Essential gear for circumnavigation

[gregfreed]

I have used my windvane in all kinds of seas, don’t leave home without it.
InReach explorer, cheap, easy weather, it’s been my primary source of weather for over 35,000 miles, Unlimited texting, I even got divorced on it.
A drawer full of Halloween candy.
Remember new sails become old sails, you just need to budget accordingly.
The couple that did the refit on my boat spent a small fortune trying to anticipate every possible need, it’s an extremely inefficient way to prepare.
They spent $340,000, a lot of it was unnecessary, ask yourself if you could do a month long trip somewhere, if yes your ready to go.

[john manning]

I am in two minds about how to express my opinion about this.

My first thought was secure bottle storage for gin and a well aired container for lemons.

But then I decided it was actually more important to leave behind the desire for something better and take with you a determination to make do with what you have.

[Topspin]

Fridge and Tonic Water?

-Richard

[Cynara]

Spares like water pump, alternator, etc. Then use the spares and replace the exiting parts. Then you will know if you have the right tools an the skill to replace them. Keep the parts you remover for your spares.

[jpmesa]

I put a good mainsail reefing system in the top 5. Furling jib speaks for itself. When you get struck in the middle of the night with 35 + knot wind. You want everything set up so you can almost do it blind folded. The one thing that amazed me most when I did my first passage is how loud the wind gets going through the rigging in a blow!!! Impossible to talk outside.

[areddon]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned a Jordan Series Drogue. May have missed it.

[Kurlie1]

lots of great stuff here.
I recently equiped my boat for offshore.


Windvane? ..... Love it!!! ... I have a Voyager.



Active radar transponder (if solo sailing) essential in today's ocean.
I have Echomax but have used SeaMe ... Both good investment.




I also invested in an electric scooter for minor land transport.


Good stuff ... Good luck

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

An wind wave is very expensive , awkward to fit on modern vessels and most capable vessels Will have an AP anyway , windvanes are more expensive then most APs.

Walk the cruising outposts these days and look for windvanes , tiny number

Let's say you have a 40' boat.

Windvane:
Aries: €3.500 = $4290
Monitor: $5,500.
Sailomat 760: Used $2150, so lets say $5000 new.
WindPilot: $2950 + $650 (wheel) + $400 (sugar scoop) = $4,000

Any would be appropriate for that size boat.

Autopilot:
RAYMARINE–Evolution EV-200: $3300, 24,000#, 0-15A
GARMIN–Reactor™ 40 Hydraulic Corepack with SmartPump V2 and GHC™ 20: $4100 + Drive unit + display Let's ignore this option.

So the RM uses 0-15A. Let's say it has a 25% duty cycle. That means it's drawing 3.75A on average which works out to 90Ahr/d. Most days will probably be better, a few will be worse, but this seems like a reasonable estimate. To supply 90Ahr you will need an additional 270W of permanently mounted solar panels, a controller and an extra 90Ahr of battery capacity.
A single 300W panel from Renogy is $307. (25A)
Victron Energy BlueSolar MPPT 100/30: $197
Trojan Black OEM Battery: $180, (140Ahr)
Let's ignore cost of cabling.

Autopilot, panel, controller & battery: $3984

I would say you you would save several hundred dollars with an autopilot depending on which windvane you would chose as an alternative.

For a sugar scoop stern the WindPilot is probably the easiest to mount and price is about even.

Personally I would be happy to buy a used windvane whereas I would only buy used electronics at a very heavy discount and never for critical items like an autopilot. Other folks may feel differently.

If I were going to outfit a boat I would get a used Monitor or a new WindPilot plus a small tiller pilot. The tiller pilot would be used to drive the air-blade on the windvane which would supply the brute power to steer when motoring, going down wind or in extremely light air. This would entail a much smaller electrical load, and the autopilot would never be taxed very hard so it should last quite well. If I could figure out a push-pull cable the tillerpilot could be mounted below out of the elements.


My sense is that for small boats, the autopilots are definitely cheaper. As the boats get bigger the difference evens out then windvanes become cheaper at very large boat size.

[Nauticus]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Far more important than any of those things, experience is the first and most essential consideration.

Ya nailed it! [emoji3]

[Nauticus]

I've not made it through all the posts yet but the first thing I thought of was " how you going to power all those nifty items you want."
Your list is otherwise quite comprehensive.

Make a friend in the silent service. Ask them to teach you to pack every square inch of space. Or an astronaut. They pack pretty good too. ( I say in jest but not that far off )

Fair winds [emoji569]
Can't wait to hear of your adventures [emoji846]

Tim

[Nauticus]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

A Popcorn machine [emoji897]

[emoji57]

I'd crew for you lol
Who doesn't love popcorn [emoji897]

[stormalong]

Kitchen timers - get several.

It has to be loud.
It has to be direct key entry of time.
It has to be setable for many hours.

I have several that Radio shack sold. They are good for nine hours, ninety-nine minutes. I have seen the same ones sold under different brand names. Remove the magnet from the back so you don't accidentally affect your compass.

Use them for look around, radio schedule, change of watch, etc.

Like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Shack...p2047675.l2557

[Fi2010]

Originally Posted by areddon

I am surprised that no one has mentioned a Jordan Series Drogue. May have missed it.

Approximately 100 para-anchors sold for US Coast Guard and US Navy use this year. Compare this to approximately zero JSD units supplied to our naval forces. This includes the new sentinel class cutters.

Consider mentioning all of the drag devices instead of promoting only one. There are several methods to choose from in slowing or stopping a boat in stormy seas. Including sail trim and heaving-to.

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by sailor4life7777

Thanks for the reply!



Woods flica 34', 3 person crew, and destination: south pacific (from north america)

So is a catamaran. I am thinking that you probably want to see the “Lucky Fish” YouTube videos on a Warram 38 that was sailed from South Africa to the Caribbean. He has some interesting solutions to home made? Windvane steering for a catamaran, a water propeller type of electrical generation, and many refit to prepare the boat for a long cross. Granted that the pacific is double the size of the Atlantic, or should I say the in between landings are quite a distance apart.

I am not saying you should this but my 33ft EDELCAT33 was sailed from South Africa to the Caribbean on a slim budget and slim electronics. No water maker, just two built in 60 gal tank and a rain catch system. No satellite phones, just a SONY multi and receiver to download basic weather. Other than the obvious 4 panel solar panel array, 3 simple tiller autopilots, 1 symmetrical and 1 asymmetrical spinnakers, a replacement jib, 3 reef points on the main sail, a parachute; also consider other devices to slow down the boat. Dedicated lines, each with a tire and chain option for a small anchor and dedicated eyes in each transom with a hefty backup plate, is an economical but effective way to slow down the boat. I still have my set up and works well.

I forgot to mention a Felco wire cutter in case you dis-mast. Guess nowadays these nifty battery powered drills can be outfitted with a cutting blade.

Anywho, is exciting to read about your upcoming adventure. It looks like you are already in the west coast of US so many options to get to your destination. With a crew of 3 you take out most issues related to navigation, schedule, etc.

Looking forwards to an update

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by carlosproa

So is a catamaran. I am thinking that you probably want to see the “Lucky Fish” YouTube videos on a Warram 38 that was sailed from South Africa to the Caribbean. He has some interesting solutions to home made? Windvane steering for a catamaran, a water propeller type of electrical generation, and many refit to prepare the boat for a long cross. Granted that the pacific is double the size of the Atlantic, or should I say the in between landings are quite a distance apart.

I am not saying you should this but my 33ft EDELCAT33 was sailed from South Africa to the Caribbean on a slim budget and slim electronics. No water maker, just two built in 60 gal tank and a rain catch system. No satellite phones, just a SONY multi and receiver to download basic weather. Other than the obvious 4 panel solar panel array, 3 simple tiller autopilots, 1 symmetrical and 1 asymmetrical spinnakers, a replacement jib, 3 reef points on the main sail, a parachute; also consider other devices to slow down the boat. Dedicated lines, each with a tire and chain option for a small anchor and dedicated eyes in each transom with a hefty backup plate, is an economical but effective way to slow down the boat. I still have my set up and works well.

I forgot to mention a Felco wire cutter in case you dis-mast. Guess nowadays these nifty battery powered drills can be outfitted with a cutting blade.

Anywho, is exciting to read about your upcoming adventure. It looks like you are already in the west coast of US so many options to get to your destination. With a crew of 3 you take out most issues related to navigation, schedule, etc.

Looking forwards to an update

One last thing is to put your boat on a diet. FLICA payload is limited so try to keep it light as catamaran can go from gracefully fast to pigs very quickly.