Upgrade Project List

[sailorboy1]

I always maintain a boat upgrade list. These just come about when I'm on the boat when I realize I've thought to myself "it would be nice to have ......." more than once.

I wonder how others come about theirs and whether it looks anything like the things that sound worthwhile to me. So mine currently has the below items on it:

wind instrument
cabin heater
folding helm wheel
electric aft head
water maker
whisker pole
Honda generator
TV
better shower sump pump
better mattress

How many want the same items or already have them? Is there something along these lines that you have installed that worth it to you?

[mikefossl]

With the exception of the electric head and 'better' mattress, we have everything on the list.

The Honda generator replaced a defunct Yamaha and we use it only rarely to top up or condition the batteries when we have no access to shore power.

TV on the boat came about with a USB digital tuner plugged into the laptop along with a DIY antenna.

Tops on my current list is a hard dodger with lexan windows and a cockpit enclosure. This reflects our recent move from the tropics to the 'black waters' of western Canada.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[SVTatia]

Longer summers.
Where do we order?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I always maintain a boat upgrade list. These just come about when I'm on the boat when I realize I've thought to myself "it would be nice to have ......." more than once.

I wonder how others come about theirs and whether it looks anything like the things that sound worthwhile to me. So mine currently has the below items on it:

wind instrument
cabin heater
folding helm wheel
electric aft head
water maker
whisker pole
Honda generator
TV
better shower sump pump
better mattress

How many want the same items or already have them? Is there something along these lines that you have installed that worth it to you?

Let me post another question; for cruising life (which is different than just sailing life), which items on the list do you think are the most important?

I think it is the mattress and maybe the heater unless you get way past any cold area.

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Longer summers.
Where do we order?

Texas.

We're still having hot and humid days in the 90ºf range.

[barnakiel]

Your shopping list will depend on your cruising style and area. I think all the things on your list make sense much as some seem more liveaboard while others sound more offshore.

Get only the stuff you truly do not want to be without. Start with the MUST HAVE item and add one at a time.

b.

[gbgreen59]

I have a spreadsheet with nearly 100 items on it. Some are easy and some hard. Some are expensive and some not so. The list is broken into 3 segments over the next year and a half. Plus, the items are prioritized based on how important they see at the moment. In addition, I have low and high estimated costs along with the actual cost as each item is completed. I review and update the list about every week. My lovely wife encouraged me to get the list documented, 'cause I was driving her crazy by always talking about the things we need to get done without her being able to see it. Having a documented listed really helps us.

My boat is, obviously, further behind the "ready" curve than others. It is currently in "day sail" condition.

[onestepcsy37]

Only thing I have on the list is the honda generator. Even with a 37 foot boat I still think like a minimalist cruiser.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

Only thing I have on the list is the honda generator. Even with a 37 foot boat I still think like a minimalist cruiser.

Why would a minimalist sailor feel they NEED a Honda generator? The only reason it is even on my list is to power the watermaker on the list and to make hot water. Not counting the gas to run the Honda I figure the cost of one would allow me to run the main engine for 700+ hours and that would do both. It doesn't really seem a good boat buck return when you really consider it.

But it is on the list, but will stay on the list until I've cruiser long enough to prove to myself it is worth having (just like a watermaker)

[a64pilot]

Met a nice couple of guys two weeks ago that were obviously minimalist sailors when they sailed into the fuel dock, battery too dead to start the engine, they had a wind gen, no solar and the wind hadn't blown for a couple of days. Marina was nice and let them tie up for a while no fee and charge their batteries, I offered them my Honda, but since the marina was letting them charge up, they declined.
If they had their own Honda, they wouldn't have had to sail into the fuel dock, and hope they could get some free electricity, I doubt most marinas I've been to is South Fl would have tolerated them as they turned their noses up at me being in a sailboat that only bought 50 gls of fuel

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Met a nice couple of guys two weeks ago that were obviously minimalist sailors when they sailed into the fuel dock, battery too dead to start the engine, they had a wind gen, no solar and the wind hadn't blown for a couple of days. Marina was nice and let them tie up for a while no fee and charge their batteries, I offered them my Honda, but since the marina was letting them charge up, they declined.
If they had their own Honda, they wouldn't have had to sail into the fuel dock, and hope they could get some free electricity, I doubt most marinas I've been to is South Fl would have tolerated them as they turned their noses up at me being in a sailboat that only bought 50 gls of fuel

While that is a nice story, the real moral of the story is that these guys didn't know enough about what they were doing and the result is that they killed their batteries!

[onestepcsy37]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Why would a minimalist sailor feel they NEED a Honda generator? The only reason it is even on my list is to power the watermaker on the list and to make hot water.

Good question. In our case, we tend to spend a lot of time anchored out. Although we are conservative with electric and water, the 450AH battery bank does run down to about 60 - 70%, time to recharge. Now, I could run the diesel for a couple of hours to recharge, but as most cruisers will tell you, its not good to run a diesel at low speed for hours. So, the honda. A couple of hours every few days and life is good again. My wife also takes the opportunity to run the little vacuum cleaner through the boat while the honda is charging. As for gasoline, well, I also have a gas outboard so its not just for the honda.

I know what you're thinking. Why not solar or wind? Dont like wind; too many moving parts. Solar? Yes. I have one 135w panel now, which extends the time between charges. I plan on adding more solar, maybe to the point where I wont use the honda at all. But I'm still keeping it.

Watermaker? Where we cruise we dont need one. Where you cruise you might. Hot water? Where we cruise a cold water shower is more appreciated than a hot water shower. But I do have a solar water heater, just in case.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

Good question. In our case, we tend to spend a lot of time anchored out. Although we are conservative with electric and water, the 450AH battery bank does run down to about 60 - 70%, time to recharge. Now, I could run the diesel for a couple of hours to recharge, but as most cruisers will tell you, its not good to run a diesel at low speed for hours. So, the honda. A couple of hours every few days and life is good again. My wife also takes the opportunity to run the little vacuum cleaner through the boat while the honda is charging. As for gasoline, well, I also have a gas outboard so its not just for the honda.

I know what you're thinking. Why not solar or wind? Dont like wind; too many moving parts. Solar? Yes. I have one 135w panel now, which extends the time between charges. I plan on adding more solar, maybe to the point where I wont use the honda at all. But I'm still keeping it.

I do all those things without a Honda and haven't run my engine in weeks (out on a mooring and the freezer/refrigerator are on all week), all on 290W of solar. For the cost of a Honda I could triple my solar!

Just saying that the Honda was a poor boat buck project compared to upgrading the solar You have it now so now things are different, but I hope you understand the real answer

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

wind instrument
cabin heater
folding helm wheel
electric aft head
water maker
whisker pole
Honda generator
TV
better shower sump pump
better mattress

* Wind Insturment. Get it, attached to an autopilot.
* Cabin Heater. In NE, a must. If it stretches the season, it is a bargain. Don't pinch pennies, don't get the Cozy Cabin. Get something sealed.
* Wheel. Don't know the boat.
* Elec head. Waste of money, IMHO. Not sure I'd want it for free.
* Water maker. Depends on where you cruise, and rememeber all the maint you are adding if you are a part-time cruiser. Not useful here. Low priorety unless going far.
* Wisker Pole. Must have for monohull (multis generally don't need).
* Gererator. I would go for more solar, but it depends on tastes and needs.
* TV. DVD player is nice; I've not found many places where the reception was worth it, and if there is wifi or 3G they are more useful. We keep the DVDs on the boat and the Blue Rays at home (often they come with both).
* Shower and Mattress. Don't know what you've got.

A few thoughts:
* Better boarding. Some boats scare guests.
* Better water filtration. Should be comfortable drinking from the tap.
* Ventilation, fans and bug screens.
* Trash storage
* Handholds, jacklines, footing.
* jib lead systems.

[onestepcsy37]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I do all those things without a Honda and haven't run my engine in weeks (out on a mooring and the freezer/refrigerator are on all week), all on 290W of solar. For the cost of a Honda I could triple my solar!

Just saying that the Honda was a poor boat buck project compared to upgrading the solar You have it now so now things are different, but I hope you understand the real answer

I agree. Back in "the old days" - maybe late 1980's - I met a guy on a 44' pearson that had 4 80 watt panels on his coachroof. Claimed he never had to run his engine. It was my first encounter with solar living and I was impressed.

By the way, I should have said I was "a bit of a minimalist". When you have a wife its not always possible to be a minimalist, which explains the vacuum cleaner.

Just curious. Where are you located?