Log XX - Artemis Catch

All the previous posts were on the problems and issues of the boat. Of course we need some breather from these headaches.

The catches on Artemis 1 are not so spectacular yet but I always learn something new after every trip. Very soon, Artemis will live up to her name as the Greek Goddess of Hunt.

Grouper is one the most common fish found in Singapore and they are tasty too. The only down side is that they do not usually put up a good fight.

I usually have luck with the red ones which are highly prized by the anglers here for their meat. I feel that they taste about the same as the normal groupers. Perhaps it is their striking red colour which resembles good luck to the Chinese that makes them much more expensive than other species.

The other common species here are the spanish flags. They are quite aggressive but somehow are underrated by most anglers.

I was lucky that some so my friends are very good at jigging so that they can try out the spots with their jigs. This was one of the time where we hit a school of giant herrings.

I was also glad that I managed to help one of my friends broke his record of landing a 1 kg fish with this sweetlip snapper.

I am still trying to find out where are the good spots and the feeding patterns of pelagic fish such as this diamond trevally,

Once a while, we would stop by one of the islands...

catch some small fish and cook them on the spot.

All these moments are priceless and there will be more to come...

Log XIX - Artemis 1 (Maintenance)

The cost of a yacht doesn't stop after buying. In fact, it is the beginning.

My family and I were happily walking towards our berth one fine weekend, still very excited about riding waves on our new toy. As I opened the cabin door, I was greeted by a foul stench that you can normally smell in sewer system.

I immediately opened the hatch and sprayed air freshener hoping that this would clear up the unpleasant smell before we began our voyage.

Both engines started well and we left the dock in high spirits, slightly dampened by the cabin smell though. As I accelerated the boat to cruising speed, the high temperature alarm sounded off.  I went into the engine bay and found out that it was the same problem that I had asked my mechanic to repair before. The impeller pulley had broken off again.

We had to turn back as it was unwise to continue our journey with only one engine operational. This was the second time that I had to berth my boat using one engine. It was disastrous. The boat was not reacting to my steering wheel at all during reverse. It just kept reversing in one direction regardless of how I turned my rudder. And yes... the key word is rudder.

The theory goes like this. During forward propulsion, the props are pushing water towards the rudder. Hence the rudders are able to change the direction of the boat. 

However during reverse, the props are drawing water from the rudders, which makes the effect of rudders much less insignificant. Normally maneuvering the boat in reverse can be effectively done by engaging and disengaging the forward and backward thrust of the starboard and port engine. The diagram below shows how we can steer the boat by varying the thrusts from both engines. The same theory applies when in reverse.

The above maneuvering skills are easy to master but what if only one engine is operational?
There will be completely no thrust at one side of the boat and the thrust on the other side will always turn the boat whether you like it or not. The worst thing is, during reverse when the rudder is not effective, there is no way to counter the turning effect caused by the lopped sided thrust by using the rudder.

To overcome this problem, I have some theories in mind of how to reverse berth my boat using one engine. I will try that out in the near future after I got my engine fixed and see whether the theories work.

Since we were stuck at the berth due to the engine fault, I decided to find out where that stench came from. I ran through all the compartment on board and when I lifted up the front bilge cover in the cabin, it was full of stinking stagnant water! The float switch was not working and the water was unable to be pumped out. 

The float switch could be bypass to activate the pump manually. The air was much fresher after all the water was pumped out but there was still some remains of unpleasant smell.

Now both the float switch and the bilge pump are new and the cabin air is much more pleassant but somehow it is still not very welcoming. I've found out what is the reason and will improve this soon in my next major project.

By the way if you are wondering did I manage to berth on that day. Yes I did but with the help from the Marina rescue boat and with a broken handrail.

Log XVIII - Artemis 1 (Localization)

Buying a yacht from USA is usually cheaper than in Singapore as the market is big. There are also a wide variety of boats for you to choose from. The US boat resale market alone is easily more than all the boats in Singapore. However there are other problems to tackle. The most prominent one is to the 110V rating.

A transformer will be required for the boat to receive the 230V shore power. Not to mentioned that it will be difficult to find replacement for the electrical appliances on board.

The screw threads are US threads. Even simple stuff like hose connectors are hard to find when your whole country is using UK threads.

The toilet tap broke and I made use of this opportunity to convert the tap and the sink to local HDB style.

Of course some modifications to the piping was required such as this:

All the cabin mono filament lights were changed to LED to save battery power which is a luxury when out at sea.

And lots of sweat were shed over many days together with my family and friends to clean and polish the boat as it was quite neglected by the previous owner.

All these minor maintenance seemed easy but it was time consuming especially when every experience was my first time.

Log XVII - Artemis 1 (The Maiden Voyage)

The voyage was anything but relaxing. With one engine gone dead the moment we were out of Raffles Marina, we were not sure when the other engine would suffer the same fate. We had to decide whether to turn back to the Marina, which was a only a few hundred meters away; Or continue towards our destination, which was another 20 nautical miles!

I didn't expect the first decision I had to make as the Captain of Artemis 1 had to be such a tough one. I turned to John and he told me calmly "Let's continue our journey." With reassurance from the most experience captain I have ever known, we decided to sail full speed ahead. Full speed may sound fast but in fact we were crawling - about the same speed as those wooden bum boats.

After an hour of sailing, I realised we would be facing another problem - fuel. I had pump just enough petrol for me to reach RSYC as the petrol rates are higher at Raffles Marina. However the journey which was supposed to take about 45 minutes or 1 hour max. had now double fold. After an hour of travelling, we were not even halfway through. By the way, the VHF radio on board was not working too which added more worries.

John suggested to keep the engine RPM low to save fuel. While I was navigating through the busy channels of Singapore waters, John was running in and out of the engine room trying to figure out how to link the port and starboard fuel tanks. As the port side fuel gauge meter did not move since the beginning of the journey, we believed that we were only using the fuel from the starboard tank. If our petrol from starboard tank really ran out, we may still be able to use the petrol from the port side. Little did we know that the fuel gauge was actually not working, which I only found out later when I pumped petrol for the first time - both tanks were only left with a few drops of petrol. Anyway back to the voyage. After turning a few unknown valves hoping that would link up the port and starboard fuel tanks, we just had to keep our finger crossed and leave the rest to fate.

Two hours after we left the safety of the harbour of Raffles Marina, We finally reached our destination in one piece.

Looking at her resting peacefully in the calm waters of the marina, all the anxiety from the journey and the crazy handling of the boat to berth with one engine had subsided to become valuable experiences for the future.

By the way, till now I'm still trying to figure out how to berth my boat smoothly with just one engine operational. This task is exceptionally difficult for a twin shaft engine driven boat. Please share your experiences if you have any tips.

Log XVI - Artemis 1 (Preparation for the Maiden Voyage)

There was a mix feeling of excitement and anxiousness when I saw her for the first time. I think this is the same feeling as meeting your pen pal, or in this era, your online boy/ girlfriend at the airport. Excited because you can finally meet the person that you are so looking forward to see, and anxious because you are worried that she may not meet your expectations.

When I first saw her, she was cuddled safely on top of a trailer.

Though a bit rugged from weeks of sailing across the oceans, she instill an air of elegance as she exited the terminal gate with the police already lined up to escort her. I followed her all the way from the gate until she finally checked in at Raffles Marina.

She was transferred to her cradle the next morning and would spend the next couple of days here for the installation of fish finder and AIS.

After the installation of the electronic equipment was completed, we would begin our first maiden voyage together from Raffles Marina to Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. I asked a good friend, John Hendricks, who practically spent his whole life sailing to help out on this journey. And luckily he was on board because just moments after we left Raffles Marina, her port side engine temperature alarm went off. Frankly I did not know what to do at that time, the natural action was to switch off the engine immediately. And this was my first encounter and a prelude of her many problems that would be coming our way.

Log XV - Artemis 1 (Shipping - Part 2)

After 6 weeks of waiting, Artemis 1 finally checked in to Singapore PSA Terminal.

There were many preparation work to be done during this period of waiting so that the process of importing the boat will be as smooth as possible.

1) Look for a berthing place for your boat. There are a few marinas in Singapore and most of them have very limited or no berthing lots left. Here is a list of marinas in Singapore:

North
- Punggol Marina
- Sembawang SAF Yacht Club.

South
- Keppel Marina
- One Degree 15

East
- Changi SAF Yacht Club

West
- Raffles Marina
- Republic of Singapore Yacht Club

Please let me know if I have missed out any marinas in Singapore. A berthing lot confirmation letter from the marina is necessary for the registration of your boat.

Alternative you can purchase a property at Sentosa Cove with a personalized berth at your back yard. This is the most ideal arrangement and if you have a property like this, please do invite me to sail to your back yard for a visit.

2) Find a local transporter to transfer your boat from PSA terminal to your marina or back yard. Take note that not all marinas have the facilities to unload your boat onto the water.

Please check with your marina whether they are able to handle the size of your boat. If not, you may have to transport your boat to a marina that has such facilities such as Raffles Marina, to unload the boat onto the water and then sail the boat to your marina.

The allowable cargo height to be transported on Singapore roads is 4.5m. The trailer's height is about 1m, so that leaves maximum 3.5m for your boat height. If your boat has a height more than 3.5m, you may have to transport your boat by sea through engaging a tow boat to tow your boat directly from the PSA Terminal to your marina. This procedure is more expensive and is not covered in this post because luckily my boat is only 3.4m high. Phew...

Though my boat is within the height and length limit, the width of 3.8m puts her in the over sized category which requires police escort, which also means more damage to my wallet.

3) If you are sailing your boat back from another marina, please standby an engine mechanic on that sailing day so that he will be able to do a sea trial with you before you begin your maiden journey.

Be prepared that if the engines are not operating well, your boat may have to extend her stay at the temporary yard. I actually skipped this step when my boat arrived.

And so the worse case scenario always happen. My port side engine broke down halfway while I was leaving Raffles Marina and I had to rely on the starboard engine to crawl slowly to my destination. The journey took me 2.5 hours instead of 40 minutes. And because this was unexpected, the petrol tank was a few drops to empty when I arrived. My first and most stressful voyage on board Artemis 1.

4) Buy marine insurance for your boat. This is required prior to your boat registration too.

5) Find out where you can buy safety equipment i.e. flares, life jackets, fire extinguisher, etc., to prepare yourself for the boat safety inspection.

Certain items are cheaper if you order from overseas so you can start your online shopping in advance.

6) Familiarized yourself with the registration procedures at MPA One Stop Document Centre (OSDC). For example, your transporter has to declare that they have received the cargo before you can register your boat, so make sure the transporter has done that before you make your trip down to Tanjong Pagar Complex.

7) Importing cargo procedures are usually done by your transporter.

Make sure you have all the necessary documents i.e. bill of lading and packing list, ready for your transporter to clear your cargo from the port. These documents are from your overseas transporter, so if you do not have and want to retrieve the documents last minute from the overseas transporter, you may not be able to get them in time fro your port clearance.

8) Install AIS. This is a mandatory requirement by MPA which is also one of the boat registration essentials. The MPA officer will issue your boat registration number to you for you to register for a MMSI number to program into your AIS. You will have to email the MMSI registration certificate to OSDC to complete your boat registration.

Lastly after you got your boat registration number, look for a Singapore Pools outlet, place your bet and hope that your boat purchase can be partially or fully subsidized.

Log XIV - Artemis 1 (Shipping - Part 1)

The length of my boat is 33ft but with the addition of the bow pulpit and transom swimming platform, the total length adds up to 38ft. She has a width and height of around 13ft each and therefore cannot be fitted into a standard 40ft container. She had to be transported using a flat rack.

Photo of another boat on a flat rack

A flat rack is simply a metal deck with a wooden cradle on top for the boat to sit on. The boat will be secured by using straps tying down onto the flat rack. This method of shipping will cost much more than using a container as there is no space efficiency on a container ship due to the unusable stacking space on top of the rack.

Since the re-conditioning work took 3 months to complete, I had ample time to look for a reliable and cheap shipping agent. I had requested for quotations from both US agents and local Singapore agents and my conclusion is - engage an US agent for the interstates and international shipping and local agent for shipping within Singapore. This will be the most cost effective but you will have to do some coordination work yourself when the boat arrives.

Please try to get as many quotations as possible especially on the international shipping. You will be surprised that the costs can vary by tens of thousands. As a reference, the highest quote I had gotten was $40k and the lowest was $15k. But please do not be too happy if you get a very cheap quote because some of them may not be reliable and worst case scenario, they may be scams. I had approached a few shipping companies and somehow my information was shared to other shipping agents which I did not request quotation from. I received calls at night from unknown shipping companies asking for my boat information and offering their services. These are the companies that gave me the lowest quotes.

I felt insecure using the cheapest shipping company and so I did a background check. I was shock that this company with the cheapest quote was not even listed in the US list of approved shipping agents. I could not imagine what will happen if I engage them. Perhaps I can still get my boat in the end but I better not leave the fate of such a big investment to chance. In the end I engaged a shipping company with a proven track record and the costs was around $20k. This price was way off my budget by the way because I made the mistake of extrapolating the costs based on normal container shipping rates when I was planning the purchase.

Contacts were given to the shipyard and the shipping agent so that they could coordinate the loading out.

The boat was transported over 600km on road across the states from Gulfport in Mississippi to Savannah in Georgia. And after a 2 weeks delay at Savannah port due to some labour shortage issue, my boat was finally ready to begin her voyage across the oceans to this little red dot.

Oops did I forget to shrink wrapped the boat before shipping? Sadly yes, I really had forgotten to ask the shipping agent to do it. She would be collecting dust from half the globe for 6 weeks as a welcome gift to her new owner.