Manie's Microcruiser

I dont undertstand his comments "REFLECTIONS ON SCALE

Sailors of big boats have a low opinion of small boats’ ability to survive storms. I intend to take a small boat around Cape Horn, The Clipper Ship way, that is lat 50 south in the Atlantic to lat 50 south in the Pacific non stop. It is a big challenge and the only boat less than 60 feet to have done it single handedly was Al Hansen’s Mary Jane and that was in 1934.
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I know of four or five under 30 footers that have done it in the last 5 years, including 2 16yo single round the world sailors

 

I feel more safe in a small boat than in a big boat. When something goes wrong on a big boat you are history, on a small craft you can physically overcome any challenge if youre a good seaman. Think of Alessandro di Benedetto...nonstop, unassisted...21ft.

 

"29 Oct 2009 ... Alessandro Di Benedetto succeeds in his circumnavigation, despite having sustained heavy damage nearly half a world away from his finish"

certainly a long way after 1934.

I dont understand how you explain "on a big boat you are history". I dont know any person who can physicaly fight their way out of a big storm.

 

For me personally the size issue revolves around what can I handle safely when exhausted and tired or sick or possibly a light injury. My really big scare came when we were out at sea in bad weather on a Beneteau 11m (36ft) We were 6 on the boat but 4 were sick and man down. That left me and the young instructor to get the boat back safely. I had to go forward and bring the hanked on jib down - nothing short of a nightmare. I was crawling along the deck, clipped on safely and smashing thru the waves like a dolphin.

Simple - never again !!

That is what made up my mind finally - if I cant do it ALL on my own and safely and easily - it HAS to become smaller to ease handling.

Next point is - any boat can be made unsinkable - its just that the "newer" designs with centre boards and bulb keels are possibly a little easier to do.
In my neck of the woods less than 1% of ALL the boats in the harbours are unsinkable. In the used market all over the world very very few "older" boats are unsinkable. So to modify them and make them unsinkable is a daunting task and probably totally impractical.

I have the greatest respect for Roger Taylor
http://www.thesimplesailor.com/voyages.html
when you look at his very impressive sailing record, it makes the mind boggle.
He is one master sailor.

I also think its horses for courses, the whole debate of big versus small. One thing is sure that with the present world "economy" or rather "poverty" abyss that we are all sinking into, many of us will have to go smaller or stay at home dreaming on.
I mean just ask Mas how costs have just sky rocketed out of control. And if you thought there are projects that are too big, wait and see how many will never get to the water. I weep for some of those folks that have spent years building some beatutifull boats and did excellent work, that more than likely wont be able to finish OR sell.

I also underestimated how much time goes into a build, I am now at 400 hours, but what is crazy is the escalating costs. Today I thank my lucky stars that I kept it small and affordable. As of now I have 90% of all the materials and extras in stock to finish the boat. This includes many extras like the 5hp fourstroke outboard and the MinnCota and lots of fittings and many many little things. If I had to buy all the stuff now I would be in for 50% more which would have been very very ****.

Aneeeewaaaay get to the water

 

If the mast of the yacht Im presently sailing goes overboard, I may not physically be able the sever the rigging before the mast wreckage damages the hull. The boom alone weighs 1500 kilo...none of this gear could be manhandled. How would your steer a big boat without a rudder ? How will I repair a blown out window on a big boat ? How would you jury rig a big boat ? A simple electric failure would disable all sail handling systems...crew would be left the physically handle heavily loaded gear in a gale. Big boats are full of gear...If I knock down or roll in a gale the whole mess will come apart...2500 amp hour battery banks on the loose.

Small craft are simple, in a gale they are like ducks bobbing up and down..the big boat takes the wave full on. KABOOM

Small craft are inherently safe because a good seaman can be there master. .

 

Hmmm, I must say I remain unconvinced about big boats being less seaworthy. In Mas case, he at least *had* someone to help him scramble about the deck to organise things. On his little boat, he will have to do what every other small boat sailor has had to do in a big blow. Tie himself down and pray. There is no seamanship in that. You may not even have another person on board to stand watch 24 hours - how safe is that ? One minor injury, and there is no-one to control the easy to manage, lightweight gear on the small boat.

On a big boat with damage, you invarably have someone there to help with bigger problems. But the big thing is that you have big gear, and unless you are driving the boat hard, it takes much, much bigger weather to create the damage. The chance of windows blowing out, masts being wrecked etc are all substantially reduced by having bigger gear. In a small boat, the same weather would definitely Kaboom you good and proper.

I wont make up statistics on the spot, but I would be very surprised to see that smaller boats had greater survival chances in adverse weather.

 

Come on Mr Watson, There are points of "diminishing returns" and other economic and engineering constraints that must be answered by logical analysis and reality... 40 ft is my maximum affordability size... Consequently I must sail/move in accordance with certain constraints... Being smaller and of shallow draft small creeks afford "safe refuge", Yet 40 ft may also survive open ocean torment with suitable sea anchors and other safety precautions loosely referred to as "Hove too" and the size increment to continue passage is possible in the order of 10 times that length or specifically designed to operate in such weather (round the world racing?)

My vessel is appropriate for sheltered waters cruising in reasonable comfort and independent of marinas etc for overnight stops... Ideally "island hopping" if you may...

I am likely to be a lone sailor in passages... Consequently appropriate behaviour is applied to counter risks... minimise (non-stop) passage time / length, avoid navigational obstacles, day-sail where possible, and so on....

Boats and boating are lessons in compromise that one constantly must find ways to adapt and measure risk / benefit...

 

True Mas, economic, logistic and design criteria are all part of the overal equation, but what I was taking issue with was the statement "on a big boat you are history" , "on a small craft you can physically overcome any challenge ", and subsequently "Small craft are inherently safe".

I am purely talking about the assertation that somehow bigger boats are less safe than smaller boats. Add to that the point I made "You may not even have another person on board to stand watch 24 hours - how safe is that ?", which you confirmed with "I am likely to be a lone sailor in passages"

I sincerely doubt that small boats have any greater survivability than larger vessels, and on top of that inherit all the risks associated with small or solo crews.

 

hey manie
coming on very lekker there soon it will be on water. This weather is really depressing could do no work on boat all of december and jan not looking much better

cheers

 

Keep up the good work Manie...It will be alot of fun riding around in a solid boat that you built with your own hands and imagination and confidence in it's build quality...small boats inherently have a level of fun and utility that is hard to match in a big boat ...I am forced by monetary constraints to keep my 24-footer anchored "on the hook" near my house for example: About a month ago we had a bad cold front here in Florida and it brought with it a nasty windstorm of cold arctic air blowing a steady 25-30 knots+ for 36 hours or so....me little boat rode it out with 80 feet of nylon rode and 35 feet of 1/4" chain and an 18 pound danforth anchor ( and a stern-strung 15-pounder)...Did I worry? Yes..Will I worry as much next time..? Probably not...she has a nice hull shape and low profile... a bigger boat and anchor might have broken out of even the good hard sand that I anchor in...A fairly light (3,900 lb boat ) like mine was able to slack and flow on her chain rode nicely in a nasty blow without surfing/riding around at anchor and creating high sheer loads on the rode. I've learned alot about anchoring recently and alot of that knowledge is simply realizing that there are no hard rules but a nice hull shape and low profile sure can make a difference in a windstorm...working on making some good bow chocks/anti-chafe system right now for more security.

Knock on wood and praise be to Poseidon for my success but a bigger,heavier higher freeboard boat might not have made it through in my situation (exposed to a fairly long NW fetch in winter) Carry on!!


P.S.- Here's a few pics of an island camping trip at a nearby "spoil island" on Sarasota Bay over Thanksgiving (with my boys and 8-9 teenager friends)...My boat was the mother ship and an exhausted Captain found himself aground on the flats the next morning (80 or 90 never-ending feet from the channel but lots of crew for pushing/rocking her out!)

 

Well done Soljour - I am all for small boats, but particularly ones I can tow home for winter. The thought of leaving them out all alone on a rope would upset me too much.

Its so easy to get hung up on the sands too. I remember a brand new Hunter 26 that nosed up at a small beach, just to load on some water and fuel, and let the ladies visit the yacht club loo. In the 25 minutes they were there, the tide dropped enough to maroon them, and the days sailing had to be postponed for 8 hours. Bugger !!!

All part of the fun.

 

Trailerable boats are indeed a marvelous wonder! My Seafarer 24 is trailerable with a hinged mast and u-bolt in the stem but I only recently got a fixer upper dual-axle trailer last week which I hope to utilize soon to do some below the waterline thru-hull replaecment,rudder assembly work,etc. My Hunter 20 was fairly easy to trailer and step/unstep the mast but the 24-footer is going to be a 2-man job for sure and I will have to make a dead-man/pully or some such arrangement.There's lots of info on step unstepping systems online I can study I guess.

I worry about having the boat in the water but it is only a short walk from the house to the little storm sewer public right-of-way "beach" where I can "dolly" my canoe on wheels and launch...I usually "visit" her via the canoe at her "anchorage" 2-3 times a week to re-set anchors, do repairs,etc .....but a boat that can be set up/taken down and trailered easily and parked in one's yard or garage is really the way to go I think...with the garage being the best scenario since working outside can still be a hassle with weather issues,tree debris, insects,etc type issues which can be a bugger.

 

Here are two "tips" for vastly improved quality of your epoxy and glass work.

1. The "ribbed" plastic rollers is probably the greatest invention since the wheel in my neck off the woods. Simply paint / smear the epoxy onto the clean marine plywood, lay the glass on top - roll down to get saturation with these rollers - and then roll down the peelply with the same ribbed roller. The results as you can see is that the finished product looks like it was bagged. Simply stunning. The HUGE advantage is that after a very light sanding, 120 grit, its ready for painting. This method saves HOURS of cleaning blush and then fairing.

2. The second is how to lay down a really neat fillet. Spread the epoxy putty into the corner with a plastic bag like toothpaste. Run over with a rounded scraper, apply peelply, and roll into corner with a solid rubber roller. Very quick very neat. The advantage here is once again when the peelply comes off you can paint immediately.

These "tricks" are saving me many hours off sanding.
Sanding is the curse off boat building and MUST be avoided or minimised as much as possible. Work neat. Work spotlessly clean. It saves hours and hours and hours.

Enjoy guys

 

Here is a nice picture of the tops sides off the boards that are for the cockpit seats.

This was done properly. It is very fast and very easy.

 

This weekend was the little shitty things
My tie down brackets to secure the fuel tanks
Kevlar weave re-inforcing for future bolt holes
Strong corners for the backstays
Final board for the outboard motor glassed in, and the well glassed over