Long term survival boat ideas

Discussion in 'Multihulls' started by mmutch, Nov 9, 2012.

  1. masalai
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    masalai masalai

    I feel there may be more chance of "shrinking the kids" and yourself and the shrink/expand ray to carry and resume...
     
  2. champ0815
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    champ0815 Senior Member

    I agree, and as repair in case of damage is difficult, let's stay with the good old multi... .
     
  3. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    And while Masalai is surviving in his cat, I cruise by with a cargo hold full of canned tuna to sell. One can of my tuna for one of Masalia's gold bars. One old Playboy magazine , with centrefold, for two gold bars.......

    Good business being a pirate.
     
  4. rapscallion
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    rapscallion Senior Member

    That is some funny stuff :)
    I'm on Lake Michigan, and I have a 32' cat with a 9" draft. Depending on the exact nature of the survival situation, I can see how being self sufficient on a larger boat would be a goal. The open 60 folks eat 5,000 calories a frigging day! that is a lot of food, that would eventually run out... Our YC hosted an open 50 round the world racer to come in and tell his story about the RTW sailing experience... it was incredible! The boats are a ridiculous amount of work and incredibly complex. If the goal is survival, a large boat in the open ocean seems to be a greater risk of life and limb than coastal scavenging. unless there are zombies :)

    It is a personal choice... based on the capability of the survivor.... like it was mentioned before, the boat choice will have less to do with the probability of survival than the decisions and the capabilities of the person we are talking about.
     
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  5. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Dont argue with Watson he knows everything. In his mind as that of other amateurs it seems easy to just beach it and do what you want ---dont it?

    I mean what can be difficult just beach it. Just look at the perfect beach here.
     
  6. rapscallion
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    rapscallion Senior Member

    I did not intend to offend anyone here or disagree with their hypothetical survival plans. I thought this topic was more tongue and cheek vs. a serious design discussion. Yes I am an amateur, that lives by some local beaches that I have beached my 32' cat from time to time.

    If money and time to prepare for the end of the world was unconstrained, of course a large self sustaining craft (mono or multi) would be better than a small low tech, limited range wharram. I would be first in line to buy some of Mike's canned tuna after the apocalypse.. I was coming at the issue from a different prospective... The world has ended and I didn't do a darn thing to prepare... and I want to be on a boat. The odds are I could build a Wharram vs. a large self sustaining craft... And seriously... no offense to those who have designed and built a large, seaworthy self sustaining craft well in advance of society's collapse. Can I bum a ride? I would work for food.
     
  7. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    all water craft now requires a large amount of labor and resources to keep in operational condition, what makes you think after the apocalypse you will be able to do that? Most people that have jobs and spare parts available now can hardly afford to maintain their boats, how can this be done after you can not buy paint and parts? when you will not have a job? large craft only take more resources to keep operational.

    Seems to me a remote self contained home, simple and easy to maintain, with small simple boat to go gather food with on nearby lakes (like a canoe, kayak or dingy), rather than live aboard, would be more practical.

    "Survival" boats are always small and simple, easy to make from "found" materials. Large passenger or cargo ships were built to make money moving cargo or passenger, not ever as a self contained craft. It seems very unlikely that a large craft is the way to go.
     
  8. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Whilst the thread is termed long term survival, I would not go near a boat if such a thing were to happen. For some reason it would seem most people would.

    Im not too sure what I would do and to be honest I don't have the inclination to put too much time to it but having everything you own with ALL your family in a boat leaves a loss potential that I would not consider acceptable.


    Normally in such circumstance people camp or settle near water, a boat will put you furthest from it so offshore travel would be limited.

    Ist bad enough anchored near a supermarket let alone in a bay with others in an unkown desperate situation and possible armed.

    Ide rather live up a tree.
     
  9. oldsailor7
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    oldsailor7 Senior Member

    .....
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2013
  10. pdwiley
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    pdwiley Senior Member

    No, only the few who hang out on this forum, and not all of them.

    I'd rather stay home with my fruit & vegetable garden, wildlife, machine shop and cannons to keep the riff-raff at bay.

    However, *if* I had to pick a long-term survival boat that had to be repairable and maintained in low tech conditions it'd be something like BERTIE or one of our local timber cray boats. Very seaworthy, good load carrying ability, reasonably shoal draft, can take the ground.

    PDW
     
  11. cavalier mk2
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    cavalier mk2 Senior Member

    For some people in urban areas using the boat to get to area where you can survive is the idea. Think more of loading up for homesteading when the roads are out and no garden plots are to be found, a sailing Conestoga in fact.
     
  12. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Does this mean a 8 miles long tailback of kayaks on the potamac river, fleeing the carnage on capitol hill !!!

    Perhaps a handglider would be better.......
     
  13. oldsailor7
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    oldsailor7 Senior Member

    That's the general idea. A big wood epoxy boat with which you could get away to the vast areas of the water world and survive a near extinction event.
    Wood for repairs is available all over the world. A small epoxy repair kit is all you need. A major catastrophe, (like hitting a reef ) is going to be fatal in any boat, regardless of its construction.
    Think of that man who sailed the oceans a few years ago for 1000 days without touching land. He survived alright.
     
  14. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member


    That's three years !!! Who was that ?
     

  15. Wavewacker
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    Wavewacker Senior Member

    I heard about that some time ago, wasn't he a Japanese fisherman who was adrift, ended up in Oz or somewhere.....

    Seems this survival boat is assumed to need to sail the seven seas.....why is that? I doubt I'd hang around a beach crowded with survivalists, I think many turn into zombies when the sun goes down, so seems to me it's a boat to get away from the crowd.

    There is a guy in Boston living in a canoe under a bridge! Yes, in the winter!

    I think I'd vote for smaller, motor and sail, lots of batteries, solar, wind generator (how much stuff can we take anyway?) I,d be more concerned about the survival stuuf need to take than possessions and clothes, sufficient and appropriate clothes for the area in all seasons. Can you take a bicycle? A land vehicle and a rig to spin a generator. Fishing and hunting gear, cross bow and bolts? Anyway, if you have a list of stuff needed, then the size of boat can be considered.

    A simple sharpie? A fleet of sharpies? Are you going to be on the boat for 90 days or 9 days and going ashore? So, what's the plan?

    I'll bet you can hide out on rivers better than you could off shore!

    If you were out there and some nut job with a 120' yacht with a jet boat and crew of pirates caught you on the radar, well.....good luck in your 36 footer.
    In rivers, you can hear and see them comming, either out run them, hide out or if you must defend yourself.

    You won't be hunting loose cattle, hogs, rabbits or other critters in the Pacific. Hard to grow carrots and taters in salt water. Survival would just be much easier on land and have a boat to get out on the lakes or even to islands nearby. I love fish, but I think it would get old quick.

    Fixing popcorn....
     
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