Pacific Cup 2010 Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/dmitrysphotos/PacificCup2010#

This is from Dmitry's camera. Tommy Dixon has some cool sailing photos/videos as well, hopefully he'll share it with us.

Final updates

Victoria Spot page will be updated at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0HBoZh1hhXe6J5E3uANfvL3LngZoEUvfG

Tommy Dixon is our official third teammate

We will have a Sunday ID4 BBQ on the boat and sail the SF Bay too.

Pacific Cup last minute preparations

Crew Change:

We decided to add a third person to the crew as a matter of safety, sanity and sleep. Pac Cup administration was very helpful in changing divisions. We hope to find someone no later than 20 of June to make sure we have plenty of time to get along. More on this as story develops…

Board the boat. I like a challenge. 

Water maker:

Very little updates for now due to the limited time – down to the wire on our preparations. The major item lef on Victoria is the water maker. It was left for the last because it is more of a pleasure item, not a necessity. Some people may argue otherwise. The system on board is Pureflex 200 made by UAT/Severn Trent. Company makes very large reverse osmosis systems, this is the smallest one of the line, capable of 200 gal/day or about 8gal/hr. I really liked the system because it uses readily available industrial grade components such as motors and pumps. The system is tied together with head unit that is by itself quite complex. I decided to get new high pressure and booster pump and membranes - I was not confident to how the system was maintained. I did not like extensive use of plastic/polyurethane tubing and fittings - switching everything to brass will increase reliability.

High Pressure Pump Cat 237

Autopilot and wind vane:

Simrad J300X Main board went hasta la vista. The power board and main board can be replaced, but only if one knows for a fact which board is dead; I did not have a good board to test with at the time so I bought a new unit instead. I kept the old unit – supposedly there is a company in So Cal that will get it to work for a flat fee – I’ll keep it as a spare. Wind vane lived up to its name, except I still need to learn adjusting it – over time it likes to turn into the wind slowly, or the wind changes a little - I am not sure. Autopilot picks up where wind vane left off at low and down winds.

Goodbye Hal

Provisions:

Still experimenting…

Rudolph Jr

Few weeks of looking at the energy management plan on board, it comes as no surprise that power storage is the bottleneck of the system. A bank of four batteries is almost a minimum number of batteries that needs to be carried on board of Victoria. In order to safely start auxiliary the bank is broken into two separate banks in order to have a fresh set of batteries available after running electronics and lighting all night. With all navigation, communication and lighting running at the same time the two-battery bank holds up until sunrise; batteries need either constant recharge maintenance or expanded battery storage; neither seems to fly too well. 135 Watt solar panel charges the batteries, but in reality it only averages about 5 amps; thus 60 Watts, not 135 and only during the daytime. On Victoria an answer comes from another source. Victoria has a 5kw Northern Lights marine diesel generator set with a M643M 1800 RPM engine. Lower RPM makes it quiet and supposedly more lasting (Lt. Howard: Whiskey! thins down the mix for another 50 RPM). TF-276M generator puts out 50 Amps at 110 Volts in 60 Hertz intervals. Genset charges batteries easily while allowing to run “luxury” 110V items onboard: teapot, microwave, water maker, water heater etc. The genset comes into light as an integral of the entire energy system. The M643M was my nemesis for a while mainly due to the fact that it is seemingly hard to get to - most sailboats have very limited space for something like this. Greg Ward must be given a fair credit for getting it going originally. Exhaust elbow was in non-working order due to heat and saltwater (very common fault judging by the fact that the replacement part comes in stainless steel) - until now this genset is nothing but a big saltwater fountain – a “small-guy” job to get behind it to fix it. The fuel delivery system is already upgraded from earlier with an addition of a new filter and fuel shut-off valve, an important safety item. The genset itself is built with close quarters marine environment in mind. The key to working on the unit is its ability to rotate on one mount with three-mount attachment system, a major benefit the newer M673 version lacks due to an added fourth engine mount. Luckily the service side has a clever design allowing for nice all-in-one maintenance access. 

Brief notes while working with unit are as follows:

Performing overhaul of most cooling and pumping components of the system is quite easy and is part of the task to make sure the unit runs well. Standard panel has automatic high temp/low psi shut-off but no gauges. Installing analog temperature and pressure gauges directly onto the engine avoids wiring mess and is cool-looking - I love solutions such as this. Oil, coolant, filters and belt parts, gasket sealer, touch-up paint are available in local auto store. Impeller, zinks salt-off, ss harware are available in local marine store. Northern Lights “drop-ships” specialized parts very quickly. The unit is very well designed and is built to last. Northern Lights has excellent manuals to download and tech support is also very helpful and quick. Time estimate was about 20 hours plus waiting/ordering for parts; it took 30, as usual. Material cost for the minor overhaul is about 10% of original engine cost. In retrospect, after a major rebuilt on Victoria’s auxiliary and minor overhaul on genset I slowly learned the following to be true on re-powering: when considering rebuilding engine vs buying a new engine, the cost doubles to do the later; fair installation will right about match your initial engine cost or cost of a rebuilt; for new engine: consider access points and dimensions before buying, go for the best engine, best warranty and professional marina installer; on a rebuilt engine: save old parts before the new one is installed and tested to work; double check everything and add a factor of 1.25 to 1.5 on time; in a rebuilt or new engine weakest link is usually not the diesel engine itself; break-in new or rebuilt diesel engine at the dock with transmission engaged – during the first 100 hours at least one thing will go south; Getting parts for older engines is much easier, but just as expensive as for new. Double-check all advice with professionals. This is always a learning process: this is what I live for, DBF!

Nikki Rose upgrades

Nikki Rose has been put under a variety of tests ever since its been launched: speed, range under oars and motor, versatility and equipment capacity, ease of use and durability. Overall it has archived a well-balanced score on all levels. Some notes so far consist of the following: while rowing at about 75% of maximum load the rowlocks failed in shear – rowlocks are made out of high tensile plastic material, but that was not enough. I informed the BIC of the problem and got a set of the same rowlocks in the mail – they flat out refused to change the rowlock from plastic to higher-grade material. If you never had one fail on you, try rowing with one paddle – impossible. West Marine carries a stainless steel rowlocks; in my opinion, a must upgrade on any BIC 245 boat. While corporate concern for safety is “iffy”, versatility of BIC 245 model is unquestionable. I have found a very easy way to lift the dinghy onto the boat single-handed; it fits perfectly on the bow of Victoria and literally locks in at 90 degrees for sail locker access. In retrospect the 245 is still the best unsinkable dinghy around, especially for short-handling situations. Originally it was selected against others based on the following:

	Length	Weight	Capacity	Cost	Weight to Capacity	Sinkable
KL Watertender	9.5	114	439	Low	26%	Yes
Pelican Scorpio	10.2	115	520	Mid	22%	Yes
BIC 245	8	86	551	Mid-High	16%	No
Portland Pudgy	7.8	128	557	High	23%	No

Weight to Capacity ratio was astonishing. BIC 245 almost matches infamous Portland Pudgy in capacity at third of its weight. Chart does not consider inflatable dinghies.

Minn Kota Riptide 45 with a full SeaGel 97Ah battery gives range of about one nautical mile (she motors for 40 minutes at 2-3 knots and 20 minutes at 2 knots) When rowing I can archive up-to 4 knots speed for relatively short periods of time. I didn’t invest in gasoline-powered engine for number of personal and technical reasons. Nikki Rose is 100% solar powered dinghy. 130 Watt Kyocera KC130TM is regulated by SunSaver Duo 25 Amp Controller that splits solar energy into two banks: main and emergency. SeaGel 97Ah battery acts both as “always ready” emergency bank and dinghy bank on the vessel. While ashore Go Power GPDL-10 10-Watt Self Regulating Unbreakable Solar Module charges the dinghy bank via car-charger type socket.

Nikki Rose can be used with the following elements depending on the landing situation:

Personal Life-jackets (always)

Standard Horizon HX850 Personal VHF with 12V charging cradle

Go Power! 10-Watt Self Regulating Unbreakable Solar Module

Minn Kota Riptide 45 with Minn Kota Trolling Motor Power Center

Guest 10 Amp Portable 110V Charger

(2) “Perfect” Bungee Cords

Overboard Waterproof Tube-like Back Pack

REI Camping and Fishing Gear
Aqua Signal White Stern Mounted LED Light

Fortress FX-7 Anchor and line

Scotty Throw Bag w/ 50 MFP Floating Line

Thermos Stainless Steel 1/2-litre capacity

Personal gear

Storm Sail Setup

I finally got around to raising the storm sails on Victoria. OSR requires three sets of sails: Storm Jib, Heavy Weather Jib and Storm Trysail; Pac Cup gives a choice between Storm Jib or Heavy Weather Jib and leaves Storm Trysail as a requirement. For the Storm Jib I picked ATN Gale sail because Victoria does not have a second forestay so the only viable option was to get the sail that can be set over the Genoa. I fell in love the ATN Gale sail; in all respects worth having. Victoria has a very large Genoa that is great in light winds; in strong winds it becomes a liability is difficult to handle and is very inefficient when partly furled in.

ATN Gale sail sets very nicely over the Genoa and protects it from unfurling. Someone had mentioned that it could chafe the Genoa but ATN denies it completely and so far I agree. Trysail is nice to have but it is a little more difficult to put up compared to the Mizzen sail. I think Mizzen/ATN sail combination is a perfect setup for storm weather, but Trysail is not too bad either. Independent track for Trysail is an OSR requirement and I think that Schafer external sail track is a good pick for it because it allows to set Trysail at almost any angle to the wind - having to face the boat into the wind to change a sail is very difficult task to perform while shorthanded in bad weather. Victroia’s main mast allows for a setup that keeps away halyard and Main Sail away from the Trysail (eliminating chafe points), but this may be a problem for boats with limited winches cleats positioned at the mast.

Becoming of a Lean Cruising Machine

This blog is overdue for an update – cats have been busy getting past the inspection and finishing up loose ends on the Victoria. Captain has now a very nice log book, compliments of the First Mate - having to fill it out has been a real pleasure. Prior to inspection we have been working on emergency steering setup and external track for the trysail on the main mast. Both projects have been very educating. Climbing the mast to install the track has been craziest task I’ve done so far. Some sailors love it, but I will get used to it at best. To get up the mast I use Mast Mate system with their work tool belt, climbing harness, climbing rope and Petzl Ascension device from REI.

This setup allows me to climb both of my masts alone (although I send a text to First Mate every time I go up and come down) I use climbing rope because of its superior breaking strength and chafe, but mostly because Petzl Ascension device is not meant to be used with yacht braid. After replacing the halyard with climbing rope by tying in two bowline knots one after another to the top of the Mast Mate, I raise Mast Mate and secure climbing rope at the base and at the beam chain plates and back to Mast Mate for security. After attaching the Petzl Ascension to my climbing harness I go up the mast. I found this setup very safe and comfortable. Some of the advantages are: ability to go up alone and ability to shift my weight from the mast mate to climbing harness in order to rest, change tools or body position around mast.

Later I took a look at my wind vane setup. My berthing neighbor Clark and his Vessel Condessa have sailed around the Earth and into some very wicked and interesting situations. His boat has the same wind vane as mine so I looked at his setup as a perfect token of what mine should look like. After some very good advice from Clark I changed some of the weakness-prone hardware and prepared a setup for holding the wind vane (also emergency rudder) in place at 90-degree angle to the boat. This altogether was an interesting experience for me because I enjoy working with stainless steel and rigging in general. Condessa has a SS chain and quick-disconnect shackles holding its auxilary rudder in place - a very sturdy and easy setup. I wanted something similar but with an added ability to tighten or loosen the rudder quickly while underway to prevent it from swaying back and forth. My requirements for the system were ease of use, structural integrity and ability to take apart and put back together – all qualities of the original wind vane design.

Three integral parts of the setup became stainless eye bolts, wire, shackles, turn buckles, wire rope clips and thimbles. With these elements one has a fair chance to solve at least a minor standing rigging issue while underway.
I keep 100’ of ¼” ss wire rope and a number of equal diameter connecting elements in my rigging box for this reason alone.

I am very much fond of reusable rigging components. My current standing rigging is built using Sta-Lok fittings which eliminates a need for a professional rigging shop if there is none nearby or if there is one, the cost of new rigging comes down dramatically.

SF Bay has been teaching me lessons ever since I sailed for the first time. That first lesson was simply that sailing is what separates us from the animals. The most recent one was to tie in all permanent “screw-in” shackle pins with wire as to avoid unintentional disconnect of the pin. This is especially true with new blocks and shackles you’ve just put in – that shiny new pin will fly away just like that.



After going through our OSR inspection I felt quite confident in the boat. One of the better advices from my inspector was to “think vertically” to see what would happen if the boat were to capsize. I started to look more into the issue of what will actually fall upside-down. Heavy items and exterior openings were at the top of my list. Luckily designers at Les Chantiers Amel have put a lot of thought into “tightening the hatches” For example they have created various pins and rope features that secure all exterior lockers and compartments in case of capsize. Entry hatch cant “fall out” because of the permanent dodger above it. The engine is secured with a permanent bracket in the front that will prevent it from falling and damaging the shaft. As I looked at these features of the boat in this new inverted light I could not help but gain confidence in my vessel. The two things I found still in “falling capsize position” were engine room batteries and water in the keel placed water tank. I decided to secure battery trays cover with hinges and attach a starboard cover over the water tank. “Cats” still have to do annual MOB practice and CPR training (I think Pac Cup has it waived but we will do it anyway); that is pretty much it as far as OSR requirements go. Practice time baby.