Muira 31 for trip between from East Australia to France

[kriskro]

Hello the community

I believe that this is my first post ever in a forum. But i was thinking it would be a good starting point to gather the information i'm looking for

I acquired 2 years ago a Muira 30' sail boat (I was totally new to sailing at the time). The boat was mainly used for racing and all the "confort" features have been removed (or never existed..) before i bought it. Cooking galley, Bimini, Spray dodgers, lazy jacks... I have already done a lot of work outside and inside but would like a bit of your advice on the must have features for a long trip on board based on your experience?

For exemple :

- Lazy Jack? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Indoor table Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Anchor windlass? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Spray Dodger? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Bimini? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- LPG Gas? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Oven? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Satelite phone? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Radar? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Life Raft? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Fridge? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Davit for the dinghy? Must have / optional / not needed at all
- Storm Sail? (My main sail has only 1 reefing point, but the sail is pretty small..) Must have / optional / not needed at all


I start thinking about going for a big trip probably within the next 2 years and I'd love to sail back to Europe. do you think that this is a feasible trip in a 30 footer ?

Cheers,
Chris

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by kriskro

Hello the community



I believe that this is my first post ever in a forum. But i was thinking it would be a good starting point to gather the information i'm looking for



I acquired 2 years ago a Muira 30' sail boat (I was totally new to sailing at the time). The boat was mainly used for racing and all the "confort" features have been removed (or never existed..) before i bought it. Cooking galley, Bimini, Spray dodgers, lazy jacks... I have already done a lot of work outside and inside but would like a bit of your advice on the must have features for a long trip on board based on your experience?



For exemple :



- Lazy Jack? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Indoor table Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Anchor windlass? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Spray Dodger? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Bimini? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- LPG Gas? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Oven? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Satelite phone? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Radar? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Life Raft? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Fridge? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Davit for the dinghy? Must have / optional / not needed at all

- Storm Sail? (My main sail has only 1 reefing point, but the sail is pretty small..) Must have / optional / not needed at all





I start thinking about going for a big trip probably within the next 2 years and I'd love to sail back to Europe. do you think that this is a feasible trip in a 30 footer ?



Cheers,

Chris

Hi kriskro, that ain't a Muira - it is a Miura. It should be 30' 6" and was most likely built as a HDB by Nebe boats in Cape Town. It is a brilliant boat designed by Berkermeyer! There were most likely over 150 moulded in South Africa from around 1980 into the mid 90's. However, all the earlier boats had a glassed over plywood deck, which you need to check properly for rot. If it was the later moulding, they came out with a couple of different GRP deck designes. They were originally designed for being the minimum length to be able to compete in the Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro race that takes place every three years.

I will not attempt to answer your questions at this stage as you need to quantify your planned route, are you just using it to get from Oz to Europe as quick as possible or are you going to cruise with a partner or family. It all makes a difference to comfort of all aboard.

However, more Miura's have done circumnavigations than any other South African mono. There are a few web sites regarding these magic little boats - just do a Google search using the correct spelling.

Later in 2018 I will be looking for one to fix up and set up for singlehanded cruising.

John

[SailsWithFists]

Nothing you listed is needed at all, except for good sails.

You will want the spray dodger, and I would recommend installing one. Everything else is nice to have, but certainly not required.

[billknny]

Lazy Jack? Not a lot of help on a boat that size

- Indoor table you decide

- Anchor windlass? A manual windlass would be nice but not required if you have a strong back

- Spray Dodger? Nice

- Bimini? how used to the tropical sun are you? If you KNOW you can be in the sun for 12 hours a day, then I guess you can skip it, but most people would broil.

- LPG Gas? SOME way to heat food is pretty close to required

- Oven? Optional

- Satelite phone? Optional

- Radar? Nice, but not needed.

- Life Raft? I'd vote for required...

- Fridge? This one is a complex addition. It is a power hog, so you need bigger batteries, and then ways to generate all that power. It is not required, and if you can see to life without it, it will make life a LOT simpler.

- Davit for the dinghy? Your boat is too small to put a dinghy on dafits offshore. This is an all bad idea.

- Storm Sail? (My main sail has only 1 reefing point, but the sail is pretty small..) Either a storm sail or multiple reefs in your main.

[kriskro]

The idea would be to cruise taking all the time i need, with 1 or 2 people on board. I haven't thought about the route yet and i guess it would require a dedicated post ! but the idea would be to go around Australia, up to south east asian, around india... And then i need to figure out if the best is to go around Africa or through the Red sea and Suez Canal...

Originally Posted by billknny

Lazy Jack? Not a lot of help on a boat that size

>> Yes, I've been doing very well without until now, but i have to say it is bit annoying after a while to spend the five minutes on the boom to pack /unpack properly the sales into the cover. I guess it is not so annoying when you are doing it longer trip and don't drop the sails 4 times a day

Originally Posted by billknny

- Bimini? how used to the tropical sun are you? If you KNOW you can be in the sun for 12 hours a day, then I guess you can skip it, but most people would broil.

>> haha yes, let's say that i have a good hat at the moment while i'm living in Brisbane/Australia...But I think on a long trip, i'll set one up so i don't develop too many skin cancer

Originally Posted by billknny

- Davit for the dinghy? Your boat is too small to put a dinghy on dafits offshore. This is an all bad idea.

>> can you precise a bit more why this is so bad?

at the moment, I store the dinghy into the cabin and it takes a lot of space. I'm planning to be 2 or 3 people on board when sailing and i guess i'd like to save as much space as possible inside so that it stays a little bit comfortable.. and without talking about the convenience of just dropping the dinghy in the water instead of inflating/deflating each time and moving it around. I am a bit afraid as well that it may worn out faster if i keep deflating and inflating it...

[billknny]

Originally Posted by kriskro

>> can you precise a bit more why this is so bad?

at the moment, I store the dinghy into the cabin and it takes a lot of space. I'm planning to be 2 or 3 people on board when sailing and i guess i'd like to save as much space as possible inside so that it stays a little bit comfortable.. and without talking about the convenience of just dropping the dinghy in the water instead of inflating/deflating each time and moving it around. I am a bit afraid as well that it may worn out faster if i keep deflating and inflating it...

Having a dinghy on davits while offshore has two serious issues. First is the weight. Adding weight up high and out at the end of the boat is the last place you want it. Your boat does not have the displacement, or the broad stern to well support a dinghy, and the weight of the davits to hold it, hanging off the back.

Even worse: The dinghy is exposed to waves. If a breaking wave suddenly dumps a thousand pounds of water into the dinghy in rough weather, the BEST outcome you can hope for is it breaks free quickly. There is no way on your boat you can get it high enough that such a thing is impossible.

You don't need to put the dinghy below, you can tie it down on deck just behind, or just in front of the mast. We deflate and pack ours away for ANY ocean trip, even a short one. While in an anchorage, we hoist it to the rail on a halyard to keep it dry and for security. If you just spent a week sailing across the ocean, is ten minutes to inflate the dinghy really such a hardship?

Far better for the life of the dinghy to deflate and pack it away than to leave it out hanging in the sun, which is the REAL dinghy killer.

[kriskro]

That's all very good and logical points, Thanks.

Originally Posted by billknny

You don't need to put the dinghy below, you can tie it down on deck just behind, or just in front of the mast.

About keeping the dinghy at the bow behind the mast, i need to have a try. But there is not much space. Also, i need to see how it works with the big genoa I have. Don't want to have the sheets being stuck in the dinghy.

[JohnT]

Lazy Jack? Must have / optional / not needed at all

You do not have to have them. However, they are cheap to install and make dropping the main an easy operation for one person by keeping the sail on the boom and off the deck or from going overboard. There is nothing worse than this happening at 02:00 and all the crew being woken to help sort the mess out.

Indoor table Must have / optional / not needed at all

If you were just doing a trip to get from A to B, I would not bother with a saloon table. However, with a crew on board, it is sometimes a convenient item to have to ease the working area and let crew do their own thing in a bit of comfort.

Anchor windlass? Must have / optional / not needed at all

Not really needed for a boat of this size and an expensive chunk of kit.

Spray Dodger? Must have / optional / not needed at all

I would make this a "must have". The Miura can be a wet boat and the dodger helps the crew keep a bit dry. Also beneficial for these boats is the use of side cloths on the aft safety lines.

Bimini? Must have / optional / not needed at all

I would think this is a "must have" to prevent the roasting of yourself and crew in the tropical sun. Personally I would have an arch over the stern with a couple solar panels and some form of canvas bimini rigged from that.

LPG Gas? Must have / optional / not needed at all
Oven? Must have / optional / not needed at all

How do you propose to cook? The minimum I would look at would be a two plate gimballed hob. An oven is not essential as you can take a cast iron Dutch Oven with to use for bread baking and stews on the hob.

Satelite phone? Must have / optional / not needed at all

Not needed. If you want to let friends and family know where you are, a simple Spot unit should work well. For emergency use, purchase an EPIRB.

Radar? Must have / optional / not needed at all

Not needed at all unless you intended to sail in areas constantly fog bound.

Life Raft? Must have / optional / not needed at all

I think you will find that the Oz requirement is that you have one on board for offshore sailing, although I do not know the recreational boating laws for Oz.

Fridge? Must have / optional / not needed at all

Nice to have, but not required. You will find that refrigeration would be your biggest power guzzler. However, you need to slowly learn to prep meals that require no refrigeration of the base ingredients. This will most likely mean a change of your lifestyle and eating habits.

Davit for the dinghy? Must have / optional / not needed at all

A BIG NO - store a small dinghy on your foredeck, well strapped down.

- Storm Sail? (My main sail has only 1 reefing point, but the sail is pretty small..) Must have / optional / not needed at all

Get a sail loft to insert a second and third reef in your main - I cannot see that a main has been manufactured with only one reef! The Miura was originally designed for hank-on fore sails but I have seen them with single roller furling sails of about 140 to 150%.

You will need to figure out your power consumption on board and get batteries to be able to handle it and a means of charging those batteries. A lot of boats the size of the Miura stick an arch over the aft cockpit and install an array of solar panels to keep the battery bank charged. You will most likely need to go through the boat and change all your lights from incandescent to LED to save on your power consumption - both the Nav lights and internal ones. I have seen a few Miura's fitted with 40L camping style fridges, but do not know how efficient they are in the tropics.

There has been a recent series of an Oz couple sailing an old 30' boat up the west coast of Oz from Perth to Darwin, which I found an interesting series - search for it on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/O5RTZi2i92M
You will get quite a good idea how they lived and managed on a small boat - the scenery on their adventure is also magnificent.

Have a happy 2018 with lots of boat prep!
John

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by JohnT

........
I think you will find that the Oz requirement is that you have one on board for offshore sailing, although I do not know the recreational boating laws for Oz.
.......

Liferaft not required in Oz but EPIRB is (offshore).

[Ramona]

The only item on your list you really need is Lazy jacks. Along with the lazy jacks I would recommend modifying the mainsail for 3 reefs. Have all reefing lines back to the cockpit so there is no need to leave the cockpit. Plan on sailing this boat solo.

I would not bother with davits or a dodger but do get a good windvane steering system. When on the deck sailing wear a hat and mask but if the weather is bad you will be sailing from the hatchway or chart table.
Sat phone would be nice.

[patprice]

I do not see any reference to self steering arrangements in this thread!

Nobody (?) goes offshore without an autopilot or wind steering gears.

I would recommend a basic wheel/tiller autopilot and an Aries or Fleming or similar wind vane. The vanes are often available second hand.

[old pirate]

A very feasible trip for this boat.
I've heard that of any single make/model of boat by far the most circumnavigations are by Muira's.

[mowerandy]

I have Davits on my Adams 31, and find them incredibly handy in 'normal' conditions. They are very light, being built from the same tubing as the dodger/bimini framing. Presently swinging a 7 foot twin hull FG dinghy, which is probably at or near their proper load limit. If I were contemplating a serious voyage I would swap for an inflatable and deflate/stow it for passages, since as others have pointed out, the main risk is getting it smashed from behind by a breaking wave. I haven't seen anything get close to that yet, and hopefully would recognise the risk and cut the dinghy away beforehand (its not very valuable). One of the biggest pains is that a dinghy that doesn't have a bung hole will collect rainwater unless well covered, the weight of which will break light weight davits unless bailed regularly...
PS: I have swung a 9 foot dinghy on them in the past, but any bigger and the end bits will stick into the water when you heel up (not good), oh, and it looks really silly too

[kriskro]

Originally Posted by patprice

I do not see any reference to self steering arrangements in this thread!
Nobody (?) goes offshore without an autopilot or wind steering gears.
I would recommend a basic wheel/tiller autopilot and an Aries or Fleming or similar wind vane. The vanes are often available second hand.

Yes i didn't mention the autopilote as i had one already (raymarin st60) in good working order. I'm just thinking about having 1 spare part for each unit just in case as the units are already pretty old and i had to replace the compass.

[Ramona]

Originally Posted by kriskro

Yes i didn't mention the autopilote as i had one already (raymarin st60) in good working order. I'm just thinking about having 1 spare part for each unit just in case as the units are already pretty old and i had to replace the compass.

You will need a windvane self steering gear. Go to the windvane section of CruisersForum and learn all about them. Keep an eye out for a secondhand Monitor, Aries or Fleming or build your own. Keep your systems as simple as possible, I would not consider a fridge for example. Solar panels and controllers are a subject you need to familiarize your self with.
Cruising up and down the East coast is mostly day sailing so plan your speed to be about 4 knots. I would not carry anything above the guardrails that would reduce the boats speed and of course use a folding propeller.
In harbor erect a boom tent shade cover and plan for living in the cockpit.