Boat for polar cruising

[Matt sachs]

Should the hull insulation extend below the waterline for northern latitudes?

[GG2015]

While no comparison to the previously mentioned yacht the following should not be discounted as a high latitude candidate... definitely has characteristics for a NW Passage, i.e. 2,000 gallons fuel @3gph making 7 knots = 4,000nm plus so you would not be surprised when a village refuses to sell you fuel because the supply ships are running late and they cannot afford to run their two-year of Arctic diesel supply down...

1999 Custom Steel Ketch Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

To bad there are not more people willing to become expedition partners and buy this yacht since it definitely has good resell potential when the time comes.

See you outdoors... on the water.

[northwestsailor]

My Meta Dalu 47 was designed by Michel Joubert and completed by Peter Smith just before Peter started on Kiwi Roa. The hull is 13mm aluminum plate and welded using the Strongall method by the famous Meta yard (they built Bernard Moistessier's Joshua) in Tarare, France. Meta Chantier Naval

This boat is ideally suited for high latitude sailing as it has a swinging keel, transom hung retractable rudder, center cockpit, extremely heavy rig with triple head sail (two on Reef-Rite furlers), staysail hanked on. Two inches of solid foam insulation with 3/8" plywood on top.

Last summer in AK we were able to do some passages that would not be normally open to larger sailboats i.e. Dry passage from Wrangell to Petersburg, Mirror Harbor on the west side of Chichagof Island etc. The swinging keel and retractable rudder proved invaluable numerous times when we were concerned about depths both for anchoring and passages.

In Glacier Bay National Park we were able to pass through and anchor the bergy bit fields without concern. In addition when we did use a marina we were able to use slips that usually only motorboats could use due to depths at low tide.

I have been told that for the Northwest Passage being able to snuggle up into shallow coves will be desirable. Time will tell.

[GG2015]

Originally Posted by Matt sachs

Should the hull insulation extend below the waterline for northern latitudes?

My personal opinion is yes, to stop condensation... I insulated the entire hull and house except for a 12" 'alley-way' through the center-line of the hull bilge.

See you outdoors... on the water!

[GG2015]

Originally Posted by northwestsailor

I have been told that for the Northwest Passage being able to snuggle up into shallow coves will be desirable. Time will tell.

Does that mean you are still in Alaska/WA planning a 2015 NWP?

[Claude_Marie]

Originally Posted by northwestsailor

My Meta Dalu 47 was designed by Michel Joubert and completed by Peter Smith just before Peter started on Kiwi Roa.

In is blog Peter Smith mentions that he spent some time in Brittany, working on a boat, is it your boat ?
Should you connection allow, would you post a pix ?

[northwestsailor]

Originally Posted by Claude_Marie

In is blog Peter Smith mentions that he spent some time in Brittany, working on a boat, is it your boat ?
Should you connection allow, would you post a pix ?

Yes, some more photos are under my profile. If you need more please let me know.

We are doing an extensive refit now in Port Angeles, WA so Rajah Laut should be looking better in the near future.

And yes, Peter Smith met the original owner of Rajah Laut in Brittany but the actual completion was done in England.

[RainDog]

I think it makes sense to look at the boats of people who do this for a living. Several have been mentioned. Here are some more:

http://www.expeditionsail.com/contac...lboat-seal.htm

http://www.simexpeditions.com/index....owall=&start=1

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[northwestsailor]

"What about 2015? A repeat of 2014 for obvious reason - people are the greatest variable... from idiots, wannabes, skippers, captains and Master Mariners... The few who make things happen. The many who watch things happen. The majority who have no idea whats happened."

For the NWP I think a passage of West to East is a safer bet. Jimmy Cornell tried it last year from East to West in 2014 and failed to get through with his new boat.

The ice breaks up West to East so why not follow that natural progression? It probably means being already up in AK by the late spring but it is not impossible to winter the boat in Nome now.

IF need be Rajah Laut can be pulled onto a beach over greased logs with a bulldozer due to the flat bottom. It sounds crude but can be done without damage to the hull. Bottom paint might suffer a bit though.

[Claude_Marie]

Originally Posted by RainDog

I think it makes sense to look at the boats of people who do this for a living. Several have been mentioned. Here are some more:

Expedition Sail - Sailboat Seal

SMA: Technical Information - Page 2

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Totally agree !
Tks for links.

[Benz]

No offense, GG2015, but it seems you also are among those who have not done the NWP yet? It's one thing to talk about how prepared one is and how much one has read and how awesome one's boat is...it's another to actually put miles under one's keel, as a recent member named Rebel Heart learned in a very hard way.
Good luck on your planned passage, and we hope to hear good things about it next fall.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

[GG2015]

Originally Posted by northwestsailor

"What about 2015? A repeat of 2014 for obvious reason - people are the greatest variable... from idiots, wannabes, skippers, captains and Master Mariners... The few who make things happen. The many who watch things happen. The majority who have no idea whats happened."

For the NWP I think a passage of West to East is a safer bet. Jimmy Cornell tried it last year from East to West in 2014 and failed to get through with his new boat.

The ice breaks up West to East so why not follow that natural progression? It probably means being already up in AK by the late spring but it is not impossible to winter the boat in Nome now.

IF need be Rajah Laut can be pulled onto a beach over greased logs with a bulldozer due to the flat bottom. It sounds crude but can be done without damage to the hull. Bottom paint might suffer a bit though.

You cannot make this many mistakes in what you have heard and expect to complete a NWP... Wintering over in Nome is not advised unless you like cleaning the blown sand out from ever orifice of your boat and then ask - who has been sandblasting my yacht? Its a terrible place to winter over. I doubt it will be in good condition when you return... you have been warned!

As previously posted people are the greatest variable... Jimmy was a month early to the Arctic, was beset in the ice, retreated when hightmares of loosing his family in the ice repeated... was offered a sum to take AVENTURA to the boat show circuit... clipped that coupon - cash talks - then headed south to catch his paying Odyssey yachts... but has now reversed going back to Costa Rica to return home saying he will ship the boat to Vancouver and attempt the NWP again from the West... lol

The NWP ice does not breakup from west to east... lol You undoubtedly have been listening to wifes tales... check the dates for ice breakup... the WEST is always late to open and close compared to the EAST.

There is no such thing as a "safer" NWP because of the directions of travel...

I surely have an opinion of someone who makes these kinds of verbose statements without facts... please stay in tepid latitudes and enjoy it as your paradise.

BTW - I suggest you take your own winch, four part quad blocks and logs to roll your yacht onto a beach... Cats are not widely available over the 3000 plus miles NWP ... remember this is the Arctic - not even one tree to spare for a roller... sheez

[Arthur Garfield]

@RainDog- Yes SV Seal of expedition sail is class of field !

Seems to me sv Seal and Beowulf are and will be copied for along time!


All the Best

[GG2015]

Originally Posted by Benz

No offense, GG2015, but it seems you also are among those who have not done the NWP yet? It's one thing to talk about how prepared one is and how much one has read and how awesome one's boat is...it's another to actually put miles under one's keel, as a recent member named Rebel Heart learned in a very hard way.
Good luck on your planned passage, and we hope to hear good things about it next fall.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

Congratulations Ben on building your yacht and sailing from the USA west coast to east coast via the Panama Canal. Your 50T USCG license is more than I can say most yachters - KUDOS!

You are right, no NWP yet - haven't been east of Barrow AK or West of St. Johns NFD in the Arctic but I'm working on it, maybe 2016? And like you, have built my own yacht, a 55' steel long range expedition trawler, so after a 30 year career I'm enjoying retirement from my USCG licensed Ocean Master Fifth Renewal, been around the world three times working as a ship's officer not to mention years of commercial fishing year-round in the Bering Sea... so there you have it... just 30 years of marine experience and for the last five years I have been providing routing, weather and ice advise to NWP yachts. I'm sure you also have an extensive marine education and work background to share and have been giving back to the marine community...

And always... be safe!

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Tensen

Yes, some higher performing materials are probably called for. Kevlar, for example, has good abrasion qualities.

Kevlar is great at minimizing abrasion damage, but it is absolutely terrible when it comes to repairing damage. Repairing abrasion in Kevlar is expensive, technically challenging, and even when done by a skilled pro can randomly fail.

If you are planning on seeing ice go metal. I personally would prefer aluminum until you get to around 60' at which point it becomes something of designers choice with steel. Below this size the weigt penalty of steel is a real issue.