A springtime review of the area surrounding the world headquarters of Dashew Offshore has become somewhat of a tradition. This year we are also testing the high speed delivery system to its max, these images being harder on the pipeline than mere renderings.

We are often asked why we picked Southern Arizona as a base of operations when landbound. There are many reasons, and right now Mother Nature is showing one of them, just how alluring spring can be in the Sonoran desert. Surprisingly, there are a number of other circumavigators in the area (perhaps there should be a Southwestern USA circumnavigator association). All of the photos that follow were either taken on our property, or very close thereto.

It has been a very long day, with a previously short evening, and after three multi-hour Skype calls to different parts of the world, your correspondent is in need of a pick-me-up. There’s the cold Izze soda awaiting in the corporate lounge, and probably some cheese and crackers. But after a day like this what energizes the soul even more is a bit of Wicked sex.

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We’ve been hard at work fine-tuning FPB 97-1 for her very experienced owner. His goal is a highly efficient cruising platform, one which is easy to maintain, and has the highest degree of reliability. There is an instinctive understanding of the difference between the theoretical ideal and the everyday practical. The results so far, of this collaborative effort towards the perfect family cruising yacht, may surprise some observers.

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We’ve had the dubious honor of being asked to leave our shared internet server. Turns out we were “hogging” something like 95% of the bandwidth. As a result, we now have a dedicated server and a series of other “tweaks”, which Google Analytics tells us has cut the download times in half for SetSail visitors. So, we thought we’d try a test and increase the size of the art in a post and get your feedback.

One of the more difficult design issues is positioning the stabilizer fins. The considerations are as follows:

While we were away for a few days the news was full of “information” about the loss of a Hunter 37 and its crew in the Ensenada Race. This morning Todd Rickard mentioned that the Spot track for the Aegean was available on Sailing Anarchy, so we took a quick look.

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This is a brief story about cruising in the olden days, just after World War II. It is also a story about how the Dashew family made their way to the (then) golden land of California.  It starts with Stanley Dashew, the family patriarch, deciding at age 30 that he wanted to do some serious cruising. In 1947, with coastal patrol yachts from WW II coming onto the market, the lovely John Alden schooner, Constellation, was available at the bargain price of  $14,000.

We were visiting with family last week in Los Angeles. We love our family, but dislike LA intensely. It is too crowded, smoggy, ugly, and noisy for our tastes. And did we mention the traffic? But this lovely blue heron, and the photos that follow, were taken in the heart of downtown LA, along the banks (concrete though they be) of the Los Angeles “river”. A reminder that, even in destinations we dislike, but have to venture through, if one but looks there are almost always redeeming features.

The FPB 97 has a wicked amount of fuel and water capacity, so much so that only in special circumstances would the full amounts of either ever be carried. The weight and position of these liquids obviously have a substantial impact on fore and aft trim and stability. We are dealing with close to 37,000 liters/9,800US gallons of capacity (after deducting for structure, separating coffer dams, and stabilizer coffers).

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Big news in the FPB world. FPB 97-1 is underway, and the folks at Circa are hard at work, getting ready for the day when they start to cut metal. On our end, we are ever so pleased to have released hull shape 975-80-C for building. The process that brings us to this point is long, painstaking, and involves a mix of scientific analysis and black art (also known as gut instinct born of experience). As we tend towards obsessive about such topics, perhaps a few comments might be in order.

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We’ve been hearing a lot about the Simrad 4G broadband radar, so when Cory McMahon of Triton Marine mentioned he could arrange a test aboard Wind Horse, we jumped at the chance. That’s the radome sitting on a 90cm/36″ hatch just forward of the flying bridge. Power draw is miniscule, the radome, as you can see, is tiny, and frankly, we found it hard to believe the claims of the 4G BB capabilities. What follows is a very brief test, but one that will give you a feel for what may be possible.

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This is an appropriate photo with which to bring you up to date. One door closes, another opens. We are pleased to report that metal has begun to be cut for FPB 64s numbers eight and nine, while production engineering has officially begun for the first FPB 97. Metal for FPB 97-1 is scheduled to be on the cutting table the third quarter of  2012. When FPB 97-1 launches fourth quarter 2014, she will be cruised by her owners on their own, without permanent crew, although there will be crew facilities should a future owner wish a hand or two with maintenance.

And closer in time, FPB 64-5 is nearing completion. FPB 64-9 will be the last in that series for now, after which all attention will be focused on the FPB 97. Since there are still buyers for the FPB 64s, you may be wondering why we are taking this unusual step. The answer is simple:

Building high quality yachts is not easy. In fact, one could argue that it is the hardest of endeavors. And with the limited bandwidths of ourselves and Circa, if production ramps up too quickly, then quality is sure to suffer. We prefer to go a little slower, and concentrate on building the best. Once the FPB 97s are underway, we’ll revisit this conundrum. If you have been dreaming of an FPB 64 at some point in the future, stay in touch. Looking further ahead, if demand is there, we’ll most probably be ready for a new series of boats.

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Last spring, while visiting new friends aboard their catamaran, we learned of a new, super quiet (and efficient) range of compressors by Marine Air. Based on prior experience we would not have believed the noise claims, but as we were sitting right on top of the compressor pallet and could not hear it run, we knew something good was going on.

Years ago the debate about the most effective rudder for steering was settled, and the cantilevered spade configuration was the winner. But what about hitting debris, running aground, and catching nets you might be thinking.

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Cruising short-handed means that an easy means of steering the boat in less-than-perfect conditions is at the top of our must-haves list. This role is usually performed by the autopilot. But what happens if it fails? “We’ve got a backup pilot,” you rejoin.

OK, but are you comfortable on a long passage with only the backup? And what happens if you are struck by lightning and lose all electronics?

We’ve been thinking about these issues for many years. We actually carry several key components tucked away in the basement, totally disconnected, which means we have almost three pilots on board.

Now we think we’ve found the answer to peace of mind on this subject.

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Having concluded meetings with clients in Beaufort, we are off the dock and at anchor near Cape Lookout. The run out gave us a chance to check a few parameters, the results of which are encouraging.

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This is a post about preparing your RIB dinghy the way the professionals do it. And if you get into a little adventure with the dinghy from time to time, then the following will offer a treasure trove of hard-learned tips.

We are back in Beaufort, NC, and aboard the good ship Wind Horse for a few days of testing, some of which by necessity must be done underway and some at anchor. We are gradually lighting up systems that have been mothballed since December. So far, everything is working fine. In the testing to come there are several things we are looking for.

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We are fortunate to have a uniquely talented and capable team involved with us on the FPB 97 project, and want to acknowledge their efforts.

There are two FPB 64s cruising in New Zealand at present, and both made comments to us about a weather “bomb” a few days ago. Mike Parker (Avatar) sent in a link to a New Zealand Met Service post on the genesis of this weather feature, and Carol Parker sent in the photos taken at Cape Reinga. Pete Rossin (Iron Lady) discussed the bomb on his blog. We’ll add links to both at the end of this post. Now for a few comments.

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Now we get to the fun stuff, or as we say on Wind Horse, “the play room.” If you are concerned with safety, ambiance, cost, and frustration, it starts and stops right here. Get the systems and drive line right and your cruising life will be most pleasurable. Get it wrong, well, that is why so many boats sit in marinas and boat yards, and why dreams often turn sour.

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A small but important design detail has to do with getting heavy items on/off the boat. This sequence shows a demountable jib crane, comprised of two aluminum pipes. The first series shows use with the forepeak.

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With the recent capsize and sinking of the mega yacht Yogi in the Aegean Sea off Greece in moderate gale conditions, there has been a lot of chatter about the causes, and several SetSailors have asked us our thoughts. Read the rest »

Welcome aboard the Wicked FPB 97. Would you like to have a look at the interior? She’s a little different inside than you might be expecting based on what you’ve seen from the dinghy.

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The interior decks of the FPB 97 offer many opportunities and a few challenges. There is an enormous amount of volume, which is wonderful to have at anchor, and we want to preserve the sense of openness that comes with that space. But this is a seagoing vessel. There are certain requirements that relate thereto: handholds, furniture that secures one’s body, working areas that are functional in less-than-benign conditions. It is the latter which allows you to enjoyably voyage to those wonderful cruising destinations.

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When we first started seriously thinking about going cruising, the accepted wisdom held that a couple could, at best, handle a 38-footer. A unique opportunity came our way to purchase a beautifully maintained and almost new 50-footer, and even though she seemed almost too big, we quickly adapted to Intermezzo’s size, and were happy to have the comfort of a larger yacht. Over the years we went from 50, to 62, to 68, and then 78-footers, all easier to handle for us as a couple than the previous yacht. Wind Horse, at 83 feet, is much easier for the two of us to cruise on than any of our sailing yachts. We think that will be the case with the new FPB 97.

As we have matured (hate that concept!) the idea of taking crew has been discussed  more than once. Since this subject is up for its annual review, we thought it might be an interesting exercise to share the crew vs. no crew reasoning. Although we will discuss this in the context of a FPB 97, the logic applies to smaller yachts as well.

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Where you intend to cruise, and the ambient weather with which the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) have to deal, is the starting point for the systems analysis and their integration into the rest of the design. The space these take for installation has an impact on structure and interior design, and the power needed to operate them dictates the requirements of both AC and DC electrical systems. Sitting in a lovely anchorage in the Bahamas, or French Polynesia, has totally opposite requirements in this regard versus exploring Tierra del Fuego or visiting Antarctica.

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Growing up navigating by sextant and lead line taught us to appreciate modern electronics. We love radar, GPS, SONAR, and AIS. We are attached to free wifi, and data via cell service. What we don’t like is a hodge podge of antennae strewn here and there. So the farm – as in antenna farm – is on the design priority list during the concept phase, to make sure there is an orderly way to install them all.

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When it comes to creating a successful yacht for long distance voyaging, you have to start with the fundamentals, and build from there. Get the foundation right, and everything else falls into place. Get it wrong, and regardless of how cool the boat looks, or how much you like the interior, the real world experience is guaranteed to be less than optimal.

We’ve disclosed the exterior of this Wicked new FPB early because it is fundamental to how the boat functions in a holistic systems engineering context. Likewise the Matrix deck, which is also fundamental. Now come the details about what makes possible the cruising dream to which we all aspire.

Matrix: “Something that constitutes the place or point from which something else originates, takes form, or develops: The Greco-Roman world was the matrix for Western civilization.”

From Wikipedia: “The film [The Matrix] depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population…Upon learning this, computer programmer ‘Neo’ is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from the ‘dream world’ and into reality.”

When the pieces suddenly fell into place for the FPB 97, a key element of the concept was this new deck. A combination of pilot house and flying bridge, it offered both function and ambiance in a different form than convention dictated. There was a synergy between these two elements catalyzed by the use of the astonishingly translucent EverClear windows. The dream of a liberating, open yet protected living space, with superior perspective, suddenly became reality.

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“Having a boat that can deal with whatever might happen—no matter what—provides a mental comfort level that defines their view of happy sailing.”
–Bill Parlatore, Editor, Passagemaker Magazine

Designing, specifying, and building a modern cruising yacht demands clear goals about what the yacht is intended to do. In the FPB Series, as with all our yachts, the first priority is going places (read: crossing oceans) in maximum comfort and safety, quickly, with the ability to operate for long periods away from civilization. Toss in optimization for short-handed passage-making–cruising as a couple should the owners so desire–and you have the ability to go where and when you want, without concern for crew requirements, servicing errant systems, or the schedules of yacht transport companies.

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“The 83ft-long (25m) wave-piercer…could easily be mistaken for the spawn of the Royal Navy with its unpainted battleship grey, all-aluminum body. But that day, in those conditions, it was the only boat that I would have wanted to climb aboard to face the English Channel.”
–Motor Boat & Yachting

The sun has set, the chimes have struck, we dally no longer. The FPB 97, the Wicked One, stands revealed.

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Fanning Atoll is one of those magical places rarely visited by cruising yachts. The lagoon is beautiful, the islanders friendly, and if you happen to be transiting the Pacific to the north during hurricane season, it is the perfect place to wait until you have a clear run up to Hawaii.

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In celebration of a final layout for the deck yet to be named, we offer the rendering above with a challenge.

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Our approach to cruising yacht design is based on the concept that getting there should be as enjoyable as sitting at anchor absorbing a wonderful sunset. If you are physically and mentally comfortable, and instinctively know your vessel can deal with the sea and the odd bit of operator error, then you are going to go places, at the drop of a hat.

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Among the very first things we look at in designing a yacht is dinghy storage, launching, and retrieval. This design aspect is as fundamental to successful cruising as anything else aboard. We have had a simple and reliable system since the first FPB first launched seven years ago, modified only recently by the advent of deck winches that power out as well as in. With booms easily controlled by permanent guys, locked off with rope clutches if required, and the dink stowed at deck level, the process is easy enough to get into and out of the water that we usually stow it aboard each evening.

As simple as this is, we still consider this to be potentially the most dangerous job on board.

With the Wicked FPB we have refined the dinghy process to make it significantly easier and more controlled.

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We used to envy the folks who cruised with shallow draft for the benefits it conferred. There is the obvious, extending your cruising opportunities to areas like the Bahamas (above), but there other significant advantages as well.

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We have a problem gentle reader, and we need your help. The marvelous space we so prosaically call “Pilot Deck” is worthy of a descriptor more in keeping with the view of the world from this unique space.

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And now for something different. We are pleased to report that FPB-1, Avatar, has just finished her first day of testing with the swim platform extension and get-home engine. The lovely clean release above is at eight knots with the little Yanmar pushing her along.

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The new Wicked FPB sports some hot angles, not the least of which is the glazing system surrounding the great room. There are numerous advantages to these outwardly angled windows.

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Throughout history, the most successful seagoing vessels have shared common attributes. Take, for example, the greatest warriors and travelers of their time, the fiercesome Vikings. When they sallied forth from their northland fjords, they employed high speed, extremely maneuverable, shallow draft designs to help them expand and conquer their world.

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If you are a regular visitor to SetSail.com, you know we like fine rear ends. Flat buttock lines in particular arouse our instincts. With most yacht designs, there is a conflict here between comfort and performance (and this varies with different speeds, or more correctly speed-length ratios). Typically, you pick a speed regime and sea state and live with the results.

But if you stretch the waterline, keeping other design aspects constant, good things begin to happen.

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We took the afternoon off, went for a drive, had a gelato, and enjoyed being outside in the harsh winter for which Arizona is known. We’re down to rechecking basic assumptions (again), finalizing deck geometry, and fine tuning the hull shape. This can be a dangerous time in the design cycle.

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We are somewhat surprised by the amount of comment induced by the post on the solar array, so we thought we’d update you to the present (things are moving quickly).

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When you start to consider powerboat (stinkpot) systems, virtually every decision revolves around air conditioning. Air conditioning holds you hostage. High heat loads from large windows and poor-to-nonexistent shading, coupled with a lack of ventilation, force you to fit large compressors, which means a big genset. Since you cannot do without the genset, you need a second, both of which are too big to just run air conditioning at night, so a small night generator is needed.  All other systems decisions flow from this conundrum.

But what if you had good ventilation, even when there was no breeze, and then coupled this with minimized heat loads?

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Most of the folks we know in the marine “business” (an oxymoron for sure) play the game for love, or because they simply have no choice, they are pulled to it. The hours are long, the outcome often uncertain, and the risks higher than many economic endeavors.

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For years we’ve been wrestling with a way to improve on the FPB 83, Wind Horse. We’ve done smaller, as in the FPB 64: a very efficient, attractively priced, well-mannered yacht. And we’ve worked up a larger version in the guise of the FPB 115, about which we can get excited. But to improve on the Wind Horse combination of comfort, sea-kindliness, heavy weather ability, trans-ocean average speed, systems efficiency, and ease of handling for a couple has yet to happen.

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It starts as a hazy vision one sleepless night, an outline, and there is a compulsion to see where it leads, even if it is not on the master plan. When the beast strikes, you have to feed it – there is no other option. Days are long, nights are short, computers whirr overtime and the design spiral fits seamlessly together. Gigabytes criss-cross the internet. Hydrostatics, structure, layout, motion, systems, ventilation, aesthetics – meld wickedly, as if this were meant to be.

We were working through some design issues last week using a new (beta) version of Rhino 3D, and thought that a quick set of graphics on the FPB 64 structural grid might be of interest. These may help put the construction photos we show into context.

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Some years ago we installed a 1000 watt 230 VAC Aqua Signal flood light on the forward mast. It proved useful on occasion for checking sea-state at night, and maybe once or twice a year looking over anchorages in the dark. When Todd Rickard and Mark Fritzer visited IBEX last fall they ran into a company selling high intensity LED spots and floods called Rigid Industries. They were impressed, so we decided to give a set of these a test on the new forward mast on Wind Horse. That’s Chris Martin of Martin Engineering doing the install.

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A new year is upon us and we are in catch up mode. We are a month behind in posting FPB 64 photos from the production line, so we shall endeavor to bring you up to date in one huge post.

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Between checking off projects on Wind Horse, working on new designs, the holidays, and a  myriad of other details, the camera bag has not seen a lot of action the past six weeks. But we can only go so long without a visual fix, and the past few days has seen us dreaming, with the help of our photo files.

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In 2003 when we began work on the first FPB, Wind Horse, we briefly considered an enclosed flying bridge. Our good friend, and collaborator, the late Steve Davis, was a strong advocate. He said “one day you will come around.”

Our reasoning was that in conditions warranting enclosure we’d pilot from the great room, and when it was pleasant, from above. A major part of the decision was poor visibility through the plastic windows.

Things have changed.

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We are through with phase one of our work list on Wind Horse, and have been out testing the changes. The photo above was taken at dusk today, coming back down the Intra Coastal Waterway to the Jarrette Bay facility where Cory McMahan has his Triton Marine operation. Wind Horse is within two tons of full load, the water depth is 13 feet (four meters) and we are running at 1400 RPM, roughly nine knots.

Considering the slow speed (for us), and the water depth, this is an exceptionally clean wake release off tne new transom extension.

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You are looking at a simple, but very effective jig for making angled cuts with a hole saw. This is the brainchild of Cory McMahon of Triton Marine. We were in the process of installing a fresh water pick up for the new air conditioning cooling system when Cory suggested this to Chris Martin.

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We are hammering away on the list, literally as you can see above (that is Eric from Bausch American) and figuratively.  Although it looks like chaos, we are getting things done. The stern extension is now welded on, with a short list of items to deal with before it is finished.

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We’re out of time, which is a good thing since it forces a decision on the solar array, hence this post. What you see in these images is what we’ll be looking at from the dinghy, the view with which we are most concerned.

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One of the things which attracted us to the Jarrett Bay Marine Park here in Beaufort was the work we saw at Bausch American. Their specialty is towers for sports fishermen, so they are used to working with aluminum. We came in with a couple of mods in mind, but as we have gotten comfortable with their standard of work and efficiency, our list has grown.

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From the crew at SetSail and Dashew Offshore we wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving.

Post script: the soaring machine above is a Cathartes aura, lovely to watch in the air, but we’re not sure how it would go with cranberry sauce and stuffing tomorrow.

Last Sunday we took the afternoon off from Wind Horse and journeyed to the metropolis of Moorehead City. On the way we spied a Lowes, and needing nylon cable ties stopped for a few minutes. There was a tool department near the entrance of course, and as designed, were were drawn to the shiny rows of goodies.

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One of the great things about metal yachts is the ease of making structural connections in a totally watertight fashion, by welding. When this takes place on a completed vessel certain cautions need to be observed.

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As we were heading down the Chesapeake from Whitehall Creek we noticed a large group of schooners milling about. Turns out this was the day for the annual schooner race. The photos which follow are fun to study, and there are a couple of rig items worth noting. We’ll start with this derivative of the schooner America. Read the rest »

Sometimes an idea that seems great in abstract fails when you get into detailed drawings. Such is the case with our solar roof, now history. But as cool as it might have seemed (to some) we have a much better solution.

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An often overlooked benefit of propulsion efficiency and its reduced power demands is a quieter engine system. But as quiet as Wind Horse is under power, 57 dB at eleven knots, one of our goals for this haul out is to reduce the sound level further. Of course when you are at 57dB already, further reduction is not easy. The swim step extension will move the exhaust three feet /90cm further aft, and underwater, which will help – a lot. In addition, we are changing the exhaust system inside the engine room, hoping for major improvements here as well.

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The rendering above shows the proportions of a solar roof for the flying bridge (support is not yet shown, but will be required). The efficiency and cost per watt have gotten to the point where this may make sense. In the scheme above there would be eight 250 to 320 watt panels, depending on what we find next week. This is enough to generate a large chunk of our daily power usage at anchor. But is it worth the expense and hit on aesthetics?

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From the photo above, taken in the lagoon adjacent to Cape Lookout in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, you can see there is a bit of breeze. In fact, this breeze woke us up at 0400 with the wind shift, meter high waves, and bumping the bottom wih the keel. Coastal cruising, in a country with as much weather data as the USA, there is no excuse for getting caught by weather, We’ll come back to this subject and preparation for adverse situations, later.

Right now we want to chat about a couple of inexpensive IPad Apps that work really well f or local weather.

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We’ve been hauled by Jarrette Bay and the first order of business is an inspection of the bottom. We are not displeased with what we see. Starting with the props, painted with “Prop Speed” four months ago, and they look very clean.

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Wind Horse now has 5700+ hours on her two little John Deere diesels, over 50,000 nautical miles of cruising the oceans. If you have looked at “experienced” exhaust systems, you will know that an exhaust this clean after almost 6000 hours is the exception rather than the rule.

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We were just talking about significant one third highest wave heights and how this compares to what you may encounter. The graphic above and photo below are  a partial explanation from Mariner’s Weather Handbook (the link will take you to the table of contents)

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“Hi Steve.  Speaking of storms and weather patterns what do you think about the low off the east coat.   Looked ominous on the surface charts and even more so on the 500 mb charts.  Some weather sites are calling it a low pressure “bomb”.     I have read your Mariners Weather Handbook a few times through and this system seemed like a good learning opportunity.”

Thanks for the heads up, Mike:

For anyone interested in weather, this  is what gets the adrenalin flowing at the Ocean Prediction Center. Right now this is just a hurricane strength storm forecast, bad enough if you are caught in it,

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While our usual fair is more extreme weather than this video depicts, there are some lessons for us here as well, not the least of which is the efficiency at work you are about to watch on your computer screen. The video was shot by Brian Rickard on a recent cruise with the Henrys aboard the FPB 64 Sarah Sarah, in British Columbia.

Sarah Sarah has a full payload of the Henry’s gear aboard and half tanks. She weighs around 80,000 pounds / 36,000kg, and is running at nine knots through the water (net of current). This is a speed length ratio of 1.15, on the low side of where the FPB 64s normally operate in smooth water.

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Wind Horse has finished her seventh season of cruising, there are 5600 hours on her engines, and more than 50,000 miles have passed under her svelte canoe body. She has traveled from New Zealand to Alaska, through Panama to Greenland, across the North Atlantic to the British Isles, and cruised Norway to Svalbard and the Arctic ice pack to within 600 miles of the North Pole. She has coasted Spain, been with the glitterati in the Balearic Islands, and set a record in the ARC from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, that could stand for a long time. She made it fom Las Palmas to St. Lucia (across the Atlantic) to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and on to Marathon without stopping for fuel. This year has been less ambitious, with just the East Coast of the US to Maine and back on the itinerary. All of this in comfort, with minimal maintenance, and a very limited list of gremlins.

So, we think Wind Horse is due for a bit of pampering.

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“I witnessed first hand how well the boat handles up-swell at various speeds.”
–Bill Parlatore, Passagemaker Magazine

Sitting here at anchor off to the side of of the Intra Coastal Waterway affords the opportunity of studying hull shapes and their wave trains. What we have for you here are several different shapes, each with a unique shape to their disturbance pattern. The boat above is about 35-feet long and is throwing a  huge wake, not a sign of efficiency! Read the rest »