BradW

Another consideration for an electric motor vs. one burning dino juice is that if you have ever wrestled with an outboard that won't start or quits for no obvious reason when you really don't want it to quit, then a motor which just turns on and runs so long as it has the energy source is an attractive thing. I can't count the number of times I've watched boaters at a launching dock curse, grind, tug, tweak and pray to get the kicker going. Especially the first trip of the season. yeah, if you do all the right maintenance, storage, and commissioning, you won't have as many fubar situations but how many of us are that diligent? On my big boat, as long as I had an active season, sailing and cruising every week or so, the diesel never pooped out. Let it sit for a couple months and ignore it, and all kinds of things happened. An electric motor can still crap out, but the number of user actions needed to keep a well made e-motor like the Torqeedo from failing unduly is pretty small. That's also why I'd likely opt for a full system rather than getting components and putting them together.

Another thought is that the camping tent will present quite a bit more wind resistance than the bare boat, so I'd try to make sure its well tied down and if any parts tend to flap, try to remedy that before leaving it. To save both the tent and avoid boat damage while tied up. One good thunderstorm w/ wind could do damage you might not anticipate. And if the sails are staying on the spars, plenty of sail ties and/or covers so they don't get away. I've seen too many roller furled headsails that the owners didn't properly secure get the wind into the furl and then undo it and blow it to shreds. Last, if you have a battery w/ charging capability, I'd put a small auto bilge pump in it to avoid collecting rain that makes it past the tent.

Waterlines have been a discussion several times on here. You can search the forum for them. One where Alan and Graham contributed their wisdom is: https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/11736-how-best-to-apply-the-perfect-waterline/?do=findComment&comment=107290 In addition, if you are putting on bottom paint and will be cruising the boat, likely it'll be sitting around with a bit more payload aboard than normal, so I'd consider running the bottom paint an extra inch or so higher than DWL so it doesn't develop a line of grunge on the topside paint while sitting. My big keelboat had that stain line just at the boot stripe, so I had it raised up when the yard repainted it.

Hmm, well, Torqeedo's Deep Blue 25 outboard is about 305 lbs vs. a Yamaha 40 hp 4 stroke at 215 hp, so the motor is a bit heavier. Not a surprise. I've been working w/ high speed aerospace brushless PMAC motors in the same power range for a while, and they are pretty dense, if compact. There's quite a bit of copper and magnet mass there. It looks like Torqeedo is configuring full systems using a BMW i3 battery pack (at 360V it's not a DIY install) weighing a bit over 600 lbs. That's equivalent to 97 gallons of gasoline (not counting the tanks, etc.) in weight, but not in total energy. Figure tanks, etc for gas would be 100 lbs so that'd be 79 gallons of gas. I do like that they are going to an existing, production battery system so fewer surprises and probably more reliable price structure. And the system is targeted at planing boats as well as displacement.

Wow, big water and little boat. I've seen what those currents can do, so you are right to be cautious. Do you have the ability to move your boat over to City Island? I've never been there, but I know it's much more congenial to learning small craft. And there's at least 2 sailing schools and clubs there.

Graham, Depending on your actual schedule, May 25 at 2 PM is the rehearsal day for the Blue Angels over the Severn and Annapolis Harbor. They will do their show on May 26 for the Naval Academy graduation ceremonies. A great show, but the water will be covered in boats. If you want to stop close to Annapolis but not deal with the crowds, the Magothy River has a lot to recommend it, and I can connect you w/ folks there. Sadly, I'm stuck in CT, but I sailed a lot of the Magothy Wednesday night races on friends' boats and a word in the right ear would have you on the starting line. My big boat was kept up Mill Creek, south of the bridge and closer to Annapolis, and it has nice protected anchorage and a killer creekside crab house. I have a ton of good stops for you from Baltimore down to the Mobjack Bay, but as a starter, this month's Spinsheet magazine has a good article on the largest of the Eastern Shore rivers, the Choptank River. You can read Spinsheet online at spinsheet.com. Coming south past Baltimore, be aware of several shoals and bumps just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. While none of them are shallow enough to fret Carlita's draft, the cross chop that can build up on them is wicked, and if a big ship is heading out of the Patapsco River, its wake can build up on those shoals and really surprise one. Further south, Solomons, MD on the Patuxent River has a wonderful harbor, excellent marinas, restaurants and good anchorage. Jutland Creek, off of the Potomac, just inside Pt. Lookout, is a good anchorage and marinas are right there too. It sheltered me for a 2 day blow when I just had enough of beating myself up on a passage south.

Those are some amazing waterways behind the barrier islands. When I was young, we went fishing out of Wachapreague and I have good memories of the old Wachapreague Hotel that sadly burned in 1978. I take it you are then planning on taking the Lewes-Rehobeth Canal behind Cape Henlopen? That still leaves a pretty good passage up Delaware Bay to the C&D which could be interesting given the rep of Delaware Bay but the Chesapeake is what I know and my home ground and something for everybody. I never did the keelboat version of the Delmarva loop when I had my big boat, and regret that. There may be another keelboat in my future and if so, it's on my list. You have connections on the Bay but if you need more, I'm sure myself and others can find them. Enjoy!

Yoga mats! The thing about working in the guts of a boat with real compartments and bilges is you need yoga to limber up before crawling in there and yoga after you get done to get the kinks out. that is a beautiful build. Envious...of the boat, not the backaches!

Having only met Graham once, in St. Michaels, and staring very long at Carlita, I realized that there's a man who's REALLY serious about his performance. ? And then getting some history from him in the sessions at MASCF you find out why! His explanation above of the control lines is dead on what someone who's worked mainsail and helm on serious racing keelboats learns, if they pay attention over time. Getting the right shape on the main for the conditions, the boat, and point of sail is something I'm still puzzling at after 20 years of my own keelboat and crewing on friends' boats. It's also the source of a fair bit of shouting at times on the race course, so working it out on your own w/ Graham's tips with less noise can be a good thing, or at least more peaceful!