Improvement schedule since purchase 22nd August 2012 Northshore (the original constructor) upgrades Winter 2012/13 Replaced Stainless Steel Water tanks (x2) and Stainless Steel Diesel tanks (x2) with polyethylene TEK tanks. Unfortunately, the diesel tanks were installed with leaking drain plugs, something Northshore tried to blame on others. Drain plugs finally sealed by Tek Tanks during... Continue Reading →

I hope the reference to ‘Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus’ wasn’t too obscure and you are not reaching for the ‘esc’ button just yet. Of all of my various ideas (could they be called innovations?) that have been covered in the yachting publications and mentioned in this website, the underwater breathing system has had most... Continue Reading →

Inevitably, water sometimes appears in the bilges and needs to be dealt with. Sponging out is laborious and time consuming if there is a substantial amount – I recently struggled to replace the log impeller blank and took on quite a lot of water into the bilge. There is also a sensible recommendation in the... Continue Reading →

Ever since the purchase of my trusty Southerly 135, I have had an irritation with a fickle galley sink drain. Sometimes it runs away with alacrity and yet, sometimes the dishwater just sits there, seemingly forever. The problem has defied cleaning bleach and the handy plunger but it has never been at the top of... Continue Reading →

Having fitted two  new jammers each side of the companionway to supplement the existing three while in Barcelona, I was keen to add additional organisers on the coach-roof to deal with the additional lines. Ideally I wanted to over-mount double units but unfortunately, the existing Lewmar  items were obsolete. The very helpful Chandler in Barcelona... Continue Reading →

Ventilation for cooling in warmer climates is always a challenge, particularly at anchor where the Air Conditioning is less practical. Leaving the coach roof port lights open is an option but sometimes a mistake as the 14 on the Southerly 135 open inwards and are angled so that, especially in the Caribbean where a torrential... Continue Reading →

Having really struggled to find a solution to propeller fouling that actually works, I am compelled to broadcast what is, without doubt, the best I have experienced. My propeller was treated with Propspeed in 2016 and was immersed for 15 months before lifting in February 2018. There was absolutely zero fouling on the prop and... Continue Reading →

When I bought my ‘used’ 135, I commissioned Northshore to carry out some work which I felt would benefit from the epithet ‘Installed by the original builders’ should I come to sell the vessel in the future. Other elements of the Northshore work certainly warrant dedicated articles but my recent Atlantic circuit has prompted this... Continue Reading →

The addition of 12V sockets in strategic locations to power electric fans has proved to be a real winner. When anchored in the tropics or when the only shore power is American 60Hz precluding the use of one of the AC units, the cooling provided by the fans is a real boon. We have found... Continue Reading →