How Big of a Boat do we Need?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by jm21

I thought I had read somewhere that going US to AUS was pretty much all downwind so that you could get by with an autopilot only. Will have to read more.

it's actually downwind that's hardest on the autopilot. The stern gets pushed around and the pilot is constantly steering

[eaglemac]

MINIMUM boat size... Monohull 42 ft plus, big enough to have private quarters. Cat, 38 ft to 44ft, and definitely the better choice because the hurricanes, typhoons, and TCs in the pacific will catch up to any but an ultra monohull, but you just might be able to run away from the worst of one to gale conditions in a cat. Find a couple of partners who will share costs on a boat purchase with you. You move the boat, take care of maintenance, they get to travel by air and cruise in Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, the Whitsundays etc etc. Yes, I might be interested. Forget The freezer, it will quit three days out, invest in a backup fresh water maker, and some good simple fishing gear.

[Hudson Force]

If you only search for boats that fullfill all your current expected needs, you won't be accounting for your own adaptation to the boat. I would consider your search as aiming for a moving target. Some of the "shortcomings" will make the right fit as you adapt to the boat.

[jm21]

Originally Posted by skipmac

The Bristol sounds nice and they are good boats, but probably needs new rigging. Any boat with rigging more that 10-15 years old I would replace all the wires and fittings before crossing the ocean. Figure around $3000 if you do all the work yourself.

If you can live with a "small" freezer, say about the size of a shoe box or a little larger you might be able to buy a system for a bit over $1000. Forget using a house type freezer. Even very efficient ones when you convert the total Watts from 110V AC to 12V DC you get a very large power draw. The simply version of the formula (not allowing for power factor, starting surge for the compressor, etc) is Watts = Volts x Amps. So a freezer at 110V drawing only 2 amps would use 110 Watts. To get 220 Watts of AC from a 12 V battery then 220 Watts = 12V x ??amps. Solve for amps and you get 18 amps, a LOT of battery. When the compressor first starts up you will need a lot more than that for the first couple of seconds. Then you have to convert the DC to AC with losses in the conversion, plus recharging the batteries with losses there. Otherwise you need a generator to make AC power, more money which kills the savings.

Best option is to get one of the small, portable 12V DC refrigerators like the Engel. Very efficient, no installation. Cost $800-$1200 depending on the size.

Still struggling with converting watts at 110v AC to amps and then from amps to 12v DC watts....don't know why it never seems to come out right....

And unfortunately not a lot of info about hourly energy usage for land-oriented freezers that I can find. All I seem able to find is average KWH use per year. Looking at the Kenmore 5.1 cubic foot freezer for example, it says average of 242 KWH per year. That would be 663 watts per day or 27.6 watts per hour at 110v AC, which would be .251 amps per hour? Would presumably use a lot more in the tropics though? Don't know why I struggle os much with amps, my math skills are not that bad....

I'm going to have to go read that freezer thread again but I thought I saw at least a few people having good luck with land-based freezers.

EDIT: Would a 110v AC appliance that used 27 watts per hour draw about 2.25 amps from a 12v DC power system then? Then 10% or so wasted on converting DC to AC?

[HopeFloats]

My humble female opinion is "simple is best".

Experience will either confirm this for you, or give you the skillset you need to go bigger. Met couples not making it on the blue yonder because the boat is too big.

I would keep the boat under 38', with very simple systems and money going to windvane, solar panels or wind generator, radar - these are the basics in my mind. I would consider autopilot and water maker as back up options based on budget.

Please don't take offense at the following comment, it is meant well: if you are both sailing, make sure you can both navigate with a sextant should your electrics/electronics fail you and one of you is injured or sick. I speak from experience.

Best,

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by HopeFloats

.............Please don't take offense at the following comment, it is meant well: if you are both sailing, make sure you can both navigate with a sextant should your electrics/electronics fail you and one of you is injured or sick. I speak from experience. Best,

This is an excellent idea and I would suggest that, not in contradiction, many believe that the best back up to a failed GPS is a new one with batteries stored in it's box.

[jm21]

Hm. Was reading an article ( http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...est_fridge.pdf ) about DIY conversion from a chest freezer to a chest fridge...guy claims it uses 100 watts per day most of the year and a bit over 200W per day during the summer....that would be very easy to pull off...

I priced out sextants once and they were really expensive...will have to check again. At $20-40 for a USB gps receiver those are pretty attractive, and I have a handheld GPS from my old boat....

[barnakiel]

I think that given your sailing plans you may look at some decently volumed 32+ footers, probably something mid-displ.. Then again you may look towards a bigger boat for the space and comfort in port.

Sure thing, you can sail the trip in a much smaller boat but if you want to live aboard for say 2 years or beyond then I would rather steer towards the 34-38 ft range.

b.

[AllezCat]

Originally Posted by jm21

Still struggling with converting watts at 110v AC to amps and then from amps to 12v DC watts....don't know why it never seems to come out right....

And unfortunately not a lot of info about hourly energy usage for land-oriented freezers that I can find. All I seem able to find is average KWH use per year. Looking at the Kenmore 5.1 cubic foot freezer for example, it says average of 242 KWH per year. That would be 663 watts per day or 27.6 watts per hour at 110v AC, which would be .251 amps per hour? Would presumably use a lot more in the tropics though? Don't know why I struggle os much with amps, my math skills are not that bad....

I'm going to have to go read that freezer thread again but I thought I saw at least a few people having good luck with land-based freezers.

EDIT: Would a 110v AC appliance that used 27 watts per hour draw about 2.25 amps from a 12v DC power system then? Then 10% or so wasted on converting DC to AC?

Did you mention that the refer wife deal killer issue was not joining till Cairns?
So ditch the refer idea.
Go with windvane/autopilot/battery charging (for steering etc)
Handheld gps(2) plenty of battery/charging - paper charts.
save the money for a robust vessel.
sails/winches/standing&running rigging/ground tackle...
good luck...

[Cheechako]

Yeah... once you start talking refrigeration and the accessories needed to keep the batteries charged because of it... it's one of the big expenditures. If you can get by with canned, fresh, dried food and a block of ice now and then on your budget... it's a big savings.... Did it in mexico for almost 2 years and got used to it.... If you get a boat that has refrig.... just run it when you run the engine to coold some drinks..

[Feral Cat]

I may be a little biased but I can recommend a boat like mine... Right price point currently (Wish I only paid todays dollar value)?

Pay close attention to structural components, rigging, bulkhead tabs, and mechanical... the older boats of this vintage are fairly strong and reasonably fast.

My refit to date is significantly more than the 5 G's you have mentioned but then again I over paid for what i purchased... I consider this fact just part of my learning curve

Jesse in Lionheart (S&S34) made it around the big ball and he was the youngest sailer to accomplish this feat... It can be done!

Asking prices are negotiable... think of maybe a Cal40 or something similar...

Just putting it out there...

Good luck in your search.

[Ex-Calif]

Unless crossing the pacific is "your" deal think about buying something in Asia.

There was a westsail 32 here a couple of years ago. Step aboard ready meeting all your specs for $30k

When cruisers hang it up deals can be had. Asia is an awesome cruising area and the trip to Oz isnt that hard. The spouse will definitely fall in love with Phuket, Langkawi and the surrounding areas. All separated by easy day or evernight sails.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by jm21

watts, volts, amps

Divide the wattage by the voltage you get the amperage..

E.g. a 120 Watt unit will take 1 Amp if driven of a 120 Volt source, it will take 10 Amps if driven of a 12 Volt source.

If I went wrong - others PLS correct me.

Cheers,
b.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by jm21

EDIT: Would a 110v AC appliance that used 27 watts per hour draw about 2.25 amps from a 12v DC power system then? Then 10% or so wasted on converting DC to AC?

Yes, absolutely. However, there is no "per hour". Watts is a measure of the rate of power usage, so does not have a time associated with it. Same for current, A.

If you add time to it, as in kw/h, it becomes a unit of energy consumed, not rate.

So it's using power at a rate of 27 watts. That means energy consumption of 0.027 kw/h per hour, .663 kw/h per day, 242 kw/h per year.

The average current flow is 2.25A. That's 2.25 amp/hours, Ah, per hour.

It's like saying your car is doing 20mph per hour. It's actually doing 20 mph. If you do it for an hour, it's gone 20 miles.

[jacob30]

This boat is in your budget and looks like a good buy: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...obo-79138.html