Coastal cruising equipment and accessories
- Thread starter Don Lucas
- Start date
At some point it sounds like you intend to be OCONUS. That means you will not have many of the back-ups that US boaters lean on - towing services and the USCG to name two. Work up a plan to be self-sufficient including the need to abandon. For me that means three sets of ground tackle, a good RIB dinghy, 10hp outboard, tools, spares, manuals, SSB/satphone, state of the art chartplotter, two handheld GPS and VHF, radar, EPIRB, drogue, storm jib and deep reef main. Solar, hydro-gen, or diesel gen. You should be working on your cruising guide study now. Down island? get a liferaft, and build a ditchbag.
The most critical elements of being comfortable down below is to make sure you have a dry boat and lots of ventilation.
Take a look at the ISAF category 1 requirements and make sure your boat is in compliance. Great list of safety modifications.
I am a logistics professional, 10 years active duty US Navy and currently as a civilian for the Navy. 'Gearing Up', 'Load out', 'Preventative Maintenance', etc are buzz words in my line of work. These topics boil down to making a comprehensive check list of the things you will need for cruising that include safety items, repair items, and of course comfort items. Lots of people have already offered several good suggestions, but rather than offer my own list of must haves let me offer you a method...
Think about the cruising you have been doing and then do what I do at home every six months or so... I look around at all the crap in my house and garage and ask myself "Have I used that item even once in the last six months? Have I even seen it or touched it in that time? Do I really need it? If I haven't used it all is it still reasonable to assume I might in the future? When did I need something but not have it?"
Asking myself these questions about everything I currently have or I am considering buying makes it easy to pass on things I don't need, figure out what I get the most use out of (and really makes a difference), and especially to get rid of crap that I have no use for!
Think about the cruising you have been doing and then do what I do at home every six months or so... I look around at all the crap in my house and garage and ask myself "Have I used that item even once in the last six months? Have I even seen it or touched it in that time? Do I really need it? If I haven't used it all is it still reasonable to assume I might in the future? When did I need something but not have it?"
Asking myself these questions about everything I currently have or I am considering buying makes it easy to pass on things I don't need, figure out what I get the most use out of (and really makes a difference), and especially to get rid of crap that I have no use for!
I would strongly recommend
Live on the boat full time where ever your docked. Unplug everything, just like you were anchored out somewhere with nothing available. See how much electrical power you use in reality, not in theory. How long will your water supply last. How much food can you keep on board and fresh. And what foods will you get tired of eating. Take care of the essentials first, under real life conditions. I ended up taking the hot water heater out of my boat. Most will laugh at that, but I found that with no hot water, my water supply would last over twice as long. While there is nothing as nice as a long hot shower after a long hard ride, it also drastically cuts how long the water supply on board will last. I can comfortably stay out without needing anything for 30 days, and 45 with a little conservation.
Live on the boat full time where ever your docked. Unplug everything, just like you were anchored out somewhere with nothing available. See how much electrical power you use in reality, not in theory. How long will your water supply last. How much food can you keep on board and fresh. And what foods will you get tired of eating. Take care of the essentials first, under real life conditions. I ended up taking the hot water heater out of my boat. Most will laugh at that, but I found that with no hot water, my water supply would last over twice as long. While there is nothing as nice as a long hot shower after a long hard ride, it also drastically cuts how long the water supply on board will last. I can comfortably stay out without needing anything for 30 days, and 45 with a little conservation.
I agree with the above, but with a caution.
It depends where you are living aboard. In the San Francisco Bay area our power supply to usage was very well balanced year round. BUT, when we hit the tropics, the power usage went up by a lot.
In the bay area, we drank water at "room temp", but in the tropics with the air temp over 100 F and the water temp above 95 F, we just had to cool the water down by about 15 ~ 20 degrees. That used a LOT of power.
Plan ahead about where you plan to cruise.
Greg
in tropics i still use water at room temp. works better than icy water into a hot gut.. talk about the cramping--
no fridge in winter while on anchor..yet...we find cooked foods mexican style. cheap. 40 pesos each plate for dinner.
no fridge in winter while on anchor..yet...we find cooked foods mexican style. cheap. 40 pesos each plate for dinner.
Interesting solution. In a slip at least, you could turn the hot water heater off at the panel breaker; but if not plugged in at all--I guess that would be the same. I get your point, however. For us, the best water conserving practice away from shore has been to use seawater for nearly everything except drinking, especially for dish washing with a final wipe using a cloth dampened w/FW. The "sea shower" involves use of actual seawater at the swim step, w/ fresh water rinse, etc. Like you, I estimate that the TWO of us can hold out for at least one month on the installed water tanks (300 liters = 80 gal); plus, there's usually another at least 10 gal of bottled water aboard when we take off. Older models had Whale foot pumps and separate faucets for seawater; I haven't seen that on the newer boats that I've been aboard.
Yeah--mine's leaked too at the connecting hose for the HW exit; but, I keep fixing it w/ replacement hose!
On the subject of hot water heaters, once again it's very dependent on where you are cruising. The subject says "coastal".
Once we went south of the US, we never used our water heater. BUT, once we were back to the San Francisco Bay area (without a slip, just anchoring out) and fresh water was available, we used it a LOT.
In the Bay area you can get hypothermia on a JULY day!!
And I can say with great authority that after starting the engine to motor into an anchorage, AND heat the water heater, NOTHING BEATS A HOT SHOWER!!
Greg
Once we went south of the US, we never used our water heater. BUT, once we were back to the San Francisco Bay area (without a slip, just anchoring out) and fresh water was available, we used it a LOT.
In the Bay area you can get hypothermia on a JULY day!!
And I can say with great authority that after starting the engine to motor into an anchorage, AND heat the water heater, NOTHING BEATS A HOT SHOWER!!
Greg
Well, I agree. Hot water aboard is among the few shore-side niceties that we can have that does not require additional "support." It's a nice byproduct of running the engine, which you're likely going to do every few days anyway. Hell, even my old Pearson 30 had a hot water heater and shower--to the envy of some of our cruising friends who had it not!!On the subject of hot water heaters, once again it's very dependent on where you are cruising. The subject says "coastal".
Once we went south of the US, we never used our water heater. BUT, once we were back to the San Francisco Bay area (without a slip, just anchoring out) and fresh water was available, we used it a LOT.
In the Bay area you can get hypothermia on a JULY day!!
And I can say with great authority that after starting the engine to motor into an anchorage, AND heat the water heater, NOTHING BEATS A HOT SHOWER!!
Greg
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Often wondered that myself. Seems like a waste of energy.
I use one of these for showering. Have for years.
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/index.htm
Getting wet and taking a shower aren't the same. I'm not going to spend the next 20 years spraying myself with a bug sprayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For me, hot water at the turn of the knob and ice in my refrigerated beverages define living on a boat as opposed to camping on the water.