Rethinking the smallest boat circumnavigation

I wonder what others who have done similar trips in tiny boats think about their adventures in retrospect, apart from "I was lucky".

 

This from Sven Yrvinds blog:

Basically, i plan to carry between 100-200 litres of fresh water and replace it with a watermaker.

As for shelter, to be continued

 

you've convinced me..... fish gotta eat too..... bon voyage...

 

Would there be enough interior room to sling a hammock on calmer days? I assure you, you will appreciate not being tossed about trying to sleep. Fatigue kills too. It leads to fatal errors in judgement.

 

Trying to live on deck in protective gear still has issues such as trenchfoot which can develop in temperatures as warm as 60 degrees F.

 

You do need to take heed that this little boat circumnavigation idea of yours may kill you, quite likely actually.

That being said, as ridiculous as it may be, and as much flak as I may get for suggesting it, if the record is for LOA why not use a multihull? Like a small cat, sleep in one hull and stores in the other.

A kite?

You can sail in more conditions than you can fly a kite...
Sharpii2 had a point, though the kite is a cool idea, it pretty much ends at being a cool idea. Maybe go with a biplane rig?

For water there are watermakers that are dragged behind the boat. If I remember correctly there are speed requirements, but it may be worth looking at. However, a boat that small may not be able to make headway with that much additional drag.. Good old elbow grease and a hand pumped watermaker may be best...

Food... Is the record for non-stop? If so can you even carry enough?

Beyond food & water fatigue will be a significant factor. Both physical and mental. Fatigue can make a normally sound minded man not care to live anymore.

The guys who know what they're talking about have been screaming "exposure" at you, and I didn't see much more than clothing and a chair awning in your replies. You need a hole to hide in.. Exposure will expedite EVERY ailment that could happen.

 

How old is the OP? When I was 25 I could do some incredible things physically, now, I'm sure there would be circulation problems in the legs being cramped up for days. People who fly alot have these problems regardless of age issues!

 

Hows that one go,
Exposure kills?

Getting geared up for watch duty can be tricky- even if dry under foulies the constant wind and cooling of water splashing over you plus evaporation tends to drag your body temps down.
Once you go negative it can be hard to recover if in the same conditions.

Question: conditions start to deteriorate- this is not a mighty storm at sea, it is just starting to blow a bit and cool off. You are constantly getting doused and getting chilled.
You do the sensible thing and strip off the shell and pile on more layers. The clothes you put on are soaked by the spray as you try to change.

Ok- you are all buttoned up and still cold, even colder now since you are soaked to the skin.

What now?

 

I'm not letting age be an issue. That old russian guy went round 3 times in his 60's. Sven Yrvind is 73 this year and is planning a deep south passage in a 10 footer.

If i cant do it in my 20's, there is something wrong with me.

Yes, all great adventurers risk death.

Well, i had the idea after reading about the first open boat circumnavigation in an 18 foot trailer sailer.

No cabin and he made it.

Long distance rowers and kayakers seem to survive also.

Some guy drifted in a life raft for 78 days with no shelter, survived.

Some guy crossed the atlantic on a hobie cats trampoline.

I guess i could have a little coffin cabin to hide in if all hell breaks loose.

My new design looks sweet, easy to build, stores enough food and water for months. I think i am on to a winner.

Just need to get shelter sorted and i'm building.


I considered cats, but at 10 feet, capsizing with such a heavy displacement didnt appeal to me.

 

I remember decades ago , someone asked the AYRS about the most "efficient" boat.

The answer was a submarine towed by a box kite.

I do not know how the size of swath boats is measured but,

A 7 ft "dory" AKA "snorkel and conning tower" attached to a good sized submersed hull, where the dory stayed above water 100% of the time , could be considered a 7ft boat?

If so you can have all the comforts of a fine home , including air cond Sat TV and of course communications to tout your fame , with little problems.

Modern electronics would keep you from being run down by the ESSO MARU , and the TV helicopters could find you easily for daily interviews..

FF

 

These are an interesting series of threads Stoned.
If I may- why?

I have never been attracted to the journey which fulfills- "where no man has gone before", but many are.
Many of our most laudable accomplishments seem to arise from this drive and I suppose every man sets himself apart by comparison to others.


Would you bother if the trip had been done by many others?

 

You need to have a reserve supply of water that will at any time be enough to reach land; is 200ltr sufficient given your probable 1.5 - 2.5 kn speed? Small watermakers are unreliable and some times pump out salty water that can pollute your drinking water...you need more than one tank.
Take this quote from a friends blog for example
"The guys are awesome, the boat they were on was tiny even by our standards and there were six of them on board (not small lads). We were almost on top of them before we actually saw them as they were so low in the water and the waves were quite large. They have had a hard time of it as their water maker had broken down" (http://www.melandnick.com/index.php/2012/01/25/unfinished-business/)

 

Seventy one posts and counting. Almost all of the responses to this thread have been critical of the OPs goofy ambition. We can therefore absove ourselves of any responsibility for Pirates suicidal mission.

Do you suppose that Pirate has invented an elaborate spoof that we have fallen for? In that case he'd be laughing his *** off and congratulating himself for such cleverness. Hey, we can all enjoy a good joke, even when the joke is on us.

If this is actually a serious intent, then I propose that he frequently repeat this mantra: "Davy Jones Takes no prisoners."

 

Hi, Viking.

I know Gerry Spies crossed the Atlantic in his self designed and home built 10 ft YANKEE GIRL. I believe he also sailed it to Hawaii from California. There is little doubt that a boat of 10 ft in length, or more can cross an ocean.

I do believe an around the world attempt was made in a 9 ft boat, but the boat and skipper have not been heard from again and were most likely lost at sea. I believe this happened after entering the Pacific Ocean.

As I see it, the two biggest hazards of such a voyage are breaking seas and sustained calms. One can batter the boat to pieces and the other can starve and thirst the poor skipper to death.

If I were to attempt such a thing, my boat would have very traditional design elements. It would have a full length keel, for instance. In bad weather (except when fighting off a lee shore) the sails would be all brought in, the hatches firmly dogged, and the skipper belted to his berth.

A high sided, heavy boat is less likely to be capsized by breaking wave and will right itself more reliably than a high sided light boat, a low sided light boat, or even a low sided heavy boat. This is because the breaker is most likely push it over onto its side, say 60 degrees or so, then push it sideways. In that condition, little of the deck edge will be able to dig in and trip the boat the rest of the way over.

Not to say the boat will never be capsized. I have not been fortunate enough to to read Gerry's book, so I do not know if YANKEE GIRL was ever flipped. But I can expect the boat to be capsized again and again and so would design accordingly.

Once the bad weather is over, the rig had better be left standing (or able to be quickly reassembled, if it was taken down before hand)

For this reason, I would design a stubby rig with barely adequate sail area, with a means of adding 'light air' sail, to bring the sail area up to a more normal S/D. The 'light air' sail area would be additive area, not replacement area. There will simply not be enough room on board to store multiple sized versions of the same sails. This is another feature of more traditional sail boat design.

Here, I will post a sketch of my FOOTBALL design proposal, as this is a different thread than I posted it in the last time.

 

take along a good dog..... not only man's best friend but will appear quite tasty after a couple of weeks eating plankton....