Aegean island hopping on a steel twin engined Pedro....

[tomcourtney]

Are we mad to take a 7.5kts Pedro 36 to the Aegean?
Our house is on Crete and we plan to use the boat for an annual 10 -12 week island hop to Dodecanese / Cyclades / Peloponnese. All approx 80nm from Crete.
The boat has (or will have) -
Twin 62hp economical engines
A triple keel giving stability and doesn't roll excessively.
New Raymarine chartplotter, radar, autopilot, AIS
Good solar and battery set up.
Good airflow with low power Calframo fans.
Well insulated with double glazed and tinted windows.

We know the boat and don't want the hassle of changing her for something more suitable.
We are retired and have the time to enjoy the journey to Crete through the Dutch, Belgian and French canals then coastal hopping over 3 or 4 summers
Advice / constructive criticism welcomed..

Tom

 

[macd]

I've no idea of the seaworthiness of a Pedro 36, Tom, but it will need to be good. The Aegean in summer can be a wild place. As well as asking on here I'd take advice from the manufacturer, if still in business, and anyone else with an informed perspective.

Conspicuously missing from your list of boat equipment was an anchor, windlass and ground tackle. This will all need to be of good size and quality. You cannot depend on always using harbours/marinas...and in many harbours you will be berthed stern-to on your own gear. Besides, if you miss out on anchoring you'll also miss out on some of the most attractive places.

If there's just the two of you, you may wish also to install auto-steering, which I imagine isn't present on most inland waterways craft.

Not trying to put the muckers on your plans. Hope they work out.

 

[tomcourtney]

Hi Mac
Thanks for your input
I have the latest Raymarine Evolution autopilot installed and a decent anchor and windlass also a 2nd kedge anchor is on the shopping list. I am short of anchoring experience but the trip there should provide that.

Not sure what you mean by 'ground tackle'.

The same boat has been used by the then UK Pedro agents Dover Sea School for regular channel crossings for 25yrs. They, I believe, contributed to the design of this model as they wanted a boat which could cross the channel in any conditions. I spoke to them and they said "the boat will stand up to force 7 or 8 conditions but you probably wont" The keel design is unusually robust for a Dutch Steel Cruiser and she cuts through waves smoothly. I have been across the Channel in a force 5 + and was pleased how stable the boat was even when I lost both engines due to a fuel problem and was adrift close to North Foreland (Fuel system redesigned now), so I believe (hope) the boat will stand up to Aegean conditions if I choose my weather window well.
has anyone seen a boat of this type in the Aegean?

 

[vyv_cox]

Sounds perfectly good to me. Motorboats of the type you own are not frequently seen in Greek waters but there are many not a great deal different. The Aegean can certainly be wild but its great advantage is that there are almost always anchorages and harbours where bad weather can be ridden out. The converse is that there are many quiet days, especially in May/June and October.

I think your windows are likely to be the source of a great deal of heat. Most boats with large windows have blinds fitted to the exterior, e.g. I remember having drinks on a Grand Banks so equipped. The interior was beautifully cool.

 

[macd]

Hello again, Tom.
Sorry for the jargon. 'Ground tackle' is the tackle you put on the bottom: chain (or chain + rope) + anchor + any other bits and bobs. You'll be grateful if all of it is over-spec: it's often the difference between restful nights and anxious ones.

Plenty of stuff you can read on-line about good anchoring practices. It ranges from chuck-hook-over-bow-and-sprint-to-taverna to the totally obsessive. Hope you can find the happy medium. I sometimes obsess :ambivalence:

Sounds like your Pedro is up to the job in general. Enjoy your sunny retirement.

 

[tomcourtney]

Mac -
" chuck-hook-over-bow-and-sprint-to-tavern" This made me laugh out loud. I did exactly that with a hired dinghy once, then, from the taverna I watched it drift towards rocks, After a frantic swim to catch it my wife swam out with one arm in the air holding my pizza
Thx

vyv_cox -
The lack of boats like mine in the area is exactly what prompted this post...
I will have every pilot book, chart, weather app and my Greek polished up before we go to get local knowledge re safe anchorages and places to visit. Coincidentally, the boat was measured up for a Bimini yesterday and external window white mesh screens
I'm considering zip on mesh side panels for the bimini for the sunny side and may even go as far as the boat in the pic below (not mine) and screen the decks etc
thx

 

[Hardmy]

We have similar plans to yours and will maybe move within the next 2-3 years to the Aegean side. At the moment, we are still discovering the Ionian Greece and there aren’t many other mobos either. And I see no reason why.

As regards to Pedro boats, there are lots of them on the lake where I grew up. They have great accommodation and are solid steel. But they are also shallow draft, a bit top heavy and have one engine only. They have more initial stability (hard chine hull) than other mobos but with bigger waves, they seem to roll more than other boats.
But I may be comparing apples and oranges. Yours is twin engined and you seem to know your boat quite well already, also in respect of its handling in the wave. Your Pedro may have been specifically built for non-sheltered areas?

My boat for example has hard chines at the transom and is VERY uncomfortable to handle in big following seas. So I plan carefully my passages to avoid such situation.

What I hear from a friend who is on the Aegean side (since 15 years and lives 6 month a year on the boat) with a Trader 44. Is that distances are generally short, and with careful weather monitoring and passage planning one should never be caught out. And if you can afford the time and wait a week until the Meltemi calms down, everything is fine. Time is king!

And yes. Investing in blinds and a bimini is very wise. A tender with descent power is also a must. Floating rope and/or ankorlina for stern-to anchoring in small bays is also a must:

If you plan to anchor a lot (what we actually do as well), I would install an anchor watch app on your smartphone. Good idea also to install 200-300 Watts of solar panel. I mounted them last year only, and it made our batteries very happy! As regards pilot guides, I would only use Eagle Ray from Cpt Elias.

Last questions:
- Is your passerelle long enough?
- How much chain do you have? With my 66m. it was not always enough, hence I want to upgrade to 100m...

 

[vyv_cox]

That looks good, especially the foredeck awning. We rig a similar one sometimes. A suggestion - the awning over the windscreen would be better in line with the bimini to direct some air to the cockpit, where you will spend much of your sitting time. If the windscreen can be hinged or removed so much the better. Our sprayhood has a zipped central window and an infill between it and the bimini for this purpose. Photo shows a warm day, two windscoops, sprayhood windscreen down, infill between hood and bimini fitted.

 

[tomcourtney]

The twin engines and triple keel with a draft of 1.2m makes it sit about 0.5m lower in the water than similar Dutch Steels so she doesn't roll much. Haven't much experience with following seas yet...

300w of solar planned and 675ah of batteries
Got a 2m passarelle planned, long enough?
3m Zodiac with 5hp planned, enough power?
Added to shopping list ...
Another 40m of anchor chain
Floating rope, how long?
Eagle Ray from Cpt Elias

These are exactly the replies / advice I need, thx and keep it coming

Tom

 

[tomcourtney]

That looks good, especially the foredeck awning. We rig a similar one sometimes. A suggestion - the awning over the windscreen would be better in line with the bimini to direct some air to the cockpit, where you will spend much of your sitting time. If the windscreen can be hinged or removed so much the better. Our sprayhood has a zipped central window and an infill between it and the bimini for this purpose. Photo shows a warm day, two windscoops, sprayhood windscreen down, infill between hood and bimini fitted.

Good setup there, our cabin centre windscreen folds up and out to catch any breeze and the command deck windscreen folds fully flat. The bimini sprayhood windscreen is also removable. I have windscoops on the shopping list also.

The roof areas and cabin walls have been painted white and the deck is non slip light grey they don't seem to warm up at all. The blue hull may be a problem but I will see how it fares as I don't want to change it.
I am investigating 12v Calframo fans as they claim to be quiet and low power, they are Canadian but worryingly some reports say they are a bit fragile.

Tom

 

[Tranona]

Got a 2m passarelle planned, long enough?


These are exactly the replies / advice I need, thx and keep it coming

Tom

I have a good 2m passarelle that is surplus to requirements. pm me if interested.

 

[vyv_cox]

We have a Caframo fan, it's a few years old now but still in one piece. Unfortunately they have become quite expensive but they do seem better than most of their competitors.

 

[tomcourtney]

I have a good 2m passarelle that is surplus to requirements. pm me if interested.

PM sent
Tom

 

[tomcourtney]

The latest range of Calframo fans called the Sirocco are superb but reports on Amazon.com say they are fragile I will delay the purchase till the last minute before going in the hope they sort out the problems.

 

[Tradewinds]

The latest range of Calframo fans called the Sirocco are superb but reports on Amazon.com say they are fragile I will delay the purchase till the last minute before going in the hope they sort out the problems.

I think most yachts with Caframo fans have this version - I have three on board - excellent, pretty tough and way cheaper than the Sirocco.

http://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/caframo-ultimate-model-747-silent-fan-12v/p8517

 

[macd]

Tom: it's Caframo, not Calframo.
This is the model which seems generally preferred on boats: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caframo-Ultimate-757-2-Speed-18cm/dp/B00NYTN6LE
Also available in white.
(That price is ludicrous: it's available much cheaper elsewhere. But before you get the idea of picking up one cheap in Italy, as I once did, they're actually made in Canada.)
It's quiet, has a low power drain, yet is highly effective...and it doesn't look like a swamp boat about to set off.

P.S. Shucks, beaten to it by Tradewinds.

 

[duncan99210]

Rope for lines ashore when anchoring in bays and coves.....

We use two old climbing ropes each about 60 metres long. They are flaked into bags and I drop th bag into the dinghy, row ashore and make fast to a suitable anchor point with the up wind line and return to the boat. I pass the bag to SWMBO who takes it to the genoa winch to take up the slack and position us properly before I repeat with the second one.

The other trick we've taken to using is to hang heavy weights (we use our diving weight belts) on the lines so as to sink the middle potion of the line. This stops the rats getting on board where they are a problem.

 

[tomcourtney]

2 X 35m floating ropes added to the shopping list, will this be long enough for most incidences?.
What type of rope to hold a 12T ish boat?

 

[vyv_cox]

2 X 35m floating ropes added to the shopping list, will this be long enough for most incidences?.
What type of rope to hold a 12T ish boat?

35 m nowhere near enough for some circumstances. We had 2 x 40 m and have exchanged that for 1 x 100 m. Polypropylene, 12 or 14 mm for your boat. If you can buy the braided stuff it handles much better than the three-strand variety.

 

[[29051]]

I'd agree at least 50 m needed for floating shore lines - a lot of it ends up back on board, but while putting the lines on you need the extra, especially in a cross - wind. It gets a bit messy if you have to start tying on a mooring warp temporarily in order to reach.

Give a thought to mosquitos. We had wedge shaped nets with lead string around their edges for the main hatches. We simply shut the side hatches. We also had an old bed-sized travel net which was useful hung from the boom and draped over the companionway. Not a tidy solution but quick to get in and out and useful for being able to have a look out while still inside the net. Often there are no mosquitos but when they are bad you need some solution. We prefer nets to mosquito coils.