Define Bluewater

[Graham376]

+1 the way to go I think and invest in A Good water maker

It seems there are a lot of Auto pilot breakdowns , is this the opinion on here that they were not up to the job. not serviced , old and in need of upgrading.
I have recently installed a linear Drive but upgraded the ram for higher loads , although burns more DC and fitting it wasa pain do these realy fail or is it the elctronics Raymarine type 2 with 2 P70 controls , but the Ram I outsourced away from Raymarine

Friends set off west a few years ago, windvane bust so they diverted to Cape Verde to get it welded. Broke again part way across, followed by old linear drive with plastic gears and then under powered tiller pilot on emergency tiller. Ended up hand steering (2 on board) in 2 hr shifts for several hundred miles.

 

[t21]

Friends set off west a few years ago, windvane bust so they diverted to Cape Verde to get it welded. Broke again part way across, followed by old linear drive with plastic gears and then under powered tiller pilot on emergency tiller. Ended up hand steering (2 on board) in 2 hr shifts for several hundred miles.

Raymarine continue to under-rate their drives and purely according to the boat displacement...

 

[Graham376]

Raymarine continue to under-rate their drives and purely according to the boat displacement...

The type 1 drive they have is suitable for boat size & weight but is quite old and should have been updated with metal gears as fitted to later production and are available as a service kit. IIRC the plastic gears were on pre 1996 drives.

 

[Zing]

For drinking water get a Seagul. Have separate water tanks in case one gets contaminated. For comfort and convenience get a water maker also. I’d get a low energy one, or two very small ones ideally for redundancy if I bought again.

You probably don’t need air con unless sat in particularly sweaty marinas e.g. Florida, Trinidad, Panama in summer.

Yep, big dinghy, big engine. Should be hypalon. Oversized bullet proof autopilot, ideally a backup. All other kit in great condition, newish preferably and checked. Incipient stainless fitting failings, deck fitting caulking, hatch seals cracking etc etc. Lots of spares cos if it can fail it will, even if it can’t fail it will.

 

[geem]

For drinking water get a Seagul. Have separate water tanks in case one gets contaminated. For comfort and convenience get a water maker also. I’d get a low energy one, or two very small ones ideally for redundancy if I bought again.

You probably don’t need air con unless sat in particularly sweaty marinas e.g. Florida, Trinidad, Panama in summer.

Yep, big dinghy, big engine. Should be hypalon. Oversized bullet proof autopilot, ideally a backup. All other kit in great condition, newish preferably and checked. Incipient stainless fitting failings, deck fitting caulking, hatch seals cracking etc etc. Lots of spares cos if it can fail it will, even if it can’t fail it will.

I don't understand the need for two water tanks in case one gets contaminated. Where does the contamination come from? If you have a watermaker and you make your own water it is likely to be the purest, cleanest water you can put in your tank.
Contamination comes from poor or dirty water supplies. There are plenty of those about. A watermaker with UV filtration is going to provide perfect drinking water assuming your membranes are not worn out. This doesnt happen over night. A gradual increase in TDS reading gives an indication. Its always sensible to carry an emergency supply of water in 20litre cans should you have to abandon ship in an ocean. Locating two tanks in a yacht can be problematic. The best location is to have the water sat over the keel. Tanks elsewhere cause trim issues. Bow down or up, listing to one side. If they are above the cabin sole they take up valuable stowage space. The best location is under the floor from a sail perspective and righting moment perspective.
With regard to to water filtration, a 1micron filter in front of a carbon block filter using standard and cheap clear 10” housings is both cost effective and efficient. The 1 micron pre-filter will protect the carbon block from sediment and extend its life. You can buy the 10” filters anywhere in the world. Just my view

 

[Zing]

I don't understand the need for two water tanks in case one gets contaminated. Where does the contamination come from? If you have a watermaker and you make your own water it is likely to be the purest, cleanest water you can put in your tank.
Contamination comes from poor or dirty water supplies. There are plenty of those about. A watermaker with UV filtration is going to provide perfect drinking water assuming your membranes are not worn out. This doesnt happen over night. A gradual increase in TDS reading gives an indication. Its always sensible to carry an emergency supply of water in 20litre cans should you have to abandon ship in an ocean. Locating two tanks in a yacht can be problematic. The best location is to have the water sat over the keel. Tanks elsewhere cause trim issues. Bow down or up, listing to one side. If they are above the cabin sole they take up valuable stowage space. The best location is under the floor from a sail perspective and righting moment perspective.
With regard to to water filtration, a 1micron filter in front of a carbon block filter using standard and cheap clear 10” housings is both cost effective and efficient. The 1 micron pre-filter will protect the carbon block from sediment and extend its life. You can buy the 10” filters anywhere in the world. Just my view

Lots can go wrong, which two tanks helps with. Diesel can be put into a tank by mistake. A filler seal can fail and so sea water can get in. An algae growth can pollute one tank and not another. I have had the last two happen, but not the first luckily. I have heard of tanks leaking, so you don't want to have your only tank leak. A rupture of your watermaker membrane will fill a tank with salt water. Probably other failure modes too. As I have two tanks I don't carry bottled water and am happy about that.

There are ways to filter to varying degrees of thoroughness. There is the cheap option you mentioned, also other makes of pretty good proprietary filter. I just use a Seagul. Simple and works for me.

 

[greeny]

Not for bluewater, more for when you get there.
Don't forget decent mozzy nets for ports and hatches or you'll either fry from lack of ventilation or be bitten all night if they're around.

 

[geem]

Lots can go wrong, which two tanks helps with. Diesel can be put into a tank by mistake. A filler seal can fail and so sea water can get in. An algae growth can pollute one tank and not another. I have had the last two happen, but not the first luckily. I have heard of tanks leaking, so you don't want to have your only tank leak. A rupture of your watermaker membrane will fill a tank with salt water. Probably other failure modes too. As I have two tanks I don't carry bottled water and am happy about that.

There are ways to filter to varying degrees of thoroughness. There is the cheap option you mentioned, also other makes of pretty good proprietary filter. I just use a Seagul. Simple and works for me.

If you fill up with water presumably you fill both your tanks. How does this stop you getting contaminated water? Why would you put diesel in your water tank? It says water on the water filler and fuel on the diesel tank filler! Algae doesnt grow in clean tanks fed by UV sterilised RO water. It grows in dirty tanks from contaminated water supplies. This is a simple housekeeping issue. When have you ever heard of a membrane rupturing? I have never met anybody who has had that kind of failure.
We also never carry bottled water. We make a lot of water as liveaboards. More than most couples we meet. I have used proprietary filters but they are small and dont have the surface area to handle high volumes of water. Without pre-filtration they dont last long enough. With three high pressure membranes we can simply bypass the faulty one and still make larger quantities of RO water than a 12v system. Our current system makes over 200litres/hour. There are more than one way to do these things. Your system works for you and mine works for me

 

[Zing]

If you fill up with water presumably you fill both your tanks. How does this stop you getting contaminated water? Why would you put diesel in your water tank? It says water on the water filler and fuel on the diesel tank filler! Algae doesnt grow in clean tanks fed by UV sterilised RO water. It grows in dirty tanks from contaminated water supplies. This is a simple housekeeping issue. When have you ever heard of a membrane rupturing? I have never met anybody who has had that kind of failure.
We also never carry bottled water. We make a lot of water as liveaboards. More than most couples we meet. I have used proprietary filters but they are small and dont have the surface area to handle high volumes of water. Without pre-filtration they dont last long enough. With three high pressure membranes we can simply bypass the faulty one and still make larger quantities of RO water than a 12v system. Our current system makes over 200litres/hour. There are more than one way to do these things. Your system works for you and mine works for me

Everyone makes mistakes and all these mistakes have been made. Maybe next time by you. Algae can grow in clean tanks. It even grows in petrol and diesel.

What’s the point of the UV treatment by the way?

 

[geem]

Everyone makes mistakes and all these mistakes have been made. Maybe next time by you. Algae can grow in clean tanks. It even grows in petrol and diesel.

What’s the point of the UV treatment by the way?

UV kills bugs. Works very well in tandem with RO water particularly as the very low particulate in RO water gives nowhere for bugs to hide. They get zapped as they pass through the UV light. Ensures your water tank stays bug free.
It would be very hard to mix up my fuel and water fillers. Water filler is at the base of my mast raised above deck level. Fuel is on the side deck.
Since we only normally fill up our fuel tank once a season I am not concerned about ever making that mistake.
Getting back to the original post. Lots of boats go bluewater sailing. Its not all about crossing oceans but also how you live when you get to your exotic location. Being independant of marinas for me is super high on the priority list. We simply never go in a marina if there is an anchoring alternative. Being able to live on the hook for months on end and being set up to do it comfortably is a must for me.
One of my pet hates is deck cargo. I good bluewater boat has limited deck cargo. The tankage and locker space should be more generous than on an AWB such that decks stays clear of fuel and water cans, fenders, etc. Apart from the fact that boats stacked with such items look ugly its not great to have this weight on deck and when conditions get bumpy and seas start to break, these items have a tendency to break free. When you add in that many boats add davits and then an arch to support solar, radar, etc an unsuitable bluewater boat is easy to spot! I particulary dont like the French habit of adding a combined arch that also acts a davits. Not a problem in itself and quite sensibly, but they build them so tall that the dinghy is six feet above the deck and the arch so high that they have a serious stability issue.
Everybody has different ideas about bluewater sailing. I have recently weather routed my pal from Panama to Easter Island to Marquesas to Hawaii. He sails a home built epoxy ply 38ft sloop with no cockpit of fridge. The boat is internally ballasted with a carbon daggerboard. Not what you would call a bluewater perfect fit. It works for him

 

[BigJoe]

to be a true blue water boat you need one of these