So taking my first extended cruise on the H23.5. What a long list of projects I've had to tackle! This isn't so much a question thread as it is just me sharing what I've had to do and I'll drop in a few things I'm curious about.
So I'm heading out for 6 days on the San Juan Islands in Northern Washington state. I'll be driving the boat on trailer 580 miles then dumping in at Bellingham, WA where hopefully there will be parking for me to leave my truck and trailer. Me and a friend plan to hit Sucia Island, Stuart Island, Friday Harbor and then two more nights at undetermined anchorages.
The tidal currents are very strong in these islands so I've done a lot of prep on that front. I've printed all the tidal data out though I didn't order paper charts. I did go out to NOAA and cropped out sections along our route that were of interest or I thought we might need to duck into in case of bad weather. I printed these sections out and placed in a binder. The only electronic navigation we are using is Navionics on our mobile phones. There's a 2 week trial free which we'll start once we get to Bellingham. (This is cruising on an extreme budget)
I've had to do a mountain of little projects to get ready. There aren't enough bits and bytes to store it all on this website, but the highlights are:
Glue the motor mount back together after the top split apart while reversing in heavy chop
Replace the companionway hatch boards that the PO "fashioned"
Replaced the standing rigging
New battery, solar panel charger
New, heavy duty mast crutch (Fabricated by Joel at Ruddercraft)
Install new Hawkeye Depth sounder
Replace all the masthead lights
Install a mini-inverter for cellphone/tablet charging
Registered and licensed the boat (after a year of running rogue)
Fix up various trailer problems
And on and on
It's been a great way to get to know the boat. I pretty much know where all the access ports are, all the thru-hull fittings are, and wires go. What a nice simple boat! My old boat was much larger and had so many junction panels and mystery wires. It was daunting.
One concern I have is carrying fuel. I'll be covering about 80-100 miles of cruising. My "tank" holds maybe 3 gallons and burns about a gallon per hour. I'll be traveling about 40-50 miles before I get to anywhere I can refuel. I have 3 - 5 gallon fuel containers which I want to bring, but I used to store fuel cans on the gunwale attached to the stanchions which doesn't really work on the H23.5 as the cabin top extends all the way out. Any ideas on where I can secure 3 largish fuel cans out of the way? I plan on sailing as much as possible, but we have somewhat of a schedule that I don't want to get too far behind.
Here's a quick shot of my new companionway "board". Picked up a piece of 1/4" polycarb for $50. I still need to cut a piece of mahogany to screw into the top so I can lock it, but it turned out really nice. Very few gaps for the bugs to sneak through so I'm really happy with it. The bottom is a little wide so it doesn't rest on the bottom lip, but it keeps it up a little higher to make a nice seal with the hatch top slide which I like. I'll add some pics of the trip when I get back!
So I'm heading out for 6 days on the San Juan Islands in Northern Washington state. I'll be driving the boat on trailer 580 miles then dumping in at Bellingham, WA where hopefully there will be parking for me to leave my truck and trailer. Me and a friend plan to hit Sucia Island, Stuart Island, Friday Harbor and then two more nights at undetermined anchorages.
The tidal currents are very strong in these islands so I've done a lot of prep on that front. I've printed all the tidal data out though I didn't order paper charts. I did go out to NOAA and cropped out sections along our route that were of interest or I thought we might need to duck into in case of bad weather. I printed these sections out and placed in a binder. The only electronic navigation we are using is Navionics on our mobile phones. There's a 2 week trial free which we'll start once we get to Bellingham. (This is cruising on an extreme budget)
I've had to do a mountain of little projects to get ready. There aren't enough bits and bytes to store it all on this website, but the highlights are:
Glue the motor mount back together after the top split apart while reversing in heavy chop
Replace the companionway hatch boards that the PO "fashioned"
Replaced the standing rigging
New battery, solar panel charger
New, heavy duty mast crutch (Fabricated by Joel at Ruddercraft)
Install new Hawkeye Depth sounder
Replace all the masthead lights
Install a mini-inverter for cellphone/tablet charging
Registered and licensed the boat (after a year of running rogue)
Fix up various trailer problems
And on and on
It's been a great way to get to know the boat. I pretty much know where all the access ports are, all the thru-hull fittings are, and wires go. What a nice simple boat! My old boat was much larger and had so many junction panels and mystery wires. It was daunting.
One concern I have is carrying fuel. I'll be covering about 80-100 miles of cruising. My "tank" holds maybe 3 gallons and burns about a gallon per hour. I'll be traveling about 40-50 miles before I get to anywhere I can refuel. I have 3 - 5 gallon fuel containers which I want to bring, but I used to store fuel cans on the gunwale attached to the stanchions which doesn't really work on the H23.5 as the cabin top extends all the way out. Any ideas on where I can secure 3 largish fuel cans out of the way? I plan on sailing as much as possible, but we have somewhat of a schedule that I don't want to get too far behind.
Here's a quick shot of my new companionway "board". Picked up a piece of 1/4" polycarb for $50. I still need to cut a piece of mahogany to screw into the top so I can lock it, but it turned out really nice. Very few gaps for the bugs to sneak through so I'm really happy with it. The bottom is a little wide so it doesn't rest on the bottom lip, but it keeps it up a little higher to make a nice seal with the hatch top slide which I like. I'll add some pics of the trip when I get back!