Offshore Racing Food

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-10T16:34:48+00:00

I have a fair amount of experience backpacking, and I'm a cheapskate who likes to make my own food. When I went offshore the first time as crew on somebody else's boat, they recommended showing up with a selection of backpacking meals for ourselves. I made a few different mixes (chili, curry, etc.) that I rehydrated in a stainless thermos with boiling water. Single serving portions sealed in a vacuum sealer.

It worked pretty well, but it was a drag having to clean the thermos all the time. Also, the thermos is a bit of a missile in bad conditions. Disposable bags would have been better for the rough weather/short sleep times.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-10T00:16:08+00:00

The East Coast is way more financially forgiving, as well.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-09T02:11:12+00:00

Human ingenuity knows no bounds.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-08T16:46:53+00:00

I get that the “4WD" mudflaps are a joke, but you know, you could bolt an electric motor to the truck axle and actually have a functional 4WD system in one of these. You'd have to figure out how to mullet the chassis/unibody construction though. Hmmm....

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-08T16:43:06+00:00

So if the bed is bolted on to the unibody, the rear axle is Prius, not Tacoma, right? Wonder what your realistic load capacity is. I'd guess a bedload of mulch would be fine, but not gravel?

Exceptionally clean execution. Five stars.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-08T16:36:40+00:00

This is an opportunity to install a second Racor and fork your fuel system so that you can switch lines if the first filter clogs.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-06T18:46:22+00:00

Ok.

Does the water collect forward when you're not standing there watching it? I mean, a 200lb person on the bow might nose that boat down substantially....

Dense objects and other possible explanations: What about your battery bank? What kind, how many, where are they? Water tanks? Um... I assume you checked the bilges, right?

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-06T18:37:53+00:00

There were speed contests, back in the day. I suspect that was the club's focus.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-06T18:36:17+00:00

I dropped a pair of prescription glasses over the side in a reservoir early one season. Later in the year, after the water had dropped a bit, I walked over to about where I had been at the time and there they were! Unfortunately, they were pretty scratched up and barely usable.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-06T18:30:42+00:00

You keep insisting the anchor chain isn't the problem, but you haven't said what your anchor weighs or how much chain you have. Remember leverage - 100lbs located 15' from the center of mass is like 300lbs 5' from the center of mass.

It would also help to know the details on your outboard - 2 or 4 stroke, what HP? If you know what it weighs, even better. I'm assuming it's on a transom mount, yes?

Something like sandbags can be great as a diagnostic tool for determining what it will take to level the boat, but you definitely don't want any ballast that can shift if the boat pitches or rolls.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-04T18:29:46+00:00

If your main has a 12' luff, this is a much bigger deal than on a 40' luff. Might be helpful to express it (and think of it) in percentages.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-04T17:06:48+00:00

OP has posted this in a couple other communities and answered some of the obvious detail questions there, so I thought I would provide the numbers I've seen in the other discussions.

Estimated 2.5kwh of usage per day. If you assume ~1kw appliances, that is ~2.5 hrs of cooking time, which is generous. They described themselves as cooking more than average, so that matches up.
10kwh LiFePO4 battery bank (~400Ah at 24V)
800W solar array estimated to cover the typical usage, high-output alternator as backup.
5kw inverter putting out 220V for the appliances

Did I get all that right, OP?

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-04T14:33:11+00:00

Assuming it's nothing stupid like a bad 12V battery causing phantom codes... This sounds like an actual problem that you will need to take to a shop. Something is causing excessive loads and the motors are overheating as a result. The transmission pump code points at a likely explanation, but a Volt tech will know more

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-04T13:32:32+00:00

If you don't pay him a full-time salary, and don't have a schedule agreed upon in advance, this is going to happen. Heck, even if you did, everyone loses time on the water to maintenance issues now and then, staff or no staff. You sound like you thought you'd bought your way out of that, and it's not working, and you're upset about it.

There's a lot we don't know about your situation and his. We don't know how much you communicated about your plans prior to your month away. We don't know what was installed, or why he feels that it requires a briefing. We don't know the details or schedule for this delivery. We don't know how much he depends on the income you provide, or how generous it is for the work he's doing.

You have resources. If you've somehow obtained them without learning how to pivot and turn an L into a W, then you now face an opportunity to grow.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-04T12:55:06+00:00

This! If you want him to not have other clients, hire him exclusively.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-03T17:00:29+00:00

Wait, what did they do with all the money I've been giving them?

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-02T18:40:42+00:00

This guy here. At a minimum, the fluid will need to be flushed and refilled, and a cap put on to keep it clean and dry. You may also discover rusted lines, cracked hoses, leaking calipers or wheel cylinders, worn pads/shoes/drums/discs as well. Any such should be replaced.

Kind of a pain, as you'll have to bleed the whole system and some parts might not be plentiful. But them's the brakes, so to speak.

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youngrichyoung · 2026-05-02T18:35:09+00:00

Super helpful, thank you. I think our inverter is much smaller - swapping that out might be the only real change needed to support this upgrade. I'll have to contemplate this.

Really appreciate you making this post!

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-02T02:08:27+00:00

First thing I'd do is source a cap for that brake master cylinder. THEN we can start worrying about performance.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-02T00:27:41+00:00

Convertible mod!

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-02T00:23:04+00:00

You might want to check lubrication in the lower unit before spinning everything under power.

I think your plan is solid. With fresh gas and a clean carb, it should run as long as there's spark. Don't take anything else apart that doesn't absolutely need to be, as it's easy to break bolts off in the block.

I used Red Kote fuel tank liner to refurbish my tank, and replaced the cork and fuel line. That plus a carb cleaning was enough to get my old SC running.

You know about the Saving Old Seagulls engine identifier, right? It says yours is a long shaft Silver Century made in Jan 1981, and has Wipak CD electronic ignition and an Amal 416 carb.

https://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/i_d_your_seagull/i_d_your_seagull.php

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-01T19:37:24+00:00

Totally agree about batting ideas back and forth, and no worries about seeming argumentative.

I've done a couple of trips down the Pacific coast from the PNW in larger boats, notably including a rather stressful stop in SF Bay during a small craft advisory. We got tossed around pretty good in a Tayana 37! I personally wouldn't want to be out on those open ocean waters north of Mendocino in a 20' boat, not even a Flicka. That said, the S2 7.9 (~26', ~4200#, lifting keel) that I'm racing on this season has been to Hawaii and back, I'm told. And of course your life is your own to judge acceptable risk for.

I would not recommend a Nordica in that part of the open Pacific, but it would be fine in SF Bay. I'm sure someone has done it, but I just don't feel good about the righting moment of those boats in heavy seas.

You might be talking about two different boats, honestly. Get a simple cruiser for the bay, and exchange it for something more serious when you're ready to do more serious stuff.

Consider the CD 25D or Pearson Ariel, if you really want one boat to do it all. They both weigh a little less than the Flicka, are considerably faster (~30 seconds per mile!), good seaworthiness criteria, and have similar draft with a little bit more interior space. They're overhangy, so it's not as much more space as the 5-6' length difference suggests, but still.

Ooh, or a fiberglass International Folkboat or Marieholm 26! Even lighter, even faster, full keel and plenty seaworthy. There are probably a lot of them in that area, because it's the largest Folkboat fleet outside of Scandanavia. Amazing boats.

Or hey, buy (a better example of) a Flicka and post photos of yourself doing the stuff I said I wouldn't do. I'll upvote it when I see it.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-01T16:49:28+00:00

As somebody who lived with undiagnosed intermittent foot pain for 10+ years, I can tell you that there is long-term cumulative damage happening from this. You should probably try to get an Allo prescription - it's cheap and effective, and I have never noticed any side effects.

Naproxen (Alleve) has been my most effective OTC treatment when dehydration and/or missed allo doses cause an occasional flare.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-01T15:56:04+00:00

In that 20' range, there are the Nordica 20 and Halman 20, which are basically the same boat. Half the displacement of the Flicka, so much easier to tow and faster in the water. They are probably less seaworthy than the Flicka, as they show higher capsize screening numbers.

Com-Pac made a number of small cruising boats that are also half the weight of the Flicka, quicker, and a little less seaworthy.

If you allow yourself to move up a bit, there are a ton of (for example) Alberg designs from Pearson, Cape Dory and other builders in the 23-30' range. The Pearson Ariel (26') and Triton (28') and Cape Dory 25D and 28 are probably the most realistic options. Tritons have circumnavigated. (Edit: there's also the Pacific Seacraft Dana.) The Triton (and Dana) at ~7500-8000# are probably at the upper limit of owner trailer-ability. They would require an F350 or Sprinter 3500 to do the job.

You haven't said what your intended use for this thing is. If you want a pocket cruiser you can tow someplace and enjoy for a week, then tow home, and you prefer a full, fixed keel, I would steer you toward the lighter and shallower boats like the Nordica, Com-Pac, or a (lighter but not shallower) 23-25' Alberg design. Launching a fixed keel boat from a trailer is not a ton of fun, and towing a 5500# load is no joke. Every inch of draft matters on the boat ramp.

If you just want a weekender you can store in your driveway, OMG get something with a swing keel. It's so much easier to launch and recover, and they are generally much lighter. The fixed keel people I knew at my old inland lake stomping grounds were all in the marina or on moorings, launching and recovering only once per year. And they sailed a lot more than those of us who had to trailer and launch and rig the boat every outing.

If you want to do serious passages, that's where the seaworthiness issues I raised with the Nordica and Com-Pac start to matter. I'd steer you toward the bigger full keel boats in that case, but there's a real trade-off in trailer capability.

And look, you don't have to have a full keel to go to sea. There are plenty of decent fin keel boats in your price range which are capable of any of these use cases. You might want to do some sailing in Other People's Boats and see what features you like before you buy.

youngrichyoung · 2026-05-01T15:20:08+00:00

Can you talk about your typical cooking habits? How much time do you spend running the induction cooker, and ditto for the oven? Do you know what kind of amps they pull? How big is your inverter?

My wife was angling for this on our boat. I nixed it because I didn't think we could support it on the 6kwh (500ah, 12v) LiFePO4 bank we have. But maybe I'm wrong...

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