Late Pacs

[BobJ]

I agree, the Ariel doesn't have much water plane area to carry that extra weight. My boat weighs about the same as yours but has 8' more waterline length and 2' more beam (not sure how WL beam compares). Moreover, I kept most of the provisions in a big box on the cabin sole, amidships. I had to continually step over it but weight in the ends is bad for pitching moment.

You are probably carrying more weight than necessary but each of us chooses what makes us comfortable. For example, my batteries weigh less than half what you show above. I wouldn't need the generator and fuel since the weight of my boat already includes a diesel inboard. A full tank of fuel adds 84# but the most fuel I've used in the SHTP was about 5 gallons, and that was a mostly cloud-covered year so solar panels weren't as effective. Consumables also seems quite high at 300# even with about half of it being water (168#). Most don't eat as much as they expect - I personally lost 23# during the 2006 race. I think the average is about 20#.

You might look at how other small boats provisioned (BLACK FEATHERS for example) and see if you can make some compromises.

Then there's the whole race vs. cruise discussion. I notice you called it a cruise in one spot.

[pbryant]

Thanks BobJ. All good advice and observations. I can only dream of having a diesel driven alternator. What I have is a 6 HP outboard. I could install a generator in the outboard, but my experience is it will not produce the 5 amps advertised at anything less than ear splitting RPM. With that paltry output, it is a huge waste of fuel compared to my Honda generator.

On my shakedown, I arrived back at sunset with only 76% state of charge in my batteries because I depended mostly on solar power. My main producer of power - the water generator - provided only about 20 amp/hours because of my low speed through the water. Less than 1 amp per hour. That's not enough to power only the navigation lights and tiller pilot. I'm expecting 5 amps at 4.8 knots: 120 amp/hours per day. What I got was 24 amp hours per day. The output is non-linear: 5 amps at 4.8 knots, practically nothing at 4 knots. I have so much battery capacity because I budgeted for 24 hours of no power production consuming less than 25 percent of total capacity. I allocate only half the amp/hour rating of the batteries as usable capacity since drawing down lead/acids below 50% leaves you with lower capacity ever after (plate sulfation). (Those of you with lithium batteries may feel free to gloat at this point.) So, one day's ration of power is 89.5 amp/hours, or 3.7 amps per hour. That's about what I use. The solar panels produced about 6 amps maximum, for only a few hours, while I was on about the same heading I'd sail to Hawaii: 232 M. The number of days till solstice is about the same as the number of days after solstice on race day, so I can't count on the days being longer.

I'm budgeting 1 gallon of water per day, 30 gallons total, which weights 240 pounds. If I'm going to over allocate anything, it should be water. That leaves 60 pounds for food and "other stuff." The stuff is tools, plywood for fabricating repairs (port light covers, etc.), spare parts, and two danforth anchors with 25 feet of chain (total). I'm budgeting 2,000 calories per day. I'm a former EMT, and we'd give people in a coma 1,800 calories per day. My resting metabolic rate is 1,900 calories per day - that's sitting in front of the TV all day exercising my thumb on the remote. Granted, it wouldn't hurt me to lose weight, but not during a race.

I could bring water in 500 ml (pint) bottles and store those in the sattee lockers. I just tried that, and found I can stuff 90 bottles in each side - a total of 22.5 gallons. That places nearly all the water weight below the water line, amidships and outboard of the center line, which will help compensate for the loss of roll stability a tiny bit, and move the CG aft.

I had planned to pull the outboard out of its engine port, but there is no place to store it except in the forward cabin. It weighs 65 pounds. Putting it in my living space is not an option, I don't want it landing on me in a knockdown. It has sharp pointy parts. So I could leave it in the engine port and drag it all the way to Hawaii. But that won't help my speed issues. That's a problem with the Ariel design: the engine can't be pulled up without taking it out and putting it somewhere. It won't fit inside the engine compartment on its side. It was in its port during my shakedown, acting as a counter weight to the bow. Putting it anywhere forward will only make things worse. I could just not bring the engine, but that tips the fore/aft balance the wrong way.

I could move the life raft to the main cabin sole, and try to walk sideways around it. It weighs the same as the engine, it wouldn't lacerate me in a knockdown - just break a rib or two. Plus, walking and falling on it probably hurts its performance. Retrofitting it to mount on the forward deck doesn't solve the balance problem - it just places the weight higher. My living space is already down to 360 cubic feet - half the space of a standard prison cell, and I'd have no place to use the porta pottie. At this point, the cruiser in me screams for me to stop. As you detected, there is a cruiser side to my personality, and it would strangle my racer side at the thought of putting the life raft in the main cabin. Still, if I ever get a weather window in time to do the qualifier, I'll try that and see if I can convince my cruiser side that it's fun.

I've heard that a "cruiser/racer" boat is a bad compromise in both categories. I'm afraid I have a cruiser/racer brain. I've read Black Feathers. I really do admire the skipper for his seamanship and for overcoming all the challenges he faced, but it sounded like pure misery to my cruiser side.

[Dazzler]

Hello Peter,
I have been following your TransPac prep with interest. My parents were the original owners of Ariel #256 FLYING CLOUD. Their boat has had a few subsequent name changes and is, I believe, now in Morro Bay. I well remember racing against your boat when it was JUBILEE. Dean Morrison was tough to beat.

I'm prompted to write with some comments on our weight issues. The Ariels were originally built some with an Atomic 4 and most without. For the boats without an engine, there was added ballast in the form of a good sized wedge shaped chunk of lead under the cabin sole. Additionally, the dealer for San Francisco Bay added more lead well forward under the head area. I wonder if your boat has any of the "added" ballast, and if so, if removing it would help, considering all the other weight you have onboard.

I was surprised by your problem of how to stow the outboard. We hardly ever used our long shaft Evenrude. The well plug was left in and the motor lived on its side in the engine compartment. The fuel tank was below.

Tom P.

[salnichols94804]

Owl is home.

[Harrier]

Re plans for the SHTP: don't plan on 30 gals of water. That's 9 gals more than the "requirement" (which used to be 15 gals until recently). I have never used more than 8 gals on the race....And you'll never know if you can make it to Hanalei unless you try. Even if you end up "FAD", at least you did it! Nothing ventured......

[pogen]

Point of reference, on our Pac Cup trip of 15 - 16 days two people used well under 20 gal of water for all uses, though for the first 4 or 5 days we should have been forcing ourselves to drink more. And I don't think adding a drouge to go even slower in a slow boat is really a good idea -- except in some sort of storm/survival scenario.

[pogen]

If I were stuck w/o a boat I would enquire if TIJD was for charter, that would be the best fit imaginable.

[The Smokester]

This is a report for s/v Owl after 5 days, 400 nm under sail at sea. The experience was overwhelmingly positive. And yes, we were tempted to write Owl’s name in the GPS track.

The biggest high was sitting on the bow offshore in a cobalt blue ocean, big sky and 10 knots wind. And then there was the serendipitous talk by VHF with s/v Libra, when we crossed 10 nm apart after 3 days at sea…We on the outbound and she in. Communications (with many of you) via sat pager were very big events. Thank you.

By far, the lows involved drifting aimlessly near Noonday Rock and the North Farallon, and later off Pt Reyes, just barely outside the shipping lanes. I thought life was over…But then more highs: My good friends reasoned me through it or gave me some tuff luv (usefully in the form of inferential logic).

Mostly, winds were about 8-10 knots NW with periods of undetectability, sometimes mixed with mist and drizzle. But mostly glorious. For the last 24 hours I saw 10-30 kt NW (probably gusting higher on the way down the SF channel) as the weather turned, except once again near Pt Reyes where we were totally becalmed (as in take the sails down and burn them, you are driving me crazy) for an hour or two around noon near Pt Reyes.

Lessons learned: When the wind dies, eat hearty, get clean, rest, fix stuff. If you get crazy, heave to or double reef, eat, rest. All better. When the wind blows put the sails back up and go.

Systems on Owl worked well with the following exceptions: 1) The Iridium Go, which had been apparently thoroughly debugged over the last month, quit due to the SIM being deregistered. This has been an ongoing problem, but uninstalling and wiping the contacts had previously cleared the problem. Not this time. So, no sat coms. Delorme Inreach, weather radio and SWL were backups. Work with supplier to resolve problem. Also, soon-to-be-installed SSB will provide redundancy. 2) The propane solenoid acted up for the first time ever and required persuasion. In addition, at 15 watts, it is the largest electrical power consumer on the boat. Find alternative. 3) The staysail sheets (new configuration as of February) found yet another place to snag. Hunt the snags down like the dogs they are and keep sailing. 4) The turning blocks for the Monitor wind vane have too much friction. Most distressingly, they squeal like pigs in heat. Who needs that? Definitely replace. 5) Clipping in multiple times in the cockpit is a real pain. Install min-jacklines. 6) Engine starting depends on the house battery banks (which in turn can depend on the engine for charging if solar is low) creating a downward spiral of uncertainty and despair leading to psychotic breakdown while drifting helpless in the night towards Noonday Rock. Install separate starting battery. 7) The deadbolt on the inside of the companionway hatch, not normally used at sea, engaged and locked me out topside. Fortunately, I had a spare key in the heel of one of my sea boots. Replace lock and get bigger seaboots.

[Philpott]

This is a report for s/v Owl after 5 days, 400 nm under sail at sea. The experience was overwhelmingly positive. And yes, we were tempted to write Owl’s name in the GPS track.

The biggest high was sitting on the bow offshore in a cobalt blue ocean, big sky and 10 knots wind. And then there was the serendipitous talk by VHF with s/v Libra, when we crossed 10 nm apart after 3 days at sea…We on the outbound and she in. Communications (with many of you) via sat pager were very big events. Thank you.

By far, the lows involved drifting aimlessly near Noonday Rock and the North Farallon, and later off Pt Reyes, just barely outside the shipping lanes. I thought life was over…But then more highs: My good friends reasoned me through it or gave me some tuff luv (usefully in the form of inferential logic).

Mostly, winds were about 8-10 knots NW with periods of undetectability, sometimes mixed with mist and drizzle. But mostly glorious. For the last 24 hours I saw 10-30 kt NW (probably gusting higher on the way down the SF channel) as the weather turned, except once again near Pt Reyes where we were totally becalmed (as in take the sails down and burn them, you are driving me crazy) for an hour or two around noon near Pt Reyes.

Lessons learn: When the wind dies, eat hearty, get clean, rest, fix stuff. If you get crazy, heave to or double reef, eat, rest. All better. When the wind blows put the sails back up and go.

Systems on Owl worked well with the following exceptions: 1) The Iridium Go, which had been apparently thoroughly debugged over the last month, quit due to the SIM being deregistered. This has been an ongoing problem, but uninstalling and wiping the contacts had previously cleared the problem. Not this time. So, no sat coms. Delorme Inreach, weather radio and SWL were backups. Work with supplier to resolve problem. Also, soon-to-be-installed SSB will provide redundancy. 2) The propane solenoid acted up for the first time ever and required persuasion. In addition, at 15 watts, it is the largest electrical power consumer on the boat. Find alternative. 3) The staysail sheets (new configuration as of February) found yet another place to snag. Hunt the snags down like the dogs they are and keep sailing. 4) The turning blocks for the Monitor wind vane have too much friction. Most distressingly, they squeal like pigs in heat. Who needs that? Definitely replace. 5) Clipping in multiple times in the cockpit is a real pain. Install min-jacklines. 6) Engine starting depends on the house battery banks (which in turn can depend on the engine for charging if solar is low) creating a downward spiral of uncertainty and despair leading to psychotic breakdown while drifting helpless in the night towards Noonday Rock. Install separate starting battery. 7) The deadbolt on the inside of the companionway hatch, not normally used at sea, engaged and locked me out topside. Fortunately, I had a spare key in the heel of one of my sea boots. Replace lock and get bigger seaboots.

I love this! Thank you, John. Your positive personality just comes leaping out of this report. Congratulations. Owl is such a great boat. I know you will be very happy together all across the Pacific.

[pbryant]

Re plans for the SHTP: don't plan on 30 gals of water. That's 9 gals more than the "requirement" (which used to be 15 gals until recently). I have never used more than 8 gals on the race....And you'll never know if you can make it to Hanalei unless you try. Even if you end up "FAD", at least you did it! Nothing ventured......

Got it. So the 22.5 gallons I can stuff in the sattees should be enough. Oh to have a watermaker so I wouldn't worry... The rules also require at least two containers. I will have 180, and the rules go on to say: "Water containers must be filled at the yacht’s final inspection." Really? I'm hoping the inspectors will become very bored with the prospect of watching me empty and refill 180 bottles, see that there's already water in them, and let this slide. (Plus, I'd get stuck with tap water instead of my super expensive filtered tap water.)

The real determinate of whether I can go is whether the weather will give me a window to do the qualifier in the short time remaining. The pattern has been three days calm, three days gale with insane seastates. I can work my way through the calms, but I never intentionally sail into 14 foot sharp and fresh swells. It's better to be ashore wishing you were on the water, than on the water wishing you were ashore. My boat and I do have limitations.