Vic Smith wrote:

On Sun, 5 Aug 2007 12:56:05 -0500, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

Other than the grounding, it seems to me that the only "boat stopper"
they've experienced so far is the steering failure -- and even that was
fixable at sea from Skip's report, with emergency steering solutions
available (unknown whether they had the knowledge to employ any of them,
however).

The Flying Pig is clearly a boat with more equipment than I would choose to
go to sea with. I prefer simple systems that are easily repaired in the
event of failure. Tiller steering. No refer. Low power demands. Very limited
through-hulls. Porta-potti with "bucket and chuck-it" option at sea. But
horses for courses, as they say. Some claim that women demand high-comfort
heads with lots of beauty-parlor options. Guess I'm not that much of a
girly-girl.

Nevertheless, underway repairs and maintenance are pretty much expected. The
higher-tech the systems, the more repairs to be expected. And they *are* in
"shake-down" mode at this time.

Points taken. Understand I haven't owned a sailboat, just intend to.
And I'm trying to develop my own "philosophy" regarding boat systems
selection and care.
I guess it was Skip's mention of various electrical issues and
confusion about their source that bothered me. And the leaking
hose. I thought such issues would have been worked out before
leaving Florida. Faults are prone to snowballing quickly and the it's
best to deal with them ashore. The steering problem, which appears
self-induced, also caught my attention.

Skip didn't have the option of testing each system out as he put it on
line. He was in the boatyard doing the work, and when he put the boat
into the water the tax clock started to run.

It just seems that Skip's attention to such matters is scattered and
could be improved somehow. I've seen mention here of pilot
checklists, and AFAIC the same prep method is appropriate for boats.
Those here who have developed such procedures could chime in.
Regarding cruiser electrical/mechanical shakedowns, hose leaks,
electrical glitches and such shouldn't be part of that, as that should
all be set right while ashore.

He has an older boat. We also have an older boat, but with more time
at our disposal (we bought the boat before we retired, and did short
cruises in the Chesapeake for a couple of summers before heading south
on the ICW) we had a more relaxed schedule. We practice MOB retrieval
with each other in the water. We checked to see if the auto inflate
PFDs inflated at the same time. We practiced heaving to.

But even then , we couldn't get all the glitches PARTICULARLY the
electrical glitches sorted out on shore. Stuff on the boat breaks,
and it isn't always preventable even with the most stringent
checklist. Skip's problem is that everything breaks at the same time
rather than one at a time.

In the first two years (before going down the ICW}, the NEW autopilot
controls were intermittently inoperative. When Bob reinstalled it he
found a broken or pinched wire between the sender and the receiver.

Bob built a nice box for the computer, but the power outlet that he
put in didn't work. Discovered extra screws packed in the socket which
made a short. Bob had to fix the plastic piece in the headsail furler.
Later on that cruise it happened again and Bob made a fix for it out
of some slippery line. Bob changed the joker valve in the toilet at
anchor.

We got a new radio at the Annapolis boat show before our first trip
down the ICW - the old wiring was inadequate - it took us some time to
figure out what the problem was and get it sorted out - we were down
in Daytona still trying to figure it out. The same thing happened on
another trip when we tried to use the follow-me-antenna and the TV -
wiring was inadequate.

The LectraSan stopped working and we had to get a new board for it
while we were in Charleston and they shipped it to California by
mistake (they said). Also the alternator bracket broke - Bob had to
take it to the Caterpillar place in Summerville to get someone to weld
it for him - there wasn't anyplace that would do it in Mt. Pleasant.

We had the throttle cable break on our first trip while we were at
anchor a day's travel south of Charleston. I discovered at the same
time that I didn't have any electronic charts for Florida. We had
some problems with the transmission in Florida.

The staysail ripped out at the top when we were coming back up the ICW
that first year, and the solar panel on the dinghy davits worked loose
and flew away never to be seen again on that same trip.

My Navy shakedown cruises were more stress and performance
tests than tests of basic systems.
I suppose for sailboat cruisers the real shakedown elements are
rigging, sails and drive train related.
But like I said, I don't yet sail, so I'd welcome experienced thoughts
on this as I prepare myself.
I'm a true believer in KISS, but not a Luddite. Even complex systems
have design differences that allow careful selection of equipment to
lend to them the KISS factor.
Not complex, but as an example, the Airhead composting toilet is much
simpler and maintenance free than holding tank systems, though for
some it's unsuitable, or maybe too costly.

--Vic

It takes too much space for the stuff for the compost. They work fine
on land - not so much in the water.