Re: DD questions for Dave and Jamie Fritsch
Dave,
I know Seahorse well from when we lived in Hong Kong and we also had several
friends that owned their steel and fiberglass boats - nice boats at a good
price.
Can you tell us why you selected the DD 46+2, what main options you got,
and you thoughts about a steel hull?
Thanks
Vince
Vince,
It is always nice to hear that one is not alone in the
selection of a builder. Thanks for the Seahorse
kudos.
Jamie and I had been tracking "the Diesel Duck story"
for several years after deciding that maybe our
passage making by sailboat days are getting short.
That is to say getting out of the weather sounds like
a good idea. We were looking for an offshore boat
that would meet our perceived needs:
LLive-aboardppassage makerfor 2 with long legs.
Adequate storage capacity.
Pilothouse.
Will aaccommodateup to two guests for extended times
(up to 4-6 weeks), children and grandchildren for much
shorter periods.
Makes passages with crew of 2-4 (I enjoy "crewed-up"
passage making.
Adequate storage capacity for intended purpose.
Affordable (not the least of the requirements).
Reasonable, but not too short lead time (we have
much to accomplish before getting underway)
I was drawn to the Duck from the start (but do not
know why and it keeps growing on me), but also found
other designs in the used market which had immediate
appeal. In the end, the Duck meets our needs at an
affordable price and with a great delivery cruise
(gotta cruise somewhere). Jamie and I came to
agreement six months ago when she said "I guess that's
it, I don't have a better plan!).
We looked at new production boats as well as used,
both in metal and fiberglass. I could live with
either.
Major options included a modified saloon cabin which
includes an "L" shaped dinette/sea berth and table to
port and settee/sea berth to starboard to get crew out
of forward cabin when necessary offshore. Major
options include Northern Lights 9KW gen-set, 2
CruiseAir units, high output alternator for
house-bank, 2 75W solar panels, Red Dot heater in PH,
PUR 12V water-maker, Para-vanes, LPG cook stove,
Davits, Dickenson diesel cabin heater, 4KW radar (more
to be determined on electronics)
Dave
--- Vincebirleson@aol.com wrote:
Dave,
I know Seahorse well from when we lived in Hong Kong
and we also had several
friends that owned their steel and fiberglass boats
- nice boats at a good
price.
Can you tell us why you selected the DD 46+2, what
main options you got,
and you thoughts about a steel hull?
Thanks
Vince
Passagemaking-Under-Power Mailing List
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You may wish to focus on your autopilot selection and possible redundancy.
In addition to control redundancy, you may wish to consider a second
hydraulic piston in case anything goes wrong with your conventional
hydraulic steering. Seahorse should be able to speak to the location of the
autopilot's compass on a steel boat. At www.sailnet.net you can find
complete coverage of the Dashew's building their first power boat. They have
their own firm convictions on brands and type and they intend to bring their
boat "back" from New Zealand, although they might go the other way round.
Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Lying Annapolis
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Fritsch" dfritsch2000@yahoo.com
|
4KW radar (more to be determined on electronics)
Ron, thanks for the heads up on the Dashew's project.
I was aware of the project but not of the site. By
the way, I think it is www.setsail.com. I will spend
some time with the material.
Early this month I had discussions with Bill Kimley
(Seahorse) regarding redundancy in the steering
system. We banged around some ideas starting with the
concept of a second piston, and then worked our way
backward to the helm and autopilot. He said he will
price options out for me. No price yet, no decision.
I am not sure where I stand on the options, much less
understand all of them. Driving that boat across an
ocean sitting at a tiller in the stateroom is not my
idea of a good passage. How does this group feel
about manually steering, i.e. without an autopilot
should the autopilot fail? Without manual steering?
Dave
--- Ron Rogers rcrogers6@kennett.net wrote:
You may wish to focus on your autopilot selection
and possible redundancy.
In addition to control redundancy, you may wish to
consider a second
hydraulic piston in case anything goes wrong with
your conventional
hydraulic steering. Seahorse should be able to speak
to the location of the
autopilot's compass on a steel boat. At
www.sailnet.net you can find
complete coverage of the Dashew's building their
first power boat. They have
their own firm convictions on brands and type and
they intend to bring their
boat "back" from New Zealand, although they might go
the other way round.
Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Lying Annapolis
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RE: ....steering without an autopilot ...
During the NAR we had one boat that left Horta headed for Gibraltar without
the autopilot working rather than wait a week or so for parts. It is a 62'
boat that has been around the world plus. They had borrowed some young and
strong crew for the leg. With that assist they seemed to be having a good
time with manual steering even in 14 hours of 35 knot head winds.
I don't think you would want to do it without a large and capable crew to
swap off at the helm for an extended time.
John Harris
David,
One thing is certain, any installation at time of construction is cheaper.
Other list members have emphasized redundancy and noted that duplicate
hydraulic lines are a great idea and much more easily done now. No matter
whether previous buyers have had problems. Note how the Dashews made the
well-known NZ builder prove that various devices and lines were in fact
accessible post construction and how they are careful about having soft
bushings where lines pass through bulkheads. Your builder is somewhat
flexible and his practices have evolved over the past few years. For
example, there was a time when I corresponded with him about foam
insulation. He told me that they didn't do it and why would I want it? Now,
I believe it is standard.
Also the article in PassageMaker magazine addressed the strange transom
steps and talked about the relatively easy access abeam the pilothouse. A
simple gangplank might be in order. You can look at the expensive ones from
Marquipt in Florida and find out what a Chinese copy would cost. Marquipt
uses the very best materials and that is a contributor to some of their high
prices.
I wonder how the large area behind the pilothouse could be utilized. Looks
like a place for some chairs and a dinghy with crane. The liferaft, I guess,
would go in a soft case in a watertight locker (best) or in a hard case on
the aft deck or foredeck. An unobtrusive locker limits the likelihood of
theft in foreign ports or maybe here. While thinking of negative things,
perhaps a powerful, commercial spotlight might be a deterrent to the
"casual" pirate and blind them. Here is where a Chinese equivalent to a
domestic Carlisle & Finch searchlight could save big dollars. Something
manual with a lever control just off-center and above the pilot chair.
Let us know if you want us to help spend some more of your money!
Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Preparing to depart Annapolis for New Bern, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Fritsch" dfritsch2000@yahoo.com
| We banged around some ideas starting with the
| concept of a second piston, and then worked our way
| backward to the helm and autopilot. He said he will
| price options out for me. No price yet, no decision.