The Cruisers Essentials List

[zeehag]

my boat goes to whomever is my sailing partner.

that is, after bubba dies....


dont forget port wine-- for any port in a storm...

measuring tape and hacksaw and swedging tool

rescue tape!!!

[s/v Beth]

This is the current list. Please tell me (Pleassse) what you cruise without.
Buckets
Handheld GPS
Shortwave receiver
VHF, handheld
Dingy or liferaft unsinkable type with oars and (sailing kit.)?
Self steering mechanism- windvane, autopilot or sheet to tiller.
Depth Sounder
Bilge pump
Emergency rudder
EPIRB/Spot
Head/Sanitation
Harness and tether, life presevers. (per sailor)
Flares
First Aid Kit
Fire extinguishers
Means of preparing food.(personal choice)
12v Spotlight or Flashlight
Navigation lights, electric
Ships Batteries
Means of recharging batteries (personal choice)
Multimeter
weather gear">Foul weather gear (per sailor)
Hand tools
Block and tackle to be used as vang/ preventer/ hoisting tackle
Whisker pole which can be used as boat hook, etc.
Water 5 gallon containers
Fuel jerry cans
Bosun's chair or some way to climb the mast
Swim ladder or rear step up
Snorkling gear
Oil or D-cell Lamps with red and green paper.?
Anchor roller
Anchors (3)
Hand bearing compass
Rules of the road book
Binoculars
Chronometer/watch
Charts, nav tables, cruising guides, basic nav. gear
Sails, including storm jib, 3 reefed main, drifters
Canvas which acts as rain catcher, awning.
Sail and canvas repair kit
Splicing fids + marlinspike gear
Flags for nations, comunnication
Chain for anchors
Mechanism to retrieve and place anchor (windlass, gloves, etc)
Abandon ship bag?
epoxy and basic boat repair kit- personalized for boat
Winch handles
Some way to cut away the rigging (cable cutters or hacksaw)
Thanks!

[sailorboy1]

Still no beer or rum etc., whats up with that?

[foolishsailor]

Am i being a pain in the ass if i say i sailed for years without the following

Emergency rudder
EPIRB/Spot
Fire extinguishers
Flags for nations, comunnication

and on a 70 year old woodie to boot.

I wouldnt sail without the above now with my kids - but i would, well the flags arent a deal breaker - nothing a bit of pint and sewing machine cant fix anyway

[downunder]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Jimbo- about the whisker pole: do you have a Spinnaker pole, boathook, a pole for the jib or any pole that you use for retrieving things on the water (MOB help?) that is what our combination pole has become. I would say that if you make a harness out of rope, it is still a harness. Maybe some extra rope should be on the essentials list.
That is 3 strikes for the Radar Reflector and the Emergency Watermaker, so they go off the essentials list and on the the optional list. Hey, made some progress tonight! SPOT was added as a alternative to EPRIB.
I am also going to combine the self steering. Windvane, Autopilot and Sheet to tiller steering all preform one function. They allow the boat to steer itself. One of them (personal preference ) is needed.
Also anchor management can be condensed. Windlass, electric or mechanical, or gloves with with anchor roller and chain catch are all acceptable, as well as having a short chain rode and putting the rope rode around a grinder.

Not sure one can call a SPOT as an alternative to an EPIRB. If Jimbo ever makes it back to aus EPIRB is mandatory and has saved a lot of bacon.

Cheers

[zeehag]

i do not have emergency rudder, no liferaft or inflatable, no ssw, no handheld gps, no watch nor chronometer, no snorkel gear, and only one set sails..i have spare jibs, spare dinghy and kayaks, spot with emergency service, and some other strange items....

i must be nutz and ima gonna DIE.......not quite yet...

oh yes--i have port wine, 2 bottles, for any port in a storm, and i have rum and i have tequila......

[Mike OReilly]

Missing from our vessel:

Shortwave receiver (although on the list)
VHF, handheld (If I had to choose just one I'd still pick a fixed-mount ... much better reception, and just about as cheap)
Emergency rudder (but our rudder is aft-hung outboard. Could jury-rig something pretty easily)
EPIRB/Spot
Water 5 gallon containers
Snorkling gear (Lake Superior is too freakin' cold!)
Oil or D-cell Lamps with red and green paper
Canvas which acts as rain catcher, awning. (no rain catcher rigged ... good idea though).
Abandon ship bag?

... plus as much beer and boxed wine as we can cram into the unused spaces.

So much for living simply ... what's the smilie for hypocrite?

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by downunder

Not sure one can call a SPOT as an alternative to an EPIRB. If Jimbo ever makes it back to aus EPIRB is mandatory and has saved a lot of bacon.

Cheers

Might have to keep the visit to Oz under one year and not register the boat locally? Or just not go back? Or suck it up and buy an EPIRB to keep the local bureaucrats happy? Whatever. That is not a decision for now.

The interesting thing about the SPOT is that I can check that it works regularly. Can´t do that with an EPIRB. It even links to our FB page. Can´t do that with an EPIRB. And if we hit the SOS button one day, all our mates on FB can participate in the rescue action! The EPIRB fails on that as well.

The coverage with the SPOT is a bit shaky out in the Pacific, whereas the EPIRB has better coverage. As my sister was doing Mexico-Marquesas her SPOT dropped out for a couple of days (expected) and then came back (surprise). So doesn´t seem too bad.

[susanna reiter]

OH Newt...what an undertaking....good on ya ! but what about a first aid kit.....and a generator....I saw a "towing generator" is that what you meant...? a generator is a should have if possible...we have a Honda 1000..small but a reliable workhorse..ya never know when those batteries are going cry "uncle" and it does run the small tools when necessary..so jus'sayin....this is fun and informative...lots of food for thought...thanks !

[susanna reiter]

Oh shoot..you guys are way ahead of me....okay we have the first aid klit and the generator.....but what about a hand bilge pump !!!!Yes indeed ...it may be better than a plastic bowl to scoop out the sea water...ya nevah know !!!!....keep going this is good stuff....

[susanna reiter]

oh no...........i mean't first aid KIT......no smart remarks please...I am traumatized enough over this grievous errrrrr....LOL

[Celestialsailor]

I know this is nit-picky Newt but the small canvas water bag with 20ft. line to gather water. Can't do it with a bucket.

[savoir]

Those things are very handy. You can pick up a bucket of salt water while still underway. Mine gets used.

[s/v Jedi]

sheet to tiller steering?! Try it out, tell us how it worked!

emergency rudder?! wtf... the most crazy things are on the list but an emergency tiller, which really is a must-have item is nowhere to be found!

oars & sailing kit dinghy?! seriously? how about a decent rib with outboard and spare gas jerry jugs for it. Allows you to motor into shelter even if the main engine breaks down. A paddle is all that is needed to backup the outboard.

shortwave receiver: we too had one but it was about the first item we sold. A marine SSB or HAM HF radio is the best receiver and a cruiser should really have that.

depthsounder, SPOT: off the list, not essential.

here, another one: block & tackle to be used as vang and preventer... at the same time?! Why not just buy a boom vang and leave it on the boom until it falls off from old age? For preventer you don't need the purchase of block & tackle, off the list with preventers because you can just use any piece of line, like a spare sheet. A block and tackle should be used as spare or bring-aboard item only, no double duty as boom vang and/or preventer.

water 5 gallon containers: off the list, boat has water tank.

oil lamps with red & green paper?! that'll work... how much light is gonna shine through the paper?! It's hard to see an oil lamp at see without covering it with paper!

cruising guides essential?! that is ridiculous. To know which restaurant serves what?! off the list or may be replace with almanac if one exists for the area you're in.

drifters?! like in multiple, more than one?! all of them are non essential, off the list!

canvas acting as rain catcher... as good as it sounds, it doesn't work most of the time. In all the years, I have never seen one that works. The systems that work use the main sail & boom, or the decks, or a bimini with gutters. awnings with wind means all the water goes everywhere except in the container you want it to go.. but it will be a source of entertainment so why not, bring one

no gloves for hauling anchor: windlass is mandatory. Not having a windlass on boat that is out cruising is like sticking your head into the mouth of the crocodile every day to show how macho you are... will end in drama.

3 reefed main should be main with three reefs I think.

Food and drink is way more essential than shown on the list. I agree with others that at least rum but also coffee (kit to brew it) should be on the list. Since man has sailed the seas, food & drink has been considered (still is) one of the most important things aboard. Good for moral, energy to deal with the storm etc.

Another item: spare Dyneema halyard with block at masthead, rigged ready to be used as halyard or as emergency stay/shroud.

dive knife tied to the boom close to the mast, when we're talking essential, this is it!

a horn. not just essential but required by law

a computer for email, weather, navigation, entertainment etc.

cabin fans

long range wifi system

work lights on deck like spreader lights or those elastic band lights around your head.

unlocked world cell phone and unlocked 3G cell modem (or smart phone that can do the same)

ample supply of polarized sun glasses

English - Spanish - French dictionary

medical instruction book for sailors (one in first aid kit is a joke)

cook book with instructions on how to clean fish, crabs, chickens etc. in addition to recipes (the old fashioned ones have it)

ships log: essential plus required by law


Nick.

[s/v Beth]

Thank you very much for the responses. Foolish- I will put a question mark by the flags. Without me being rude, perhaps I could just go over the ground rules so I know we are all speaking the same language. The reason why GPS and VHF are labeled handheld is simplicity. It dictates that something handheld can come with you if you are forced into a liferaft, and thus saving you from buying the same equiptment for your ditch bag. Seahag- how do you get a fix in open sea? If you use any type of GPS- well that is why it it on the list. I also bet you have a timekeeper on your GPS- which takes the chronometer/watch requirement. The same with VHF Mike. I don't care if you have an elaborate VHF, the key is you have something that will allow ship to ship communication. And the same with the water bottles. If you have a way to store water safely- well that is what that requirement is about. We are looking at catagories with each item. So when it says GPS- that means any GPS. VHF means any VHF, Anchor retrieval means anyway that a normal person can figure out to get an anchor up and do it consistently. I chartered a Bendy 34 where the windlass was a pair of gloves.
And now we get back to the bucket thing. I have retrieved water with a small bucket on a rope. But a cloth bucket with line is very handy. I still consider it a bucket. If fact, I am making a cloth bucket right now that will serve as Drogue (with others like it) and a liner for the hard bucket, just in case we want to put things down there and then turn it inside out in the water.
Innovation I think is key for this list. Lets think in terms of categories and what we absolutely need. Foolish I think is getting the idea. If countries do not require their flag, why should we carry them? Fire ext. are required for my USCG boat, but if you don't think you need them, or any fire retardant mechanism, I need to know that.
Sorry, I will get off my soapbox. I just think we are getting somewhere. If you want, I can try to change everything on the list to a catagory, and we just have to fill the catagories.