The 2015 Boat Show...decisions, decisions...

Each year, we make plans on attending the boat show. It's a chance to spend a week totally focused on the boat, our plans, and the execution of same. We can talk about stuff all we want but, if we don't execute on that talk, this will never happen.

This year we were focused on getting information about a few major and projects:

• Water Maker
• Self Steering
• Power generation (alternator/generators, solar, wind, hydro)
• Batteries

The show also provides us opportunities to consider ideas that pop up during the show. Some of these were:

• Honda gas powered generator
• Honda gas powered outboard for Fiona, our Portland Pudgy
• Propane powered outboard
• Electric drive for Brigadoon (flirted with this for a day or so)

So, here are some of the things we are considering.

Water Makers

There are many models out there. They range in capacity, power, ease of use, simplicity vs. complexity, cost, and support. We've heard horror stories involving failed units, lousy customer support and difficulty in maintenance. We decided that we would focus on the systems we could see at the show.

Watermakers range in price from about $4K on up to $11K for one that will fit out needs on Brigadoon. That's a large range. Some of the units are very simple and others have a lot of touch screen electronics. We are wary of this level of features and complexity as we just can't run down to the corner store to get a replacement if it fails.

RO Watermaker

The RO unit is one we have noticed before. It's AC driven. This means we have to power it from our batteries, through an inverter. This is not easy to do and, since pulling AC from a  DC batter pack can lose 15-20% power, it's not a good choice. Well, they have an answer. They power it with a Honda 2000i generator. 

Well, that got us doing down the road that suggested gasoline on the boat. If we go with this, we have to have gasoline for the generator. And the generator can be used to put electrons back into our batteries. That also means that, since we have gas on the boat, we can get a Honda 2hp outboard too. They are great engines. So, by purchasing a watermaker to the tune of about $4-5K, I would also have to purchase a generator for $1K, and end up with an outboard that coasts about $1K. 

It's a good watermaker, but I'm not sure of the path it leads us towards; explosive gasoline on the boat.

ECHO Tec Water Maker, sold by Hydrovane.

 The ECHO Tec is sold by the same company that sells the windvane steering we will purchase next year. The unit is either powered by the DC motor you see here, or an engine mounted pump to the right. Either way, the system is price competitive, simple, and serviceable.

http://www.hydrovane.com/other-products/echo-tec-watermaker/

We don't think we want to load up our diesel auxillary engine with the pump. At only 27 hoursepower, our engine needs all the power it can get and, I don't know if I want to side load the crankshaft to drive the high pressure water pump. This is also true for large alternators.

Then...

Back side of diesel genset, water maker pump, and large DC generator.

Diesel Genset with water maker pump, large DC generator, and refrigeration pump.

We saw this unit a couple years ago and deemed it too expensive. However...

This is a Kubota diesel genset. It's is reliable, is built to carry large loads of the high pressure water pump for the water maker and a large DC generator for topping up our batteries. It's starting to make sense. The cost of this unit is comparable to another water maker, plus generator, upgrading the engine to take the generator loads to fill the batteries to run the DC watermaker motor...it's a rabbit hole.

But this. This is a generator. It's a simple machine. It's not that large. It should fit in the stern compartment, behind the engine. All in all, we are seriously considering this unit.

Why? No need to purchase a Honda generator. No gasoline on the boat. It runs on fuel we already have. We don't need to upgrade our drive motor with a big alternator or pump. That way, the only time we are running the engine on Brigadoon is to -- and this is key -- move the boat.

Self Steering

Hydrovane Self Steering unit

Beautiful workmanship here in the guts of the Hydrovane.

Self steering is crucial to crossing oceans. There is not way a person on watch can steer a boat the whole time. You need the machine to do that for you. Because Brigadoon is a pilot house sailboat, with two separate steering stations, we need a unit that is independent from out steering. A regular system that attaches to the wheel in the cockpit is likely to have issues with friction in our steering system.

http://www.hydrovane.com/

Besides, what do you do in a boat with a rudder failure? If you have this, you don't worry about it. The Hydrovane has a separate rudder that hangs off the back of the boat. If our main rudder fails, we can use this one. The black handle you see in the second picture is the emergency tiller. 

We have little doubt we will put this system on the boat in 2016.

Lighting

Replacement Spreader Lights

Our spreader lights are really crappy old Perko units. They are dim, corroded and incandescent. We want all LCD lighting on Brigadoon so, I looked at the new LED lights flooding the market. Many of them use only a few watts but put out impressive amounts of light. Well, we found a model we like at a good price. Stay tuned for the pictures of me climbing the mast and installing these. 

Batteries 

We need electrons on Brigadoon. They need to be held in large batteries. When it comes to power, where you might pay cents for your kilowatt hours, on boats they are more on the order of dollars or tens of dollars. Generating power and storing it takes money. You need a place to store it and a way to make it. 

We took a great class on boat systems from Nigel Calder on Saturday. The three hour talk was well worth our time. We learned about the requirements and complexities of generating and storing power on board. After attending that seminar, we don't think bolting large loads on our ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) just to make water; that doesn't make that much sense. 

Battery technology is really gaining ground. There are flooded batteries (cheap and powerful but not a long life along with requiring regular maintenance). There are AGM (sealed batteries, sometimes called gel cells, that are more expensive and require almost no maintenance. Then there are Lithium Ion batteries. We agree with Nigel that these are not suited for boats. They are too prone to suffer from thermal runaway for our taste. I don't want an unbalanced battery to set itself on fire and burn a hole in our boat while setting the whole thing on fire.

AGM technology is getting there in capacity and cost over flooded. We have about 500 ah (amp hours) in flooded cells right now. There is newer technology on the way for AGMs that looks promising. They can accept a very high charge rate and perform well over many discharge/charge cycles.

We will likely replace our flooded cells with newer AGMs in 2016.

Wind Generators

We know that wind turbines get a bad rap due to the noise some models make. And yes, the winds (10-15 knots) make for good wind but not a good anchorage. Where there is good anchorage, there is little wind. So, why get one? 

The wind, my friend, it is free. It's not a major component of our power generation but it may supplement. I like power from multiple sources so...

Hydro Generators

These are really coming to the fore. Since water is denser than air, the generator is smaller and can generate more power. The nice thing about this model is it's being sold by the Hydrovane guys. They even make a bracket that attaches the generator to the post for the self steering unit. 

Now, this unit is not cheap. It costs thousands but, it's extremely reliable and it generates a lot of power. The fact that it's used on the Vendee Globe and other ocean races speaks to the capabilities of the unit.

We are watching this one too.

Solar Generation

We will get solar. We just haven't decided on which unit yet. Since electronics, especially solar, is making such huge gains over the last couple years, we feel good about holding off on this one until 2016.

Electric Drive for Brigadoon (no -go)

Yes, we actually thought about this. There are some boats out there that have electric drive setups. It makes sense for sailboats because, most of the time, the engine is used to get in and out of a harbor, or through a canal, or a set of locks. That usually doesn't take much power. An electric drive might work. 

All you have to do is tear out the diesel engine (no more oil changes, no more diesel fuel, no more maintenance), build a huge batter bank, and find a way to charge it. Unfortunately the technology isn't quite there yet. Power generation and battery storage needs to catch up the new motors before I'm willing to cross the globe with such a setup. It was a good exercise but, it really came down to putting a large generator on board - much larger than the Kubota above. 

Why tear out one diesel engine to simply replace it with a generator of the same size?

VHF Radio

Our current VHF is a decent radio. It has never failed to perform. However, we don't have AIS capability or DSC ship to ship capability. This radio has that. This means that, even though we will add an AIS transponder to the boat, this will give us an additional AIS receiver, along with a RAM (Remote Access Mic) for the cockpit. We picked this up at the show and will install it this week. The other radio? It gets boxed as a spare.

SSB (Single Sideband) Radio

This a mainstay of cruisers around the world. VHF only reaches so far and, it can't pass data. SSB is long range and can pass data (with the right modem), which means you can get weather charts and email. The system were more complex and expensive but, we think we found a simpler install method that is less expensive, while still using a high quality radio. This is another 2016 item.

In Summary

It was a good show. We made some good decisions around systems, gained some good knowledge from Nigel Calder, got new spreader lights, a new VHF radio, and some galley sundries.

It's a real challenge, figuring out what to do. There are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to sell you something you don't need for a price you can barely afford, to laugh it off as, "well, you need this or you can't go cruising and it's always expensive."

Sorry, not playing that game.

We are going for value, usefulness, simplicity, ease of maintenance and I think we are on the right track.

A sense of accomplishment.

It's not often we get this opportunity.  While Brigadoon is a "well found" boat, we have quite a large list of items, some large, some small, that we are focusing on to make her "safe and strong."  Safe and strong, in the words of Capt'n Fatty Goodlander, equals seaworthy.  Seaworthy makes Brigadoon a better boat.  It makes her better able to take care of us.

So we have this list, a prioritized list, of things that Must Be Done, things that We'd Like to Do, and things that we Will Do After All the Others Are Done.   You can call it, Must, Should and Maybe lists.

As of today or tomorrow, we will have crossed off three Must Be Done things off our list.  They are pretty big things.  The details are unimportant for this post but, what is important is we did them.  That's right. We can have all the lists we want, all the wishes we care to plan on but, if we don't execute those plans we will fail.  The most important thing, our goal, our path, is to make Brigadoon as solid, secure, maintainable, and up to date as we can.  It means spending our dollars very carefully, in a clear priority, with a clear goal in mind.

That means work -- hard work.

The thing is, after each job is checked off, no matter how large or how small, it's an accomplishment.  That means, for me, that it's now Something I Don't Have to Do!  It's Done!

And that is worth the work.

More to come on Brigadoon Upgrades soon...

The Price of Admission

This place sucks.

I recently read a post on another blog that, I think, think, was written mostly in jest.  It was a bunch of complaints about living aboard and, to be honest, they can be real challenges.  It was an honest thing to do, to put that out there.  It was titled,

"Liveaboard Hate: The top 10 things we hate about living aboard a sailboat in Seattle"

The 10 things they listed were:

• Laundry -- how they have to haul their laundry to what is sometimes a busy laundromat.  They used to have a washer and dryer in their home.
• Lack of Galley Counter Space -- I did note in the picture that they have a galley larger than ours, with more counter space but, one whole counter is taken up by stored food, a toaster, and a full sized coffee maker.  There is a lot of stuff in that galley.
• No Tub -- they used to have a tub in their home.  
• Birds -- since their boat is outside the birds like to gather on the rigging of their sailboat and poop on the deck.  Oh, and the Blue Herons are scary at night when they walk down the dock and don't see them until the big pterodactyls (as my friend refers to them) squawk and fly off.  Yeah, they can spook you but, walk quietly and look around.  You might be amazed by what you usually miss.
• Being asked, "Are You Going to Sail There" by people that don't know their boat moves at walking speed and takes a whole day to cover what a car can cover in an hour.  You know, while they are *sailing*.
• Custom Work -- they don't like the fact that many things on a boat are more expensive and that, sometimes, you have to to have things made custom.  Apparently you can't just go buy boat cushions at Fred Meyer.  Who knew?  
• No Room to Stretch -- boats, they say, are smaller inside than houses.
• Power Limits -- it is a great inconvenience that one cannot run their blow dryer, TV, computers, toaster and heater all at the same time.  You know, like you can in a house.
• Boat Forums -- these are the places where you can't get an answer to your problem, like why you can't run the toaster, curling iron, and blow dryer all at the same time.
• Condensation -- boats can get damp inside if you don't have proper airflow. You see, if you have a closed container that is warmer inside than it is on the outside, and people are breathing and cooking on the boat, you get condensation.  I wish I had paid better attention in science class in grade school.

Yes, I know I'm poking fun at the complaints.  Yes, I know it may sound superior but, that isn't where it's coming from.

Here's the key to this, Mr. Liveaboard. They key to not hating it.  Not hating anything.  Remember, you chose this.  It's simple.  

Everything you do in life comes with a price of admission.  Do you like driving that high performance car but don't like the price of gas?  Price of admission.  Do you love your wife but her farts are stinky?  Price of admission.  Love watching TV for four hours a day but don't like being overweight from lack of activity.? Price of admission.  Love to work out to keep your weight down but don't like sore muscles or puking at the top of that hill?  Price of admission.

So, if you want to live aboard a boat -- you know, on the water, near the wildlife, close to your neighbors, and within ten minutes of sailing on the sound, with the ability to take your home with you every time you sail, never having to pack, you have to pay the price of admission.

If you don't understand that you gave up things like a lot of space, a tub, being able to consume power like it was free, can't just go shopping at the local hardware store for parts, and so forth, as the price of admission for living on a boat then maybe...move back to land?  

Now, the post may have been tongue in cheek or just a joking rant about some of the challenges (the price of admission) for living on a boat.  I get that.  However, if you do focus on those things as dislikes, instead of the things you have to pay for in order to do what you want to do, you are just going to make yourself miserable.

If you focus on how damp the boat is and how everything get's all mildewed in the winter, maybe you won't find the solution; get some air moving by opening the hatches a little and venting your breath.

If you focus on how you can't run your house sized toaster, your full-sized coffee maker and your curling iron, maybe you won't consider that you can toast bread on your stove, make coffee in a french press and get a hairstyle that doesn't require a curling iron.

Really, it comes down to a million little adjustments in lifestyle to truly live on a sailboat and make it work.  If you try to bring all the modern conveniences to your boat you will find yourself out of space, out of power, and out of patience.

I look at it this way. 

It takes fifteen minutes to clean the inside of my boat, not two hours like my old house.  I never have to fix a washer or dryer again, that is the laundromat's problem now.  I never have to mow a lawn or rake leaves, ever again.  Everything I own is five steps away.  I live a neater and less cluttered life because I have to -- because I must.  I live on/in the water, in the middle of the city.  My view is the envy of thousands of people. If I don't like my neighbors I can move.  If I don't like this country, I can visit another.  

And the wildlife that shares this space with me?  I like the crows (it's easy to get them to stop sitting on most of your rigging by the way). The otters who play in my marina (who can destroy your boat if you leave it open or food out) entertain me to no end.  The blue herons (beautiful quiet ghosts of the night) are the epitome of grace and stealth.

For us, on Brigadoon, it's all about paring down, seeing all the things we have gained instead of all the things the Jones's have that we can't have anymore.  My McMansion home had a 30 year mortgage.  My boat will be paid off in about three years. 

And that is why I don't hate, or even dislike, the things that this person lists in their blog.  

You see, I understand.

They are all the price of admission and one I'm more than willing to pay.