This is a list of answers to questions that people normally ask us. Some are related to sailing catamarans, some are related to having four people on board and others are just plain curiosity tidbits. Please note that we are by no means experts in the subject.
Q: How much water do you carry?
Jo: We carry 110 gallons in our primary tanks, 36 gallons in jerry jugs and
maybe another 10 gallons in 2 liter soda bottles that we use for showering and
dishes. In addition we have two handheld reverse osmosis water makers. On a
passage we having been using less then 1 gallon per person per day without much
effort. We bathe and wash dishes using salt water. For the final rinse we use
fresh water.
Q: How much fuel do you carry?
Jo: We carry 36 gallons of diesel in our fuel tank and 36 more in jerry jugs.
Our engines use about a quart an hour combined. When motoring in calm water
we will run the engines at 1800rpm giving us a speed of about 4.5 knots. We
also use the engines about an hour a day for battery charging purposes.
Q: How do you pick what groceries to buy?
Jo: We call ourselves opportunistic eaters. What we mean by that is that we
will have all the basic cooking supplies on board, but we expect to supplement
our diet with local foods. We do not plan our meals in advance. We normally
just get close to dinner time and see what is available.
Q: What did your grocery list look like in Panama?
Jo: That is a loaded question. It took us three large trips and $2000 to load
up the boat with groceries. A partial grocery list.
| rice | 20 lbs | margarine | 3 16oz |
| beans | 10 lbs | pasta | 30lbs |
| canned corn | 48 cans | lemon juice | 8x48oz |
| canned ham | 8 cans | spices | assorted |
| peanut butter | 14x40oz | hot sauce | 1.25 gal |
| quick oats | 4 lbs | parmesan cheese gr. | 3 cans |
| maple syrup | 3x64oz | crackers | 10 boxes |
| tuna | 48 cans | sugar | 10 lbs |
| olive oil | 1 gal | flour | 15 lbs |
| vegetable oil | 2 gal | mayonaise | 1 gal |
| inst. mashed potatoes | 10 lbs | bisquick | 10 lbs |
| spaghetti sauce | 20 jars assorted | ketchup | 2x64oz |
| canned tomatoes | 40 cans | tomatoe paste | 20 cans |
| ramen noodles | 48 bags | kool aid | 50 packets |
| toilet paper | 100 rolls | paper towels | 50 rolls |
| chick peas | 12 cans | laundry detergent | 1.5 gal |
| joy-dish wash det | .5gal | white vinegar | 2 gal |
| mustard | 4x24oz | cookies | 10 bags |
| eggs | 6 dozen | pancake mix | 4 lbs |
We also bought a large quantity of items in small quantities. Things like olives, chocolates, sardines, basically anything we thought might spice up a dinner on occasion.
Q: How do you pick where to go?
Jo: Our route planning follows a few basic guidelines. Our overall plan started
with Jimmy Cornels book World Cruising Routes. Then we refine our plan by selecting
places we would like to see. We keep refining the plan by finding charts and
asking other cruisers. Finally as we approach the destination we can get much
better information. Things like ease of entrance (paper work) , interesting
anchorages and political stability will sway our choices one way or another.
Q: Charts?
Jo: We carry a number of paper charts (about 350) and electronic charts. What
we found to be the most useful combination is a selection of medium to large
scale charts and good cruising guides for the area if available. The cruising
guides giving much better information on anchorages than the small scale charts.
Q: Local Information?
Jo: As you approach a destination you will find that the cruisers network is
very useful. In any given area you can get information about neighboring countries
and anchorages. Take it with a grain of salt and life is good! The information
can come from a conversation in the local bar, or over the radio in a designated
VHF or SSB net. Invaluable is if you can hook up with a local fisherman to find
out details of specific areas. We had the fishermen in Buccoo Bay lead us through
the reef passage.
Q: What do you carry for engine spare parts?
Jo: We have a fairly good stock of replacement parts. We wish we had more! As
a general rule have twice as many fuel and oil filters as you possibly think
you would need. In addition the advise we got was to carry the appropriate replacement
for the fuel pipes since those are prone to crack with vibration after time.
We have a word
document that we used to buy parts.
Q: What kinds of things have you had to fix on the engine?
Jo: We replaced the fuel hoses (they where dried and cracked). We had to replace
fuel filters. Dave has repaired a leaky water pump. Multiple oil changes. Some
electrical wiring problems. Fixed the starter solenoid.
Q: Where did you learn how to fix engines?
Jo: We learned it the hard way. By working on these engines. Invaluable are
the parts manual for the engine with blowup assembly pictures and the book Marine
Diesel Engines.
Q: What does your toolbox look like?
Jo: We have all kinds of tools but I'll try to list them in order of use:
That takes care of 95% of our repairs. I should say that we don't have much wood work to do in our boat so adjust your tools accordingly. In addition we have some tools that come in handy but probably not required.
- Gear pullers - They come in handy when pulling things apart like the steering wheel
- Fiberglass rollers - Nice to have if you are doing any kind of glass work
- Propane torch - Seizing line ends, freeing up rusted parts
- Punch set - A set punch and others seem to come in handy
- Tap and Die set
- Scroll Saw when you get tired of using the hacksaw.
- Pipe cutters for cutting stainless pipes. - Much cleaner and easier then a hack saw
Finally we carry the following supplies
Q: Have you guys ever encountered heavy weather?
Jo: We have been in some heavy gales with winds up to 45 knots. The boat behaved
quite nicely with only the reefed main. We basically kept the boat pointed up
wind slowly sailing to windward. We have also been in some rough seas coming
down from Aruba to San Blas (Panama). 10 to 15 ft swells and 35 knots of wind.
So nothing really rough so far, and we hope to keep it that way. Do note that
the whole idea of the cruising plan is to avoid the major storm seasons.
Q: Do you have a plan for heavy weather?
Jo: Funny you ask. We had a plan made
up for insurance purposes that you can read.
Q: What are you prepared to do in extreme situations?
Jo: We carry both a drogue and a sea anchor. The main objective in extreme situations
is to prevent the boat from capsizing. For that purpose the sea anchor holds
the nose of the boat into the wind, and the drogue can be carried astern to
slow down the boat and prevent it from nose diving into the bottom of the waves
ahead.
Q: What do you think the biggest danger in heavy weather is?
Jo: Tired crew is probably the biggest source of danger. Other than that my
biggest fear with our catamaran is getting pooped. That mean a large wave coming
from behind swamps the cockpit. Most catamaran cockpits are huge, and ours is
not an exception. Getting pooped once is not a problem, but if you can't drain
the water fast enough your chances of getting pooped by the next wave increase
dramatically! Finally after being pooped multiple times the sliding door into
the salon fails and water is free to flood the hulls. Bummer! How to avoid being
pooped: Keep weight towards the center of the boat, not on the transom or bow;
sail fast so that the boat has more time to rise on a wave coming from behind;
finally, if it gets ugly, head up wind, maybe using the sea anchor to keep you
pointed in the right direction.
Q: How does it work when you sail from one country to the next?
Jo: The answer is: "It varies." We use Jimmy Cornells World Cruising
Handbook, cruising guides and information from the cruisers net to try to identify
the basic procedure. Usually this is how it all works.
Q: How long does it take?
Jo: From a couple hours to a few days! We have had many request to come back
the next day for some reason or another. Those countries are usually lax as
far as being around without a visa.
Q: Does it cost anything?
Jo: We have payed from $0 to $140 depending on the country
Q: Who is responsible for the paper work?
Jo: We share the responsibilities of being "Captain". We rotate about
every six months. Dave took the first round. Jo took the next and Stacy will
probably do the work in the French Polynesia.
Q: What is your performance compared to a Monohull?
Jo: The best I can do to answer this question is to give you some numbers. With
the boat loaded for the Pacific (i.e.: loaded to the rim and four sailors) these
are some of the numbers I observed: We would always be sailing about one third
our apparent wind speed from close hauled to broad reach. That equated to about
half the actual wind speed. This seems to hold through until we reach 7 knots
in about 15 knots of wind. Then it takes some more wind to go faster than that.
Our top sustained speeds (30+minutes) are 9 knots on a reach in flat water,
20 knots of wind. 10 knots in 25 knots of wind and following seas.Top speed
record, held by Guy, is 13.5 knots surfing a nice wave in 25 knots of wind.
Our performance upwind is similar to other cruising boats the same size. Not
great, but we are definitely not afraid of upwind passages.
Q: How does the sailing motion compare to a monohull?
Jo: It is a big misconception that catamarans sail flat. They sail flat only
as long as the water is flat. The thing we noticed right away was the quickness
of the motion. In confused seas it is quite hard to predict the motion of the
boat. The rhythmic motion of sailing a monohull upwind is not quite present
in a catamaran. The boat has an additional rotation movement when the boat is
switching from riding one hull to the next on the crest of the wave. It took
us a while, but now we are comfortable with it. We did notice though, especially
sailing downwind the faster we went the more comfortable it gets!
Q: Is it easier to steer a catamaran?
Jo: Two things come in play when steering our boat. 1) Because the boat does
not heal you do not have weather helm associated with the hull. That means the
rudder is never heavy. 2) We have a very large main sail, and it will easily
overwhelm the rudders if trimmed poorly. Typically we can't bear off after raising
the main if the main is sheeted in. We have an Autohelm 3000 (the smallest one
they make) and it seems to have no problems steering the boat if the sails are
trimmed properly, even in heavier air.
Q: Why did you choose a catamaran?
Jo: Another loaded question, but here we go. We were two couples when this adventure
first started, and we were looking for a boat with two double berths where no
one would be inconvenienced by the head. There are a few monohulls under 40
ft that satisfy this requirement, but we found none inside our budget. Laurie
at the time was having problems with seizures, so we wanted a boat that she
would not end up overboard if she had a seizure. I (Jo) had sailed some cruising
cats before in Key West and proposed the idea. We loved the idea right away,
but found no seaworthy catamarans we could afford. They are usually overpriced
for what you get. Finally we found Ladybug through the internet sitting in the
BVI. Finally the idea of having a boat that does not sink sealed the deal.
Q: What do monohull sailors like about your boat?
Jo: The first comment is usually about the amount of space we have. The cockpit
and salon areas of our boat are many times bigger then a comparable sized monohull.
The amount of shade and the ventilation seems to be a bonus in the tropics.
Many monohull require intricate canvas work to keep the boat cool enough to
live in the tropics. The privacy for four people is also quite apparent.
Q: What do they not like about the Bug?
Jo: Catamarans have a bad reputation of being poor upwind sailors. We beg to
differ. Catamarans have a lot of windage. Yep! But we are able to store everything
inside, so we have no additional windage. Most monohulls our size end up with
dodgers, wind vanes, bimini tops, bicycles, jerry jugs, spray cloths and all
kinds of stuff that make us not look so bad. Catamarans can tip over. Monohulls
can sink. Our engines are small (18hp) but we only weigh 5 tons compared to
their 30.
Q: Have you heard any negative comments you did not have a smart reply to?
Jo: Yes, and here are some of them. There are no handholds inside the boat.
In rough weather there is nothing to hold onto in the saloon.
Q: In the really nasty stuff where would you rather be?
Jo: From my limited historical knowledge a few well build monohulls still provide
a safer heaven.