Coastal cruising with a pocketship?

[clmartin0721]

Hello all,

I am in the decision making process concerning a small boat for cruising the FL coast and making the short jump to Bermuda. This is primairly day sailing, with night tie-ups. I am down to two choices, either build a pocket ship, or buy a used Santana or Cal 22/24 and refurbish it. I know this isnt a direct apples to apples comparison, and I know the fiberglass boat is going to be a big pain in the arse to re-do, as well as be a significant amount more expensive. I am leaning to the pocketship for a lot of reasons, but my concern is primairly concerning stability in the 6' swells on the coast, and speed. I would like to make about 5 knots, wind permitting, or be able to motor at about that speed. Also a little concerned about the open well forward in a costal boat. (but I love the way it looks...)

So, am I way off here, should I even be considering this boat, or perhaps this would do with a few mods..? I hope someone here will have taken one of these out along a coast and have a good word for me.

Thank you all for your time and assistance.

Craig
Houston, Tx.

[clmartin0721]

Hello all,

I was able to talk with John, and it seems that pocketship was designed for the very thing I want to do (Bermuda passage), so it a go for pocketship. I am ordering plans now, can't wait to get going.

Having access to the designer, especially one as nice as John, is enough reason to choose this project.

I will be getting a blog / log up and I will post photos of the progress. I am going to take 2 weeks off when the plans come in to try and make some significant progress on the hull.

Thanks again to John, for the info.....and pocketship, of course.

Craig
Houston Texas

[John C. Harris]

This has come up on the forum a couple of times. This thread covers all the bases on ambitious PocketShip cruises to my satisfaction:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=380&p=1138#p1138

Of course, my "Around in 10" concept would work, too:

Around in Ten Render.jpg (76.7 KiB) Viewed 9957 times

[Caviar]

Wrong post. Nevermind.

[John C. Harris]

>>>>>I am in the decision making process concerning a small boat for cruising the FL coast and making the short jump to Bermuda.

Right, Bermuda. Wait...BERMUDA??? You mean the BAHAMAS....the Bahamas are a short jump from Florida, not Bermuda. That's what we chatted about on the phone: wait for a good weather window in Miami, then 50 miles across, then enjoy some shoal cruising in the Bahamas. PocketShip is up to that.

BERMUDA is 1,038 sea miles from Miami on the rhumb line, and some of the hairiest sea miles anywhere in the world. Just ask the circumnavigators---they all say the outbound crossing of the Gulf Stream is invariably the worst weather they encounter on the way round. PocketShip is not up to that, and wasn't meant to be. Yeah, sometimes stuntsmen do it, but that's no short jump, hop, skip, or nothing in a 13'6" waterline boat. So you heard it here first: Perhaps a nice Dana 24, or a well-sorted Westsail 32 for that trip, but not a PocketShip to Bermuda.

[JonLee]

Bermuda? Bahama? Will it take me down to Kokomo?

[truenorth]

Ha, glad you clarified that, John, because I read that and was thinking... I'm not sure I want to drive 1,000 miles let alone sail it at ~5kph.

Is the idea that the 50 miles would be done in a day?

[John C. Harris]

The hop to the Bahamas was always my filter for this design, assuming very careful seamanship and a patient wait for just the right conditions. Reuel Parker had a print article where he talked about how to time the local weather for that passage; wish I could find it.

Assuming the right conditions, where you broad-reach across at 5 knots, the idea would be to get clear of Miami late in the day, then sail overnight so that you can make your landing in daylight. (Leaving in the morning risks arriving in darkness.)

In 2003 I took a pocket cruiser down there with the intention of making the passage, but simply didn't have enough enough vacation time to wait for the requisite conditions. The ethic of cruising in really small boats is the willingness (and prudence) to enjoy waiting. Nowadays, with a baby at home and endless demands on time, I'm relearning how to savor every little bend in the local river rather than dream grandly about blue water destinations. It's good.