On the subject of cruising and charter design...

A question of note, an interesting charting method, and in the "seriously creepy" department...

So, what do we actually want a cruising boat to be?

Think about that for a minute or two... 

A good cruising boat is a nomadic habitat that can take you pretty much anywhere in the world accessible by water. You want it to be safe, comfortable, and as trouble-free as possible. It should also be easy to maintain and operable within its crew's physical and financial abilities or constraints.

A good charter boat, on the other hand, is designed to generate income and that's the bottom line. Which, I'll be the first to admit, is no bad thing but making money creates a completely different design brief than you'd want for a cruising boat.

One of the things that still surprises me is that 90% of our crewed charter clients don't sail, they're not into boats, and, if anything, the whole idea of a sailing vacation does not quite track with them. What does track however is they like the idea of a movable luxury hotel room that moves from location to location with their own personal Chef and crew to take care of them. The newer the boat, ensuite heads, lots of toys, all creature comforts, and a killer menu is more often than not why people choose the boats they do.  Sure, they want the boat to look great but to most clients anything that's expensive and floats right side up is considered a great looking boat.

Charter cats are all built to a cost point as most charter boats are only built with a five year lifespan factored into the mix. Term charter (crewed boats) tend to last longer as they don't get the abuse that bareboats do but a seven-year old crewed charter boat is considered too long in the tooth to get top dollar. The point being that longevity is not a high priority on the design brief.

Most catamarans are sold to the various charter companies and, as such, most cats for sale are designed for charter. That equals a lot of catamarans. So many in fact, that you'll find very few manufacturers willing to start building a non-charter oriented multihull. Sure there are a few exceptions coming from small or boutique builders (Gemini comes to mind). 

How to tell the difference between a cat designed for cruising or a cat designed for charter? If the boat sleeps ten and has four heads it's a charter design.

Like I said before, I like term charter boats and have a business that is part of that industry so I understand why they're designed the way they are. The downside where cruising is concerned is that there are just not enough people buying new cruising multihulls for the boat building companies to design and tool up for, in their view, what they consider a minuscule market.

Since we're on a roll we'll talk about what I'd like a cruising cat to be in 2021 in the next post.

Listening to Margo Timmins

So it goes...

Some more on the multihull subject...

An interesting ongoing story, a TED talk about coffee, and the word of the day is A-N-O-C-R-A-C-Y...

Back in the early 80s when I was building a Wharram Tiki 31 in Port Marly France, magazines like Cruising World were running editorials proclaiming that catamarans were both unfit and unsafe as cruising boats. Just about everyone I knew counseled me on the dangers that catamarans represented and pointed out that cruising a cat would end in tears or death which made for some very short conversations on boatbuilding and design.

Not to toot my own horn but I knew better. A decade before, as a starving art student living on a boat in Sausalito and working part time putting interiors in ferrocement boats, I'd seen a couple of Piver trimarans sailing in all kinds of weather and showing their transoms to many of the "HOT" Bay racing boats. They were light, easy to build, cheap, and could get by with less sail area and still sustain higher speeds. To put it mildly they caught my attention.

Of course, at the same time over in the UK, catamarans were already an established part of the sailing scene with the Prouts, Lacks, Pat Patterson, Wharram, and MacAlpine-Downie building a multihull niche for normal folks. As a result there was ample information that multihulls were actually safe and sane as opposed to the entrenched opinion in the US of A that multihulls were a death trap and a possible killer of profits for US boat builders.

How the US sailing industry came to make a 180 degree shift to embrace multihulls is based more on the fact that the various companies selling bareboat and term charters realized that cats were a pretty optimum craft for chartering and, as they could sell a lot more charters with them, it was time to jump on the multihull bandwagon. Confronted with huge wads of advertising cash from the charter companies it seemed like an excellent time for the yachting whores press to do an about face.

The downside of all this is that what makes a good boat for chartering doesn't necessarily make a good cruising boat. As someone who has a charter company (by the way, even in these times of Covid, people can still charter in the Caribbean), and a couple of decades of experience within the charter business there is some basis to my opinion. Which is not to say that multihulls can't be great cruising boats but the design brief for a good cruising multihull is a whole lot different than for a charter multihull.

Next up we'll talk about those differences.

Listening to Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds

So it goes...

Since we're talking multihulls...

Something I'm looking forward to reading, a better way to build surfboards, and in the "Disappointing but not unexpected" department...

I'm in the middle of writing a longish article for VolksCruiser on multihulls of a VolksCruiserish bent (spelled affordable) that should be ready in a couple of days and, as it happens, I happen to have this boat on my desktop.

It's the Prout Sirocco which for some time I seriously considered buying a hull and deck to finish off to become our chosen boat to go cruising in. At the time, after some intensive research, the Sirocco seemed to deliver just about all of our needs in an affordable 26-foot package.

I still think it is, just maybe, the best design Prout ever did.

While we were on the French canals going down to the Med we crossed paths with a French family who were on a Sirocco that they'd built up from a hull and deck. We had a great time checking out the boat, discussing boatbuilding and trading cunning plans to cruise the world.

One thing I noticed about the Sirocco was that the bridgedeck escape hatch had a fish eating weed off the hatch. I accounted for the boat being very low on the waterline as a temporary thing as the family still had a lot of shore side gear and were still transitioning from city life to sea life.

About a year later in Lanzarote our paths crossed again. The Sirocco, along with a gaggle of French monohulls, came in to our harbor. The French group had been buddy boating from the Med, North Africa, down to the Canaries, and were now getting ready to sail across the Atlantic headed for Martinique.

They were a fun group and their radio interplay was often the best entertainment around with a recurring theme on the speed differential between monohulls and multihulls. Sadly our friend on his Sirocco was the butt of the ongoing theme as his boat was painfully slow and always last into an anchorage. Considering that one of the boats in the group, a Philippe Harlé designed Cognac (a 24-foot monohull) consistently beat him to each anchorage had to be embarrassing.

But that's the thing about multihulls. Add an extra thousand pounds they're not designed to carry and all of a sudden that speedy catamaran becomes a four knot tortoise.

But, like I said, I still think that the Sirocco is the best Prout they ever designed or built and would make a great boat for a couple to go cruising in and, if they leaned that way, circumnavigate.

Better yet, as it's low on the whole catamaran popularity ladder they're rather affordable if you can find one but, still a bit dear for VolksCruiserish folks at between $15-25K.

Listening to Ruel Vincent van Dijk cover Lenny Kravitz

So it goes...

On why I don't write more about multihulls...

Some poetry of note, on cruising in a Covid world, and something from Dick Dorworth's back catalog...

The other day someone questioned why I was so anti-multihull. A sentiment that always surprises me because I really love multihulls and I'd love to write more on new interesting affordable catamaran, trimaran, and proa designs.

The thing is, interesting and affordable multihull designs are as rare as hens teeth. For instance, Paul Bieker's B53 catamaran is all kinds of interesting but it's not a design I could afford to build or maintain and I know very few people who could.

Most production cats (or should I condomarans) I come across are of the same old same design brief that seems to have most owners using them as motorsailers if they sail at all. The truth is that multihull design suffers from the fact that it's the nature of multihulls to be weight sensitive and the accommodation that is currently fashionable inhibits performance which adds up to a problematic equation.

Made worse, of course, as most folk attracted to multihulls these days are more interested in creature comforts rather than performance. A situation that adds on the poundage to the point where it is no longer a surprise to sail past boat with immersed bridgedecks.

So, if anyone is aware of any interesting multihull designs being developed by some unknown designers out there do drop me a line because I'd really like to see some interesting boats to write about.

Listening to Admiral Fallow

So it goes...

A bit of good news, something on the subject of sea shanties, and a word we all need to know...

Just a quick note that I got my first vaccine shot yesterday (Moderna) and it was hassle free and painless. I highly recommend the experience and all the cool cats are doing it. Get the shots and keep wearing your mask!

Back to boat content tomorrow.

Listening to an excellent playlist

So it goes...

Buy me a coffee

Happy birthday...

Someone making a lot of sense, something on future energy, and a good read of the positive sort...

Boy, time sure does fly and CLC (AKA Chesapeake Light Craft) is celebrating their 30th anniversary. Is that cool or what?

They even have some cool items on sale to mark the event so if you need some t-shirts, epoxy fillet tools or mixing pots at 1991 pricing you're in for a treat.

Listening to a Spectorish non-Spector playlist

So it goes...

Something new in the Mini-650 realm...

 Moving fish from one place to another, some interesting numbers, and in the "Serious possibility" department...

Well look at this.

More information on a very interesting foiling scow here.

Listening to Dante Elephante

So it goes...

Annie Hill just...

A very scary statistic, some different Orca behavior, and in the "What could be interesting reading" department...

Launched her new boat Fanshi.

A lot more information over at the JRA and Annie's website.

Listening to Jesse Hughes & Luke Spiller

So it goes...

A game changing power boat...

A bit of good news on the justice front, a book I'd like to read, and in the "Deeply, darkly terrible" department...

I've been catching up on various boat stuff while watching the Impeachment and notices that Michael over at Proa File has a post on a Paul Bieker power boat design that really caught my attention.

Maybe it's because I really appreciate low horsepower power boats that get their performance from design rather than just bolting on a big outboard on the transom and getting it through brute force. Or maybe it's just that I really admire a good practical design that makes a lot of sense.

Offhand my first thought, when confronted with this design, was what a great small scale commercial fishing boat it would make here in the USVI as it would be much cheaper than the boats that folks are currently using as well as lowering the operating costs of the local fishermen by (and I'm guessing) between 75-90%.

Boy do we need more designs like this.

Listening to Caroline Polachek

So it goes...

On not being able to fix something...

A list of infamy, something on the subject of renewable energy, and a cartoon for those who've not been paying attention...

My Ryobi generator died this weekend due to a thrown rod.

A statement which, I suppose, will have folks sending emails telling me that if I had only bought the more expensive Honda I would not be facing the need to repair or replace the Ryobi because "you get what you pay for".

As it happens, the Ryobi generator ($500) has outlasted my last two Honda generators ($1000 each) combined at half /quarter the cost so, in my thinking, the Ryobi is a hell of a lot better than the Honda.

Of course, the problem with both the Ryobi and Honda generators is that they are simply not designed to be repaired and the cost of most major DIY repairs will cost more in time and parts than the price of replacing the generator with a new one. I won't go in to just how stupid and wasteful that sort of consumerist BS actually is but you might want to think about it.

Worse is the fact that getting the information you actually need to repair either a Honda, Ryobi, or whatever generator you might have is ultra-problematic because most companies don't want you to be able to repair their goods and seem to be dead set against selling you the needful replacement part required... Seriously, you'd think I was asking for defense secrets rather than trying to just find out what model engine my generator uses and where/how to buy parts for it.

On "So It Goes" I've made a real effort to keep stuff off the boat that cannot be user maintained and repaired or, at least, only require some common expertise such as machining or access to readily available parts or components.

Which leads us to the question about what generator I'll be replacing the Ryobi with. My first consideration is does the generator have a real shop manual. Secondly, is there solid information on the various components and are said components actually available or are they only available to affiliate repair centers?

The late Larry Pardey once said something along the lines that "If you can't fix it, it doesn't belong on your boat!" and that advice makes a whole lot of sense.

Rant over.

Listening to the Waterboys

So it goes...

My current thinking on batteries...

A bit of historical perspective, so much for being a stand-up guy, and the 2021 Pacific Puddle Jump placed on hold...

Aboard "So It Goes" we have a battery bank comprised of four 6V Trojan T-105 225 amp hour golf cart batteries which gives us about 450 amp hours at 12 volts. As it happens a 450 amp hour bank is just fine for our current needs living in the tropics where we have a goodly amount of sun.

I mention this for a couple of reasons as the batteries are getting somewhat long in the tooth by lead-acid standards at almost six-years old and I keep getting a lot of folks asking me when I'm going to jump on the Lithium bandwagon.

At the moment, I'm still a fan of flooded lead acid chemistry as, so far at least, they work great and I've had zero issues with the Trojans. Which is not to say I don't like the idea of Lithium batteries but, at the moment, they are quite expensive and I have not yet seen any long term reviews on their performance/longevity.

I do, however, have far too much experience with Lithium computer batteries which seem to fail like clockwork after six months of use which somewhat colors my perception of the claims of Lithium longevity in a negative way.

Still, I do keep my eye on Lithium batteries and this video caught my attention...

 

Yeah, $433. for a 280 amp hour battery is a seriously good price and works out to a kiss less than $1.55 an AH. Currently the best price I've seen on Trojan T-105s is $188 which comes to about $1.68 per AH at 12 volts. Keep in mind that switching to Lithium would also entail a new charger and purchasing a BMS or two so, I expect, the golf cart batteries would still come out a kiss less expensive in the long run.

But, as our current battery bank is still quite sprightly considering its age, I'm content to just keep monitoring the battery market and see what comes up in the next year or so.

Listening to The War And Treaty

So it goes...

A good case for DIY...

G&T on a pet peeve of mine, a timely cartoon, and a very good point...

Glancing at a recent "All At Sea" magazine I noticed that the Budget Marine ad was listing soft shackles as starting at $64.65.

That seems like a whole lot of money to me.

Going to the Budget Marine website it seems that the $64.65 price is for a pair which still translates to $32.33 a pop.

Which is still a lot of money to me.

Especially when an equivalent soft shackle is just Ten bucks worth of Dyneema and ten minutes of spare time to make it happen.

Do the math.

Listening to a Frank Zappa song

So it goes...

something to make the boat move...

A not unexpected SNAFU, EBM makin' a point, and in the "Don't let the door hit you on the butt on your way out" department...

Just in case you were thinking of building a Yuloh.

Listening to the Tedeschi Trucks Band

So it goes...

a bit of work in progress...

A depressing (albeit fair) assessment of the situation, an apt resolution for 2021, and about the ongoing problems facing Puerto Rico...

So, yeah, it's 2021. 

Which has had me thinking about what I actually want to do with Boat Bits, VolksCruiser, Fishing Under Sail, and Island Gourmand. The current plan is to make a few changes, a couple of tweaks and add a venue for longer form content which a lot of readers keep requesting.

I've mostly thought of the blogs as being a "Hey, take a look at this!" sharing of ideas type of thing. When I point out an interesting (to me at least) sailboat design it's just that - an interesting boat design that you may find interesting or not but it might be worth a look at without me thinking there was actually a need to say more. Apparently a lot of people reading the blogs want more and a lot of the time I have set aside for the blogs gets taken up with with correspondence with readers asking me why and how a design is "interesting" or asking for more detail on the other various subjects I write about.

Throw in a pandemic with a lot of folks having an excess of time on their hands has increased my mail volume by about 300% which is good but has the downside of giving me even less time to write the blogs and especially writing longer content articles that a lot of people keep requesting.

Which has left me juggling this, that, and the other thing. The conclusion is that a bit of reorganization is needful and I pretty much think I've got it sorted out.

Now it's just a matter of putting the various pieces back in play and see where it goes.

Hopefully most of you will find the tweaks and changes bearable.

Listening to a great playlist

So it goes...