Cruising and Modern Conveniences- All is good with Universe

[JPA Cate]

So I've become a fanatic hoarder of spare parts, more and more with every passing year.

MMMmmm. Yes, my Mom had a proverb about this: He who saves, finds.

Of course, keeping ourselves comfortable does seem to increase in importance, with the years.

Ann

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Erm, well yes we do. Its 1600w PSW so not as big as the main 2kW inverter and would take 20 minutes to connect up if needed, but it's there on board.

Takes time to find good kit on FB Market Place but if you're patience. We also carry an identical spare double Vango induction hob again from FB, even for coastal sailing. The loss of the main could take several days to obtain a new one and that's holiday time which I would rather spend doing absolutely nothing

The one item I did take off was the spare original alternator which still works. You might think this a valuable item to carry, but solar is the main source of electrical power on board and we have spare MPPTs. By a quirk of engineering, the VP 2003 raw water engine has the pump run from the cam shaft. The only thing the alternator belt does is drive the alternator, so the engine will start, run for hours and stop quite happily without that belt or alternator.

Pete

Yep, ditto here. I have a spare inverter, and a spare 24v battery charger on board.


And spare alternators.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

There are a lot of cruisers who LET systems imping on their cruising. It was very rare for me to not have a problem with "something", but they rarely stopped me from cruising

I don't think I have met a cruiser whose charging system was stopping them. I could charge my batteries from 3 different methods. Maybe in Mexico where you are it falls more into a lot of just starting "cruisers" who just don't have their boat needs sorted out yet.

Some years ago I had a freak failure of BOTH of my main charging systems at the same time.

One failure caused by operator stupidity, and one failure which could not be solved for several days because of -- mechanic stupidity. So in the absence of all that stupidity, this wouldn't have happened, but I'll nevertheless tell the story.

I was using a socket wrench on the alternator pulley nut to get new belts on, and didn't notice that I'd loosened the nut. It came off and destroyed the alternator. That happened in the middle of the North Sea, motoring in a dead calm.

No problem, I thought. I've got my heavy duty generator. Took the belts back off the alternator and left it like that.

But then the generator failed to start one morning a couple of days later, at anchor on the UK South Coast. Damn! Both main charging sources down.

A couple of days of messing with the generator at anchor didn't solve the problem and so I ran into Brighton marina to charge the almost dead batteries from mains power.

Finally I found a defective contact on the Carter electric fuel pump on the generator and got it running again.

Replaced the alternator when I got back to Cowes (and rebuilt the old one and put that in spares so now I have a spare).

If I had been in a very remote place I had one Hail Mary charging source left -- B2B charger from my engine start battery, which has its own separate alternator.

Moral of the story -- all this redundancy is very good but is still not a 100% guaranty that you won't have trouble. Especially if you have a dumb mechanic on board.


I agree with Don's comment about starting out cruisers with boats which aren't yet sorted out. Incidence of problems is much higher in that case. But as someone upthread said -- boats are always breaking, either slowly or quickly. So even experienced cruisers with well-sorted boats are fixing stuff all the time.

[El Pinguino]

I carry rather a lot of spare stuff along with rather a lot of tools, stuff like a left handed Volvo starter motor which since my 38 year old MD17D went to Volvo heaven a few months ago is no longer required. Head gaskets , dedicated FW circ pumps, the whole bit.
All redundant since I fitted the Beta.
So what happened two days out on my last little cruise where anchoring is the norm at the end of every day.
The windlass dropped its bundle. Never thought of putting a spare windlass on the list. Not the motor, not the capstan itself, something in the gearbox bit - still under investigation. I'll be having to fly parts back in from Australia.
21 year old, no idea how many Patagonian anchorages but is constant use worse than lack of use? Was it due to the long covid lay up in the tropics?
Dunno but I do know that getting 25kg up by hand in 20 metres takes the edge off the cruising dream.
Luckily we knew where the 'secret' moorings were on the way back to Montt.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I carry rather a lot of spare stuff along with rather a lot of tools, stuff like a left handed Volvo starter motor which since my 38 year old MD17D went to Volvo heaven a few months ago is no longer required. Head gaskets , dedicated FW circ pumps, the whole bit.
All redundant since I fitted the Beta.
So what happened two days out on my last little cruise where anchoring is the norm at the end of every day.
The windlass dropped its bundle. Never thought of putting a spare windlass on the list. Not the motor, not the capstan itself, something in the gearbox bit - still under investigation. I'll be having to fly parts back in from Australia.
21 year old, no idea how many Patagonian anchorages but is constant use worse than lack of use? Was it due to the long covid lay up in the tropics?
Dunno but I do know that getting 25kg up by hand in 20 metres takes the edge off the cruising dream.
Luckily we knew where the 'secret' moorings were on the way back to Montt.

Bummer.


I have a spare windlass motor on board, but not a gearbox. Probably should add that to my list.


I do have a plan (never tried) for how to get the 12mm chain and 45kg anchor up without the windlass, however. Halyard and electric winch.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I do have a plan (never tried) for how to get the 12mm chain and 45kg anchor up without the windlass, however. Halyard and electric winch.

It works very well, used that method on a Moody 45DS when the windlass failed while anchored at the mouth of the Corinth in a blow.
Owner operated the winch hauling in sections of chain whilst I controlled engine and helm.
To prevent the chain from damaging the cabin top I rigged a block on the toerail for the line hauling the chain up the side deck to change the angle.

[BlueH2Obound]

[QUOTE=mvweebles;3889101]For me, I underestimated how much stress full time cruising in low latitude climate places on boat systems. Not everything has a practical spare - who carries a spare inverter for example?
/QUOTE]


Well Peter, . . . . about that "who carries a spare inverter for example?" . . . . . There might actually be a spare Victron Quattro 12/5000 under the master bed . . . . brand new, in the box . . . .


We looked at single point failures that would basically stop us on our trip, and that was one of the items we came up with . . . . so we brought along a spare . . .

[Kettlewell]

And...this thread has devolved, like many others, into one person after another explaining how they keep this system or that system running on their boats, by carrying this or that expensive spare part, because of this or that bad experience with the system in question breaking down in the past or having nightmares about how they can't live without the system if it breaks down in the future. In short, many of the responses are perfect illustrations of both why people quit cruising eventually and why simple boats are so much easier to maintain. Just take a look at the Home Page on any given day and review the subjects of most threads--repairs!

[GordMay]

QUOTE=barcoMeCasa;3890285]...
All boats ever do is break, usually slowly, sometimes quickly, but constantly. Fundamental law of physics. If most of the stuff mostly works most of the time then that's about as good as you can realistically hope for...[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by barcoMeCasa

Also known as the 2nd law of thermodynamics

The zeroth law of thermodynamics says: You must play the game.

The first law of thermodynamics says: You can't win - you can only break even.
* The second law says: You can't even break even - you can only break even at absolute zero.
The third law says: You can't quit the game - you can never reach absolute zero.

* The second law of thermodynamics is "conservation of entropy", that you cannot actually achieve 100% efficient use of anything, you always create entropy, thus you cannot "break even".
And remember: because of the 2nd law, you can put a pig into a machine, and get sausage; but you can't put sausage into the machine, and get the pig
back.

[Kettlewell]

Entropy would be a good name for a sailboat.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

and why simple boats are so much easier to maintain.

this will be the third thing on this thread I ask for definition of a "simple boat"

I started a thread years ago on the topic and the closest agreement was that a simple boat didn't have a watermaker.

[BlueH2Obound]

To get back to the original post:

We have a lot of conveniences on board that some people might consider extravagances. Things like:

• 10 cu ft chest freezer on the aft deck
• two heads
• water maker
• LiFePO4
• Solar panels
• Inverter/charger
• high output alternator
• ice maker
• washer/dryer combo
• FLIR (if I can ever get the $%^&*#* working)
• Radar
• multiple methods of viewing electronic charts
• Navionics, & Open CPN
• Starlink
• Scuba compressor
• not even going to get into spares, except to mention, that yes we also have a complete spare anchor windlass . . .

to name a few.

The bottom line, FOR US, In the past, I've slept on the side of the road, out of the way of tracks, rolled up in a poncho. Been there, done that, have the T-shirt.

I don't have to do it again to prove anything to anyone.

Yes, I know the human body can survive on less than 1 gallon of fresh water per day . . . .but why would we do that purposely? I/We don't want to just survive, we don't want to camp. We want to be able to cruise comfortably.

We have way more boat than we NEED, and way more conveniences than we NEED, but it's not about NEEDS for us, it is about comfort, and convenience.

What works for us, works for US. Not trying to make anyone else do what works for US. Everyone needs to find their own comfort level and just go for it! That's the bottom line, use whatever you have, whatever you need, and get out there and USE YOUR BOATS!

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by GordMay

QUOTE=barcoMeCasa;3890285]...
All boats ever do is break, usually slowly, sometimes quickly, but constantly. Fundamental law of physics. If most of the stuff mostly works most of the time then that's about as good as you can realistically hope for...

The zeroth law of thermodynamics says: You must play the game.

The first law of thermodynamics says: You can't win - you can only break even.
* The second law says: You can't even break even - you can only break even at absolute zero.
The third law says: You can't quit the game - you can never reach absolute zero.

* The second law of thermodynamics is "conservation of entropy", that you cannot actually achieve 100% efficient use of anything, you always create entropy, thus you cannot "break even".
And remember: because of the 2nd law, you can put a pig into a machine, and get sausage; but you can't put sausage into the machine, and get the pig
back.[/QUOTE]


Vaguely relevant, these days I've given up on the idea of being "the boss" and "in control!" . Best you can do is push the odds a bit in your favour. Now the morning list of things to do is a fairly vague but seems to help, and after reading atomic habits . 10 minutes most days over a year is the same as working a 40 hour week. The list often gets quite a few ticked off while the kettle is boiling - "sew something, anything", "clean some stainless, anywhere", "clean a bit of wood, any wood" & a few more. Do quite a few little bits nearly every day without actually being too precise or waiting til it needs it & things seem to break less often..
There was more about the entire western capitalist model being based on making us really beleive stuff is the answer & we can control the world, have more sex & be happier if we just buy more stuff. WHich doesn't work but with new stuff the craving subsides for a moment & we think we can control a dynamic everchanging universe
We can't, stuff breaks. The value judgement about this being "good" or "bad" only exist as concepts in our big monkey brains.
Best ignored imho, what good do opinions actually do anyone? Nothing changes

[Mike OReilly]

Funny, but I do carry a spare windlass. I bought it about a decade ago, knowing my boat's windlass was original kit (1977), and also recognizing how important anchoring is for my cruising lifestyle.

Turns out, the now nearly 50-year-old manual windlass (Plath/ABI bronze) continues to perform flawlessly. Worst thing that has happened is having to replace the handle. So my spare manual windlass (Sea Tiger 555) has sat in its locker all this time.

As for an big inverter, don't have one, don't need one. I do have a couple of cheapy plug-in versions (300 & 200 watt). They're on board for odd-ball charging needs. Ironically perhaps, the last time it was used was two seasons ago, and this was to power a neighbour's Starlink.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Funny, but I do carry a spare windlass. I bought it about a decade ago, knowing my boat's windlass was original kit (1977), and also recognizing how important anchoring is for my cruising lifestyle.

Turns out, the now nearly 50-year-old manual windlass (Plath/ABI bronze) continues to perform flawlessly. Worst thing that has happened is having to replace the handle. So my spare manual windlass (Sea Tiger 555) has sat in its locker all this time.

As for an big inverter, don't have one, don't need one. I do have a couple of cheapy plug-in versions (300 & 200 watt). They're on board for odd-ball charging needs. Ironically perhaps, the last time it was used was two seasons ago, and this was to power a neighbour's Starlink.

Yes, this is the old school way of cruising. But judging from the active cruisers I've met (well over 100 I suppose), it's no longer the template - it's become an outlier. Probably 80% of the folks I've met are 60-ish (+/- 10 years or so); fairly recently retired and appear to have a decent nest egg. There area few outliers on both ends - low-budget and hi-budget. Their goal is adventure travel, not becoming the next Pardey-esque cruiser and drinking warm (hot?) beer or bathing in salt water.

And if crowded anchorages is any indicator, they are fairly prolific. A friend spent 2-years cruising from San Diego to Florida in 1996-1998 and has followed my progress. Compared to his recollection of the anchorages, there are a LOT of folks out cruising these days.

I can't speak to other parts of the world of course, but for the crotchety old-school pundits on CF who think interest in cruising is diminishing, you're only partially right: interest in bare-bones cruising is probably diminishing becasue there are options.....and many of us prefer to cruise with our spouse. The bare-bones cruisers I've met are single, unshaven men on old, tired boats who talk about the good ol' days. Not an attractive look.