The Jester Azores Challenge 2008 - Jake Kavanagh and Pod
Preparing a junk-rigged Corribee for the Jester Azores Challenge:
Welcome to what I hope will be regular updates for fellow Corribee owners on improving these excellent little boats for offshore voyaging. Just for the record, the furthest I’ve taken Pod so far is to the Channel Islands, but she’s always struck me as a great little sea boat. The design has already crossed oceans – two (and a half) transatlantics that I know about, plus two round Britain’s (with a third in the offing – good luck, John).
I discovered Pod by accident whilst covering the filming of London’s Burning in South Dock, central London. (I was the features editor of Motor Boats Monthly magazine at the time.) Pod was one of four boats due to be ‘blown up’ for the grand finale of a dramatic episode, but at the last minute (around 4am) the wind shifted, and she survived. The other three boats alongside her – all ‘bad debts’ to the marina - were toast. I paid £1,400 for her, with another £200 for a 6hp outboard, and after cleaning off the soot, sailed her from London to the Hamble, where I was living at the time. Initially, I was going to do away with her junk rig, but on the delivery trip I found it so easy to handle that I was converted.
Over the last 15 years or so of ownership, we’ve covered many miles, but I wanted to take her ‘off-soundings’ and do some real deep-sea stuff. Then along came Jester, a race especially designed for boats under 30ft who could race single-handed across the Atlantic. My employers wouldn’t allow me to be away for that long (reassuring in a way) but I have since gained permission to enter the Jester Azores Challenge in June 2008. Pod is now being readied to take on Biscay.
Initial mods:
The list of modifications is a long one, and please forgive the basic overview here. More will come as work progresses. My dilemma is that I want the boat to be watertight and very seaworthy, but I also need her in cruising trim for when I bring her back from the Azores via the Med. The Med is hot, and the Corribee has her forward hatch glassed in to take the unstayed mast. The answer is to make more hatches for improved ventilation, but lots of ventilation means lots of holes in the hull, which is bad for seaworthiness. …But I think I’ve solved the problem. So far, Pod has been given a raised hatch, topped-off with a dome, so I actually have full standing headroom in a very small area. This is great for getting dressed, or just having a good stretch when below. It also means you can have a quick 360 of the horizon without going outside. The dome cost £40 at a jumble (around £150 new) and needed some polishing to become clear again. The housing is made of epoxied plywood.
The inside of the hull has been completely gutted, prior to quite a radical refit this summer. All under-berth lockers will become watertight with the addition of hatches, rather than the usual elasticised plywood covers. A big hole has appeared in the foredeck, courtesy of my Bosch angle-grinder. This will eventually form a self-draining anchor locker, but the aft-facing part will also incorporate a hatch. A big problem with the junk-rigged Corri is the lack of a through-flow of fresh air, but by opening the chain locker hatch, and then opening the inner hatch, you’ll get a draught. Will it stop an Atlantic greener? Plenty of epoxy may help. Besides, by using an angle grinder, the piece of the foredeck I removed is intact enough to be reused as a hatch.
Corri rudders never seem big enough with the junk rig (the mast isn’t far enough forward) so I had the trailing edge of my rudder extended by three inches. This made a huge difference, so now I’m dropping it by another 3 inches and making it semi-balanced. I’m also streamlining the skeg, as it seems very flat at the moment, and must act as a brake. Cockpit drains have been made huge, and all space under the cockpit turned into lockers. The hatches will probably leak, so the area will be used for non-essential stowage (ropes, fenders, water bottles) and be sealed off from the rest of the boat. Tek-Dek makes her look nice, but has added a lot of weight. Goal posts over the stern will take a wind generator and radar reflector, and also form the aft part of a cockpit tent.
All this top-hamper has made her a bit tender, so 90lbs of ballast is being – literally – stuck to the keel. (Didn’t fancy drilling through all those boiler punchings) This is really proving tricky, but two identical model yachts may provide the answer. Their hulls, filled with lead and glued each side of the keel will make a great ‘bulb’ with a wing. Pods belly flexes when pushed, so she’s being beefed up with some woven rovings and epoxy. I’m hoping this stiffer hull will prove more solid, but from what I can gather she should be fine as she is.
The Challenge:
Jester is all about self-sufficiency, so I’m looking forward to joining the other 55 competitors in Plymouth in June of next year. In the meantime, congratulations to Steve for this cracking site, and I hope to keep you updated with the refit! For a lively forum on single-handed sailing, featuring a very good posting from Tim, who has crossed the Atlantic in his Corri and lived aboard off the American east coast for three years, go to www.pbo.co.uk/jester.
Jake Kavanagh, May 2007
Locker and cockpit modifications:
The standard Corribee has loose fitting locker lids. In order to provide additional buoancy in the event of the unthinkable Jake has cut out the existing locker tops and laminated new plywood/epoxy composite tops fitted with screw-down hatch covers. Two layers of ply are used so that the hatches can be positively located within the rebate and fit flush with the top.
Before and after pictures of Pods cockpit. The original Treadmaster has been removed and replaced with Tek Dek. Note the modified hatch cover with the plexiglass viewing dome, stainless tube grab rails and the watertight hatch covers fitted to the cockpit floor. And, of course, the super paint job.
