Peter is 1000% spot on. I'm sitting in the SF airport waiting for a plane back to Seattle, with my crewmember Barry. We completed the trip from Santa Barbara to Half Moon Bay at 17:00 yesterday. The weather around Pt. Conception was 25 knots and 6 to 8 foot seas. The Nordhavn didnt leak a drip, not a drip. We did have to tuck in behind the cape because I didn't fasten the tender down well enough. After securing the tender we advanced against the seas for about 15 miles. The seas calmed after Pt. Arguello. The rest of the trip was in 2 to 5 foot seas, then it steadily decreased as we proceeded north. This boat is a real racehorse. I planned most of the trip assuming I'd only make 6.5 knots. The boat was half full of fuel, about 450 gallons, and full of water. There is no gear on board, so she was floating about 3 inches above the boot stripe. The boat was making close to 8 knots at 1900 rpm most of the way. Mike just advised with a full load of fuel and water, now about 1.5 inches below the bootstripe, she is making 7 knots at the same 1900 rpm. There could be some current working on the boat now, as Mike says he saw faster speeds at times. The only equipment problem we experienced was a failure of the Furuno chartplotter. While being adjusted, simple scrolling of the screen, it locked up, froze the screen with scrambled video. Upon restart we have lost the communication with the GPS. The radar continues to work, and you can display charts, but the ability to plot real time position is lost. This isn't an issue as Mike knows the coast so well he has all the waypoints needed to navigate with just the gps. I did learn the value of navigating by Radar. I can also attest that the Furuno radar image is really good. I hope the cost of repairing the unit isn't great as I'm beginning to feel the financial impact of owning a bigger boat. I put on 400 gallons of fuel at $3.00 in Half Moon Bay. Anyway, got lots of work email to catch up on, I'll provide more detail as I get time. Thanks! Scott Scott Bulger Nordhavn 40II, Alanui, Seattle WA -------------- Original message -------------- From: Truelove39@aol.com > Thanks, Peter, for the dissertation on how boats and folks within get > beat-up in 8' headseas. But, I didn't ask the questions you answered, and I'm > still > looking forward to Mike, or someone who knows, addressing my question. > > Regards, > > John > "Sehorse" > > > What size vessel (Nordhavn or otherwise) would you > > have set out in sooner, > > without awaiting this window? > > > > What attributes would this vessel have to have, > > other than size, in order to > > have departed > > I delivered a lot of Nordhavns up this coast - the > same route Mike is heading. For me, the question > wasn't whether the boat could take it (it could), but > there's a lot of other ways to damage a boat besides > heavy weather. Most owner's don't just want their boat > to show up, but they want it to show up in roughly the > same condition as it departed (or better). You see, > the upright human form isn't very stable and tends to > knock into cabinets, microwaves, open a refrigerator > just as a wave hits to lauch a 6-pack of soda across a > sole, etc. Or drop binoculars onto a finely varnished > table. You get the picture. I was quite proud of my > "never an insurance claim" track record: I drove an > 85-foot dinner cruise charter boat in San Francisco > Bay, and about 80,000 miles of deliveries, have done > dozens of lessons and boat show demonstrations, and > logged a ton of personal miles. > > But probably the most prevelant weather-related vessel > damage during deliveries is from heavy spray - heading > north into 25 knots and 8-foot seas means there will > be a lot of spray over the bow. On lesser boats, it > seeps through windows, ports, and deck fittings and > destroys carpets, window treatments, wood finish, and > furniture. Technically, the boat isn't at a loss-risk, > but there is tremendous potential for moderate damage, > which really ticks-off owners. > > At the very least, it's a complex equation of crew, > boat/equipment, route/safe harbors, conditions > (whether they're getting better or worse), and time. > It's the skipper's judgement call - and sometimes its > a hard decision. > _______________________________________________ > Passagemaking-Under-Power Mailing List