Hi Martin and welcome to the forum

I don't think that Lochins were ever painted when new but rather had a gelcoat finish. Simon Thomas may know otherwise though.

I guess you could have ordered them in any colour gelcoat but azure blue seems to have been the most common for the older ones and the more modern ones seem to be in oxford blue as standard.

Azure blue is a bit lighter than oxford blue and has a slightly greenish tinge but I wouldn't describe it as "light blue".

Mine was originally azure blue before it got hand painted in a bright blue (not by me incidently)

Perhaps you could post a picture of yours?

My fuel tank is under the c0ckpit floor directly behind the engine.

Harold has re-gelcoated his Lochin and it is looking wonderful. I would like to go that way in the future with mine and get it back to the original colour.

The paint finish on mine is terrible, it looks as if it was put on with a garden rake but you can only see how bad it is up close when it is out of the water, when you look at it from a few feet away, it looks fine. The advantage is that if you get any scratches or marks on it; you can just slap some more paint on it and it doesn't really notice!

Cheers

Chas

Hi Martin

There's been no cardinal sin committed, this forum gets a bit slow at times so it's good to have someone posting.

I presume you are waiting to take ownership and that you plan on a bit of restoration job. Mine is of similar vintage to yours and I bought it just over four years ago. I'm also doing a restoration but trying to keep it in a usable state as much as possible.

My tank is about 700 litres but it is not original. Mine was fitted with a Perkins Sabre M300Ti about ten years ago and I presume that the tank was replaced at the same time.

For what it's worth, it may well pay you to put the re-spray on hold for the time being and decide if any changes are necessary, for example, has yours been fitted spray deflector rails? You may also want to change the locations of skin fittings etc.

I'm quite happily resigned to the thought that re-finishing my hull will be the last job.

I remember the finish on my hull bothering me when I bought the boat and was looking at closely whilst it was out of the water but once it's afloat; you don't really see it anymore except from a distance when it's moored and from a distance, it will look fine!

They do tend to ride bows up especially if you have a side mounted capstan rather than a forward locker full of chain - I don't really know what the correct answer is yet; weight distribution, trim tabs etc.

Another answer as suggested earlier by Dave seems to be twin tanks mounted ahead of the engine under the sides of the wheelhouse floor.

Harold originally had a big water tank in the front of his but I don't think it did much for the performance.

I've done quite a lot of work to mine so far: installed a bow thruster, spray deflector rails, shore-power, new windows, new windscreen wipers, rebuilt the front cabin bunks etc etc.

I'm currently removing sections of the old fender, removing the old corroded fixing bolts, repairing the damage to the GRP and gelcoat around the gunwales then refitting the fender; properly aligned this time and with stainless steel fixings. Oh, and changing the old corroded deck hardware at the same time.

As far as I know the gelcoat that Lochins used was by a company called Scott Barder and they are still around.

Cheers

Chas

Hi Martin,

Welcome to the forum!

I am another Lochin nut and have been for the last 30 years. There are quite a few issues but we will try to work through them with you.

We have purchased a 1984 extended wheelhouse almost 3 years ago from Simon Thomas. We are in Australia. For the last 2 1/2 years we have been restoring the boat on a hard stand, so have not had use of her except for the first 3 months. The last owner had made many changes, but not for the better. Our boat was factory finished and therefore the weight distribution was a good as you could get. The wrong weight distribution will ruin the boats behaviour and speed. The last owner had stripped the original interior (I'll never know why) and had fitted a 250 litre water tank right in the bow. The timber they used was way too heavy so the boat was bow heavy. On top of that the hydraulic trim tabs (which were no longer operational) were stuck in bow down position. So the boat never had a chance to do any decent speed even with a 420 horse power (Yanmar). When we removed the water tank and most of the heavy timber and took the trim tabs off, we went from 16 knots to 21 1/2 knots.

Fuel tanks. Our boat has got port and starboard fuel tanks (original). Because the boat originally had a CAT 3208 in it, which is quite thirsty they fitted slightly bigger tanks. Each 410 litres, so they sit one on each side of the engine. The only other drawing I have seen from Lochin is that the fuel tank was mounted behind the engine and the rudder stock.

Also, the batteries are an issue. We have got 3 batt's, under the wheelhouse floor, each weighing 70 kilos. I am going to shift them towards the back under the ****pit hatch. This will allow the bow to lift easily.

The painting:From what I can remember that the standard blue colour was Oxford blue as what Chas has already mentioned. Once you have sanded off the old paint I would stick to the original colour for the reason being, that if you scratch the boat you have got the same colour underneath. There are some very good single pack polyurethanes on the market. The best way to apply in my experience, is a foam roller and brush. January may be a bit too cold still, unless you are indoors.

Hope this has helped in some way. If you have any other concerns please put them on the forum and we will endeavour to help you out.

Regards

Harold

Hi All

I would appreciate your comments thoughts on the fuel tank arrangements I mentioned in the previous post. It turns out that the port and starboard tanks were made to replace older corroded ones and that possibly the stern tank was added later. A problem has apparently arisen at some time with port and starboard tanks when a vessel rolls in heavy weather, the chance of drawing air in is increased. The solution to this seems to be in th form of the fourth tank which looks as though it holds at least 20 gallons and is mounted forward of the engine and very low down so that no air can enter the fuel line to the engine. Is this a common set up or has it been evolved to combat the rolling scenario and if so what do other boat owners do to prevent air being taken in if they have side mounted tanks?

On a seperate point I have found there is no silencer fitted in the exhaust system, the previous owner has already said that he always felt the boat was quite loud, not actually on the boat but from a distance, has anybody fitted a silencer or do they have one fitted? If so is it an inline neoprene type available for less than £150 or is it a water lock system which is more expensive. Which if either would anyone recommend?

Thanks in advance

Martin

Hi Chas

I have done a rough sketch which shows the layout of the tanks, photo not an option at present. I'm no artist but you should get the idea. As for balance pipes I get the impression that each tank feeds the sump tank independantly, including the side tanks so trim can be  adjusted. I don't know if a balance pipe is fitted. There is the old capstan style winch fitted on the starboard gunnel so trim is generally to that side. Was the capstan a standard fitting and if so can the drum be purchased as a spare? mine is badly corroded and an eyesore, large chunks fell off when I grabbed hold of it, however, the hydraulic motor still works OK.

I'll stick on the sketch and a pic of my previous boat if I can find one.

Regards

Martin

Hi Martin,
Sundance was originally fitted with a single 450 litre tank behind the engine under deck.
This was replaced when we refitted her with two 606litre tanks again behind the engine. These are linked with a balancing pipe with shut off valve.
Each tank has fill points and breather vent hoses. They also have individual feed and return hoses via racor filters which means if one filter blocks i can switch over to the other.
I usually run with the balance pipe valve open and using one tank feed/return.
I do think Lochins run better with more weight towards the stern giving a bow up attitude.
If meeting a head sea they can be trimmed down using tabs if fitted for an easier ride motion.
We also have a straight through exhaust system, this sounds great without being too intrusive.

I think you will find this forum useful, there seems to be plenty of knowledgable owner/operators out there.
stu

Hi,
you are quite right, I have a number of original drawings for the single engine 33 and they all put the fuel tank directly behind the engine. The 33 tends to be a bit bow heavy as the engine is quite forward ( this was due to the limited availability of down angle gearboxes in the early days) and there is nothing behind the wheelhouse.

I experimented quite a bit with my old sportsfisher which had tanks either side of the motor. I replaced them with a single one astern of the engine (100 gals) and the speed and angle of trim improved immediately. Any wieght you can't lose should also be shifted as far back as posible. The aft deck will take almost two ton before the stability is comprimised.
Even the 38 had the tanks behind the engine. this is where the hull is flattest and developes the most lift. With the tanks forward it takes more engine to push the bow up!

on the twin engine the tanks are in the keel although on my Brede they are split for and aft of the engines.

Alan

Hi All

First I must check to see if there is a balance pipe fitted, it would make good sense and if fitted with a valve could always be shut off if it was better to use one tank before the other.

It would seem that it would be better to run the side tanks down keeping the weight aft then start using the stern tank. My only concern is freeboard, I will be coded (hopefully) for 12 passengers plus 2 crew, their weight as well as 300 gallons of diesel could be quite considerable, I don't think that stability will be an issue but freeboard might with regard to the coding.

I'm not sure of the make of capstan I will investigate further but in the meantime check out Neco, thanks Chas.

Hi Alan I take what you say re HP drop seriously, loss of power was a concern with only 280 to start with a loss of even 50 could mean a struggle to plain with a heavy load. I don't like boats that are underpowered the transition stage between displacement and planing always seems unstable to me with poor helm response, I would rather pop up on the plane with ease then throttle back.

I am really waiting to see what happens when I hit the water, launch date is set for 14th Jan with alongside trials followed by a short cruise to the yard for repairs, I haven't heard the boat in the water yet so the noise might not be too bad.

Hi Stu I like the idea of seperate fuel filters, I think mine has all filters, 2 pre and 2 main after the sump tank so if they block they have to be cleaned before re-starting, something to think about when re-fitting.

Thanks again for all the input - much appreciated.

Cheers

Martin

Hi Alan

That load configuration will be max everything and will only get lighter through her schedule, most of the time I will be doing 9 knots(ish). The previous owner ran her flat out for short durations, when lightly loaded, for pleasure not work I will be happy with 15 knots, tho' not sure I will be happy with the fuel consumption. I have decided to have the hull slurry blasted and epoxied before antifouling. The main reason being the build up of old antifouling is 1.unsightly and 2. will reduce top speed and 3. fuel consumption. I figure it will be worth it. What fuel consumption did you get at planing/displacement speeds

Eventually a re-engine will be on the cards but I would like to get a few seasons work done before it becomes essential. What do you recomend as a powerplant? I have looked at Perkins 300 Yanmar 310 and vetus 28? Which manufacturer gives the best value these days? I would probably go for a new unit rather than 2nd hand one as i need the reliability and warranty.

Cheers

Martin