Equipment list for Pacific crossing

[Don C L]

Where are you located? akprb's suggestion of sailing up and down the west coast is a good one. If you and the boat are good with that you'll be getting well-prepared. In my neighborhood, the local islands and Point Conception are a great place to practice and get lots of experience in a wide variety of conditions while still close to some safe harbors/anchorages.

[Drew13440]

Originally Posted by Tidjian

Thanks for that tip. Would something like this be sufficient?

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/antal...45?recordNum=3

Better still, there are locking winch handles that also float. That's what you want, don't ask me how I know this.

And please listen to what others are telling you about your boat.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "I'm also still trying to figure out if I'll be able to run a small fridge or if that is going to drain me too fast."

The way you ask this question demands the conclusion that you haven't laid a systematic, structured power budget. It probably follows from that, that your comprehension of the management of electrical systems, even simple ones, is in need of further development. Without a structured, systematic power budget, perhaps committed to a spreadsheet, you CANNOT make rational decisions about what constitutes "must haves" and what constitutes "non-affordables"

You can make the same sort of argument about every kind of physical sea-going clobber that may strike your fancy, and these "budgets" are easy enuff to construct. They affect the lading and therefore the safety of your boat. Constructing them just requires having an orderly, disciplined mind.

What is much, much more difficult, however, is to commit to paper a "budget" of captaincy skills. Doing so starts with an HONEST inventory of the skills you have now, but honesty in THAT department is really hard to come by. We ALL think we are better than we really are. The comments you've made about ground tackle, leads me to believe that you need, badly, to commit to paper an honest inventory of your present skills.

When I taught raw landsmen half a century ago, I would construct a situation that I knew they could not yet handle - but that I could. I would let them get to the point of wetting their knickers, which can happen to us all from time to time, and then step in and save their bacon for them. The mark of a seaman is not whether he wets his knickers or not. It is that he can continue to work effectively and efficiently AFTER he's filled his drawers! That teaching technique is not mine alone, of course. It is time honoured. In the old Indian Army it was known as taking a raw recruit "to see the elephant".

Having followed your posts in this forum, and the responses from so many really experienced, and very kind, people, I think you would do yourself an ENORMOUS favour if you could prevail on one of the "old hands" here to take you out to see the elephant!

May The Force be with you :-)!

TP

[akprb]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Quote: It is time honoured. In the old Indian Army it was known as taking a raw recruit "to see the elephant".

Having followed your posts in this forum, and the responses from so many really experienced, and very kind, people, I think you would do yourself an ENORMOUS favour if you could prevail on one of the "old hands" here to take you out to see the elephant!

May The Force be with you :-)!

TP

Ok, that one is going in my holster....."to see the elephant!"

Classic!!!

That is exactly what I am alluding to. In teaching my daughters to dock either a 50' Cat or a 40' Mono I just let them do it and step in only to "save their bacon" and avoid a large insurance claim :-)

Two things happen. They get to "feel" it with their own hands and if successful have that feeling as well. If they "miss it" they get to see how to get out of a situation first hand.

When I was training to drive the ferry I asked one of the senior captains what he was thinking when he maneuvered around Auckland's ferry terminal. Will never forget his answer..........."exit plan" ;-)

[Souzag818]

Originally Posted by Tidjian

If I were to sell this boat and grab a more suitable one under 30' (I don't think my 1500 can tow anything bigger and a new truck is not in the budget). Do you guys have any suggestions on what style or make I should look for? Keep in mind whether it's safer or more suitable I don't have $20k+ laying around. I got this boat a few years back with sails and the o/b for $2800. Assuming I can sell it around $2-2.5k I would be MAYBE looking at $5-7k tops. Again the more I sink in the boat the less I'll have to not only properly equip it but to resupply when I get there. It's one thing getting there but I still need to be able to afford whatever port fees and resupply costs will be. It would be a shame to spend everything on a one way trip then have to sell the boat there to fly home.

Looking in my area there are 3 boats in my price range.
...
Ericson 27 Bruce Design with an in-board
25' Buccaneer 240
26' Columbia MK

None of those 3 is an ocean boat. I suggest you save a little more. I, too, agree with those who don't think a Grampian 23 is an ocean boat. Something more like an Albin Vega would be my goal if I were going to go cruising in a pocket cruiser. Just my opinion...

[Don C L]

The Vega's accomplishments notwithstanding, it too would need some beefing up before setting out.

[TrentePieds]

Hm...

First you "beef up" the skipper. Once he's sufficiently "beefy", you should be able to leave the "beefing up" of the vessel to him :-)!

TP

[captmikem]

Well, here is a bit of well meaning suggestions….. now I have only been across the Pacific half a dozen times, so this is based on my limited experience:


Nav/Sonar & electronics:

Hummingbird Helix 5 vs Garmin Echomap CHIRP vs Simrad Go7 XSE

Lsatphone2 vs Iridium 9575 Extreme
Unless you have a lot of cash and a huge desire to talk to someone at great expense, you can do without this and it will save you a bunch of money. Also phones tend to give you a false sense of security. Deal with your problems at sea. You will gain more and feel better about it.

ICOM M324G vhf with GPS
Shakespeare 5400-XT antenna
You don’t really need a GPS on your VHF, you will find very little need for a VHF except for talking to friends when in port. ICOM is a very good unit, if you wish to save money buy a cheaper one, or a used one for about $100.

3x ALL POWER 100w solar panels (flexible)
2x marine batteries

Katadyn survival 35 desalinator (manual)
I carried one of these around the world twice, never used it, I would not take it again.

12v 2000 gph bilge pump
And a good manual bilge pump

Emergency:

First aid fully loaded
Echomax solar still desalinator
If it is cheap and small... might carry it, but it would not be high on the priority list.
Revere offshore life raft 6 person

Paratech sea anchor 8000lbs 25'
Again, I used to carry one of these.. never used it, now I don’t.

Not sure if I'm leaving anything out. But that's what is on my list right now. What I'm looking for is advice on a better navigation system with route planning.
Pretty Simple Rout Planning in the Pacific, and if you have Navionics or Open CPN you can do your rout planning at home and on the boat, Also not sure if anyone has any tips on sat phone or companies to go with.

I would add a good SSB (M700 is pretty cheap nowadays) and a Pactor modem, You can then have text emails and wx. And you can listen and talk to other cruisers and Nets while at sea. Verty useful piece of gear. And much less expnsive to operate than a sat phone.

I was considering iPad with Navionics+ but I was looking at internet prices but I have yet to find an affordable one. There aren’t any.
You can buy little USB internet cards in port that are not too bad, recharge them when you need them
One note, you see new folks loading up on “Safety” gear, they never use it. Look on youtube of people crossing the pacific, first couple of days they are bundled up life vests, harnesses, man over board alarms, and all sorts of gear. After a few days you will notice they are in shorts and ENJOYING being out in the cockpit or on deck.

Take some good books, videos, and star charts. Learn the environment and enjoy the peace and serenity of being at sea. Get out of this mentality that you have to have protection from every imagined event that could befall you. Take an epirb if it will give you peace of mind. But beware it is can give you an escape at any time…rather than should you actually need it.

Fair winds and enjoy the adventure.

M

[Souzag818]

Originally Posted by Don C L

The Vega's accomplishments notwithstanding, it too would need some beefing up before setting out.

As I opined, I'd take an un-beefed up Vega across an ocean over a Grampian any day. No "beefing up" of a Grampian would change my mind

[sklitzky]

Google, Web Chiles, he is in his 70's and circumnavigating on a Moore 24.

Here is a link to his blog:

self-portrait in the present sea

[thomm225]

So this guy is wanting a boat that he can tow behind his pickup truck and then sail the Pacific.........! ?

The ladies that were recently picked up by the Coast Guard were probably better prepared

[LACHLANC]

I fully concur with the concerns expressed from others re a possible lack of either seaworthiness of the yacht and/or preparedness of the skipper. ignoring that, one thing I have heard numerous people mention for nav purposes is Open CPN with Google Earth maps added/overlaid so you have a much much better sense of the location of reefs, when compared to electronic & paper charts, when approaching Pacific islands.

[smac999]

plane ticket.

[JPA Cate]

Ya know, I'm still stuck about the payload of the boat. if it was built for day sailing with a maximum of 5 up, shouldn't Tidjian be looking at only 750 lbs, minus his own weight?

If you look at Cabo to Hiva Oa, a good take off point because the winds are better, it's on the order of 2, 635 mi, great circle course. At a 4 kn average, that is almost 33 days, and that would be a very good average speed for that boat, it may be too much, in fact. At 1/2 gal per day that's #132 lbs, just in water, and with no back up if you spend 3 days hove to or something breaks.

Advice to OP. Go figure out what your food needs would weigh. Plan a cushion there, and with the water--your life will depend on those. .....and maybe you'll need to reconsider some things. I mean, you have ignored questions about your experience, and I'm starting to wonder whether you get seasick, and what you would plan to do if you do.

Please understand something here: I do not have a problem with the pocket cruiser concept, I've met folks in a 22 ft. boat 1/2 way through a circumnavigation. I do not think this is madness, and have had the "madness" accusation leveled at me for our voyage in the Yankee. I question your experience and your choice of boat. And, I find it hard to take you seriously without any statement of your experience. Book learning and You tube learning only goes so far--just remember, unless the video camera is waterproof, you won't be seeing what could give that Grampian trouble.

The experience akprb and others keep referring to is what will make or break this effort. And you could lose your life over it. Do not plan on being rescued. You are only a small dot in a big ocean. The ocean is a very wet environment, and electronics do not like the salt sea air, do not trust the Satphone, there are too many things to go wrong.

Most of us who are sea people accumulated experience over a period of years before we jumped off--don't sell it short, as a concept, just through impatience. We can see how the experience has accumulated, and have come to value it. The ocean doesn't care about people in any way, you and your tiny ship are at the mercy of the wind and sea conditions, and the passage to the Marquesas takes you through the ITCZ, which can really slow your average speed down.

Ann

[Drew13440]

Originally Posted by smac999

plane ticket.

I tried to limit my earlier comment to the winch handle issue. My Pacific crossings have been done on semi-custom vessels, about 230' in length with cabin width of about 20', capable of displacing up to around 800,000 pounds.

These were built in the PNW by a 'yard' run by the Boeing Corporation.

I'm sure the forum can help a young man find an appropriate boat, but the Grampian isn't it. Plane ticket, indeed.