Div. 6's Questions - Part 1

Ms. Small's Grade 5/6 class at Armstrong Elementary asked a few questions last week. I'm going to tackle them a few at a time. Here is the first few questions...

What kind of boat do you have?

Our sailboat, "Renova", is a Cape Dory 36. It is 36 feet long and it is cutter-rigged, which means it has 2 sails on the front of the boat, plus one big main sail, which goes up the main mast in the middle of the boat. The boat was build in the USA - in Massechussets - in 1980. Although Cape Dory's are no longer being made, the hull mold has been bought by Robinhood Marine, and they are building Robinhood 36's, which are very similar to our boat. You can see pictures of our boat here, and find out more on the Cape Dory Association website here.

Why did you want to make this trip?

John has been sailing since he was very young. He's wanted to go on an extended sailing trip since he read about Robin Lee Graham going around the world at only 17 years old. At first I thought he was crazy!! Once I learned more about sailing and the cruising lifestyle, I realized it wasn't at all what I had expected, and it sounded like a great way to travel and see new and interesting places! I quickly became as passionate about this adventure, as he is.

Have you almost capsized?

Not yet!! We are planning to keep the boat with the keel in the water for the whole trip. But...because a sailboat is designed with a huge weight under the water, in the keel, if we were to ever lay the boat on her side, the large keel (8000 lbs) would bring her right-side up again. Just in case we have three bilge pumps (2 automatic/electric, one manual) on board to help us pump out any water that might find its way into the boat

Do you have water on the boat?

Yes! We have four water tanks that hold a total of 100+ gallons of fresh water. Most of the time, we only have cold water. We have a hot water tank, but it takes a lot of power to heat up the water (and keep it hot), so we don't use it very often. We boil water on the stove to get hot water for washing dishes. On long trips where we won't be near a dock or marina, we may have to start conserving water by using salt water for some cooking and to wash our dishes, but so far, it has been easy to find water to refill our tanks.