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Dear John
I suspect that the reason you have had no comments on this thought is that it has struck a guilty note in many of us.
In a small narrow ended boat, with inadequate locker space, where does one put the stern anchor, the extra gas bottles, the large outboard, the solar panels and all the other paraphernalia of the long term liveaboard far voyaging sailor?
Hi Mark,
You may be right about the guilty silence. I guess the whole point is that we really can’t have it all, and the smaller the boat the more true that becomes. In this case the large outboard, stern anchor, and solar panels should all go. All are wants not needs: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/02/02/is-it-a-need-or-a-want/
All can be done without, or replaced with smaller and simpler.
It would probably be better to cook on alcohol too and lose the propane cylinders.
The pressure from the marine catalogues, the sailing magazines, the safety “experts”, the other fellows on the dock, the ever present advertisers, the ever growing crowd of YouTube sailors, and web sites like this one for just one more highly necessary item is almost irresistible. It is manifest in ever larger cruising boats and in boats that never leave port while waiting just one more year while I add, install, repair, upgrade, purchase…
Meantime I get another year older.
Hi William,
I agree with your indictment of the other sources, but we at AAC are pretty much constantly advocating for keeping things simple and decks clear. Here’s just two examples out of hundreds:
https://www.morganscloud.com/2011/02/25/clear-the-decks-for-action/
https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/02/02/is-it-a-need-or-a-want/
And we have a whole book on getting gone and not getting stuck: https://www.morganscloud.com/category/rants-and-musings/online-book-cruising/
We took this photo of a Pennsylvania registered Catalina 22 and a Sunreef 70 anchored side-by-side at Shroud Cay in the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas in May of 2015.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kfvyl99Tfgc/VXNIVpqbdLI/AAAAAAAAA40/ILUy56BqNis/s1600/Long%2Band%2BShort.jpg
Both boats are “out there”, and both have reasonably clear decks, but the smaller boat is much much simpler. He is getting by with a nylon anchor rode and a Redcrest dinghy and oars (which he stored below). I doubt that he has the perfect mast climbing system, Halon fire extinguishers, WHMWPE halyards, lithium batteries…
Not only is when is enough enough but also when is good enough good enough?
Hi William,
I agree: https://www.morganscloud.com/2019/09/20/buying-a-cruising-boat-five-tips-for-the-half-assed-option/
You hint at an interesting topic. Where are the lines between good maintenance, a real upgrade and “I added XXX?” In fact, most real upgrades are only obvious to a trained eye and do not stick out. Often the best projects are those where it does not appear that you did anything … but the boat works better.
For as busy as it is, the construction of that arch actually looks quite robust.