Saving Weight

[thinwater]

Seems like everything we add or buy adds weight and cumulatively, slows us down.

Some weight savings is in the construction or a few major or obvious items. Let's skip these:
* Core vs. solid GRP
* Glass vs. carbon
* Sail cloth types
* BBB vs. G43
* Let's PLEASE not talk about anchors. Separate subject.
* Take the crap home
* Tanks don't need to be full
* Storm anchor (and other heavy items) should be stored low and centered
* High mod halyards

What ideas have you come up with, not counting a few grams on the latest super-block. Ideas that pass a $/pound saved litmus test.

[monte]

Bought a bigger boat 😜

But yeah..It is pretty hard though, I think starting out light helps so we specifically begin without some of the weightier comforts like genset, aircon, but really a couple of items doesn't make a huge difference once we add back in solar and additional batteries etc. WM helps a lot to be able to sail with less water in the tanks. We usually provision for a month or more and could probably eat pretty well for about 3 months at the moment with all the tinned and packages stores, wine, rum etc. we could probably save a few hundred kg by shedding some of that and just provisioning a month at a time, but at the end if the day I don't think it makes a huge difference to sailing performance. I was chatting to a mate the other day and he said he reckoned he had 3-4 tonne of stuff in his L450. Maybe I'll make a list and guesstimate of what we have but I think I'd be disappointed as my initial guess would be a couple of tonne over factory spec.

[med]

Stay off the donuts

[estarzinger]

Tell us what you have on the boat?

All books on iPad saved us a decent amount of weight, but we read a lot.
Replaced most paper charts with echarts also did (yes there will be a "safety" debate about that).
Li battery bank.

[thinwater]

^^ Actually, I keep my boat pretty trim. But ideas are always good. So is diet-encouragement!

[Cheechako]

Small water tank, with watermaker. better for the watermaker to run often anyway. Of course if it quits in the middle of the pacific......
Dual fuel tanks of reasonable size. Never fill one until you need to make that 2 week crossing. Then empty it first!

[FSMike]

Smaller dinghy,
smaller outboard,
smaller girlfriend
(actually the last is the only idea that's worked lol).

[thinwater]

Gotta check on lighter batteries next time I'm due (a few years).

I'm wondering about the semi-flexible/rigid trade-off with solar panels. Life expectancy vs. weight and windage. I have rigid now but will be adding more.

I carry just enough chain for 98% of my nights, backed by rope.

Secondary anchor is a Fortress.

Moved everything heavy to the middle. Moved a lot either home or just out.

Vent filter on gasoline tank to control breathing (a real problem with e10--not so much with fuel). No need to keep tank full, other than range.

Could reduce books, though not too many. DVDs should go digital.

Kitchen seems about right, Nothing I don't use. Cleaning supplies are all multi-purpose.

[barnakiel]

In the offshore aspect:

- the watermaker,
- the windvane steering,
- fewer sails,
- sat phones,
...

all considerably reduce ready to go weight.

And then off course get rid of all the junk: too many pans, mugs, plates and cutlery. Too much of clothing, books, computers, electronics, batteries, etc. Make up your mind if you are sailing or collecting landlife-centered garbage.

b.

[Terra Nova]

No fat chicks.

[Jim Cate]

Bestway to keep weight down is to NOT be a full time long distance cruiser with no home base, for many of us seem to carry all our worldly possessions with us, and damn, they're heavy!

Learning some discipline would help, I guess... but wow, that's hard yakkka!

Jim

[UNCIVILIZED]

Quarterly (at least); Strip EVERYTHING off of the boat, & take it ashore. Then before reversing the process, ask; Do we REALLY need this item. Also, if you've a mind to, then also weigh each item before it goes back onboard, & keep a log of same (or shame).

When you fully strip all of the gear off of boats, it's amazing how much crap that you have onboard.

Idea #2, is to use/have hardware backing plates which also act as fasteners. Whether you use G10 or Aluminum, you can tap the stuff & save a bit of weight.
Plus, you can add a few lightening holes to all such plates, in addition to agressively beveling their edges.

It's a carry over from #2, but you'd be Amazed at how much weight you can pull out of a boat, via diligent use of a hole saw to add a multiplicity of such holes.
And many of them can serve dual purposes. Such as under-bunk ventillation, & the like.

Then there are some of the KISS ones. Such as remove as many doors & such as possible, & replace them with curtains/canvas (w. snaps & or zippers.

Spectra saves a lot of weight over; Dacron, Bronze, & Steel - Shackles, Lines, Shrouds, & Cables.

And for everything, but perhaps Gasoline, there's the option of composite tanks.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

No fat chicks.

From what I've seen, fat guys are the greater problem.

[Reefmagnet]

Cut toothbrushes in half, rip out the interior, teak decks and other unnecessary adornments.

Or do a stocktake every now and again and chuck out all that stuff that hasn't been touched in that time and isn't likely to be.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Quarterly (at least); Strip EVERYTHING off of the boat, & take it ashore. Then before reversing the process, ask; Do we REALLY need this item.... When you fully strip all of the gear off of boats, it's amazing how much crap that you have onboard.

.... in addition to aggressively beveling their edges.

Spectra saves a lot of weight over; Dacron, Bronze, & Steel - Shackles, Lines, Shrouds, & Cables.

And for everything, but perhaps Gasoline, there's the option of composite tanks.

Great ideas.

* Beveling is smart. In all the testing I have done, the failure is always by shear right along the boundary. Better yet, make the backing plates from GRP, bond them, and they can be 30% thinner. Even better yet, just lay-up more glass; only about 1/2 as much is needed because they work with the structure.
* Composite tanks are absolutely OK for gasoline and e-10, you just have to pick the right resin for the veil. Near all of the USTs are composite. I built composite tanks from my last boat (Kevlar cat).

I'm not big on drilling holes; unless you really understand the structure it can be trouble. If you need to drill holes, I think you need a different boat (one that was designed lighter).

Emptying the boat annually is brilliant, though perhaps unrealistic for most. What is realistic is to clear clear to the bottom of every locker. In fact, it is seaman-like to know what you have and where it is. When I sold my last boat she was SO MUCH FASTER during sea trials I wanted to keep her.