I've Gone Green!!!!

About ten years ago I was corresponding with a sailor who lived in Austria.  He sailed on a big inland lake along the border with Hungary.  Both national governments declared the lake to be a petroleum free lake… no gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas engines on any vessel.  Oars, paddles and electric motors were allowed.  My “pen pal” had installed a twenty-four volt DC motor on his twenty five foot boat and could motor about thirty miles on a full charge from the batteries.  Thirty miles was the distance from one end of the lake to the other end.  That correspondence started me thinking seriously about electric motors and the possibility of having an electric motor on Snickerdoodle.

About a month ago, I decided that now was the time to change from gasoline to electricity.  I have been researching electric outboard motors for a couple years.  Most electric outboards seem to be small motors that fishermen use to troll for bass and other fish.  Those are too small for a primary outboard motor on a 5,000 lb / 25 foot long sailboat.  There are companies that make primary motors too.  Minnkota is making bigger electric motors now.  Torqeedo (a German company) makes two models suitable for boats like Snickerdoodle.  Inertia Labs, Magnetar, and even Yamaha are in the electric outboard motor business.

I decided that the Torqeedo motor was the one for Snickerdoodle.  The motor arrived last Tuesday.  It uses two twelve volt deep cycle batteries connected together in series to produce 24 volts.  So, the 8 hp Mercury outboard engine is now in the garage and a brand new Torqeedo is on the boat as of last Saturday.  The two Group 27 batteries fit nicely in the fuel locker in the cockpit.  I also bought a ProSport 12/24 volt marine smart charger.  The charger keeps the batteries at full charge.  So, when I arrive at the slip, the boat is ready to go.

This weekend was pretty much a drifter.  It was nice to take Snickerdoodle out and see what the new motor would do.  I have to say that the bottom, keel, and rudder are filthy with algae that has grown this winter.  A diver will clean everything in the coming week or so.  But, even with a lot of algae, the new motor did pretty well.  Top speed was almost five and a half knots.  Half throttle seems to be about four knots.  The folks at Torqeedo say that the motor should run for ten hours at half throttle.  So, I should be able to motor anyplace on the lake if there’s no wind to sail.  AND, this motor is so quiet.  Just a barely audible hum and the sound of water splashing on the motor’s shaft and on the rudder.

The only "hiccough" this weekend happened when I first wanted to see if the motor would run.  Everything was hooked up... batteries, on/off switch, charger, et al.  I turned the on/off switch to "On" - the LED on the top of the motor showed 25.9 volts; lowered the motor bracket so that the propeller was fully in the water; and rotated the throttle handle.  Nothing happened.   I rotated the throttle handle the other way, and nothing happened.  I ducked into the cabin and grabbed the owners manual.  The page that I opened to showed a side view of the motor - - including the key.  I grabbed one of the two keys and inserted it... turned the throttle handle and the propeller started spinning.  BTW: I tested the key's floatation ability... and they both float nicely.

To say the least, I’m very happy.  The photo below shows the motor as we were traveling along at 4 knots.

Hatch Boards In A Storm

Several years ago I messed up one day while single-handing Snickerdoodle.  I could see that there was a good breeze about half a mile ahead going in the direction I wanted to sail.  So, I rigged my cruising spinnaker and headed for the breeze.  Unfortunately, the breeze was quite a bit stronger than I’d planned on and when the spinnaker filled, the boat was “rail down” in a second.  Water was flowing on the side decks and windows.  A third of the spinnaker was in the water; AND the sheet was under water.  About that time, Snickerdoodle rounded up and spilled the wind out of the spinnaker.  Of course, the boat righted and the spinnaker was a huge flag now flapping in the breeze.

“OK,” I thought.  “Now I’ll get going.”  So, I steered the boat downwind again.  Almost immediately, Snickerdoodle again was over on her side with the spinnaker in the water.  This time, the water was actually coming over the coaming and into the cockpit.  “Not good.” I thought.  And, I doused the spinnaker with the “Chute Scoop”; hoisted a jib and sailed down the lake.

Later, I began thinking about the water flowing over the coaming; and realized that with the hatch-boards out of the companionway that if we’d heeled much more there would have been a real chance that water would have found its way below into the cabin of the boat - - the chance of sinking becomes very real.  So, how can I prevent this from happening?

Of course, the easy answer is to simply put the hatch-boards in their slides.  But, if there is a lot of water on the boards, they might float out of the slides.  How can that be prevented?

My solution was to purchase four barrel bolt door latches…… you know the ones that you might have on a door so that the door can be locked quickly and simply by sliding the barrel into a hole or bracket.  I installed the barrel bolts near the upper corners of the bottom two (I have three) hatch-boards (photos above).  And, I drilled a quarter inch hole in the teak framing to correspond with the barrel bolts (photo above).  

Now, if it’s blowing “stink” with lots of wave action, it’s easy to lock the bottom hatch-board (or even the bottom two) and not worry that the board might float out in a knockdown.

I'm Re-Reading John Vigor's Book

I've been re-reading John Vigor's great little book titled "Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Sailing".  This book is less than 190 pages long - BUT is full of interesting advise and tidbits of knowledge.  Here are a couple examples - - - 

LIES - People always lie about how fast their boats are
Always take sailors' estimates of their boats' speed with a dose of salt.  They lie.  Mostly not deliberately, although you probably know a couple who do.  The trouble is that boat speed is very difficult to measure exactly.
Knotmeters are only as good as their calibration - often pure guesswork.  GPS is notoriously unreliable for speeds and doesn't account for current.
For accuracy time your progress over a know distance.  For example, to determine your maximum speed under power, find a measured nautical mile.  Many are marked on large-scale charts, but you can also use landmarks to measure your own.
- on a calm day, time the boat in seconds between the marks
- divide the number of seconds into 3,600.  The answer is your speed in knots.
- reverse your course and time the run between the marks again and find your speed.
- average the two speeds (NOT the two times).  The result is your true speed through the water.
- steam at top speed as before, and calibrate your knotmeter.
- repeat the speed trial in both directions to check the accuracy of your knotmeter and the distance log.
TIP: The measured course must be in water of about 30 feet or deeper.  Shallow water causes a drag and slows your boat.

RAIN - Sailing in the rain is miserable
Years ago I raced deepsea with a skipper who loved rain.  He used to roar at it and laugh loudly with his face upturned to the heavens.  He would punch rain drops with clenched fists, and wriggle with delight as icy streams trickled down his back.  I thought then that he was abnormal, and still do.  Normal people like me think it's miserable to sail in the rain, especially cold rain.
But now and then most of us have to sail in the rain because the great majority of sailboats have open cockpits at the aft end of the boat.  From there you can see the sails and feel the strength and direction of the wind, but you don't get much protection from the weather.
To make the best of a bad thing, you need good foulweather gear.  Most of today's waterproof jackets come with attached hoods but many people don't like hoods because they tend to stand still while you turn your head, thus restricting your line of sight to dead ahead.
The best rain headgear in my opinion is the tried and tested fisherman's sou'wester, with a thin woolen watch cap underneath.
TIP: If you wear glasses and need a peak to keep off rain, wear a baseball cap under your hood.

REEFING - It's O.K. to reef early
One of the greatest thrills in sailing is the feeling of being fully in control of a boat in heavy weather.  It's wonderfully satisfying and very reassuring when a boat fighting heavy winds and seas will respond quickly and surely to the lightest touch on the helm.
To reach this much-desired state of balance, you must reduce sail area by reefing and/or changing large sails for smaller ones.  It's not smart to struggle on with the boat lying over on her ear and the tiller up under your chin.  In fact, it's downright dangerous.
Reef as soon as the thought  occurs to you.  The later you leave it, the more difficult it is to tame the flapping canvas and haul the mainsail clew out to make an efficient flat shape.  You'll often hear that reefing will make you go faster but that's not necessarily true.  You'll notice that round-the-buoys racers rarely reef, no matter what the weather.
Ocean racers reef, though, because crew fatigue and efficiency is more of a concern over long periods than a slight loss in speed and having the boat under tight control is a great moral builder.
TIP: On most boats, if you're short-handed it's much easier to reef the mainsail if you first heave to, preferably on the starboard tack... the main halyard is usually rigged to starboard (hence to the windward side of the boat on starboard tack).


So, there are three examples cited in John Vigor's book.  If you get a chance to buy a copy, I'd say do so.  There are many more prudent and practical words of advice.  Enjoy!!!