The Comfortable Pocket Yacht 
|
|
|
Flicka Sailing
|
Topics
Refining The Selection Criteria My next boat needs to balance mutually exclusive criteria. I would like rugged construction for the coastal and near shore conditions but I would like the boat to be as light as possible for ease of transport. I want 6 feet of interior headroom room and significant storage capacity for supplies but would like to minimize the windage of a large cabin superstructure. I want interior creature comforts but small enough to single hand easily. Obviously, I must learn to compromise and strike a balance that meets my projected sailing requirements, available design criteria, and my financial resources. In no specific order, I will consider the following criteria in selecting my next boat. Empty displacement under 7,500 pounds Boats of this size range are within the range of a maxi-trailerable vessel and may be transported with a dual axle trailer system and surge brakes. Really, any boat I choose is more properly termed transportable rather than trailerable. I have no intention to try to trailer launch such a craft. When it comes time to launch, it will be with a boat lift at a properly equipped marine facility. The fact that I will not immerse the trailer will also reduce the corrosion, wear and tear on the frame, axle, lighting, and brake systems. I do intend to use a trailer as a cradle when the boat is stored on land. The major requirement is for at least 6 foot of headroom in the cabin when fully closed (pop-tops will not be considered) . This is the only requirement that is non-negotiable. Unfortunately, this means that other items must also change accordingly - my Com-Pac 19 will just not do. I still want the smallest and lightest boat compatible with my intended cruising requirements. This means that in most cases I will be looking at boats of about 25 feet LOA. Shoal Draft (3 feet 6 inches or less under sail) For the intended coastal cruising, I would prefer a full or modified full keel with internal ballast and as shallow a draft as possible My experiences on the Mississippi and in the Florida Keys showed me that with a shoal draft, some fantastic cruising grounds open up where deeper draft boats must fear to tread. A bolt on keel is also a well proven solution with the reduction in wetted surface area resulting in improved performance. However, I want the full keel to provide better lateral resistance as well as a reduction in draft. I absolutely reject the concept of a wing keel - I have been aground in non-tidal areas and getting off a sand bar with a wing keel would have been MUCH more difficult. The same goes for the twin bilge keels popular on some of the British built boats. In tidal waters, this would not be an issue, but on the Mississippi River, this is a major consideration. A Bulb Keel would be an acceptable way to reduce draft without the disadvantages of a winged keel but would be a distant second to a full keel for the type of sailing I wanted to do. I want to restrict the beam to boats under 8 feet 6 inches. This is under review since there are moves afoot to alter the limits on interstate highways to 9 feet without requiring a special permit. The rational is to allow for easy transport via trailer or other carrier when and if necessary. Mast height is less of an issue since virtually any boat I buy in this size range will have a mast height of around 30 to 35 feet above the water (if you include the VHF antenna). On the Intercoastal Waterway, this is not a problem since any fixed bridges have at least 50 feet of vertical clearance. On the Mississippi River Network, only one bridge in the Chicago area is an issue and it has a fixed height of 25 feet so virtually any sailboat will need to lower the mast for passage between the Illinois River and the Great Lakes. Preference will therefore be given to sailboats designed with a deck stepped mast, for and aft lower shrouds, and a single upper shroud. With this combination, a system can be designed to use the boom as a gin pole and lower the mast forward while on the water. This is not an instant solution, but relatively easy to accomplish. A keel stepped mast would be a definite drawback. I’m going to make this much more complex of an issue than necessary. With the Com-Pac 19, I have grown addicted to the convenience of a gas/electric dual motor installation. When docking or in crowded locations, I use the electric trolling motor exclusively. However, when going long distances with motor alone or when motor sailing, I use a gas outboard. This has proven beneficial for me and a big safety benefit since with the electric motor I can make speed or direction changes instantaneously without the worry of a gear change. The biggest drawback to diesel inboard power on a small boat is the space and weight it requires. Especially since this must be at or near the waterline and on centerline of the boat. Also, service becomes awkward due to the space limitations. I would rather dedicate this precious interior volume to the storage of supplies or additional battery capacity than to 120 pounds of iron and 18 gallons of fuel that I hope to use only infrequently. I will be creating a diatribe on the topic of Dual Auxiliary Power soon as part of this continuing quest section. Even though the cockpit space is precious, tiller steering is great on a small boat. I feel that wheel steering is not really a practical approach till the boat gets over 30 feet and I am not in that market. I will install a cockpit type of autopilot equipped with a wind vane sensor so that the course can be relative to the wind direction while under sail or a compass heading while under motor power. I see no need to interface to a GPS position system. This is overkill for the type of sailing I intend to do. I may consider a mechanical wind vane system, but this too is overkill for the type of sailing I envision. Also, the cost of a windvane and the additional weight astern is more of a consideration when outfitting a small boat. I want to go overboard on electric storage capacity if at all possible. This will be needed as a safety margin for running lights, anchor lights, cabin lights, VHF radio and the above mentioned autopilot. I have had excellent experience with the 40 watt Kyocera Solar Panel installed on my Com-Pac 19. For a boat of the type I am now considering, I will most likely provide dual panels of 50 to 60 watts each. This will serve as a safety margin in case one panel fails. My preferred source of battery power will be multiple 6 volt golf cart batteries. These batteries are designed for high capacity, many cycles of deep discharge, and excellent resistance to vibration. The extra storage capacity that I plan to install will compensate for periods of cloudy weather. I would also like to consider building a hand operated generator from a 1/10 HP DC motor. With the appropriate crank and gear system, this will produce about 3 to 4 amps and serve as an emergency power source. As a single hander, I have grown accustomed to a headsail with a downhaul. The only problem with this arrangement is the clutter on the foredeck when anchoring or docking. The arrangement is easy to maintain and essentially foolproof in design. Many people have modified their boats to accept a furler/reefing system and altered their sails accordingly. If the boat I acquire has a furling system installed with a flexible foil, I would use it and deal with the maintenance issues. I would remove any unit with a rigid foil since it would prevent use of an easy single handed mast lowering system. The main sail should be equipped with some variety of single line reefing system and one of the many forms of sail stacking systems. The easier and simpler, the better I will like it. I do not want a vessel with a roller furling main (either Boom stored or as a mast based system. This is more from a maintenance standpoint rather than from a point of view of sail shape and performance. More tends to be written about marine waste disposal than other topics. While my personal requirements are minimal in this respect, my wife (she who must be obeyed - AKA the Admiral) does have a requirement for a marine head with holding tank. The unit does not have to be in a separate cabin - after all, there will only be the two of us on board. But a port-a-potty just will not do on the next boat. In deference to the Admiral, this will also be a non-negotiable item. If the boat does not have a marine head and holding tank installed, there will need to be sufficient space to make the installation as an added item. Since the majority of the time, I will be single handing the boat, a good sea berth is an absolute requirement. V-Berths are just not suitable for sleeping in a seaway. Sleeping accommodations for more than two people will be a waste of space. I expect the galley to have a two burner stove of some type and a small sink with salt water and fresh water foot pumps. The sink should drain out to sea and not to the bilge. The ventilation part of the accommodation plan would be more difficult to retrofit. Therefore I decided to give preference to boats designed with opening ports and forward hatches. I make no pretense of being a marine surveyor. I will look over a boat as best I can and make any offer contingent to a qualified marine survey and sea trial. When the boat is surveyed, I expect to be present and do the inspection along with the surveyor. This page was last updated on June 24, 2001 10:23 AM |
|
Copyright © 1999-2002 Jobst Vandrey |