Small boat sailing

[Vid]

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a Hunter Europa to base on the Medway and sail within the estuary with perhaps voyages further afield up to the east coast.

The practicalities of smaller yachts would be a learning experience for me so can anyone please offer their thoughts on the following:
1. Space - how many can a 19ft yacht comfortably accomodate for a day sail - say 4 adults in the cockpit and I assume it will be cosy for any more than 2 adults overnight
2. Safety - I guess it will be impractical to have a dinghy or liferaft on board, so how do I maintain safety on longer passages?
3. Communications - would I need anything more than a handheld VHF?
5. Navigation - charts in a folder on my lap and a handheld GPS?

I know Europa's have been taken cross-channel, but I'd rather stick to coastal/estuary until my practical skippering experience grows. I have dayskipper practical and yachtmaster theory but all my experience has been on much larger yachts - 30ft - 70ft.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

David

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[ex-Gladys]

It'll get mighty friendly with 4 in a Europa. I've sailed with four in a Squib and that requires a "you move here while I move there" degree of planning for tacks and gybes...

I would have thought a rolled up inflatable in front of the mast would be OK

<hr width=100% size=1>Larry Botheras

Anderson 26 "Amber"

 

[Peppermint]

Re: Less is more

A lot of articles have been written about the joy's of small boatism and on the whole you do get more fun for your quid.

But the less kit you clutter it with and the less people you cram in the more fun you'll have.

Daysailing two adults and two children might work out OK but four adults will pretty soon get fed up with the job. Four in the cockpit will drag the stern down just a bit too.

For coastal cruising you need the boats compass, a hand bearing compass & log, charts for the area and an almanac for your tides and pilotage info. You can put them in a see through folder, for cockpit use, and use a chinagraph pencil on the surface. Dividers, plotter of your choice ( a Douglas Protractor is good for working on your lap), a rubber and some pencils make up the rest of the essential nav kit. A handheld GPS is a good addition.

Safety stuff. Lifejacket/harness combination for each crewmember. Buy a coastal flare kit. Handheld VHF is OK but the range from a fixed set it so much greater. Bucket, bailer & sponge. Torches. A small dinghy will stow onboard Bag it a stow it in the cabin.

Try to find a copy of Very Willing Griffen by David Blagdon.. It's about a Hunter 19, which is a stripped out version of a Europa, completing the OSTAR race.



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[Guest]

Sensible already

You seem to already understand that 19ft is not Queen Mary ..... (not trying to be rude ...)
I have 25ft and 4 is 'cosy' to the point of 'I'm glad that we are all friends ...'

Dinghy ..... small inflatable stowed ....

Communications - a fixed should be able to rigged ? Handheld is ok but short range ....... 5 - 10 miles, but have an antennae on mast top and able to connect instead of rubber-duck - gives more distance ..... maybe 20 mile on a good day.

Nav - for waht you want to do ------ #5 is the answer - I do it for most of I do ..... augmented when really nec. by Notebook plotting - but rarely actually needed for most coastal work .... despite what they say .. !


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[Vascojc]

I've a Hunter 19 for cruising the East Coast. Great for two if you accept the limited cabin space.

Problem with most other boats of this size with roomy accomodation is the trade off in performance.

I have owned a Newbridge Navigator, great accomodation, lousy performance.

As with most things in life, it's a compromise.

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[sailorman]

David Blagdon sailed "Willing GriffIn" across the ATLANTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

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[Chris_Rayner]

Navigation

See if you can get a look at a Yeoman Sport plotter. It runs off 12v so you will need a battery, but you can interface it quite easily with most handhelds which give NMEA out and in. It transforms the use of paper charts and GPS. They seem to have stopped marketing it, but it's still being serviced by Yeoman, and there was until recently a website. Haven't looked recently. If you have a 12v supply on board then you can run nav lights and VHF as well, which is probably a good idea. Of course you will need to keep it topped up with juice, but you can take it home and trickle charge it in the garage. Bit of a fag,. but worhwhile.

Chris Rayner

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[FullCircle]

First Question... What happened to 4.? The post goes straight from 3 to 5..... Ho Ho

I have had a variety of small boats, and used to regularly weekend a 21ft Corribee with my partner and three kids. Very tight, but OK given that you dont have to travel far on the East Coast to land near a pub or similar landmark.
Suggest that you do keep a dinghy on baord, just to be able to reach said pubs and landmarks, also a bit of a comfort for safety reasons.
I endorse the VHF and flares thing. I also carry personal mini flares, which are cheap and handy.
My battery on the Limbo (22ft) was 85Ah, and had to be recharged twice in a season, as frugal use of power keeps them ok. Use your Hurricane lamp to light and heat the cabin, and then as an anchor light all night. Portaloo is a good idea if you are taking the other gender on board.
I like the Yeoman Sport Plotter, but it represents about 15% of your entire boat purchase budget, so a plastic covered plywood chart thing on your lap with a maglite torch is good.
Try and get a 4 stroke outboard with charging (over 5hp) then the charging issue is solved, but if not, no matter. Take a couple of gallons of spare fuel in addition to tank.
If you are careful, 2 gallons of water will last a couple of days. Try the fold down bladders in a camping shop, and the latest single burners gas stoves are OK but expensive in cartridges. I still find the old single Bluet Gaz stove with the gimballing attachment works cheapest and best.
And carry a tarpaulin to cover the boom and cockpit - it doubles your available overnight space for luggage etc. Buy them from your local Camping & General for about a tenner, and adapt with your own eyelets (about another tenner), and loads of bungee straps.
If you look in my bio, you will see I now run a hugely capacious 23ft boat, and there are only 2 of us now.

If you think of it as camping on a motorbike or bicycle, you can get loads of miniturised kit, and thoroughly enjoy it. Especially as the Europa actually sails quite well.

Happy Cruising


Jim & Lynn

<hr width=100% size=1>Second Chance - First Love. Still no wind instruments, c'mon peeps its for (my)charity

 

[fastjedi]

I bought an 18 foot Gem Micro last year and am working my way through the same issues. We use it for 1 week sailing holidays (2 adults and 1 toddler) I pretty much agree with the above postings. We started out with lifejackets, fixed VHF, handheld GPS, cockpit tent, portapotti, autotiller, fixed and handheld compasses, depth/speed, small craft charts and a childs blow up dinghy!...... the first few "off shore" outings caused us to think more carefully about safety ... In many ways you need more skill / care on an 18 footer than on a proper cruiser ....... resulting in the purchase of safety lines, radar reflector, inflatable tender (Compass 100 series) and inshore flares.

We have a Mercury sail power charging an 85 ah battery and have now installed a 'car boot sale' radio cassette for entertainment / shipping forecasts. Cooking by flat cartridge cooker (best thing since sliced bread), water from water carrier into a sink that slides out from under the companionway and drains into a caravan waste container under the cockpit.

Great fun ... Highly recommended if you love sailing and camping

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[Peppermint]

Re: What A fun boat

I sailed on one when they were first built and it was loads of fun. Won some races too.

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