Solo cruising vs crew cruising

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

Is that a Beanateu? I used to think those boats were crap back in the day. Now I'm not so sure, they look like the racing yachts in the Volvo Transatlantic.

Depends on what you want. Cruisers are typically heavily built and strong. Expensive racers are light, hull form and rigging optimized for speed (not that much for strength), but they are built from modern strong materials. If you want to build a cheap mass production boat, I believe it makes economical sense to build a light and relatively fast boat rather than a heavy cruiser style boat. The cheap boats would however not have the expensive materials of the expensive racers. They will also probably have more interior space than racing boats do since that is one central selling point.

In summary, mass production boats seem to be optimized for size and speed, but not that much for strength. If you and your sailing habits do not require that strength, they may offer the best value for your money. If you want to emphasize strength, then you may have to satisfy with a smaller and slower (but still equally expensive) boat.

[oldsalt_1942]

Back in '92 I took off by myself and left Ft. Lauderdale and went to Mexico, Belize, and the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and back. Gone for 9 months, People often asked, "wouldn't you have liked to have had someone along with you?"

Well, a couple of times, but I had X number of dollars and if I'd waited around for the right crew member to come along I wouldn't have had the money to go and do what I did. I always say, "It's better to have gone alone than to not have gone at all!"

[JPA Cate]

DeepBlueBlues,

Water: Jim and I made the passage from Cabo San Lucas in a 36' sloop. This is an approx. 3 wk. passage, maybe a tad more for that boat. Total water tankage was two 25 gal. tanks, under the settees. Never had a problem. Washed dishes in salt water, rinsed with fresh. Like Boatie, we arrived with over 5 gal. in reserve. Always used local water, treated all foreign water, and filtered out the chlorine with a hardware store charcoal filter, for which we carried a couple of spare filters. Showers as needed, perhaps 1 l. per person, after washing off in the sea water. Never every day. Didn't stink.

Jim built an auxiliary rudder type windvane for that boat, a design heavily influenced by the old Autohelm aux. rudder. windvanes, but taking the design for the foil shape of the rudder from an aircraft wing design book. It steered the boat well, down to 6 apparent, and through many gales, both it and the sails were. Windvanes are your friend. They are a great boon, as they are silent, have zero power consumption, and while they do not, IME, steer as close a course as an autopilot, the average course they manage is just fine. I guess we did over 35,000 mi. with that one, iirc.

A young couple on a H 28 (Herreschoff 28) sloop with one on, left today for NZ, from Eden, NSW, Australia. I mention this, because some people on this forum may think windvanes are old-fashioned, and will ad that when the boat gets loaded up with possessions that disturb the windflow, the windvane may not work well. Keep it clear. Plan to sail, not motor. And if an electronic autopilot quits (and they do), you'll find hand steering in the open ocean not the most fun occupation, 24/7. Being becalmed is an interesting experience, not the end of the world because you can't get somewhere in your preferred time frame.

Incidentally, heaving to can really help. The Hiscocks used to do it every night for dinner, when rolling downwind. Any time you want to stop the boat for some reason, it's what one does. Rustic Charm might think it's a cissy thing to do, but it beats the heck out of being tossed around the galley in a boat with a poor galley design.

The whole deal isn't a machismo contest, it is a lot more about choosing and following a lifestyle.

Smaller boats are less effort to sail and upkeep, and less money in marinas and for spare parts. Yes, indeed, look at the under $500/month thread. Some people's good sense seems to get swept away by modern technology, but the old, less electronics-dependent ways still work. You will sail more conservatively, that's all.

Finally, as to sea berths: parallel to the centerline of the boat is best, and secure, lee cloths or quarter berth may turn out to be your preference. It is good to be able to lie down comfortably.

Ann

[gjordan]

Anne, You just did the most sensible post on the subject. I wish everyone on this forum would read it. Thanks for logic, which is sometimes missing here. ____Grant.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

DeepBlueBlues,

Water: Jim and I made the passage from Cabo San Lucas in a 36' sloop. This is an approx. 3 wk. passage, maybe a tad more for that boat. Total water tankage was two 25 gal. tanks, under the settees. Never had a problem. Washed dishes in salt water, rinsed with fresh. Like Boatie, we arrived with over 5 gal. in reserve. Always used local water, treated all foreign water, and filtered out the chlorine with a hardware store charcoal filter, for which we carried a couple of spare filters. Showers as needed, perhaps 1 l. per person, after washing off in the sea water. Never every day. Didn't stink.

Jim built an auxiliary rudder type windvane for that boat, a design heavily influenced by the old Autohelm aux. rudder. windvanes, but taking the design for the foil shape of the rudder from an aircraft wing design book. It steered the boat well, down to 6 apparent, and through many gales, both it and the sails were. Windvanes are your friend. They are a great boon, as they are silent, have zero power consumption, and while they do not, IME, steer as close a course as an autopilot, the average course they manage is just fine. I guess we did over 35,000 mi. with that one, iirc.

A young couple on a H 28 (Herreschoff 28) sloop with one on, left today for NZ, from Eden, NSW, Australia. I mention this, because some people on this forum may think windvanes are old-fashioned, and will ad that when the boat gets loaded up with possessions that disturb the windflow, the windvane may not work well. Keep it clear. Plan to sail, not motor. And if an electronic autopilot quits (and they do), you'll find hand steering in the open ocean not the most fun occupation, 24/7. Being becalmed is an interesting experience, not the end of the world because you can't get somewhere in your preferred time frame.

Incidentally, heaving to can really help. The Hiscocks used to do it every night for dinner, when rolling downwind. Any time you want to stop the boat for some reason, it's what one does. Rustic Charm might think it's a cissy thing to do, but it beats the heck out of being tossed around the galley in a boat with a poor galley design.

The whole deal isn't a machismo contest, it is a lot more about choosing and following a lifestyle.

Smaller boats are less effort to sail and upkeep, and less money in marinas and for spare parts. Yes, indeed, look at the under $500/month thread. Some people's good sense seems to get swept away by modern technology, but the old, less electronics-dependent ways still work. You will sail more conservatively, that's all.

Finally, as to sea berths: parallel to the centerline of the boat is best, and secure, lee cloths or quarter berth may turn out to be your preference. It is good to be able to lie down comfortably.

Ann

Gee Ann, I had to go searching for my comment back in March to see what I said to deserve that I think my comment was more of a question than a criticism.

When it comes down to it, I don't have the experience on a long haul to know what is best especially if one has a gally not designed to be cooked in when at sea.

[JPA Cate]

Hey, RC,

Sorry if I mis-read the feeling tone, there. And it is not reasonable of me to expect you to know about stuff you've neither experienced nor read about. I apologize if you felt picked on.

I had just read through the whole thread, and did not realize your comment was long ago, but I still stand by what I said about heaving to having many uses. If something serious breaks down while you are in a seaway, heaving to will steady the boat, and may make repair possible, where it isn't, sometimes, due to the motion, and those sorts of considerations are why I write--for all the lurkers who have not joined, but still are "information sponges."

Jim and I spent 3 days hove to, once, both of us sick with the flu. We were a couple of days out of Opua on our way to Fiji. Not a nice time. Stopped the boat, put on the anchor light, and didn't keep watch. My, that was yucky!

Ann

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Hey, RC,

Sorry if I mis-read the feeling tone, there. And it is not reasonable of me to expect you to know about stuff you've neither experienced nor read about. I apologize if you felt picked on.

I had just read through the whole thread, and did not realize your comment was long ago, but I still stand by what I said about heaving to having many uses. If something serious breaks down while you are in a seaway, heaving to will steady the boat, and may make repair possible, where it isn't, sometimes, due to the motion, and those sorts of considerations are why I write--for all the lurkers who have not joined, but still are "information sponges."

Jim and I spent 3 days hove to, once, both of us sick with the flu. We were a couple of days out of Opua on our way to Fiji. Not a nice time. Stopped the boat, put on the anchor light, and didn't keep watch. My, that was yucky!

Ann

no worries. I wasn't put off my lunch

I'm starting my first extended solo tomorrow. First an overnighter to King island.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^

Good on ya. Be sure to study the harbor chart, or zoom in carefully, Grassy Hbr. has a number of rocks to avoid on the approaches, that you will want to give some clearance to.

Ann

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

^^^^

Good on ya. Be sure to study the harbor chart, or zoom in carefully, Grassy Hbr. has a number of rocks to avoid on the approaches, that you will want to give some clearance to.

Ann

Will do. Thanks for the hint.

Melbourne must be sad to see me go as we have had nothing but sunshine the entire week I've been here and today I've woken up to the gloom of overcast and rain

[Deep Blue Blues]

Have fun Rustic!

[Rustic Charm]

Unfortunately, tomorrow will have the wind right on my nose for a trip to King and it will stay that way for the next two days.

[Rustic Charm]

I've posted this on two other thread as it was relevant to them. I've just come back from my first overnight solo adventure which was a four day trip. My auto pilot first gave up the ghost and then I had fuel problems which has resulted in me needing a new engine. So I won't be sailing for a couple of years.



Well, I left Flinders on Sunday morning at 6:30am after trying to get the St1000 calibrated. It simply would not work on the trim tab and was not powerful enough to operate the rudder. So, with bungy strap in hand I set off in a calm, windless but sunny morning. The bungy strap sort of worked, but if I left the helm any longer than five minutes I'd return to find RC on a course back to Melbourne.

I helmed until 1am Monday morning, by which time I was getting really tired. The engine stalled then and when I checked the filters they were BLACK. I checked the fuel tank depth and I was down to 80 ltrs of my 200 ltrs tank. I'd set off from Queenscliffe with 180 ltrs. I changed the filters and bled it and off we went again. But by 3am I was so incredibly tired and cold that I looked at the chart plotter and realised I was again steering toward Melbourne. It seems I'd nodded off without realising it. I stopped the motor put head to pillow and a few minutes later it was 5am. I'd slept for two hours and according to the plotter had not moved at all. My cabin was lit up as I was only a mile from the Lolla gas platform which was lit up like a Christmas tree. Very pretty sight.

So, at 5am I set off again and as cold as it was I watched the sun rise. The sun rays were a welcome sight and I felt much warmer and more awake because of it. By 7am, 24 hours after leaving i realised I was actually enjoying this. I just wish I could have gone below to pass the time. Boredom was my worse problem.

Around 11am I had to change the filters again, and again around 2pm. I was then down to my second last set of filters. So I changed them and this time I put made the decision to disconnect the lines from my dirty keel tank and connect them into my 20 ltrs portable heater tank which had about ten litres left in it. I was by now about 20 miles out of the Tamar River. I text my uncle and asked him to meet me at the Low Head Pilot Station with an extra 20 litres just in case I needed it. But, as I pulled up the engine stalled and refused to start again.

I went to bed at about midnight and the next morning a local mechanic came to have a look. Very helpful young fella who showed me what he was doing so I could learn what to do if I had not made it back. After some time he concluded that whilst diesel was going to my injector pump, it was not then forwarding fuel to the injectors. Aero start in the inlet got the motor starting quickly. His advice was that more likely water had gone through the line and stuffed the pump.

Given a lot of problems I've had with this Volvo Penta 2003T, I've concluded its time to repower rather than spend an approx $5000 to do everything that's needed and then still have something break when out to sea.

Tuesday afternoon a friend arrived and he towed me up the river to Beauty Point.

So, that's my trip. I enjoyed most of it. Would have been so much better if I had a reliable auto pilot.

However, when I left Queenscliffe with my St4000 initially working, I had a fright in the 20+ winds. I couldn't get the main up because of the lazy jacks, and whilst trying one large wave after another knocked me over (? 45 degrees?). I regretted being on my own at that time. The two meter seas were really uncomfortable.

[gjordan]

You dont have an engine problem, you have a fuel problem. If you put a new engine in without cleaning your tanks, you will have the same problem all over again. It is possible that you packed up the injector pump, but filters usually stop things and kill the engine before anything gets thru to the pump. Even if the pump needs a rebuild it will be far cheaper than a new engine. From your post it sounds like it ran fine until dirty fuel stopped it. It will probably run fine with fresh fuel. Having things go wrong (add very tired on top of that) can be discouraging, but the cost and work/time involved in changing an engine can be even more discouraging. DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP. I dont know what the other problems are with your Volvo that you refered to, but all motors need work to keep them in good order. Get a few good days of relaxation before you start making expensive decisions. Thats just my 2 cents worth. ____Grant.

[zeehag]

while you deal with repower vs rebuild and clean fuel delivery system issues, consider placing a fuel polishing system into your boat. will help those dirty fuel blues....

[Deep Blue Blues]

DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP! I'd rather be stranded in heaven than cruising through hell.