Cavalier 26 (Quarter Tonner) in Queensland's Whitsunday Islands in 2016

Cavalier 26 (Quarter Tonner) in Queensland's Whitsunday Islands.


UPDATE:

A couple of years after I wrote this post the Whitsunday Islands were hot by another cyclone, this time, cyclone Debbie swept through and among other things, tore a huge floating office structure off its moorings.

When it broke loose, the 500mm anchor ropes dragging behind it tore a few other vessels from their moorings, among them, Shepherd Moons.  I first learned about the damage when I saw an article about the cyclone in the U.K newspaper, The Daily Telegraph (from memory) and immediately recognised my yacht, lying on her side in the mangroves in the photograph.

During an inspection the next day I cut my hand in the wreck, and a few days later I was rushed to Townsville hospital suffering a very severe (llife threatening) infection.

Eventually, Shepherd moons was recovered and scrapped.  A sad end to a wonderful sailing yacht.
Because there are quite a few old Cavalier 26 yachts for sale in Australia and New Zealand, instead of deleting this blog, I will consider modifying it with whatever information I can think of for people who are looking for information on what the Cavalier is like as a small cruising yacht.

Shepherd Moons - Cavalier 26 Yacht (by Ross Devitt)

The Cavalier 26 has a pleasing hull shape

First, my apologies to the people who come to this page from time to time.  I began writing a couple of blogs as the result of being forced out of work by some serious injuries, followed by other health problems, including a brain lesion.  Then I found it was just too difficult.

A masthead Rig with strong standing rigging

I recently began receiving questions about my boats, the Whitsunday islands and my Philippines interests.  So I have begun slowly getting into the habit of trying to think again.

A slightly tubby look that belies her easy movement

For those interested in Cavalier Yachts, or who have found one of these boats for sale, I will try to update this blog to the point where it is a bit of a hand book.

The keel is a substantial lump of steel, set low to provide good headroom inside

To that end, we'll begin with a look at an old, neglected Cavalier 26 as she was when I first had her hauled out in 2010.  Friends will recall that I lost my Seaway 25, 'Volcano' when cyclone Ului ripped through the Whitsundays on March 21 that year.  She was sitting on her mooring, riding the storm nicely when as far as we can tell, a much larger vessel was torn from her mooring and swept through taking Volcano with her.  Poor old 'Cano got some holes in her sides and her bottom torn out.  She is now repaired and better than new, but at the time I had no way to repair her because of my health, so I bought the yacht JORUM.

Keel shape keeps the weight at the bottom a bit like a bulb would

My yacht before Volcano was called 'Enya' after an Irish singer.  I had planned to rename Volcano but she was so well known and liked that I broke with my rule of always changing my boat's name (for good luck).

The rudder shape provides precise steering with a nice light feel in all conditions.

So JoRum became my next yacht in the 'Enya' theme.  I went through a list of Enya songs, then searched the International Registry and the Aussie registry.  Orinoco, and Orinoco Flow were taken, Caribbean Blue also and some of my other choices.  But one tune I had always liked was available.  Shepherd Moons.  And the name has a meaning.  There are moons close to the amazing rings of the planet Saturn.  These moons are what astronomers believe interact with the rings and keep them in their place.

Be sure to have a good look at the rudder on old Cavaliers.  This was not expensive to fix, but I'm glad I scraped away the antifoul after tapping it with a hammer.

So they are called 'Shepherd Moons'.  My Cavalier 26 was to take over from a series of earlier yachts keeping me in my beautiful Whitsunday Islands.  Sadly, a year later all that was to change, and I am still stuck in the city.  But for that first year, Shepherd Moons became my new home.

Wide decks, a big fore deck and a comfortable interior all work together to make the cavalier easy to manage single handed.  I have serious injuries to my ankles, spine, wrists, shoulders and some other areas.  I had to sell Enya because I kept falling overboard - at ANCHOR!! and having to be rescued.  Volcano was bought because as a Quarter Tonner she had huge side decks.  Shepherd Moons adds full interior head room, something the Seaway 25 did not have.

Cavaliers came with a diesel engine but many now have an outboard hung off the stern.  The old Yamaha 9.9hp 4-stroke swings a 12 inch prop with a 9 inch pitch at 3:1 gear ratio. Works well!

I added a MUIR horizontal anchor winch because I am no longer able to haul up chain and rope by hand.  The Muir has a clever design with the hole for the winch handle offset.  This means the gearing can be adjusted over 8 settings depending how you insert the handle in the socket.  Set on the very outside there's great leverage for hauling up chain from depth.  Set on the other side so the handle crosses over the winch, you make little circles faster.  Ideal for pulling up rope from the shallows.  If you choose the right chain and rope the muir will handle both through the one gypsy.

Next time we'll explore the topsides and insides.

Cheers,

Ross Devitt.

It is August already.  The promised cradle has not been built, so Shepherd Moons is still growing more reef.  I am almost at the point of selling her and going back to trailer sailing so I can at least haul a boat out and do maintenance.
Waiting...  Waiting...

Shepherd Moons is still languishing on the mooring.  It is almost the end of another cyclone season here in the Whitsundays.  We have been lucky again this year, but there is still time for one late cyclone to surprise us.  It was three years ago today that cyclone Ului devastated Shute Harbour.  Right near the end of the season.

Mid April a friend is coming up to help me get Sheppy slipped, cleaned and antifouled, fix some repairs from two years of neglect and take her for a couple of weeks sailing.  It will be the first time she has been off the mooring since July 2011, because of my health problems.  Hopefully I can use my boat and the islands to stabilise my health.

I am looking forward to getting back out there and beginning to write again.

Introducing Shepherd Moons

The Cavalier 26 is a Quarter Ton IOR class racing yacht designed in the late 1970's.  All quarter tonners are relatively small inside by today's standards, because of the design limitations of the racing rule.  This rule led to an interesting hull shape with a distinctive sloping transom that, while it wasted space, meant that a following sea very often passed by as it broke.  The Cavalier is stable in two metre high, breaking beam seas, though it doesn't feel quite as stable as say a Seaway 25 trailer sailer.

First Sight

My Cavalier 26 was built around 1980 I believe, and originally fitted with a small diesel engine and a  leg that protruded below the boat.  At some time in her life the engine and leg were removed, the hole more or less patched and another hole cut in the lazarette area.  Again, this was apparently deemed to be a bad idea, so somebody removed that motor, did an even rougher job of filling the hole, and built a bit of a pod on the sloping transom.  Just prior to my purchasing the boat, the two stroke 8hp motor had been removed and an aging 9.9hp Yamaha four stroke that weighs close to sixty kilograms was hung from the bracket on the stern.  A forward control unit was mounted sideways on the taffrail and this is how she was set up when I inspected her.

This was in May 2010.  A couple of months before my lovely old Seaway 25, Volcano had her bottom torn out in cyclone Ului when it seems another boat may have broken her off the mooring.  I was not in good enough health to rebuild her, so I decided to spend the money that would have cost on finding another quarter tonner, preferably a trailable.  I spotted the photo of the Cavalier in a marina window.  The lines were right, the price was right, and I decided I could learn to live with a keel.  That last observation is the only regret I have had since buying the Cavalier 26.

The Cavalier was parked up a mangrove creek and I didn't bother to take her for a sail before I bought her.  I raced yachts for years, and owned one of the best quarter ton designs ever built.  I thought I would learn the Cavalier soon enough.  I did a deal with the broker for a cheap marina berth while I was doing some necessary repairs and modifications, then brought her around and had her lifted out into the boat yard.