Catamaran Statistics and Power Generation

The Catamaran Statistics table just got a lot longer. I have added 42 cats the list thanks to Cruising World Magazine. As a result several stats were updated along with the 42 new ones. Most of the prices appear to be about 2 years old on their data so I will be updating those over time as I come across new information. I also need to add links and fill in some blanks.

The latest edition of Cruising World has some very useful information regarding matching battery charging with power demand. They have listed the Amps of various appliances which will be useful in determining how many batteries, solar panels, wind generators or other. In the case of the Lagoon 420, the propellers will charge the batteries while sailing. As I get closer to my purchase this information and more may be important. I hope to have the information posted in the form of another table. Just depends on how ambitious I am.

My ultimate catamaran will be power hungry and my goal is to do have the modern conveniences of home (TV, computer, internet, microwave, navigation, radar, refrigerator, watermaker, etc. Not necessarily all at once) without having to run a generator. This will require a full complement of Solar, wind and other power generation sources. According to the Cruising World article most of your power is used while underway. The autopilot is ranked high on the list for Power consumption, so perhaps a windvane self steering system is an option.

I still have a lot to learn about the type of appliances and how they are normally powered. For example in an RV, the water heater, heater/furnace, fridge and stove all use propane. It would be nice if you didn't have to use propane, or cut back a little on it's use to make your boat more self sufficient. As I research new technologies I will be sure to update the blog.

Sailing Trip Planned and Fishing in the Ca Delta

I have been invited to help crew on a day trip on a 40 foot Cheoy Lee yawl. Yeah, I know, it is not a catamaran, but based on the complexity of the sail plan the experience will be rewarding. The captain also has 18 years of experience as a sailing instructor. All he asks is that I am enthusiastic, and can help crew and bring food for potluck lunch. Sounds like a plan. I am eagerly awaiting his sailing schedule in hopes that I will be able to join him.

I did some fishing this weekend on my SeaRay 180 Dual Console with my dad. It didn't start out well though. It was the 1st time in the water for my boat since last year. The batteries appeared to have a good charge the night before, but when I cranked her over she sounded week and failed to start even after using battery cables to connect both batteries. Although the motor would barely turn over my dad suspected a fuel problem. He has a Mercury 150 Optimax on his boat. Mine is a 130 Optimax, so he has experience. He also recalls that I have been plagued in the past with fuel delivery problems. There is a Squeeze bulb that SeaRay mounted horizontally so that if needed the fuel can be pumped to the engine. In some trips in the past I was forced to squeeze the bulb to prevent the engine from stalling. It was usually no big deal. My dad was advised by a mercury engine mechanic, that the bulb should be mounted vertically so the ball inside can do it's work. SeaRay should have known better. I had two batteries. One for the engine and one for the trolling motor. I ended up swapping batteries for a couple reasons. One is that it made it easier to remove the screws that held the Fuel line bulb horizontally, and the other is because I still suspected there were battery issues. Once the batteries were switched and the fuel line was prepositioned so that when squeezing the bulb, it could do it's job, the motor started up 1st time without issues and ran perfectly all day. Additionally both batteries worked perfectly all day, so it must have been a fuel issue.

I have learned some lessons. I need better tools on the boat. I should start the boat up at home after it has been sitting for so long to make sure all is well.

We were on our way after an hour delay. We fished the south delta for Stripers and did about as good as can be expected. It is a little early for peak Striper season, but I just had to get out. It was a little windy, but we survived. It was good practice for our upcoming trip to La Paz. We will be fly fishing, so I need all the practice I can get. I was looking like a rookie at 1^st, but by the end of the day I was much improved. Trouble is I have a weak back and fly fishing took a lot out of me. I hope I can survive 5 days in a row of fly fishing for big game in la paz. I will manage I am sure. :)

My dad got lucky and picked up an 8lb striper on a fly early during our trip. It was his biggest striper on a fly. I had one fish try to hit a topwater bomber. He made a few passes, but missed everytime. The water temp was only 56, so it is a bit cold still. I suspect I will have had better luck in the coming months as things warm up. I did pick up a 3 or 4lb bass trolling with a Yo-Zuri shallow diving rebel with a small grub trailer. We both caught several smaller Stripers and released all but the 8lber. We cooked the striper up tempura style with French fries and coleslaw. Mmmmmmm. Good stuff. Nothing beats fresh caught fish especially when you are the one that caught it.

We almost were run over by the biggest idiot on the water. We were trolling at 2.5 mph near the left side of the slue near the levy. To the right of us there was 150 yards of wide open space between us and the other side of the channel. I saw him in the distance moving fast towards us. I made sure he knew where I was going by turning closer towards the embankment signaling my intended path. Seconds later a fish grabbed on to my dads line on the left side of the boat. My dad had a fish on and picked up his rod and began to attempt to reel in. As we were both distracted by the fish hitting his line, we had no time to react as the idiot went flying by on our left side between us and the rocks. He was flying full speed on a 21 foot runabout with a full load of small kids and family members. I believe some of the spray from his boat hit us. He was that close. By the time I saw him all I could do is stand up with my arms outstretched as if to say what the F@ck are you doing? The driver was looking right at me as he passed by. I estimate he was moving 45 mph. He had to turn to his left as he passed to avoid hitting the rocks. As he did that he crossed behind us and sliced my dads line with the fish attached and in an instant the line from his real was gone as well as his $7.00 lure and fish that was attached to it.

I can only imagine how fearful the family must be and what they must be thinking. I know I wanted to rip his head off. My dad and I both yelled out and I expressed my opinion with my two middle fingers. I wanted to chase him down but my line was still in the water. At his speed it would have taken me a while to catch him. My 18 foot sea ray will go 48phm (Speed confirmed by GPS earlier that day) wide open which is pretty fast on the water. My dad and I are pretty easy going and a have calm personalities but we were both angry.

This was not the 1^st idiot I have seen on the delta. There are many. You have to watch out. Many have died, mostly alcohol related. This was definitely my closest call with death on the water. Part of me wished he would have hit the rocks; however I wouldn’t wish that on his poor family. I thought if I were paying attention I would throw something at him as he went by. I thought if I could catch him I could call in his Cf #’s. I also thought about jumping into his boat and taking him out along with his keys. I do hope that the line he now has wrapped around his prop will somehow do some damage, or at the very lease be an indication to him that he F’d up when he pulls the boat out of the water. To bad it wasn’t braided line instead of monofilament.

New Catamaran Video's Cruising World Magazine

Just took a look on Cruising worlds website and noticed they have some new videos on 2008 model catamarans. After watching the Seawind Video I can see I need to take a second look at the Seawind 1160 mainly for its innovative features and performance minded sail plan. According to my CatStats, the 1160 is in the mid range for performance, but perhaps there are other performance related factors that deserve consideration. The draft is deeper then I would prefer and I may need to stick with a dagger board cat. What I like is that the boat was designed more for owner rather then a charter boat.

I ran across the Cats By The Numbers spreadsheet on the Cruising world web site. According to this list updated on Jun 19, 2006, the price per lb is $25.26 This is average compared to the rest of the Cats that are listed. The information is old. Price per lb is most likely higher now on all Cats.

Sorry so short, but I have to hit the road. Going fishing tomorrow. I will add more to this soon.

CountryWide Sub Prime Mortgage Foreclosure

Although this may seem off topic, this is a step that needs to be completed in order to achieve my dream. I hope the information below will help others.

I emailed KCRA Call3 to see if they could assist me in working with CountryWide Home Loans so that I can avoid foreclosure on my property. I have an adjustable rate mortgage on a rental property that I had planned on selling a year ago. Trouble is I am upside down now due to the terrible housing market. KCRA was helpful and gave me the some information that is listed below, but before you follow their advice I may be able to provide some more up to date information. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate KCRA’s response, but the end result was to do something different.

After calling in and being disconnected 3 or 4 times and transferred, I was then asked to call a different # that then asked me to dial a different #. I was finally advised that I needed to speak with someone in the Hardship modification department. The # is 1-866-921-4765. I spoke with a gentleman named Donny who was helpful. He asked me a series of questions to update my file so that he could resubmit my request for a modification. I hope I didn’t screw myself though. The answers to the questions will show that we now make more money. I am not sure telling Donny we make more money now will actually help us. We will see what they come up with. Donny advised us to wait 2 weeks and then check in to see what the result is. So we will do that. I will update the blog when I receive new information.

We were denied twice in 2007 for a modification and were told that we make enough money and can afford afford the $3,700+ per month payment, along with our main house payment of just over 3000. They calculated that we should have 150.00 left over every month. Just makes you want to strangle someone. I was advised to stop making my payment to see if they will try to work with us. So I did that. It's been two months now without making the $3,700.00 payment.

This property is a rental property and is not saving us any money in taxes. Bottom line is the house is a loosing proposition. It doesn't make financial sense at this point to keep throwing money out the window. I have to do what is right for my family and our sanity. If our credit is ruined for 7 years, at least we will have money in the bank. We are now able to put 10% of our salaries into 401k. For the 1st time in 2.5 years our net worth is going up rather then down. We have a 30 year fixed in our main home now so we are paying down our mortgage. We will survive with a roof over our heads until our credit improves.

This is the information that KCRA gave us, but I believe this to be old info. KCRA also suggested if all else fails to call the California Association for Mortgage Brokers Help Line at (866) 999-5508. I have not done this yet.

KCRA where the news comes first.

"COUNTRYWIDE LOAN WORKOUT NUMBER"

• Countrywide has a special number consumers can call to connect with their loss mitigation department. 800-262-4218
• Callers must AFFIRMATIVELY demand to be connected to the "SPECIAL WORKOUT PROGRAM"
• They may be connected to other departments but must be persistent and insist on connection to the "Special Workout Program".

When you call the # above you will be asked to enter your Loan #. Then you will need to press 0 three or 4 times to finally speak with a representative. You will be asked to verify last 4 of your social and then you will be asked to enter your zip code. Once connected to a live person you will again be asked for the information you already provided above. Most likely you will end up speaking to someone in India that has an American name and a thick accent.

Here are a couple other #’s that I found out about however they were not what I needed.

Refinance 1-800-635-5215
Hope Department 1-888-219-7773 – They didn’t give me much hope here.

Strictly Sail Show, Money and Garmin BlueChart

I just purchased my tickets to the Strictly Sail boat show in Oakland. When you order online you get to choose one of 4 free magazine subscriptions. I am looking forward to seeing the Catamarans and hopefully taking advantage of the free sail. I will be spending a lot of time at all the vendors learning what I can. I plan to go during the week in hopes of avoiding some of the crowds.

My wife just received a hefty raise and a new position that will allow her to work from home. The fuel savings alone will be around 400 a month. Additionally our 11 year old will no longer need day care as she can come home after school now. With the raise, daycare and the fuel savings we will be that much closer to achieving our dreams. I should receive my raise in June or around there as I recall.

I received the new 2008 Garmin BlueChart Update CD yesterday in the mail. I am attempting to install it on a new laptop that I have so that I can transfer the charts to my Garmin handheld GPS. Slight problem; I only have an update cd. I can’t find the original install CD. I have the version 5 update, but that too is only an update CD. I do have my 25 digit unlock code, but no installation media. Moral of the story is, don’t throw away your old cd’s.

I will have to use my old laptop to update my Garmin, however this is only a temporary workaround. I need to fix this. I will be submitting a ticket with Garmin to see if they have any advice for me. I did try just copying files from the old laptop to the new, but that didn’t work. Must be some registry entries that I am missing. Why doesn’t Garmin include the install media on the update CD’s? Makes sense to me! Don’t get me wrong, I love Garmin products, but their installation media and unlock code scheme is for the birds. I have submitted an issue to Garmin see if they can help me out.

Very interesting trick and potentially a waste of money. Garmin sent me the 2008 BlueChart Update CD but after installing it, it says that I have to unlock it and that none of my units are eligible for an update. Turns out I have to buy the unlock code so I can use the new CD. They send out a Free CD, but then you find out later you can’t use it unless you pay for it. This seems like a way to trick people into buying the software. It just might work, but not for me. At least not now. They want 75.00 to unlock the 2008 BlueChart CD. I am more likely to upgrade my GPS unit before I will pay 75.00 to upgrade the charts.