Removed Monitor Wind Steering

During the Bunbury Cruise I had a flash of insight that though obvious now took me years to arrive, probably because I am so attached to the Monitor wind steering and consider it part of the boat.

Wind steering requires the dedication of the stern of a boat for the purpose.  This presented the following disadvantages on Pachuca:
  1. The stern boarding ladder could no longer be used.
  2. The davits could no longer be used
  3. Added length to the boat
  4. Was a minor problem when towing the dinghy in a following sea.

In Port Townsend I had an aluminum boarding ladder fabricated that can be fastened anywhere along the side rail, is very strong, and goes deep into the water.  It's a great ladder that now has a second role as a superb boarding ladder for getting on and off the boat when she is in her pen.  However, the ladder takes some effort to set up and remove, and one must pass over the wire rails to use it.  The stern ladder is always in position, can be easily lowered into the water, and can be easily used because it is actually part of the rail.

The davits are useful for lowering and raising the outboard motor when configuring the inflatable tender.  To date I've been forced to carry the outboard motor over the side rail before carrying it down the, then reversing the process before towing the tender.

The increased length of the boat, small as it is, has been an issue at Port Geographe Marina that measures the LOA of boats to the nearest tenth of a meter.  Twice I was assessed at over 12m LOA, forcing me to pay for a 15m pen.

When towing the tender in a following sea it would surf into the back of the boat, slamming into the Monitor's water vane.  No damage was ever done, but the noise was irritating.

Monitor Supported by Davits

Hanging Free on Davits

Lowered Onto Dinghy

Anyway, I realized that I had not used the Monitor since returning to Australia, since the autopilot is adequate for short coastal cruises.  I had a look at the unit and confirmed that only 4 bolts held it to the boat.  The problem would be in handling it weight.  It didn't take long to come up with a plan which I executed with no problem.

I towed the inflatable dinghy all of the way back to the pen at the club.  Brenda and I were both tired after the 3-week cruise so I left the dinghy snuggled overnight along the side of the hull.  The next day I placed the dinghy along back of the boat underneath the Monitor, removed the water vane, held up the unit with the davits, then removed the 4 bolts. I then gently lowered it onto the aluminum floor of the dinghy.  I then motored to the  other side of the marina and then transferred the Monitor to the X-Trail SUV.  I also put the outboard motor into the SUV so that I could flush it at home then hosed down the tender, deflated it, then rolled it up and carted it back to the boat. Everything went like clockwork - the plan was good, I stuck to it, and as always I was able to concentrate better when working alone.

The Monitor is now in the garage ready for a cleanup, polish, and a close inspection of all of it components.  I have a good spares kit on hand and if needs be can order parts from Scanmar in the USA.