:) Blue sky / blue water thinking

[Duffer]

I find it interesting that a boat that came second in the JOG in 1958 would now been seen as too small for an ocean corssing. IIRC Morning Cloud was only 30' somthing and today would be seen a a bit small for fastnet etc.

I believe that a chap called Mike Winter used a MK1 Cheverton in one of the Jester challenges.

So it looks like I have the right sort of boat should the need / opportunity to leave in a hurry arise.

I think Mike retired after getting as far as Brittany. He may have had another go since.

 

[PhillM]

PS I see you're Solent-based. I'm on the Hamble, so PM me if you fancy a beer and/or a sail.

Great idea. A few of us from here are planning a beer or two at Swanwick when the new bar opens

 

[Babylon]

Great idea. A few of us from here are planning a beer or two at Swanwick when the new bar opens

Lovely idea. PM me - or better still start a new Up The Hamble Bevvy Thread - when you've got a date in mind.

 

[PhillM]

Funny thing is that since posting this I keep thinking about how to make it happen (not that I ever expect it to thou).

Last week I was working out how to fit sink and water tank. I really cannot fit a big one in, so went for a small tank that can be refilled from inside the cabin. My thinking is that I can carry jerry cans and refill on the go. With a deck filer I'd lose more water than I would get in the tank.

I've worked out how / where to store about 100 ltrs so at 5 ltrs a day that's 15 days at sea with a 20% margin or error.

I also spent time in Sainsburys today getting the basic supplied (beer etc) today but found myself planning how many tins / packets I'd need per week for a 20 day crossing...

Today the Hamble, next month Poole, after that ... Who knows!

 

[Chrissie]

Check out Ann Davison, her boat Felicity Ann was a wooden 23 ft boat, she set off singlehanded in Nov 1952, wrote a few books, one about that journey to New York from Dorset, it will make you ache to get out there and do the trip, but also give you some of the confidence you need in your boat.

One of our furum members went to the Azores and back in a 23ft boat singlehanded, google that too.
On a practical note, lots of small amounts of water are a better option than I big tank, if you got a leak... Also, you can get pouches of prepared food that just need heating, doesnt need added water and is lighter than cans, doesnt need cooking so less use of fuel, Tesco were doing an introductory offer on them last week, £1 each, I stocked up my boat, they have 12 months life on them.

 

[wklein]

Get hold of a copy of Shrimpy by Shane Acton for inspiration. Shane did a cirumnavigation in an 18 ft plywood Caprice.

Don't do that! I read that book as a teenager and have never been quite the same since. I remember one bit when crossing panama canal they were checking his paperwork and asked to see his bilge pump, fire extinguisher and holding tank. He returned with the same bucket three times!

 

[oldvarnish]

And another tip - forget Bermuda. Lots of other good destinations which don't condemn you to crossing the huge, windless high pressure systems that can lurk between here and there.

 

[Conachair]

Funny thing is that since posting this I keep thinking about how to make it happen (not that I ever expect it to thou).

That bit is quite easy. Untie a few ropes and point the bows south After that you're fairly well locked in and will figure out how to do what needs to be done as you have no choice in the matter That, more or less, is how most folks do it. The idea of the perfect planning thing is a bit of a myth, is there anyone who hasn't dropped the hook in a perfect Caribbean anchorage and not had a few tins of tescos tuna stashed in a bilge somewhere?

It's not such a mad idea, plenty people do it, many in small boats. With most probably starting with those same questions... I wonder......

 

[PhillM]

That bit is quite easy. Untie a few ropes and point the bows south After that you're fairly well locked in and will figure out how to do what needs to be done as you have no choice in the matter

Strangely it’s not the sailing bit that worries me most, it’s not knowing (or more like have a pretty good idea) what I would come back to. My wife's view is that if I decide to go away for a couple of months - there isn’t much point in coming back. Most of the kids have grown up but they don’t seem that keen on leaving home. And while I’ve got nice little business, I don’t see it running itself for more than a few weeks without my input.

Problem is that I quite like my home and family and I enjoy running my business. But if I ever end up without, I know just what I am going to do!
In the meantime, I will just keep thinking about what I need to learn and how to setup the boat to be able to follow the dream, if the opportunity every presents itself. Passes the time somdays then things are not quite going to plan

 

[RupertW]

The tank storage is important but on the one occasion I did a long ocean crossing we packed the boat with the cheapest 2l containers from the local French hypermarket which was fine for 4 of us for a total 37 day crossing. We reckoned on a bottle a day each for 40 days. Kettles were filled with tank water but as it got warmer we had far fewer hot drinks.

Washing was two mugs of tank water a day, one for teeth and one to rinse hair after seawater bucket bath. washing up was non-existent - we had a mug and bowl each and saltwater was fine. Food was fresh and tinned - no freeze dried.

Our biggest issue was fuel - we nipped over the fence to some chemical works in the French harbour to get a whole load of jerrycans - 15 I think, and spent a day washing them out before filling our 120l diesel tank and all 15*20l which we really needed to get to Florida on fumes at the end (plus hailing a passing container ship for and extra 60l). If we'd crossed in trade wind season I'm sure our needs would have been much less.

Even on your sized boat I'd aim for a solar panel and a cheapo 12v food cooler to make the fresh food last a bit longer.

 

[Babylon]

Strangely it’s not the sailing bit that worries me most, it’s not knowing (or more like have a pretty good idea) what I would come back to. My wife's view is that if I decide to go away for a couple of months - there isn’t much point in coming back. Most of the kids have grown up but they don’t seem that keen on leaving home. And while I’ve got nice little business, I don’t see it running itself for more than a few weeks without my input.

Problem is that I quite like my home and family and I enjoy running my business. But if I ever end up without, I know just what I am going to do!
In the meantime, I will just keep thinking about what I need to learn and how to setup the boat to be able to follow the dream, if the opportunity every presents itself. Passes the time somdays then things are not quite going to plan

I like your thinking

 

[PhillM]

Ok, so I think I have got some ideas on food and water. Next on the agenda are fuel and power.

I have an old MD7a engine. Runs fine and has a 25L tank. I carry 2 5L spare cans. So 35L fuel, max consumption is 2L per hour that’s about 12 hours, leaving fumes for emergencies. I only plan to use the engine to get in/out of port and in a real emergency. Hopefully the diesel I usually carry will suffice for my dream trip.

I don’t have electric lights, I have two oil lamps. I would expect to carry a few bottles of lamp oil and a few spare wicks.

I use torches with standard batteries (including a head torch). I expect a set of AA’s to last for 8 hours, so that’s fairly easy to plan and buy for. I also have a couple of manual wind up’s.

I cook on a single burner origo spirit stove and would expect to carry a few small bottles of meths.

I guess it would be a bit of a disaster if I forgot the matches!

I don’t expect to use the log or depth as soon as I am away from the channel. I don’t have any other fancy instruments like chart plotter, radar or AIS. I do have an iphone with plotter on it for real emergencies.

I would keep the VHF and Garmin 152 GPS on all the time – so they will draw from the leisure battery.

I have a tri light (non led) and bow / stern lights for when on engine. I hear that some people only show lights when they see another craft but I would show lights all night, every night.

I have 2 batteries, one for engine start and a 110 amp separate leisure battery. Engine doesn’t really charge the batteries. It looks like it does, but really it doesn’t. I could buy a fancy new charging alternator but as the engine is so old, it doesn’t really seem worth it.

I agree that a solar panel would be a good idea. I don’t have too much space so I guess it would have to be a small portable one – so I could move it to where there are no shadows.

What does the panel think, will I need more batteries, better engine charging or would I be ok for power with a fully charged 110 leisure batter?

 

[prv]

I guess it would be a bit of a disaster if I forgot the matches!

We did that once (well, not forgot, damn smokers used them all to light their fags without me noticing). Was only for a day, but even so with a boatload of nicotine- and caffeine-deprived hungover people, it wasn't much fun

I would keep the VHF and Garmin 152 GPS on all the time – so they will draw from the leisure battery.

Why run the GPS full-time once you're off soundings? Fire it up once or twice a day to plot a fix and that should be plenty for ocean navigation. Not sure about the VHF, but there's definitely an argument for leaving it off until you see a ship you think might be calling you.

I have a tri light (non led) and bow / stern lights for when on engine. I hear that some people only show lights when they see another craft but I would show lights all night, every night.

I would strongly recommend getting LED nav lights for this kind of trip. You seem to be going for the "minimum use = minimum generation" option, which is a perfectly good one, but LED nav lights are more or less an essential prerequisite. A 25-watt bulb draws roughly 2amps at 12 volts; if on for (say) ten hours overnight that's 20 amp-hours. A 110 amp-hour ordinary battery only has 55 real amp-hours to give, so that's two and a half nights of nav-light.

For a minimum-generation strategy, LEDs are the only way to go. Or oil lamps, if you follow the Pardey philosophy, which is eccentric nowadays but by no means impractical.

would I be ok for power with a fully charged 110 leisure batter?

If you're only supplying full instruments for the coastal bit each end, plus occasionally firing up the GPS for a fix en-route, using oil lamps in the cabin, and not running the VHF all the time, you might get away with no charging. But a decent solar panel would help a great deal.

Really you need to check the power draw of the specific equipment you expect to be using, for how many hours each day, and work out an expected daily amp-hour consumption. Then you can size your generation and storage capacities appropriately.

Pete

 

[V1701]

Keep your eye out for a secondhand Navik windvane steering, use a netbook with open CPN, CM93 world charts & a USB GPS for navigation. Modest solar panellage will easily charge batts enough to run instruments and for charging & lights, e.g. I have 60 watts & charge netbook, mobile phone & hh vhf, all from 12v cig lighter socket. No fridge, footpumped water, all LEDs..

 

[Babylon]

I have 2 batteries, one for engine start and a 110 amp separate leisure battery. Engine doesn’t really charge the batteries. It looks like it does, but really it doesn’t. I could buy a fancy new charging alternator but as the engine is so old, it doesn’t really seem worth it.

What does the panel think, will I need more batteries, better engine charging or would I be ok for power with a fully charged 110 leisure batter?

Personally, I like the idea of double-redundancy, so although a solar-panel with minimal electrical usage would work, I'd certainly add a working alternator, perhaps a second-hand one would cost a lot less than a new unit. I fitted a 70amp alternator rather than the usual 40amp and so charging batts is quicker, saving fuel.

Re oil-lamp only lighting, it might be worth also installing a couple of LED cabin lights. I changed all my festoon incandescents to festoon soft white LED's: get brighter light for a tenth of the draw. One of these is in a red plastic housing for preserving night-vision.

Fit a LED tricolour lamp - a fraction of the draw of a 25w incandescent. Add a cheap handheld GPS in case there's a problem with the ship's power supply to your fixed unit.

Modest solar panellage will easily charge batts enough to run instruments and for charging & lights, e.g. I have 60 watts & charge netbook, mobile phone & hh vhf, all from 12v cig lighter socket.

I used to charge my netbook from the 12v socket (using an aftermarket 12v charger) but it heated up the socket so much the plastic melted! Don't understand the electrickery involved so don't know why that happened. I now use a small 240v inverter clipped to the domestic bank and the usual 240v charger. Is this inefficient?

 

[Gerry]

You need to read everything by Lynne and Larry Pardey, particularly 'The Cost Conscious Cruiser'.
They've been cruising for decades in a wooden 24 footer and then a 27 footer. Their books are jammed with sane, inexpensive hints and tips. IMHO simply the best!