What it Takes

I have put together a quick summary of “what it takes” to cruise. Now to be fair this is really a 2 month snapshot and things will change as we gather experience and cruise different locals. I will then update at later points to track how we “evolve”.

Water – This has, and maybe should be expected, become our most delicate resource to manage. We have 120 gallons of storage plus 15 gallons in three jugs. We are using about 15 gallons per day, sometimes a shade less. So we have just under 10 days of usage. Usages are daily drinking, our primary beverage is water, daily dish washing, showers every second day, laundry once per week in a hand crank machine, occasionally rinsing from swimming in the salt water (been too cold in Maine to make this a habit).

Compare that to the average onshore usage of 70 gallons per day/per person and our usage is pretty good. I expect as we get to warmer waters we will use more for the rinsing of salt water but should get some offset from less need for showers.

To get water on board we either go alongside a pier or use the water jugs and ferry back and forth with the dinghy.

We have not started to use our water maker yet, which is a maintenance and longevity issue. We plan on starting to use it once readily available sources of water are not available, e.g. the Bahamas.

Electricity – We have thus far used much less than I expected. In harbor we are using about 50 amps per day, much less than the 150 amps anticipated, though 50 amps of this is as a result of not running the water maker. While underway we use much more, which as I will explain later is a non-issue. The 50 amps is largely refrigeration followed by diesel heating, lights and then radios (vhf in particular for weather reports). With 350 amps of usable battery bank (700 amps total) this gives us 7 days between charging. As we progress to warmer climes the heater will not be used but the refrigeration will run more, probably a direct offset. The energy efficient lights, which include a led powered anchor light are very efficient. The least efficient is our HP lap top, a real power hog.

The Duogen, once past the regulator issues, has worked very well. While underway we use nearly 11 amps to power all of our electronics (instruments, chart plotter, radar, radio and auto pilot). The Duogen in water mode offsets all of this providing for essentially energy neutral sailing.

While at anchor, with 10 knots of wind the Duogen provides about 25 amps during the day. At 15 knots of wind it will net charge our batteries offsetting the 50 amps we are using. We, for obvious reasons, try to anchor in quite places so we tend to get the 25 amps or less, however, the offset is highly appreciated.

Finally, with our high output alternator (rated 120 amps), by motoring in and out of port/anchoring, we put back much of what was used during a reasonable port stay and keep the batteries topped up.

All and all our electricity system seems to be very well balanced if not surplus.

Fuels – We have three types of fuel on the boat, diesel for the boat’s main engine, gasoline for the outboard engine on the dinghy and propane for cooking. While we have not filled the boat yet in the two months I estimate we are using about 1/gallon per hour in our boats main engine. Given the superb sailing characteristics of the boat our engine use is limited to port maneuvering and very light/no wind days. With 120 gallons of storage we go along way. Given the price of fuel, we are pleased.

We have a 5 hp Honda 4 stroke outboard with a 3 gallon tank. We use the dinghy A LOT, as a primary mode of in port transportation ashore, for the kids to play in and to ferry supplies from shore to the big boat. The 3 gallon tank will last about 2 weeks.

Lastly we carry 20 pounds of propane in two 10 pound tanks. We use about 10 pounds per month, at about $10/refill. We cook most meals aboard so usage is relatively high.

Money – Always a delicate subject, because everyone will tell you that you spend what you have. More pragmatically the cost of cruising is dependent upon two big factors 1) where you cruise and 2) personal choices about anchoring verses fee based moorage and eating out verses cooking on the boat. The east coast of the U.S. is expensive from a cruising perspective, especially because during the summer season demand outstrips supply so there are hefty premiums for all boating related activities. There is also an issue in finding anchorage room so one gets forced into paying for moorage quite frequently. We have always preferred anchoring and cooking our own food so those personal choices were obvious. We are getting better at anchoring/finding tucked away spots so hope to bring down moorage costs. So far we have spent a little more than $2,000/ month, which is less than we expected of $3,000/month. This excludes any charge for the payment on the “boat”. Our monthly expenditures are in-line with others’ experience.

Beer – One of best ways to limit water consumption is to drink beer. I have read many cruisers note that one needs to consume at least 2 quarts of water per day. I say consume this in beer and save the water. Counter arguments are that beer is not a replacement for water, to which I say double your beer consumption then. Sadly, Rae Ann has struggled to keep Nikita properly provisioned in this manner. In Camden I found a T-Shirt that read “Out of Beer” – “Life is Crap”. I now wear this in protest.

Last thing you need a boat too.