MRM Sailing

s/y Windy

During the years 1974 to 1982 Hallberg Rassy Wharf built 904 Monsun 31:s. Our pride and joy “Windy” was built in 1978 and has number 438.

More facts:
Designer: Olle Enderlein
Length overall: 9,36 m
Beam maximum: 2,87m
Draught maximum: 1,40 m
Length waterline: 7,50 m
Sail area m²: 48 m²Displacement tons: 4,7
Engine: Volvo Penta MD11C 23HP
Speed under power: 7 knots

As you can see in the picture the boat is white with a blue stripe. The boat seemed to be rigged for long distance sailing when we bought it, e.g. it has steps up the mast to make climbing easier and a bow sprit with an anchor. We also found courtesy flags from several different countries in the Mediterranean. Perfect for our intentions!

Since we purchased the boat in the Autumn of 2003 we have renewed and adapted it to our requirements.

Galley

A new gas stove with an oven. One large and one small burner. This summer (2007) we have changed the gas pipes connected to a PC10 gas bottle situated in the aft cockpit locker. This way we reduced the amount of connections from 9 to 4, which makes it a lot safer. It also feels safer to have the gas bottle outside of the living area. We have kept the coolbox as it is after a thorough service.

The one thing that I have missed in the galley has been a work surface for preparing food, etc. To solve this problem we purchased another footplate for our Lagun table. This plate we fixed to the side of the bunk in the cabin and “hey presto!” we had a new worktop at our disposal. Very practical!

Engine

We experienced a lovely season 2004 without any problems with the engine. 2005 started with problems straight away as soon as we had launched the boat. The engine wouldn´t start. We discovered problems with the fuel pump and blocked pipes connected to it. This problem was fixed and the engine worked nicely – until July. The oil consumption increased at an alarming rate and the engine stopped every so often. We didn´t get a boating season in 2005. All our time was spent on finding out what the problem with the engine was. We ended up with a total overhaul of the engine as it had overheated. We reinstalled it after a lot of work – as good as new.

Now we were really looking forward to the boating season of 2006! The summer of 2006 was lovely with a lot of sunshine and a little wind. This meant that we used the engine quite a lot. We spent our holiday in Danish waters and on our way to Skagen we saw that the oil light came on. We topped up with oil – the oil light went out again – and we got to Skagen all right. The day after there was a nice southwesterly wind that took us all the way back to our home port of Stenungsund. A nice day of sailing.

Yet again we started to investigate what the problem could be and this work resulted in the engine being lifted out again! This time we hade been extremely unlucky. Dirt had got into the water cooling system with the result that the engine had overheated. This time the damage was not as bad as the previous year. Now the engine is back in place again, but this time we have also installed warning alarms for oil pressure and temperature. Should anything happen now the boat would sound like the church bells at Christmas time!

To prevent something like this happening again we have also installed a water filter before the water reaches the fresh water cooler. Now we feel that we have done everything we can to avoid mishaps, but….we keep our fingers crossed anyway!

Equipment

Wind rudder

After reading several descriptions about how heavy and exhausting it can be to steer by holding the tiller yourself, we decided to get a wind rudder. The question we asked ourselves was, what kind were we going to buy? We visited several boat shows and read about different models and decided that we should get a Monitor. When we were at the London Boat Show we met representatives from Monitor and ordered one. Now it is installed and ready for action. It is going to be very exciting to see if it works!

Equipment for navigation

We have thought a lot about safety when planning how to navigate and the boat is equipped accordingly.

We have also bought a new sextant, which we are taking with us. This we are going to use a lot to keep our knowledge up to date. It feels good to have it with us – should all the electronic equipment fail for any reason.

The human factor: Yes, we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that we function properly, i.e. eat and sleep properly. Also make sure that we do not get injured unnecessarily (says she who´s slipped and hurt herself umpteen times!) First and foremost we have to take things easy and not stress. Well, our intentions are good
anyway…

Power source

We have two batteries. One is solely for the engine and the other is for navigation, the cool box and lighting. On our engine we have two generators. We have also purchased a battery charger that can be connected all the time we are in any port. We have also bought a solar panel as a further charger for the batteries.

Life raft

When it came to choosing a life raft we looked at several alternatives. We chose a Viking life raft (4 persons), because it seems very sturdy and has a “step” on the side, which makes it easier to get in to. After taking part in an exercise through the Swedish Yachting Association in the swimming baths in Borås, we experienced how difficult it is to get in to a life raft when you are in the water. A very useful exercise. Now we hope that we never get to use this equipment!

Sails

We have checked our sails to make sure that they are all right and we have also bought some extra ones. We now have the following:

- 2 main sails
-2 furling genoas
-1 jib
-1 storm sail
-1 spanker

It feels good to know that all the sails are in good order.