The Shift to Power

I still want to hang on the anchor, cook up a nice dinner, maybe strum a tune as the sun lowers and watch the tide walk up the rocks to nourish the mussels.

Article by John Hughes

I’ve been reading with interest the articles about older sailors shifting to motorized vessels.  As a long time Salish Sea solo trailersailor, I still want to hang on the anchor, cook up a nice dinner, maybe strum a tune as the sun lowers and watch the tide walk up the rocks to nourish the mussels. I’ve been engaged in this shift to power for some time now and hope my experience might be of some value to others.   

Misty was my first attempt and, aside from a very small bunk (even for one), she was a fine boat.  Salty for sure, her diesel pushed her along very economically at six to seven knots, her wheelhouse kept me warm and dry and her large cockpit enabled invitations to share a beer at the end of the day.  Fairly heavy, she was still trailerable on her tandem axle trailer with a mid-sized truck and, if it was only for solo cruising, this might have been the one. Sadly the Ranger 21EC has been discontinued but there are still a lot of them out there.

MISTY

I’ve harbored a longtime ambition to do the whole Inside Passage so, after a brief reprieve to fix up and cruise yet another Com-Pac SunCat, I tried again to make the transition. Banjo, a Sam Devlin 20 footer seemed to be just the thing—pretty new and in great shape she offered a covered helm station, a large cockpit (with drop sides to keep most of the weather at bay), and twin bunks for greater flexibility in case of crew. Even with her 90 hp outboard she would cruise quite nicely at just 6 knots (although difficult because when conditions were proper she’d cruise even nicer up on a plane at 18 knots… or even push 30 if in a hurry). I made some modifications to facilitate a longer solo voyage than was her intended purpose (a table in place of the Navigator’s chair, some shelving here and there, lots of hooks,  a teak and leather rod holder, and a trawler inspired foredeck rail to keep me on board in a swell). Two years ago, loaded to the gills, I struck out for Alaska—but a mechanical starter issue forced a return to Campbell River (from just shy of the Broughtons) and then ten days of unrelenting storms (it was the coldest, wettest and windiest May in BC history) kept me pegged to the top of Georgia Strait. Losing my time window to make the full trip I eventually worked my way back down Vancouver Island to meet up with and cruise the Gulf’s and San Juan’s with my trailersailor buds.