Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
http://www.news-press.com/article/20...sail-Caribbean
"The couple says they are self-taught sailors. Shaidle took an American Sailing associates class, but learned most of the information he needed by reading and researching online." I wish them well, though. |
#3
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thursday, April 3, 2014 3:12:38 PM UTC-7, Boating All Out wrote:
As long as they can navigate, watch the weather, and the boat doesn't break down, they should be okay. Hope it goes well. But I'm fully expecting some troubles. Here's their website. http://lahowind.com/ Thanks. It'll be intresting to read their escapades. |
#4
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thu, 3 Apr 2014 17:12:38 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote: In article , says... http://www.news-press.com/article/20...sail-Caribbean "The couple says they are self-taught sailors. Shaidle took an American Sailing associates class, but learned most of the information he needed by reading and researching online." I wish them well, though. As long as they can navigate, watch the weather, and the boat doesn't break down, they should be okay. Hope it goes well. But I'm fully expecting some troubles. Here's their website. http://lahowind.com/ === They are sort of neighbors about 30 miles down the road from us although we don't know them - lots of boats and boaters around here. Having done that trip twice on our boat, "some troubles" is sort of par for the course. It's a long trip in a small boat and things happen. Hopefully they've done their homework, have redundancy in critical systems, carry some tools and spares, etc. They have a good boat but not much experience with international, off shore cruising. Lots of other people do that route every year and most do just fine as long as they're skilled and adaptable. They're fortunate to be able to do a trip like that at a relatively young age. |
#5
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:32:38 -0400, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Apr 2014 17:12:38 -0500, Boating All Out wrote: In article , says... http://www.news-press.com/article/20...sail-Caribbean "The couple says they are self-taught sailors. Shaidle took an American Sailing associates class, but learned most of the information he needed by reading and researching online." I wish them well, though. As long as they can navigate, watch the weather, and the boat doesn't break down, they should be okay. Hope it goes well. But I'm fully expecting some troubles. Here's their website. http://lahowind.com/ These days with a GPS it is a lot harder to get lost. My buddy was sailing all over the Caribbean and central America for years, dead reckoning. They did miss the Keys once and ended up in the Gulf, wondering why the land was on the wrong side. ;-) One thing about a sail boat, the only thing you really run out of is drinking water. You can usually catch a fish if you have tackle. I think I would have one of those hand pump RO's (or two) === They have a couple of challenges ahead of them. It's one thing to have an accurate lat/lon from GPS but another thing entirely to have good charts where the lat/lon actually means something useful. I have no end of saved track plots which show us going across dry land of some sort on the chart, obviously inaccurate, since our 4 wheel drive system was not installed correctly. Another issue that is easy to underestimate for first timers is the wind and sea conditions. The trip down through the Bahamas is relatively benign but from there to the Turks and Caicos, and on down to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico can be 700 miles of really bad road on any given day. People in small sail boats can get beaten up pretty badly if they are not mentally and physically prepared for that. There's nothing around here which is comparable other than crossing the Gulf Stream on a bad day. Many people get as far as George Town in the southern Exumas and chicken out, hence the nickname of Chicken Harbor. http://www.sailblogs.com/member/fahs/?xjMsgID=80019 Also a discovery on our first trip is that truly protected anchorages, in reasonable depths under 20 feet or so, are few and far between. You frequently end up tucked in close to a windward coast on one side, with totally open ocean on the other. That takes some getting used to and a bit of advanced preparation to avoid rolling too much during the night. Because of the depths and semi-open anchoring conditions you also need a substantial anchor, preferably on a mostly chain rode. Many sailboats in their size range are not set up for that kind of gear and they get into anchoring trouble sooner or later. Our anchor system is an 88 pound Rocna on 400 ft of 3/8ths HT chain, something close to 700 pounds total. On a smaller boat they could get by with a 45 lb anchor and 5/16ths chain but that still is a lot of weight to handle. |
#6
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thursday, April 3, 2014 6:08:17 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote:
On a smaller boat they could get by with a 45 lb anchor and 5/16ths chain but that still is a lot of weight to handle. Wouldn't steel[stainless] cabling be a lighter choice than chain as far as weight and be as durable? |
#7
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thu, 3 Apr 2014 20:52:39 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote: On Thursday, April 3, 2014 6:08:17 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote: On a smaller boat they could get by with a 45 lb anchor and 5/16ths chain but that still is a lot of weight to handle. Wouldn't steel[stainless] cabling be a lighter choice than chain as far as weight and be as durable? === Good question. Many, if not most, commercial work boats use galvanized wire rope for anchoring, as do some commercial fishing boats like shrimpers. Galvanized wire is considerably cheaper than stainless and more durable in some respects even though it is eventually prone to rusting. Those boats have specialized winches for handling wire however and prevent it from snarling. The weight of the winch alone could easily exceed the weight of comparable chain. Probably the biggest advantage is with stowage space since the wire rolls up rather compactly. On the other hand large ships and yachts always use chain, really big chain. For deep water anchoring the weight of the chain is regarded as an advantage in getting the anchor down quickly and getting it set (stuck to the bottom). Additionally, the weight of the chain forms a catenary curve which helps to absorb the shock caused by wave action and wind gusts. |
#8
![]()
posted to rec.boats
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Friday, April 4, 2014 3:13:02 AM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote:
On Thu, 3 Apr 2014 20:52:39 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote: On Thursday, April 3, 2014 6:08:17 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote: On a smaller boat they could get by with a 45 lb anchor and 5/16ths chain but that still is a lot of weight to handle. Wouldn't steel[stainless] cabling be a lighter choice than chain as far as weight and be as durable? === Good question. Many, if not most, commercial work boats use galvanized wire rope for anchoring, as do some commercial fishing boats like shrimpers. Galvanized wire is considerably cheaper than stainless and more durable in some respects even though it is eventually prone to rusting. Those boats have specialized winches for handling wire however and prevent it from snarling. The weight of the winch alone could easily exceed the weight of comparable chain. Probably the biggest advantage is with stowage space since the wire rolls up rather compactly. On the other hand large ships and yachts always use chain, really big chain. For deep water anchoring the weight of the chain is regarded as an advantage in getting the anchor down quickly and getting it set (stuck to the bottom). Additionally, the weight of the chain forms a catenary curve which helps to absorb the shock caused by wave action and wind gusts. That;s some pretty good explanations, Wayne. I can see the 'shock-value' of using chain after i'd invisioned it for a bit |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Trip Report - Gentlemen's Assateague Trip 2004 (long) | General | |||
Trip Report - Gentlemen's Assateague Trip 2004 (long) | Touring | |||
Trip Report - Gentlemen's Trip 2003 | General | |||
Trip Report - Gentlemen's Trip 2003 | Touring | |||
Here's a Trip report I wrote about a recent river trip I took. | Whitewater |