lightening up the boat ideas

[schoonerdog]

I thought I'd chum around for ideas people have found which are good for lighting up their catamarans.

Some idea's I've had:

Scanning onto CD documents, photos, cookbooks, etc which aren't frequently used and save a 100+ lbs in paper alone.

Reducing the battery bank (I have 700 Watts of solars which provide 200 amp hours per day, so I need to compensate for nighttime draw with batteries instead of an entire days worth of draw which I would need with a generator or recharging via engines), saving 150 lbs.

Replacing glass windows with margard lexan, savings 130 lbs. Increased safety as bonus.

Reducing chain from 100 ft to 50 ft. (I personally prefer having a rode coming off the boat instead of chain and anchor in 6 ft of water) (Savings 120 lbs).

Switching to lighter aluminum AB dingy (savings 50 lbs while gaining a bigger dingy!).

Removing unnecessary doors (I use our aft cabin as a work room, door simply blocks cabinets) (savings 80 lbs for 3 doors).

Replacing heavy glass plates with something (don't know what yet!)

Sorting through spares and removing unnecessary parts....

[N.M.I.ke]

Arent' all spare parts unnecessary, until you need one?

[Pura Vida]

I don't have a cat but I do have a small mono and weight is an issue. First thing that went were the doors (yes two). The motor was changed to a diesel and that saved 100 lbs. I'm wrestling with SSB and watermaker and the batteries they require. The water maker should offset its weight in batteries by reducing the amount I need to carry. The stove is gone, replaced by a smaller one. I already have cut "boat CDs" with all of the manuals, bowditch, charts of the US, photos of every island and coastline I might ever want to visit... OK more stuff than I can ever reference. For me the idea is that every pound I strip off of the boat really more supplies or toys I would otherwise have to leave behind.

[colemj]

>400 music CD's went into an iPod. Movies are next!

(probably more about space than weight, though)

Mark

[cat man do]

Hi guys, melamine,like used in bowls and plates in cheap chinese retaurants is a whole lot lighter and tougher than glass and china .
And an alternative to Lexan is Shinkolite. Sold to us as a poor mans lexan.
more scratch resistant and darker tint as well. Used it on last boat for 7 years with no sign of it breaking down.
Now if only they could make a light lead for weightbelts...........
Dave

[Canibul]

Dave, we use flexible weight bags filled with buckshot with our diving hookah, no lighter but easy to store. I think next time I am going to experiment with a bicycle innertube filled with pellets. Could adjust it exactly right, and store it anywhere. I think it would be pretty comfortable and as cheap as it gets.

[Sunspot Baby]

What kind of quick release are you going to put on this inner tube weight belt?

George

[Canibul]

actually was thinking of tie-wrapping it along a standard web belt. My mental picture is of it looking like five or six inch sections, compressed by the tywaps.

[mikereed100]

I use wood blocks painted grey instead of lead in my weightbelts. An incidental benefit is that if released in an emergency they float.

[Canibul]

You must be using lignum vitae or greenheart. Guess you could also use weights that size for shelter from the sun.
but how do you move your arms when wearing them on a belt?

I only need about 9 lbs of lead to be neutral, and am working on getting that number down....lol. thats not a lot of shot, distributed around MY circumference...

[mikereed100]

As I proceed with the rebuild of my cat, like Schoonerdog I too am looking for ways to keep it light. Some of the things I am doing have already been mentioned here. I have eliminated most doors (why do manufacturers feel the need to divide an already small space?) and will switch to Melamine dishware.

I have cut way down on built in "furniture" and all plywood including bulkheads, floorboards and cabinets will be replaced with corecell or nidaplast honeycomb.

The dinghy is an 11' rowing/sailing model that weighs 100lbs. This will save the weight and hassle of an outboard and fuel and may take 5lbs off of my belly as well.

There will be only 2 staterooms and 2 toilets

A watermaker may be added if I can ever afford one and if I feel up to the maintenance

Still haven't decided about windows. One of the great things about a cat is the panoramic view from the salon and I have designed mine with windows all around. Lexan or acrylic would save quite a bit of weight here but to be honest I have never seen windows made of this stuff that didn't eventually become scratched and cracked. Glass on the other hand provides a beautifull view that to me is worth the weight. The Shinkolite that Cat Man Do mentions sounds interesting.

Winches will be kept to a minimum. 2 primaries for the jib and 2 secondaries for the mainsheet and daggerboard uphaul/downhaul. Reefing is done at the mast.

[schoonerdog]

look at Lexan margard. It's made to be almost (hardness of 95) as scratch resistant as glass. I want it for two reasons, weight and safety. For me to walk up to the cabin top I have to go up a 6 inch wide space between the windows which are at a 45 degree angle. Were I to make a misstep it would shatter. That's really the deciding factor for me. The lexan is 250 time more shatter resistant than glass and 30 times more than acrylic. Also being in a storm either at my slip or at anchor and having something blow into the front is a real possiblity. I have to rebed the windows anyway because they are starting to leak, so nows the time, but they are sikoflexed in and I don't look forward to it.

[Sonosailor]

A watermaker, especially one running off a DC motor, adds a bit of weight. However, on Cat Tales, since the water is readily available, I stopped using one of my 200 litre water tanks, saving 200 kilograms. I can save a few more if I actually get the aluminum tank out. I want to switch to plastic tanks anyway.

We could eliminate all booze except for the rum, and then also eliminate most mix by drinking on rocks or 'ti punch.

[RandyAbernethy]

Sonosailor: don't get carried away...

[cat man do]

A well respected multi hull builder who builds 'em realllllly light once told me "save a pound a thousand times and you've saved a thousand pounds"

Worked on his boats, but I can't afford foam/kevlar and carbon on a boat my size

see pics in gallery

Dave