Solo cruising vs crew cruising

[Don C L]

If you wan to filter questionable water, we have used these for years on commercial river trips. You can pump out lots of bacteria-free water with elbow grease and they will take a lot of abuse.
Expedition

[maxingout]

Every boat I have ever owned is set up for single handed sailing. I would not have a yacht that could not be managed by a single person. Even our 39 foot catamaran is a good single handed vessel (with the help of an autopilot of course).

For me single handed sailing means that I sail more conservatively. I carry less sail at night, and I don't push the boat as hard so that things don't get out of control.

Even when I have crew on board, when I am on watch, I run the boat like I am a single hander.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

I'm not too sure about drinking local water in ports abroad. I'm definitely going to have a water maker.

Some people wouldn't row a dinghy to shore these days w/out a water maker ...

Obviously, there are countries where water can be risky - notice the locals drinking bottled water (if they can afford it). I have never had an issue with local water anywhere, nor have my back-packing family members or any of the cruisers I talked to that circumnavigated without one. When in doubt, you can boil it first.

I know water makers are pretty much an absolute must-have for a lot of boats these days, tho I only know a few Dutch cruisers who had/have one. They seem a lot more popular across the pond.

The idea of not even having a water tank but relying on a water maker ... Holy crap, that scares me. Crossing an ocean w/out a water maker? No problem, people have done it for centuries

I will bring a hand water maker, just in case the sh*t hits the fan - as in, I'm climbing in my life raft - but obviously, I hope it's a waste of money

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Some people wouldn't row a dinghy to shore these days w/out a water maker ...

Obviously, there are countries where water can be risky - notice the locals drinking bottled water (if they can afford it). I have never had an issue with local water anywhere, nor have my back-packing family members or any of the cruisers I talked to that circumnavigated without one. When in doubt, you can boil it first.

I know water makers are pretty much an absolute must-have for a lot of boats these days, tho I only know a few Dutch cruisers who had/have one. They seem a lot more popular across the pond.

The idea of not even having a water tank but relying on a water maker ... Holy crap, that scares me. Crossing an ocean w/out a water maker? No problem, people have done it for centuries

I will bring a hand water maker, just in case the sh*t hits the fan - as in, I'm climbing in my life raft - but obviously, I hope it's a waste of money

I've heard all the arguments against water makers but after having one for 6 years I now couldn't imagine not having one. Freeform isn't a big boat (Freedom 32) and only has a 200 liter tank. A water maker to me is similar to having solar panels. I'm not into camping, I enjoy not worrying about electricity or water. I'm a two shower a day type guy. Yes ,delicate I am, but clean☺

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[boatman61]

Originally Posted by J Clark H356

No. I've got 80 gallons of water and that lasts us 4 to 5 days, plus you can sail without fuel, but even if I had a water maker I would keep the water tanks full. You can't live without water. I've considered a CruiseRO unit, but water just hasn't been hard to get where we go and since most all our time is on KY Lake on weekends, can't justify the use there and it would be more of a hassle to pickle and winterize than I can currently justify. I do use a Safe H20 filter just after my tank that filters at 1 micron, 5 micron with charcoal and then passes through a UV light. W use boat water for drinking, cooking showering. I may decide one day to spend the month to get there and 4 months in Fla and month to get back, so I'm 6 months both places and then I might get one. They work in fresh, brackish or salt water by regulating the pressure. I only have room for the shorter 30 inch filters, not the 40, but that would still give me about a two hour run every other day.

When going to and from KY Lake to Punta Gorda we only take 10 days to Mobile to get the mast back up. We stay in Marinas for 6 and anchor out 3, last day at Turner makes 7 marinas. We refueled three times and only used the rail tanks from Demoplis to Mobile and across the Gulf. We take the GICW from Mobile to Pensacola. On the trip down we hopped to Homeport, Al, Destin and Panama City (refueled here) before crossing Gulf to Clearwater (refueled here) in 36 hours and the GICW to Punta Gorda with Gulfport and Venice at marinas. My fuel consumption on the Tenn-Tom was 108 gallons down 132 gallons back ( was flooding and fought current and took an extra day in 2014). My total down to Punta Gorda was 218 gallons. I carry 5 jerry cans and use a shaker siphon to transfer. Can transfer 5 gallons in 1'minute, 40 seconds with no mess. I have 38 gallon tank and 25 on the rail, total 63 gallons and never came close to running out of fuel. I used a total of 518 gallons for the entire trip. Coming back was up the GICW to Venice, Gulfport, Clearwater. 0n return we crossed in 50 hours from Clearwater to Homeport Marina via Pensacola Pass, then on to Turner at Mobile to get the mast taken down for the Tenn-Tom North to KY Lake. Used 50 gallons motor sailing on the last crossing, so was about a gallon an hour for both. Our normal fuel burn in Kentucky Lake, not as nearly loaded with fuel, clothes and food is an average of .64 gallons per hour with .41 gph for the 3GM 30F and .25 for the 5 KW. Our trip average was .8295 gallons per hour, including the generator. Our highest was 1.13 gph on the longest crossing where the wind was on the nose for a lot of the offshore leg. Our first 36 hour crossing was .92. Moto sailing we average 6 knots in the ocean and typically 6.2 in the GICW and in the river.

I take the jerry cans back home when not cruising.

Pictures are: Transferring 5 gallons of fuel, Retrieving in the Gulf, Jerry cans secured by straps on a treated wood and painted board unbolted to two stantions.



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No criticism intended here.. just an observation on different approaches to water use and storage over the years..
You use in 4-5days the same amount that took me on a 47days solo Transat..
2 x 3litre solar showers a week and water for drinking and cooking.. and still had water in my tank.
How times have changed in the world of cruising..

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Well, OBVIOUSLY the designer intended the boat to be sailed the OTHER way around the world. You must have been going the wrong way.

Exactly.

Now that we think of it, why are there no boats with the galley and nav area swappable? I know of only one that has a nav area that can float from one side to the other. But we spend more time cooking than charting, I think. A galley that could be easily moved to the lee side would be a bonus.

We should talk to them designers. ;-)

BTW (another story) WATER MAKERS - nice to have but a 500 liter water tank capacity does not hurt either. Get a boat with big water tanks up first, then worry about a watermaker.

b.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by boatman61

No criticism intended here.. just an observation on different approaches to water use and storage over the years..
You use in 4-5days the same amount that took me on a 47days solo Transat..
2 x 3litre solar showers a week and water for drinking and cooking.. and still had water in my tank.
How times have changed in the world of cruising..

Ahh yes but you are also a big wharram fan lol😆

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[Deep Blue Blues]

I use water sparingly already. I can't imagine using the water that most of these 40ish footers hold.

Why can't the galley double as a nav table?

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

Why can't the galley double as a nav table?

I think the idea of a nav table is a little bit outdated. There were times when people continuously updated their dead reckoning data at the nav table. They used all kind of old school stuff like pencils, books and sextants to do that. Now people use mostly electronic devices that don't use the nav table.

On the other hand the nav table is captain's private area that sort of emphasizes the role of the captain. Therefore it has some romantic historic feelings attached to it. The nav table has also many new electronic gadgets nowadays, but they could in principle reside also somewhere else than next to a specific navigation chair and table.

In short, other tables could well replace the nav table in many designs. I'm sure some people use their nav table a lot, but there are also many people who could use that space more efficiently in some other way.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Juho

I think the idea of a nav table is a little bit outdated. There were times when people continuously updated their dead reckoning data at the nav table. They used all kind of old school stuff like pencils, books and sextants to do that. Now people use mostly electronic devices that don't use the nav table.

On the other hand the nav table is captain's private area that sort of emphasizes the role of the captain. Therefore it has some romantic historic feelings attached to it. The nav table has also many new electronic gadgets nowadays, but they could in principle reside also somewhere else than next to a specific navigation chair and table.

In short, other tables could well replace the nav table in many designs. I'm sure some people use their nav table a lot, but there are also many people who could use that space more efficiently in some other way.

Even without chart work -- that is, assuming you let the electronic plotter do everything for you -- there is a lot of work involved in setting up a well-planned passage, and managing it. Where do you do it, if you don't have a nav station? Maybe for short distance coastal sailing, where you are going to familiar places over and over again.

The nav station on my boat is definitely the most intensely used square meter of space on the whole boat, definitely more intensively used than the galley or the heads or anywhere else. I do do chart work, but I doubt that the nav station would be used all that much less, if I did not. I realize of course that different people, manage their boats differently, but not needing a nav station is really hard for me to imagine.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by Juho

I think the idea of a nav table is a little bit outdated.

It better be, cos I took mine out

[Juho]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The nav station on my boat is definitely the most intensely used square meter of space on the whole boat, definitely more intensively used than the galley or the heads or anywhere else. I do do chart work, but I doubt that the nav station would be used all that much less, if I did not. I realize of course that different people, manage their boats differently, but not needing a nav station is really hard for me to imagine.

The main role of my chart table seems to be to collect all often used small stuff in one place (mobile, sunglasses, gloves, pens, tools,...). It is also a safe place for a tablet or a laptop. I addition, at dinner time, the nav chair can be moved next to the saloon table, and the nav table serves as a serving table.

I have tried to figure out how the design could be improved, but the results have been meagre. In principle the nav chair and table (and the pilothouse steering wheel) should be somehow better integrated with the rest of the saloon furniture (e.g. to get more table space and chairs when needed for a big dinner).

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

I'm not too sure about drinking local water in ports abroad. I'm definitely going to have a water maker. Just not sure about reliability on them yet. Seems like some boats carry huge reserves while others don't. I wonder why.

If a watermaker is going to hit your budget too hard at first, you can always get a Berkey water purifier.

The Imperial Berkey with the maximum of 6 filters, can purify just over 16 gallons an hour, from any freshwater source. So you aren't even restricted to port water supplies. They do smaller ones, but I figured that setup will have me filling my tanks from empty, and ferrying filtered water from shore in the dinghy, in about 5 hours (tanks filled and water jugs filled).

I'm going to be carrying 6 x 5 gallon water jugs. I'll pre-treat with plain chlorine (which will help extend the Berkey filter life) in each water jug, leave for the required time, and pour through a simple filter into the Berkey. From the Berkey, into the water tanks.

This will tide me over until next year, when a watermaker is near the top of the boat improvement budget.

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by boatman61

No criticism intended here.. just an observation on different approaches to water use and storage over the years..
You use in 4-5days the same amount that took me on a 47days solo Transat..
2 x 3litre solar showers a week and water for drinking and cooking.. and still had water in my tank.
How times have changed in the world of cruising..

Like you I don't use much water. But showering to get the salt off can be a great aid to increased comfort, so I would 'like' to have a 3 ltr shower every night to help keep salt out of bedding, etc (helps prevent it getting damp, and salt wearing the fabric fibres). Plus when I was doing a lot of long distance touring on my motorbike, the morning shower was my washing machine for yesterday's clothes and micro fiber towel (I'd dry them off in a mesh bag on the back of the motorbike - the quicker I went, the faster they dried).

But I must admit that far and away my biggest use for a watermaker, would be for rinsing the salt water off the ground tackle as it is lifted, the sheets/halyards, the decks, the dodger/bimini, the dinghy, and especially, the sails.

I think keeping on top of the salt in those things, will have a great effect on running costs and maintenance, which will mean a watermaker can pay for itself pretty fast.

[SV MAKAI]

This is an interesting thread…..
I’m a solo sailor. My boat is a full keel, 32’ GRP cruiser. Cutter rigged. (Ted Brewer design)

I have a fully battened main with in boom roller furling, and roller furling for the Jib. The stay’sl is still hanked on, but I’m going to change that out to roller furling too. The only thing I need to add to the boat to be cruise ready is a water-maker (want one, don’t need one) , solar, a generator, and dodger (want one don’t need one).

Solo sailing suits me perfectly fine…being an introvert I find it easy to be alone. That does not mean I don’t enjoy people or having company. I very much enjoy meeting new people, but I need quiet time to re-charge.

I wouldn’t mind having crew for long passages, or a travel companion, but I would have to know the person very well and be comfortable with them.

Nothing would be worse for me than being stuck on a boat for a month with a person who natters on endlessly with mindless small talk.