We prepared the boat as best we could before leaving Canada. I thought we did a pretty good job at the time but many factors influenced change over the six years. I will attempt to explain what worked and what didn’t along with the changes we made and why we made those changes.
Prior to leaving, we installed the plastic snap tiles (Duragrid) under all mattresses, and on the floor of storage lockers, and even on the bottom of the bilge (not under the engine). These tiles have prevented mildew from forming by providing a little airflow underneath things. They have been totally maintenance free. We used Duragrid which are a little more difficult to find but less than half the price of similar tiles sold in marine stores. We found ours in Costco.
http://www.duragrid.com/inorder.html
Good ground tackle is one of the most essential things we have on board. Heavy chain and good oversized anchors as well as knowing how to anchor are more important than knowing how to sail. We have learned a lot about anchoring since we’ve been out but this doesn’t mean we’ve got it perfect yet. We have been very pleased with our choice of anchors. The Delta is still used as our primary with 100ft of 3/8 BBB chain and 250 ft. of 5/8” rope. The Fortress has become our secondary with 50ft 3/8 BBB chain and 200 ft. of 5/8” rope. The Bruce anchor is buried at the bottom of the anchor locker and we have picked up a small fisherman’s anchor, which works great as a stern anchor of lunch hook.
We started off in Toronto with Pettit ACP-50 which worked very well but isn’t available anymore. We switched to Pettit Ultima SR (ablative) and we were pleased with its performance. We raised our waterline and replaced the maroon bottom stripe by applying Interlux 2000 and then Pettit Trinidad SR hard. We have been extremely pleased with this combination. The hard paint is visible and but looks good and does not brush off when the dinghy or a swimmer brush up against it.
While in Venezuela we tried ABC3 antifouling paint. We were very pleased with it and although it is manufactured worldwide, it is difficult to find dealers in the islands.
After a very nasty overnight passage with Rick hanging over the side feeding the fish and me having difficulty holding the helm we finally decided to purchase an autopilot. I wish we had done it years ago. The autopilot is like having a very experienced crew member onboard.
Years without an autopilot taught us by watching others that it is important to purchase an autopilot sized for a much heavier boat. Cruising friends who had skimped a little in the sizing were fine in good weather but as soon as the going got tough, they would have to turn off the autopilot and hand steer. We wanted something that would steer for us in the worst conditions which is what we know have.
A bonus, which we never considered is that after creating our route on the electronic charts and uploading the waypoints to the GPS, the GPS interfaces with the autopilot and steers the course for us. All we have to do is sit comfortable and keep watch.
http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/
We left home with 6 golf cart size Surrette batteries which provided us with 820 of house amps. Our starter battery was Delco.
When the batteries were 5 years old we decided to replace them. It was ridiculously expensive to have Surrette Batteries (Rolls) shipped to the islands so we decided to try a much less expensive U.S. Batteries. That was in the summer of 2005. As of 2007 they are still strong and providing all the amps we need.
Our bilge alarm has definitely saved our boat and us twice. It is such an easy and inexpensive item to install and yet I can’t believe the number of boats down here without one. They try to strike fear in our hearts by telling of their experiences of going below and finding water above their floorboards. I would never leave dock or home without a very loud buzzer or siren mounted under a cockpit locker (approximately 100 decibels) and connected to a high water sensor. The sensor is placed about 1 inch from the bottom of the bilge. The cost of the buzzer is about $5 and the high water sensor is about $40.
Our exterior buzzer is wired so that it can be turned off when at dock. The interior alarm (not quite so loud) is loud enough not to disturb dock neighbours if it goes off.
When we are underway the cockpit alarm is turned on and can be heard over a roaring storm and the engine. Should the water in the bilge rise to 1 inch, the bilge pump will go on, the alarm will sound and we will jump out of our seats it is so loud. We then relax and wait for the bilge pump to cycle and turn off. If it goes again we jump into action and search for the problem but in most cases the pump is just getting rid of normal bilge water from a stuffing box etc. and will not sound a second time.
I am so glad we that we had to change to a midship boarding ladder. It is much easier to climb aboard from midship rather than from the stern.
http://www.stainlessoutfitters.com/Index.htm
We left home with a bread maker on board and I can testify to it causing a weight gain of at least 20lbs.
It is important to make sure that if you purchase a bread maker it will work with your inverter. Many bread makers require a true sine wave but most inverters provide a modified (square) sine wave. So make sure you match the two.
In the Caribbean, if we are anchored at deserted islands, I am now able to make bread by hand. It takes longer and is more work but the advantage is that I don’t make it as often so we don’t eat as much. I also make flat bread and English muffins that cook nicely on the top of the stove rather than turning on the oven.
All non-deserted islands have wonderful bakeries so buying bread is easy.
We left Canada with seven Hot Wire fans installed throughout the boat. A couple of fans eventually died but considering the fact that we almost never turned them off, six years of solid non-stop running with two deaths is excellent. We replaced dead ones with our spare Hot Wire units. We still believe they are the best. The only problem we have had with them is that the chrome covers like to rust after a couple of years in the salt environment. So we removed the covers and the air flow has increased.
A digital camera is a must but again technology has improved so much that almost any brand is good. Similar to the laptop, a camera in the salt environment has a limited life. I would love to have a digital SLR camera however for our purpose, it would be awkward to have with us at all times. The little pocket cameras are great because they are so compact and easy to carry.
The canvas wore well. The thread lasted one year before I had to have everything re-stitched. The full enclosure was useful coming south but hadn’t come out of the cockpit locker since Florida. We got rid of the enclosure and will probably never have another until we decide to return to colder places. We added to our canvas by having our squall-proof wind hatch and sunshades that attach to the bimini made. While in Venezuela where the workmanship was excellent and the prices inexpensive we replaced all of the canvas, bimini, dodger and mainsail cover. It has been a couple of years since then and it still looks like new.
The cockpit floor is covered with a wet/dry vinyl matting which has proven to be indestructible, maintenance free and very comfortable on the feet. I would never have anything else as flooring in the cockpit.
Our SSB/Ham radio has worked very well. Our initial modem was a Pactor 1. We purchased a new Pactor 3 modem and it has been a nice treat receiving our email within seconds rather than minutes at an increased speed. We are now able to receive our weather reports using the Pactor 3 rather than have to sit and received weather faxes with are slow and often not clear.
The latest advance in technology is Wifi which is found in almost every anchorage of habited islands. In many instances the Wifi is accessible from your boat and is free. If your antenna is not strong enough to pick up the signal, many restaurants and bars offer free Wifi if you take you laptop ashore.
We purchased a special WiFi antenna from Radio Labs and have found that we can pick up strong signals while other boats can’t get a signal at all.
Making the courtesy flags was fun but I haven’t even used half of them yet. Many cruisers purchase their flags while they are checking into a new country. I’m not sure which is the better way to go but at least we have a little incentive to visit more places
There were very strong davits installed on Wind-Borne when we purchased her. The stainless fabricator did a great job installing the solar panels above our bimini but if I had the opportunity to “do it all again”, I would have built a unit that provided a large solid bimini, davits, a mount for solar panels, wind generator, antennas and a derrick for the outboard motor. Sailing is often about compromise and we are pleased with what we have, it’s not perfect but it works well for us.
The davits we have, raise the dinghy high above the water but most davits allow for a side to side swing (unintentionally) of the dinghy which can weaken and even destroy the davits in heavy seas. Rick uses adjustable cargo straps and fastens the dingy in a crosswise fashion to prevent this side to side motion. We have seen boats with davits which are not strong enough or high enough to be able to carry the dinghy in rough seas. These boats raise and carry their dinghy upside down on the foredeck.
The initial Aquapro dinghy that we started with was a disappointment. It performed well and we felt it was the perfect dinghy until we found a very small leak in one of the seams. When we took it to be repaired we learned that the dinghy we had purchased and believed to be Hypalon was really just PVC. Aquapro was very good at offering to replace the tubes etc. but we had paid top dollar for a dinghy we hoped would last for many years. PVC will not stand up to the tropical environment so we purchased a new Caribe dinghy, model C9 while in Venezuela. The Caribe and AB dinghies are manufactured in Venezuela. It is the dinghy of choice used by almost all cruisers in the Caribbean. It is definitely constructed using hypalon. The bottom is fibreglass, which is heavier than the aluminium but not much. They do make a light weight dinghy but we chose not to buy that one. The one we chose has a keel the full length of the dinghy and it provides additional stability in rough seas. The other change we made was to buy a nine foot instead of a ten foot dinghy this time. The extra foot was nice especially when we had four people and groceries in the dinghy but the majority of time, nine feet was more than adequate. http://www.caribeinflatables.com/
The year before leaving Canada we had a mechanic service the engine. New injectors were installed, exhaust hosing replaced, oil coolers replaced along with a couple of engine mounts. The starter motor was rebuilt, a new electric fuel pump was installed and the mechanical one removed.
The Yanmar diesel seems to love the warm temperatures. It chugged along nicely and we used it a lot. We had to replace the high output alternator in 2003. The only other problem we encountered and it’s really not with the engine but with the thru hull, is that when we are on a port tack with the engine running in very rough seas sometimes we get an air lock in the engine intake. We don’t have a temperature gauge on our panel only an overheating alarm. Since we know this happens, when we have encountered an extremely nasty wave one of us will go below and check that there is still water in the engine strainer. If we find there is no water then we stop the engine. In order to resolve the problem, we loosen the strainer cap and turn the engine over with the kill switch on (so that we don’t actually start the engine) and it breaks the air lock. The engine intake strainer is a clear plastic Vetus unit that is very easy to view and service when needed.
In 2006, we found that salt water had been sitting in our engine for quite a while unbeknownst to us. When after sitting at anchor for quite a while, we tried to start the engine we found it seized. We had to have the engine removed and rebuilt. The salt water in the engine was caused by two errors on our part.
We have an exhaust hose that runs up and across the back of the transom then runs down toward the exhaust thru hull. When we stopped the engine the amount of water in the hose was more than the old stainless steel waterlock muffler could hold so it backed up into the engine. The second error was that our boat had never had an anti siphon to prevent the backflow of the water.
When the engine was reinstalled we corrected the problem by installing a large Vetus waterlock muffler and a little Vetus anti siphon unit at the mixing elbow of the engine. Our good ole Yanmar Engine is chugging along better than ever now.
1: 4JHE Yanmar Type “L” Mixing Elbow
2: Vetus Type Anti siphon Vent Type “V”
3: Vetus Waterlock Muffle Type “NLP 75”
By now both Rick and I have probably forgotten everything we learned during our first aid course. Our first aid kit has been sitting untouched for six years (good news) but there is nothing in it that would expire. Some of the out islands where we have anchored have absolutely no one to help, should you require first aid. So a good first aid kit is like having a good set of flares, you hope you never have to use them.
We have had many opportunities to use the (non-prescription) medications that we brought. We brought a lot of prescription medications as well and they have just about expired without being used. The most used non-prescription medication, which is at times hard to get on some islands, is Benadryl caplets and Benadryl cream. When eaten alive by mosquitoes I have used the caplets but normally a little cream is all that’s required to calm the itching.
http://www.searoom.com/medical1.htm
FRS radios are a waste of money if the objective is to use them while anchoring. The wind is normally strong enough that even with the voice activated headsets on, one cannot understand what the other is trying to say. This is not just the case on Wind-Borne, other boats have had the same problem. So we no longer attempt to use them for anchoring. Since we have them on board and our friends do as well, we use them while at anchor to have private conversations rather than conversing on the VHF for all to hear.
We have been very pleased with the Hood furling system. One day if we need a new main sail and have extra cash we would consider in the boom furling for the main sail.
http://www.pompanette.com/pompweb.nsf/pages/hoodmain
http://forespar.com/leisureFurl2/historyOfLeisureFurl.shtml
When we left home, a gas powered generator was not an option because we didn’t have a place to store the large bulky things that were available then. Things have changed; the Honda Generator 2000 has improved our quality of life onboard dramatically. Amps are no longer an issue.
When at anchor for more than a few days we place the generator on a rubber pad on the foredeck and lock it to the toe rail. While making a very short hop passage, we place the generator on the cockpit floor by the table. When making a long and potentially rough passage we store the generator down in the cabin, tucked securely beside the table.
The generator is used almost daily for a couple of hours. While it is running we turn on the water maker, vacuum, surf the net or make use of any high amp items we own.
The cost of the generator in relation to the cost of a diesel engine is ridiculously inexpensive so rather than run the main engine for extra amps the Honda provides all we need.
Our Furuno 1621 radar system came with the boat when we bought it. We thought it was great for the fog in Canada and the northern States but that it wouldn’t be of much use in the Caribbean. Wrong! When sailing at night with nothing visible, everything becomes visible on the radar screen. You can track the ships and boats (even those without their lights on), and determine their course as opposed to yours. We have found it extremely useful since we don’t always sail with a full moon and our eyes do deceive us especially in the dark.
The Furuno GPS 30 unit is my best friend. The fact that it interfaces with the radar and we have both on the screen in the cockpit makes it a perfect combination. We are able to see our next waypoint and it’s location in relation to the land (not reefs) around us.
The anchor alarm on the GPS is set as soon as the anchor is set. We begin by setting the alarm to notify us if our position changes more than 50 feet. Because of changing winds and currents if this gives us too many false alarms, we change it to 100 feet. We have been able to sleep through very strong winds that without the alarm we would have been up all night on anchor watch.
The Furuno GPS interface with the computer accepts uploads and downloads of waypoints and routes from our Fugawi Navigation system. This saves manually keying in a lot of waypoints and eliminates the chance of keying errors. We have a hand held Garmin GPS that we like to keep as a back up.
The Rariton head has been good. Rick has had to service it once in the four years since it was installed. In 2007, we replaced all of the hosing while we were anchored near a chandlery that had plenty of selection and supply of hosing. It’s a good thing to do every five years.
As well we use vinegar regularly to prevent calcium build up in the hoses. Stronger chemicals will damage the parts in the head.
We have found that a laptop, no matter how well you care for it, will only last about three years in the salt environment. We have bought top of the line and the basic student models and it still made no difference in longevity. Most people, including ourselves need only a basic model. We have been pleased with Toshiba and the availability of serve and parts everywhere.
I will never be the same after our years in the Caribbean. I have been so spoiled with regard to laundry. In marinas and in anchorages, there are always ladies who do a wonderful job of washing, drying and folding your laundry. Some will pick up and deliver to your boat, others you must take it to them. All laundry ladies are located very close to dinghy docks or beaches. They all have modern washers and most use dryers as well. Some of the smaller islands where electricity is an issue, they line dry the clothes rather than use a dryer. They will use their soap or you can supply your own products. Laundry is almost always a same day service.
So, my Sudsy Washer was given away, I’ve never bought a scrub board and the only time I do our own laundry any more is at small deserted islands where we don’t wear a lot of clothes anyway. To clarify this last statement, we spend most of our time in bathing suits.
If you do plan to do laundry on board the most difficult part of washing the clothes is squeezing all of the water out. The water is very soft and therefore it takes a lot of rinsing to remove all of the soap. The most useful thing (which I don’t have) is an old fashioned clothes ringer that can be mounted on a rail on deck or in the cockpit.
Rick still likes his mast steps but we have heard that Pace-Edwards is no longer making the aluminium fixed steps.
Again we’re trying to keep up to technology. The VHS player worked fine but really DVD’s are the way to go on a boat. We didn’t want to buy a DVD player because our laptop has that capability. Watching DVD’s on a laptop is not the best, as you must sit cheek to cheek so that the screen lighting is right for both. We researched and found a company that makes a variety of cables to connect laptops to TV’s and/or VHS machines. This allowed us to use our laptop as a DVD player and watch the movie on the TV. Technology has changed so quickly that although our TV, CD/stereo player still work well, they are very outdated compared to what is available now.
Our Outboard motor finally gave up the ghost. We initially had a Suzuki two-stroke 9.9hp, oil injected motor and loved it. It worked well and we probably could have kept it running rather than purchase a new outboard but it needed a major over haul after five years of salt water and our decision was to buy new instead of spending more money on the old one.
We chose a Yamaha Enduro two-stroke 15hp for our new outboard. Yamaha outboards are used by the locals throughout the Caribbean which means spare parts are available everywhere. The two-stroke engines are much lighter in weight than the four-stroke and therefore easier to lift aboard while on the dinghy or when using the derrick to put it on the engine mount for passages. Although two stroke engines are now difficult to purchase in Canada, they are plentiful and popular in the Caribbean.
We began with a very expensive portable printer and have switched to a compact household HP printer that was less than $60 dollars and works great. The cost of ink is still an issue but we don’t print as often anymore. Our printing is normally pictures that we provide to locals who don’t have a computer or charts which we print from our Fugawi system prior to heading out on a passage.
Propane is definitely the fuel to use in the Caribbean. Available absolutely everywhere it is usually mixed with a percentage of butane but this is a non issue when using it.
A few small islands use returnable tanks rather than have a filling station on the island. Getting a tank filled can be difficult in these places. We spend a lot of time in the Grenadines with this situation. Initially, we tried filling our own tank from another but it can take forever and is not necessarily the safest thing to do. Many of the stores maintain an inventory of full 10 lb tanks and once you purchase one of their tanks, you can just take it in and pick up a full one for a couple of dollars. The empty tanks are taken by ferry to be filled on a larger island and then returned to the local stores. The problem for North American cruisers is that these tanks are European and have a different connection and regulators than ours.
Rick, with the help of Jonathan from Island Waterworld constructed a conversion connection so that we could use the local tanks with our existing American/Canadian propane system.
Our aluminium tanks have been wonderful. We don’t worry about rust and they are much lighter in weight than the steel tanks, even I can carry them.
The Force 10 stove has worked well but eventually I had to purchase a new front panel. The temperature indicators on the panel were just stencilled. When on one of my cleaning sprees, happened to use some Windex to give it a nice shine, I wiped the temperature markings off. I know approximately where they were so it wasn’t a priority replacement. The reason I purchased a new panel is that Force 10 now etches the marks onto the panel rather than using stencils.
http://www.force10.com/galleyranges/index2.html
We are so pleased that we came with a Magma barbecue. It gets used a lot at anchor to save heating the cabin by using the stove or oven. Everyone goes through regulators down here like they are going out of style. It’s a pain but the one good thing is that Magma barbecue parts are available on every island in the Caribbean. This is not the case with Force 10 or Dickinson barbecue parts.
We found that spraying the regulator with WD40 and storing it in a Ziploc bag it lasts much longer.
http://www.magmaproducts.com/Products/Marine_Products/
Our Nova Kool refrigeration system was great but died quick and honourable death at 17 years of age in the tropics. We replaced it with a “Stone Cold” Refrigeration system “built in the tropics, for the tropics” by Nau-T-Kol in Trinidad. It has proven to be an excellent system, which is air and water-cooled. It circulates fresh water from our water tank to cool the system, rather than requiring a thru hull and bringing in and using salt water. This system keeps our fridge and evaporator plate making ice cubes overnight in the air temperatures of almost 37C° or 100°F degrees. The only problem we have had with it in almost 2 years was a loose connection. In 2007 we needed a new evaporator plate and have replaced the thermostat but we are still very pleased with our Nau-T-Kol.
The rigging has held up well but since it’s more than 20 years old it was time to replace it.
We had new chain plates made while in Venezuela in 2005. The two forward and aft stays were replaced in 2006 while in Grenada. We hope to finish the job in 2007-2008 season.
When sailing, if the seas are even a little rough or the winds strong, we wear our harnesses. We have found that the Mustang manual inflatable PFD is very comfortable to wear and we are both comfortable having the harnesses clipped on. Having our harness attached is a lot easier than conducting man overboard drills in rough seas. We always wear our harness in open water and after dark.
http://www.mustangsurvival.com/catalog/
The basic sails are still good but we got rid of the Gennaker. There are not enough light winds here to justify keeping the Gennaker which was using up prime storage space.
We gave away our riding sail when we had solar panels installed. The two were incompatible.
We had to have the UV protector replaced on the head sail and stay sail. In Canada, a very light UV fabric is used which won’t stand up in the tropic sun. The new UV protector for the sails in now made of Sunbrella fabric. It doesn’t affect the sail shape because our sails are made of a heavy Dacron fabric. The winds are too strong for light weight sails so this works well for us.
Wind-Borne had bronze thru hulls when we purchased her but before leaving home we replaced the gate valves with bolted through sea cocks and installed heavy duty reinforced hosing. We open and close the seacocks every once in a while to ensure they haven’t seized.
We realised that although our wind generator was working well it wasn’t enough to keep up with our demands. We selected Kyocera 120 amp solar panels. They are somewhat lighter in weight than other panels of the same or less wattage. While in Carriacou we had a stainless steel frame built above the bimini to support two panels. We did not have the frame built to allow us to tilt the panels because every one we have seen with that ability has the panels tilted the wrong way. To continually tilt the panels to the sun, one must become a slave to their solar panels. We chose instead to leave them level. Sometimes by 9AM we find the amp meter is already indicating that we have over 8 amps being produced. By noon and early afternoon we almost always have well over 10 amps on the meter.
Tupperware is the way to go. It not only keeps things fresh but if in error we have purchased something that later is determined to have a little extra protein (weavels etc.), they are nicely contained in one spot and not throughout the boat.
(Bay leaves are in all my containers but they do not work 100%)
The tank Monitors have been a “nice to have”. The fuel and water tank monitors are working well but we gave up trying to use a monitor for the holding tank.
http://www.wema.no/Engelsk/Wema-norsk.htm
One of the wisest things I did was to make the settee covers using cotton percale. It is so easy to pull them off and throw them in the laundry every two to three weeks, depending upon how grubby we’ve been. After five years I decided I wanted rid of the covers. We now sit on the actual upholstery which means I have to clean it more often. I will ensure that whenever we reupholster there will be no buttons on the cushions. They would be so easy to zip and remove for cleaning if it weren’t for the buttons.
The salt is very hard on everything. Our wash down is a fresh water system installed midship. We use a 50 foot hose which can easily wash all areas of the boat (including the rigging at the top of the mast) and it works great in the cockpit as a shower after our swim.
We have learned that all watermakers require on going maintenance but it’s worth it. The Spectra was and is more expensive than other watermakers but we have been extremely pleased with the service provided by Glenn at Spectra. Having a watermaker allows us to remain at some of the deserted islands for as long as we wish. Unlike the cruisers who must purchase water, we never have to worry about our water quality. We installed an additional feed pump on our system and we now are able to produce about 12-14 gallons per hour.
http://www.spectrawatermakers.com/
The Air Marine wind generator has been wonderful. It puts out higher amps than most and it can withstand the higher winds that we get down here. We have also learned that it’s one of the safer wind generators. “Wind Bugger” wind generators can be extremely dangerous. We heard of some incidences and actually assisted in one where the aluminium blades flew off at high speed and became deadly missiles to the cockpit occupants.
http://www.windenergy.com/PRODUCTS/air403.html
The Voyager Windvane (aka Jane the Vane) worked well but we found that it would be better for ocean crossings rather than island hopping. We removed our windvane in 2006 after using the autopilot for a while.
petertietz@voyagerwindvanes.com
We have been using a manual windlass (Lofrans Royal) that came with our boat and it has performed very well. Over time, the cogs in the gypsy have begun to wear and Rick has begun to age. These factors have influenced us to move the purchase of a new electric windlass to the top of our list. We hope to install a nice new Lofrans Kobra this year but they are currently backordered from the manufacturer. We chose the Kobra because the motor in it is large enough for the weight of our boat and the foot print is very similar to that of the Royal, reducing the amount of redesign of the anchor locker and deck.
