10 Years at sea

[OnMyWay]

Actually now that I think about it, I should have put this in the COVID topic under the quarantine section!  Quarantine on a ship!

[Tommy T.]

2 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I think you missed that part.  I think it is towards the end he shows the stowage with the safety equipment including the raft.  Quite a detailed description!

Yeah.... I am about half way through it now. This is an extremely high end yacht... And it just keeps going and going. They have multiple freezers, a 50 gallon/hour water maker? Shit.... ours was barely 5 gallons per hour. Our water tanks totaled 150 gallons and that could last us a month. They use 1,000 litres in a month or about twice what we used.... But then they had a baby too...

That yacht is a power hog - electricity for water maker, freezers, refrigerators, all the electronics... I am looking to see how much diesel he had to use per month...

[OnMyWay]

15 minutes ago, Heeb said:

I knew a guy that inherited 300k when his dad died, he bought a sailboat in San Diego and he and his girlfriend spent three years sailing in South and Central America, also the Caribbean, after three years he sold the boat in Florida and ditched the girlfriend, he said he never wanted to sail again, he said if you ever decide to do it don't bring a woman with you.

This guy sailed to NZ alone, I guess, and picked up the wife there!

[OnMyWay]

2 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Yeah.... I am about half way through it now. This is an extremely high end yacht... And it just keeps going and going. They have multiple freezers, a 50 gallon/hour water maker? Shit.... ours was barely 5 gallons per hour. Our water tanks totaled 150 gallons and that could last us a month. They use 1,000 litres in a month or about twice what we used.... But then they had a baby too...

That yacht is a power hog - electricity for water maker, freezers, refrigerators, all the electronics... I am looking to see how much diesel he had to use per month...

I'm not sure if you had solar but the solar technology is probably is probably a lot better now.  He mentioned that he only runs the generator if he has to use a high draw item.  Maybe like a power tool or something.

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm not sure if you had solar but the solar technology is probably is probably a lot better now.  He mentioned that he only runs the generator if he has to use a high draw item.  Maybe like a power tool or something.

I had, I think 300 watts solar panels and 600 amp/hours house storage batteries. If it was overcast, then I would run the engine for maybe 2 or three hours every two or three days. The main power draw was the refrigeration... 60+ amp/hours/day roughly...

[Tommy T.]

50 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Actually now that I think about it, I should have put this in the COVID topic under the quarantine section!  Quarantine on a ship!

I finally finished the video... I do have a few extra comments.

It's good to see that he has the life raft. However, I don't think it's a good idea to have it in the lazarette (storage locker in the cockpit). If it hits the fan, it will well nigh be impossible to fish that out of the storage. We had our first raft stored there then, when we had to replace it due old age, we put the new one on the deck. So easy to reach - just go forward, grab the trigger/mooring line and pull. Nothing to dig out in heavy seas, even the wife could easily do it.

His "waterproof" engine compartment... Well, I hope it works for him, but they tend to not be waterproof. Again... if it hits the fan and he needs to repair or tend to anything there...it will get salted and wet if there are any seas running. All our gear was accessible from below where it was dry. Sure.... nothing and no system is infallible... but I see some gaps in his systems and plans. It took me over 20 years to figure out how to do some things... and there are still more that I could have learned and applied.

They definitely have a very expensive yacht with expensive and complex systems. Their maintenance costs will accelerate , due to wear and tear and the cost of time... So I am pleased to see that they are adventurous, but I can also see that sort of life will break them financially very soon, unless they both return to work. In maybe 5 more years or less, many of his well-planned systems and technology will either become obsolete or fail entirely... I don't wish this on them at all... But that is the way of all that stuff.

I am not saying our way was better or even cheaper, but it was much simpler, easier to maintain and - for me - easier to use... Maintenance was probably the thing that ultimately killed my enthusiasm... Fixing things in a broiling hot engine room, in the tropics, wore me out... I could do, like him, everything - electrics, plumbing, engine repairs.... all of it. And, like he said, it is so expensive for someone outside to do it. What he did not say was that, in many cases (and I observed many!), repairs from others are not often done correctly - bolts not tightened, bolts not even replaced (!!!), tolerances not confirmed or even checked, and on and on.

So, to summarize, it was a wonderful way to live, for a long time... But it can wear on a person... that's all... So I would just advise anyone to approach it with their eyes open...

Sort of like moving to the Philippines!!!

[OnMyWay]

4 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

However, I don't think it's a good idea to have it in the lazarette (storage locker in the cockpit).

I don't know much about where it could be, but I thought the same thing. 

 

8 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

They definitely have a very expensive yacht with expensive and complex systems. Their maintenance costs will accelerate , due to wear and tear and the cost of time... So I am pleased to see that they are adventurous, but I can also see that sort of life will break them financially very soon, unless they both return to work. In maybe 5 more years or less, many of his well-planned systems and technology will either become obsolete or fail entirely... I don't wish this on them at all... But that is the way of all that stuff.

I suspect that everybody can only do that life for so long.  He said in the early years they would stop and find some work to earn some money.  Now they are You Tubers (439k subscribers) and he mentioned they also have some kind of crowd funding.  I suspect they are doing very well!

[Tommy T.]

5 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I don't know much about where it could be, but I thought the same thing. 

 

Ah... I should have explained further... Ours was mounted in a rack on the deck, just in front of the mast. It had plastic straps that held the raft inside a plastic shell. There were also two ropes with straps that held it in place on the rack - each tied with quick release knots - one easy pull on each and they were loose.

[Freebie]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I just happened to see this and watch it.  They give a nice tour of the ship and how they live, that I found interesting.  They have a You Tube channel bu I have not watched any other videos.

@Tommy T. you had all this equipment??

 

I happened to watch this myself just a couple days ago. Saw another one yesterday with guy and a girl on a 30foot boat, much less fancy, but still happy to be off grid.

[Jake]

I've been watching SV DELOS for the past few weeks, along with other cruising YouTube videos.  Captain Brian, his wife Karin from Sweden and new baby have been cruising Cape Town and Madagascar area for the last few months.  They are enjoyable to watch as they inspire us to go beyond our comfort zone.  They even cruised Davao and west coast Luzon.  I will try to find that video......

One thing I don't know is how they get all those lovely ladies to be crew members for their next passage.  For example Tommy T......how do I get accepted if I want to crew on your yacht for the next passage to Shangri La?  Do I bring my own weed?  

Edited April 27, 2020 by Jake