Table Of ContentThe Voyager’s Handbook
Second Edition
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The Voyager’s Handbook
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BLUEWATER CRUISING
Second Edition
Beth A. Leonard
International Marine / McGraw-Hill
Camden, Maine • New York • Chicago • San Francisco
Lisbon • London • Madrid • Mexico City • Milan • New Delhi
San Juan • Seoul • Singapore • Sydney • Toronto
To my father
who gave me the courage to dream,
and to Evans
who gave me the strength to live my dreams.
Copyright © 1998, 2007 by Beth A. Leonard. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0-07-178448-1
MHID: 0-07-178448-9
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Contents
Foreword to the Second Edition by Herb McCormick x
Foreword to the First Edition by George Day xi
Preface xii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xiv
Part I The Essential Ingredients
Chapter 1 Committed Crew 2
WHAT MAKES FOR SUCCESSFUL CREWS? Composition of Successful Crews • Cruising with Kids: What
Age Is Best? • Characteristics of Successful Crews BUILDING VOYAGING PARTNERSHIPS Critical
Elements • Tips for Cruising with Kids • Laying the Groundwork DECIDING WHEN TO GO Timing Issues •
Timing Options THREE VOYAGING CREWS
Chapter 2 Adequate Financing 24
ALTERNATIVES FOR FINANCING THE DREAM Precareer: Earn as You Go • Sabbatical: Save Enough
to Finance Several Years • Early Retirement: Stretching the Retirement Income • Part-Time Voyaging
or Working Aboard: Continuing Your Career HOW MUCH DOES VOYAGING REALLY COST? Living
Expenses • Avoiding Budget Busters • Boat Expenses • Capital Costs: Two Case Studies • Discretionary
and One-Off Expenses • The Cost of Two Cruises HOW MUCH BOAT CAN YOU AFFORD? Refit Costs:
Some Rough Figures
Chapter 3 A Bluewater-Capable Yacht 46
NARROWING THE FIELD What Type of Boat Do You Want? • Steve Dashew’s Hybrid Designs • Where Do
You Intend to Cruise? • What Size Boat Will Suit You? • The “Average” Bluewater Voyager • What Age Boat
Will Suit Your Budget? EVALUATING INDIVIDUAL BOATS Screening Criteria: Stability and Durability •
Common Structural Problems in Older Boats • Bluewater Survey • Second Boats • The Test Sail • One
Couple’s Search THE SEARCH PROCESS FOR THREE CREWS Two Boats, Two Voyages
v
Part II R efi tting and Equipping the Yacht
for Bluewater Voyaging
Chapter 4 Upgrading for Offshore 89
COMMON UPGRADES TO OLDER PRODUCTION BOATS Make Your Boat Watertight • Improve Your Boat’s
Ventilation • The Ins and Outs of Stainless Steel • Improve the Anchoring Arrangements • Revitalize the
Rig • Preventing Corrosion between Dissimilar Metals • Problem-Proof the Engine and Propulsion System •
Modify Your Boat’s Interior • Common Electrical and Plumbing System Upgrades • Increase Safety Above-
and Belowdecks UPGRADING THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS
Chapter 5 Sails and Sail Handling 120
OFFSHORE SAILING REALITIES Offshore Sailing Conditions • Crew Size • Boat Size OFFSHORE SAILS
AND SAIL HANDLING Temperate and High-Latitude Passagemaking: Managing Variability • Modern Sail
Materials and Their Uses • Modern Line Materials and Their Uses • Trade Wind Passagemaking: Maximizing
Downwind Performance SAIL INVENTORY FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS Additional Pretrip
Preparations
Chapter 6 Anchors, Anchoring, and Mooring 159
ANCHORING BASICS Ground Tackle for the Bluewater Voyager • Anchoring Technique • Beyond Anchors
and Rodes: Additional Anchoring Equipment • Real-World Situations • Raising a Fouled Anchor MOORING
AND BERTHING BASICS Lines, Fenders, and More • Real-World Situations GROUND TACKLE AND
MOORING EQUIPMENT FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS
Chapter 7 O n-Deck Essentials: Dinghies, Self-Steering, 181
and Safety Gear
DINGHIES AND OUTBOARDS Choosing a Dinghy • Selecting an Outboard • Equipping Your Tender •
Tender Choices for Three Offshore Voyagers SELF-STEERING Wind Vanes • Electric Autopilots • Self-
Steering Options and Solutions for Three Offshore Voyagers ON-DECK SAFETY EQUIPMENT Preventing
Collisions • Preventing Crew Overboard • Abandoning Ship • On-Deck Safety Solutions for Three Offshore
Voyagers
Chapter 8 O ther Equipment: Navigation, Communications, 207
and Comforts and Conveniences
NAVIGATION EQUIPMENT Position Finding • Beyond the Depth Sounder: Additional Instruments •
Charting Options • The Cruiser’s Laptop HIGH-SEAS COMMUNICATIONS Radio-Based Systems •
The Ship’s Barometer • Satellite-Based Systems COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES Refrigerators/
Freezers • Watermakers • Heating and Cooling Systems • Other Goodies and Gadgets EQUIPMENT
CHOICES FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS
Chapter 9 Confi guring Your Electrical System 227
ANALYZING ELECTRICAL NEEDS Calculating Loads • A Back-of-the-Envelope Calculation for Daily
Energy Usage • Generating Options • A Few Useful Electrical Notes • Stowing Electricity • An Alternative
Approach to Balancing the Electrical System • Optimizing Charging • Battery-Down Exercise ELECTRICAL
SYSTEMS FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS How Long Can You Leave the Boat?
Chapter 10 Putting It All Together: From Refi t Plan to Balanced Boat 248
A REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE: REINVENTING GINNY A Sensible Four-Year Refit Plan • Executing the
Plan • Tallying the Bottom Line REFIT PLANS FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS Refit Plans and
Time Frames • Why Weight-Carrying Ability Matters • Comparison of Three Balanced Boats • What We Left
Off . . . and Why
vi
Part III Liveaboard Skills
Chapter 11 L iveaboard Essentials: What to Bring 268
and How to Stow It
MANAGING SPACE Maximizing Stowage Space • Organizing Stowage Areas ALLOCATING SPACE:
THE ESSENTIALS FOR LIFE ABOARD The Stowage Plan • Deck Gear • Navigation Needs and Ship’s
References • Galley Equipment • What Not to Bring • Linens and Bedding • Clothing • Electronics •
Miscellany • The Most Personal of Decisions: Firearms Aboard LIVING WITHIN YOUR SPACE
Chapter 12 Managing Life Afl oat 291
BUSINESS AND BUREAUCRACY Communications • Pretrip Preparations: Setting Up for Remote
Management • Money Matters • Ship’s Papers and Other Documents TRANSITIONING TO LIFE AFLOAT
Chapter 13 Better Boatkeeping 304
MAINTENANCE MIND-SET Day-to-Day Proactive Maintenance: Looking for Trouble • Preventive
Maintenance Schedules: Preventing Trouble • Troubleshooting: 90 Percent Solutions • The Annual
Haulout • Minimizing Maintenance: Avoiding Trouble ESSENTIAL TOOLS AND SPARES The Voyager’s
Toolbox • The Spares Locker
Chapter 14 Galleywise 324
FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT Assessing Needs • Do You Need a Watermaker? • Getting It Aboard •
Keeping It Potable FOOD AND STORES MANAGEMENT Provisioning Basics • Obtaining Propane •
Provisioning Tips and Tricks • Galley Skills
Chapter 15 S taying Safe: Lessons Learned Over 351
90,000 Nautical Miles
EIGHT DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THEM On the Rocks in Iceland •
Night Reef Entrance • Close Encounters with Ships • Close Encounters with Hard Objects • Close Encounter
with a Hurricane • Fire On Board • Pinned on a Fuel Dock • GPS Waypoint Mistake SUMMARY OF
LESSONS LEARNED
Chapter 16 Staying Healthy: Being Your Own Doctor 364
PREPARATION: BEFORE YOU LEAVE Know Thyself • Children and Older Voyagers: Special
Considerations • Know the Basics • Know Thy Medical Kit PREVENTION: MANAGING DAY-TO-DAY
HEALTH Seasickness • Infections and Serious Illnesses • Allergic Reactions • Emergencies and Traumatic
Injuries PROTECTION: ENSURING LONG-TERM HEALTH Sun Protection • Nutrition • Exercise •
Managing Major Health Concerns
Chapter 17 Staying Challenged: Following Your Heart 376
SHIP-SUITABLE ACTIVITIES Water Time • Learning Time • Social Time • Quiet Time
SHIP-ADAPTABLE ACTIVITIES Photography • Other Arts
Part IV S horthanded Passagemaking Skills
Chapter 18 Global Weather Patterns and Voyage Planning 387
GLOBAL WEATHER PATTERNS Prevailing Winds • Ocean Currents • Weather Disturbances • Planning
Tools: Pilot Charts VOYAGE PLANNING One Year, One Ocean • Around the World in Eighteen Months •
Circumnavigating in Two or More Years • Eastabout Circumnavigations
vii
Chapter 19 Weather Basics and Onboard Forecasting 399
WEATHER BASICS Temperate and High Latitudes • Two Weather Phenomena to Watch For • Tropical
Latitudes • What the Barometer Really Tells You ONBOARD WEATHER RESOURCES Weather Fax •
Weather Charts and Their Uses • High-Seas Radio Nets and Forecasts • Inmarsat-C Forecasts • Downloadable
Weather Files • Weather Routers USING WEATHER INFORMATION Departure Window • Routing
Decisions • Sail Handling Decisions • Lessons Learned
Chapter 20 Preparing for Passage 423
PASSAGE PLANNING Prepassage Bureaucracy: Obtaining Visas • Wind Strengths • Ocean Currents •
Other Hazards PASSAGE PREPARATIONS Provision Planning • Picking Your Weather Window • Final
Shoreside Preparations • The Last Few Hours
Chapter 21 Basic Passage Routines 436
TAKING CARE OF THE BOAT Doublehanded Watchkeeping • Duties of the Watchkeeper TAKING
CARE OF THE CREW Cooking • Sleeping • Hygiene • Diversions • Managing Garbage at Sea • Morale
and Safety
Chapter 22 Heavy Weather 450
HEAVY-WEATHER BASICS (In)frequency and Severity • Breaking Waves and Rogue Waves • The Golden
Rules GALE AND STORM TACTICS Heaving-To and Forereaching • Running Off Free or with a Speed-
Limiting Drogue • Lying Ahull • Hawk vs. Silk: An Example of How Boat Design Impacts Tactics
SURVIVAL STORM TACTICS Running Off with a Medium-Pull Drogue • Southern Ocean Storm Tactics
• Lying To a Sea Anchor • 1998 Sydney-to-Hobart Race: A Postmortem • Motoring or Sailing into the
Weather HEAVY-WEATHER STRATEGIES FOR THREE OFFSHORE VOYAGERS
Chapter 23 T oward Self-Reliance: Managing 477
Emergencies at Sea
EMERGENCY PREVENTION Going Aloft at Sea EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Taking On Water •
Steering Failures • Rigging Failures • Piracy SURVIVING AN EMERGENCY
Chapter 24 Toward Seamanship: Effi cient Passagemaking 488
KEEPING THE BOAT MOVING SAFELY AND WELL Learning the Language • Making Miles in Light
Air • Single-Handed Jibe • When Canvas Fails: Minimizing Motoring • Shorthanded Safety Tips
ADAPTING THE PASSAGE PLAN Developing an Initial Passage Plan • Modifying the Plan Based
on Actual Conditions MAKING A SUCCESSFUL LANDFALL
Part V Foreign Savvy
Chapter 25 Upon Arrival 501
BUREAUCRACY REVISITED Clearing In • Managing Bureaucratic Hassles • Burgeoning Bureaucracy
GETTING YOUR BEARINGS Returning the Boat to Normal • When in Rome . . . • Avoiding Pests and
Plagues
Chapter 26 Enjoying Being There 514
ASSIMILATING Finding the Way In • Respecting Local Laws and Customs • Saying “Thank You”
SIGHTSEEING ENTERTAINING MANAGING LOCAL RISKS Volatile Political Situations • Theft
viii
Chapter 27 The Voyaging Life: Keeping the Faith 524
THE FIRST YEAR: RECONCILING THE DREAM WITH THE REALITY The Two Sides of the Voyaging
Coin • Changing Gears JOINING THE CRUISING COMMUNITY Voyaging Values • Voyaging Customs •
Voyaging Etiquette • Sea Superstitions LONG-TERM SATISFACTION SURVIVING REENTRY
Appendices
Appendix 1 Additional Resources 537
Appendix 2 Conversions 549
Appendix 3 Performance Measurements Explained 552
Appendix 4 Upgrades for Boats of Different Ages 555
Appendix 5 Galley Substitutes and Equivalents 558
Appendix 6 Offshore Medical Kit 561
Index 563
ix
