IRON BARK II IS FOR SALE
SOLD
US$45,000
I always intended to sell Iron
Bark when I turned 70. Well, that birthday has come and now she is for sale.
Below is list of her specifications and some photos; for more information
contact me at trevironbark@gmail.com
Iron Bark is a 35.5
Wylo II launched in 1997 and continuously upgraded since then. Wylos have a
reputation for being tough, go anywhere vessels, and Iron Bark is a
particularly good example. She is fitted out to be a comfortable
voyaging home for two people plus two occasional guests, well insulated and
comfortable in all latitudes, cool in the tropics and warm in the polar
regions. Although she is probably the only vessel ever to have wintered
unsupported in the ice of both Antarctica and the high Arctic, Iron Bark
is far more than a rough, tough expedition boat. She can easily carry
everything necessary for her crew to be self-sufficient for extended voyage
without the load intruding into her interior. Few vessels of 45 ft have as much
stowage. The gaff cutter rig is powerful, easily handled and immensely strong.
The steel hull is equally robust. Iron Bark will look after her crew
when things become seriously unpleasant, be it a hurricane, ice or coral.
Iron Bark is
currently out of the water in the West Indies, in Carriacou, newly repainted.
She and all her gear are in excellent condition, ready to take her new owners
anywhere in the world that has more than 1.5m of water and less than 0.3m of
ice. She is priced for a quick sale with no haggling as it is time for me to
move on to the next part of my life.
Iron Bark's record is a
proud one: 152,000 miles sailed and three winters in polar ice, twice
round Cape Horn and once through Magellan Straits/Beagle Canal, two voyages to
Antarctica and two to Greenland, and much more. She has won numerous awards: the Blue Water medal from the Cruising Club of America, the Seamanship Medal from the Royal Cruising Club and more (and it really is Iron Bark that has won them, I just tag along for the ride).
1997 Launched in Queensland, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand
1998 New Zealand, Antarctica
1999 Wintered in the ice, Antarctic
Peninsula
2000 Antarctica, Falklands, West
Indies
2001 West Indies
2002 West Indies (Annie Hill
joined), Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia.
2003 Cape Breton Island,
Newfoundland, Ireland, England, Canaries, West Indies
2004 West Indies, Nova Scotia,
Greenland
2005 Wintered in the ice of
Greenland 72°N, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, West Indies
2006 West Indies, Panama,
Galapagos, French Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand
2007 New Zealand, Tasmania
2008 Tasmania, NSW, Queensland, New
Zealand.
2009 New Zealand (North I to Fjords
and back), (Annie Hill left), Chile
2010 Chile (Patagonia), Falklands,
West Indies
2011 West Indies, USA (Chesapeake
Bay), Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, West Indies
2012 West Indies, Nova Scotia,
Greenland.
2013 Wintered in the ice of
Greenland, Newfoundland, Maine, Bermuda, West Indies
2014 West Indies, Chesapeake, Nova
Scotia, Newfoundland, Scotland (hurricane off Iceland)
2015 Scotland, Ireland, Labrador,
Newfoundland, sailed for Western Australia 12 Oct
2016 Arr Western Australia 31 Mar
(171 days from NF), Fremantle, Kimberley, Fremantle
2017 Western Australia, New
Zealand, Antarctica (summer only)
2018 Antarctica, Falklands,
Ireland, West Indies
2019 West Indies. Refit prior to
sale.
General:
Steel gaff cutter, round
bilge, extra heavy-duty aluminium spars, keel cooled engine allowing her to
motor in heavy ice or very silty water. Launched 1997 and well maintained and
continuously upgraded since. Currently ashore in Carriacou, West Indies, newly
painted and ready to be launched.
Australian registered and tax paid.
Dimensions:
LOD 35'6'' (11.82m)
LWL 32'0" (9.75m)
Draft 4'10" (1.47m)
Beam 10'0" (3.03m)
Length over spars about 44 ft
(13.5m)
Air draft (bridge clearance) approx
47'6" (14.5m)
Dry displacement approx 9.5 tonnes
Rig:
Lower mast: aluminium 6061 T6,
anodised, 200mmx5.8mm (massive, originally intended for use as bollards for 220
tonne Fremantle class patrol vessels).
Topmast: 75mm aluminium spinnaker
pole extrusion
Rigging: Lowers 10mm 1x19 316 ss
with Staylock terminals (2012). Uppers 8mm with Staylock terminals (2017). No
running backstays as the mast is strong enough not to need them.
Jib on Profurl C320 (2016)
Staysails hanked on, working
staysail is on a boom. Running staysails have a booming out pole.
Main laced to mast. Gaff has custom
made ss jaws with molybdenum disulphide filled nylon inserts for low friction
hoisting.
Topsail hoisted to standing topmast
(no yards required)
Enough spare wire to replace any
stay, and because the terminals are Sta-lok, no outside help is needed to do this.
Sails and sail handling:
Three mainsails. The one bent on is
an old sail seeing out its days in flying fish latitudes. There are two more
mainsails stowed below. One is a well made heavy sail that has had some use and
is good for another circumnavigation. The other is a new, unused Tasker sail
made considerably stronger than their highest specification offshore sail- a Cape Horn mainsail. The
mainsail has conventional slab reefing with reefing winches on either side of
the boom to allow the sail to be reefed from the windward side on either tack.
Four staysails: The working
staysail bent to the boom is a heavy duty Lee sail in good condition and there is
new spare working staysail stored below (made by Tasker, brand new heavy duty Cape Horn capable).
There is also a new, unused light running (tradewind) staysail and a used but
strong storm staysail, both stowed below. The staysail sheet leads to a two speed winch (Barlow).
Jib: Heavy duty Lee furling jib,
good condition on a Profurl C320 with dedicated furling winch. No spare jib. Jib sheets are handled by a pair of Barient 2 speed
self tailing sheet winches.
Topsail; Good condition. Set to
topmast head without yards.
Trisail: Old but never yet used, good
condition.
Anchoring gear:
Bower chain and warp lockers are made of stainless steel and self draining (no mud in the bilge).
Both bow rollers are
unusually large (150mm diameter) and have built in chain pawls. The starboard
roller is modified to allow a roll bar anchor to stow below the bowsprit.
The
kedge has a heavy duty fairlead to aid deployment/retrieval.
Starboard bower anchor: 60 lb
Manson Supreme on 80m 3/8" chain.
Port bower anchor: Either 20 kg
Spade or 75 lb Herreshoff pattern fisherman (depending on bottom) on 40m
3/8"chain and 100m rope.
Kedge: 45 lb genuine CQR on 12m
chain and 100m rope (or 20 kg Spade if preferred).
Windlass: Maxwell 1500, custom made
with twin chain wheels.
Decks general:
Non skid is cork chips set in
paint, which is effective when icy and cool underfoot in the hottest weather.
Stainless steel has been used extensively for the toerails, deck edges and high wear areas
including all the area where the chain runs. There are solid 32mm diameter
stainless steel rails all round (no wire fences) supported by stanchions, each of which is
strong enough to be used as a mooring point. The entire centre deck can be used
as a water collection surface with the rainwater passing through flushable
filters before reaching the tanks.
Self Steering:
Aries, completely rebuilt with almost
entirely new components in 2017
Engine:
Isuzu 3KC, 25 HP. Keel
cooled with dry exhaust cooled by a freshwater jacket on the exhaust manifold.
This allows the engine to be run in heavy ice or very silty water. Spare
starter, spare alternator, complete set of spare gaskets and seals.
Propeller: 3 blade fixed
16"x12" LH. Spare fixed 2 blade propeller. Propeller puller.
150 litre main tank in keel pumps up to a 20
litre gravity fed day tank. The day tank gives 16 hours between fills at 1800 rpm (1.25 l/hr) giving 5.5 kt in calmish water.
The engine has 5600 hrs and has
been meticulously serviced.
Engine access is excellent.
Electrics:
Alternator 100 amp Hehr Powerline
with Hehr smart regulator
100 watt solar panel with latest
generation MPPT regulator
3 battery banks: House 220 amp hr deep
cycle AGM (2017) separated from engine and windlass batteries by splitting diodes to make charging completely automatic. Engine and windlass batteries are
flooded lead acid. All systems have 100 or 150 amp circuit breakers
immediately adjacent to each battery to protect the wiring from fire in case of
a short circuit. Individual items of equipment are protected by appropriately
sized fuses and/or circuit in the switch panels.
Electronics:
Standard Horizon CP180 chart
plotter/GPS with external antenna
Standard Horizon GX 2000 VHF with
inbuilt AIS
Standard Horizon CP180i chart
plotter and echo sounder visible from cockpit when hand steering.
Sony FM/MW/LW radio, CD and MP3
player
YB3 tracker - installed and wired
up but never activated
1500 watt 120v inverter plus
110-220 transformer
Cabins and Galley
Taylor 2 burner plus oven kerosene
stove. A very good galley with plenty of work top space, drawers and dedicated
lockers for all cooking utensils, plates cups etc within easy reach of the cook.
Two water tanks, 120 and 60
litres with foot pump.
LED lights throughout except for 2
rarely used dome lights.
Leather upholstery in the saloon - good condition
except for 2 small cushions that need recovering.
Saloon and cabins are white panels
with varnished trim. The trim is ironbark and teak with some kwila, mahogany
and oak. The cabin sole is scrubbed white ash and particularly attractive. All
interior paint and varnish is extremely hard wearing two-pot polyurethane.
Double berth in forcabin - a very
comfortable berth especially at anchor with hatch directly overhead for
ventilation in the tropics
Two settee berths in the saloon -
good sea berths with lee cloths/ lee boards.
Large clothes lockers and 4 metres
of book shelves.
All lockers regardless of the
orientation of their top have positive catches. Everything stays in place if
the vessel is knocked down.
Heater: Dickinson Newport oil fired
heater with stainless steel chimney and dedicated air intake. The above deck section of the
chimney and air intake can be unscrewed in moments and stowed below or extended
to 1.5m above deck if the snow is deep. There is also a solid fuel heater (wood,
coal, peat, briquets) that can be changed out for the oil-fired one when in places
like Patagonia where wood is abundant and oil scarce, and a chain saw for
cutting firewood.
Toilet: Jabsco manual with holding
tank.
Manual bilge pump.
Miscellaneous:
2 fire extinguishers
Fire blanket
EPIRB
Lifesling
Flares
For more details, email me at
trevironbark@gmail.com
Although they were not intended to describe how the Iron Bark is put together, the handover notes that I wrote in anticipation of selling her do describe how some of the systems work, so I will add the here.
HANDOVER NOTES
ENGINE
The engine is keel cooled. The coolant
header tank is on the aft end of the engine box. Top it up with water and
antifreeze/inhibitor as required. The correct level when the engine is cool is
marked by a cross piece in the tank immediately below the filler cap. The
system is not pressurised and the space above the cross piece marker is for
coolant expansion when the engine is at working temperature. The total volume
of the cooling system is approx 40 litres. I normally run about 30%
antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor. This is the conventional (green) type. Do not
mix it with the orange type as they are incompatible.
The exhaust is dry with a water jacket on
the exhaust manifold. It exits via a loop to the deckhead and out through a
seacock just below the rubstrake amidships on the port side. The loop is high
enough to prevent water entering the exhaust system under most conditions, but
for safety I close the exhaust seacock at sea when the engine is not running
and hang the ‘ENGINE EARTH’ key from the seacock as a reminder that it must be
opened before starting the engine. I normally leave the exhaust open when at
anchor.
Fuel is gravity fed from a header tank below
the galley counter. The tank holds about 20 litres which is sufficient for
about 12 hours motoring. It is filled by a hand pump: to ensure that I never
run out of fuel, I pump up fuel from the main tank every 6 hours. The pump is
semi-rotary and not self-priming. There is a ball valve immediately below the
pump that is turned off when the pump is not in use so that it does not lose
its prime. To fill the header tank, first turn the cock on then put a small
container under the header tank breather outlet, which is a green holes with a
ball valve in it above the galley counter by the exhaust box (I use a plastic
bottle). Pump until the header tank is full and fuel spurts into the bottle.
Turn off the cock under the pump and remove the bottle from under the breather.
There are two fuel filters. The first one is
a Recor in the locker behind the header tank pump. It has a water separator
that is drained by a valve in the base. The element is the spin-on type. The
second filter is on the engine. It is necessary to remove the side of the
engine box to get at this effectively – not a difficult procedure. I change the
fuel filters when I think it is necessary rather than at a fixed interval. When
using drummed fuel of dubious provenance in places like Patagonia, the interval
may be as little as 200 hours. More generally it about 1000 hours.
The lubrication system is conventional. I
change the oil and filter every 150 hours, which is very conservative but kind
to the engine. The oil change interval could be extended to 250 hours and the
filter to 500 hours without adverse effect.
The engine is isolated from the electrical
system except when starting. The gauges are double insulated with no earth via
the engine block. The tachometer is a proximity sensor on the cam shaft, not a
frequency meter of the alternator.
The gearbox is a conventional twin shaft
(Hurth type) using automatic transmission fluid. The shaft has a plumber
bearing in the middle, under the bottom companionway step. This should be
greased every 500 hours. The shaft gland is a stuffing box and it too should be
greased every 500 hours.
STARTING THE ENGINE
1.
Open the exhaust at the seacock
behind the removable panel on the starboard side immediately forward of the
galley. I hang the removable earth key on the seacock handle so that I do not
forget to do this
2.
Check the engine is in neutral
and advance the throttle to about half.
3.
Turn the earth key on. It is
labelled ‘ENGINE EARTH’
4.
Turn on the ‘ENGINE CONROL’ and
‘INSTRUMENTS’ switches. This provides power to the engine instruments , to the
starter solenoid and alternator field coil.
5.
Press ‘PREHEAT’ for 15 seconds.
6.
Press ‘STARTER’
7.
Once the engine has started,
turn off the ‘ENGINE EARTH’
STOPPING THE ENGINE
1.
Engine in neutral and idling
2.
Pull the stop control – the
cord at the aft end of the engine box.
3.
Turn off ‘ENGINE CONTROL’ and
‘INSTRUMENTS’
4.
If at sea, close the exhaust
and hang the removable ‘ENGINE EARTH’ key on the seacock as a reminder that it
is closed. In harbour I leave the exhaust open.
5.
Put the gearbox astern to stop
the propeller turning.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Conventional 12v, negative earth and
entirely double insulated (floating earth) except the starter motor and glow
plugs. All wires are labelled, generally at each end, always at one end. The
alternator is a heavy duty Balmar 100 amp with smart regulator. See
manufacture’s literature for details (aboard in the boat's documentation folder).
There are three battery banks: engine, house
and windlass separated by splitting diodes. The engine battery is a 12v flooded
lead-acid battery and the house bank is a pair of 6v AGM batteries in series.
These batteries are under the port saloon seat. The windlass battery is a 12v
flooded lead-acid battery and is under the forward berth. The voltage sensor
from the smart regulator is connected to the house bank so it is the state of
charge of the house bank that dictates the charging rate. The charge rate is
optimised for AGM batteries. The solar panel is connected to the house bank and
again optimised for AGM batteries. The solar panel has the latest generation
MPPT regulator – see manufacturer’s literature for details.
The large battery switch is used to select
the battery bank that starts the engine. It is normally left on bank 2, the
dedicated starting battery. By switching it to 1, the house bank becomes the
engine starting battery and ‘both’ puts these two banks in parallel. It should
never be necessary to use the house bank to start the engine.
The entire system is double insulated with
no earth through the hull or engine, with the exception of the starter motor
and glow plugs. These cannot be easily isolated from the engine block, so it is
necessary to briefly connect the engine to the battery negative when starting
the engine. The heavy duty switch labelled ‘ENGINE EARTH’ does this. It has a
removable key.
All systems are protected by a 100 amp circuit
breakers, the long wires having one at each end in case a wire chafes through
in the middle. This is in addition to the normal fuses and circuit breakers
protecting individual circuits.
The windlass has it’s own battery under the
forward berth. The charging circuit has a 100 amp circuit breaker in it close
to the splitting diode in the main battery box beside the engine. There is
another 100 amp circuit breaker between the battery and the windlass. This is
in the forward cabin. The solenoid that activates the windlass is in the locker
just behind the circuit breaker. The solenoid is activated by a foot switch on
deck. I leave the circuit breakers in the on position except on passage.
SEA COCKS
Below water line:
1.
Sink outlet: access by lifting
the floor panel of the lower locker under the sink.
2.
Toilet inlet: access by lifting
the toilet compartment floor.
3.
Toilet outlet: access through
the open-fronted compartment beside the toilet.
Above the waterline:
1.
Bilge pump outlet: seacock in
forward small (upper) locker in the saloon, port side.
2.
Engine exhaust: see engine
section
3.
Toilet holding tank breather:
in the toilet compartment, near the deckhead.
WATER TANKS
Water is in two keel tanks: the forward tank
holds 60 litres and the aft tank 120 litres. Change tanks using the ball valves
in the forward galley locker, under the fuel transfer pump. The fillers are on
deck, the port filler goes to the small forward tank, the starboard one to the
large aft tank. Rainwater can be caught and directed into the tanks by stopping
the deck scuppers with a small piece of sponge or rag and opening the fills,
which are flush with the deck. The whole midships deck (18 sq m) becomes the
collecting surface. There are filters in the filler pipes to keep deck grime
out of the tanks. The port filter is in the toilet compartment in the upper
open-fronted locker beside the head. The starboard filter is in the back of the
clothes locker. Unscrew the filter body to access the filter screen for
cleaning.
FUEL
Fuel tank is in the keel, under the engine,
150 litres. The filler is in the cockpit, port side. The main tank breather,
which is normally closed, is in the forward galley locker along with the fuel
transfer pump. When filling the tank, put the end of the main tank breather
hose (a ½” green hose) into a suitable container, usually the same one that is
use to collect overflow when topping up the header tank and open the breather
ball valve in the breather hose. Close the breather again after refuelling.
TOILET
Currently the toilet is a manual Jabsco with
a holding tank. I have found that it requires less maintenance than the Lavac
previously installed and not any more likely to blockages. If there is a
blockage, it is almost always at the outlet of the holding tank rather than in
the toilet and is usually because a female acquaintance could not be persuaded
that there is a difference between toilet paper and paper towels or facial
tissue. The system will handle toilet paper without a worry but paper towels
and facial tissue clog it immediately. The least unpleasant way of unclogging
it is to rig up an electric bilge pump on a long lead, hang it over the side
from the dinghy, push the pump discharge pipe up the toilet outlet (which is at
water level) and circulate water until the blockage is dislodged.
To use the holding tank, close the outlet
seacock. The holding tank is above water level and is emptied by opening the
seacock and letting gravity do the rest. When the seacock is open, the toilet
contents are pumped through the holding tank on the way overboard.
INTERIOR JOINERY
The interior woodwork is entirely removable
for access to the hull. The only exception is the athwartships bulkheads, which
cover a trivial amount of hull. The order of removal is from the top down. For
example to remove the panelling in the saloon behind the starboard settee back,
start at the deckhead and unscrew the handrail and varnished battens. Next
unscrew the painted deckhead panels, then the cabin side panel and finally the
panel behind the settee back. The panels are held by woodscrews into timber
furring pieces that are in turn bolted to the steel frames or deck beams.
The insulation is largely 32mm polyurethane
panels that are a push-fit between the frames and stringers. This allows them
to be removed for inspection of the hull and to allow welding of the hull
without starting a fire. The insulation does not extend far below the
waterline.
RIG
The rig is conventional. I originally had
both running backstays and a stayed topmast but concluded neither were
necessary so abolished the runners and made the topmast unstayed. The jib is on
a Profurl furler and is generally trouble free. The staysail currently in use
is on a boom, but the new one (as yet unused) is loose footed. I have tried it
both ways, and there are advantages to each. For inshore work the boomed
staysail is convenient but it is hard to goose wing it when running downwind.
The loose-footed staysail with a booming out pole is better in this case.
DECK AND DECKGEAR
The non-skid is cork chips set in paint.
Repair of small or large sections is simple – there is plenty of spare cork
chips aboard.
The rails are 1”NB 3016 stainless steel
water pipe, which is about 32mm OD with a wall thickness of 3mm. This is much
more substantial than the usual 1.6mm wall tubing used on yachts. The
stanchions have 1” round bar inserts that are plug welded through the deck and
braced by substantial gussets below deck. All are strong enough to use as
mooring cleats.
CHIMNEY
The above-deck section of the chimney
unscrews and is stowed below when at sea. Usually only the short 400mm section
with the cowl is necessary, but there is a 1 metre extension for when the snow
is deep or if is a down draft behind a dock.