Wooden Rowboat to go across the Atlantic

[Dakillr013]

How much propulsion you can produce is a relatively pointless question, but it's around 150W. You need to actually learn how to row, specifically heavy boats and for a long time. Your boat will be ~250kg empty and ~750kg fully loaded, rowed for 8-10h/day. If you don't learn beforehand the boat will literally break your back.

Propulsion was the wrong way of putting it. I meant it more in terms of velocity, obviously assuming the gods are on my side or at the very least not against me.

 

[Rumars]

Plan for no more then 2kn. The actual distance and route is determined by wind and current patterns, not the straight line on a map. Food will be a dehydrated and high energy affair, forget fishing. Water exists as an iron reserve plus two powered watermakers and an emergency one.
I hope you realize this is going to be an expensive project if you want to survive.

 

[Dakillr013]

Plan for no more then 2kn. The actual distance and route is determined by wind and current patterns, not the straight line on a map. Food will be a dehydrated and high energy affair, forget fishing. Water exists as an iron reserve plus two powered watermakers and an emergency one.
I hope you realize this is going to be an expensive project if you want to survive.

Ah appreciate the responses. With a speed of 2 knots and average winds and currents(nothing too extreme but not always calm either), how long do you think it'll take to get all the way to the States?

 

[fallguy]

The currents are the big bit. You don't always get the current and that is when you have to get to another one. It is nothing I would ever attempt.

 

[Rumars]

Have you even bothered to check oceanrowing.com? Mumbai to Djibouti, 46 days, average speed 1.61kn (two persons, pedal power, only crossing on that route). Continental western Europe (Spain, Portugal) to continental US (Florida), nonstop, solo, two crossings, 111.5 days and 114 days, average speeds 1.28kn and 1.35kn.
For this two crossings alone you need over a year, since both legs start around January. If you want to row the inbetween parts, longer. In short, Jesus would outwalk you if he kept a leisurely pace.
Just for the record, I don't think that crossing the north Indian ocean is advisable in the current political climate unless tailed by a warship.

Ah appreciate the responses. With a speed of 2 knots and average winds and currents(nothing too extreme but not always calm either), how long do you think it'll take to get all the way to the States?

 

[fallguy]

Have you even bothered to check oceanrowing.com? Mumbai to Djibouti, 46 days, average speed 1.61kn (two persons, pedal power, only crossing on that route). Continental western Europe (Spain, Portugal) to continental US (Florida), nonstop, solo, two crossings, 111.5 days and 114 days, average speeds 1.28kn and 1.35kn.
For this two crossings alone you need over a year, since both legs start around January. If you want to row the inbetween parts, longer. In short, Jesus would outwalk you if he kept a leisurely pace.
Just for the record, I don't think that crossing the north Indian ocean is advisable in the current political climate unless tailed by a warship.

Somewhere in this thread he ditched the idea of the Indian Ocean and said he'd sail from Africa, iirc.

But the concept is really terrifying to discuss here because people really have no idea of how difficult it is...

 

[bajansailor]

@Dakillr013 I hope that you are taking on board the subtle (maybe they are too subtle and polite) pearls of wisdom being offered to you above.

I think you really have to try to decide what is the ultimate objective of this exercise - which aspect of the whole project will give you the most satisfaction?
Is it the construction of the boat, or the actual rowing across an ocean - or maybe just the feeling of accomplishment in getting there in the end?

Have you ever tried to row any type of boat before? Or even used a rowing machine in a gymn?
If not, then maybe you should try it.
If you have rowed a dinghy (or something similar) in the past, be aware that rowing an ocean going row boat will be immensely more difficult.
An analogy could be trying to push a Mini car by yourself (this could be the dinghy) and comparing it with trying to push a Hummer (this could be the ocean row boat).

And - nobody has asked you this yet - what is your realistic budget for this adventure?

 

[Milehog]

Ah appreciate the responses. With a speed of 2 knots and average winds and currents(nothing too extreme but not always calm either), how long do you think it'll take to get all the way to the States?

For you, a lifetime.

 

[gonzo]

This was done by professional mariners:
Two Rival Captains Challenge the Atlantic Ocean in Small Boats https://magicmastsandsturdyships.weebly.com/two-rival-captains-challenge-the-atlantic-ocean-in-small-boats.html

 

[bajansailor]

@gonzo your link does not work for me for some strange reason - when I click on it, I just get a list of different articles on the weebly site.
And then when I click on any article, nothing happens - the list just comes up again.
@fallguy does it work for you ok?

 

[gonzo]

Maybe somebody else can try it.
Two Rival Captains Challenge the Atlantic Ocean in Small Boats https://magicmastsandsturdyships.weebly.com/two-rival-captains-challenge-the-atlantic-ocean-in-small-boats.html

 

[fallguy]

It works for me.

It is a great story about recognizing the law of averages. Back in 1900, probably mortality in ocean crossings was probably 10%. This means 1/10 crossings were fatal or maybe 1/5. These men did not pay heed to this reality. Eventually, they would end up dead.

I was really glad to see the post because some amateur comes here, not knowing what swamped means, and we all know his chances to head out in the next 6 months and row the Atlantic and end up dead are better than the chance he lives. So his mortality rate is expressed in some other fashion like 100 times he dies and 1 time he might make it. So, his starting mortality rate is 100:1.

 

[BlueBell]

Maybe somebody else can try it.

Yes, it opened okay for me.

100 -125 watts sustained.
1 - 2 knots sustained.

 

[portacruise]

Sisyphus effect or worse since it's possible to lose ground while resting and even while rowing... I'm left wondering how much the rowing activity actually contributes towards moving the boat toward the destination, at 2 knots, haha? My guess is that rowing into positioning for wind and current drift assist may be the main contributors to getting to a distant destination? Maybe a computer with satellite and other ocean current and wind info could be used to tell the rower when the best times to row or rest and for how long, as well as which direction....

 

[Will Gilmore]

If our OP was trying to leave on his adventure in the next six months, I'd whole heartedly agree with fallguy. I didn't realize he had such a deadline. However, everyone starts with asking questions, if they have any reasonable chance of success. The OP is asking questions from a position of ignorance. Maybe soon, he will be asking questions from a position of well informed.