Grey Dove Reborn - a major refit

Well , after three years and countless hours, Grey Dove got back to sea in time for the 2005 Festival of the Sea It seems forever ago that we had her brought down to Fife through the highlands from Oban on a low loader, causing angst amongst the tourist traffic .
The refit had been extensive and radical. We have sailed her long enough to have grown to love her idiosyncrasies but even so felt that we needed to make changes in order to enjoy the longer distances and live aboard that we are planning.

The first, and most expensive , operation was to rip out the heavy Silette Cat drive, glass up the hole in the pod and convert to twin shaft hydraulic drive (Anglian Diesels) with a folding prop emerging from the tail of each keel. The resultant installation is compact, 95 kilos lighter and very smooth. There has been no noticeable reduction in performance but the increased manoeuvrability is oh so welcome. We can turn on a pin.



Next, most difficult and controversial, was to alter the bow profile. This was achieved by making a female mould; �torturing� plywood onto the existing bows using hydraulic jacks and fixing it into shape using external frames. The result was lined with Formica and two square profiled false bows moulded by a local GRP company. These were then attached using Woods System epoxy and the void foam filled. This was completed two years ago and we have become used to her �modern� appearance.

This major change has given her 2 feet more water line length, moved the centre of lateral resistance a touch forward, added 550 lbs of buoyant lift right where it is needed, provided a much finer entry and given us the comfort of a collision bulkhead and foam buffer without destroying the integrity of the original hull. The expected improvement to sailing performance was noticeable from the first day out, particularly to windward when sudden F6 squalls tested the whole set up. We have a more stable, faster boat, with a commensurate reduction in hobby-horsing.

Next we turned our attention to the accommodation. The aft cabin has been converted to a single cabin with a huge athwartships bunk, allowing a pair of small wardrobes and a set of sliding storage boxes to be mounted on the forward bulkhead. The bunk was raised by 3 inches allowing storage of light items under. The opportunity was taken to add light lateral frames under the bunk to stiffen the platform aft. The aft cabin is now a light and airy space.

The main saloon was gutted and a new galley installed from scratch with �top-loading� fridge, perishables stowage and the worktop wrapped across the forward end. The deck head has been lined with cork and a new saloon table , chart table , chart stowage and hinged electronics unit complete the outfit, which is finished with ash main bulkheads, white deck head, summer yellow paintwork and burr walnut work and table tops. Jeanette�s design for a rolling bin stowage under the chart table is a great improvement.
Plumbing in a HT is not easy given the limited space, trunking, voids and access. However the heads have gaining a grey water holding tank forward and the snakes wedding of fresh, salt and hot air heating pipes is complete.
On the upper deck considerable effort has been expended on the rig. The fore deck has been fitted with a curved forebeam and seagull striker and the teak slats have gone, to be replaced with trampolines in the interest of weight saving. Not so aesthetically pleasing but the heavy seas off the Scottish west coast have repeatedly broken the teak and I am uneasy about the barn door area of the later models GRP foredecks. (think Lottie Warren) The anchor roller has been sited close to the electric windlass. We use a bridle for anchoring and have found this position for the roller to be the most satisfactory.
The main mast is 35 feet with a long oval section. With the previous mast head rig, modestly cut fully-battened main and the headsail tack held forward on a prodder, the jib was oversized and , with the wide splay of the cap shrouds, was not efficient unless well off the wind (when we went like the proverbial Bat out of Hell!). To make her better balanced we have re-built the stick, changing to a 7/8 rig, pivoting through about 120 degrees on a 50mm stainless ball. The foot of the mast has been positioned 300mm further forward than before with a 2 degree rake. This will give a little overlap to the new smaller high aspect ratio roller foam-luffed headsl by Saturn Sails which is now sheeted to tracks on the main cabin roof. The pivot allows the diamond stayed mast to align with the wind until on a broad reach, with a resultant increase in efficiency and reduction in capsize moment. To counter the reduction in sail area an excellent new main with a very high roach and loose foot has been fitted, also by Saturn. The full length battens have roller cars and the halliard doubled up, allowing for much easier hoisting.

The main cabin roof has been extensively stiffened and a stainless fore and aft girder added to further spread the load.


We attended the Festival Of The Sea in Leith a few days after launch, disappointingly the only multihull there. Since then we had a brilliant delivery trip from the Forth via the Caledonian canal, to Dunstaffnage near Oban where we spent two years exploring this beautiful and inexhaustible cruising ground.

Note...September 2015. The bows have stood up magnificently. Despite repeated heavy weather and several collisions with jetties, including one full on, head-on smack into the concrete side of the canal de Midi at 5 knots when the hydraulic control cables came adrift time has proved the integrity of the construction as well as really improving the performance on all points of sail