Weebles in La Paz Baja (MEX)

[rpackard]

I thought it might be useful to give my perspective on Peter's description of the inevitable maintenance required on a cruising boat. The problem is that boat owners and builders want to create a vessel with all the comforts of home. Part of that is the desire to give our cruising partner the feeling that we are in no way "roughing it".

Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.

For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.

You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[grandbanksbayfield]

Dear Pete, Your opening report about our trip is spot-on. We stay in the Great Lakes and even here where Michigan has a marina or harbor of refuge allegedly every 40 miles, things can get dicey. Our only scary surprise was a clogged primary filter about 10 miles out from Presque Isle. The engine started again and we motored on at a few hundred rpm's less and got in and tied up. Not knowing which filters to blame, I changed them all and ordered a new set from American Diesel and has them waiting for us when we arrived in Mackinaw City. We got to Sister Bay, WI for the GB Rendezvous and headed back to Lake St. Clair. It was about 850 Nm round trip and a wonderful cruise. Being ready to deal with all of the common problems is so worthwhile. Maybe next year we will cross paths with Ted in his Cherubini! We are going to the Rendezvous in Gore Bay, a place we have been many times. Keep putting aling!

 

[mvweebles]

I thought it might be useful to give my perspective on Peter's description of the inevitable maintenance required on a cruising boat. The problem is that boat owners and builders want to create a vessel with all the comforts of home. Part of that is the desire to give our cruising partner the feeling that we are in no way "roughing it".

Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.

For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.

You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.

Just my 2 cents.

There is wisdom in keeping it simple. In some ways I went overboard, certainly some things I'd do differently.

Watermaker. No regrets here. We just finished 4 weeks of off grid. Having access to reliable water (and reliable drinking water - two separate issues in Mexico) is a huge convenience. Yes, a watermaker requires maintenance. But finding and hauling water requires a lot of work too.

Generator. Access issues means that the engine must be removed to get a generator in/out. Given our intended cruising grounds such as home in Florida, AC is important. Had it not been for that. Not sure I would have done with a generator. But I'm glad I did as it served as a backup charging source via the inverter/charger. The little Northern Lights 6kw with sound shield is pretty dang quiet.

MFD. Well, these days you have to work hard to avoid an integrated system. I have very little space to work with so integrated worked for me. One safety consideration in favor of an integrated system is the ability to run in NAV mode where your A/P directs to a waypoint vs a heading that can be affected by wind or current. I suppose I could do the same with a PC based system and will add that functionality. But for the system-of-record, Im good with an integrated MFD. However. It's not a panacea - it took me a significant amount of time to get the A/P configured correctly which also affected the Wesmar stabilizers, especially in following seas.

LFP batteries and hi-output alternators. There's a case to be made for old school AGMs and a large frame internally regulated alternator. By far, the biggest issue I've had this far is getting my Balmar to charge my 600AH LFP bank. Turns out there's a very fine line between a charged LFP battery at rest and an uncharged one, less than a volt which means design and install of cabling needs to be well thought out and executed. I seem to have the issue worked through (thanks to generous help from a fellow TFer), but it was difficult and time consuming, and underpinned why I needed my generator to charge my batteries. Would I do it again? Yes, I would. I gained a lot of valuable real estate in my engine room that I need given my personal form factor expanded as a result of a generous expense account for 20 years. But I would put LFP/charging on a Watch List of items to seriously consider before headed off cruising. LFP batteries are ubiquitous in the US, but not in Mexico or Bahamas. Something to think about if you want to be self sufficient.

Dinghy and davit. I went overboard on this. Lighter and smaller would be fine. Muirgen (TF Slowgoresit) has a nice davit system off the transom where a large bracket lowers the dink. I don't have a transom so not an option for me, but it's an important element that rarely gets high consideration when choosing a cruising boat. It's an expensive setup to retrofit.

Refrigeration. This is a tough one. It's a universal problem that gets worse as the temperature climbs. Puts a lot of pressure on your battery system. I don't know the right answer here, and not sure what I would do differently (I went old school and built-in a heavily insulated icebox with external compressor/condenser - I'm still futzing with the door seals).

So I dunno. It's always easy to say "go simple." But actually doing it and making the right choices is tough. The stuff that seems to stop folks cold seems to be undersized stuff like windlass or pumps.

Peter

 

[rslifkin]

In my mind there are 2 categories of complexity. Some complexity is justified based on what the more complicated system provides. Other times complexity is a result of just wanting the latest cool toys and isn't worthwhile.

 

[ranger58sb]

I thought it might be useful to give my perspective on Peter's description of the inevitable maintenance required on a cruising boat. The problem is that boat owners and builders want to create a vessel with all the comforts of home. Part of that is the desire to give our cruising partner the feeling that we are in no way "roughing it".

Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.

For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.

You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.

Just my 2 cents.

Goals vary. To me, you're camping... and we've been there, done that. But you do you, enjoy.

We don't have (or need) "all the comforts of home" but we draw the line at crappy toilets, so to speak. (And BTW, the electric toilet we had before seems more reliable than our current VacuFlush system.)

I'm surprised you bagged the microwave.... unless that was related to never using the generator... or unless you don't cook/eat onboard. For us, a microwave/convection oven is a much simpler system compared to other alternatives... and if it goes south (the one that came on this boat did), it's relatively easily/cheaply replaceable.

-Chris

 

[mvweebles]

Goals vary. To me, you're camping... and we've been there, done that. But you do you, enjoy.

We don't have (or need) "all the comforts of home" but we draw the line at crappy toilets, so to speak. (And BTW, the electric toilet we had before seems more reliable than our current VacuFlush system.)

I'm surprised you bagged the microwave.... unless that was related to never using the generator... or unless you don't cook/eat onboard. For us, a microwave/convection oven is a much simpler system compared to other alternatives... and if it goes south (the one that came on this boat did), it's relatively easily/cheaply replaceable.

-Chris

I read between the lines on Rpackard's post a bit, perhaps interpolated given my experience (and knowing he's a very experienced cruiser who favors remote locations).

In terms of power generation, there is a line that gets crossed when you make the decision to opt for house-like creature comforta such as a microwave. You go from a very reliable 12VDC system designed to carry 12VDC loads, to one that is inherently more complex and fragile requiring some way to provide AC power, including some level of power storage.

Look no further than a current thread on "generator quit - no power.". Even if there is a workaround in place (in that situation, a bypass switch), chances are a boat that is setup for air conditioning will be uncomfortable and hobbled until the inverter and/or generator is repaired or replaced.

There are tradeoffs. Want house-like flush toilets? You need to consider whether your freshwater capacity will support them which could contribute to needing a watermaker. Want a fancy watermaker with cute electronic panel that operates with a simple push of a button instead of monitoring a valve and pressure gauge? Cool, but just know that cute little panel with the PCB behind it could easily be $5k for the part alone.

There comes a boat size or style where it's a 24/7 generator boat. It's setup for full time power. That boat needs redundant generators, not the "we run our gen for a few hours in the morning" type of usage common on TF. My point is you have to design for usage, and these days, house power requirements drive a lot of decisions. It's a slippery slope that seems to just happen to many owners, myself included.

Where you cruise - remote location or popular yachting center (or in-between) - should influence your equipment decisions. For those who have read my posts, I prefer a bit more austerity than the typical TF owner. I don't consider it camping at all. It's an overall strategy to a successful cruise.

Peter

 

[PierreR]

Most of us are older and therefore think about resale values. For any given brand and model there is an upper limit and a lower limit to price. Venture out of that with your investment at the expense of capital loss on sale.
What this really means it that each boat manufacturer set about after a certain type of buyer and people seeking those brands later on tend to be of those same types.
For instance. Peter's boat was built for austerity and the rugged cruiser right from the start and creating a luxury interior and amenities in his boat would be kinda stupid in my opinion. Indeed, Peter remanufactured Weebles to the same standard as the original boat, smart.
In my case, I bought a Hatteras and the target buyer was a slow cruiser looking for more luxury on their last boat buy. It came from the factory loaded with amenities right down to stabilizers. If I took it to austere it would likely languish on the market for a long time. I bought the boat right and plan on bringing it back up to snuff but I can do all the work. Still, there is an upper limit to what I am willing to put into a 45 year old full displacement boat. If I want more, the smart money says sell and trade up.
My wife likes the creature comforts and the Hatteras is an ideal boat for the cruising we plan on doing. Me, give me a long electric powered kayak and a basic camping set up, a place for the dog and a credit card.

 

[ksanders]

I thought it might be useful to give my perspective on Peter's description of the inevitable maintenance required on a cruising boat. The problem is that boat owners and builders want to create a vessel with all the comforts of home. Part of that is the desire to give our cruising partner the feeling that we are in no way "roughing it".

Because I hate vessel breakdowns far from home, I eliminated many of the "conveniences" that lead to the problems. I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator and thankfully had a NA engine. So none of these things needed fixing. IMHO the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain. Luckily my spouse is not a complainer and is happy with the adventure of being on a boat rather than a floating condo.

For sure if my cruising waters were in very hot, humid places I would need a generator for AC. And for that reason I would not cruise regularly in those places. For cruising in cold places I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

I feel it is a big mistake to use a MFD. All instruments should be as simple as possible and stand alone. Too many boaters want to buy an entire suite of new instrumentation as soon as they purchase an older boat. Then they need help in getting them running and keeping them from crashing. Did you ever notice that the pilot's instruments in a plane are usually stand alone meters, and analog to boot. There is a reason for that.

You really don't have to have the skills of a mechanic, engineer or physicist if you eliminate the systems that require those skills.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm different I suppose.

I want all the comforts of home.

 

[ranger58sb]

I read between the lines on Rpackard's post a bit, perhaps interpolated given my experience (and knowing he's a very experienced cruiser who favors remote locations).

Where you cruise - remote location or popular yachting center (or in-between) - should influence your equipment decisions. For those who have read my posts, I prefer a bit more austerity than the typical TF owner. I don't consider it camping at all. It's an overall strategy to a successful cruise.

Yep, no question, it's "different strokes..." and where/how we cruise guides what stuff we each want/need/wouldn't mind having. That's all good.

Our own cruising style, and cruising grounds, is more on the wimpy side. Distances mostly selectable, ports nearby, if something fails I can get a tow if necessary (happened not so long ago, embarrasing) or for less calamitous hose-ups I can probably fix it whenever I can get the part drop shipped to us at an upcoming port o' call.

Back to "intended mission guides initial purchase and on-going equipment selection."

-Chris

 

[SteveK]

Our goal is to have a comfortable boat which is a small version of the land home.
Compass, depth sounder, and charts is all I need to navigate. Chartplotter and radar a nice extra. No craving for all the latest stuff.

For us it is living comfort, spending days on end aboard demand where the conveniences come into play.
We use the microwave once in a month, but must have. The trash compactor is only used when on the hook for a week or more, must have. induction cooking onboard, must have (is leading to replacement of the land home gas stove). Fridge/freezer to hold a week minimum, must have. Ice maker, must have.
Fresh water flush toilets, must have. Hot showers, must have. TV, must have. Pretend almost walk around queen size bed, must have.

We have been camping on boats and now we have a floating condo as big as some of the highrise condos being built.

 

[slowgoesit]

I'm different I suppose.

I want all the comforts of home.

You and me both, brother! Gone are the days of rolling up in a poncho liner by the side of the road to sleep for a few hours. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. But I don't want to do it again. We didn't want to buy a boat to camp. We wanted a boat that we can live on comfortably, freezer, fridge, microwave, water maker, AC when absolutely needed, etc. Yes it adds to initial expense. Yes it adds $$ to upgrade costs. Yes it increases complexity of systems, and vulnerability to parts availability, etc. We have more than the average number of spares, but in the last two years and 5000+ nm of cruising, we've had three failures that were beyond our current spare/knowledge set to fix. Work around, yes, fix, no, without outside parts or assistance.

1) on way to Glacier Bay, Alaska, coupling from main engine to hydraulic pump failed. We did a work around, solar panels, and got the part brought to us in Ketchikan. 30 minutes and we were up and running again. We now have a spare coupling, but likely won't ever need it.

2) Recently the fridge died. Compressor controller, and low freon. Workaround was making ice in the big freezer, and using ice chest on boat, replacing ice twice a day. No trip stoppage, but inconvenient. We got the new compressor controller in La Paz, replaced, realized freon was low, recharged and all is well. We have a spare compressor controller enroute, but once again will probably never need it, as the last one lasted since 2003. For the recharge, I could get a vacuum pump, gauges and spare refrigerant, but I'm just not going to bother.

3) Recently had a hydraulic line fail, started dripping 1.5 drops/second. Folks, that is a HUGE leak. We had the hydraulic fluid, only needed it when the generator or bow thruster was needed. Fix was to get a new hydraulic hose made up here in La Paz. Kudos to Kevin (ksanders) and his daughter, who apparently knows everyone who needs knowing here in La Paz worth knowing.
Kevin ran us around for the morning for the hose and more hyd oil. Back on the boat, 20 minutes of work, and we back up and running . . . . just need to clean up the hydraulic fluid mess now.

What I'm getting at is stuff breaks. And you need to have work around's in place to deal with stuff breaking. Work around's that, although maybe not bringing you back to 100%, will allow you to continue the mission, (well, the trip) and not be a total show stopper.

I mentioned earlier that we have, shall we say, more spares aboard than the normal cruiser. That's okay. We're more likely to use most of them to help out other cruisers than ourselves, but that's okay too. It's a karma thing, plus we get a kick out of helping other people. It's what cruisers do, or rather SHOULD do, because the next person needing help may very well be YOU!

 

[mvweebles]

Frankly, I do not understand the 'camping' metaphor. Not being able to watch Sunday football is camping?

I don't mean to be harsh, but it sounds whiny. When I was flying for work weekly, I remember one time milling around the gate agent hoping for to be called for an upgrade. A family of four with two mid-teenage daughters were informed that only the dad was upgraded. The daughters immediately shrieked with a well-practiced eyeroll: "Oh-my-gawd Dad!!! Do we really have to fly coach???" You'd think someone whacked their big toe with a ball peen hammer.

Frankly, if we wanted all the vestiges of home, we'd stay home. Hang with me for a second on this one: why would anyone duplicate and haul around stuff they already have? And at a premium cost to do so?

Definitely different strokes, but we find the fancy stuff distracting. Definitely not camping though, just try to be uncluttered (Grade of C+ so far....).

Peter

 

[Delta Riverat]

I just removed 3 TV's (2 non-functional) from the boat and installed 2 new ones. One 40 incher and one 32. Now you can see something - Was amazed how many channels there were. I guess the marina rebroadcasts Direct TV.

Any way, the 2 new sets were under $250 for both. TV's are really cheap now.

 

[ranger58sb]

Frankly, I do not understand the 'camping' metaphor. Not being able to watch Sunday football is camping?

I don't mean to be harsh, but it sounds whiny.
Frankly, if we wanted all the vestiges of home, we'd stay home. Hang with me for a second on this one: why would anyone duplicate and haul around stuff they already have? And at a premium cost to do so?

Definitely different strokes, but we find the fancy stuff distracting. Definitely not camping though, just try to be uncluttered (Grade of C+ so far....).

Probably not always meant as pejorative; at least I don't mean it that way.

Our camping was mostly in tents, a very few times in modest RVs of some sort. Usually with a bedroll on the ground. Cooking on an open fire, sometimes augmented with a gas (of various sorts) stove. Food and drinks stored in an ice chest. Almost always with significant rain. No football.

Fun (sorta) actually. But that's just not what we're going for now. We don't need all the comforts of home, but some are nice. And better than camping, for our current situation.

Heat and AC. Refrigeration. Cooktop. Oven. Coffee maker. TV. Tunes. Doesn't seem like much... and our intent with this current boat is a lot about 5 months aboard in a slightly milder climate than what we have at home over winter. Plus as much other boating we can do over the rest of the year. Not trying to duplicate our house, but also not intending to completely "do without" during all that.

-Chris

 

[Don L]

Camping seems all rustic,...........................till you do it for several years

 

[mvweebles]

.....Fun (sorta) actually. But that's just not what we're going for now. We don't need all the comforts of home, but some are nice. And better than camping, for our current situation.

Heat and AC. Refrigeration. Cooktop. Oven. Coffee maker. TV. Tunes. Doesn't seem like much...

When the "camping" topic comes up, I think there's a definitional struggle. I can almost guarantee that most of the active posters on TF would put living aboard Weebles - a 36-foot sedan cruiser that is small even by a 36-foot standard due to an extraordinarily large cockpit and walk-around decks - in the 'camping' category even though we have everything needed to be IRS deductible as a second home (if they still do that).

Honestly, when folks say they don't want to "camp," I think what they are really saying is they don't want to make compromises in scale, which is a much different thing. What do I mean by "scale?" Household style furniture vs built-in. Walkaround beds vs berths. Kitchens with tons of gadgets vs an efficient galley. Icemaker(s)/freezer(s)/drink cooler(s). Multiple large TVs (often on lifts). Surround-sound. You get the idea

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But not having those things is hardly deprivation and hardship akin to a riding a landing craft and being disgorged onto Omaha Beach. It really depends on what cruising means to you, but for us, balancing simplicity with practicality within context of the surroundings is important. "All the comforts of home" on a boat is out of context for us. For that, we'll go to our penthouse condo in Playa del Carmen MX.

Is Weebles the perfect cruising platform to head from California to Florida? Hell no! Not even close. If Weebles were 45'x15' instead of 36'x12', might be closer to perfection. Extra waterline and a larger engine room. Tad Roberts did an interesting sketch of a modification to the W36 Sedan that might make sense, especially at that enhanced scale.

Peter

 

[ranger58sb]

When the "camping" topic comes up, I think there's a definitional struggle.

Is Weebles the perfect cruising platform to head from California to Florida? Hell no! Not even close. If Weebles were 45'x15' instead of 36'x12', might be closer to perfection. Extra waterline and a larger engine room.

Sure. As with probably 98% of the topics typically discussed here. Everybody coming from and heading toward a different place... and few of us have anyone else's complete "back story"...

Which of course influences everyone's attempts to answer seemingly simply questions. 2, or 1? Which anchor? Genset, or solar... or both? Watermaker, yes or no? Et cetera.

I only meant I don't think "camping" is meant as a pejorative for many... just a short-hand that can probably encompass anything from a fly and a ground cloth all the way up to maybe somewhere south of modestly-equipped RVs. (And I guess north of that would more often these days maybe be called "RV-ing" instead of "camping.) And even that kind of attempt at taxonomy might put me in a college of 1.

I think a lot of "perfect cruising platform" begins with the boat you have. The ol' bird in hand thing. Features you've got... are what you've got. For us, that lasted for a while for each of three boats in sequence, until along the way we thought of a feature we'd prefer as an improvement to each of those. We didn't intentionally start out to find/buy the perfect cruising boat... didn't early on even know that cruising was a word. But each of our boats have worked out pretty well -- for their time in our lives -- likely as Weebles is working nicely for you!

-Chris

 

[Fletcher500]

I am currently in Dana Point. There are two new Nordhavn 80s here. One has a hot tub on the upper deck that will fit 10. The Bio for the couple appears to imply its their fist boat. No camping.

 

[Don L]

Our daughter's house is WAY simpler than our boat! The only plus to the house is endless hot water comes out the shower and it doesn't make any difference if you leave all the lights on.

To get a limited amount of hot water and be able to leave some lights on in a cruising boat at anchor is waaaaay more complex.

I doubt from my reading on this forum there are many "simple" boats being used by posters. And there isn't really a need to do without conveniences now days.

 

[Stabi]

Peter, I do not think that the posters that are using "camping" are referring "Scale" They are referring to
I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator ..... the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain.........rather than a floating condo.

I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

For example, going without a daily nice hot shower is not dependent on scale, it is dependent on a watermaker and a water heater with enough warm water storage for the shower.

 

[SteveK]

When the "camping" topic comes up, I think there's a definitional struggle. ...................................................

Is Weebles the perfect cruising platform to head from California to Florida? Hell no! Not even close. If Weebles were 45'x15' instead of 36'x12', might be closer to perfection. Extra waterline and a larger engine room. Tad Roberts did an interesting sketch of a modification to the W36 Sedan that might make sense, especially at that enhanced scale.

Peter

Hey, I resemble that remark and take offense since it was 58x16 that brought up camping.
Our boats are better equipped than most hotel rooms.

 

[mvweebles]

Peter, I do not think that the posters that are using "camping" are referring "Scale" They are referring to
I removed the water maker, minimized refrigeration, eliminated the microwave oven and the electric toilet, never used the generator ..... the simpler the vessel the happier will be the captain.........rather than a floating condo.

I would opt for a Dickinson type diesel fired heater rather than the temperamental forced air/hydronic systems that are difficult to repair.

For example, going without a daily nice hot shower is not dependent on scale, it is dependent on a watermaker and a water heater with enough warm water storage for the shower.

Not the first time "camping" metaphor has been used. But since I am aquainted with Rpackard, I understand where he is coming from. He recently sold his Willard 40 that he cruised out of San Carlos (Sea of Cortez) for the last 10+ years; and his Willard 30 in SE Alaska which he had cruised for over 15-years if I remember correctly. Notably, neither location has great access to repairs or parts. The guy has a ton of miles under his keel. And oh-by-the-way, he still owns a beautiful double-ended sailboat in SF Bay.

Generator. Rpackard said unless you need it for A/C, might not make sense which is hard to argue against. Think of it this way: equipment needs to earn its way onto the boat, not just arrive because it's expected. Roughly, zero-based budgeting for equipping a cruising boat. The defacto decision is to exclude an item unless it has utility and purpose, at least for a boat cruising in difficult-to-serve locations.

I think I mentioned my water heater element is out but I have a spare. Replacing it is way down the list because the ambient temperature here is warmish, and we move every few days so water is heated by the engine and stays hot/warm for over a day. In remodeling Weebles, I could have easily gone with a smaller water heater (currently 6-gal).

While I realize his reference to floating condo was a bit of a lightning rod, his experience and observations cannot be ignored. By adding comforts-of-home, you add complexity that drive fragility. There are a couple active threads on inverters and how they can cripple a boat. It's easy to connect the dots between 'comforts of home' and fragile power systems. Sure, a knowledgable owner (Ksanders being one) can deal with that, but many cannot (myself being in this camp). Warm climates and off-grid stress-test a boat's systems. What worked fine for weekends in modest weather may fail miserably after 10-days off-grid in hotter weather.

It's a tradeoff. No right answer, and comforts-of-home may work fine. But I can tell you that there is often a price to pay if you venture into a different use-case.

Peter

 

[ksanders]

Part of the problem with being comfortable maintaining seemingly complex equipment is that it takes decades to build skills in fixing things, and many of us start our life of fixing things when we buy a boat and start cruising.

i can see how that can be a bit overwhelming.

I had a friend once that bought a boat and was an electrical engineer. But... he was lost on his boat, and I don't think he ever became comfortable. Why... Yes he went to college in electrical engineering 40 years before he bought his boat.
Then he worked for a few years designing part of a radar system for aircraft. Then he went into management.

He just didn't have the skills to maintain his boat even though on paper he looked perfect for the job.

I have a nameless friend today that was an aircraft mechanic turned pilot. He on the other hand has the skills to take care of things. Why??? Different work background, maybe different hobbies that better prepared him for the realities of fixing all the stuff on a boat.