Coastal crusing with occassional passage making :)

[c_witch]

Hi all,

Firstly I'm from Nova Scotia and my home port is slightly north east of Halifax. I have a 22 foot Yankee Condor swing keel that I've been refitting for slightly over a year now. She is NOT a day sailer ie think in terms of a 80's Sonic in design.

I'm curious as to how many of you have or are considering doing any long cruising with boats of this size? I hope to finally splash her this year in late April or early May and spend a year or so doing shake down cruises. Eventually we intend to take her south and spend our time cruising the carribean sea.

How she is fitted.

20 gallon water tank on the keel line under the v berth
MSD toilet with 2.5 gallon holding tank with both dock side and seaside pump out
2 burner propane stove
2+ cubic foot ice box
All lighting is now LED
Navigation via Laptop running Linux (Mint) using OpenCPN with ENC's These are offshore charts though
7.5 HP Honda outboard
dual 5 gallon gas tanks in the aft stern locker
dual 150 amp hour batteries for the house bank
180 Watt Kyocera solar panel
Standing rigging has been changed from 1/8'' to 5/32'' with dual nico press fittings per end.

I have tried to outfit her so that she is capable of open water passages of 10 days duration other wise we will be coast jumping. Most of our sailing is expected to be within 30 nm of land.



c_witch

[-OvO-]

You'll have to ration carefully to make that 20 gal H20 last two persons ten days (at least, if the weather is warm) and hope that you don't get caught out much longer.

[ChristinaM]

Storage for food & extra drinking water would be my only real concerns, assuming you're fairly used to the motion of the boat in ocean waves. Sailing NE of Halifax, I would guess you know what her motion's like in weather.

I'm ending up with the smallest boat my husband thinks he can live on, 38'.

[SVAuspicious]

An outboard can be difficult to get along with when things get bumpy. The propeller keeps coming out of the water.

[c_witch]

Originally Posted by -OvO-

You'll have to ration carefully to make that 20 gal H20 last two persons ten days (at least, if the weather is warm) and hope that you don't get caught out much longer.

Hiee,

LOL yes a 20 gallon primary supply is somewhat limited, one also has to be aware of what they have available to them while open water sailing and use accordingly. We do have many nooks and crannies to also carry additoinal 1 gallon jugs of water.

c_witch

[c_witch]

Originally Posted by ChristinaM

Storage for food & extra drinking water would be my only real concerns, assuming you're fairly used to the motion of the boat in ocean waves. Sailing NE of Halifax, I would guess you know what her motion's like in weather.

I'm ending up with the smallest boat my husband thinks he can live on, 38'.

Water is our main issue with this boat. Food while doing passage making will be freeze dried/dehydrated packaged meals ie the ones you add boiling water to to reconstitute. As well as the usual quick energy foods requiring little if any prep work.

c_witch

[CapnBones]

Just a thought on the food rations. I would look into canned foods that will not need re-hydration thus allowing for more efficient use of your limited water supply.

[CapnBilll]

Cool, I'm looking into doing the same thing.

1 gal water jugs work good. Even better with an extra empty 5 gal collapsable tank like those sold in camping supplies. with a clean tarp, and funnel to capture rain water.

On some of those boats the swing keel has a locking bolt to keep from undeploying during rough seas. If it doesn't think about building one.

Upgraded rigging, and reinforced mast step should take care of most issues, every boat of every size has it's weaknesses.

Locking pins on hatches, and hatch boards, drains on cockpit lockers, seals on lazeret lids,....

And with a solid hull, and good ballast ratio, it should be just fine, after all you will be "coastal sailing", and can escape major storms if you watch the weather.

That size of boat will fit in ICW easily, and is an option if it gets too nasty offshore.

I'm also working on a "pocket sailer", and I hope to meet you in the Carribean someday. :thumbs up:

[sawingknots]

long ago i decided not to install a regular water tank,you can never be sure of the water quaility in many places,i just use the one gallon water jugs and store them in any available space,i take saltwater baths and wash my clothes in salt water,i've never came close to running out of drinking water,a smaller boat can be seaworthy[flicka] comes to mind but for many people comfort is the main concern

[WanderingStar]

You can find accounts of coastal cruising in small boats. I don't have a link, but there is a couple cruising Central America in a modified SeaPearl (21'?) and blogging. I read in Messing About in Small Boats (magazine) about a guy cruising the Bahamas in a boat under 20'. I did some coastal cruising solo in a 20' weekender (Pennant Sloop) halfway around Long Island NY. That boat had no motor, no plumbing, no wiring. A portapotti, cooler, camp stove and two five gallon water bottles did fine. I hopped along shore in the ocean and the Sound, took her through NY Harbor and Hell Gate. You can do it if you are careful.