What's Necessary to Liveaboard in the PNW in Comfort?

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

...

Your solar capacity sounds low but the PNW is not blessed with sun or wind. ...

The PNW often has drought conditions all summer after the North Pacific high sets up. It's not uncommon to have months worth of sun. Since solar panels work better in cooler temperatures, I'd say long summer days in the PNW probably perform as well as shorter tropical summer days from a solar power standpoint.

[newhaul]

We just have 200 watts and have not had to plug in the battery charger or run the alternator since the beginning of march when I found the ground for one panel not properly plugged into the wye connector

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

Is this good?

Magnum MS2812

Continuous output at 25°C: 125 ADC
Charger Efficiency: 85%
Input current at rated output (AC amps): 18

Seriously this stuff confuse the hell out of me :-) The math is going to be her responsibility!

Yes. It is the pure sine wave inverter/charger we are replacing our old modified sine wave unit with. We chose it for the 125A charging capacity for our 900AH 12VDC bank.

If you go with that unit, I can highly recommend their ME-RC50 Remote Control and battery monitor [shunt] kit to go with it.

We purchased a factory refurbished unit from iMarine for about 45% savings and a 1 year factory warranty (new ones have a 3 year warranty...)

[Steadman Uhlich]

What's Necessary to Liveaboard in the PNW in Comfort?

1. Hand Knit Wool Sweater

2. Woolen knit cap

3. "Nor'wester" Hat (AKA a "Sou'wester" on the other coast.

4. Green Rain Slicker

5. Tall rubber boots (deck boots)

6. Pipe (to smoke your choice of combustibles)

7. Canadian Whisky

8. Wood stove

9. Pendleton Wool Blanket

10. Bed & Breakfast or Hotel room ashore each night.

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

What's Necessary to Liveaboard in the PNW in Comfort?

1. Hand Knit Wool Sweater

2. Woolen knit cap

3. "Nor'wester" Hat (AKA a "Sou'wester" on the other coast.

4. Green Rain Slicker

5. Tall rubber boots (deck boots)

6. Pipe (to smoke your choice of combustibles)

7. Canadian Whisky

8. Wood stove

9. Pendleton Wool Blanket

10. Bed & Breakfast or Hotel room ashore each night.

11. Cook

12. House maid

13. Butler

14. Mechanic

15. Personal Massage Therapist


S/V B'Shert

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

11. Cook

12. House maid

13. Butler

14. Mechanic

15. Personal Massage Therapist


S/V B'Shert

Refer to number ten the b&b

[dlymn]

There's some really excellent advice for everyone in these posts. Just a couple of things to think about.
Water is a real issue. Carting drums of water from shore to ship is no joy. Think about how you might store more (eg flexible bladders in the bilge) so that you can live cleanly and comfortably between dockings.
Electricity is another issue. Fridges do chew up plenty of power and what you have on board to manage this is probably not enough. Remember that you can only charge your batteries at the rated charge value of your charger. You might have a 2kw generator but your charger might only be rated at 20 amps and so you you can only use 240 watt/hour to charge. Given that you should only drain your batteries to no more than 50% this means that it might take 6 hours to fully charge your batteries at the best. Who wants a gennie pounding away for 6 hours a day?
Many water heaters also use waste engine heat to warm the water. Running your main motor for an hour will put power into your batteries and give you hot water for quite a while.

Of course you can live without a fridge, not wash, not keep the boat clean, eat all meals on shore, travel around a lot and basically use the boat to sleep in. Maybe if you stay on the boat you can sit still, go smelly, read a lot and basically do everything which is not typical of living an active and pleasant lifestyle.

Yes living aboard does require compromise but not privation.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

What's Necessary to Liveaboard in the PNW in Comfort?

1. Hand Knit Wool Sweater

2. Woolen knit cap

3. "Nor'wester" Hat (AKA a "Sou'wester" on the other coast.

4. Green Rain Slicker

5. Tall rubber boots (deck boots)

6. Pipe (to smoke your choice of combustibles)

7. Canadian Whisky

8. Wood stove

9. Pendleton Wool Blanket

10. Bed & Breakfast or Hotel room ashore each night.

11. Beard

12. Irish accent

[seasick]

@steady Hand
Nailed it.

15. Cod jigs
16. Handline
17. Tide & current tables
18. Clam shovel
19. Oyster knife
20. Woolrich pants
21. Dinghy bailer

[s/v Beth]

Maybe I missed it, but is there anyone here who truely lives on the hook north of McNeil? Just seems to be too cold and slips to easily available.

[Steadman Uhlich]

To Tayana42:
Good additions! But I think those things should come with every yacht in any location!

To Newhaul: Staying in a good B&B is hard to beat.

To Scout 30: We think alike!

To Seasick: Good additions! Clam shovel and oyster knife should be essentials!
____________________

I will add a few more I would take:

22. Crab trap and crab claw crackers (pliers)

23. Pocket Guide to Wildlife in PNW.

24. Extra dry towels

25. Recipes for Salmon, oysters, crab, fish, etc.

26. Tips for cooking, baking, and smoking fish by a campfire

27. A bottle of Laphroig Single Malt Scotch (the Canadian Whiskey is for guests).

28. A squeegee for the pilot house glass.

29. Many good books on a kindle for those rainy days and nights.

30. Whatever my woman really wants. This should really be item #1 on any smart (male) sailor's list.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Maybe I missed it, but is there anyone here who truely lives on the hook north of McNeil? Just seems to be too cold and slips to easily available.

Do you mean McNeil island or some community further north there are many ppl in the pnw that do infact live on the hook here.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Maybe I missed it, but is there anyone here who truely lives on the hook north of McNeil? Just seems to be too cold and slips to easily available.

The OP is planning to cruise in the summer and live in a marina in Victoria in the winter. He's mentioned the Broughtons as a cruising ground in the summer.

[alctel]

Crab traps for sure!

Have you thought about replacing the fridge you have with an Engel? I have one and it draws a ridiculously low amount of power, and I have the fridge/freezer combo unit!

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by alctel

Crab traps for sure!

I've been on two trips with crab traps. The first time we lost the trap to someone's propellor and the second we didn't catch a thing. I have no idea what constitutes an edible crab or what to do with it after we catch it :-)

Hopefully this summer I will find someone to show me the ropes...