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Passage of Time

Alan Wagner

Mon, Jul 17, 2006 4:15 AM

We are off and running . . . . or at least building. Thanks to the list
that has helped us along the way.

As some of you know, about two years ago I got the bug to design and build
our dream passagemaker. We wanted a boat that was blue water capable to
allow us to circumnavigate, but we also wanted to do the great loop, coastal
cruising and the canals of Europe -- a "go anywhere boat."

I read a stack of books, studied information on this list and others
(boatdesign.net and metalboatsociety.com) and then searched for a designer.
I soon found Michael Kasten and his extensive web site and materials. In
May 2004, we started designing! With the help of Michael Kasten (www
Kastenmarine.com) -- ok, maybe it was Michael with our input -- we designed
our dream passagemaker.

Long overdue are thanks to all on the list who contributed to our education
in making the many many decisions involved in designing our boat. As you
all know, a boat is a series of trade-offs and compromises along the way.
As issues arose, I found a great wealth of information and experience here
on the list.

Once finished, we started looking for the right builder -- which was a bit
harder than I originally thought. Our boat will be aluminum, which narrowed
the list of possible builders considerably. We sent design packages across
North America, received responses, visited the best few builders, and then
tried to figure out who would best build our dream.

As we focused more on the design, we revised some items and eventually took
a close look at the operational components and the electrical side of the
boat. That's when we "bumped into" Arild Jensen, who spent a few months
detailing and fine tuning the electrical design for us. He created a really
unique arrangement for us and we couldn't be happier with the end result.

In the end we wound up with a boat that, so far, is perfect on paper.

We have now contracted with YachtSmiths International, Inc. (www.YachtSmiths
com) to build our dream. YachtSmiths is in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia -- right
across from Halifax. Brian Smyth and Dave Canning took over the company a
few years ago when the owner ran into trouble. They both have a wonderful
entrepreneurial spirit and are both really nice guys that want to build
great boats for their customers at a fair price. We will start construction
once Michael finishes the NC cut files -- probably around September or
October.

Now we have to build the darn thing . . . what we have christened "Passage
of Time," from an old James Taylor song whose lyrics encapsulated what we
have in store. . . .

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
Any fool can do it, there ain't nothing to it.
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill.
But since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride.

Most of the boat can be seen at http://kastenmarine.com/valdemar52.htm . At
one point we had active stabilizers, but in the end we ended up with
paravanes and twin keels for stabilization, so the actual design picture is
a little different than what is on Michael's web site.

Passage of Time is (will be) 52' 10" with a beam of 14' 5". She'll have a
175 HP John Deere that should move her at about 10 or 11 knots. Cruise at
7/8 knots will give her about range of 3000 nautical miles. Draws 5' 1" and
has an air draft with the mast down of 11' 2" (so she'll get under the
bridges in the French canals!). She'll have a controllable pitch prop.

The two big design "musts" we wanted were a back covered deck for "hanging
out" and three separate cabins. We have two children of different genders
and when they depart for college, and we head to gosh knows where, it will
be important for the kids to easily visit -- and, later (much later) for one
child and grand kids to visit. Most or the time, though, it's just Debbie
and me or perhaps us and another couple.

We handled this design quandary by having the "standard" aft master for
privacy with a queen berth forward. For the third cabin, we have a queen
bunk in the pilothouse, aft of the twin helm seats. When we need the third
stateroom, there is a folding wall that appears and "creates" the third room
Otherwise -- most of the time -- it will just be a big pilothouse with a
great bunk for passages.

Thanks to Arild, the electrical systems are very cool! AC power on board
will be 220V/230V for all high power equipment. 120V AC supply to utility
outlets and small domestic appliances is provided by using a step down
transformer from 230V.

Instead of using a mix of AC genset and inverters to power the equipment on
board, the AC system will be powered entirely by inverter power fed from a
substantial battery bank. The 6kW inverter power AC designed by Arild is
supplied by a pair of 3kW Victron Phoenix Multi plus inverter/chargers. This
supplies clean AC power at a regulated, stable voltage which is equivalent
to having a 12kW AC genset, because it can handle start surges to slightly
more than 12kW.

No separate genset. I will have a wing engine that serves both purposes.

Recharging the battery bank and maintaining continuous inverter power is
accomplished by driving a pair of 150 - 160 Amp 24V output DC alternators
from the wing "get home" engine, capable of delivering more than the
required 6kW power. This leaves a margin for direct charging or supporting
DC loads while the inverters power high demand items like air conditioning.
Even when the inverters are fully loaded there is a reserve of 2.8kW for
charging batteries.

We decided to utilize the wing engine as a DC generator when not used for
emergency propulsion. Otherwise the vessel is fitted with three engines, one
of which is seldom used and simply sits there taking up space and requiring
periodic testing and maintenance. Having a pair of alternators instead of
one single unit facilitates load management plus ensuring redundancy in the
event of equipment failures.

The batteries and inverters and the air conditioners are designed so that,
when necessary or desirable, we can run the air conditioning overnight
without an engine on -- a nice luxury indeed! We got spoiled here in
Florida.

The main engine will have another set of two 150 Amp alternators attached,
so while cruising we can charge the batteries and run all the electronics,
including the air conditioners, without running the wing engine. If we are
underway, in essence, we are fully powered.

We should be through with construction by early spring 2008. I will keep
everyone updated as we progress.

Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Alan and Debbie Wagner
Tampa, Florida
currently, 44' 1978 Gulfstar MC
"Morning Delight"
(anyone need a Gulfstar in a year or so!)

We are off and running . . . . or at least building. Thanks to the list that has helped us along the way. As some of you know, about two years ago I got the bug to design and build our dream passagemaker. We wanted a boat that was blue water capable to allow us to circumnavigate, but we also wanted to do the great loop, coastal cruising and the canals of Europe -- a "go anywhere boat." I read a stack of books, studied information on this list and others (boatdesign.net and metalboatsociety.com) and then searched for a designer. I soon found Michael Kasten and his extensive web site and materials. In May 2004, we started designing! With the help of Michael Kasten (www Kastenmarine.com) -- ok, maybe it was Michael with our input -- we designed our dream passagemaker. Long overdue are thanks to all on the list who contributed to our education in making the many many decisions involved in designing our boat. As you all know, a boat is a series of trade-offs and compromises along the way. As issues arose, I found a great wealth of information and experience here on the list. Once finished, we started looking for the right builder -- which was a bit harder than I originally thought. Our boat will be aluminum, which narrowed the list of possible builders considerably. We sent design packages across North America, received responses, visited the best few builders, and then tried to figure out who would best build our dream. As we focused more on the design, we revised some items and eventually took a close look at the operational components and the electrical side of the boat. That's when we "bumped into" Arild Jensen, who spent a few months detailing and fine tuning the electrical design for us. He created a really unique arrangement for us and we couldn't be happier with the end result. In the end we wound up with a boat that, so far, is perfect on paper. We have now contracted with YachtSmiths International, Inc. (www.YachtSmiths com) to build our dream. YachtSmiths is in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia -- right across from Halifax. Brian Smyth and Dave Canning took over the company a few years ago when the owner ran into trouble. They both have a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit and are both really nice guys that want to build great boats for their customers at a fair price. We will start construction once Michael finishes the NC cut files -- probably around September or October. Now we have to build the darn thing . . . what we have christened "Passage of Time," from an old James Taylor song whose lyrics encapsulated what we have in store. . . . The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it, there ain't nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill. But since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride. Most of the boat can be seen at http://kastenmarine.com/valdemar52.htm . At one point we had active stabilizers, but in the end we ended up with paravanes and twin keels for stabilization, so the actual design picture is a little different than what is on Michael's web site. Passage of Time is (will be) 52' 10" with a beam of 14' 5". She'll have a 175 HP John Deere that should move her at about 10 or 11 knots. Cruise at 7/8 knots will give her about range of 3000 nautical miles. Draws 5' 1" and has an air draft with the mast down of 11' 2" (so she'll get under the bridges in the French canals!). She'll have a controllable pitch prop. The two big design "musts" we wanted were a back covered deck for "hanging out" and three separate cabins. We have two children of different genders and when they depart for college, and we head to gosh knows where, it will be important for the kids to easily visit -- and, later (much later) for one child and grand kids to visit. Most or the time, though, it's just Debbie and me or perhaps us and another couple. We handled this design quandary by having the "standard" aft master for privacy with a queen berth forward. For the third cabin, we have a queen bunk in the pilothouse, aft of the twin helm seats. When we need the third stateroom, there is a folding wall that appears and "creates" the third room Otherwise -- most of the time -- it will just be a big pilothouse with a great bunk for passages. Thanks to Arild, the electrical systems are very cool! AC power on board will be 220V/230V for all high power equipment. 120V AC supply to utility outlets and small domestic appliances is provided by using a step down transformer from 230V. Instead of using a mix of AC genset and inverters to power the equipment on board, the AC system will be powered entirely by inverter power fed from a substantial battery bank. The 6kW inverter power AC designed by Arild is supplied by a pair of 3kW Victron Phoenix Multi plus inverter/chargers. This supplies clean AC power at a regulated, stable voltage which is equivalent to having a 12kW AC genset, because it can handle start surges to slightly more than 12kW. No separate genset. I will have a wing engine that serves both purposes. Recharging the battery bank and maintaining continuous inverter power is accomplished by driving a pair of 150 - 160 Amp 24V output DC alternators from the wing "get home" engine, capable of delivering more than the required 6kW power. This leaves a margin for direct charging or supporting DC loads while the inverters power high demand items like air conditioning. Even when the inverters are fully loaded there is a reserve of 2.8kW for charging batteries. We decided to utilize the wing engine as a DC generator when not used for emergency propulsion. Otherwise the vessel is fitted with three engines, one of which is seldom used and simply sits there taking up space and requiring periodic testing and maintenance. Having a pair of alternators instead of one single unit facilitates load management plus ensuring redundancy in the event of equipment failures. The batteries and inverters and the air conditioners are designed so that, when necessary or desirable, we can run the air conditioning overnight without an engine on -- a nice luxury indeed! We got spoiled here in Florida. The main engine will have another set of two 150 Amp alternators attached, so while cruising we can charge the batteries and run all the electronics, including the air conditioners, without running the wing engine. If we are underway, in essence, we are fully powered. We should be through with construction by early spring 2008. I will keep everyone updated as we progress. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Alan and Debbie Wagner Tampa, Florida currently, 44' 1978 Gulfstar MC "Morning Delight" (anyone need a Gulfstar in a year or so!)

Carl H. Martin

Mon, Jul 17, 2006 4:32 PM

The boat looks great! I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large
house bank with separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you
going with?

Carl Martin
Hudson Beach, FL
(just north of Tarpon Springs)

The boat looks great! I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large house bank with separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you going with? Carl Martin Hudson Beach, FL (just north of Tarpon Springs)

Alan

Mon, Jul 17, 2006 5:15 PM

Carl asks:
I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large house bank with
separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you going with?

The main and wing engine will each have separate AGM start batteries (the
main is a 24v, but the Kubota wing needs a 12v for its starter).

The house bank is located forward under the guest cabin queen bunk. This
allows the batteries to stay cool, but because of the location requires AGMs
(or at least non-venting batteries). We wanted to have the flexibility to
run the airconditioning at night without disturbing a quiet anchorage with
generator noise, so we have a bunch of batteries.

Arild found some Meridian AGM batteries that used half the space of a
conventional 8D battery. The AGMs will also allow deeper discharges and
quicker recharging.

We will have 16 Meridian NSB210FT batteries up under the front queen bunk.
Each 12v battery has 209 AH capacity, so at 24 volts we will end up with
1672 Amp Hour capacity. Most everything on board will be 24v.

The details of the Meridian NSB210FT battery can be seen here:

http://www.boatelectric.com/Energy%201AGM%20batteries.htm

There is an interesting article, which helped us in making the selection,
at:

http://www.boatelectric.com/Sea%20Circuits%20reprint%20hi-res.pdf

all the best,

Alan Wagner
Tampa

From: Passagemaking Under Power List
Date: 07/17/06 12:32:11
To: Trawlers & Trawlering; Passagemaking Under Power List
Subject: Re: [PUP] Passage of Time

The boat looks great! I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large
house bank with separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you
going with?

Carl Martin
Hudson Beach, FL
(just north of Tarpon Springs)

Carl asks: I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large house bank with separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you going with? _____________________ The main and wing engine will each have separate AGM start batteries (the main is a 24v, but the Kubota wing needs a 12v for its starter). The house bank is located forward under the guest cabin queen bunk. This allows the batteries to stay cool, but because of the location requires AGMs (or at least non-venting batteries). We wanted to have the flexibility to run the airconditioning at night without disturbing a quiet anchorage with generator noise, so we have a bunch of batteries. Arild found some Meridian AGM batteries that used half the space of a conventional 8D battery. The AGMs will also allow deeper discharges and quicker recharging. We will have 16 Meridian NSB210FT batteries up under the front queen bunk. Each 12v battery has 209 AH capacity, so at 24 volts we will end up with 1672 Amp Hour capacity. Most everything on board will be 24v. The details of the Meridian NSB210FT battery can be seen here: http://www.boatelectric.com/Energy%201AGM%20batteries.htm There is an interesting article, which helped us in making the selection, at: http://www.boatelectric.com/Sea%20Circuits%20reprint%20hi-res.pdf all the best, Alan Wagner Tampa ____________________________________________ From: Passagemaking Under Power List Date: 07/17/06 12:32:11 To: Trawlers & Trawlering; Passagemaking Under Power List Subject: Re: [PUP] Passage of Time The boat looks great! I'm curious about the battery bank. Is it one large house bank with separate starting batteries? What kind of batteries are you going with? Carl Martin Hudson Beach, FL (just north of Tarpon Springs)