for the AGM (the girls understandably declined to read the minutes of the last meeting and scrutinise the accounts, preferring to play tag next door!)! They are wholly enthusiastic about the boat (to be renamed to her original name 'Cover Girl' so named because she featured on the cover on an early brochure). Their enthusiasm is impressive, but my thought is that, if HOA can help them achieve their family ambition (5-up in a 22!), through friendly provision of information and advice, then we will indeed have done something of lasting value.

"Cover Girl" featured in the June, 1967 edition of PBO

I would like to encourage those who can to join in the organised rallies, but also to encourage local informal events - even if just 2 boats meet up by loose arrangement, it's a rally - and we would all like to hear about it.
Best wishes for a great new season

Tim Sharman


MARTIN PALMER

Many HOA members, who are also members of the Hurley Owners Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hurleyowners/, will know that Martin Palmer, the creator and moderator of the Group has decided to give up, having sold his Hurley several years ago. Over those years Martin has done a sterling job providing information on the providence of many Hurleys from an archive of records fortuitously saved from the landfill site by one of our life members, Tom Eaves. However, Martin went further than simply providing what data he had. When there were gaps he used what was available to give an expert opinion about original sail numbers, initial destination of new Hurleys and to which broker they were sold. Many Hurley owners know much more about their pride and joy than they would have done without Martin. Martin also joined in many of the more general exchanges that are the hallmark of the site and it is clear from reading the threads that his views were always well respected. He even gave the revitalised HOA a mention from time to time.

So, Martin, many thanks for all your work from the HOA, to add to those from members of the Group. You will be sorely missed. We wish you well in whatever you decide to do next.

However, all is not lost. Our own Nick Vass has taken over the role of moderator and has all of Martin's archive material. Although the two groups are not formally linked (and there will be no attempts by the HOA to force such linkages) it is great that so much fragile and easily lost information is coming together under the protection of the HOA. I'm sure both Groups will profit.

Mark Turner


MEMBERSHIP

A very warm welcome to members who have joined this year. An update to the Directory sent out in January is included with this newsletter. You will see in the minutes of the AGM that membership has more than doubled since March 2005. New contacts have been in the main through our own web site or from a web search, a sign of the times? Please check to see that your details are correct.

Thank you to all those who have paid their subscription which fell due on March 1st and remains at £10. New members joining after October 1st, 2005 are covered for 2006. Because it saves you and me some hassle in subsequent years I have enclosed a standing order form for those who have not already completed one. Please fill it in now, even if you have already paid, and send it to your bank with an appropriate start date.

Payment from overseas can be expensive if you do not have a UK bank account.
In Europe you can get your bank to transfer the money using the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and the Branch Identifier Code (BIC). For the HOA these are:

IBAN - GB52MIDL40202971155407 BIC - MIDLGB2130U


OUTBOARD HASSLES

In the December Newsletter Tim Sharman lists a range of " Requirements " to be met by the outboard installation in a Hurley 22. (Ed.note: Dec N/L is on website) I agree with many of his conclusions but I have tried to overcome the obstacles while keeping the engine in the well, this having a number of advantages which offset the problems. Tim's paragraph numbers are used for reference:

1 & 2. Comfortable starting of the engine can be achieved through the installation of an
" upward pull " modification. My mod. for a Honda 5 (Pics 1 & 2), show one way of doing this. The lower flange hooks under the lifting handle and is attached by two bolts through two bosses cast into the underside. The pulley ensures a free flowing pull, and the aftward reaction is passed into the engine cowl through padded blocks each side of the pulley.

As a refinement, I installed a further pulley at the forward edge of the engine well (Pic 3). With this, you have a comfortable forward pull on the starter cord which follows a " Z " path around the blocks. But a radiused stainless rubbing plate would probably also do an adequate job.

My next engine, a Honda 8, had a factory mod. which was a good deal more elegant. Having downsized now to a Tohatsu 6, I have adapted the Honda kit to suit (Pic 4). However you do it, it is a "must " in my opinion for all the reasons given by Tim. In addition it ensures that my wife, as well as me, can start the engine if she has to.

Pic. 1
Pic. 2
Pic. 3
Pic. 4

3 & 4. I agree it is important ( essential even ) to be able to remove the outboard from the water, but my interest has to do with prop fouling. It is one advantage we have over folk with diesel engines and it is a shame to waste it! I have had plastic bags around my prop on two occasions
( once in a strong ebb off Brownsea Island ) and we were under way again each time in less than half an hour. The solution has to be to make a conscious trade of weight for performance. Having had engines between 4 and 8 HP, I have finally settled on a four stroke single cylinder Tohatsu 6 and I feel it is an acceptable compromise.

5. The outboard tiller comes through the bulkhead hatch OK and I feel this gives enough useful vectoring of power to help steerage when necessary. I have split the hatch plate in two and cut a " U " notch in the lower part to keep the tiller ( and thus the prop ) straight under cruising conditions.

6. Even if I don't normally expect to motor for more than 4 or 5 hours at a time I still feel happier if I can cover this with a margin; even come back again if I have to without searching for fuel at my destination. Most 4 strokes above 4 HP come with a separate fuel tank holding around 12 litres, or about 12 hours in my case which is very comfortable. With this as an option, a small two stroke with an integral tank and the possible need to refuel en-route has little going for it.

7 After many years of lobbying by PBO, the latest range of 4/5/6 HP four strokes by Tohatsu, Mercury & Mariner have provided a flushing attachment beneath the power head which enables you to fresh water flush the engine without removing it from the well. I have added a short length of blanked off garden hose to make this even easier. (See PBO, October 2004, Practical Projects )

Hope this may be of interest.

Mike Benoy


RALLIES 2006

South West - Plymouth
The Commodore of the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club, has invited members of the HOA to join in the RPCYC OPEN REGATTA on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July. This will now form the basis of the HOA Plymouth Rally along with the Silhouette Owners Association Rally.

This 'Open' Regatta has something for everyone, with sailing in the form of racing (serious or just for fun), or just cruising about, and great activities for all to enjoy in the Clubhouse throughout the weekend. We will be welcome to participate in all the activities at the Clubhouse and families can watch the sailing from the clubhouse observation lounge or balcony which has panoramic sea views over Plymouth Sound.

The full programme for this years' regatta has not yet been completed but the activities and features would include:

Special Regatta Buffet Real Ale Festival
Fast Rib Rides Wine Tasting
Jazz Band Hog Roast
Rock & Roll Party Regatta Carvery with Pianist
American Pool Competition Regatta Tea Dance
Grand Draw Prize Giving Ceremony
Plus more!  

Within this Regatta there are races for IRC and PY Handicaps, but we can organise our own Race within the RPYC races with 4 or more of a kind constituting a 'Fleet' and our own separate prizes! The races can be as serious as you like, or just for fun, and over the weekend there are normally 3 races plus a Pursuit Race to finish with - which is always fun! There is a small charge for entering the race series, last year it was £20 per boat which covered all the races for the weekend.

"This is a great weekend with lots happening and it would be even better if the Hurley Association Members were to join us. You will find a very welcoming atmosphere throughout the club." Mike Bolton, Commodore, RPYC.

Contact - Nick Vass

South - Solent
The rally will be held at Marchwood on the 17th and 18th of June and so far ten people had shown interest. Marchwood Yacht Club had been recommended as a base and has been booked. It is planned to meet on the Saturday afternoon and depart on Sunday.

Please let me know if you are intending to join us, in order to be sure of the availability of berths. Further details will be promulgated nearer the time.

Contact - Tim Sharman

East Coast - Medway
The rally is planned for the weekend May 27th/28th but it hoped that some boats will be able to meet up on Friday, 27th and maybe stay until Monday, 30th.

Outline Programme.

Friday, 27th Meet up at either Queenborough or Stangate Creek
Saturday 28th Cruise in company up the Medway to Upnor Castle and the Maritime Museum.
Mid afternoon berth in Hoo Marina or on Hoo Ness mooring.
Evening drinks and supper at Hoo Ness YC.
Sunday 29th

Skippers discretion. Leave on tide or continue to explore the Medway/Swale waters. Programme to be decided at the time.

 

Monday 30th Head for home.

Contact - Mike Sheridan

Isles of Scilly
30th July - 5th August 2006.

Day 1 Sunday 30th July: Rendezvous at Falmouth and passage around The Lizard to Penzance.
Day 2 Monday 31st: Passage from Penzance to Scilly.
Days 3, 4, & 5: Messing about around the islands and observing island culture, perhaps in the Mermaid pub on St Marys or the New Inn on Tresco.
Day 6 Friday 4th: Passage to Penzance
Day 7 Saturday 5th: Passage to Falmouth and points east.

Notes:
Generally speaking, the waters around Scilly are fairly shallow between the islands. Bilge keelers should have little trouble anchoring and taking the ground, but fin keelers will need legs or deeper water and tenders will be essential for going ashore. Quays are few and far between and generally very busy with inter-island launches and other commercial traffic.

Contact - Phil Biggs

Bristol
No HOA rally at present but an invitation has been sent to Nick by the O.Y.C.A. to join their rally.

Bristol Channel Rally
June 3rd 2006

Meet at Ilfracombe Harbour, dinner at the Ilfracombe Yacht Club that evening (7 pm-ish)
Low Water 17:53 hrs and it is a Neap Tide

Good to hear from you if you intend to come along.
Ring Mark Johnson 01792 882 146 or email to mark@markjohnsonafloat.org.uk

Look forward to meeting you. If the weather is not good contact me for alternative ideas.

The above information is from the website of the Offshore Yacht Cruising Association who have extended the invitation to HOA


AN ADVENTURE WHILE LAYING UP

It was while fitting a new tiller to Kemara that we fell into conversation with another visitor from the Exe who asked us if we were going to lay up in the Canal Basin. This sounded highly promising as I had been worrying about where we could lay up for the winter. Further enquiries established that we should have sufficient water available and that we should also be able to fit under the motorway bridge. We duly made arrangements to verify the belief that my air draft was 8.4 m by way of an acid test. Theoretically this would give us a good one meter clearance.

Work and other commitments prevented us from getting down to the boat till the weekend of November 19th for the next spring tide. The weather, of course decided to throw a cold snap and we really did not relish the idea of sleeping aboard in subzero temperatures so took the radical step of leaving our South Norwood home at 0200 so as to be there in time to get up to Turf at 0800. Why oh why are high tides never at civilised times like 1000? At least the traffic was light at that time of night/morning and we made good time down to Star Cross. Our engine had blown up in spectacular fashion earlier in the year and we were trying out our new 6hp Mariner for the first time. The new engine, christened the Admiral is a lot heavier than Mr Suzuki but I got her into the well OK. I gave the Admiral his first try and he started second pull which was quite a revelation after the joys of yanking on Mr Suzuki's starter cord.

Four of us were scheduled to lock in and one other was due to come out while a fifth had locked through the previous day. Sure enough an old powerboat was seen making its way out of the lock so we hung around waiting. At the same time a little old gaffer arrived up behind us and a large old motorboat was getting underway from the dock by the pub at Turf. They seemed to take rather a long time to get moving, so much so that I lost patience and simply pushed on into the lock ahead of him. It turned out that this was a fortuitous move as he promptly managed to run up on to the mud. The old gaffer tried to help pull him off but I later heard that instead of trying to reverse off he had gunned the engine on the assumption that he would be able to get over a hump. As the tide had just turned he was absolutely stuck till the next high water at 20:30 and it was doubtful if he would get off even then as it was set to be a foot lower in the evening. Roger, from the other boat was quite a local character and regaled us with the fact that he had no charts, tide tables, dinghy or food. It looked like he was in for an interesting two week stay on the mud!

The rise at the Turf lock is around 2 meters. It was an interesting experience slowly rising up and being able to see more and more over the walls of the lock. After a surprisingly long time we had reached the level of the masts in the canal and they opened the lock gates and we all motored out into a different world. Gone were the ripples, muddy banks and buoys of the river. Here were reedy and grassy banks a great deal closer than we would normally be comfortable with and an almost palpable feeling of quiet. The Gaffer stopped to put some fuel in his fuel tank and the other two were not going any further. I was a bit nervous about how we should proceed but the gaffer caught us up and asked if we had done the trip before. On hearing our no he gave some reassuring advice about staying in the middle as much as possible and to keep an eye out for rowing boats as they had difficulty in seeing what was in front of them. Sure enough a group of skiffs came rushing down the river and Roger bellowed at them. We got some dirty looks but for the most part everyone was friendly enough. As we proceeded up the canal the nature of the countryside we were travelling through changed. It became less and less like being on the coast and more and more like the depths of the countryside. At each corner we looked nervously for more skiffs to arrive. The most difficult bit was when a full eight came up just as we were about to pass a swing bridge opposite Topsham. We waited a bit for them to manoeuvre themselves to one side and then gingerly motored past them all the time being mindful of their narrow beam and low freeboard. I lived in Cambridge for a few years and witnessed a couple of swampings.

The next drama came as we approached the motorway bridge. I had been assured that it had thirty two feet of clearance and we are supposed to have an air draught of twenty eight feet. From down below it is almost impossible to get a true perspective of how close you are. We have both a VHF aerial and a tricolour with anchor light up there which it would have been upsetting to have knocked off. As we approached the bridge, the Folk Boat came into view. They were listing over at a drunken angle and we wondered if they had run aground. It turned out that they were heeling the boat in an attempt to reduce their height though I suspect that they could have made it through anyway. We fitted under with no difficulty at all and carried on, now definitely in the countryside rather than on the coast. I have driven along that stretch of the M5 countless times and it was strange to hear the cars rumbling overhead. However, onwards and upwards with no worries left about clearances though we would be passing under the swing bridges at Countess Wear. These duly opened as we arrived and we passed under with satisfyingly long queues to be seen on either side. A group of children waved and shouted encouragingly at us as we passed.

Not much further past Countess Wear you come to another large lock called two locks where we had half an hours rest while this very large lock filled up. Poor old Roger's outboard refused to start so we wound up towing him the rest of the way. The distance was actually very short and the only challenging bit was the final entrance into the canal basin which is only about three or four meters wide. Still, we got through and found somewhere to tie up next to another Hurley 22. It is nice to think of her tied up right in the middle of Exeter. We will enjoy heading down there to do the work we need to do.

All in all, a very pleasant mini adventure as they say in the advertisements for a certain make of car!

Roger Kynaston


NATURE REPORT

It was a lucky shot that just caught the dolphin at the right time. We were out in my son Graham's boat 'Odella' out of St Ives in August this year. About four dolphins were playing just off Porthmeor beach and they came to have a look at us.

Phil Biggs

 


NOTICES

Burgees ** Burgees ** Burgees ** Burgees
Do not forget your Association burgee!!!!
Available from Audrey Kynaston for just £10
A.K, 3 The Berkeleys, 22-23 Sunny Bank

Colin Smith has written from the Algarve to say that anyone visiting the area will be most welcome to go sailing with them, something they can do for 12 months in the year. Address in the Directory.

Hatches for Hurley 22 and 24/70

I have found a company that is willing to make hatches for Hurley 22 and 24/70 yachts .The hatches available are the forehatch, mainhatch, lazerette cover, cockpit lockerlids and will cost roughly £140.00 each including VAT.

To express an interest please telephone Nick Vass on 01722 790173
or email nick@hurleyownersassociation.co.uk


Bargain Buy

Phil Biggs has discovered a really good value-for-money supplier, e.g. 8mm 316 stainless fork & fork closed body bottle screws @ £10.49 per pair, £5.49 singly. They're £12 or more each in the catalogues and £17 at our local chandlery.

Ropes are anything up to a third of the price of else where, and they're Marlow, e.g. 36 metres x 8mm 3 strand white polyester £12.60 or 36 metres x 8mm pre stretched polyester £19.80
Do not stock 8 plait polyester but can quote 20 metres of 16 plait polyester £ 15.60 delivery £7.20 on royal mail parcels or £8.25 on a 24hr courier (2.7kg)

Stuart Deans, UK Yacht Rigging & Supplies Ltd, E-mail: grimsbyrigging@ukonline.co.uk

The Association has received the following notice:

Arun Yacht Club Golden Jubilee Cruiser Regatta
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of May 2006

To celebrate Arun Yacht Club's Golden Jubilee we are hosting a regatta for Cruising Yachts and the less extreme Racing Yachts over the weekend of the 20th and 21st of May and hope that as many of your members as is possible will support us.
The event will consist of four races, two sailed back to back each day, and the fleet will be
divided into two; those sailing to IRC and the remainder to Portsmouth Yardstick. There will, of course, be a full supporting social programme for you to enjoy. The Littlehampton Harbour Master has already agreed to make his full complement of visitors' moorings available for the duration of this weekend and there will be additional facilities on the Club's moorings for those whose boats can take the ground.

Full details available from Mike Sheridan


FOR SALE AND WANTED


HOA COMMITTEE
Chairman Tim Sharman
Vice Chairman Nick Vass
Honorary Secretary Audrey Kynaston
Membership Secretary
Treasurer
Newsletter Editor
Mike Sheridan
Webmaster Rod Coomber

NEWSLETTER

Copy welcome any time to:

Mike Sheridan, 152 Chesterfield Drive,
Sevenoaks TN13 2EH
Tel: 01732 453069
E-mail: mike@sheridanfamily.me.uk