I knew this would bring you out!

Wilbur Hubbard wrote:
"jeff" wrote in message ...
The summer is almost over and rather than giving a travelogue I thought
I'd give some thoughts on what gear worked and what didn't. First,
though, a micro-travelogue: In late June we went with daughter, cats, and
dog from Boston to the Vineyard, and hung out around there for several
weeks. Then, daughter went to camp and the rest of us went to Maine,
where as everyone knows by now it rained. A Lot. About a foot while we
were there! Back to Boston, picked up daughter and cousins and headed to
Wellfleet on the Cape, and we'll go home in a few days via P'town.

Not much of a sailing trip. Sounds like more motoring than sailing.

Why? I didn't mention how much we sailed or powered, or how far east in
Maine we went. I haven't measured but I'd guess the summer was about
750 miles, 1/3 sail, 1/3 power, 1/3 both. But, we're usually going
somewhere. I sailed a lot more when I had no place to go.

But,
that seems to be the norm for cruising catamarans that tend to be so below
their designed LWL by the time a family loads them up with all kinds of
extraneous crap.

She'll out sail your boat (do you even have one now?) on any point. The
reason they power a lot is that they are so fast and efficient under
power that its tempting to always arrive quickly. I do recall the last
honest trip report that you posted, where you admitted you powered over
to the Abacos, powered virtually everywhere, and then powered back.


Now the reviews, mostly electronics since I've replace a lot of that this
year:

Big thumbs up to Loki, our PDQ 36 catamaran, which once again has carried
us in safety, security, speed, and the lap of luxury for another year.
Thumbs down to Wilbur who has insisted we would have capsized by now!

Pretty hard to capsize in sheltered waters or doing short coastal hops,
dude! Multihulls mainly capsize well offshore where very large waves can
form due to the long fetch.

Everyone seems to know that, but it didn't stop you from insisting that
every cat eventually capsizes.


Thumbs up for the Harkin furler and winches, etc. which have worked
flawlessly. And also the new Lewmar OneTouch winch handle which is
pleasure to use.

WIMP! Get some real sails and use real winches. Try being a man for once. If
your forearms don't look like Popeye's then you're no sailor.

Funny! I didn't think your boat had sails big enough to require winches.


Thumbs way up for our Delta anchor which always set quickly and held
securely, especially when the T'storm hit with 40+ kt winds! Thumbs down
for the CQR that failed the Tartan next to us, forcing them to circle the
anchorage while the storm blew out!

You can't judge anchor holding by one particular case. Next time it could be
the Delta that fails to perform. Don't get too smug because you held and the
other guy didn't. He might not have even backed down on his anchor. I've
seen plenty of people just toss them in and then let out some chain and they
think that's all they need to do.

Actually I watched him set it up - he seemed to know what he was doing -
reasonable scope, plus he added a small mushroom as a kellet. The
ironic thing is that about 15 years ago I was having trouble anchoring a
CQR in the same spot (Richmond Island, ME) and friend came by and gave
me an experimental anchor similar to a Delta and it worked perfectly.
The next week I traded the CQR for a Delta and I've never had it drag,
except in very soft mud where I should have used a Danforth style.


Thumbs up to our Garmin 545 GPS which has made navigating almost too easy.
However, Thumbs Down to same for dropping the satellites repeatedly in the
middle of the above mentioned T'storm, proving once again than when you
need it the most, you can't count on it.

Idiot! You were anchored. WTF do you think you need a GPS turned on when
anchored? Best to leave it turned off in case you get struck by or lightning
strikes nearby.

So you're saying that a GPS should always be turned off in the storm???
I have to think about that one! (To be honest, this was one of the
few times I've used a GPS to measure drag - I never trusted the accuracy
of my old one.) But what if was coming in and trying to anchor - should
I turn it off??? The point is, no matter how reliable th setup seems to
be, it can go down at any moment. Therefore, one should always be
prepared with a backup.


The fact that you seem to think you need it most anchored in
a thunderstorm tells me you're no sailor. Ever hear of a visual range to see
if you're dragging. Much more reliable, dude!

At the height of the storm, a visual would have been impossible, and the
radar was useless, also. I could tell by the feel I was still holding,
but it would have been impossible to know if it was dragging slowly.
The Tartan knew he was un-set because he fell 100 yards behind me in a
few seconds!


Thumbs up to the new alternator belt, a Gates Green Stripe HD (similar to
the XL series) which shows no sign of wear after a summer. Thumbs down to
Torreson Marine, who after I politely queried them as to why the last set
of belts they sent me were shredding in less than an hour declined to
respond.

Nothing whatsoever to do with sailing, dude!

For you perhaps, because you've never dealt with a boat that had an
alternator.

....
Thumbs up to the LED's I've partially re-equipped Loki with. Anchor and
reading lights now draw a tenth of what they used to, almost negligible
compared to the fridge. Thumbs down to the high cost - we'll finish the
job next year!

Stupid waste of money. You run your engines plenty enough that the miniscule
savings in light bulb wattage is simply not worth the price paid for the
fixtures.

You're just showing that you haven't actually been on a boat lately.