On Board with Mark Corke

Tree Frog pad

No matter how well you may be organized aboard there is always some small bits and pieces that you need to find a home for. At the helm I like to have my cell phone, a couple of pens and other such detritus close at hand. The trouble is that you often put them in what you think is a pretty secure place only to have them vibrate across the console and crash to the floor. Placing them a cup holder works of sorts but you can't see the screen on the phone and with everything jumbled up together damge is possible. The Tree Frog Pad really seems to be the answer to my prayers. Resembling what I can best describe as a small cutting mat the pad is super sticky and clings to almost any surface. No more than an eighth of an inch in thickness the pad stays in place even on vertical surfaces if you wish although don't expect it to hold a cell phone in place at this angle. But at a 45 degree angle it works perfectly for holding whatever I place on it in. 

The pad has a rather unusual feel and does feel sticky to the touch although this is the nature of the material which does not in fact have any adhesive attached to it. The pad does pick up bits of dirt, and what my wife refers to as belly button fluff but this is easily washed off under a warm faucet without effecting the stickiness of the pad whatsoever.

The best part about the pad is that you can use it any where and you do not have to screw into the boat. Not as robust as perhaps the SeaSucker mount that I blogged about here and here but then again it is meant for a different purpose. A 7 by 9 inch pad costs $12 which is worth the price if only for all those times that I do not have to bend and pick my phone off the cabin sole.

Torqeedo 40hp

Electric propulsion is nothng new, it has been around for more than one hundred years. What has always held it back has been the battery technology. Batteries are heavy, expensive and the slow rate of charge has been a bit of deterent to the slow adoption by the recreational boat market. This morning I got to go out for a ride on a center console boat equipped with the 40hp Torqeedo motor. The battery is a single Lithium Ion item which in this case is situated under the center console seat and console. Weighing in at 328 pounds it is something of a beast but it is diguised well and frankly you would never know it is there. In fact much of the space that would be taken up with the gas tank on a regular boat is in fact used for the battery stowage. The outboard itself operates on a voltage of 345 volts which is high but this keeps the battery cables to the motor to a sensible size. Anyone who has a 12 volt bow thruster on their boat will know just how thick the cables have to be for even a modest thruster of 3 or 4 horse power. If you remember your high school physics then you will remember that as voltage increases resistance decreases and so this is one reason for the high operating voltage, potential power from the battery is made into tractive force rather than heat in the form of electrical resistance. So just how does the motor perform? The answer is very well. At first the quiet is unnerving. After turning on the key switch which is akin to an ignition switch on a regular gas engine nothing happens. All that you have done is energize the circuits and it is only as you push the 'throttle' control forward that electricity is sent to the motor and the boat starts to move forward. The lack of noise is uncanny and normal speech is possible even when driving the boat at 20 knots or so. Top speed as tested was around the 26 knot mark and even at that speed the only thing that you can hear is the whine of the reduction gear which on a gas engine is still present but masked by the motor. The brushless motor produces prodigious amounts of torgue and acelleration is swift. The down side to this installation is cost, the motor and battery as tested costs $35,000 which is significant. Although built to a high standards using the best German engineering there is no getting away from the cost, for the same money I can buy a Toyota Prius which has a hybrid power unit, batteries and all the other trimmings, and still have change left. If only Torqeedo can bring the price down of the motor and batteries they are onto a winner.

Sea Doo Spark

Quite frankly I never thought I would get out on the water today. Miami was far from sunny this morning and torrential rain looked like it would spoil my test of the Sea Doo Spark personal water craft. Fortunately the rain died away and this afternoon I was able to get out for a spin. Many readers will be familiar with See Doo, they have been around for good number of years now and manufacture a range or PWC from the Spark up to much larger and more expensive models. Sea Doo are part of the larger corporation that is BRP, manufacturers of Evinrude motors, one name that everyone will have heard of. The press outing was to introduce the Spark, which actually came out at the end of last year, to the press down here at the Miami show. With a starting price tag of a dollar under five grand I think that it represents a good deal for those who may be in the market for an entry level PWC. Although I am used to traveling at more sedate speeds I do have to say that I did have a lot of fun out on the water. It was windy and choppy but I touched close to 40 mph on several occasions and became airborne more than once. The Spark is powered by a three cylinder 900 cc four stroke Rotax engine that has ample power. The Spark was very responsive and more than once almost threw me off the back had it not been for a firm handhold on the bars. The hull and deck are constructed not from fiberglass but a material that Sea Doo call Polytec, no doubt faster and cheaper to produce than the FRP that otherwise dominates the market. The Polytec also contributes to the light 400 pounds weight which I am sure has a fair bit to do with the nippy performance. So would I buy one, well yes I think I might if I had the five thousand to spare. I never thought I would say that but the performance/value factor is hard to beat, in truth I still have a grin on my face! The shot above is of one of my fellow journalists which I took from the chase boat and the other is of the safety briefing before we were let loose to zoom around the bay.

Miami Boat Show

For the next five days the Miami boat show is taking place. I arrived yesterday and managed to have a swift look around before it officially opens today. One of the things that cauught my eye is 'Fred's Shed' a picture of which is above. Miami has always had a pretty healthy seminar program but these have tended to have been relegated to a back room somewhere and have not, in my opinion been promoted perhaps as much as they should have. So it is interesteing to see that this year that the organizers have given over a space in the main hall for the space that you see here. I will be interested to see how this works out but some of the topics that will be in the 'shed', an area made to look somewhat like a small workshop in clude diesel maintenance, fuel systems, outboard overhaul and so on; basically a more hands on approach where it appears engines and such like will actually be worked on in from of the participants. Great to see this sort of thing at a major show front and center and I do hope that it is a success for all concerned. I've run seminars such as this myself and they really are an eye opener with to my mind at least the Q and A section at the end th most useful part. This should work well for manufacturers of engines other similar equipment too who can learn a lot about how their customers feel about their products and thus gain valuable feed back for both marketing and engineering teams. More later.

Yacht charter

As I write this there is several inches of snow on the ground outside my window. If I can around this time of year I do like to get away for a warm part of the world for a charter if I have time and can afford it. I well remember my fist charter, not sure what to expect I was unsure if we would actually like it but we had a grand time and have been back again and again. Although I don't actually have a charter planned at the present time the winter is a the ideal time for us up in the north, the winters are long and if like me you ache to get back out on the water where it's not actually frozen then a charter could be a good bet.

I'd like to be back on that boat right now!

Getting the best from a charter vacation starts long before you step aboard the boat. It pays to do a little research before you hand over the deposit check. The web can be a godsend making it easier to research companies, prices and other pertinent information. The first thing is to consider is where you want to go; the Caribbean is probably the most popular charter destination for US citizens as it is fairly close and served by many airports with an abundance of flights. The Med is another popular destination but the long flight there and back can take the edge off the holiday and can be trying especially with young children. Depending on when you go your vacation one must consider the weather. Taking the Caribbean as an example you would probably want to avoid the hurricane season. Personally my favorite charter destination is the BVI's and I am not the only one as it is without doubt the world's busiest single bare boat charter destination; navigation is easy, the trade winds are predictable and the islands are close by each other with pristine beaches and crystal clear warm water that makes it ideal for swimming and snorkeling.

Wherever you go however you will want to consider the type of boat. Catamarans are probably best for nervous sailors and older folks or those unsteady on their feet. They don't heel over like a mono hull and offer prodigious amounts of room which makes them very social boats and great for large parties of friends or families. You can expect a charter cat to have a bathroom or head for every guest cabin. Mono hulls are great too but they do not have the room of a comparable cat of the same length and room below is likely to be more 'cozy'. When chartering first started to make inroads into boating holidays the boats were almost all sail but now companies like the Mooring offer a range of power catamarans which are as spacious as their sailing counterparts with the added advantage that you can cover more ground if time is limited.

If contemplating a bare boat charter where you captain the boat yourself just about every company will want to know your prior boating experience but if you are unsure if you are up to the task you could always opt for a crewed charter where the charter company provides a captain for you at an extra charge who will take you where you want to go. He or she will know the local area and may be able to show you local spots that others may not know about, he may also know the best places to eat ashore or where to see the most fish if you go snorkeling. Another option is to join a flotilla this is where a lead boat guides the fleet from port to port and is there should you have any questions or get into difficulties. A flotilla can be a good option for those with limited experience with the added benefit of getting together with others at the end of the day if you want to.

It is important to consider others in your party, after all not everyone may be as keen as you on being on the boat as the skipper. With this in mind you can opt for a stay at a resort such as the Bitter End Yacht Club that allows the sailor in the family to go out boating for the day while others lounge on the beach, visit the spa or 101 other shore side activities.

The cost of a charter varies with when and where you go, the size of the boat and obviously the length of the charter. One way to ease the burden is to charter a boat with friends to share the cost but don't forget that to the cost of the charter you will have to add in air fares to your destination. It is also worth considering cancellation insurance too which you can purchase from the charter company so if an unforeseen circumstance prevents you going at the last minute you will not be out of pocket to the tune of several thousand dollars. Another extra cost can be for additional items like paddle boards, kayaks or windsurfers. All boats in the Caribbean come with dinghies with outboards but I can tell you from experience that these are often an optional extra in the Mediterranean. Read the small print before you sign on the dotted line or click the mouse so you know exactly what you can expect when you arrive, but if there is a problem with the boat or it's equipment then speak up, don't wait till you get home as it will be too late in many cases for the charter company to do anything about it then. If you have never experienced a charter vacation then a I urge you to go, I can almost guarantee that you'll love it and wonder why you did not do it sooner.