Boston to Newfoundland in a Caledonia Yawl?

[sully75]

Here's a closeup:

[sootboots]

That Cabot Straight can be very stormy even in the summer. The ferry won't take loose cargo but if you hang out in North Sydney for few days you shouldn't have any problem finding a trucker with an empty trailer that will bring it across to Port au Basques for $200. Once in Nfld the coast is wilderness and quite unique in North America. You won' have any problem being put up for the night when you tie up at a wharf in a boat like that!

Jp

[keyhavenpotterer]

I've got nothing at all against the Caledonia Yawl, but if you havn't seen it, john Welsford's Pilgrim is designed for trips like these.

She's designed to be self righting from 90 degrees for solo longshore/ offshore cruising, and has vast sub floor dry storage, flat floor sleeping and a heavy weather storm jib. All the scantlings and engineering is designed to make her just about offshore capable (as it can be). The buoyancy performance is designed in too, the water will not be above the centrecase. The rig is fully stayed too for security if she was rolled. She's scaled down from John's Sundowner round the world boat. That could be your boat for this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chipspilgrim/page5/

With a Caledonia Yawl, you'll be on your own a bit looking at flush decking side decks, finding somewhere to sleep and the resulting buoyancy performance as its not all designed in, as the plans are for a dayboat unlike Pilgrim which is. Not that the CY isn't great though and a really suitable boat to start from for doing that. Its smoothness in waves will be fabulous and has great rig options. Upturned 180 full of gear, it might be a struggle to climb upto the centreboard and pull her over, as she's quite a big boat. Not that you couldn't but I don't know anyone who has buoyancy tested one that far: if its one man rightable from a full inversion easily? You need to be able to manage swamped and not be a dead duck with no freeboard or water above the centrecase. Some of the double enders are unproven in this regard. The Wayfarer Frank took to Iceland and up the east coast America, I think he practiced self recovery in storm conditions before he went, so he knew it was possible giving him both skills and mental confidence in poor conditions.

I'd echo SKB, if your going along shore, your route out of trouble is to beach it easily and you must be able to self right it in a knock down if hit by a breaking wave then be able to bail it quickly if needed or self drainwhile sailing on with control. Perculiarly it can be safer in these respects with a smaller boat thats more manageable for one, unless you take a keel boat option, but that limits beaching options. If your going in a very good almost windless weather window, the smaller sail and oar boats can be more easily propelled under oar or sail too. Boats like the Welsford Walkabout with filled in side decks for side buoyancy and the stayed rig choice (jib headed standing lug yawl) would be very capable and fast in all conditions, easily manageable on and off a beach and self rightable by one tired person. It would move under oar too and make you engine independent. Being narrow at the WL it should take swell nicely too. It has a tent designed too for it for sleeping aboard. Not to bang on about John's boats but the Scamp from Small Craft Advisory could be all you need too, and that veranda will be apealling in the rain.

In the words of the Pardeys, look at everything in the design, construction and fit out for the range of problems ahead, and ask 'am i unstoppable?'. You have to make it so...but fog is no fun, I'd really want to avoid that, even if the boat was up to it.

Ken Duxbury wrote many books on travelling with Lugworm his Drascombe. I think one was sailed to Australia by some brothers. There's another that went from America accross the Pacific before getting swamped but can't remember the title off hand. Anyone? It was a good read.

Ed

[Robert W. Long]

What if your Caledonia turned turtle when you were going downwind with the board up?

[keyhavenpotterer]

Historically, the Shetlanders did run them downwind in very poor conditions. They called in scudding. They had a bit more keel than the modern ones, but obviously found little joy heaving too as a deep keeler would. Three in a boat, one steered, one raised and dropped the main halyard as necc between the wave crests and one full time bailed. Didn't always make it...and sometimes ended up off Norway then rowed back to Shetland.

The board can be pulled out with fingers if the gap between board and keel/ keelson is wide enough for a finger. I think John Welsford Pathfinder is like this for that reason and to accomodate a shackle for the board/ plate uphaul. A centreboard downhaul keeps it down otherwise if the board is a light wooden floating one to a quick release camcleat.

You also have to get up ontop of the boat, which isn't a given if its got a super smooth paint job and no bilge runners to help on a bigish boat. You can always get up canoe style at the ends, but just getting up ontop isn't a given with big boats when your tired, its pitch black, hypothermic and sodden with water. If its fallen to windward, you might have to do it twice. Bad enough in a Laser. If your 80kg and its built and loaded just to its designed WL a CY will be 420kg....

[sully75]

Thanks guys. Very helpful info. I kinda get that the CY might not be ideal for this trip. There's some other keel boats (fiberglass) available to me, they need some interior work but look to have good rigs and are ready to sail. An older Pearson 27 for $3k or something like that. But then I have to get into storage fees and all that jazz. Which I'm not excited about at all.

Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts. The other trailer boat options are cool, but I must say that the Caledonia Yawl has them beat as far as looks go.

[Sayla]

...............................I think one was sailed to Australia by some brothers. There's another that went from America accross the Pacific before getting swamped but can't remember the title off hand. Anyone? It was a good read.

Ed

Webb Chiles ?



http://furledsails.com/article.php3?article=747

http://furledsails.com/article.php3?article=746


sayla

[keyhavenpotterer]

Thats the one. Webb Chiles : Open boat:Accross the Pacific

http://www.amazon.com/The-Open-Boat-Across-Pacific/dp/039303268X/ref=lp_B001H6IYIQ_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335791750&sr=1-1

Really well written.

Ken Duxbury wrote about sailing his Drascombe around Greece.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lugworm-Loos...9&sr=1-1-spell



The other one I havn't read as its hard to find and a bit expensive second hand is David Pyle who sailed his wooden Drascombe (not too unlike a CY) from the UK down to Australia throughthe Middle East and India etc...in 1969.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Australia-Ha.../dp/0340105100




Has anyone read that?

[sully75]

Hey...I have another question (non-woodenboat based).

Is there a commonly available older fiberglass boat that might be equivalent in sea-keeping abilities to the CY that's readily available and pretty cheap? I'm thinking of some 70s fiberglass kind of thing, perhaps a one-design. But nothing really comes to mind. Most one designs are pretty tippy. There's the Cape Cod Mercury, which seems like a dog. Drascombe Luggers seem to still command a pretty high price.

So...any thoughts on something that's extroidinarily sea worthy for its length, shoal draft and abundant and cheap on the used market?

Thanks!
P

[Woxbox]

Just what kind of budget do you have in mind? A decent boat and all the requisite and sensible safety equipment is going to run a few thousand dollars. You could do such a trip in a cheap, 19th-century style, but that would entail considerable risk.

[StevenBauer]

So...any thoughts on something that's extroidinarily sea worthy for its length, shoal draft and abundant and cheap on the used market?

Thanks!
P

Have you looked into the Seapearl? A few come to the Small Reach Regatta every year. Might just be the ticket.

http://www.marine-concepts.com/features.html#general


Steven

[ChrisBen]

London to Istanbul 2011 in a Ness Yawl
Giacomo De Stefano, the Man on the River. Scroll down about halfway for more videos and "The Full Story" in the blog.
http://www.manontheriver.com/?post_t...-videos&p=4645

[sully75]

Just what kind of budget do you have in mind? A decent boat and all the requisite and sensible safety equipment is going to run a few thousand dollars. You could do such a trip in a cheap, 19th-century style, but that would entail considerable risk.

Right now I'd just like to get a boat that this might be possible on and sail it for a year or two. I've been on boats since I was a kid but I'm still not a great sailor. So...yeah I get that outfitting a boat for this kind of trip would be expensive, but I would like to have a boat to sail at this point. I don't need to do a big trip right away.

There's a Drascombe Lugger available now in the area but it's $6k...that's a little out of the budget right now.