Empire of the Seas

[Silkie]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this and hope you are all watching. The first two episodes are still available on the BBC iplayer.

There was something vaguely familiar about the presenter Dan Snow and a google revealed that he is the youngest son of that sailing sultan of the swingometer Peter Snow. Despite the nautical upbringing (and his father claims he has his Yachtmaster) he does talk some utter ballcocks about hardware being ripped out of the deck if you have too much sail up. Such a thing would certainly never happen on the good ship Silkie.

[lady_stormrider]

Also it's handily repeated on a Saturday night. Useful when going out in Glasgow for a drink.

[sawdoc]

Good series - I enjoyed the episode i saw recently. Good to see the presenter obviously into sailing himself.

[Silkie]

I agree with your sentiments on wood v plastic and I didn't like the look of the yacht in the second episode either but for slightly different reasons. If you are going to build a double-diagonal (I assume) strip-planked hull and varnish the topsides why would you paint a big white stripe around it under the gunwhale?

[aquaplane]

That one he was sailing (off France, Quiberon Bay?) in the last episode was a Sunsail boat, presumably from the Solent.

[Silkie]

Hmm. On closer inspection it does look a lot like Formica and not at all like strip-plank construction.

[Telo]

Looks to me like some very expensive Italian job, which means, I suppose, it'll be real wood. Millionaires don't do Formica, IMHO.

[aquaplane]

Taken some screen dumps.. no way is this sunsail

Oh that one, different boat.

I can't decide if I like that one, the wood looks good (if it's someone elses to maintain) but the design looks 1960s/70s and naff.

[puddock]

Looks to be cold molded construction (Strips of thin veneer, layed up and bonded in defferent orientations)?
I'm not sure if I'm keen on the look though

[claymore]

Looks similar to the stuff Amel use so it won't be cheap.

Quite common to see the white stripe on wood strip planking/moulded boats. There is a beautiful yacht in Fleetwood - Amoress - done like that

[Rowana]

The ropes on the deck in the last shot look a bit cheesy

[sahona]

....but you get cheese-shaped dirty marks left when you lift the the ropes
As for the prog - haven't seen it and can't watch it online as it doesn't seem to buffer/preload, but I bet the boat is something else. Agree with the possible Italian origin. looks functional outside, bet it's sexy inside.

[claymore]

"Cheesing" does harm your lines - the UV degradation increases and is one sided which does no good at all, a scientific friend once told me.

[Rowana]

The ropes on the deck in the last shot look a bit cheesy

I do that with our sheets.. though only when we are tied up. It allows you to stand on them, put bags down etc. etc.

It isn't cheesy, I think it makes sense personally.

J

I was trying a little bit of humour - I understand that coiling a rope in that manner is called cheesing.

But then again, perhaps I'm wrong. I'm ALWAYS wrong as far as SWMBO is concerned

[Pete Cooper]

I thought it was called 'mousing'.
Still one ugly boat though!