Interesting to observe that most people think about adding pieces of gear. I would put preparation under six sub topics: - Boat integrity: how do I ensure that the boat is top shape. Think about hull/deck joint, keel bolts, thru hulls, bulkheads, mast step, chainplates, rig, steering... I replaced all thru hulls, all rigging, add new sails designed for ocean, added bulkheads, redid mast step, built new steering while adding a windvane. - Safety, in terms of hazards: fire, first aid, injuries, diseases, collisions, sinking, capsize, dismasting, man overboard prevention, injury prevention (I've seen a third degree burn due to a plate of hot spaghetti with sauce landings on bare legs)... - Boat handling in all possible conditions : steering and sail handling. Autopilot uses energy, windvane don't. Energy requires good balance between production and consumption. Remember, you have to be fully autonomous. - Training of the crew: did you ever sail all night, in all weather, handled sails at night, experienced rough seas, fatigue? Fatigue is the worst enemy, impairing jugment. Never underestimate fatigue. - Taking care of the crew: feeding, sleeping, drinking, entertaining. This is a big topic. Water: we had 40 gallons for three people leaving North America. Only half of it was used when we reached the Azores. But we had a salt water faucet in the galley for all needs not requiring fresh water. Food preservation: if you want a fridge, be ready for big electrical consumption. - Navigation: selecting a route, sailing a route, interpret weather forecast, analyze weather forecasts against direct weather observation. Most of the time spent on navigation at sea is about comparing weather forecasts with direct observation, translating what this means in terms of the chosen route and evaluating options such as: you are sailing close hauled, which gets you progressively off course. At one point, you believe you will need to tack to bring you back on course. But, after you'll have tacked, you won't make any progression towards your destination for a while. The weather forecast tells you that the wind will eventually shift. What do you make of all of this? You will spend hours during the days thinking about this, monitoring any changes. Much more when rough weather is coming. A word about rough weather. You see it in the sea first. Long waves that do not correspond to current wind conditions appears, apparently coming from nowhere. Then, as these waves progressively increase, the wind starts building up. Midway throughout the low, the sea gets confused as another train of waves superimposed itself to the one. A wind shift is coming, the hard or easy way. Easy way, the wind die fairly rapidly before building up again from a new direction. Meanwhile the sea will keep shaking you. The hard way: the wind shift through a line of squalls. I didn't like this one, it might be multiple lines of squalls.
Each of these six topics could be discussed at length for quite a while. Small tricks can improve a lot some aspects. Small example: I have a radar mid mast. On two occasions on my way to Europe, the main halyard went around the radar while reefing (above spreaders). This happens at night of course. Try to get back the damn halyard at night. On my return, a small length of line between shrouds prevented the halyard from going around the radar. It sounds like nothing but have you thought about the consequences of not being able to handle your mainsail at night in bad weather? Storage fees, it costed me 1200 Canadian dollars for storage in France for a year. Forget about the idea of selling to boat over there, not a simple matter. Security: Epird vs AIS. Ideally, both are wanted. However, Epirb is a last resort piece of gear, like a life raft, the kind of thing where you spend substantial amount of money with the hope it will never be used. But it does nothing on the prevention side. An AIS tells you where other boats are and tells other boats where you are, to prevent collisions from happening, the collision for which you actually need to ultimately have a life raft and an Epirb. But the idea should be first to avoid collisions. So, spend some time thinking about what a piece of safety gear really does and how it contributes to improving your safety. In the end, always remember: boats are safe in harbor, but this is not what boats were made for. One want to understand risks and cope with it. If you want to avoid all risks, stay in the harbor. Antoine (C&C 30, Cousin) Le 2013-09-01 à 13:30, Chuck S a écrit : > Brent, > I think most C&Cs are built strong enough to make an Atlantic crossing, but I > would prefer a heavier, stiffer vessel like a Swan for such a task. > It made me ask the question: how would I prepare my present boat for such a > challenge? > > Here's a short list to start: > Rehead all rod ends > Add EPIRB, AIS, backup AutoHelm > Add Storm sails > Add sprit and rollgen for light winds > Add Dodger > Install backing plates to all lifeline stanchions. > Fabricate boards to cover the side windows should any be damaged, stow below. > Fabricate an emergency rudder. > Investigate drogues or sea anchors > Investigate desalinators > Consider a generator or water turbine generator > > Time of year is crucial; I'd probably prefer to do it between June and July, > before hurricane season > > Work; who can afford to take off that much time? Are we sailing the boat > back? Right away? Storage cost, slip fees in Europe? > Might it be easier to buy a boat in Europe and sail her home? > > Chuck > Resolute > 1990 C&C 34R > Atlantic City, NJ > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com
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