Singlehanding - Sleeping - Good Idea ?

[GordMay]

About 1/2 the price of the C.A.R.D.
NASA AIS RADAR DETECTOR @ £209.95 (±$320 USD)
➥ Discount Marine Chandlery - Marine Scene

[Brent Swain]

In the S pacific they rarely turn their radars on,unless they are making a landfall.
Brent

[Jace]

Sunflower seeds. I've made many a trip from Oklahoma to California, and the reverse (in a car, not a sailboat), and sunflower seeds kept me awake every time. They work like a charm. It's weird. I've tested them. Sleepy, eyes burning, then pop several into my and start cracking, and viola! Wide awake. Then I'd stop eating them, just to put them to the sleep test, so to speak, and I'd immediately get sleep again. Pop a handful into my mouth and by damned, wide awake again.

And they don't melt!

[sctpc]

I just got back from a5 day sail and used the alarm every 20 mins with radar alarm on and so I could sleep in the day used a sleep mast, It let me sleep in full light and when the alarm work me i had no idea if it was night or day the best $2 ive ever spent, it takes a wile to get use to but it lets you go strate to sleep and not feel tired I could have gone for weeks like this. (i think anyway )

[fabian1956]

Gentlemen,

this is a huge topic. I sailed solo along the east coat of Australia and knocked up many overnighters while port hopping. I too do 20 minutes asleep and check topsides put a quick entry in the log accuratly indicating the time then set the alarm and climb back into the cot.

I try to get a couple of hours real sleep during daylight an hour after sunrise then late afternoon again. Then I continue thru to 11ish pm awake before starting the 20 minutes off and 5 minutes up routine. I use a dreadful alarm that vibrates as well on my mobile phone and an oven timer as a back up.

I have woken a few times to the sight of ships a few miles away and once onlly on a collision course at night but not what you would call that close (about three miles but he made no effort to avoid me) I dropped a few points off the wind and passed comfortably behind him.

The biggest fright though came at 3pm on a beautiful day when preparing the evening meal in the galley. A 40-50k ton ship that I was aware of and was comfortable with, way off collision course and about 4 miles away. He changed course without my noticing until the fog horn (5 blasts) went off at a distance of half a mile. This startled me and got me into action very quickly. He was in Morton Bay with a limiting channel available to him (I had lots of bottom space and could go where ever I wanted) but I did not expect a sudden change of direction.

The issue here is that there are safer times to get a cat nap but really another body to help with watches is the real answer.

Until now I didn't have a radar (it's now on a spare bunk awaiting installation) and my wife suffered very badly from sea sickness so she drove to the destination and I'd sail solo. We have found a solution to the sea sickness which gets me a companion but for those rare (I hope) times when I am solo the target alarm on the radar will help.

Fabian
SV Xyris

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Fabian.

Thanks for your interesting & informative comments on singlehanded watch-standing. You may be interested in another thread, discussing Jessica Watson’s recent mishap off Moreton Bay.
➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ail-30537.html

[Albro359]

Our Furuno radar has a watch function where it turns on every 2 minutes (or as you want) and does a scan...if there's anything inside the preset range ring that wasn't there on the last scan it alarms..

For me this provides the most secure sleep when single handing ....

Cheers

Alan

[fabian1956]

I've just bought a Raymarine radar that has a similar function. This will make night sails in particular safer. Plus what a great toy! Now I am thinking about how to mount it. I'd like one of those self levelling mounts but the price here in Oz is scary. I may look at designing and making one if I have the time but the list of stuff to be done in our upgrade refit is a bit scary and the plan is to be cruising for our next winter season.

[feelsgood]

Originally Posted by fabian1956

I've just bought a Raymarine radar that has a similar function. This will make night sails in particular safer. Plus what a great toy! Now I am thinking about how to mount it. I'd like one of those self levelling mounts but the price here in Oz is scary. I may look at designing and making one if I have the time but the list of stuff to be done in our upgrade refit is a bit scary and the plan is to be cruising for our next winter season.

You dont need a swinging mount. If you can mount the radar about 10ft from the water line you will see far enough ahead. I have heard from some people that the swinging mount can cause more probs than it stops. Regards Pete (FeelsGood)

[fabian1956]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

If you can mount the radar about 10ft from the water line you will see far enough ahead.

I'd love to get excellent performance at 10'. How does that work and what do you define as far enough ahead?

Cheers,

Fabian

[Cheechako]

On a few of my boats the radar was above the lower spreaders..(20 ft?) I agonized over the swinging mount for quite a while. In reality, it was just fine on a fixed mount. always got great reception etc. Another advantage is seeing storm cells a long ways off. Leaving the DR we could see the storm cells off the west end of PR all night long....

[conachair]

Originally Posted by fabian1956

I've just bought a Raymarine radar that has a similar function.

But the alarm is a touch on the quiet side if you are singlehanding. There is a guy in Aus who makes an alarm, works over seatalk, which is VERY loud and suits Raymarine radars. Tech-X
No conections just verry satisfied with the product.

[Albro359]

My radar monitor is just at the head of my bunk...no problem...
The scanner is on the mast just above the first spreader...which on my boat is about 25ft off the deck....The radar is 16 mile range and that's more than the horizon at that HASL

[fabian1956]

Originally Posted by conachair

But the alarm is a touch on the quiet side Tech-X

I've found that most instrument alarms are too quiet. This gismo seems great and I have just ordered one. Thanks for the tip.

Fabian

[feelsgood]

Originally Posted by fabian1956

I'd love to get excellent performance at 10'. How does that work and what do you define as far enough ahead?

Cheers,

Fabian

Hi fabian I went on a friends 29' yacht that had had pols fitted to the pushpit rails with a bridge so he has a radar on one side and a wind generator on the other with a solar panel in the middle. We went into the western exchanges in the English Channel which is very busy all the time and put the radar on 16 miles then put the guard alarm on and set the radar to sin every 5 mins we found that we had enough time when the alarm went of to get up from our bunks and make any course corrections nessesary to be safe. As I have read in other posts if you can fit the radar higher it must be better but I dont like things that upset the balance in the boat. Regards Pete