Doomsday boat.

Which was why I recommended heading south in that case: The circumpolar currents (both air and water) would offer some protection once you got to the other side of them. Then you can wait a few months for most of the fallout to settle.

Of course, that means you have to find a way to survive in Antarctica for those few months, and even afterwards the contamination will have spread over a large area. Most of the food sources will probably be contaminated, and will in fact tend to concentrate it further. But there's no real way around that; a Geiger counter will help you pick less-contaminated food batches, and depending on what happened you may just be able to stay away from contaminated areas, but that's all relative, and dependent on exactly what happened.

 

So what your going to do give up.

 

Water world was for kids or some one that had never seen a boat, I laughed till my head actually fell off completely when I saw a 250,000 ton tanker with big holes in the side about 2 feet off the water line to put oars through.

 

how did you put your head back on.

 

I didnt --you wont believe this but I grew another.

A Pakistani walks into the Doctors with a parrot on his head. The doctor looks at the parrot and says "how long have you had that?"

The Parrot said " well it started as a black head on my foot"

 

Costner was terrible in that movie. Not sue why some actors do so well in some situations and so poorly in others but damn, he sucked in that flick. Interesting you mention the leading lady. I completely agree she was miscast. Although my take on casting is hardly as experienced as your own. I'm just a viewer, never did have much to do with movies. Although I do know several film producers, we don't discuss work much.

I'd have thought someone would have a consultant team working on any movie throughout its production to help prevent multi million dollar flops like that was. Anyway good call on the casting.

 

"Governments seem pretty good at keeping theirs from detonating so far, but with so many crazies drooling over the power of leveling an 'enemy' city, and so many weapons in other countries, it seems hard to avoid forever".

Much more likely is N Korea or Iran popping a nuke 100-150 miles up.

Line of sight , would destroy all the electronics in view.

No comm , no electric think 1850 again , tho in 1850 it was the norm , not a surprise.

As sextant , calibrated time piece and set of tables might be nice on board.

FF

 

Bummer about not being able to cook when the boat's propane solenoid fries, about not being able to motor when the control circuits fry and not having any more food when the refrigerator controls fry too.

You'd need a lot more than nav gear.

Floating coffin in that scenario.

 

Thats why you dont want common rail injection on a boat, Will engine manufacturers wise up and take note.

Ille over haul an olde one before I buy a computerized black box engine

 

If I couldn't bypass a lousy solenoid I'd just jump over the side & drown myself, get it over with.

My engine is mechanical fuel injection and has hand start as well as electric, so problem 2 is a non-problem.

As I don't plan on having more refrigeration than needed to keep the daily beer ration cold (say a slab) I think I'll struggle by if it dies. Warm beer isn't the end of the world, close maybe but still better than no beer. I'd still have wine & rum.

I think a fancy charter boat like yours would be more vulnerable but that's always the downside of complex systems. Nice to have as long as they keep working.

Probably you'd have no water pressure either.

PDW

 

Not many boats are set up without electric systems. More power to you (pun not intended) if you will not use electricity or refrigeration. You are building a survival boat, which is very different from 99% of boats out there.

Great boat for nuclear scenarios. Not so great for long term actual survival.

What are you going to do when she rusts through? Or will you be going to the zombie chandlery that accepts seashell necklaces for currency to get special steel boat paint systems and all those expensive zincs?

I'm not picking on you... All boats are bad long term survival setups. They require constant maintenance. The sea eats all boats slowly. Eventually, you replace the whole boat. Big waste of precious food and water acquiring energy.

 

Hey what do you know,-- I agree with catbuilder.

 

Fat old BERTIE's hand start SABB diesel will work without a battery, there is no solenoid on the propane but a ball valve instead, the sextant is stowed next to the mechanical distance log in a locker, there are kerosene backups for all lights and a big can of that fuel. The hull is a simple 19th century cargo boat built of wood. A tool chest on board holds things like a broad ax and adz, hand saws etc. Some of the ballast is spare spikes and bolts, caulking oakum and the like. I might starve or die of radiation poisoning, but the boat will be fine.
The scenario of Iran or NK detonating a nuke in orbit is unlikely. For an effective EMP weapon, the bomb must be specifically designed for such, necessitating much research including tests. Even the Israelis say the Iranians aren't actively developing a bomb at this time, though could if they wished to. NK is a truly crazy state, but their pattern is shake the neighbors, do some shelling or a torpedoing and kill a few South Koreans, then negotiate to get them to stop. They know quite well that using a nuke for this game would be game over for them, and are not suicidal, but dedicated to this course of action as they have shown for 60 years. Maybe the survival mode will creep up on us, everyone just getting by on less and less as food gets harder to produce and remaining fuel that is boiled out of oil shale become things that only the very rich people can afford to still get delivered to their gated towns. At the rate we are going, it won't be long.

 

I'll have an electrical system. They're fine with EMP, it's electronics that aren't real good. Of course if the alternator gets fried, no electrics - maybe. I do have a couple of generators on the shelf, nowhere near as efficient as an alternator but not vulnerable either.

I'd better keep my kerosene lamps in good repair - time to order spares for the Coleman and Tilley pressure lamps. I suspect LED lighting wouldn't survive EMP either.

Incidentally I also have a couple of LPG refrigerators and at my other place in the country I have an old kerosene refrigerator. Neither have any electronics so in theory I could have some refrigeration long after the Danfoss type compressor ones had fried. I just think the absorbtion ones are too inefficient and too big a fire risk to fit to a boat.

This is what I plan to fit. It has enough space for my needs, nowhere near enough for a charter vessel. I'm trying to keep mine to the KISS philosophy.

http://www.waeco.com.au/products5.asp?id=165&subCatId2=72&subCatId=61&catId=57

Realistically, I'm not worried about EMP though. It drops off with distance. Who's going to bother popping a big nuke high in the Southern Hemisphere sky?

I agree with you that boats are not good survival devices and steel ones will be useless once the barrier paint wears away, no argument. That's why I said Bataan's type of boat would be better. Mine has its advantages as long as the technology exists to support it, his is capable of support/maintenance with 18C or 19C technology in his home waters. Take a timber boat into tropical waters and without a very good barrier coat or copper sheathing it's not going to last long either. If I had to seriously worry about mine I'd plan on hauling it out of the water when not in use rather than leaving it on a mooring (which assumes I wasn't venturing far from home base). With a 4' draft and a long shoal keel this is possible without major dramas.

I also agree that no boat is a good long term proposition compared to a land base. This is why I have a land base with orchard, garden, dams and workshop setup. My boat is a big toy, a luxury. I don't think a doomsday boat is more than a fantasy to idle away spare time frankly.

PDW

 

Too true - its just a 'Captain Nemo' mind ****. We like to think we can win with a rifle and a bit of piano wire, or an exotic toy a la 'transformer'.

Hollywood has so much to answer for.