Essential Yacht Equipment for Extended Cruise

Discover the essential yacht equipment needed for an extended cruise. Learn about crucial safety gear, navigation tools, communication devices, comfort items, and maintenance supplies to ensure a safe and enjoyable long-distance sailing experience. Perfect for yacht owners planning their next adventure.

Sell up and sail: Increasing numbers of us are doing just that, setting out to sail the seven seas for a year or two while we still have it in us. But what type of yacht to select?

She needs to be seaworthy, well built and well found. You may well plan to spend many months simply hopping from one harbour to another, but the boat still has to be good enough to sail long distance in the first place.

As far as production yachts go, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), an annual 2 700-mile winter migration by 200+ crews from Las Palmas in the Canaries to St Lucia in the Caribbean, gives a good indication on what to look for. The event is open to cruising yachts between 27-85 ft (8,2-25,9 m) and cruising catamarans from 27-60 ft (8,2-18,3 m). Over the last 25 years, the average length of yacht has risen from 39 ft-46 ft (11,9 m-14 m).

Since 1986, Beneteau has been the most popular choice of builder with almost 350 entries, followed by Nautor Swan, Oyster, Hallberg-Rassy, Jeanneau and Bavaria. The most popular design has been the Oyster 56 with more than 40 taking part. There has also been increasing interest in multihulls. Back in 1986, the Prout Snowgoose 37 catamaran was the most popular.

Now it is the French-built Lagoon 400 catamaran. These have all proved to be seaworthy, well found yachts and provide a good benchmark to start your search for the boat that will best suit your needs.

What are the key elements?

Design

The old adage “If she looks right, she invariably will be” is a good starting point. Fair lines, good freeboard and a well protected cockpit are all key requirements for a Types of Yachtsafe seaworthy hull. As far as the rig is concerned, modern roller furling headsails, and slab, in-boom or mast reefing system for the main with all the control lines led back to the cockpit, lessens the need for crew to work out on the open deck.

Down below, you should be looking for plenty of handholds throughout the yacht, good safe sea berths, easy access to the engine room, and plenty of dry stowage space. Popular designs like the Oyster, Hallberg-Rassy and Beneteau hold their resale values much better than orphan designs with a lack of parentage.

Size: Minimum, 36 ft (11 m); optimum, 1 ft (0,3 m) for every year of your age!

Design:

1. Good sea-kindly hull capable of taking care of you when the weather turns bad and you are hunkered down below.
2. Good drainage along the toe rail or scuppers and in the cockpit. Drain holes need to be big enough to quickly clear green water over the deck and heavy rainstorms.

On Deck:

1. Dual bow anchors, one with at least 300 ft (100,1 m) chain plus a lighter kedge anchor stowed in the stern ready to deploy to control the boat from swinging in windy anchorages. Include a sea anchor for use in extreme conditions.
2. Strong thru-bolted deck cleats and fittings.
3. Sheltered cockpit with strong thru-bolted pad eyes to connect jackstays that allow crew to reach out and clip on before exiting the companionway.
4. Companionway spray hood and dodgers on lifelines to protect the cockpit against spray.
5. Jackstays running the entire length of the deck, together with strong handholds on cabin roof.
6. Keel-stepped alloy mast – minimal maintenance and better reinforced than a deck-stepped spar.
7. Roller headsails – easy to reef from the cockpit.
8. In-mast or in-boom furling mainsail, or slab reefing system controlled from the cockpit.
9. Hanked staysail. Good back up should furling gear jam.
10. Storm jib and storm trysail. Essential items you hope not to use.
11. Autopilot to relieve the crew during heavy weather, when motor-sailing and when conditions are settled.
12. Drop-down boarding/swim ladder.
13. Dinghy with reliable outboard.
14. Powerful waterproof torch with plentiful supply of spare batteries.

Mechanicals:

1. Powerful inboard diesel – minimum 3 hp per ton of displacement – enough to motor-sail against strong winds and to get you out of tricky situations. Consider fitting twin alternators to charge batteries.
2. Good battery power and monitoring system with separate battery to start the engine. Consider a wind vane and/or solar panels to trickle charge batteries.
3. Large fuel tank to give a minimum of 500 nautical mile range under power.
4. Large water tanks. Enough to give each crew member 1 litre per day in case there is no rain, and water maker fails.
5. Bilge pumps. At least two, one of which should be manual. Two buckets with lanyards.

Below Decks:

1. Good handholds throughout – enough to be able to move hand-to-hand within the cabins.
2. Good ventilation. Power at sea is a precious resource. Natural airflow through the hull is every bit as good as air conditioning.
3. Plenty of well ventilated storage. Space for books, food for a month, spares and all the safety gear.
4. Good length quarter berths with lee cloths. These are the most comfortable in heavy weather. Double berths are only good for use in harbour and hood weather.
5. Refrigeration. A fridge is essential to keep perishables cool. A freezer is too, but is dependent on much greater power requirements.
6. Large gimballed gas stove/oven with fiddles.
7. Good inventory plan showing where everything is stored.
8. Maintenance log. Maintain service record on engine, electrics, plumbing and rig.

Navigation:

1. Electronic instruments: Wind, speed and depth sounder are essential.
2. Charts, chart plotter and pilots for cruising region.
3. Global Position System (GPS) with hand held back-up for emergency.
4. Radios: VHF and Single Side Band, essential. Consider a satellite phone and/or ham radio for communication to the wider world.
5. Radar: Good for approaching unknown harbours and navigating in shipping lanes, close to shore at night and in fog. Consider AIS option to identify other vessels.

Author

Olga Nesvetailova

Freelancer

Literature

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