Pocket Cruising

[Tim2]

I'm restoring and outfitting my Benford 17' catboat (Liberty design) for living aboard and cruising the PNW and Gulf Islands. My goal is to cruise 6 months a year.*** How about some advice for cruising in pocket cruisers?***She "Nors Lady" has a 6.5 horse Lister Petter, a wood stove with a cook top and now an Engel 12 volt fridge which draws about an amp. All lines from a gaff rig come aft. I'm 52 with an autoimmune disease, so she must be outfitted for an old man. For example: I'm considering making a bridel and anchoring from the stern. I have little to no sailing experience.

[Stiletto]

I'm not sure that presenting a wide catboat stern to wind and waves when anchored is a particularly good idea.

[willmarsh3]

You might want to check out www.microcruising.com. They focus on cruising in small boats.

Will.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

As a fellow 17 ft Catboat sailor who is looking forward to some nice overnight camp sailing on her. I would be envious of your accommodations and free chunks of time. But given your age and health concerns, combined with lack of sailing experience, I would say enjoy some nice overnight camp sailing on her but not 6 months cruising.

I do not however agree that a catboat poses any more danger than any other pocket cruising sailboat in protected inland waters of the PNW and Gulf Islands. I think it would be a blast. But you would need way more sailing and ground tackle skills.

[BrianW]

You can store your anchor in the aft portion of the boat, and deploy it, yet still have it attached to the bow.

Attach the anchor line (rode) to wherever on the bow it normally is attached, but make sure it's solid. Then run the anchor line aft to the cockpit and stow the anchor/line. Where the line reaches the cockpit, attach a small line to the anchor line which will reach the cockpit when the anchor is deployed normally. When your ready to pull the anchor, just pull on the small line till you can reach the anchor rode and pull it in.

[Tim2]

I'll go a little at a time to build-up my skills, and intend to do old man sailing. Lots of time in marinas and at anchor bouys. Dropping the anchor will be for lunch or perfectly protected ponds. Perhaps we need a new word for gentle cruising.......Thanks Brian for the anchoring idea. That is the kind of advice I am looking for.

[JimD]

I am in a somewhat similar situation although I haven't built the boat yet and my health is probably a bit better for now at least. One thing I am doing is reading everything I can get on these cruising grounds that we both live in. Since you will often find yourself in areas where the winds are fickle, channels narrow, and tidal flows fast and frequently dangerous I'd say good auxiliary power is a must. You tend to see a lot more power cruisers along these routes than sailboats. And your catboat hull should power quite well. Is this the Benford design that was originally drawn as a power cruiser? Another thing I'd do which has probably already occurred to you is a really delux custom tent for the cockpit with standing headroom. This is my kind of thread! Please keep it going. :)

PS - The boat I will build will be junk rigged. There is nothing easier to handle or reef as oppossed to catboats rigged with one big gaff sail which can be just the opposite of easy.

[Thorne]

What sort of tender will you be using? A small inflatable might be the best fit, as you can tow it behind you with a bridle and not worry if it whangs into you under tow or at anchor.

Make sure you can climb back into the boat if you fall out (or go swimming) -- either a folding step or notch in the rudder, or some sort of boarding ladder that can be reached from the water.

[Tim2]

Jim, Nors Lady was originally built to sail. I should mention, she has a full cruising keel....Thorne, I agree and plan to use an inflatable. Sea Eagle has a narrow pontoon rig, which can be rowed or paddled, I've got my eye on......I'm not completely new to boating, just sailing. Although once I helped bring a Folkboat from Seattle to Everett. We started out wing-on-wing in somewhat light winds in Seattle and brought her in in 40 knot winds with 50 knot gusts. As the wind was behind us we surfed fwd and exceeded hull speed. There were storms all around us, but the rain missed us. It was a peak experience for me, especially at the tiller.

[Don Kurylko]

Tim2 there are a lot of really great marine parks scattered throughout the San Juan Islands that provide mooring buoys and dockage for a reasonable nightly fee. If you can afford it, you could safely cruise from one park to another and not have to worry about anchoring. At least not until you have built up the confidence to do so. Mind you, the parks are well used and you would need reservations during the peak periods in July and August. But before that and after, it’s usually easy to find a spot. Those in the know avoid the peak summer months like the plague and enjoy the “off season” instead. Some of the best cruising I have ever had in the Islands was in the fall – as long as a bit of rain doesn’t bother you.

Cheers, and enjoy the adventure,
Don

[marsbar]

What exactly is a pocket cruser, and pocket crusing?

[JimD]

Jay Benford says it this way:

What are Pocket Cruisers & Tabloid Yachts?

The simplest definition is that they are small power and sail cruising yachts, respectively. Thus, a pocket cruiser is a small cruising powerboat and a tabloid yacht is a small cruising sailboat.

http://www.benford.us/images/clear.gifhttp://www.benford.us/images/14-tug-grivit-stern-quarter.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:Start('../images/14-tug-grivit-stern-quarter-large.jpg', 479, 600, '14 Tug Grivit Stern Quarter'))
http://www.benford.us/images/clear.gif
14' Tug-Cruiser Grivit
While these definitions are not in as common usage as they were a couple generations ago, they are such nice ones that I want to do what I can to perpetuate their usage.


The intent is they can perform the same sort of cruising functions of larger boats but they come in small packages

[paladin]

now just imagine Grivit at 12.5 foot beam and 25 feet long.....painted w/ green hull......and ya got a Rribbitt....:D