Old Gangplank

Last year, Maddie's mother (my future mother in law) kindly asked for me to build a gangplank. The thought of us leaping over the water to get from deck to dock every time made her worry. In the essence of time and cost, I made a very quick but serviceable gangplank. 

I used pressure treated lumber from Home Depot for the plank and rat bars. I drilled holes in the gangplank to secure the rat bars with line. I also secured the gangplank to the toe rail using soft shackles. 

The wood in Home Depot is all flat sawn, so I selected the least horrible cut of wood (2"x12") for $12. The wood for the rat bars (1"x2") was another $6, so for $18 I had a functional ganplank. 

I drilled holes slightly smaller than the stanchions, and pounded them into place. I then used a dab of epoxy resin to glue the stanchions and rat bars in place. It was more of a rushed job, I figured we would use it and then stop using it soon after. 

I oriented the grain of the wood so when it warped it would cup rather than dome. I figured if we did use it for a long time, it would be better for our feet to be slanted towards the center rather than off to the sides.

The rat bars proved invaluable this past winter! When the plank was covered in ice, the heel of our shoes would hook on the bar to keep us from sliding down the plank and into the water. 

After 1 year with the gangplank, we both love it and want to build a much better one. The old one did warp during the year, and the cupped shape is good for keeping your feet centered over the board no matter what the conditions. The problem is the stanchions are locked into the warped plank and have since tipped inwards. The end of the plank does rub on the pier and has worn the plank significantly.  

The 2x12 served its purpose and the price was excellent, but now that we know we like having a gangplank, we decided to build a nice one! 

A 2x12 is not actually 12 inches wide, but actually around 11.5 inches. Then the stanchions take up another 3 inches, which brings the usable width down to around 8.5 inches. When you factor in the warped board causing the stanchions to lean in, you end up with around 5 or 6 inches of walking space. We decided to make the next one much wider! 18 inches wide to be precise! And to make it pretty as well!

Advantages of Electric Motor vs Diesel

Electric motor manufacturers state many advantages over diesels.

They have less moving parts to break
They don't smell
They don't pollute
They are smaller
They don't use fuel
They are quieter

These things are all true, but I don't think they get the point across of just how different they are from diesel engines. 

I used to fix my diesel engine every time it died, which was almost every time I went sailing. I spent plenty of time bleeding the injectors, adjusting the valves, changing impellers and filters, and clearing debris from the strainers. It usually died when I was docking and would throw it in reverse to slow me down as I came into my slip. I was so fed up with the diesel that I decided to pull it out and be completely engineless. Maddie quickly asked:

"If we were sailing along and came across a marina in unfavorable conditions, how would we dock?"

My answer of "we don't" was not well received. For this reason, we decided on an electric motor to get us in and out of marinas. While we chose a very small battery bank, just enough to get us in and out of marinas, a properly sized battery bank would allow for a much longer motoring range. If you combine a larger battery bank with a generator, you can extend your range even further yet! But we prefer to sail, so we went with as small of a battery bank as we could.

The more parts involved, the more parts available to fail, and the more times the diesel won't work perfectly. This combined with the fact that sailboats mistreat their diesels in horrible ways. Diesels are meant to be turned on, warmed up and then run under a load for hours before being shut down. Sailboats turn them on to leave the marina (not much load or run time) and then shut them down. Then the occasional start up to get out of the way of a cargo ship or to charge the batteries, neither of them offer the run time nor the load a diesel needs to survive. 

They have less moving parts to break

Electric motors have a 1 moving part, the output shaft. Electric motors are made up of three main parts, a Rotor (output shaft) which is permanently attached to a Stator, so they move as one piece. The last main component of the motor is the Windings, which also do not move. There are no parts that burn, grind, or wear out like a diesel motor has. They work because of physics! Electro-magnetism will always make the rotor spin without any parts actually touching each other. The motor works because an electric field is applied to the windings which causes the stator and rotor assembly to spin, which spins the propeller. There is no transmission, or fuel pump, or injectors to complicate the system, it simply works when you need it on demand!

When the diesel would fail to run, I would have to figure out what the problem was this time. When the electric would fail to run, it was because I forgot to turn it on.

From a smell stand point, electric motors are worlds apart. If you have a diesel engine and want to know what it would smell like with an electric motor, all you have to do is anchor out in a quiet creek, far removed from civilization where the birds are flying around in the calm fresh breeze. Take a good sniff, that is what it could smell like inside your cabin!

Diesel motors pollute, and there is no nice way around it. As many filters and systems (which complicate the motor) that they add, you still can't stand next to a running diesel engine in a closed room. The exhaust will make you feel ill in a few minutes and then kill you shortly after that. It is perfectly safe to be in a closed room with a running electric motor. 

When you picture the serenity of a sailboat gliding through the water, you don't associate it with the large black plume of exhaust smoke that accompanies a diesel engine.

Please start video at 1:25

Electric motors don't have an exhaust pipe, because they don't have any toxic exhaust that needs to be shunted outside. The simply spin along quietly in their little space, quietly turning the propeller.

On the note of space, the size difference is insane! My old diesel motor weighed over 700lbs and produced 30hp at full throttle. It also occupied the entire space under the galley, nav station, and companionway. The electric fits in the space of the old transmission and weighs only 135lbs, producing 27hp (20kW). 

The Bottom square holds the engine
The Second square holds the transmission
The Third square holds the shaft
The Fourth square holds the packing gland

This is the Transmission square from the previous picture. It holds the entire engine assembly.

Electric motors do not consume fossil fuels. I have talked with other cruisers about budgeting and average expenditures while cruising. They all have a rather large portion that gets burned up in fuel. One couple said they use around $400 a month in fuel, another solo sailor uses $750 a month in fuel! When we did our trip for a month, we never even thought about fuel costs. We budgeted for food and excursions in the places we sailed to. The three marinas we stopped in let us plug in to recharge our batteries, costing us $4 in electric per day. This electric also ran our fridge and air conditioner, but the total cost for our electric hook ups in the month ran $24. While under sail, the propeller would spin and recharge the battery bank (regeneration). When we sailed at 7 knots, we were able to produce 200W! Comparing our month to those cruisers, we had an extra $400 to $750 a month for excursions and on-shore dinners.

The best part of an electric motor is the silence! When you are in neutral, the propeller isn't spinning and neither is the motor; resulting in complete silence. When you are in forward or reverse, the motor is turning silently and the propeller slices through the water. When you apply a lot of throttle, the propeller will begin to cavitate and make propeller noise. The first time I put the boat in full speed ahead, I heard the prop noise and was startled. I never heard my own prop noise because of the loud clunking diesel. For the sake of silence, I try to keep prop speed down to just below cavitation speed, that way the motor makes no noise and neither does the propeller.

The biggest difference in the quality of boating offered by the electric motor is the peace on board when you need mechanical propulsion. We liveaboard with our parrot (Sammy) and our dog (Morty). Sammy would scream and screech with terror whenever the diesel would be turned on. There was no sound insulation, so the floors would rattle as the large clunker banged away underfoot. The floor boards would become hot, and it would hurt your ears to be in the cabin with the engine running. Morty would panic and start barking at the noise, running around trying to find the source of this noise! This horrible noise is what made me the sailor I am. I hated running the motor and refused to run it any more than necessary. I loved the peace so much and couldn't bring myself to crank on the noisy smelly monster. I would sail in and out of every creek and river on the bay. When there was no wind, I would rather sit than listen to the diesel. If I did have to motor any great distance, I would bring my parrot and dog into the cockpit and close up the cabin to try and keep the noise down to a tolerable level. It was such a hassle which is what made the electric motor seem like such a blessing. 

It runs quietly, smoothly, and with no smoke or screaming pets. When we have needed to motor, Sammy the parrot is content in her cage in the salon, and Morty the dog continues to sleep peacefully. 

If we get caught in irons, we can give the motor a boost of throttle to get us through the tack. When a cargo ship sneaks up on us, we can quickly power out of his way. We can easily flip a switch to turn the engine on, give it throttle, and then turn it right off without any worry about hurting the diesel. 

If you are thinking of going engineless, do consider a small electric motor. They can prove to be a very handy tool while out sailing. They can provide the mechanical propulsion needed in an instant when getting an oar set up or getting a pushboat ready is not feasible without all the negatives associated with a motor while cruising.

Tanbark vs White Sails Part 3

Now we will look at the advantages of tanbark sails!

The advantages of tanbark are:

They are more visible in fog than white sails
They are not blinding to look at during the day
They are easily recognized
They don't show dirt

While tanbark sails are invisible by night, they are very visible during fog and haze during the day. White sails on the contrary will blend right in with the white background of the fog. While I do not suggest setting sail into a misty fog, I have had fog roll in on me while out in the bay. I was sailing blind, focusing on the chart plotter to make sure I was outside of the channel and far from any obstacle. The dark sails show up as high contrast and a tall beacon in fog, especially when topped with a masthead strobe light to maximize the chances of someone else seeing me in the fog to avoid a collision.

As stated before, the sails will not glow a blinding white that burns into your eyes. They sun makes them glisten a deep red on a background of deep burgundy. They are rather awesome sight to behold.

Another advantage is how easily recognizable they make the boat. When we were sailing under the Annapolis Bay Bridge, one of my friends happened to be driving over it and in the sea of sailboats down there was able to spot us. He gave me a call to make sure it was me and sure enough, we were going under the bridge at that moment. I doubt that would have happened if we had white sails just like every other sailboat.

The biggest advantage came into play with the radio communications. We would frequently heard large ships hailing a sailboat asking them to move and it always seemed that the sailboat in the way never thought they were hailing him.

"White sailboat with white sails, please move from the channel"
or
"White sailboat with white sails, you are entering a restricted area"

The captain probably thought the ship was hailing someone else and wouldn't respond. When he would respond much later, you could hear all sorts of bickering happening since quarters were closer. Time was more restricted and corrections had to be amplified since valuable time had been wasted.

When we would be hailed, we knew it:

"White sailboat with maroon sails" 
or
"White sailboat with dark sails"

We would quickly respond and figure out what we each needed to do with miles of leeway, rather than a nail biting encounter.

Lastly, the sails don't show dirt! They are dark and any dirt that collects on them blends in with the color of the canvas. We even bathed our dog, Morty, in our jib. We had taken him to shore to do his business and let him run around. Being a corgi, all the mud that he kicked up while running covered his white belly turning it to a muddy tan. I didn't want the runoff going all over the deck, so I placed him in the sail and had the leech lay over the side of the boat so as I washed him, the runoff would go overboard rather than staying on deck and being tracked into the cabin. Never once did we worry about dirtying the fabric!

My old white sails had dirt bands from dirty water staining them when flaked, creating a stripped look to them. If they laid against the muddy anchor chain, they would become stained as it dried. It was a constant headache trying to keep the sails looking halfway decent. There is a reason power boaters call sails "rags". 

On an unrelated to actual sail properties note, tanbark sails is more common on cruiser boats. When you pull into a harbor flying tanbark, it's almost like flying a giant billboard telling everyone that you're a serious sailor.  

The ultimate decision comes down to your preferences. What fits your budget, desires, and plans. I wanted tanbark sails because I think they are pretty. All the other points have been bonuses, but they were not a priority for me. I am very happy with them and love how they look, hide dirt, and are easy to look at; but in the end, it is your boat and your choice. 

Which sails do you prefer? Let me know in the comments section and don't forget to subscribe down below.

Tanbark vs White Sails Part 2

Last time we talked about the pros and cons of white sails, now we will talk about the same for tanbark sails.

The advantages of tanbark:

They are more visible in fog than white sails
They are not blinding to look at during the day
They are easily recognized
They don't show dirt

The cons of tanbark:

They cost a bit more
They can't be seen by night
The material is slightly more stretchy

In low light, the white sails still shine while the tanbark sails appear black

To address cost, they are a bit more expensive. My sailmaker charges about 25% more for tanbark. This turns out to be a difference from $1100 for the staysail in white to $1600 for tanbark. For the main, it would have been a difference of $6800 for tanbark vs $5000 for white. With the main, I went a completely different direction which will be discussed in the future when we talk about laminated sails vs cloth. When taken into the grand scheme of total sail cost, it wasn't that much of a premium to have the sails made in tanbark as opposed to white.

The sails look black even at sunset

Night time sailing is an issue and there is no way around it. We like to sleep next to each other all night rather than doing watches, so night sailing isn't an issue for us. We like to anchor if we are in the bay, or heave to if we are off-shore. When I would have to trim in the dark, I ended up doing it by feel to avoid blinding myself with a flashlight. I would grind the winch until the leech would stop fluttering or the sheet would stop shaking, but I had no idea what the tell tails were doing.

The other downfall of tanbark is that the dying process of the dacron cloth is rather harsh. Natural dacron is white, and to make the dye stick they have to treat it with harsh chemicals. This does make the cloth slightly more stretchy and decreases its longevity. 

A reduced working life and higher price does detract from the sails allure, but is it worth it? Would you rather stare at a pretty, easy on the eyes sail for say 6 years before it looses shape, or a blindingly white sail for 7 years before it looses shape? As you can tell, I chose the tanbark route for the headsails because I feel that paying a little more for comfort is worthwhile. 

Next time we will talk about the positive points for Tanbark Sails in Part 3

Tanbark vs White Sails Part 1

When it comes time to picking sails for your boat, most people focus on sizes and shaped of the sails.

How high is the clew? 
How low is the tack? 
How full is the draft?

The sails will always be white, just like every other sail on every other boat. They do offer some selection of color when it comes to the UV strip on a furling headsail. What about the color of the sail itself?

There are two main colors of dacron available: White and Tanbark.

Back in the days of cotton sails, rot was a critical problem. To combat this, they would be tanned by soaking them in tannins from tree bark.The result was a stained sail called Tanbark that was more resistant to rot, mildew, and mold. The color these sails took on was a reddish brown. 

Then began the age of plastics and so cotton sails became a thing of the past, and so has the treatment process of tanning. Dacron is composed of polyethylene fibers which is white. 

White sails have many advantages:

They are cheaper
They can be seen from a very far distance
They are easier to see to trim for night sailing

Their cons are:

They are blinding to look at in the sun
They show stains and dirt instantly
They can't be seen in fog or haze

While they are less expensive, the price difference is only around 10-15%, which isn't much to pay when your eye comfort is at hand.

The argument about being seen from a distance is a good one to discuss. The idea is ships can see us far off on the horizon, but I don't think they actually look around. I have had them creep up on me multiple times, never contacting me on the radio or sounding their horn. I have spoken with friends who are ship captains, and they have told me that they don't look around too much because they rely on their radar screen where they can easily see sailboats on their display.  

The other argument is that if you are shipwrecked and need rescue, you can raise your main and they will see you to come to your rescue. If you are shipwrecked, you probably won't be able to raise the mainsail due to the damage sustained to the vessel. As far as being found, you should be carrying emergency rescue devices such as flares, orange fog, and an EPIRB. If you are solely relying on being spotted by your white sails for rescue, you many want to reconsider your emergency procedure protocol.

There is no discussion about trimming the sails by night. White sails will reflect the soft moonlight just as well as they will reflect the strong blinding sunlight. By night, the draft stripes will show up on the the white sails allowing one to properly trim the sails just as well as one could during the day. 

I know that I can't see my tanbark sails in the dark. They blend into the night sky and I am forced to either trim blind or blind myself by turning on a flashlight. This wasn't such an issue for myself and Maddie because we don't sail by night. We like to get a good nights sleep and continue sailing in the morning. In the bay, we anchor for the night, and offshore, we heave to for the night.

In Part 2, we will look more at tanbark sails and what they bring to the table.