Considering some big money upgrades for a Bahamas cruise...

Running on Empty · **Joined:** 06 Dec 2011 09:01 **Posts:** 23

Hi All,
I am looking for advice on solar, wind generator, watermaker, etc. I plan on heading to FL in OCT to begin work on Running on Empty and sailing on a 6 month cruise to the Bahamas. My questions are where to prioritize? I spent several months in Fort Myers Beach and Marathon last year learning the boat and working on her and hauling water was a big time sucky job. Do any of you have watermakers and are they worth spending $5k on?

Is it worth it to go the the Annapolis Sailboat show and do some shopping or should I just get these things online?

I will be single handling mostly, with occasional friends and family joining my two Yorkies and me for a week at a time.

Power needs: currently have two EU 2000i Hondas, so solar is not necessary, but would be nice to have. Am wondering if a giant 420 watt panel on Davits would do the trick.

Davits: want to sell the Dinghy Tow System and upgrade to Davits and mount some kind of tilt-able solar panel on top. I have read the posts and spoken to a few of the companies (Martek, Kato) but they are super spendy, especially the Kato at around $3300!

I just purchased a Doyle Stack Pack from a nice gentleman on that other Tartan owners site and should have it next week, so very excited about that.

Inverter? Should I bother? I guess I won't be watching too many movies unless there are Redbox kiosks on Green Turtle Cay! I need my coffee in the morning and some music, but that's about it unless there is access to free wifi over there.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and start some useful to me dialog with you guys. As a complete side note has anyone tried the camera copter that you control from your Iphone to take aerial photos? Sounded like a cool idea.

Thanks,
Joe
SV Running On Empty

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Joe,
Eventhough I haven't done extended cruising on ours, I have been prepping the boat for such an adventure including a wind generator and two Kyrocera 135watt solar panels. I also have Forespar davits that I think are a decent value, they may not be the best, but they work and were under $800 when I bought them at the boat show. The solar panels are mounted atop the bimini and work extremely well, in fact, I do not think I want to buy the Honda generator now, but we'll see. The wind genny is an old Ampair 100 that I bought used. It doesn't put out much electricity, but it is quiet and that is very important to me since I am a light sleeper. With combined solar and wind, they more than keep up with my electrical demands. I also upgraded all of my lighting to LED's and that made a significant difference but I understand they can be ruiined in a lightening storm although it hasn't happened to me yet. I run a Frigoboat refigeration unit that is low on amphour consumption and other than that, the electronics are not real hungry.
As far as watermakers are concerned, I have heard that they do not make sense in the Caribbean because you'll never buy enough water to justify the cost and hassle of maintenance. The Bahamas could be a different story since everything is more expensive and the out islands water may be more scarce. I will be adding a supplimental water tank in the starboard lazarette, maybe 20 gallons +/-. I plan on having it mounted vertically and outboard which should still leave enough room to access the engine and not impede on storage too badly.
The other upgrade that isn't too far down the road is additional propane storage. I would like to take out my existing single tank locker and exand it to accomodate a second tank. I should have enough room.

More later,
Tom

WayneH · **Posted:** 12 Jul 2012 10:40

Joe,

We have two 95 watt solar panels mounted over the aft end of our bimini. They are enough juice to recharge the batteries during the day so that the refrigerator can run all night long. The panels feed a Sunsaver Duo battery controller that maintains the charge on both batteries. We also installed LED lights throughout the entire boat to reduce current draw at night. Navigation lights SUCK energy if they are incandescent. We are currently opting out of wind power because everyone we've seen that has some time on it is real noisy. We bought our refrigerator kit from Frigibar. It's a royal PITA to install. Not a one person job at all. But we love it because it will refrigerate a 15 cubic foot icebox so imagine how well it cools our 7 cubic foot icebox!

Attachment:

File comment: 48X22 panels. 95 watts each.

Rebuild 026.jpg [ 145.7 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

Attachment:

File comment: Side view showing the mounting clamps and boom clearance.

Rebuild 027.jpg [ 152.63 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

http://www.frigibar.com/icebox-kits.htm

Coffee? We boil water and pour it into a french press. Fresh coffee every morning.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=561601

But if you REALLY need perked coffee:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1394497

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

We spent a week or so with some friends that are cruising Mexico on a Tayana 42 last year. After just a week I learned that I would not go anywhere without a water maker. What a giant PIA it was huckin' water jugs down to the marina, loading them into the dink and then running out to the boat at anchor. All in stifling heat. I ran into our old harbor master after he and his wife had been cruising for a year and the loved their water maker. Said it gave them no trouble. I suspect they are like any other system. They require periodic maintenance. From what I observed I just think it would move you centuries ahead in quality of life.

Velera · **Joined:** 29 Dec 2006 09:38 **Posts:** 656

Well you will get a variety of opinions. I spent two years in Central America going from San Francisco to Maine via Panama. Did not have a water maker and did not miss it, but I generally took showers in the evening in a sunshower (put a cleat on the backstay). I found places to fill the water and even when I paid for it it never was all that much compared to the cost of buying and maintaining a water maker. I ran all the water through a $30 filter--generally filling when I fueled though I did have two jerry jugs for water-- and bought the water for drinking in jugs. Not a big deal for me. There was only me and one other person on the boat and we are both experienced cruisers who are modest water users but we bathed every day. Had two sailor guests on board for 8 days in the San Blas Islands and I think we used about 60 gallons of the 90 and we were clean and got by fine. There are plenty of things to maintain on a boat without one. You might download a maintenance manual to see what you are signing up for. Maybe if I was going to live for a long time in one place....on a bigger boat...a big cat with a living room and flat screen TV.......things would be different. A Tartan 37 is a great sailing sea boat, but it does not have a lot of room for extra stuff when cruising.

I agree that wind generators are noisy and obnoxious (the new ones are better, but not much IMHO). Much better to have your Honda operate your shore charger (much faster than the Honda charging circuit) and get it over with. I had a Yamaha 1000 watt that drove my 40amp shore charger just fine. Carrying a decent amount of solar also makes sense, but I spent money with alternate mounts and extra stuff that was more a bother than value. You must have a good Bimini (one that can stand up to a good breeze and can come down quickly in a storm, and side curtain is a really nice thing because the sun is directly overhead for just a short time) and a whole boat awning is not a bad idea (I have one I might sell as I do not think I am going back at this point) to keep the boat cool. A sunbrella cover over the foward hatch is a very nice thing (umbrella arrangement that hooks to a halyard and the lifelines) so that you can keep the hatch open when it rains. It is hot there and you do not want to be cooped up with no air in the rain. I had a sailmaker make mine, but there must be a commercial product like it somewhere.

You do not need all the stuff many folks take IMHO. Some folks seem to use cruises as an excuse to buy major gadgets. But I think you are better off taking a substantial collection unique parts like impellers for your engine and dinghy. Having an extra raw water pump for my Westerbeke saved my boat when mine failed while threading through some coral heads in the surf to a lee shore in Panama--I was able to change it out in about 5 minutes and there was no way to sail out of the danger. If you take oil for changes put it in something so that it does not chafe and empty into the bilge (don't ask how I know this). You can generally get parts for Yamaha and Yanmar, but beyond that you will be dealing with customs and duty issues. Cost me $120 to get an outboard impeller shipped and duties paid for my Nissan in Mexico from the US--that did not include the impeller. You need a robust charging system with an oversized alternator and smart charger (assume you have this). I had a 105 amp alternator and a smart charger that made enough electricity most of the time just from motoring in and out of harbors. You may be doing something different with your time however. Solar has gotten more efficient, but I would still see it as a complement to your charging system, not the central mechanism. I did not have a Link monitor at the time, but I wished that I had had one.

You need at least 120 feet of chain in the tropics as coral--even the rubble of coral over sand---will chafe your rode in no time in a swell. I carried 240 and used nearly all of it a few times. Taking the time to properly set and using chain is more important than buying a new $800 anchor. I had a 120 watt inverter to charge the radios and never felt the need for anything else. A backup autopilot is a big deal. You do not mention it, but I would invest in a good below deck autopilot and an above deck backup before getting into comfort issues. Imagine having to sail or motor for a couple days round the clock with someone at the wheel. A good hypalon dinghy with some kind of hard floor (think of setting the second anchor) is essential--and a good repair kit for that. No one (except me and it was a terrible mistake) uses a PVC dinghy in the tropics. I didn't use davits, just used a halyard to hoist it and carried it inverted on the fordeck or deflated and stored it for longer trips. I never wanted to be on the open ocean with the dinghy threatening to fly away or fill with water. There were times off the Atlantic coast when having one there would have been a significant problem. I have some video of one of those times just 80 miles off New Jersey.

A lot of this is personal preference, I suppose, but on a 37 foot boat you need to make trade offs about how much you want to sail and enjoy the sights and how much you want to spend maintaining things and moving stuff around. I spent a lot of time moving stuff around and would go with less, and be more thoughtful about investing in different things, mostly quality backups for essential functions, if I was making the trip again.

Ray

Running on Empty · **Joined:** 06 Dec 2011 09:01 **Posts:** 23

Wow! Thanks for all of your info guys. I have not even thought of all of the spares I am going to need-good idea. I am a newbie for sure, but learn by doing and made great strides last season. I have a Caribe Hypalon with a fiberglass hull-it's in rough shape, but worked fine last year although I did pop it during decommissioning and scraping all of the barnacles off of it. Good patch kit on the list.

I plan on getting an EPIRB, self inflating life vest, portable vhf, ditch bag at the very least. I ran some jacklines last year and had a cumbersome and uncomfortable harness from the po onboard and that was a good safety feature.

Lots to think on and I will respond in a few days after digesting it all.

Sounds like at least one solar panel would help with the electrical needs and if I can do it for $1000, I guess it will make the cut.

Has anyone taken down their masts? I am also considering a Garmin wind sensor and helm display since I have the original instruments on board and it is very hard to see the wind speed on the old sensor. If I am to go LED with the anchor light and install a wind sensor I wonder if it is easier to take down the mast and re wire it? The boat is on the hard already. Thoughts?

Is a back up below decks auto pilot really necessary? Probably around $3-$4k for a Garmin off the top of my head. I currently have a Raymarine wheel pilot 40 series I think. It does not talk to the Garmin 740 CP yet, but there is a compass sensor at the mast and I got the NEMA 2000 starter kit last year but have not started that yet. Hopefully I can get them to talk to each other as now I kind of play with the + and - buttons and have gotten a nack of magnetic north, GPS heading and autopilot heading and figured out how to sail that way, but it sure would be nice to have a Garmin below deck that would interface with the new wind sensor and CP and hold an actual course!

Still on the fence about the watermaker,, but I think it may be a luxury I don't need at this stage so thanks for all of your input on that. It would definately be a nice to have, though! My fridge is the original Aldur Barbur unit and it keeps humming away but draws about 10 amps I think.

My plan is to spend about $6-8k on upgrades and have at least $12k in the cruising kitty and emergency fund. If I am frugal I think it will be plenty for 6 months.

Thanks again,
Joe

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

If your frig is drawing 10 amps you're going to need some significant battery bank and charging capacity. But I would find out why it draws so much. Should be closer to 5-6 amps. Solar will help with percieved battery capacity. Take the mast down to wire it. You'll want to rebed all the fasteners and inspect every inch of it anyway. A friend of mine (the guy with the Tayana) has sailed thousands of mile with an under deck autopilot and no available steering at the helm. It has saved his bacon a number of times. But...he has a center cockpit boat and the steering cable routing on CC boats is notoriusly torturous and prone to failure. Much less of an issue on our T-37s. Check you rudder pintle!

Running on Empty · **Joined:** 06 Dec 2011 09:01 **Posts:** 23

Hi All,
I've been at the boatyard for 6 weeks already, probably another 3 weeks to go working on Running on Empty...The big money upgrades are more like a ton of little upgrades ending up costing big money!!!

Got custom Davits built by a local welder out of anodized aluminum-will post pics, and he is coming back today for finishing touches and to make me a place for a 30lb propane bottle and my grill on the rails. Hope I didn't go overkill on this one, but wanted strong davits to hoist up the dink and 25hp motor and not mess with taking the motor off, so I went big but light weight.

Took the mast down to rewire everything since the old datamarine wind wire was not budging at all...Turns out to be a blessing in disguise as I have since replaced all wiring, new windex, new Stecktronics LED Tricolor (ouch,) new VHF, new Garmin wind instrument, new loud hailer PA horn, etc. The worst part is I polished the mast and the polish got sucked into the oxidized paint and stayed there after buffing...Hiring a pro detailer to do the entire boat, mast included-anything can be fixed if you just throw another thousand bucks at it...At this rate I'll be in the bahamas for 2 months, not 6!

Purchased a new double bend pedestal guard with upgraded 1 1/4 tubing, got a new Scanstrut Navpod for all of the instruments and am currently wiring all of that up, learning a ton as I go. At the helm I will have a bit of reduced visibility while sitting, but a worthy trade off for the safety of all the instruments right in front of me.

Will begin conquering the engine room next-got a bit rusty in there since the packing was whirling salt water around last year, so I'll be cleaning all of that up and figuring out what needs to be replaced and rehabbed.

I'll keep updating as I go...Someday I'll be afloat Smile

Tartan37.com

Considering some big money upgrades for a Bahamas cruise...

Who is online