Call_me_Ishmael said:
I once ran out of propane to run our stove and make coffee on day two of a 5 day offshore passage, about 80 miles from any land. Facing immediate crew mutiny, we made all sail for the nearest port of call. Continuing without coffee was deemed to be complete madness.

After that, redundant coffee making systems were installed (inverter, small electric coffee maker) for similar emergencies. Competent cruising captains know that all essential systems need at least one redundant backup. Coffee is absolutely essential. Beer too, running out that would be a flogging offense on my ship.

maytrix said:


Because on a cat, there's no heeling, so you need to reef to reduce the load - too much load and you can break something. It can be a problem on a mono as well, but you get more warning.

Call_me_Ishmael said:
I once ran out of propane to run our stove and make coffee on day two of a 5 day offshore passage

StormJib said:
All normal operating issues for boats. All those issues are compounded by the BVI charter environment. The BVI boats and electronics are exposed to salt and heat 24/7/365 in some cases for years with limited fresh water to clear the salts daily. Many of the boats are used far more than any were ever designed to be used. Some boats are designed, built, and outfitted more to be sold to the inexperienced budget buyers at the boat shows. Not all boats in the charter boats are created equal not even close. Same with the operators. Age of the weak boats and weakly outfitted boats will make a big difference. Even when everything is done well. Small critters even a single squid can stop the AC cooling pumps in their tracks. In your case previous salt water intrusion corroding inferior wiring terminals could have caused all of this along with many more options. None of those issues have anything to do with the core equipment of standing rigging, sails, or steering. Reality those are all normal nuisance issues on many boats. Understanding the fresh water system and some basic troubleshooting ability are good life skills to have. If you are going to rent a boat with AC. Make sure you understand where the cooling pump water is supposed to exit and understand how to clear those lines yourself when it does not. Never be in a rush to get away from the dock, always run all those systems yourself at the dock before you leave, never be in a rush to get away from the dock. In this case none of these issues have anything to do with the vessel itself. All these issues are bolt on nice to have features that are not a part of the design or vessel engineering. The better operators and better boats have redundant fresh water pumps.

CaptainJay said:


Despite some of the noise in this thread there is a lot of good information. The paragraph or so above is some of the best advice I have seen here in a while.

You have invested thousands of dollars in your vacation. The time to travel here and get to the boat. Investing a few hours at the dock getting to know your home for the next week to ten days can be invaluable to the quality of your trip. Know where the equipment is and have at least a fundamental knowledge of how that equipment works or if it works. Most of the issues in this thread while typical by themselves on a five year old charter boat could likely have been handled by the companies staff prior to departure if the time where allowed to do that.

Yes in a perfect world you would show up to a Bristol boat everything working perfect and sail on in perfect harmony. A lot of us in the industry try to to preform to that level but even the good companies have a bad charter from time to time.


As a company we (CYOA) have always believed in a thorough briefing and check out sail with each client tailored to the boat that the client is on. Knowing how to clear a sea water strainer or change an impeller are fairly important skills for every charter guest. No we don't expect the guests to be full blown marine technicians and all of the companies have systems set up to handle chase calls when necessary but sometimes a little self help goes a long way.

StormJib said:


There are many threads and posts on how long you must budget to get through SJU or the STT and Ferry Dances. Not much on the modern checkout. In the days when the boats just had two sails, a standard engine, and not much more many could really skip the checkout without issue. The boats have changed and can be very different. The difference can be as simple as a hidden breaker for the windlass. Now the real question. How much time does a proper briefing/knowledge transfer take or add for a genset, multi AC, watermaker, inverter, solar......

Call_me_Ishmael said:
I once ran out of propane to run our stove and make coffee on day two of a 5 day offshore passage, about 80 miles from any land. Facing immediate crew mutiny, we made all sail for the nearest port of call. Continuing without coffee was deemed to be complete madness.

Was the grill propane? We have had that same inexcusable problem as well. I fired up the grill and put the pot over the coals. Just like a camping trip. That's the thing about sailors - we can just about MacGyver anything!

CaptainJay said:

You have invested thousands of dollars in your vacation. The time to travel here and get to the boat. Investing a few hours at the dock getting to know your home for the next week to ten days can be invaluable to the quality of your trip. Know where the equipment is and have at least a fundamental knowledge of how that equipment works or if it works. Most of the issues in this thread while typical by themselves on a five year old charter boat could likely have been handled by the companies staff prior to departure if the time where allowed to do that.

Yes in a perfect world you would show up to a Bristol boat everything working perfect and sail on in perfect harmony. A lot of us in the industry try to to preform to that level but even the good companies have a bad charter from time to time.


As a company we (CYOA) have always believed in a thorough briefing and check out sail with each client tailored to the boat that the client is on. Knowing how to clear a sea water strainer or change an impeller are fairly important skills for every charter guest. No we don't expect the guests to be full blown marine technicians and all of the companies have systems set up to handle chase calls when necessary but sometimes a little self help goes a long way.

StormJib said:


For most of us a wind gauge is like training wheels on a bike. If you have learned to sail without one you do not need one. If you continue to rely on the "training wheels" that come with a chart plotter, GPS, and wind instruments it is just a matter of time before the crew gets themselves in trouble. Modern history repeats itself over and over here. You certainly do not need any of those things to move around the BVI and if you think(or know) you do you are putting yourself, the boat, and the people with you in the wrong place. Just like going too fast on a bike with training wheels you will crash. It is just a matter of time. When The Moorings opened shop the boats came with none of those toys. The original Moorings Pearson 35's chartered for $500 a week after they were sailed to the BVI on their own bottoms from New Orleans and Houston. Depth sounders were added to charter boats +/- 1975.

GoneSailing said:


Oh come on storm Jib..... really? A wind instrument is like training wheels? Seriously, you want to make people feel like they just aren't "salty" enough if they use some technology? Wind instruments can help in many many ways. It can help someone who isn't on the water all the time like you are. It can help other newbies learn some basics of sailing. It can help promote safe enjoyable experiences on the water and that is what this is supposed to be about. If you want to take off and say the he** with anything other than you and Moby dick then go for. Just don't verbally push people around when they see the world differently.

GoneSailing said:


Oh come on storm Jib..... really? A wind instrument is like training wheels? Seriously, you want to make people feel like they just aren't "salty" enough if they use some technology? Wind instruments can help in many many ways. It can help someone who isn't on the water all the time like you are. It can help other newbies learn some basics of sailing. It can help promote safe enjoyable experiences on the water and that is what this is supposed to be about. If you want to take off and say the he** with anything other than you and Moby dick then go for. Just don't verbally push people around when they see the world differently.

CaptainJay said:


Despite some of the noise in this thread there is a lot of good information. The paragraph or so above is some of the best advice I have seen here in a while.

You have invested thousands of dollars in your vacation. The time to travel here and get to the boat. Investing a few hours at the dock getting to know your home for the next week to ten days can be invaluable to the quality of your trip. Know where the equipment is and have at least a fundamental knowledge of how that equipment works or if it works. Most of the issues in this thread while typical by themselves on a five year old charter boat could likely have been handled by the companies staff prior to departure if the time where allowed to do that.

Yes in a perfect world you would show up to a Bristol boat everything working perfect and sail on in perfect harmony. A lot of us in the industry try to to preform to that level but even the good companies have a bad charter from time to time.


As a company we (CYOA) have always believed in a thorough briefing and check out sail with each client tailored to the boat that the client is on. Knowing how to clear a sea water strainer or change an impeller are fairly important skills for every charter guest. No we don't expect the guests to be full blown marine technicians and all of the companies have systems set up to handle chase calls when necessary but sometimes a little self help goes a long way.

capndar said:
I am with BaardJ - I like having the spares aboard CYOA or Island yachts boats! I can fix the minor stuff...