Here are some more thoughts on how to be a lazy sailor:
An important factor in keeping tiredness down is comfort. It starts with the best breathable waterproof clothing you can afford, in multiple layers that are easy to remove and which minimise condensation. Feeling comfortable is not directly a work saver, but makes everything less tiring.
Related to that is warmth, especially comfort at anchor. With no heating, anchoring in cold weather means damp evenings in full thermals and jackets, and unpleasant crawls into freezing sleeping bags. When Spring Fever’s ancient Eberspacher diesel heater is occasionally working, she’s snug and cosy down below. Unfortunately, it’s been unreliable for years, so warmth has been a question of luck – will it, won’t it work? A local specialist, Paul Carr of Cowes Marine Electrical, has looked at it and says it’s time for a new one. We’ve ordered a Teknotherm 4kw model. It’s a lot of money, but in British waters there can be four seasons in a day…
Effort-free food on passage is also important. There was a time when we made it a point of pride to cook at sea, even if it was only re-heating vacuum packed stews. An owner I raced with insisted on full English breakfasts every day; fine for some, but it could turn others green. On our passages of 48 hours maximum, we take ready-made supermarket sandwiches, apples and energy bars, and drink water with the occasional hot coffee and tea. (We won’t go as far as Ted Heath, the sailing Prime Minister, who was reputed to feed his racing crews entirely on Mars bars).
Next is a big enough dinghy. We have struggled for years with a 2.4 metre lightweight Plastimo bought to fit in the cockpit locker of the previous much smaller boat. It feels overloaded with two large people in it and is a challenge to get into. This winter we bought a 2.7 metre dinghy to replace it. The extra size and buoyancy, with bigger tubes, will make getting ashore a much more enticing thought. It’s the same size as the Zodiac we had before the Plastimo, which is fondly remembered because it was so much easier to use.
Then there is basic equipment which probably ought to be nearer the top of the list, especially electronic chart equipment that is easy and quick to use. This is a link to a detailed account of what we have on board, for those with similar boats and similarly tight budgets.
After navigation equipment comes a good autopilot, which is an extra crew member, taking over work on the wheel for long periods. It can’t cope with the worst weather, but most of the time it’s a great help. We’ll have our 4 year old Raymarine wheelpilot checked over.
We think hard about our sail-handling gear where we have already made a lot of modifications but could do with one minor refinement. The halyards, reefing lines and other sail control ropes are led back to the cockpit through rope clutches to the winches under the sprayhood, to minimise the number of times we have to struggle along the deck at sea. We also run the preventers for downwind sailing back to cockpit winches before we set off.
The extra refinement: we’ll set up a cunningham downhaul from the luff of the mainsail and run its control line back to the cockpit winches. A cunningham pulls the bottom foot or so of the mainsail luff towards the boom. It flattens the sail as the wind gets up, with far less effort than winching the halyard.
Finally, there’s the gear we know we need but which is beyond this year’s budget. Anchoring is hardwork and perilous for the ageing back, as a friend found when hauling up the anchor cost him a crushed vertebra and six months of pain. We have a 15kg main anchor, 30 metres of chain and 50 metres of rope, about as much as you can put in the anchor well of a 36 foot hull designed for racing, without sailing head down and digging into waves. Unfortunately, we still have only a manual anchor winch. A proper installation of an electric version would set us back more than £2,000. It would be sensible to have, but not now – the heater wins.
tide by tide 