An 833nm journey in a GL 33 Hybrid

[PeterB40]

Back a couple of days from a trip my wife and I took down the CA coast from Monterey Bay to San Diego on the Mexican border and back - by way of the Channel Is. of Catalina and Santa Cruz - after picking up our daughter and son-in-law at Dana Pt. past LA. They're experienced Pacific ocean-crossers under sail, with their classic S&S Swan 41 in Fiji past two years, and still no entry allowed.

The first 200nm's to Santa Barbara offer no harbors of refuge except Morro bay, at about 150 miles from Monterey, and only two anchorages protected from the prevailing 15-20kn NW winds and 6-10' swells in summertime: San Simeon at 85mi, site of the Hearst Castle, and the Coho anchorage just around dreaded Pt. Conception, where the coastline turns dead E from it's NW direction, about 85mi S of San Simeon.

We ran 9-10kn downwind in daytime to the two anchorages, surfing the big rollers up to 12-14kn, then a short hop to Santa Barbara and into the craziness LA/SoCal, visiting old friends and family in several stops down to San Diego.

We had no life raft, but inflated the 8'3" dinghy and kept it standing on it's port side across the cockpit with lower pontoon against the port sidewall, and bow clear of the boarding gate, with the dinghy supported by the transom, which I had rigged for quick release (winch line let out to down position), and a ~3' 1/4" line with a small loop over the stbd. locking bolt and larger end loop for the hand. At 81, I can still lower and raise it manually without too much effort, but with a well-braced stance after dinghy tilted fwd., then moving the dinghy aft end out on the transom, ready for deployment with dry bag holding locator beacon, waterproof VHF, flares, powerful LCD torch, etc.

With the soon-to-retire "kids" and their two 14' kyaks stored in the port "gutter" on sides, one above the other, we took off to the Islands ~30nm offshore, and 60nm apart for a week.

Louise and Kim jumped ship in Santa Barbara and wisely took the scenic train back to Monterey, while Mark and I had a pretty horrendous fog-bound two night slog with eyes bound to radar (much calmer winds at night, but 6-8' NW long period dominate swell with 2-3' short SW swell making for a very uncomfortable sea, slowing from usual 7-7.5kn to 5-6 later rounding Pt. Sur @ 4 AM. Even with AP in track mode, this old sea dog could only handle about an hour helm trick before the eyes started failing, and Mark a bit longer. Off-watch on the Port bunk with back removed for more room.

Nothing failed except the anchor/white running light - not the bulb, unfortunately, but we hung a well-taped LCD lantern in it's place. Outside of the anchorages, we saw no boats/ships on the radar screen until near Monterey's gray early dawn.

The Stats, after zero'ing the VW 165TDi's cumulative data fields at beginning: Engine hours-113.9; Fuel consumed- 1082 L/285 gal. Fuel taken on after full tank - 243 gal. Average fuel consumption 9.5 L/Hr, and 2.9 nm/gal. Remaining fuel - 69% by iPad number, and gauge just below 3/4 mark (after 200nm run from Santa Barb. fill).Miles run 833nm. Average speed, after deducting four engine hrs for time run in ports, anchorages, and an hour of battery charging - 7.65nm/hr.

 

[twistedtree]

Congrats. Sounds like quite the adventure.

 

[mcarthur]

Thanks for that information too Peter - were you in hybrid mode for any of it, or all diesel?

 

[PeterB40]

Thanks for that information too Peter - were you in hybrid mode for any of it, or all diesel?

Hybrid mode not available for several months, prob. due to failure of the clutch slave cylinder inside the VW bellhousing, so can't separate the clutch plates. Will wait for next haulout for the major surgery required to replace the standard VW diesel auto part

But the 5kW 48V generator mode while diesel running, and the huge 11.5kWh 48V lithium battery storage and solar panels make for full-time 120V service. We never plugged in at dockside, and had to charge for an hour only once after three overcast days in the islands' anchorages. Huge fridge and freezer, with electric cooking w/ microwave, cook-top and boiler kettle for our crew of four. To me, this is the main attraction of the hybrid setup.

 

[twistedtree]

Hybrid mode not available for several months, prob. due to failure of the clutch slave cylinder inside the VW bellhousing, so can't separate the clutch plates. Will wait for next haulout for the major surgery required to replace the standard VW diesel auto part

But the 5kW 48V generator mode while diesel running, and the huge 11.5kWh 48V lithium battery storage and solar panels make for full-time 120V service. We never plugged in at dockside, and had to charge for an hour only once after three overcast days in the islands' anchorages. Huge fridge and freezer, with electric cooking w/ microwave, cook-top and boiler kettle for our crew of four. To me, this is the main attraction of the hybrid setup.

Interesting comments. I am hearing more and more that people with hybrid boats see the real value in the hybrid house power system, and not really in the hybrid propulsion system. Physics is everywhere.

 

[ScottC]

Congrats on the successful run, PeterB! Your fuel stats for that speed are consistent with what I would expect from my VW 165 hp engine.



I too agree about the convenience of always having house current available. I think this accounts for at least 50% of my enjoyment of hybrid cruising. This capability has also turned out to be a great means of starting social interaction at some in-the-middle-of-nowhere ports with no electricity. On one occasion, we provided power to the boat next to us so they could watch a football game on their TV. Free beer in return (though we would have preferred wine...). On another occasion, we provided power overnight to a sailboat next to us that, due to some planning failure, had no way to heat baby formula for their new born child. This resulted in a nice dinner together.

 

[Jeff F]

I too agree about the convenience of always having house current available. I think this accounts for at least 50% of my enjoyment of hybrid cruising. This capability has also turned out to be a great means of starting social interaction at some in-the-middle-of-nowhere ports with no electricity. On one occasion, we provided power to the boat next to us so they could watch a football game on their TV. Free beer in return (though we would have preferred wine...). On another occasion, we provided power overnight to a sailboat next to us that, due to some planning failure, had no way to heat baby formula for their new born child. This resulted in a nice dinner together.

Interesting, and makes complete sense.

I have driven hybrid cars for a long time. One thing I love about my Prius is that in their quest for fuel efficiency they went DC A/C and resistant engine coolant heaters. I can comfortably sleep in the car with the thermostat set and the motor starts up occasionally to recharge as needed. Best camping car in the world, or if you're stuck in a blizzard you can hunker down for several days on a tank of fuel.