Sailing Chloe - Episode 42: Crossing the Bay of Biscay

[@williamwright2183]

Enjoying the videos, you two are great together. And the still shots are halerous .

[@sailingchloe2330]

Thanks William. Kind words.. 'you make us happy!! : )

[@simontaylor4873]

Just came across your channel, great viewing and you certainly have the right boat for exploring!

[@steveeb9567]

Good stuff. "Happy thoughts, some people waited for the windy weather to start their boat projects, Dawn tacking in her sleep" Need more existential cat questions. Tapas time ! I once put diesel in a gasoline car in Spain, bellowing smoke for days...loads of fun!

[@JeanPhilippeVAY]

Can i give a advice for your next crossing Cascay North to South ? Start from Camaret (Fr), nice restaurants and pub ! Crossing « Raz de Sein » with the tide (strong currents and good speed) and go few degrees to East then south in order to avoid the cargos.

[@cbirkholtz]

Hi, a little late comment but I just catching up with your vids. Congratulations - your first major crossing. Great job BR Christian

[@migaguiar]

That halo around the sun usually comes associated with rain, or low pressure systems coming

[@NorthPoleTime]

Great video, thanks again!! One question, how is the blue wrap holding up against the docks and fenders?

[@elvisandcountrycovers3182]

Great music and video😁👌

[@Valden23]

@ 39:33 I think I see a big whale spouting, just to the right of the setting sun, just after Peter says, 'No'. Have a look.

[@fredericocamposdidone3844]

very good the video! I check all the videos from your youtube channel I am planning to do the exact same thing, buy a 45 garcia and travel the world! I am brazilian and amateur sailor I don't have much experience on long crossings but I am learning some tips Nice to meet you

[@sailingchloe2330]

Very cool plan. Tell us if you have any GE45 questions you want answered - perhaps we can help?

[@fredericocamposdidone3844]

do you have Instagram ? Can we talk directly there? search for @fredericocamposdidone Tks

[@sailingchloe2330]

@@fredericocamposdidone3844 Sorry.. no instagram.. but you can connect via our other web site.. evhotels.org if you wanna?

[@music-man]

Thats funny Peter DALEK exterminate. Grew up as a kid watching Dr who In London , maybe ill call my Garcia Yacht Tardis! hahahah. Greetings from Southern California

[@ABeriault]

Hello Chloe! I am a recent subscriber to your channel and very much like your project. You have a great aluminium low draft boat, which places you in the same league as DELOS and SSL....! You footage is pretty good and you captured great images of you boat on launch day! I dont know if you plan to draw us along around the world...if yes...Bravo! A few suggestion from a regular sail channel watcher: a) reduce the talking heads and add much more B-Roll as the head talks b) add a deadcat wind reducer on your exterior mikes or replace text with voice overs added at edit Hopefully one day you will add drone and underwater footage which are a must on any sail channel! If you plan on doing any DIY...you really need to follow SAIL LIFE. See my video editing pages for a few hints that may help, especially your sound levels. Keep up the lovely work and be covid safe Cheers aberiault.myportfolio.com/the-techy-vlogger

[@Valden23]

Hi Dawn, Peter. @ 2:41 , is that an iPad you've got clamped to the stb grab rail? Wifi relay from your B&G? Or did you go Raymarine? (I saw B&G - thanks). Chloe is looking great and you're looking like you're having fun, and with confidence (this far into the video at least! At lot can happen in the remaining 46 minutes. We shall see.) :-)

[@sailingchloe2330]

Hi! yes we're all B&G. And an iPad Pro - wifi linked to the B&G. The 'Arkon' clamp that holds it to the gab rail was from amazon.com. We also added power to that spot as iPads running navionics, are hungry. And a Lifeproof case to keep the weather out. We really only use the ipad for docking, running navionics. And then leave it under the dodger for the rest of the time. So we run with iPad and two B&G chart plotters: One under the dodger and one inside at the nav table. Thanks for kind comments.. : >

[@Valden23]

@@sailingchloe2330 I keep looking at your solar setup. Knowing Garcia, it looks like you influenced that install. How many watts? I'm guessing 660?

[@chrisboulet7024]

Do you ever use Sail Steer on your B&G plotter? If so, how do you like it?

[@ЖораКравченко-и4н]

Спасибо за ваше видео из за болезни плохо хожу,путишествую вместе с вами !

[@wannabe1259]

The boat seems surprisingly manoeuvrable in marinas given the dual rudder/prop configuration. Or is it just superior crew skill?

[@sailingchloe2330]

Yes. not bad at all. I think the main reasoner the good low speed handling is that the centerboard when down is a very large deep vertical fin. Even when 1/2 up it has a lot of surface area at one central pivot point location. A nice pivot point is key to steering. So none of the stubborn effects of full keel boats, that simply do not turn in reverse. Plus the 2x rudders are a very large combined area - so that helps. But yes, no prop wash - and the prop walk is not so useful as we have a Gori folding prop.

[@wannabe1259]

Sailing Chloe Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You’ve obviously given this a bit of thought.

[@Valden23]

Hello again Dawn and Peter. Lots of Q's from me today. :-) @ 38:14 while you're motoring at your usual engine revs setting from the sound of it, can you recall what those revs were? I'm keen to get a feel for noise levels at different engine speeds. I've heard the engine from inside at the saloon table, just idling at 1400 revs; it was well muted and sounded surprisingly distant. The insulated floor panels were helping damp the sound. Overall, were you bothered by the sound in any way? Any impact on sleeping? Probs not. :-)

[@sailingchloe2330]

Yes. Engine is under the floor with 2" wood and 1" sound insulation. It has not been annoyingly noisy and has not really been a bother at all. I would say it's very quiet. When motoring at 5knots on calm seas we run at about 1400~1800knots. And it's very comfortable. Sleeping not a problem. And, from outside you can hardly hear it. Also - Importantly.. diesel fumes are not an issue. I have been on several boats where the exhaust gas somehow whips into the cockpit.... not an issue with Chloe. About 1.5l/hr on the D2-75F turbo penta. We run engine up to 2300rpm after each 2 hours to maintain the turbo. Then you can hear it... but only for the 5 mins that we run it like that... Overall I would say that it's well designed from this stand point.

[@sailingchloe2330]

I replied via email on the height question... but it bounced back. Did you get it?

[@Valden23]

@@sailingchloe2330 Yes - got that height info. Thanks. At first I thought, 'Dawn has typod 6'2.5" instead of 5'2.5" '. But then I got it. Great replies all 'round. Thanks very much. :-)

[@Valden23]

Hi Peter, Dawn. I don't think you saw this Q, tucked away in the comments, so I'll post it as a new one. Thanks. 'I keep looking at your solar setup. Knowing Garcia, it looks like you influenced that install. How many watts? I'm guessing 660?' I'll add to this - you have forward leaning support braces from the arch to the underside of your solar panel bracket, which look like they were done at the yard. Custom, or just part of the solar option you chose? I've not seen those before. Thanks.

[@sailingchloe2330]

Sorry... here's a link to our energy systems. www.sailingchloe.com/single-post/2018/10/01/Chloes-Electrical-Energy-Systems. It's 1.08Kwatts in total. (3x 360W) We sourced the panels from CA ourselves and drove them in the car to Garcia. They're specifically SunPower panels as these avoid any top level metal that can block ~11% the sun - and thus provide most power per unit area. (For silicon PV's) Each on an individual MPPT. The brackets and frame were made as custom by GY. Welded onto the arch and all very solid. We told them the exact size of our panels. Having used it for some months - I can highly recommend this config. We just don't need shore power... 4 solid rainy days and the batteries held up just fine. Worst case for the batts is 70%. The web article above indicates our thinking...

[@Valden23]

Sailing Chloe Thanks for this info and link. Great information on those pages. Much appreciated. I’ll be watching for performance reports, but it looks like a straightforward success. Well done! 🙂

[@Valden23]

Sailing Chloe Hi Dawn, Peter - can you think of any reason why it would not be possible to install your PV panels setup, but with the standard batteries instead of lithium, simply to contain costs? Lithium batteries and necessary peripherals not already installed would be retrofitted in a few years, probably at reduced pricing, given trends. It goes without saying that putting the lithiums in from the get-go would provide much better performance and utility. Do you know the cost increment for Chloe’s PV/lithium battery setup?

[@sailingchloe2330]

@@Valden23 Hi There... sorry I can't get into prices in public forum out of respect to Garcia, but the cost of ownership of LiPO versus AGM is not as different as you might think. When you consider the end goal......long term cost and replacement costs. Two factors: (i) the numbest of cycles you get out of LiPO is about 7~10x that of AGM and (ii) the available draw down, per cycle is also 2x better. So they last a lot longer and hold more per amp.hr of capacity. To lower costs it would probably be better to reduce the size of a LiPO bank from 900Amp.hrs to 600Amp.hours, say. Less batteries if you go to sunny places.... It's all a matter of avoiding engine time (cost) too. The main theme is however.. "if" you install a small battery bank.. expect to replace it often as it will be discharged often and discharged down to a degrading level often, too. Further still. the RATE of discharge determines the life of the battery. In the case of AGM's. Lithium batteries too, but the number are so high you don't really care. From an analogous, electrical stand point I think of Lithim batteries as being able to be kicked around in the parking lot and booted of a cliff... compared with AGM"s that have to be carted around in a golden carriage full of cotton wool. Thus, there is exponential value in making banks large. Within reason... But, add to that equation the BMS cost that LiPO needs, versus AGM. The sizes are about the same but the capacity is double. And the weight different is perhaps 2x also. I never really considered AGM's because of these reasons.. these days they really are a thing of the past. Also to reduce the price you could probably find a cheaper brand... We liked the victron LiPO's as they have bluetooth built in to monitor them and a well trusted brand with solid internal BMS components.. . also, we dropped the windmill to save cost and improve reliability & noise and improve shading. We also considered sticking in a Tesla power wall as Tesla batteries are cheaper on account of their HUGE factory in NV. But these are NiMnCo Cathodes, holding more energy per Kg, and perhaps less fire proof than the lower energy density FePO's. Plus, when I asked, Tesla would not sell me one for 'marina apps' ... "YET" . For the future though, this would be an option to investigate... The other option is to 'wait and save' .. 'Moores law for batteries is about 8% per year'. - depending mainly upon Mankind's 'Giga factory' Capex initiatives...... not sure if that helps...?

[@Valden23]

@@sailingchloe2330 Hi Dawn, Peter. Yes, this definitely helps. Great explanation. Food for thought. Thank you.

[@Valden23]

@ 46:55 Hi Dawn. My wife and I are trying to work out if she would be able to see well over the sprayhood. It's a bit iffy. You've got a decent view, while standing in the cockpit. May I ask your height please? Did you have high heeled sailing boots on at this point, or just normal? Thanks. :-)

[@sailingchloe2330]

I'm 6'2.5" and need to bend my head down when I enter the dodger. I eventually learned to do this after 20x painful experiences.. Dawn has plenty of head room in the dodger. She's 5'5". When Dawn is standing in the cockpit at the helm she can see 'partially'. Decent enough when sailing. And, to get good docking visibility she stands rifle up on the seat. She says if she was 5'8" she'd see perfectly.... but she says she has no issue at 5'5". Dawn has doooobeerry sailing boots. About a 1" heel?

[@sailingchloe2330]

Dawn is 5'5" with doooberrry sailing boots. She has reasonable partial view and stands on the seat to get full docking view. She's happy with vis. from the cockpit. Small windows in the dodger are essentially useless. She can see over though...

[@Valden23]

@@sailingchloe2330 Right'o. Thanks for this handy info. My wife will need to stand on the seat too. No probs. It's questionable whether she'll be able to see forward over the dodger while standing up next to it, but, she won't be banging her noggin' as much as you Peter!

[@sailingchloe2330]

@@Valden23 yes. I bang my head regularly... sometimes from the dodger.. some times from the back of Dawn's hand. I'll take a pic of Dawn/headheight in the dodger for future vid.

[@spartagirlful]

Let me know if you'd like a volunteer crew to help with watches and cooking. Seriously looking to do something while I'm young enough.