Home                    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

"It is always wise to moor your ship with two anchors."  - Publilius Syrus, 50 B.C.

  28 May 2003  (Latest updates appear at bottom of page.) 

Here are answers to some of the questions we are frequently asked.   

           1. Is the Pearson Triton big enough for offshore cruising?
           2. How much does it cost to go cruising?  
           3. What is your favorite cruising area?  
           4. What do you do with all your spare time?  
           5. How do you manage your links to shore while cruising?  
           6. What storm tactics do you use?  
           7. What type of cooker do you use and what do you eat at sea?
           8. You carry a lot of fresh water for a small boat. What about all that weight?
           9. Is it practical to sail engineless or with only a small outboard motor? 
          10. What type of self-steering do you recommend?  
          11. What communication, navigation and safety equipment do you carry?
          12. Why did you change Atom's rig?  
          13. What ground tackle do you use?  
          14. How did you stop the deck leaks in your Triton?  
          15. What type dinghy do you recommend?  
          16. What other modifications have you done to Atom?  
          17. How much electricity do you need and how do you supply it?
          18. What about sculling vs rowing with two oars? 
          19. How can I get started Cruising?

1. Is the Pearson Triton big enough for offshore cruising?

Some people may think the 28-foot Triton is too small with too little freeboard to cruise offshore and be comfortable to live aboard. Experience has shown me the Triton is capable of taking you wherever you want to go in a reasonable amount of comfort; she is a handsome, well-designed boat, and there is much to be said for the minimalist approach to cruising on a small boat. While a larger boat gives you more space to move around in and more storage area and may at times have a less lively motion, these things are not for me the most important features. Big boats not only require big investments, continuing high running costs, extra time for maintenance, and a crew competent to handle gear that is potentially lethal - they are not so handy for the fun part of cruising, like poking around in little coves and getting underway on a moments notice. The Triton is ideal for a singlehander and of adequate size for a couple. Most of the over 700 Tritons built before they stopped production in 1967 are still kicking around so there are always some on the market, often going for less than $10,000 depending on condition. There is also an active Triton Association whose members can answer virtually any questions you may have. 

There are some things to look out for if you buy a Triton. These boats were built in the 1960's and like any older boat, you should be prepared to make an extensive refit if the previous owner has neglected her. Suspect areas are the balsa-cored decks, wood rudders, corroded masts and chainplates, cranky gasoline inboard engines and electrical systems in need of replacement. There will always be plenty of repairs needed on an older boat, but of course you can still sail with a less than perfectly outfitted boat. There are scores of other small boats that make good cruisers, some of which can be found in the book, Twenty Small Sailboats To take You Anywhere, by John Vigor, Published by Paradise Cay Publishing, 1999. Another source is the cover story in July 2000 issue of Cruising World: Best Bargain Boats: The Under $15K Club, by Jeremy McGeary.

2. How much does it cost to go cruising?

The short answer is: as much as you've got. I've met people cruising on every conceivable budget and I do not think the enjoyment they got out of cruising had much to do with how much money they spent. Actually, I did not meet any people cruising on a high budget that looked like they were getting anything near the priceless experiences of some people who know how to make the most of life afloat.

I left on my first circumnavigation with just $500 in savings. That got me across the Pacific without extreme hardship. When the money was nearly gone, I took a job for three months at a boatyard in New Guinea, the proceeds of which carried me across two more oceans and back home a year and a half later. Tremendous inflation in costs associated with cruising recently, such as the 500% increase in fees for the Panama Canal and various extortionate governments rip-offs for "cruising fees" (the $100 fee per boat for entry to the Bahamas is becoming typical nowadays), mean these days I spend much more than when I first began cruising. Lately we spend an average of about $800 a month for the two of us, including all travel, food, entertainment and boat expenses. We could spend less if we need to and easily spend more if we're not careful. I find when I have more money available I'm tempted to spend it on "optionals" and when I have less, I tighten my belt, so to speak. So far I've been able to keep my spending down to the point where I need only work an average of three months a year. Not that I'm particularly lazy, but life is not all about work and wages. Another benefit of a small boat, especially an older boat like the Triton, is that your investment is small enough that you can more easily replace the entire boat if disaster strikes.

Part of how much you spend depends on what the cost of living is in the areas you cruise, but an even larger portion depends on the choices you make. Will you stay at marinas or anchor out? Eat at restaurants or onboard? Travel by plane to visit relatives or wait to see them until you finally sail home? Buy insurance for every conceivable threat or take your chances? Have a boatfull of electronic gadgets that require frequent repair and replacement or become self-sufficient and choose only equipment that is essential and learn how to maintain it yourself? Will you buy imported foods that you are used to or learn how to use cheaper locally produced foods? Will you buy a new budget-busting inflatable dinghy every third year or knock something together out of plywood? The list of choices goes on and on. Mastering the art of frugal cruising means you have found how to live aboard independently and happily and perhaps even indefinitely.

Do some reading to get ideas on how others cut their expenses. Pete and Annie Hill cover the subject in their book, Voyaging on a Small Income. Other books on the topic include, Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach by Don Casey, Cost Conscious Cruiser, by Lin and Larry Pardey and many others. It's great if you can help support these authors, but I suppose the truly frugal sailor just borrows books from friends!

3. What is your favorite cruising area?

Another short answer would usually be: where we are cruising now. No place I have seen is perfect. Either it's marred because it's too crowded, too expensive, the weather's too cold, or a thousand other imperfections. What might be enjoyable for a week or a month may also be insufferable to you after a year. One definition of paradise is being able to make the most out of whatever the place you are at has to offer. That said, some places impressed me more than others, either because of the people or the physical aspect of the place. For easy sailing among hundreds of seldom-visited islands, the Philippines is hard to beat, and yes you can avoid the typhoons and the pirates. The northwest coast of Madagascar is another favorite. Some other islands I would love to go back to include Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, Tikopia and the Marquesas in the Pacific, St. Helena, and Flores in the Atlantic. 

4. What do you do with all your spare time?

Some people worry they might get bored once they are out cruising and away from the frivolous distractions of the house-bound life they have created. At home you have been moving through your life at a frantic pace, trying to please your boss, family, friends and creditors and accomplish a thousand tasks a day with an attention span that's shrunk to that of a chimp. Instant gratification and labor-avoidance is your current philosophy. Out cruising, if you're smart, you're going to let all that slip away in your wake. 

Actually, there will be plenty to occupy your waking hours. On long passages you navigate, read, cook, exercise, stand watch, sleep when you can. Once you make landfall, there is the socializing with the locals and other sailors and exploring your new environment. You'll be learning new skills, maybe a new language or two. A surprising amount of time is taken up in the mundane tasks of boat maintenance, fetching water, anchor tending, dealing with the dinghy, shopping and cooking, etc. Even so, you'll want time for your hobbies as well, whether it's fishing, kayaking, writing, sketching or painting, carving, photography or whatever. Before you realize it, you will be back to work and wondering where the time went. Boredom? Not possible unless you are utterly lacking in imagination.

5. How do you manage your links to shore while cruising?

For many people this is a challenging problem to overcome. I've been lucky in that up until now when I have been outside the US, which has been most of my life, my mother has been willing to do my mail forwarding, banking transactions and store a couple boxes of personal effects I didn't think I could part with. I wonder now how I would have managed without her support. Hopefully, you have a family member or close friend who will serve as your shore agent in exchange for vacations aboard your boat from time to time. 

Free Web-based email accounts such as Hotmail allow you to access your email from any Internet-connected PC in the world without dragging your own PC around or looking for phone line access. You certainly don't need one, but if you have a notebook PC onboard then you can always compose your email there and just take the floppy ashore to copy and paste your messages into Hotmail. Presently, you have to log-in to Hotmail at least once a month to keep them from canceling your account, so you should give a trustworthy friend at home your password to log-in on the first of each month so you don't lose your mail on an extended cruise.

It will be difficult, but by ruthlessly cutting as many ties as possible to your old shore life and by using Internet-based banking and correspondence and mail-forwarding services you should be able to cut loose and go cruising even if you don't have the home-base support of a close relative.

6. What storm tactics do you use?

The Triton heaves-to nicely with a reefed main alone or in combination with a backed storm jib and the tiller lashed slightly to leeward. She also handles well running straight downwind with just a storm jib or even under bare poles, but the low 2-foot freeboard aft means waves occasionally climb aboard. By having gasket-sealed cockpit locker lids and the companionway hatch boards in place I have never taken much water below decks.

For several years I carried a parachute-type sea anchor without ever using it. When I finally could have used it during a storm off the South African cape, I felt there was too much shipping in the area to sit there as an unmaneuverable 600 foot long target. Imagine being sucked into the side of a ship that is winding up your anchor rode with his prop or pulling you in from its bow bulb! It would also have been too dangerous to deploy by the time I realized I could use it. Another thing people sometimes fail to consider is that retrieving it can be an absolute nightmare because storms do not normally turn instantly into fair weather. Once the storm has passed it may still blow at 30 knots for a day or more. You'll want to get underway but not be able to safely recover the sea anchor in those conditions. If you sail within the tropics and not during hurricane season it is very unlikely that you will ever need a sea anchor. If you are going into high latitudes, a sea anchor may be worth taking, provided you have practiced using it and understand its limitations.

7. What type of cooker do you use and what do you eat at sea?

Although most cruising boats today use propane or other gas-type stoves, they do have several drawbacks. There is risk of explosion - I know of several boats that have blown up. Second, I don't have room anywhere for a gas bottle locker, or something else would have to go. Third, they can be troublesome to fill in foreign ports using different valve threads and gas mixtures and bottle exchange schemes. Some small boats carry the little camping butane or propane gas stoves, which may be fine for limited cooking while sailing in your home waters, but the thin metal bottles rust through easily when stored and are not available in many foreign ports and the stoves usually do not fit a variety of different sized pots. If you do choose the small gas cookers, you may be able to redesign the gimbals and pot rail to make them more versatile. If you find one ready made that looks ideal, please let me know and I'll list it here.

You can look at our galley and cooker on the About Atom page and the Project Photos page. I guess I am a bit over-proud of my cooker - that's because it's served me so well. It's one of those Portuguese copies of a kerosene Primus stove that used to be available in any third world hardware store. They are a bit harder to come by now, but are still available at some camping equipment suppliers. I designed the stainless steel rail and had a welding shop make it. One of the pins in the rail simply fits into an upright bracket support and the opposite pin goes in a hole in the aft end of the coachroof bulkhead. It unhooks from its gimbals to set down on the counter when in port and can easily be taken ashore. I keep a complete spare stove in a locker (the whole thing cost about $15 some 20 years ago) plus lots of $2 spare burners and other bits. There is a knack to operating a kerosene stove and it takes some practice. Kerosene is still economical and fairly easy to find around the world, although in some countries it will require some searching around. I suppose one day when these stoves and the kerosene become less available, me and the handful of sooty-fingered kero stove holdouts will convert to gas.

For more details, check our new Recipes and Provisioning page for foods and recipes based on low fat, low cost diets on non-refrigerated boats.

8. You carry a lot of fresh water for a small boat. What about all that weight?

I built a 43-gallon integral water tank into the hull under the V-berth and another 30-gallon tank under the cockpit footwell. The aft section of the Triton's deep bilge is another place to consider building an integral water tank. We also carry several 3 and 5-gallon water cans in the bilge and cockpit lockers, which does add up to a lot of weight. Atom sits noticeably lower in the water when the tanks and cans are full (110 gallons total) and her sailing performance does suffer slightly. I can always jettison water if I need to and usually the tanks are not full anyway. Sailing light is good, but sometimes you need all the water you can carry. 

I don't have the budget nor the spare power to operate a watermaker. Besides, broken watermakers seem as common as broken electric autopilots, so who needs the aggravation? We also collect rainwater on deck by diverting the deck drains to a hose that we can fill water cans with inside the cabin. I don't yet subscribe to the modern cruiser's popular belief that all physical work (and lugging watercans IS work in some places) must be avoided at all costs. It's beyond my comprehension why some people would never haul water or row a dinghy when they would go running or pay to join a exercise club to stay fit.

9. Is it practical to sail engineless or with only a small outboard motor?

After sailing several years with a cantankerous old Atomic 4 gasoline inboard motor, I decided to remove it entirely and sail engineless. I made this choice for many reasons, including feeling that I was ready to tackle this sport on a higher level. Sailing alone and engineless seemed the best way to discover whatever it was that I was looking for. By threading my way through the Caribbean, crossing the Pacific and cruising extensively in Southeast Asia without an engine, I proved to myself that it was entirely practical. All that’s required are a boat like the Triton that sails well in light air, a sculling oar and an uncommon degree of forethought and patience. On that voyage I stripped my boat of all gadgets down to what I felt were the essentials - at one point even removing the electrical system. That was then.

Later, I opted to rejoin the modern world by adding GPS, a SSB transceiver and a 3-hp outboard motor that hung on an adjustable stern bracket for use in entering and leaving ports. The addition of the outboard was, I must admit, due to pure laziness, not to any particular need. When a Brazilian fisherman pinched my little outboard, I could have bought another one. Instead, I had the confidence to laugh it off and say the hell with it, and continued my cruise up to Trinidad engineless and without any bother. These days I have another small outboard motor that is seldom used and stored in a cockpit locker. 

Most of today's sailors would consider a broken engine a reason to cancel their cruise. Cruising without an engine only means that you must be more selective and defensive when choosing your cruising route and destinations. Since not every harbor will be safe to enter under sail alone, you must look for alternative routes and destinations. Under sail alone you simply cannot safely or easily go anywhere you want. Almost all of you will choose to cruise with a powerful inboard engine, but I think you are missing an important dimension of the sailing life as well as putting your boat or even your life in jeopardy if you don't develop the skills to sail where you want to go without the aid of an engine.  If you are interested in pure sailing, check out The Oar Club website for inspiration.

10. What type of self-steering do you recommend?

If you want freedom from the drudgery of the tiller, I would suggest not relying exclusively on electric autopilots, whose frequent breakdowns are notorious cruise-cripplers. I use my windvane for normal or heavy weather conditions as well as an electric autopilot for light airs when the boat speed falls below about 1.5 knots and the apparent wind is too little for the windvane to work properly. I'm not joking! Sailing at one knot is not only necessary at times, but very enjoyable. 

11. What communication, navigation and safety equipment do you carry?

Atom has little in the way of what is called "safety equipment". For example: instead of doubtful man-overboard retrieval systems, we always wear a safety harness when underway. And on a small boat a fire extinguisher would never keep up with a scared man with a bucket (I know the USCG requires it so I bought two when I recently returned to US waters).

Instead of an epirb and a liferaft I've concentrated on making the boat itself safer. To protect against sinking from a collision, I modified most of the lower storage lockers into watertight compartments by adding sealed partitions and gasketed access hatches. I’ve added enough of these sealed compartments that I’m confident you could knock a hole in Atom anywhere below the waterline and she would remain afloat long enough to make emergency repairs. The top of my V-berth is now 5-inches above the waterline and also has sealed access hatches. Even the toilet has been placed behind a watertight bulkhead to prevent any of its plumbing fittings from flooding the entire boat. The cost of a liferaft, that you may feel you no longer need to carry, can go a long way toward paying the expenses of these modifications. It can also save your boat from sinking at its mooring due to a leaking toilet, or thru-hull fitting.

For navigation we have a handheld GPS and a sextant with HO 249 sight reduction tables and Nautical Almanac. I would consider installing radar for collision avoidance if I found a small unit with an alarm feature at a reasonable price. We have two handheld VHF radios, one of which I connect to a masthead antenna. Other unnecessary, but entertaining equipment I've added in recent years is a Kenwood TS-450 SSB transceiver, a Pactor email modem for SSB radio and a Toshiba notebook PC.

I don't use cell phones or satellite coms onboard (yet). They are still too expensive for my budget, particularly since I can do email for free with my existing SSB using an Amatuer Radio Pactor modem. The downside for me is that it is for non-business text traffic only, so I still need to use the cyber cafes. If you don't have an Amateur license and all the equipment and don't want to become a radio hobbiest, then this system isn't practical. I have also used SailMail for a flat rate annual membership fee of $200. You can run both systems on the same equipment if needed. Modems cost from about $150-$450. Mine cost me $60 second hand but most people buy the $450 model because it is way faster and easier to use. 

For those on a limited budget and those who prefer simplicity, I'd suggest you forego the SSB transceiver and get a small SSB receiver such as the Sony ICF-SW7600GR for $190 or Grundig YachtBoy 400 for $150. If you want reception quality nearly equal to the big rigs you need to connect a good external antenna, not just the short spool of wire antenna supplied with the radios as clip-on external antennas. My article Aerial Tricks in February 1999 Cruising World magazine describes how to make your own dipole antenna for receiving offshore weather forecasts and listening in on the various cruising nets. 

12. Why did you change Atom's rig?

 In South Africa in 1995 I needed to replace Atom's mast because of corrosion between the aluminum and the bronze sail track attached to it by screws. I replaced it with a masthead rig similar to the rig that Tritons built on the West Coast came with because I feel it's a better cruising rig - shorter for less heeling with same sail area and better supported. I added a Harken furling jib after I was offered a new one at half cost and because, well, I got lazy. As a backup I kept three jibs that can be set on an inner forestay that also serves as extra support to the mast. To support the inner forestay, I installed intermediate aft lower shrouds that act like running backstays, which I usually keep attached to chainplates just aft of the lower shrouds. These intermediate aft shrouds have a plastic sleeve to reduce chafe on the mainsail which now lays against them instead of against the spreaders. For heavy going using a jib hanked on the inner forestay, I would move the running backstays aft for better mast support. For a storm jib or in light airs they can be left in their forward position. 

13. What ground tackle do you use?

As well as matching your ground tackle to the size of your boat, you need to match it to your windlass (or lack of windlass), the strength of your back, the exposure and depth and bottom conditions of the anchorages you may frequent and your anchoring technique. Unless you know you will always anchor in shallow well-protected waters with good holding ground, you'll need serious ground tackle. Though I've anchored in waters as deep as 65 feet, that's extremely rare. Some 95% of the time I anchor in less than 25 feet depths and probably 75% of those are less than 15 feet. I'm usually able to avoid areas of likely anchor-fouling bottom obstructions because I most often cruise in clear waters with shallow anchorages. If not, I use a trip line. Ideally, your primary anchor should have enough chain for a 5-1 scope, plus a nylon rode attached for deeper waters. Besides the constant threat of your nylon rode chafing through, it's too simple for some disgruntled Mexican fisherman to pass by and slice your nylon rode with a knife, for you not to take the simple precaution of using all chain. Chain equals security - period. When using all chain it's useful to tie a nylon snubber line to the chain with a rolling hitch to absorb some of the shock loads and quiet the grating noise of the chain that transfers into the boat through the bow roller. 

Lately, I use a 33lb Bruce as primary anchor on 150 feet of 5/16 chain with 50 feet of 3/4-inch nylon rode attached. I carry several 125-foot lengths of spare rode to extend the main anchor rode when needed. Anything longer than about 50 feet of nylon permanently attached will not flake itself down in a small anchor locker and would require a second person below to coil it down during retrieval. The 33lb Bruce is a heavier anchor and 150 feet is more chain than normally needed, but there may come a time when a heavy anchor saves your boat. During passages, my heavy bow anchor is stored in a cockpit locker to reduce weight on the bow and the hawsepipe sealed with a screw-on cap. In 1995 I replaced my bronze anchor windlass with a lighter model aluminum Lofrans. If you lack a windlass you can always hitch a line from the chain and run it back to another winch for times when you need some extra leverage.

I recently completed a cruise on another Triton where the main anchor was a 25lb CQR with 55 feet of chain attached to 150 feet of nylon and though the anchor never dragged (and it was not severely tested), the nylon line did chafe through once on some bottom obstruction and I had to retrieve the anchor with a grapnel. I had not used a trip line this time because I'd relied on the stern anchor, which was holding the stern into the swell, to keep the bow anchor rode taught and off the bottom. Then a night of unusually high swell worked enough slack into the rodes to permit one to chafe through on some unseen rocks. From then on I avoided anchorages I felt were not suitable to the light ground tackle the boat carried.

I frequently set either a lightweight Fortress FX-23 (15 lb) or 18 lb danforth-type stern anchor with about 25 feet of chain shackled to a 5/8 or ¾ inch nylon rode to keep the bow into the swell. Even though lighter line is strong enough, the larger line is less affected by chafe. I do have thinner line I can use if I ever need the elasticity, but preventing chafe is usually a higher priority. Normally I like to moor with two anchors set 180 degrees apart and both tied to the bow so that the anchors and lines are never dragging around the bottom getting fouled. Typically I come into an anchorage under reduced sail, kick the danforth over the stern and pay out twice the amount of scope I want to end up with. The end of this anchor rode is led outside of all rigging and secured to the bow cleat. When the boat comes to a stop, I walk forward and release the bow anchor. Then I pull in on the stern anchor while letting out chain on the bow anchor until the boat is centered between the anchors. When departing, the above steps are reversed. My fourth anchor is a Fortress FX-37 (21 lb) that's reserved for a storm anchor and is kept disassembled in a storage bag.

14. How did you stop the deck leaks in your Triton?

Some Tritons suffer from waterlogged balsa-cored decks. Water enters through leaking deck fittings and eventually rots the balsa core, causing it to delaminate. The first symptoms are leaks at chainplates, stanchion bases, and jib-sheet tracks. Eventually, the core breaks down entirely and feels spongy underfoot. I tried every known type of repair without lasting success until I realized the only permanent cure is to replace the core and upper layer of deck. After removing the deck fittings and cutting off the deck’s upper fiberglass layers using a circular saw, grinder and sharp chisel, I removed the rotted balsa and laid down a layer of epoxy-saturated fiberglass cloth. I then cut ½-inch thick polyurethane sheets into 4-inch squares and set them into the deck in a thickened epoxy filler. Each foam square was kept a couple millimeters apart from adjoining squares and sealed on its edges with filler so that a future leak cannot migrate far within the deck. On top of this I spread another layer of filler and block-sanded it until level. I covered the deck with five more layers of fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, repainted it and reinstalled the deck hardware. Thirty days of labor, but no more leaks!

15. What type dinghy do you recommend?

 I find a rigid dinghy powered by oars is the most practical. Inflatable dinghies with powerful motors are fast and the dinghy takes up less space when stowed, but they are a prime target for thieves and are easy to vandalize. I saw one dinghy flat on the beach in the islands sliced end to end by a boy who thought it a great joke. I'd say it's a poor choice to have a dinghy that can be destroyed in 5 seconds by nothing more than a kid with a pocket knife. They also do not stand up well to chafe and are expensive and hard to replace in a far away port. And after all, let's not lose sight of why we are sailing instead of motorboating; inflatable go-fast dinghies with big motors are much closer to the mentality of jet-skiers and speedboats than they are to cruising under sail. I realize it's a losing battle though, so you'll just have to decide for yourself if you belong in the 90% group of cruisers who will annoy the hell out of the other 10% who seek a tranquil anchorage. I built my 6 1/2-foot pram out of 1/4-inch plywood and a single layer of epoxy/fiberglass for light weight.

 I also carry a 16-foot fiberglass kayak that has become indispensable as a second dinghy and opens up new areas to explore.  The standard kayaks, which you have to tuck yourself inside can be difficult to get in and out of from a boat at anchor so I chose a tropic version in which you sit on top in a deep molded seat.  It has water drains at the bottom of the footwells and a watertight stowage locker in the bow. During passages the kayak is tied down on deck and blocks one of the side-decks, but I find it so useful that I have put up with this inconvenience.

16. What other modifications have you done to Atom?

Check the About Atom page for a list of some improvements and modifications I've done  over the past twenty-four years. 

17.  How much electricity do you need and how do you supply it?

Regardless if you have an engine-driven alternator, you'll need an alternative way of recharging your batteries. Wind chargers ("you get used to the noise", I'm told) and to a lesser extent, towing generators (God help you when you need to retrieve it), are popular among cruisers, but I prefer the silent reliability of solar panels. The goal is to match the boat's 12-volt electrical system between the loads of the various onboard electrical appliances to the battery bank capacity and the ability to recharge the batteries. 

Aboard Atom, where I have no inboard engine and therefore do not need a separate starter battery, I use four deep cycle Trojan 6-volt golf cart type batteries wired in series to deliver 400+ amp hours at 12 volts. These rugged batteries are more cost efficient and stand up better to frequent deep discharges than any other type I have used. On these batteries I run a modest amount of appliances including an SSB transceiver, notebook PC, and an 800-watt inverter to operate a juicer/blender and occasional use of power tools. If you plan to anchor near other boats I'd suggest you try to avoid running one of those noisy gas generators on deck, which you should be able to do if your battery bank capacity is sufficiently large.

To recharge the batteries I rely entirely on two solar panels rated at 43 watts each. These solar panels have built-in blocking diodes to prevent discharging of the batteries at night due to reverse current flow. But even in the tropics, if solar panels are left in a fixed horizontal position, there is only a couple of hours a day at most when they will be operating at anywhere near their rated capacity. So in order to get the maximum output from the panels, I designed and installed adjustable swiveling mounts placed on vertical stainless steel tubes attached to the stern rail. Here the panels are out of the way in an area that has minimal shading. 

Because I usually cruise in the sun-drenched tropics, the two panels normally provide sufficient charge to the batteries even when I leave them in the horizontal position. However, whenever I notice the battery voltage falling below about 12.5 volts, which sometimes happens after a period of heavy power tool usage or a few days of overcast weather, I swivel the panels two or three times a day to track the sun. When the panels are perpendicular to the sun their output is considerably greater than if they were left all day in a horizontal position. By having the capability to point the solar panels at the sun you should be able to use fewer panels for the same amount of current output. Using less solar panels not only saves money, but saves space, which is always a major concern on a small cruising boat.

Regardless of how you generate electricity, it makes sense to conserve on your energy consumption. Why go to the trouble and expense of maintaining a large generating capacity when trimming your consumption will accomplish the same goal of keeping energy production and consumption in balance? For example, I've replaced all my incandescent light bulbs with the more efficient fluorescent or halogen bulbs. I replaced my nearly opaque plastic 25-watt masthead anchor light with a homemade light consisting of a 5 and a 10-watt halogen bulb in a glass peanut butter jar. This not only saved electricity and about $100 in replacement costs, but I had a light that was far brighter than the original. You can conserve electricity in many other areas such as using an icebox instead of a refrigerator. An icebox also has the advantage of never needing repair or causing food to spoil by an unexpected failure. Electric water pumps and bilge pumps can likewise be eliminated on the small cruiser in favor of more reliable manual pumps.

18. What about sculling vs rowing with two oars?

In my experience the standard Western sculling oar, which is usually just a single normal rowing oar, is noticeably less efficient than the Chinese yuloh (oar). I believe a yuloh is more efficient for a long haul in calm waters (if there are any waves the yuloh is difficult to keep on its pin and socket) and is the only option in confined areas. I would think a pair of conventional wooden Western oars is potentially faster, especially if there is a headwind in confined waters and is the best option in choppy waters, but will wear you out sooner because of the constant lifting and swinging of the oars as opposed to the sculling oar which delivers thrust with every swing. Normally when you have a chop or waves you also have wind so you don't need to row, but there are times of wave without wind and headwinds in confined areas. 

I've only used a sculling oar on Atom, but would like to experiment with a pair of lightweight carbon fiber oars because of the two problems mentioned above - a headwind or waves. There is a photo of Atom's 16' sculling oar available to see on the Project Photos Page 2. This oar was copied off a Hong Kong sampan which has a slightly different construction from yulohs in other parts of China. Roughly, the length of your oar depends on the amount of curve of the particular oar design, height of oar pin above water, your standing chest height above water and distance between pin and inboard end of oar. You'll have to work it out yourself, but I can't imagine an oar of less than about 13' being effective on a boat with over 20" of freeboard aft. Keep in mind you'll want at least 3' of the blade immersed. You can find more on sculling oars on the Links page.

19.  How can I get started cruising?

I get asked this type of question all the time and it's impossible to give one set of guidelines that are helpful for everybody. People want to know: What type or size boat do I need? How do I learn to sail? What does cruising cost? What equipment should I have? and so on. If you've read much on this site you'll already know that I stand outside the mainstream on most of these issues and you'll have to view my advice as just my opinion based on my own cruising style which has slowly evolved and will continue to evolve. Before giving you any advice, first I'd want to ask you some questions:

1. What is your goal? To sail around the world alone? To gunkhole with a family of five on short coastal cruises? Are you retired or a young couple wanting to spend a year cruising the Caribbean or two years in the Pacific? - You may have a specific goal in mind, or more likely, you think you want to cruise "as long as it's fun" as you often hear people say. Well, there's plenty of fun, but the bad news is that it's certainly not all fun. If you don't expect to have considerable obstacles to overcome and frequent physical discomfort, annoyance and unpredictable challenges ahead, you may as well forget about making anything but the briefest of forays afloat. Know your goals and then you can prepare to make it happen.

2. Have you sailed at all before and how soon do you want to make your first ocean crossing? - If you've never sailed before, try getting some basic skills on a sailing dinghy and move up to a bigger boat only when you master the fundamentals. Sailing instruction will speed things up, but you can certainly teach yourself with some books, a small sailboat and lots of time on the water. Hang out in boatyards and popular cruiser ports and volunteer as crew to gather experience. Resist the temptation to get a bigger boat than you can handle or one that is bigger than you need. Which brings us to...

3. What is your budget? - Cruising will cost much more than you expected and certainly it'll cost whatever you can afford. I don't mean to dissuade you because I know a few of you could cross the pacific in a dugout canoe without instruments or cruise the Indian Ocean for years on a junk-rigged homemade steel boat without an engine or electrics and virtually no money. I know some of you could do this because I have friends who have done it. Not having lots of money is no excuse for not going cruising. You merely need to trim your expenses to match your means. You may be able to find work along the way, and the more desperately you need it, the more likely you'll find it.

4. What is your physical condition? What is your lifestyle and are you looking to maintain it as is or make some big changes? What level of complexity or simplicity in your lifestyle do you hope to attain as a liveaboard cruiser? - The yachting press and the Internet sailing message boards today are full of timid folks chanting the mantra of safety, gadgets and flotilla cruising. They try to spend their way out of their ignorance and fear. Sure, the sea can be a tough playground and you'd better know what your doing, but spend, spend, spend, follow the experts guidelines, and join a fleet of 50 footers is not my way to see the world. A mans got to know his limitations, they say. Bugger that! My advice - challenge yourself; push your limits; do the things you've imagined yourself doing; go simple and go now.

If you've come this far and still want to know more, email me your questions...

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