Sailing out of Singapore

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Erdnase

What causes a boat to leak? I know old wooden boats leak but Fiberglas? Does it leak?

the biggest problem on fiberglass boats concerning leaks is mainly from the deck area,where hardware(toe rails,stanctions,hand rails etc) has been thru bolted,teak decks screwed into,windows not sealing properly etc

[Capn Morgan]

As Atoll says, plus perhaps the odd hatch and maybe the shaft seals if they are the packing gland type.

[Ex-Calif]

Took me a while but I finally got my hatch covers to seal - On a new boat this shouldn't be a problem for a while...

If you are worried about leaking from below don't stress about it. As Capn Morgan says the most likely suspect is a packing gland and I am guessing your boat will come with sail drives.

Much (much, much) further down the road will be deteriorated equipment - seacocks, thru hulls, hose clamps, saildrive seals, etc.

Any new boat owner should find all hull penetrations on his/her boat and know what is there, how to inspect it and identify if something is amiss. Then you should set a calendar reminder say once every 3-6 months to pull those floor panels and have a look.

[Erdnase]

Thanks for all the input guys. Is there any good sealant that can be applied on the walls of a boat to seal up micro tears or leaks?

[Erdnase]

It's good if we can share tips on good and trustworthy repair crew for our boats. I also think its right to name and shame lousy repair or maintainence personnel. The age of the Internet is here. Rather than sue or haggle in courts over their lousy workmanship, i rather let them sue us and prove why we said is wrong

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Erdnase

Thanks for all the input guys. Is there any good sealant that can be applied on the walls of a boat to seal up micro tears or leaks?

Not sure what you mean by micro tears... Generally you shouldn't need to coat either the inside or outside of you boat.

Originally Posted by Erdnase

It's good if we can share tips on good and trustworthy repair crew for our boats. I also think its right to name and shame lousy repair or maintainence personnel. The age of the Internet is here. Rather than sue or haggle in courts over their lousy workmanship, i rather let them sue us and prove why we said is wrong

The issue here is that if everyone of the hundreds of thousands of CF members were allowed to post their bad stories this place would be unreadable. The second issue is that the "accused" cannot respond and there are always two sides to every story.

The standard way to get advice is to say, "I am planning to use XYZ boat yard. Does anyone have any experience with them? Please send PM." - Then you can get the skinny on a bad guy privately.

To be honest I don't know many of the boat repair guys in Singapore. I do most (all) of my own work. In general most laborer level guys in SEA need good/great supervision - I had some less than stellar experiences and gave up on most everyone.

Spend an hour or two at the bar of any of the yacht clubs and you'll soon suss out who to use and who not to use.

[Erdnase]

True. Well said. In fact us boaters end up as electricians, plumbers and masters of all trades.

[Capn Morgan]

Erdnase

I'd like to correct one of my earlier comments. Well informed other members tell me that the marina is really full and that there are around 15 people waiting for berths to become available. Only members are now allowed to berth except for short stays.

Still, mostly through ineptitude or carelessness, there have been empty berths for months that have not been offered to other boats. The marina has to pay a certain percentage to the original owners of a berth. When these boats are away, they could fit others and make a profit but this is perhaps too much work for them to bother.

Anyway, free beer tomorrow: you coming?

[Erdnase]

Hi capt Morgan thanks for the replies. Was out of town and finally just touched down and home sweet home. I will try to make it on Friday.this coming as by the time I read this I would have missed the beers.

It's great to know that a fellow Cfer has skills to survey a boat. I hope and will be honored if u would drop by my boat once delivery has been done in may next year to help me look at mine.

[Capn Morgan]

Oh well, next friday it will be.

I am not a surveyor, I went to be present during one. Your new boat won't have any of the problems that an old one built in Taiwan has... don't worry. However, I'd love to come and see it!

[Erdnase]

Originally Posted by Capn Morgan

Oh well, next friday it will be.

I am not a surveyor, I went to be present during one. Your new boat won't have any of the problems that an old one built in Taiwan has... don't worry. However, I'd love to come and see it!

Certainly! It would be a pleasure!

How do you find sailing up and around Singapore waters? Do you reckon it nice to sail our boats? Or do your prefer Thailand and the other countries

[Btdi]

Hi, new to this forum. Moved to Singapore about 6 months ago and now considering buying sailboat to have something do at weekends. Have some sailing experience from US GoM and Carribean. Was hoping to have some fun sailing and improve on logged hours, however someone made a comment that Singapore waters generally have not good sailing wind/conditions to offer and that i mostly would be doing motoring.....Any advice from experience ?

[Capn Morgan]

Hi Btdi

More often than not the wind in this latitudes does not help you along very fast. However, if you like sailing boats and racing there is a very good scene at Changi Sailing club and, if I'm not wrong, in the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. I'm sure Dan will pick it up from here and tell you more about it. Walk the marinas and see if you find what you are interested in. They are mostly friendly places. Welcome to Singapore by the way.

M

[SariTimur]

Having spent 19 of the years from 1987 to 2009 sailing in Singapore I can surely say there is sailing. Though there are generally light winds you are coming up on the windy season. I also believe you are being misled by people saying go to Changi or RSYC. I think you will find the most active sailing is out of Raffles Marina. Yes it is true sailing 60+ miles from the equator generlly means light winds we still have a fair number of broken masts and torn sails among the fleet to remind people that we do get wind. Not as predictable as the trades we get here in the higher latitudes but if you want to become a good sailor variable conditions teach that faster than anything else. Head out to Raffles after work some night for a beer and a meal. There is a pretty strong live aboard community there. They usually take their meals and refreshments in front of the bar. Meet up with them and express your interest to crew on a boat and possibly purchase one I can guarantee you will not go 2 weekends in a row without a chance to get on a boat. The sailing community in Singapore is rather small but a great group of people and you will quickly fit in whether you are a cruiser or a racer.

Have fun and enjoy Singapore. And especially enjoy the sailing there.

By the way I am not bad mouthing Changi or RSYC. I just think there is more happening with more events and more boats at Raffles. After all the first 10 of those 19 were spent in Changi and it will always have a special place in my heart but the reclaimation and traffic and politics there have driven most of the sailors to the west side.

Cheers

Mark

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by SariTimur

Having spent 19 of the years from 1987 to 2009 sailing in Singapore I can surely say there is sailing. Though there are generally light winds you are coming up on the windy season. I also believe you are being misled by people saying go to Changi or RSYC. I think you will find the most active sailing is out of Raffles Marina. Yes it is true sailing 60+ miles from the equator generlly means light winds we still have a fair number of broken masts and torn sails among the fleet to remind people that we do get wind. Not as predictable as the trades we get here in the higher latitudes but if you want to become a good sailor variable conditions teach that faster than anything else. Head out to Raffles after work some night for a beer and a meal. There is a pretty strong live aboard community there. They usually take their meals and refreshments in front of the bar. Meet up with them and express your interest to crew on a boat and possibly purchase one I can guarantee you will not go 2 weekends in a row without a chance to get on a boat. The sailing community in Singapore is rather small but a great group of people and you will quickly fit in whether you are a cruiser or a racer.

Have fun and enjoy Singapore. And especially enjoy the sailing there.

By the way I am not bad mouthing Changi or RSYC. I just think there is more happening with more events and more boats at Raffles. After all the first 10 of those 19 were spent in Changi and it will always have a special place in my heart but the reclaimation and traffic and politics there have driven most of the sailors to the west side.

Cheers

Mark

I agree with SariTimur that Raffles has a good sailing scene. However yesterday at CSC we had 20 boats out for our weekly race in 3 classes. There is a cans race or passage race every weekend. We are also slowly organizing some event related racing around key holidays and are trying to get some cruising organized.

Yesterday we had drift, then storm, then light winds over the 6 hour passage race. We did about 20 miles or so to the causeway and back. Raffles has the advantage that they have a big open area and I find CSC more picturesque. Sailing at Changi is about managing currents, tides and winds. During the NE monsoon I think Changi is the best. During southwest the southern side of the island is better. Many guys move their boats around. It's not as if it's very far to drive to any marina.

Second the idea to visit some clubs and check things out. Keelboat guys are always short of crew and if you are reliable and make yourself useful it is not hard to land a permanent spot.