rpackard
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2012
- Messages
- 127
- Location
- usa
- Vessel Name
- formerly owned Puffin/Lilliana
- Vessel Make
- Willard 30/40
I thought it might be useful to give my perspective on Peter's description of the inevitable maintenance required on a cruising boat. The problem is that boat owners and builders want to create a vessel with all the comforts of home. Part of that is the desire to give our cruising partner the feeling that we are in no way "roughing it".
Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.
For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.
I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.
You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.
Just my 2 cents.
Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.
For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.
I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.
You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.
Just my 2 cents.