cruising in pocketship

[truenorth]

I plan to put the cruiser bit of PocketShip to the test, with planned sails in the Apostle Islands up here and then trailered south to the Bahamas by way of Florida. But as has been said, comfort and safety are important, so I thought one of the ways to get that on PS would be to build compartments under the soles in the cabin for things like water and provisions storage. It would work like the ballast lifts only more of them.

Good idea or bad?

[Saltykid502]

John (the designer of the PS) would have better input here but I thought I'd give it a crack:
It might work, the only thing you have to watch is when you use up materials, I.e food, ice, water, etc, you'd have to shift the weight around to create an even "ballast" whilst sailing.

Would love to hear John C. Harris' opinion on this as I have wondered the same thing.
Cheers

[John C. Harris]

>>I plan to put the cruiser bit of PocketShip to the test, with planned sails in the Apostle Islands up here and then trailered south to the Bahamas by way of Florida. But as has been said, comfort and safety are important, so I thought one of the ways to get that on PS would be to build compartments under the soles in the cabin for things like water and provisions storage. It would work like the ballast lifts only more of them.
>>>>>>>>

Weight distribution in a boat this size is pretty important. You don't want to sail around down by the bow or down by the stern.

The ballast scheme was designed in anticipation of cruising stores in place. I bring this up because I've noticed that many PocketShips are being daysailed in "lightship" condition. Which is great; the boat is a brilliant daysailer. But probably somewhat under-ballasted without stores aboard. The first time I took mine cruising (out of Duxbury, MA), the addition of dunnage and supplies for my wife and I for a few days made a big difference in the boat's handling. I have advocated increasing the inside ballast in boats not carrying much gear below.

Anyway, start by filling the compartment under the mast. This counters the weight of the crew seated aft. (In theory. Try a trial loading at the dock and just see how she sits.) Small heavy things like canned food can be stowed beneath the floorboards, but there isn't all that much room down there. And keep in mind that the bilges might be wet. Drinking water should be distributed low in the boat, in small bottles.

I put sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and dunnage under the cockpit seats. That storage space is large and perfect for things that are bulky but not too heavy.

Visitors to my boat have noticed the nice zippered bag right under the companionway. Perfect for small items that you need to reach while under way. Given the time I'd add more bags like that around the cabin.

[truenorth]

John, actually, I'm trying to avoid having little water bottles stored about the cabin! Trying to stay green and they just clutter things up on any trip longer than a couple days.

That's interesting about the ballast. I was first planning to distribute the ballast like another PocketShip with 100 lb on one side and 60 lb on the other, depending on which side the outboard goes. Sounds like it may need more than that. But for stores and provisions, I was thinking more along the lines of a water tank. These are made in all shapes and sizes and I think some of them could fit nicely under some of the floorboards. The bilge water wouldn't be an issue as it's a sealed container.

However, if putting it under the mast in the forward part of the cabin solves the issue and doesn't disrupt balance, that could work. My major concern is that's where the electronics and battery are and water is usually wet I'm not worried about the inspection port as it should be low enough not to block access but I do worry about taking up all that space with 'just' a water tank.

I expect to cruise up to a week at a time with up to 2 days' passage. Assuming one refill, that means about a 10 gallon container. Do you think 85 pounds of water (a gallon is just over 8 lbs) in that compartment would be OK for weight distribution?