This shot was taken from the quayside at Barbate and it occurred to us that it showed many of the basic controls and systems on Splice. So for those who are interested, a run through of what you can see. Though she is a catamaran, virtually everything here would be replicated on a mono-hull (except the double engines etc)
From the stern:
- Our dinghy hangs from the two davits (like small cranes) at the stern, this can be lowered into the water by taking off the blue straps and winding her down on wire cables (one slightly visible to the right, under the solar panel) Two spare white fenders are sitting in the dinghy.
- The outboard motor is under the blue cover to the right, this is lowered onto the dinghy when it’s in the water by the third davit (sticking out near the dinghy’s stern). The process of launching the dinghy and getting ready to go takes about 20 minutes each time we reach a new port, and the same to pack it up for sailing
- Above the davits are two x 130watt solar panels which help us to charge the house batteries. These run our fridges, lights, instruments etc. Before we had these we struggled to run our fridges at anchor. We have two separate starter batteries for the engines which are charged by smaller solar panels forward (not visible). All the batteries can also be charged by the generator, when running the engines and from ‘shore power’- this is the yellow cable running from the blue shore junction (bottom right) to the socket on the port transom steps.
- On the port/left steps is the swim ladder that is dropped down to enter/exit the water. There is also a shower head here behind plastic caps to wash off the salt water, just visible as two round circles.
- The main inboard engines are under the first two hatches at the top of the steps. These are special marinised 55 hp Volvo Penta engines. They can be accessed by lifting up the beds in the stern cabins as well.
- We of course fly our ‘Red Ensign’ the symbol that this is a British boat. When around the Solent etc there are many bits of etiquette you are supposed to follow. Here, most cruisers just put up the Ensign at the beginning of the season and fly it all the time. We also have a small Spanish ‘Courtesy Flag’ flying out of picture part way up the mast to respect the country whose waters we are sailing in. Just below the Ensign you can see part of the boat name above some blue numbering. This is Splice’s ‘British Small Ships Register’ number and identifies the boat. It must be clearly displayed on all British registered boats.
- Safety Gear: On both sides you can see yellow horseshoe-buoys ready to be thrown to a ‘man overboard’. To starboard there is also a Danbuoy, the ‘orange stick’, this floats upright in the water with a flag and light on the top helping to see the casualty in any waves. We also have a long throwing line to help get someone back on board.
- Hidden under the bow of the dinghy and strapped to the stern of the hull of the boat is our Life Raft which can be easily deployed when we are at sea should the boat be sinking or on fire.
- In front of the safety gear to starboard you can see three lines coiled around the guardrails. Two of these are to furl and unfurl the two foresails. They run up the side of the deck to the furling roller at the base of the sails and act like giant roller blinds on their sides, pulling the roller around to unwrap/wrap the sails. The third line and its equivalent on the other side are the ‘sheets’ or ropes to control the very front sail, our Gennaker when it is flying. These go round the winches you can see to the side of the cockpit and pull the sail into the right shape for the wind.
- To port on the guardrails, just above the excess of coiled yellow shore power cable, are four white aerials. These support
a) the GPS for the chart-plotter (think a sea going version of the Sat Nav in your car)
b) the AIS – Automatic Identification System- which broadcasts our location, speed and direction to other shipping and receives their data, very helpful in crowded places or poor visibility
c) The NAVTEX which receives weather and navigational information
d) The wifi booster that helps us pickup signals at anchor/distance from the transmitter to get emails etc.
We also have two other spare GPS aerials elsewhere for backup systems and a handheld GPS – you need to know where you are!!
- Just in front of the solar panels you can see a black curved track on the deck. This is the Traveller and is one part of controlling the main sail (the large sail at the back behind the mast). It allows the crew to set the sail to the port or starboard side as needed. Then the shape of the sail is controlled by the Mainsheet, the four lines you see reaching up to the boom above. This is one line led through a series of blocks (pulleys) to give additional power and ends up forward by the helm station. This can pull down or release tension in the sail. The two thin yellow lines are just to stop the boom swaying when moored and are removed for sailing.
- Where the left hand of those thin lines drops down you can see a white box on the guardrail. This is our stern light and shines white. We have similar lights on the bow to port – shining red, to starboard – shining green and up the mast are white lights to show we are anchored, moving under motor or just to flood the decks with light to work by when night sailing.
- Forward of this is the cockpit, used for relaxing and the odd glass of wine or beer. You can see the table to the right.
- Above the table to the right are the rest of the control lines, from left to right: reefing lines 1,2 and 3 – used to pull the Mainsail smaller in high winds. One end of the Mainsheet as described above. The Main Halyard, used to pull the Mainsail up the mast, then the Topping Lift, used to support the boom when the sail is down and finally a spare halyard which would hoist a Spinnaker if we had one.
- Above these you can see the black bases of two winches. The one on the left is electric and pulls up the very heavy Mainsail via its halyard, it would be hard work otherwise though quite possible. The winch on the right is part of a pair with the one to port. These control the sheets for the other smaller forward sail, the Genoa and enable us to shape it to the wind as required.
- To port is the Helm Station, you can see part of the wheel under the seat and above the seat a series of grey covers which protect the instruments when moored. We have displays showing –wind direction and speed, water depth, speed through the water and speed over the ground (often different due to the current). There is an autopilot that holds the boat on the course you set, very helpful for shorthanded sailing. There are also displays for each engine and the main chart-plotter that shows your position against an electronic chart of the sea. We also have a VHF radio handset that fits at the helm and replicates the VHF inside the boat.
- To the right of the helm seat you can see two stainless steel levers. These are the engine controls, push forward to accelerate and backwards to reverse, one for the port engine and one for the starboard. By using these together and in opposite directions you can manoeuvre the boat very precisely with practise (a bit like tank tracks work).

We hope this has shed a bit of light on the workings of Splice, particularly for any non-sailors.
Happy to answer any question you might have.