Contents:
Anchors
Bilge Pumps
Communications
Crew Gear
Cruising Etiquette
Health Issues
Insurance
Life Rafts
Rigging
Sails
Steering
Storm Tactics
Weather, Gulf Stream
1. Anchors
Reference Guide for Selecting an Anchor
2. Bilge Pumps
Bilge Pump ChecklistDefinition of a Boat = vessel constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water!
Step #1 – Test Existing Pump Capacity
- a) Pour a known quantity of water into your bilge (at least 20-30 gallons). A 1” hole two feet below water allows 28 gpm into your vessel.
- b) Turn on your Electric Bilge Pump and use a stopwatch to time how long it takes to empty your bilge. Record the time in your vessel records.
- c) Pour another 20-30 gallons and empty your bilge using your Manual Bilge Pump. Time the test and count the strokes of the pump needed to empty your bilge. You will need to calculate the volume per stroke of your manual bilge pump. (This is the most important number when determining manual pumping capacity).
- d) Fill a 2 ½ or 5 gallon bucket with water (not to the top but close to full) and stand in the cabin. Pick up the bucket and empty it out into the cockpit. This will help you understand the sheer weight of the bucket and the awkwardness of lifting it up to or above your shoulders. While doing this test imagine doing it many times in a seaway. Also, take note of your Nav Station location, (typically next to your companionway) with all its electronics and communication equipment. Imagine that getting doused with a bucket of water. NOTE: consider the water level required in your vessel that allows for the use of a bucket (it is often not until the water has risen above the floor boards).
- e) Record your capacities in electric, manual, and scared man buckets after performing the above tests. Calculate your combined current pump capacity. Calculate total pumping capacity.
- f) The above suggestions are intended to establish your current baseline bilge pumping capacity. You need to put yourself into the worst case situation to make a reasonable assessment of (1) your electrical pump capacity (2) your manual pump capacity, and (3) estimate how many buckets of water you can throw out of the companionway. NOTE: your physical capabilities need your honest assessment.
3. Communications
Offshore Satellite Communications
by Jeff Thomassen, OCENS, Inc.
Looking for a communications solution in preparation for your next trip? Confused by all the different satellite options that are available today and what you should expect from them?
Let me toss out some basic information on the various systems to at least get you thinking in the right direction. Let’s look at the top three satellite network providers, what they offer for basic hardware and service options, and point out the primary features that each brings to the table.
Globalstar:
The Globalstar network is designed around what is called a “bent pipe” architecture. This means that to complete a call the satellite must be able to see your phone as well as the ground station. Calls go from your phone to the satellite and are then relayed directly back down to the ground station. Calls do not transfer between satellites. This design results in coverage that is limited to areas relative to where the ground stations are. This is why there is no coverage in areas such as the middle of the ocean. Globalstar can be a good low-cost option for you if you are cruising primarily the Gulf of Mexico or just up and down the coasts (no south Pacific or southern Caribbean coverage). There is however good European coverage once you get there, but you will have a short gap in service mid ocean.
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Using Your Icom M-802
How to Operate and Use Your Icom M-802
Practical Hands-On Video Instruction Series by John R. MacDougall s/v “Annie Laurie“
I hear and read HF radio complaints quite often. This thing or the other “just doesn’t work right” and “I should have saved my money.” The most common problem is simply the lack of user knowledge/expertise to make the bloody stuff work right!!! Unless you’re a “radio nut” and an electronics professional, you probably haven’t had the opportunity to be trained in “how-to-use” these systems, and certainly many fellow sailors, cruisers, and voyagers are not well versed enough in these matters to make optimal use of them.
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“A Winning Strategy” by Curtis Morris, from Ocean Navigator, June 2010. (Addresses SSB communication, plus satellite, VHF and data communication.)
“VHF Operations” by Andrew Cross, from Blue Water Sailing magazine, June 2015 (Protocols when using your VHF radio.)
“DSC 101A” – Use of Digital Selective Calling (DSC) with VHF or SSB, by Ron Trossback, 2013, Cruising Club of America
Cruiser’s Nets – US East Coast and Caribbean, courtesy of Dockside Radio, Punt Gorda, FL
4. Crew Gear
Foul Weather Gear – Selecting foul weather gear, by Tom Burden, West Advisor
“Man-Overboard Retrieval Techniques,” from Practical Sailor, January 2010
Personal Locator Beacons, and Personal AIS Beacons – This West Advisor article provides a summary of these two type devices, besides addressing the vessel EPIRB device
Another summary of PLBs and PAB’s and their value and limitations
5. Cruising Etiquette
Anchoring: http://cruising.coastalboating.net/Seamanship/Anchoring/Etiquette.html
Flags: http://cruising.coastalboating.net/Seamanship/Flags/FlagEtiquette.html
Burgee: http://features.coastalboating.net/Editorials/2006/Burgees.html
Radio: http://cruising.coastalboating.net/Seamanship/Radio/RadioBasics.html
Dinghy: http://features.coastalboating.net/Editorials/DinghyEtiquette/index.html
6. Developing Blue Water Skills
The Path to Blue Water Sailing by Hank George, et al.
7. Health Issues
Chikungunya
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral illness spreading throughout the Caribbean, recently imported from Africa. We know it because my wife, Hannah Gardner, caught it in 2013 while we were on the hook in Gustavia, St. Barth.
Symptoms include a sudden high fever, severe pain in the wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and rash. Joint pain and stiffness are more common with chikungunya than with dengue. (Dengue is also a mosquito-borne virus which has been on the scene in the Caribbean and Central and South America for some years. Dengue is known locally as “break-bone fever” because it makes the victim feel as if her bones were broken. Generally, dengue is more virulent and more lethal than chikungunya but, luckily, both call for the same defenses.)
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Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a painful and debilitating disease. Its outbreaks occur from time to time in different locations around the Caribbean. The occurrences usually follow a period of heavy rain, where the fresh-water mosquitoes that transmit this disease can proliferate. In periods of heavy rain, and for the weeks following, protect yourself with mosquito repellant.
Click here for more information.
8. Insurance
Purchasing Insurance for Blue Water Cruising
by Morgan Wells, Jack Martin & Associates
There are many different types of corporate entities that sell boat insurance. There are “agents” and “brokers” and you can also buy insurance direct from various insurance companies. So when you contact an insurance provider it is useful to ask what role they play. Do they sell insurance for one company, do they broker for one or a few companies, or are they an independent agent that is looking to provide you with the best combination of pricing and coverage from many insurance companies. In any event, ask for the name, country of origin, and rating of the issuing insurance company that would pay any claim. You should only consider quotes that are secured by insurance companies that are “A” or better rated and that have proven years of experience in the yacht insurance market. The written quote should provide this information, but if you are not sure ask for the rating and a link to the company’s web site. The company’s web site should provide rating information by AM Best Co., Standard & Poors, and/or Fitch’s rating services. However, the financial rating of an insurance company does not provide information about a company’s “willingness” to pay claims. Be aware that yacht insurance for blue water / international cruisers is relatively unregulated and that there are companies, usually not domiciled in the USA, that through inexperience, fraudulent intent, or poor financials, that can make the claim experience difficult or impossible. So ask others, including your insurance person, about their claims experience with a particular company.
Every company has different underwriting guidelines and capabilities. Out of dozens of yacht insurance providers there are only several that meet the above requirements AND that have the ability to underwrite coverage outside of the coastal USA and Bahamas. Even fewer companies provide insurance for trans-oceanic voyages. Ask other cruisers for referrals to a proven insurance professional. Contact the top 2 or three names that are referred most often.
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9. Life Rafts
Selecting a Life Raft. This is a very good summary article on this subject from West Marine’s Advisor series.
Having your life raft serviced. This article by Practical Sailor reviews the inspection process and servicing process.
10. Rigging
Professional Rig Inspections – The Salty Dawg Sailing Association recommends all Rally participants to have regular professional inspections of their rig. Note that the USCG recommends an annual inspection for all commercial vessels under their regulatory purview. These include excursion monohulls and catamarans, not a lot unlike the vessels that participate in the Salty Dawg Rally.
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Routine Owner Monitoring of Rigging Condition – Several sources, including the USCG, also recommend regular rig checks by owners or crew. This is because the USCG has found that despite annual inspections by competent personnel, many incidents of inspected vessel rigging failure have occurred. A US Coast Guard study found over a 5-yrar period, 28 incidents of rig failure in the year after an annual inspection on commercial vessels. That is because degradation of rig components can often be a progressive phenomena, and indications that didn’t show up in a recent inspection can occur as quickly as within months after the inspection.
Standing rigging, while appearing to be a strong structure, has a limited life. Hot climates, salt water with its corrosive chlorides, frequent cycling (flexing), heavy loading in offshore passages and storms can lead to degradation of components. The degradation of components in many cases can be observable. A professional eye, trained on what to look for is the best way to find these conditions. However, between professional inspections, at regular intervals owner or crew should take a look at rigging components for indications of degradation. Here are some very helpful articles on conditions to look for. If these are observed, bring in the professional rigger to check further.
http://www.dixielandmarine.com/yachts/DLrigprob.html
http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/rigging/
But, inspections are not perfect. Many mechanisms for mechanical failure are not always observable by visual inspection. Defects may be subsurface. Or material may be weakened by cyclical loading that can progress to fatigue failure. Because of this, after a certain age it is good practice to have standing rigging replaced with new components. A general rule of thumb by most designers and riggers is to plan on replacing standing rigging about every 15 years on monohulls, and 10 to 12 on catamarans.
11. Sails
Planning Your Cruising Sail Inventory
By David Flynn, Quantum Sails
You’ve been knocking around local waters, but the lure of open water and longer passages has finally gotten to you. If you bought the boat used, it might have the right sails if it has been sailed offshore before, but there is also a good chance that age and miles have taken their toll. Most new boats come with stock sails these days, unless they are in the upper end of the price range. Unfortunately, these inventories are usually minimalist in terms of type and quality. Rarely do original equipment sails incorporate the construction details and features desirable for more serious sailing. When home is near, a sail failure or not having the right sail for the conditions is no big deal. Out of sight of land, sails really are the engine. It is a sad truth that the sail inventory on many cruising boats is well down on the list of priorities. There are so many more glamorous areas to spend money on.
Is your sail inventory ready to go? What sails will you need? Are special materials or construction details needed? If you need sails, do fancier new materials make sense? How about storm sails and deep reefs? Are your hardware and sail handling systems up to the task?
Appropriate Technology
There is no question that sails and sail handling systems have come a long way in the last decade. To take advantage of these advances however, a boat owner must now make their way through a bewildering variety of options when it comes to sail type, structure (panel layouts and custom composite construction techniques), materials, hardware, and sail handling systems. In the good old days the entire discussion with your sailmaker would have considered cloth weight (should the genoa be 6 or 7 ozs?), roller furling versus piston hanks, and maybe the question of how big should the genoa be. Today, there are literally dozens of variables to consider. Yes, I realize that you don’t race, and just “want a good cruising sail;” but to complete the sail buying equation, you must still balance quality, durability, performance, and handling ease, versus budget. That same genoa can now be built out of three or four types of woven polyester (Dacron®), or a whole slew of composite materials which are every bit as durable, some utilizing high modulus fibers like Spectra®, Vectran®, and Carbon. For a furling genoa on a typical 38 footer, the price range between least and most expensive could be over $4000! Each construction option offers advantages. But there is no free lunch, and if you want it all, it will not come without cost.
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Composite for Cruising Sails An excellent article by Dave Flynn of Quantum Sails concerning the value in terms of longer life, less stretch, and easier boat handling with cruising sails made of composite construction.
12. Steering
A Guide To Steering Without A Rudder
by Michael Keyworth
This guide is the result of multiple tests conducted in the fall of 2013 off of Newport, RI. The test vessel was a modified MK I Swan 44, Chasseur. The purpose of the tests was to determine the best method and equipment to effectively steer the vessel to a safe port in the event of catastrophic rudder failure. The goal was to utilize the equipment normally taken on the vessel on offshore passages or races.
The overriding premise was; utilization of an efficient and controllable object to create drag and transmit to directional stability which results in the desired directional stability. It was my view that a drogue might be used to exert the appropriate drag. I further felt that a small drogue might provide the needed drag but would not significantly impede the speed of the vessel.
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Sailboat Steering Inspection
As with all mechanical systems used in the harsh marine environment, proper inspection and maintenance is required of an Edson Steering System for long life and years of proper service. Systems which have not been maintained and lubricated properly show signs of wear early and perform less than satisfactory. Therefore, it is important that all boats fitted with Edson Steering Systems get an annual inspection of the critical system parts and that routine maintenance guidelines are followed. This chain and wire system inspection can be done by an Authorized Edson Service Center or a capable boat owner. Please request or download a data sheet specific to your boat prior to starting your inspection.
13. Storm Tactics
Deploying warps, sea drogues, and parachute anchors, “Speed Isn’t Everything” by Bill Biewenga, Blue Water Sailing Magazine, February 2015 – http://www.bwsailing.com/bw/columns-blogs/speed-isnt-everything-3/
“Heaving To” by Andrew Cross, Blue Water Sailing Magazine, August 2014
14. Weather, Gulf Stream
“Crossing the Gulf Stream,” Sailing Magazine, April 2009
Gulf Stream characteristics and crossing strategies; a technically oriented paper. Although focused on the route from Newport to Bermuda, the discussion is actually quite helpful in understanding Gulf Stream features and dynamics, sources of data, and strategies for crossing the GS from the Chesapeake.