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FPB Series Notes

Following are the latest posts on the FPB 64 program. This section covers systems, how the FPB 64s perform in the real world, along with data on why we do things the way we do. For more information be sure to check out SetSail.com/FPB64.

Murphy Oil Level Gauge

Murphy oil sight gauge on FPB64

Last week we were discussing Murphy Gauges and forgot to include this photo of the oil level gauge. This unit performs three important functions:

Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (October 15, 2009) | Comments (1)

Best Hose Clamps To Use

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A small but important plumbing detail is shown above. Note the beveled edge on the double hose clamps. This reduces the tendency for hose clamps to cut into pluming. These are standard throughout the FPB 64s.

Posted by Steve Dashew (October 11, 2009) | Comments (5)

Murphy Gauges – Why We Still Use Them

Murhpy gauges on FPB 64

We’ve been fitting mechanical (non-electric) Murphy gauges to our yachts for 30 years. In this era of electronic controls, and the NMEA 2000 backbone, why it this necessary? Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (October 10, 2009) | Comments (1)

Poly V belts for Big Alternators

poly v belt for Electrodyne alternators

We continue to be impressed with the John Deere use of poly-V belt drives for accessories. You are looking here at a belt with 2400 hours of hard use, up to 10 horsepower of load with an average of probably six to seven horsepower. If it weren’t for the fact that we have lots of spares, we would continue to use these as they are showing very little wear. Dual B belts of the highest quality, with precision engineering of pulleys, might go for 500 hours in this application.

Posted by Steve Dashew (October 8, 2009) | Comments (0)

Wind Horse Italian magazine review

For those of you who readItalian, click here for a new review in the magazine Y&S Yacht & Sail.

Posted by admin (October 5, 2009) | Comments (2)

Putting Wind Horse To Bed – Winter Storage Items

We have put Wind Horse into sleep mode for the winter. Following are a list of items to which we attended. This looks long, but takes us about two days, plus a day of work by one of the mechanics at Berthon’s. Most of this is preventive in nature, so when we launch in the spring we are ready to go as soon as we do a quick systems check. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (September 27, 2009) | Comments (6)

Multiple Monitor System On Wind Horse

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When we launched Wind Horse we a single 19″ monitor for the radar. Then we switched to 17″ and added a second monitor for sonar. Finally we added a third so the PC based charting system was aligned with the sonar and radar. We have lived lived with the temporary installation for two years, and now we have a permanent solution. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (September 23, 2009) | Comments (1)

Bottom Paint Going Strong After 18,000 Nautical Miles

Haul-out-09-207

Wind Horse is hauled out and we’ve been inspecting the bottom prior to hydro washing. This bottom paint was applied in Ventura, California, in March of 2008. Since then it has seen 18,000 nautical miles slip by.

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Posted by Steve Dashew (September 21, 2009) | Comments (3)

Zinc Anode Protection On Aluminum Hulls

Haul-out-09-245

We’ve just hauled Wind Horse at Berthon’s in Lymington, UK. Time is short, but we will try and share a few photos. This blog is about the sacrificial zinc anode system.

The photo above is one of the two zincs (out of four total) placed amidships. It has now been in the water 3.5 years, for 4400 hours of engine time, and in excess of 45,000 miles of water flow.

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Posted by Steve Dashew (September 21, 2009) | Comments (2)

Genset or Alternators Underway?

Steve, I had a question about the cruising alternators on the main engine. I have been reading Ken Williams’ blog and there was a significant amount of traffic on this subject. Bottom lime was concluding that they drew more power, hence fuel, then simply running there normal 20kw generator. They went on to suggest that Nordhavn as a company was no longer installing them on their boats. I know you area a big fan and I was wondering if you could shed some light on the subject thanks Scott

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Posted by Steve Dashew (September 10, 2009) | Comments (3)

Bare Aluminum Topside Maintenance

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We have discussed in the past the advantages of bare aluminum topsides (no maintenance or worry, initial cost reduction, lower visual profile, etc.). And we have grown to love this look. But, after three-plus years of cruising, mostly off the beaten path, rafting with commercial vessels and laying on rough docks, we were getting a little tired of the view from the dinghy. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (September 7, 2009) | Comments (1)

Speed Length Ratio

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Over the past year we have posted photos of various craft and their bow and stern waves as an indicator of efficiency. This is judged in terms of Speed Length Ratio (SLR) or the boat speed divided by the square root of the waterline length. In the photo above, sent to us by a cruiser in Scotland, Wind Horse is doing her normal eleven knots. She has an 81 foot waterline, the square root of which is nine. Dividing eleven knots by nine gives us an SLR of 1.22. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (September 7, 2009) | Comments (4)

New Wind Horse magazine articles

Here are a couple new Wind Horse magazine articles to check out:

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Yachting Magazine, July 2009. “London Calling: Seasoned voyagers discover the magic of the historic St. Katherine’s Docks and England’s vibrant capital.”

neptune fr

Neptune Yachting Moteur, Summer 2009. This is a review in a French yachting magazine.

Posted by admin (September 6, 2009) | Comments (0)

FPB Battery Function

Wind Horse and the FPB64 have similar AC and DC systems, so we thought you might be interested in how this is working out in the real world. The power consumption at anchor on Wind Horse comes primarily from the AC requirements which are satisfied with three 2500 watt Victron inverters. These AC loads are mainly: Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (September 3, 2009) | Comments (0)

Fuel Costs September 2008

We have just topped off Wind Horse’s fuel tanks in Ireland, and have been recapping our consumption and costs for the 2008 cruising season. With all the headlines about US$150 per barrel crude, if you are like us, you would expect this to have been an expensive summer. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (August 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

New magazine article: Hidden Anchorages

Steve & Linda on Wind Horse with backdrop of icebergs

Linda has an article in the new issue of Berthon Lifestyles. “…The kettle is on the stove for tea. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafts across the salon. And we sit, transfixed by the beauty which surrounds us…” Hungry for more? Click here to download a PDF excerpt from the magazine.

Posted by admin (July 31, 2009) | Comments (2)

3000 Engine Hours -30,000+ Miles

Wind Horse Bahamas391

We’ve been doing our usual post passage inspection of the engine room, a part of which is writing up the engine log details with anything we find. This includes noting date and engine hours, which we are astonished to find now number 3010! That’s well over 30,000 nautical miles of cruising. Wind Horse continues to surprise us with her ability to make voyaging comfortable. Add her cruising speed of 10.5 to 11 knots and you have a combination which invites usage – hence the mileage accumulated in 18 months of usage (which has taken place during the last three years). And we do not feel like we have been rushed. Rather, time feels like it is slowing down (we think this is due to fitting more experience into a given period). Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (July 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

Marine Air Conditioning Notes

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Our yachts are designed to not require air conditioning at anchor. With just a few knots of breeze, the combination of hatches, vents, and awnings promotes good air flow. But at sea with water flying, if the wind quits, the bugs are hungry, or tied to a dock, a good air conditioning system is a blessing. Over the years we have installed all sorts of systems. Everything from massive water chillers with auxiliary boilers for heating, to single compressor pallet gear. And we have learned a few “secrets”, which will be employed on the FPB 64s. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (June 21, 2009) | Comments (2)

Maintaining That New Boat Smell

Insulation-Isolation-Transformer

We were reviewing the weekly batch of photos from New Zealand today when we were interrupted by some cruisers wanting to chat. We traded sea stories for a while, discussed where they and we were headed, and generally got to know each other in the time honored cruising fashion. They were astounded when we told them that we’d just turned the clock on 4000 hours of engine time. “But your boat smells so new” was their reply. We hear the smell (or lack thereof) comment a lot. We are so used to having a fresh smelling boat – we learned the secret years ago – that we have forgotten how nice it is. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (June 17, 2009) | Comments (0)

Wave Piercing Design In Action

MBY-Sea-Trial-Wind-Horse-2

We’ve received a lot of comment on the Motor Boating and Yachting story about their sea trial aboard Wind Horse. They have been kind enough to allow us to share these photos from their story and a few others. To see their story click here. To begin with, as they describe in their text, this was a blustery day off the Needles in the Solent of the U.K. There was a four to six foot (1.2 to 1.85m) close spaced chop running, and Wind Horse was knifing through these waves with her usual ease. Not very interesting photos with hardly any spray. In order to make things more interesting the photo boat, with its three foot (90cm) wake, cut back and forth in front of us,adding its wake on top of the wind waves. What you see here is Wind Horse doing exactly what she is designed to do, piercing the resultant combined sea. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (June 16, 2009) | Comments (2)

Launching and Retrieving the Dinghy

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We have had several questions about our booms and how we launch and retrieve dinghies so we’ve done a photo series on the process. We consider this to be one of the most dangerous things we do while cruising. The dink is heavy – 700 pounds/340kg – and there is an electric winch involved. So care in the use and maintenance of the system is required. The process which follows has evolved over the years and in reality takes less time to accomplish than to read about. It is very simple in a calm anchorage, working at deck level, with high life lines at the deck edge. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (June 7, 2009) | Comments (5)

Wind Horse Fuel Burn – April 2008

We’ve just finished filling our fuel tanks in Ensenada, Mexico (US$2.40/gallon). Since last fueling in Alaska we have put 422 hours on the engines, 34 hours on the genset, and used the diesel heater. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (June 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

FPB – Magazine reviews

Three new magazine articles about the FPBs:

	Motor Boat & Yachting, June 2009 Power and Motor Yacht is the leading magazine in the UK covering the power boat field. As is the case with English journalism in general, they are fiercely independent and not afraid of making negative comments about the boats they visit. Click here to see what they thought of Wind Horse on a breezy day in the Solent.
	*More* (Croatian magazine), June 2009 Click here for a PDF of the article and photos in More (which means The Sea). The article is in Croatian!
	VG (Norwegian daily newspaper), May 2009 Click here to read the article (and practice your Norwegian). The author translated the first lines: “By the first glance it could look like a dubious Vietnamese navy vessel. But behind the modest exterior there is hidden a luxurious yacht stuffed with smart design and technique…”

Posted by admin (June 4, 2009) | Comments (0)

Wind Horse Details From A High Dock

Lofoten-Islands-Norway-20

We recently found ourselves on shore at low tide while tied to a pier, giving us an elevated view of some of Wind Horse’s details. As we needed to send a few photos to New Zealand for the FPB 64s, we thought we would share a few with you here. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (May 31, 2009) | Comments (0)

DC System Power Consumption

Regarding the recent question and answer on DC vs big gensets, we are just getting ready to move after sitting for six days. Genset has been run once for two hours during a wash/dry cycle in this period. Prior to warming up the engines just now battery capacity stood at 52%.

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Posted by Steve Dashew (May 24, 2009) | Comments (2)

Two Years & 25,000 Miles Later

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We’re back in Southern California following a second summer in British Columbia and Alaska. After looking at the engine hours, checking our log, and reflecting on the areas we’ve cruised, we’ve been astounded to find Wind Horse has taken us 25,000+ nautical miles since leaving New Zealand. That’s a lot of miles, but there’s something even more interesting. She’s done this in 17.5 months of on-the-water use. (The rest of the time she’s been docked and we’ve been land based.) That’s an average of 1400+ miles per month of actual cruising. If you add up the direct mileage, point to point, it is more like 18,000 miles. So, a lot of this time has been spent exploring after the ocean passages. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (May 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

Summer 2006 – First Anniversary – How Are Things Going?

It is hard to believe but we’ve just had the first anniversary of Wind Horse’s launching in Auckland, New Zealand. She now has almost 12,000 nautical miles under her keel (1,100 hours on the engines) and it is time to take stock. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (April 7, 2009) | Comments (1)

Putting The Boat Into Storage Mode – 2005

One of our design goals for this new boat was to be able to put her into storage mode much faster than has been the case with our sailboats. Beowulf typically took us two to three days or hard work to get ready for storage, and the same to wake her up after we returned. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (March 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

Windshield Wipers – Are They Necessary?

One the issues with which we wrestled at length was the need for windshield wipers on the forward windows. The initial reaction was “why not?”. However, wipers are a potential leak point – they have a record of weeping on their shaft seals – and when not in use, mess up the view through the otherwise unobstructed window opening. We used to fit wipers to our big motorsailors, but stopped doing this almost 20 years ago as they were rarely, if ever used. On Beowulf, with heavily angled windows, there were times when visibility was less than perfect. However, we could always pop out on deck for a quick look, so we felt this was a good compromise. On Wind Horse we have a couple of things going for us. First, the windows are vertical. This means they shed water much more quickly, and tend to build up less salt. The windows are also shaded by a 2-foot (60cm) overhang. Keeping the sun off a wet or salty window helps visibility. Finally, as the new boat’s windows are glass (all the sailboats have polycarbonate plastic windows) we have the option of using a product called “RainEx” to help the windows shed water (this cannot be used with plastic windows). As a result, we went without wipers, assuming that we could always add them if required. So how does it work in the real world? Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (February 7, 2009) | Comments (2)

Aluminum Paint System Update

We have previously written about the paint system we are using on Wind Horse. This is an Ameron/Devoe system which we sourced in New Zealand based on the suggestion of our friend, Dale Morris, at Ventura Harbor Boat Yard. After 11,000 miles last year, and a few encounters with ice, there are several nicks in the bottom paint which need repair. The basic paint system is in good shape and the antifouling has performed well. For those of you thinking about an aluminum boat, here is the Ameron system that we used: Against bare aluminum, Ameron 302 Zinc – One coat. Barrier coats, Ameron 235 epoxy – three coats. Antifouling – Ameron ABC #3 ablative. The top of the bottom paint is finished off with a bootstripe of LPU enamel to seal the edge of the bottom paint system. Topsides, of course, are left bare.

Posted by Steve Dashew (January 30, 2009) | Comments (0)

Operating Costs – 2005

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Range and Operating Costs

When we started design work on this project, one of the first things we had to do was establish a desired speed range for which the hull would be optimized. From a cruising standpoint this is a tradeoff between operating costs, range under power, and completing a passage quickly. Speed is a major safety factor when it comes to managing weather, so within reason, we wanted the option to cruise as quickly as possible between destinations – with the ability to maintain Beowulf’s average speed of 270 to 300 nautical miles per day when required. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (January 7, 2009) | Comments (0)

Prop Zinc Wear

Do prop zincs show more wear when a boat is moving or parked?

This summer we changed our prop zincs. When we noticed a diver in Kinsale, Ireland cleaning bottoms, we asked him to change ours. We had only had them five months and they could easily have gone the rest of the year, but since he was available we decided to change them anyway. Read the rest »

Posted by Steve Dashew (December 10, 2008) | Comments (0)

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