Gas Cylinder Markings

Gas cylinder markings for most US marketed cylinders. 

WC: The water capacity is how much water the cylinder will hold in pounds. The "WC" stamped on the bottle followed by a number such as "23.8" means the bottle will hold 23.8 pounds of water.

Multiply by 0.42 to convert the water weight to LPG weight  23.8 x 0.42 = 9.996 pounds.  Divide, pounds by 2.2 to convert pounds to kilograms.   9.996 / 2.2 convert to KG = 4.54 KG so a 4.5Kg cylinder

So using the same formular a WC marking of "47.6" converts to a 9.08KG cylinder.  47.6 x 0.42 = 19.992. lb, convert to Kg 19.992 / 2.2 = 9.08 Kg

As a side note , WC is used to measure cylinder capacity because water is not compressible its the best medium to use, whereas LP gas or even air is. Thus WC is a reliable and repeatable measure of capacity. I have read where some people talk about the capacity of the gas can vary due to pressure, in this case there is no room for the variables. 

TW: Tare weight of empty cylinder, in pounds (US cylinders), so if you have a set of scales its possible to weigh the full cylinder and then subtract the TW (Tare Weight) to check if the fill weight is OK. 

DT: Is the length of the dip tube, which is where the bleeder value opening inside of the cylinder is located. This determines how full the tank will get before liquid starts coming out of the bleeder valve, when open. Generally as discussed earlier a WC of 47.6 lbs can be filled with 20 lbs  (9.08 Kg) of LP gas. 

A replacement LPG cylinder valve, the thin tube with the bulb is the dip tube 

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Gas cylinder markings for most Australian marketed cylinders. 

WC: Water Capacity. It is the internal volume at test. This is also the volume of LPG it contains when full. This can be used to work how many kgs of LPG it can hold. In this case due to the markings being in metric, find the "W.C." marking on the bottle, for a 9 kg bottle, the WC is 22.0 Kg. However this is not always the case, this 22.0kg is a generalisation and I have seen a variety of values around this value plus or minus. The normal propane or propane/butane mix at the specified pressure will weigh approximately 41% of the water capacity. Doing the math 41% of 22kg = 9kg  or simply put 22 x .41 = 9.02 

TW: (occasionally TM) is short for Tare Weight, it is the weight of the empty cylinder with no valve. (lets not discuss mass and weight difference)

EW: Is not always there. It is the TW (Tare Weight) plus the valve weight. i.e. the weight of empty cylinder (EW = Empty Weight) before filling, keep in mind the change over of cylinder valve types from POL to LCC27 is under way and could mean the value of the EW of an older cylinder may not be 100% correct but should still be close. 

TP: Is the Test Pressure. You also find the test date and the testers registered number. Usually valid for 10 years.

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OK how to work out the number of kgs of LPG is in the cylinder or the cylinder can hold  ? 

A really rough and ready way to calculate capacity. Half the WC and then round down to the closest size cylinder to get the Kg capacity of LPG. So a WC of 22 calculates to 11 Kgs of LPG  the closest size bottle to this is 9 Kg so its more than likely the cylinder you have is 9 Kg  a rough and ready calculation

A better way is get out your phone calculator and multiply the WC value by .41, As an example a WC value of twenty two.  22 x .41 = 9.02 so the cylinder can hold 9 Kg or a WC of eleven, 11 x .41 = 4.5 so a 4.5 Kg capacity cylinder. 

Got a partly used cylinder and want to know how much LPG is left.

The simplest way to check the contents of your cylinder is to weigh it. Weigh the bottle with a set of bathroom scales is normally the easiest, how ever we have found hand held luggage measuring scales work a treat. (doing it on a moving boat underway or at anchor isn't very accurate)

As an example if your partly used 9 Kg bottle weighs in at 11 Kg. 

Take the EW (empty weight) in this case 8.1 Kg away from the of the value of the partly used bottle (11 Kg) as measured by your scales. 

E.g. 11kg – 8.1kg = 3.9kg.   You have 3.9kg of gas remaining from your 9kg capacity cylinder = 43%

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This bit will is like throwing a cat amongst the pidgions. I say this because it may take some getting your head around. 

Storing LPG in cylinders allows it to be transported in a smaller physical volume than would be required if the gas was distributed in its natural state. Gas cylinders have internal pressures that are higher than atmospheric pressure. LPG must have a boiling point below 20 degrees Celsius in order to be considered a gas.

When using the actual WC (water capacity) figures stamped into your cylinder to work out your cylinder storage the DT (length of Dip Tube) also plays into the final calculation. The cylinder will usually only be filled 80% of the full volume as there needs to be an area for the gas to form in the cylinder. So any calculations using the WC marking should take into account a full cylinder is 20% less volume. (hence the multiply the WC value by .41)

So doing the calculation a different way, (keep in mind this isnt an exact science due to several variables)

WC = 22      20% of 22 =  4.4        22 - 4.4 = 17.6  so the volume for a fill will be 17.6L.   So the weight of the fill will roughly be 8.979591836734694Kg  I would round this up to 9Kg   

Gas volume can be calculated in litres with some basic mathematics.

For LPG (propane) 1kg = 1.96L. Therefore, 14.2kg = 27.832L

For LPG (butane) 1kg = 1.724L. Therefore, 14.2kg = 24.48L

For a 75:25 butane/propane mix, 1kg = 1.783L.

Unlike water, 1kg of LPG doesn’t equal 1L of LPG. This is because the density of LPG is less than the density of water. In Australia, where LPG is propane, 1kg of LPG has a volume of 1.96L.

Conversely, 1L of LPG weighs 0.51kg.

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 If the valve is being replaced trim the dip tube to match valve being replaced, this should then mean the stamped info remains current.

Swap & Go 

As mentioned earlier the filling of cylinders isn't an exact science due to several variables, so to keep legal (weights and measures) the Swap and Go people have reduced the volume of the fill to take account of the fact not all cylinders are created equal and have reduced the amount of gas they fill the cylinders with. This doesn't reduce the cost of course but you know you get a the fill weight they are advertising it is.  

The 9kg gas cylinder is the larger cylinder and is filled with 8.5kg of LPG. The smaller 4kg gas cylinder is filled with 3.7kg of LPG. So what sucks for me is I have a 4.5 Kg cylinder so I always look for a refill station, and unfortunately they are getting fewer every day.

Making the cruising dollar go further

Save money while cruising

When we first threw off the lines to go cruising we quickly found that if we wanted to make this work we needed to cut back how much we spent. We had a reality check seeing our bank balance free fall and needed to reduce our cost of living. Clearly living at the dock and being time poor had taught us bad spending habits and now we had cast off, we had to get our mind around the fact this is day to day life not a holiday. We hadn't realized how entrenched living at the dock had become in our every day decisions.

 

Now after a rethink we cut our monthly bills to a third of what we would have once spent.  I know there are those out there who don't or don't have to worry, but for the rest of us here are a few tips we found can make a difference.

Marinas

If you are going to be a thrifty cruiser you will spend a lot of time at anchor. Nights spent along side in a marina is not the way to save money.  So to achieve a better nights sleep will mean good ground tackle. First rule of anchoring is that you can't have too much ground tackle.    At a minimum try and go one anchor size up from what is recommended for your boat and don't skimp on chain, have all chain if you can and make a good snubber setup. If an all chain rode isn't possible have 10-30 meters of chain then the rest nylon rode.   Try and have a back up anchor ready to deploy.

Matilda at anchor

Boat setup

Mean time between failures is a basic measure of a system's reliability. While setting up your systems try and pursue two simple principles; minimize moving parts and limit power consumption. Engineers recognize the relationship between the number of moving parts in a system and its mean time to failure.

While you are setting up your boat be careful you don't become a slave to a piece of equipment on the boat. We found a freezer was a pain in the neck and we became slave's feeding it power. We would charge the batteries just to run them down again keeping it going, we never kept up or broke even. Away from the dock for a couple of days on windless and or overcast days would see us having to pull up the anchor and go for a drive to charge the batteries at about the time we should have been enjoying sundowners. The other down side was that we could never leave the boat for any length of time unless we were tied to the dock and connected to shore power. Sight seeing wasn't easy being worried about the batteries or the freezer.  We have found we can easily get by with out a freezer through simple food management and the use of a vacuum bag sealer.

It appears our boat had been set up to be sailed from one marina to the next. While it did have a lot of cruising gear the systems weren't really up to the task of being away from the dock for extended periods. Early on it became glaringly obvious we didn't have enough battery charging grunt. For a start the twin alternators never performed as we would have liked and also wore through the drive belts in no time. The solar panels were out dated, newer technologies had increased the output of solar panels and we found we could get almost double the power output from the same footprint.  We upgraded the alternator. This meant reduced engine run time if battery charging is necessary. One windy day the old wind generator's UV damaged blades blew apart in a wind gust so we upgraded the wind generator as well.  Now it's a rare occasion to have to start the motor to keep the batteries fully charged any more. We can start the day with an amperage deficit after running the lights etc during the evening but after normal power usage either at anchor or sailing its rare not to end the day with fully charged batteries. Keeping the power consumption of electrical systems low reduces the complexity of running the whole boat from the battery bank. By eliminating the systems we considered optional or by installing optional systems that were built to conserve power, we have been able to focus on installing a good quality primary system. Here is a link to what Bruce has written about cruisers-power-basics

A small note about the old freezer, when we removed it we found the insulation wasn't thick enough and the list of design faults was extensive. After doing research on marine fridge and freezer setups it appears there wasn't much right with the whole thing starting with a lack of insulation thickness then moving on to the holding plate location and the lid seal design. Not sure why it was such a lemon because this was a custom made unit the previous owner had made up by an Australian manufacturer.  It just reinforces the sad fact that as a buyer we need to do as much home work as possible so as to be able to quote in writing the agreed minimum operating specifications during the purchase.

Boat Repairs

An important thing we will tell you is that you must learn to repair your boat yourself. Yes it can be hard, and if you haven't done it before you will need to do research. Magazines are a great place start looking for articles as others may have just finished the job your about to start and the internet has a lot of technical information and a great way to source parts. If you're willing to give it a go and are willing to ask questions, make the odd mistake and try again, you can do it and save thousands of dollars in the process.  If you're still a little worried start by doing little things for example like re-bedding deck fittings when needed. This can save you a lot if compared to the outlay of having to pay someone else an hourly rate to do the work for you. 

An engine service and check over is worth the effort

A good tool kit will pay for its self in a short period of time

Learn how to service your own motor, yep it can be a dirty job but it's not hard to change the oil, filters and adjust the belts while giving the motor a good look over. An engine service and parts manual is worth the initial out lay as these give clear instructions how things work and I have found are usually easy to follow.  If the thought of servicing your own motor makes you nervous have a professional do every forth service, just to check you haven't missed any thing.

There are also significant savings to be made by being able to repair your own sails and covers. A heavy duty sewing machine will see that you have the ability to sew your own covers. Making your own dodgers may be out of most people's league but you never know after practice making covers for the myriad of things that need protection on a boat you may be able to. Protecting your investment from the UV damage with covers can save you a bundle in a very short time.

Consider shopping for some of your boating bits and pieces in hardware stores or in camping or caravan stores. While you're possibly not going to be buying the rigging from these stores, they certainly are a lot cheaper for lots of items like hoses, water filters, shower nozzles and even stainless steel tie wire.

Shake down

Before you kick off the lines and embark on the cruising lifestyle, you should try and do several short shakedown cruises.  This is a must if the longest you leave the dock is for the weekend.  You may find some of the onboard systems are not fit for the purpose of being at sea or at anchor for extended periods. The weekend boat in most cases has a lot of "she will be right mate" components.  As an example if the fridge insulation isn't thick enough and the counter top sweats (condensates) keeping the beer cold. From that we have seen you will have a moisture problem that can cause the cabinetry to swell and buckle. Your batteries will run down keeping the fridge running due to the loss of cold through the lack of insulation. There are a number of flow on problems with this that will only be fixed if the insulation in the fridge is replaced with the correct type of the appropriate thickness. 

We did a shake down cruise, went north for a couple of months, then once we were relying on various systems to function properly on a daily basis we quickly sorted out what was going to work.  The end result of our shake down was that we came back with a work list for either replacements or repairs. The good thing was that we were still working and were able to undertake the repairs and modifications while we still had a reasonable income.

Saves having to run the motor at anchor. These replaced our old bank same physical size but double the output

A worth while addition high out put alternator

The other side of not doing a shake down is that we've seen more than one couple who purchased the boat then sat at the dock or only used it weekends while all upgrades and repairs are made Then when they finally were set to go left with little or no experience. We found during the last couple of months before departure we didn't go out much and we really were out of practice when we did finally get going. Here is an article Bruce wrote for Cruising Helmsman Magazine dealing with spares and repairs under way

Fuel

This is one of the big ticket items, how could it be if you have a sail boat you ask. Easy, old habits die hard and when the wind didn't blow exactly the way we wanted so we could get from point A to B we would start the motor. This wasn't a problem when we were going out for the weekend or on vacations when we needed to be at point B or rendezvous with others at a set time.  We really went back to basics with this and made sure we sailed more, yes we tacked a lot more and made sure we went with the tide, we also waited longer before furling the sails when the breeze slowed down. So all in all we cut the fuel consumption to bits and at a rough estimate it's an eighth of what it was.  So once we had the consumption under control we looked at reducing the cost. Previously with the marina lifestyle we would think nothing of filling up at a marine fuel dock. Now if we haul the fuel our selves we can easily save up to or over a couple of hundred dollars for a fuel fill.  We also get some exercise into the bargain. To start with we went out and brought two twenty liter fuel cans from the local car auto accessories store and along with a fold down trolley we were all set. Our first fill paid for the cans and trolley and kept a big chunk of money in our pocket.  The added benefit of having the fuel cans is that we can top up after a run to keep the tanks full. This stops condensation in the fuel tank which is a great environment for the fuel algae to flourish. Keep fuel treatment in your stored fuel and topped up in your tanks, its amazing how quick the fuel bug can grow and destroy a load of fuel.

A fuel filter (polisher) used to decant our jerry cans of fuel into the boat tanks.

Fuel polisher transferring fuel

Hauling our own fuel has saved us a lot of money, fuel docks are convenient, however its a convenience we pay a lot for.

Minimize fuel usage by calculating your boat hull's speed and efficiency at different RPM's. The trick to conserve this expensive resource is to find the optimal cruising speed or motor revolutions. We found the difference in time to travel over 15 miles and save 2.75 liters of fuel (approx $4.00) was just ten minutes.

If we travel at 1800 RPM's we travel at about 5.6 knots, we burn about 3.2 liters per hour. 

If we travel at 2000 RPM's we travel at about 6 knots, we burn about 4.5 liters per hour.

If we are traveling 15 miles it takes about 2.6 hours for 8.5 liters at 1800 and if we run at 2000 it takes 2.5 hours and we burn 11.25 liters.  This is some thing we experimented with and found a sweet spot where the speed and the fuel economy was still good and it turns out it was only two hundred RPM different from our old cruising speed.

Clean the bottom of the boat and propeller regularly, we found wiping lanolin grease on the prop keeps if clean for longer.

Not surprisingly we found keeping the boat bottom clean is without doubt a major cost saver. It doesn't take much fouling on the hull to make us loose half a knot. That is half a knot either under sail or motor. To keep the speed up if under motor with a dirty bottom will require more throttle unfortunately the flow on effect is increased fuel consumption.

We sail as much as we can, we found the out lay for the MPS has paid for its self several times

Yes a cruising spinnaker will sail at up to 55 deg apparent

Dinghy

Towing your dinghy behind you causes a lot of drag, way too much drag if you want to sail efficiently.  If you want to test this theory, try and drag your tender in while you're sailing along next time. The increased drag will result in higher fuel costs, slower sailing and on top of this you need to factor in the wear and tear on your tender.  You need a dinghy that's easy to handle and can handle your resupply regime.  Having a tender that's easy to row can be beneficial so you don't need to run the motor to get to shore and back. With the high price of fuel, it was costing us in the order of $18.50 at the marina fuel dock to fill the small tender fuel tank. Our inflatable is not easy to row and since it is on its last legs we are now in the process of obtaining a good used row able dingy.

Gas 

While I don't think the cost of LP gas is going to break the bank it can certainly be inconvenient when the bottles are empty and you need to find somewhere to refill your cylinders. With the introduction of these cylinder exchange programs it's become harder to find a re-filler. Our biggest problem is that we have squat cylinders that fit our gas locker, an exchange cylinder of the same weight won't fit so we need to refill our cylinders. One shore supply run ended up costing a small fortune because we had to get to the other side of town for a cylinder fill, I won't go into the logistics of the trip but I think it was some thing that will be remembered into the near future.  To save time at the re-fill station high light the cylinder certification date on your bottle. It saves time and stress dealing with the operator when you can instantly point to the date and not have them come up with some way out date after reading the cylinder manufacture date and refuse to fill the cylinder.

To reduce gas usage we have purchased a vacuum container slow cooker, with the use of the vacuum cooker we reduce the stove top time. For example, stove top time cooking a stew is reduced from 2-3 hours to 20 minutes which is quite the saving. The meal is dished up piping hot with all the flavor of a stove cooked meal. The only thing necessary is a bit of forward planning to make sure you have an idea of what's to prepare for dinner that evening. The other benefit is if you do get into the anchorage later than planned, your meal is ready to go once the anchor is down, you don't then have to cook a meal because it's all ready to serve. The slow cooker also does great cakes and deserts but may require the accessory pots.

A vacuum container slow cooker, this one by THERMOS

A great cooking time gas saver is a pressure cooker. It's quite amazing what can be cooked in a pressure cooker. It's not all stews and curries, we know of people who cook scones, bread and a quick pizza in their cooker. The list of things you can cook in the pressure cooker is substantial and a good start to what's possible is in the cook book included with most cookers.  You can go one step further and do your own canning (preserving) on board in the pressure cooker. We do our own chutneys and pickles now we have finished off our large stock of store bought items. 

To cut back on the number of times you boil the jug to make a cupper get hold of a vacuum flask and store the left over heated water for the next cupper. Cruising friends make their days supply of coffee in the morning and store it in a couple of smaller vacuum flasks ready to go. Or you could measure the amount of water to be heated, this way there is no waste and the stove is on for a shorter time. Another saver is to get hold of an electric kettle for marina stays and use this to stop the use of gas.

Food

We didn't do very well with the first couple of food supply shopping expeditions; we spent way too much money and once we were out there cruising we quickly found we had to rethink our supplies.  We questioned why we had bought some of the things we did.  For a start we clearly didn't give enough thought to the fresh produce we purchased. We just brought heaps of it and it was becoming ripe and ready to be cooked or eaten at the same time and as we couldn't eat it all at the same time we had wastage. We are lead to believe this is something that's happening in homes all over the country, daily about 25 percent of food purchased is thrown out.  To over come this wastage we planned a menu for the coming weeks and then use food management to eat the items with the shortest shelf life first.

We buy in larger sizes when possible

So what else has worked for us, buying in bulk is the easiest way to get most volume for your dollar. We now buy dry foods like rice, flour and bread mix in as large a bag as we can carry and store.  A 10 kg bag of bread mix is a lot more economical per kilogram than 600 gram bags.

 Bread fresh from the oven

After cruising for a couple of years we found it was a lot better purchase bread making flour and add the other ingredients rather than use pre mixes. Perhaps it is the temperature here in Asian but we found the premix bread packs were going off.  Self-raising flour would also lose its raising properties quickly, we found it was much better to buy plain flour and then add baking powder. This also made storage easier we only needed to store one all-purpose flour not two. We have also used the high protein bread making flour for cooking cakes when we have run out of the all-purpose flour. Our simple recipe for making a tasty loaf of bread is here

If you have the space purchase slabs of food cans when on special, we have a local clearance supermarket and they sell by the case, so for example  if canned tomatoes are on special we get as many as we can store.

Boat made goodies from scratch, doesn't take a lot more work than mixing up a packet

Now days we don't purchase commercially made cake, pancake or biscuit mixes and haven't found it any more demanding putting together a cake, biscuits or slices than if we opened a box and mixed one up. With most of these pre made cake mixes you still have to add an egg or three and a pat of melted or softened butter. We think by the time you get to mix it all up you could have measured the rest of the ingredients and made a cake from scratch with out the added preservatives and inflated price tag.

Yogurt powder, mix up and make a fresh 1Kg tub over night.

Possibly the best tool to help you save money by reducing waste is the purchase of a vacuum bag sealer. This machine is great for processing meat for keeping it a month in the refrigerator, no freezing necessary. We also buy large blocks of cheese and butter then cut them into smaller blocks that can be eaten in a week. We then seal the larger pieces in separate bags to keep them fresh to the original use by date. Purchase bacon, cold meats and sausages in large quantities then seal what you would normally use in one sitting in bags, again a great saver in cost due to being able to purchase in bulk and also having less waste. For that matter we can't remember when we last threw out moldy cheese or bad meat. When using a vacuum sealer make your bag size larger than needed then once you have used the contents wash and dry them out then they are ready to reuse. Another tip is buying your replacement rolls of vacuum bag material online and save on the purchase.

Cryovac machine is a great way to store food

Powered milk is cheaper than UHT long life milk and is easier to store and bring back to the boat, and the taste? We think it's better than UHT but you're the only one who can judge this. However we know it must be made up correctly, a teaspoon of powder in a hot cup of tea or coffee won't dissolve correctly and most likely will curdle. If you want to use powered milk mix it with cool water first.  As an example of weight saving during resupply day, a one kilo bag of powdered milk will make just over seven litres of milk. This is the equivalent of hauling seven kilograms of UHT. For a small out lay we purchased a yogurt maker and now enjoy regular fresh tubs of yogurt onboard.  What a cost saving and its way easier to transport during resupply and it doesn't need refrigeration until made. 

Powered milk left, this bag will make over 7 litres of milk, 1 litre of UHT on the right

Go back to the cook books and its amazing some of the things you can make on board simply with just a couple of common items, for example a can of condensed milk can be the base ingredient for making a great salad/coleslaw dressing or a tart for desert with just the addition of a couple of items.

To help reduce wastage treat your fresh food as it comes on board. We buy whole vegetables like cabbages and cauliflower as we have found half's go off quickly. We wash root vegetables (not potatoes or onions) in a mild bleach water solution. These are then dried and placed in plastic bags in the fridge.   Capsicums and oranges are also washed in the bleach solution. The capsicums are placed in bags once dried and refrigerated, and the oranges are stored in mesh bags.  Another tip is buy capsicums green as they last for a month in the fridge once treated and not cut.

Buy fresh produce, go to the market as early as you can.

Most fruit that has a skin that isn't eaten can benefit from bleach or vinegar and water solution wash. This kills the spores on the skin that usually cause mould to grow and destroy the fruit.  The bleach and water solution is two table spoons in four liters of water, this should be enough for most items.

Potatoes and onions should be stored apart in a dark, dry, well ventilated cupboard away from light, and pumpkins can be stored in the same way but must be refrigerated once cut. Bay leaves in the flour, rice and dry goods bags appear to keep weevils at bay.

Water

If you cannot drink the water out of the tap on your vessel you have a problem, there should be no need to purchase bottles of water other than a large unit for emergency use only.  The best thing to do is to clean your water tanks out and then refill with fresh filtered water. You may even need to run new hoses, the small out lay now will save a bundle later on. How do you clean your tanks? If you have inspection hatches you could open them and inspect the condition of the tank. We have found a heavy bleach solution works very well to clean out the tanks and lines.  Then once we are happy the tank is clean, we fill with filtered water.

We made up a filter for filling the water tanks using a activated charcoal filter. While the cartridge isn't cheap we get a year of use from it. We have also fitted an activated charcoal filter to the outlet in the galley and head sink again we get a year from the cartridge.  The cost saving not having to buy bottles of water certainly adds up. And then there is also the problem of disposing of the empty bottles.

Activated charcoal filter, to clean the water taken on board

Drinks

A water carbonator as an example a Soda Stream can help cut back costs by making carbonated water on board. Then add flavor cordials to reproduce commercially available soft drink flavors to a standard that only a connoisseur may notice.  After the initial purchase the savings start on the first supply run, firstly there is saving on the purchase of the bottled drink. We also found not having to haul back heavy bottles of liquid at one kilogram per liter a great saving on the number of runs to the shore and back and the savings on the captains back loading and unloading.  

Make your own beer on board. We make a brew at anchor with out any problems. We have gone from the seaway at the Gold Coast to Sydney with a fermentation container strapped to the rail when we had a brew on the go and a weather window opened up and it was time to go. So far finding a local brew shop to buy supplies hasn't been very hard to do.

Brewing on board isnt hard and it saves a lot of money

A water carbonation unit, removes the back breaking work of carting pre made drinks and is a lot cheaper per litre. The little bottle of concentrate here will make 12 litres, equivalent to 12 Kg if your hauling pre made drinks back to the boat. 

Insurance

This is some thing that is going to get scarier and scarier as time goes by. Our insurance bill came and we found it had doubled from the previous year. We clearly had not budgeted for this rise and what a shock, while there are a lot of theory's floating around why insurance companies are insisting on dramatic rises. It clearly must be remembered that these people are in business to make money for the share holders, and if there are people out there who drive up on reefs or go to sea unprepared and are then rescued with the insurance company paying the bills or cost of tows, it cuts into their profits considerably.

So the best thing you can do is ring your insurance company and have a talk with them. If you are living aboard let them know, try for a live aboard discount because clearly your vessel is maintained and checked on a regular basis. If you don't get any joy then get a survey, a valuation then go to a broker and see what can be done to get a better deal. 

The next option is to self insure and get 3^rd party insurance this dramatically reduces your out goings but it wont work unless you own your vessel out right.  We do know of some who don't even have 3^rd party insurance and don't go to marinas, however we are not sure what they do when its time to pull the vessel out of the water for a new coat of anti foul. It's usual for the slip way to not pull the vessel from the water until a valid insurance certificate is sighted. 

Cut your own hair

Don't spend money on haircuts cut it yourselves to save money.  We've started to cut mine. It really isn't that difficult.  If you need a starting place Google "cutting your own hair" then pick the method that seems right for you. A set of hair clippers will cost less than the equivalent amount a basic hair cut at a hair salon would cost.

Phones & internet

Lots of scope to save money here however it may mean you get a phone with fewer bells and whistles and purchase it out right. We go with a prepaid phone plan with a carrier that uses a national carrier's network. There is a lot of options here like additional data of a week end and unlimited calls and text.  It didn't take much to go from over a hundred dollars a month to just over forty without any noticeable change in life style.   We use our phone as a hotspot for internet coverage, this has more than halved our communication costs. It really boils down to your phone and mobile data usage, shop around.  We have found that some networks are better for coverage. Check the carrier's coverage maps before committing, there is nothing more frustrating than having a cheap plan that doesn't have a connection very often.

General consumables 

Cleaning products can be expensive but it is possible to reduce the cost and be environmentally friendly. The use of natural cleaners such as vinegar and bi-carb soda are two of several environmentally friendly products that we have found work as well as commercially available cleaners. Shop around, a eucalyptus based concentrated clothes washing powder available at hardware stores is available in bulk and at a quarter of the price of the cheapest available at the supermarket. Buy concentrated dish washing liquid, not the type you add water to when you get home, these are nothing but a gimmick. Purchase toilet paper, tooth paste, shampoo and soap in bulk when on special.

When on special stock up if you have the room

Batteries for portable appliances are a high cost item and buying in bulk while on special is the best way of getting the best price.  We try and buy our battery powered appliances by the battery type, by reducing the variety of batteries can help maximize the savings when buying in bulk due to buying more of one type. Another way to save is to see if rechargeable batteries will work in the unit, some appliances will flag a low battery alert if rechargeable batteries are used due the fully charged battery being .3 of a volt less than the non rechargeable in the equivalent size.

It appears to be getting harder to make the cruising dollar go as far as we all want, but we can stretch it with the simple management of resources. Recycle and reuse makes a lot of sense, if you can, visit the local boat market for bits and pieces.  There can be good value to be had but it may take some time to source items. So look around keeping a small shopping list with sizes etc in your pocket in case you think you have found what you are looking for.   The only real boundary to being self sufficient on a small income is your imagination.

Check List for Cruising Indonesia

Bruce’s check list for cruising Indonesia.

The list was put together for several reasons, the first is because of the lack of factual information. For example the provisioning information we were feed prior to leaving Australia wasn’t at all times clear.  We also wanted to make a list with web links to make it easier for others, but before brandishing the web addresses around check them out as they do change regularly.

If your not an Australian or have an Australian vessel please check with your country for the correct details to obtain registration, MMSI, and register your EPIRB.

Off we go on an adventure of a life time.Adventure before dementia.

1. Australian Ships Registration.

Before an Australian yacht can check out of Australia and be sailed overseas it must be an Australian registered ship. Down load the info needed including the ships name register to check if your vessel name is available then fill out the forms.

Ship Registration at www.amsa.gov.au

Ships Registration

2. 406 MHz Distress Beacon registration AIS transceiver and MMSI Database.

Before heading offshore you will need a registered 406 MHz EPIRB.  One of the requirements for a yacht visiting South East Asia is to have a working AIS transceiver. This is definitely a requirement when traveling through Indonesia and Singapore, yachts have been stopped by the authorities if their AIS isn’t transmitting. We also know for sure you need an AIS transponder for Malaysia and Thailand, they run checks and see your progress.  To work (eg transmit) the AIS will need a valid MMSI number and yacht details programmed into it for it to be fully operational. If you have Digital Selective Calling (DSC) on your VHF or/and HF radio you will need your MMSI number programmed in for it to be fully DSC operational.

Register for a MMSI number and Beacon registration at www.amsa.gov.au

Registered EPIRB

3. Marine Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency.

You have the gear now learn how to use it, courses for this certificate are run by the RYA and most sailing schools. We know a number of yachts that had radio problems and most have been simple fixes that could have been avoided by training the operator.

4. Apparatus License and Call sign (Maritime Ship)

Your HF will need to be registered, a lot of people are moving away from having a HF radio and leaning toward sat phones. While sat phones are a very effective form of communication, nothing beats a radio net when there are a number of yachts traveling in a group. Because it’s very rare for the pack to travel at the same speed the front runners are well and truly out of VHF range in the first couple of hours. You will also require a registered Call sign if you want to get a Sailmail or similar account to use the HF to send and receive email.

See licenses at www.acma.gov.au

5. Passport and Visas

Your passport must be valid for at least six months from date of entry for any country so check expiry date. Remember if you’re tripping from one end of the Indonesian archipelago to the other it’s going to take time, so I would factor in having at least a year before it expires. That way you have time to organise a new Passport without the stress of a time line. Remember if the passport expires you need to start again it’s not a renewal it’s a fresh passport with all the checks and delays. So if you’re out of the country it could be a real pain trying to produce all the required documentation.

https://www.passports.gov.au/

Visas, you will need a social visa to be in Indonesia for over a month. These can be obtained from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia (or other country) prior to traveling. This Visa can also be extended, this requires the process to be started 6 days prior to the expiry of the visa, if the process is not started and or the visa expired you will be fined for the number of days you are late. If you need to leave the country take your ships documents with you and apply for a visa on arrival when returning, this is not the tourist visa and is not free.

You can get a tourist visa on arrival and it is valid for 30 days, but cannot be extended and will require you to leave the country and re-enter if you require to stay longer. This option is good for fly in visitors and crew.

Checking into Indonesia, There is now a new system in place and the information needed to check in and journey through Indonesia is at Yacht’s Electronic Registration System (YachtERS). YachtERS is an electronic registration system for foreign yachts who will visit the territorial waters of the Republic of Indonesia.

Imigrasi Clearance Finished

YachtERS is an web-based application designed to help make it easier for foreign Yacht ship owners with online registration process which can be accessed with https://yachters-indonesia.id

Foreign yachts ONLY need clearances at first entry and last exit ports, domestic clearances are not necessary like they once were. The sailing permit/port clearance certificate issued by Harbor Master at first entry port covers all domestic travel up to your exit port. So make sure the exit port on your sailing permit is where you want to leave Indonesia from, not your next port of call after checking in. We didn’t check this and we needed to have a new permit issued because the next port of call was listed as our exit port. Foreign yachts are forbidden from commercial activity within Indonesian waters, no chartering.

Document folder to keep your papers together

6. Australian Customs & Quarantine.

We found the Customs people very helpful prior to our departure. When you depart Australia you be given a port clearance certificate, copy it then keep it safe, you will require this on arrival.

You can get a GST rebate on all items purchased over $300 one month prior to departure this includes medical supplies and boat equipment. Get an account at the chandlery or save up all your purchases so there is one bill. Also there is a Wet tax rebate on wine. https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Tour/Are-you-a-traveller

Customs House Thursday Island FNQ

When you fill up with diesel prior to departure keep your receipt as Customs will give you a claim form for a 20% excise refund from the ATO.

Australian Quarantine: the Quarantine people were very helpful. Contact the local office for an information package, the Cairns office is very helpful because of the bio security problems facing the north.  It’s good to know what you are required to do when returning after traveling north of Cairns.  They can also give you procedures to take before returning to Australia and what your obligations are when you travel in the Torres Strait area.

https://www.border.gov.au/     

 

On the way to the fuel merchants Horn Island FNQ

7.  Foreign Currency

The Indonesian currency is the Rupiah. $1 = 10000 Rupiah. Exchange can be done anywhere in Australia prior to departure, we found Western Union had the best rates after we had already done an exchange at our bank. You will require about 5,000,000 Rupiah (yep 5 Million) ($500) to get you started, there are ATM’s in most large towns in Indonesia. We were told to also take a few thousand Australian dollars, not sure why there is a need to take AU$ we didn’t follow this advice but still took a couple of hundred that is now going mouldy in the wallet. Its way easier to find an ATM than a money changer in most towns we visited. Once we got to the western end of Flores we did notice money changers signs, but on the eastern end of the archipelago ATMs are your best bet. It will really be your call whether to take cash and exchange it, or use an ATM. The bank fees for using an ATM add up after a while. But factor in money changer fees and you may be better off, these guys are not doing the service for free. 

8. Charts, Publication

Some people we talked to do not use paper charts, we do however and were able to find second hand charts reasonably easy to get. We use standard official charts and usually travel with the current chart on the table for quick reference. We also run OpenCPN on a laptop and use the chart plotter in the cockpit on lower zoom scales.

There are lots of electronic chart options now on the market and we have found Cmap and Navionics can be lacking in detail, but after talking with others it appears to be an ongoing complaint with most electronic charts. Its little things missing like lights, beacons, rocks and reefs. But also some land masses are in the wrong position, for example several islands .25 of a mile east etc. It’s a pity these guys couldn’t at least adjust their charts with the aid of satellite photos.  The other thing that does annoy us is the depth inaccuracies, 5 metres on the chart 20 metres in the real world.  Shouldn’t complain about that I guess but it does make it hard when looking for upcoming anchorages, so plan for deeper water than marked on the chart. The reverse is also true keep a good eye on your depth when moving into anchorages, usually the shipping lanes are fine and depth fairly accurate, however this is not always the case in the less detailed anchorages.

On the left is an electronic chart display of reef system, the actual extent of the reef system from a Google Earth screen grab.

 To help overcome some of the inaccuracies in the charts we use OpenCPN with a google earth chart overlay, this works well when there is a lack of detail and the chart plotter is showing you anchoring quarter of a mile inland. If you have OpenCPN try and get your hands on a program called GE2KAP. The program GE2KAP is named for what it does, makes KAP files from Google Earth hence Google Earth to KAP.

OpenCPN is a handy chart plotter program and as I have said previously we have it running on a laptop computer sitting on the chart table while on passage. Simply connected to the GPS and AIS data streams, we zoom it out so we get a good idea of vessels and dangers around us. We leave the chart plotter in the cockpit zoomed in so we have better detail of what’s close around us and we constantly compare the two with the paper chart. Before heading out of an anchorage or better still before heading into any anchorage at a minimum look at Google Earth and create an overlay chart while you have an internet connection. While these are not always going to show all the dangers they are a great addition to the charts.

However we have found the discrepancies in the charts can also match the discrepancies in the Google Earth cloak or blanket or as we have named it the cone of silence, sometimes you may see half a reef and the rest is covered. But half a reef is better than not knowing there is a reef there at all.  

A large reef the top portion has been cloaked, you can also see only a small portion of the sea around the islands is clear of the cloak.

The extent of the reef with out the Cloak put in place as in most Google Earth displays, They must have missed this one

If you don’t have Opencpn don’t worry there is OvitalMap which is a free down load. You will however need a device with built in GPS. But be aware some (not all) IPad’s/tablets will not work because they don’t have built in satellite GPS receiver. A word of warning here, you will really need to check this out thoroughly before purchasing the device because we know several individuals who purchased IPads/Tablets on the assumption the unit had a satellite GPS receiver. They then found out later they had been duped by clever marketing talking about GPS, however this was not a satellite GPS receiver as we know it with satellite reception but GPS by triangulation with the phone towers and WIFI location. If your tablet/iPad required a sim or WiFi to make it active to find your location, most likely it doesn't have a GPS receiver.

OvitalMap is a cross-platform map browser developed by Beijing Ovital Software Co.,Ltd. based on Google API, supporting offline views of Google Map, satellite map and terrain map, remember as I said earlier the down side is the cloak or blanket Google Earth apply to ocean/sea areas.

Some people found iSailor very helpful and did fill in the chart blanks when others were lacking in detail. iSailor is a marine GPS navigation system intended for use on iPads, iPhones, Android smartphones and tablets. Usually available at the app stores for your favourite devices.

OvitalMap http://www.ovital.net/en/  I am not sure if this is much good these days, a run in with Google due to copy right of the images might mean Google images are no longer supported. 

Navionics Electronic Charts www.navionics.com/ or the App store for downloads for your device

OpenCPN: http://opencpn.org/ocpn/

GE2KAP program http://www.gdayii.ca/Home.php

If you would like KAP files that others have made, head over to Terrys Site http://yachtvalhalla.net/navigation/terrystopics.htm

If you are not OpenCPN literate and are just starting to use this wonderful tool, Terrys site may be a bit confronting, but take it slowly and persist to get some great information.

You may also like to head off the here for additional information, http://www.hackingfamily.com
Lots of factual information from a family who has been cruising Asia for several years, and are real nice people. 

Publications

•             Cruising the Coral Coast – Alan Lucas

•            Australia Pilot NP15

•            Cruising Guide to Indonesia – Andy Scott

•             101 Anchorages within the Indonesian Archipelago

•             Southeast Asia Pilot

Some of the guide books we used

We didn’t use the Australian Pilot much as its geared more toward large ships, however AMSA have great guides when traveling north of Cairns right down to planning chartlets. While mostly for bigger ships we did make great use of the Queensland Coastal Passage Plan (QCPP) guides and even the way points they have listed for traversing the reef https://www.amsa.gov.au/navigation/quick-guide-gbr-torres/

Cruising the Coral Coast was never far from hand while traveling north along the Australian east coast. Then when we started to travel the Indonesian Archipelago the other three books were a great source of information.

A few of the guide books we took, we also found some along the way at book exchanges cheap.

Lonely Planet Guide for Indonesia, Malaysia-Singapore and Thailand (you could try buying these on Ebay or the second hand book shops, they are much cheaper) However you will need to make up your own mind if some of the listed attractions live up to the best I have ever seen anywhere in the world tags. As we have found in our travels, yes it may be good but not the best we have ever seen, there have been times we have been very disappointed. 

9.  Flags

Let’s sort fact from fiction, we have read several times that when you visit Asia you’re going to need large courtesy flags. We were poorly informed that you will need a courtesy flag that is much larger than your vessels home flag. Not sure where this story started and think it has continued to spawn unchecked, this is only one of many untruths we were told or read about while preparing for our trip. What a pain in the neck this caused a lot of us looking for courtesy flags. As we all know flags are not cheap and the larger they are the more expensive they become. Our idea was to purchase a smaller home country flag and then find the largest courtesy flag we could lay your hands on and fly easily. The fact is that once we checked in, neither Customs or harbour master gave anyone a hard time or disapproved of the size of the standard courtesy flags flown. I am sure badly made, tatty or micro flags would meet with disapproval, from our experience the standard size courtesy flag for the visiting yacht is all that is needed.

•             Red Ensign (your national flag) to fit your flag pole, not up on the spreader (check out flag lore on the internet)

•             ‘Q’ Flag, Indonesian, Singapore, Malaysian, Thailand, Flags 450 x 300

We got the country flags on Ebay for a good price and they had free postage.

We did get our flags on Ebay, we got a good deal with combined postage, the flags were good for the price. Then once they started to look a bit tatty after they were up for a while we then looked around at markets or nick nack shops and were able to get replacement for very good prices.

Checked in Indonesian flag being hoisted.

10.          Communications

You will have mobile phone connection throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand so all you need is an unlocked phone and or a 4G WiFi mobile modem. Purchase a sim card for both phone and modem and you should have good communications.  For a computer internet connection use an unlocked internet modem or you can also use your mobile phone as a hot spot to work with your laptop computer. If you get here and find your mobile is locked you can buy a cheap one easily, remember you get what you pay for, however phones on the outer islands may not be as smart as you need.  We purchased a 4G modem here for about AU$ 100 this gave us a backup internet connection if the phone went flat etc.  The 4G modem also seems to find the 4G signal quicker than the phone can, some mobile phones don’t have 4G functionality so sort this out before leaving.

To keep the cost down, buy a phone top up with the largest amount of internet data you can, then use internet communication apps that use VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), e.g. Facebook Messenger, Skype, Facetime,Whatsapp to name a few. You can turn off the video stream to conserve data and help maintain connection when the connection is limited.  The other reason to get into the habit of using the internet connection for communication is there are a lot of cafes hotels and bars that offer free WiFi so use it while you have a drink or snack.

If you need to communicate with your Australian carrier have the conversations now before leaving, those who didn’t have suffered a long drawn out process trying to suspend/close/maintain accounts. Be aware that those roaming charges from your Australian carrier that sound attractive if listed as a daily amount can become expensive if you don’t read the fine print.  The reality is the Australian carriers cannot or should that be will not come close as far as price is concerned.  

In Malaysia we use U mobile and have had great coverage everywhere we have been. In Thailand we purchase the dtac happy tourist sim and then top up later to the unlimited option. The rates in Thailand for phoning AU are fantastic if you follow the instructions on the pack your sim comes in.

We had to have one of our phones unlocked, after mucking around with the telco’s hit and miss service we found a company that can do the job quickly and professionally, just register submit a job and you can pay with PayPal.

Unlock It Codes www.unlockit.codes/.

11 Other things

      Boat Stamp: You may need to get a boat stamp made for when clearing customs and immigration. It’s a simple stamp with your vessels name, home port, registration number and if you want MMSI. It is your vessels seal and like a signature keep it safe and don’t flash it around.

Here is how we got our boat stamp

b.      Boat card: This is like a business card only it has a photo of your boat on it and your contact details.

Boat stamp and boat cards.

c.    Get a scanner so you can make a copy of your documentation, a printer wouldn’t go astray but as usual the cartridge prices are a killer. Take the originals ashore and have several copies made at reasonable prices.

d.      File all your documentation for quick access in a weather resistant pouch for taking ashore when necessary.

12.          Fuel and Gas

Diesel and outboard fuel is available on shore or delivered to your boat via private carriers and you will require jerry cans. We carried 4 x 20 litre plastic cans for diesel (solar) and a couple of 10 litre cans for the petrol (benzene). There are no fuel docks as we know them.  

You will find that when you’re on the outer islands in Indonesia if you carry jerry cans to the local service station you will more than likely be barred entry and they will not fill your cans. While this may sound crazy, the problem is more to do with lack of supply. Check this out before heading to the service station jerry cans in hand.  There is non-subsidy fuel available for us (yachties) and if you rent a car truck or bus you can cart your own fuel and the pump price is less than the local supplier will quote. Keep in mind this quoted price is fuel delivered to your vessel, if you haul your own you need to factor in the car or truck rental, I think you will find the delivered fuel service will start to look attractive but you will need to judge this on the day.   If you want or need to stay with your cans for the service it may be a long time between fills. While we did receive the odd insect and small foreign bodies in our fuel, water did not appear to be a problem.

We have a good fuel filtration system for filling the tanks from the jerry cans. The first choice was a Baja filter, this has 3 gauze filters and water trap that is very effective in removing the foreign bodies and water. The other unit we have is a 12 volt fuel pump driven unit that filters fuel through a pleated paper filter and also has a water separating trap with viewing glass.  The unit can also do service as a fuel polisher should I need to clean the fuel in a tank. We purchased the parts to make the fuel polisher in Australia from Repco, I know Autopro and Bursons have the bits and pieces as well.  As it turned out the Baja filter was dirty to clean out after using it, with the electric unit we were able to dispose of the filter cleanly with little/no mess on board. 

Electric fuel cleaner used to pump fuel from the fuel cans into the tank, its used with a 700mm length of 8mm copper tube connected to the suction side of the pump and is inserted into the can.

Don't forget fuel filters for the polisher and motor

The Baja filter would have been ok if you were on shore or tied up at the dock and were able to dump the waste into a bin or waste oil point.

Get a good fuel treatment biocide to kill the fuel bugs. Look for a treatment that will not only kill the fuel bug but also break it up so it can pass through the fuel system. Very important to have this option, just in case we do get a fuel bug needing treatment. We use Fuel Doctor distributed in Australia by Castrol. We also made sure any fuel stored in jerry cans was treated even though it may have sat lashed on deck for a week or more.

Pack plenty of fuel filters and for those of us who use 10 Micron 2010 Racor filter elements Bretts Truck and filter in Australia have good price for these very expensive units.  02 43884994

www.brettstruck.com.au

Before and after, the fuel had already been filtered on fill up

There is no gas refill available through Indonesia so take enough for the trip up to Singapore, we took 3 x 4.5kg cylinders but should have taken four cylinders. Our locker can only fit 4.5Kg cylinders so those of you with space for 9Kg cylinders in the locker, it should be easy to take enough gas. While 3 cylinders doesn’t sound like a lot of gas we found it went a lot further then if we were coastal cruising in Australia.   For a start its surprising how many times you will eat out, then it’s a lot warmer here so slow cooking and use of the oven was greatly reduced.

If you do run out of gas, 3.5 Kg local cylinders are available for purchase for about 280,000 RP (AU$28) a regulator costs from 50 000 – 130,000 RP and could be plumbed in with the use of a 3/8 barb into your gas solenoid. It’s just a thought, and if you intend to be in Indonesia for a while it would be easier and safer than trying to go down the cylinder – cylinder equalisation route.

We did buy a local Malaysian cylinder and regulator. It’s a big bottle and took a bit of thinking about where we would put it. But 14Kg goes a long way, we did eventually get our Australian cylinders filled and they now are a backup should we be caught with an empty.

Here is how we fitted a Malaysian Gas Cylinder: http://svmatilda.blogspot.com/2017/07/fitting-asian-gas-cylinder.html 

13.          Equipment

Below is some of the equipment fitted on ‘Matilda’

•             VHF Radio: DSC capable is great for calling friends and auto selecting the talk channel.

•             HF radio – for weather reports and keeping in touch with other vessels and land bases outside VHF range.

•             AIS must be transceiver type programmed with valid MMSI and vessel details.  

•             Chart plotter with up to date electronic charts.

•             Tablet with Chart plotter software with up to date electronic charts

•             Auto Pilot a must for long passages.

•             EPIRB 406 with built in GPS – must be registered to your vessel with AMSA (or your resident country).

•             Inflatable life jackets with built in harness for each crew member.

•             Jackstays, tethers

•             Life raft.

•             Water Maker but potable water is usually available it in 20 litre bottles, you will need to purchase and cart it

•             Solar panels more is better with these

•             Wind generator

•             Good tool kit

•             Tow line and sea anchor (drogue)

•             Anchor Chain, nylon anchor rode

•             Anchor drag alarm of some sort eg handheld GPS or GPS enabled smartphone with App

•             Covers

•             Batteries: Make sure they are in good order

•             Have good fans (One most likely won’t be enough) in each cabin

•             Have quiet fans in the bed room one at the head and one at the foot of the bed.

Anchoring:  You will often anchor in 15 to 20m sometimes more, so you will need at least 80m chain, and you could have 100 metres of nylon anchor rope as backup, this can double as tow line and drogue line. 

We were told  a lot of different stories regarding anchoring; one couple who had been to Asia on several occasions really rattled our chain in regard to anchoring and having enough anchor rode. We were at a point where we were starting to doubt our preparation.  Luckily we meet others and after talks with them it put our mind at rest, we had 110 m and as it turns out that was plenty. 

Don’t beat yourself up here thinking you’re going to need heaps of chain due to the depth. Remember this method really come in to its own in the deeper water. Depending on your anchor (new generation is best), when anchoring in deep water lay out 20 metres of chain,  then double the depth, yep this sounds crazy but works a treat, so in 20 m of water 60 m of chain. If it looks like the wind is going to be up drop out 10-20 m more and don't forget to use a good nylon rope snubber. In the deeper water you can forget the usual scope ratios discussed a lot. If you want an explanation go here for a presentation given to Fremantle Sailing Club, they do it slightly differently (15 m of chain not 20 m to start). One of the presenters Kim Klaka, is a naval Naval architect and yacht designer and has done anchor trials and written about safety and anchoring. 

New developments in anchoring with Kim Klaka and Richard Macfarlane 

Wind generator: verbatim I will quote what one person told us before coming into Asia” the wind generator is useless, useless I tell ya cause there is no wind”. Not sure about that, we have made excellent use of ours.

The sun in the tropics can be very strong so you need plenty of shade and also when it rains you want to be able to sit in the cockpit and leave hatches open. Small silver tarps also work as temporary shade where it’s needed.

We have a Spectra water maker that produces 55 litres per hour and we have had the odd problem over the last six years. If you plan to use a water maker but you are not using  it now and its pickled, un pickle it, get to know how it works, then use it on the warm trip up the coast. Get a spread sheet together and log the pressures, voltages, output and sea water temp and product quality every time you use it, so when things start to change you can see what’s normal and what’s not. You can also look back over your log and see gradual change or in the case of a failure a large change.

14.          Spares

This is a very simplified list, and really only highlights things we know people have needed.

•             Rope for sheets and lines, shackles, rigging bits and pieces etc

•             Globes and fuses

•             Engine service kit. Engine oil, filters, belts, impellers at least two of each, Fuel filters x 10

•             Fuel Hoses

•             Raw (sea) water pump rebuild kit including all seals and bearings

•             Motor circulation water pump

•             Spare propeller

•             Outboard service kit, spare prop

•             Alternator, Starter Motor, external regulator if used

•             Domestic fresh water pump, filters

•             Gas bottle regulator cannot use gas without.

•             Bits and pieces for steering (hydraulic and cable fittings)

•             Spare anchor

Just a small cross section of bits and pieces we carry

Here is a bit of a Blurb I wrote about spares and repairs underway: Spares and Repairs

16.          Provisioning

Let’s start with something none of us can do without. Water, Filtered treated drinking water is available in most of the towns you will visit. We did purchase water in 19 Litre containers (the round type used in an office water fountain called Gallons) when we didn’t feel the water was clean enough to run through the water maker. Some cruisers without a water maker didn’t have any problems keeping their water tanks full.

Just a small cross section of vendors at the local fruit and vegetable markets

There is a lot of information out there online about provisioning when in Indonesia that is just plain wrong, it may be written in blogs or in stories people have told about their journeys.  I can see how some may have come to certain conclusions. However with common sense you should know you are not going to resupply or get enough food and supplies for a month in a small fishing village on a remote part of the archipelago.   A note here; small fishing villages don’t usually have much in the way of produce for sale. This is not to say they won’t have something but you may find they only have fish, coconuts and bananas for sale or barter.   Head into some of the bigger towns and you will find it’s an easy thing to get supplies. We even read that it was almost impossible to get full bars of soap, bottles of shampoo deodorant and toilet paper. But you can, just don’t depend on a small store a metre square set up in front of a house in a remote village to make your unwashed crew of four smell pretty. However don’t over stock before heading offshore because you can purchase like or brand name products at half the price.  Someone who should have known better even told us we will need to get used to palm sugar because that is all you’re going to get. The same person also told us we will have trouble getting rice because it’s in such high demand. Really, what a load of drivel there is plenty of staple food supplies including sugar and rice available. You can even easily buy green coffee beans if want to roast your own.

Bread in the eastern part of Indonesia is slightly sweet, we didn’t mind the taste but it wasn’t much good with vegemite however toasted and covered with jam and honey it was very tasty. So if this sweet loaf idea doesn’t excite you then include lots of bread flour so you can make your own. There are supermarkets in larger towns that offer vast variety of foods, soft drinks, biscuits, crackers, powdered milk, butter and beer.  

Here is how we make our bread while on the go: Bruces No Need Bread

Head to the traditional markets where fruit and vegetables are usually cheap and easy to get, and the range isn’t much different from Australia. We didn’t know what to expect and as usual we were poorly advised yet again, we were lead to believe we would need to learn how cook a whole new range of foods. Well the good news is there isn’t much of a difference.  To name a few fruit and veggies available in most stops, potatoes, onions, shallot, spring onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cucumber, beans, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, pumpkins, corn, chokos (Chayote), bok choy, pak choy, bananas, coconut, water melons, rock melons, mangoes, pineapples, apples, nashi pears, papaya, oranges, limes. At the local markets you can usually buy fresh eggs, take your own carry box. A small note on the eggs.  Take a powerful torch to look through your eggs before purchase to check for any spots. Rice, lentils and dry beans are available by the kilo in most markets.

You should be able to find most of what you need at the local markets, but perhaps not at just one stall so shop around.

The trip to Indonesia can take about three – seven days depending on your departure and arrival ports. So you’re not going to need a lot of supplies for the trip.  You will however need to think ahead and take supplies for the time you intend to be traveling through the archipelago. Keep in mind that there are great restaurants and café’s when you get there.  You will need to decide if you’re going to cook on the boat or head into shore to find a restaurant. This will dictate how much meat you will take unless you have a freezer. If you have a freezer then you may like to take as much meat as you can, visit your butcher a couple of days before departure to allow time to cryovac and or freeze serves. Bacon and processed meat isn’t easy to get so if you like these products then you will need to stock up before leaving home.  Now the reality check, freezers will use a whole lot of power in the tropics, so you will need to weigh up the convenience of having a couple of steaks on board with the inconvenience of consistently chasing power to feed the freezer.  

Cheese, butter and milk (either powder or UHT) is available in limited range in the supermarkets before Bali, however they are expensive so stock up with about two months supply before leaving. We stocked up on the usual tin food, dried food, breakfast cereals, powdered milk, juice and toilet paper.

Beer (Bintang) in cans and bottles is available at most stops but it is not as ridiculously cheap as we were lead to believe, we can still home brew for a whole lot less. However when compared to what you would pay in Australia, the prices paid for drinks when eating out it is very cheap. As a heads up when ordering at the restaurant ask for “Bintang dingin sekali” which translates into a Bintang that’s glacial, frosty, ice cold.

If you like drinks mixed with tonic water take plenty of tonic water. Buy required quantity of duty free spirits and wine for three months because wine is hard (nearly impossible) to get east of Komodo. Then it’s available its very expensive, and keep in mind wine in bottles lasts better than in the cask. Some including us were half way through the trip to find their casks of wine had turned to vinegar, well come to think about it the wine was off at about the 4^th or 5^th stop. When coastal cruising we have our soda stream so we have a good supply of soda water on hand. So we thought great being a world-wide company we researched and found gas refills were available in Singapore. However the bad news is the bottle thread is not the same as fitted to the Australian gas cylinders. So you will either need to buy a new unit (very expensive) or purchase bottled soda water when available, a cheaper option but a pain to cart and store. One cruiser before he left Australia went off to the home brew shop and secured a CO2 bottle and adapter to make his soda stream go for a long time. We believe he was able to get the CO2 bottle refilled in Malaysia.

17.          First Aid

We recommend that the starting point of your first aid kit be equivalent to Category 1 without the prescription drugs.  Then go and have a talk with your doctor. We were going to load in the different narcotics and pain killers but didn’t. While it all sounds great to have these powerful drugs it could also cause problems because we have no medical training other than offshore first aid. We have friends who are nurses or have medical training and pick up the drug list and can say yep this is good and this is used if there is an over dose of this other etc etc. Well this is all well and good but we thought it would be safer if we don’t have the controlled substances on board. It’s hard to give an over dose if you don’t have the dose to start with.  The reality is there are doctors in Indonesia and if we need help it’s not weeks away.

Note: You will need a letter from doctor stating that narcotics and pain killers etc. have been dispensed for emergency use only during prolonged offshore cruising. That is of course if you can get your doctor to approve purchase of any of the more powerful drugs.

First Aid kit kept together in containers, this will be examined for out of date items on arrival.

18.          Personal Safety

Visit and have a good talk with your doctor well before departure and check that your immunizations are up to date. Well before departure means you should ideally start at least eight weeks or earlier before departure, some vaccines need a follow up so allow time to have the whole course. While at the doctor discuss what would be the best malaria protection for you to take. Some couples were taking the malaria protection from day one when they departed Australia, others like ourselves didn’t start until we were headed to Borneo. There are known hot spots that change with the seasons and your doctor has access to this up to date information.

While we didn’t take the malaria protection medication (until we went to Borneo) we were continually vigilant and wore light coloured clothing when going to afternoon functions that would roll over into the dark. We took good insect spray (the type with deet) and put it on before dusk. Our vessel had insect screens and we would burn a coil or use a 12 volt insect burner that took a small blue rectangle impregnated with insect repellent. A lot will depend on your anchorage. Some anchorages there will be very little insect movement but at others you will need to be careful.

We and others found the following helpful: Mosquito coils, screens, spray, mosquito nets to sleep under. Dont buy years of insect control chemicals including coils and the little blue cards for the electronic insect control pads, you can buy the same in Indonesia for a quarter of the cost.

While we went off to the doctor and either had or had boosters for the following, Rabies, Japanese encephalitis, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid we know of others who didn’t so discuss this with your doctor and see what they recommend. Japanese encephalitis vaccine is used for high-risk or long-term travel in Asia, its spread via mosquitos and can be very nasty.  If travelling where rabies exists and animal exposure is possible, consider pre-exposure rabies vaccine, the threat in Indonesia is from dog’s cats and monkeys. From our experience when you go to the chemist in Queensland with a script from your doctor for rabies vaccine there is usually 2 doses in stock, but you will find they are different brands. When you get the shots keep a note of who had what brand so you can continue with the next booster.

Check the smart traveller web site for lots of good information on health and vaccinations.

 http://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/all-travellers/health/Pages/health-checks-and-vaccinations.aspx

Personal safety ashore, don’t be rude or raise you voice. If you don’t want a taxi (after being asked 20 times by different drivers) just say no thank you, the locals are not aggressive so please show some respect. If you feel uncomfortable remove yourself from the situation. Keep an eye on your personal items but I think you will find if you don’t flash around money or goods you won’t attract attention. I remember a comment one of the French cruisers said to us one evening that he had been able to relax and not have to guard his possessions like if here were in Europe on a trip, if he did what he was doing here in Indonesia they would have all been taken.

Lock your boat up when going ashore and put away loose items like torches and fishing rods, just be vigilant. If you are going ashore for a trip for a couple of days have someone in the anchorage look out for you vessel.  We paid a fisherman/fuel supplier a daily rate to look after our vessel when we went off on a trip for six days and he even picked us up and returned us to the vessel included in the price.   

19.          Trading and Gifts

Giving gifts, this is starting to become a problem. While it all sounds great to give things to those who we think (our perception) don’t have much. Think about the flow on effect after 3-4 vessels come in showering all with gifts, it quickly becomes the norm and if the next vessel cannot give as much or the same quality the scene can become tense. While we did get mobs of kids coming out to the vessel we know of one couple who were harassed on the beach by adults with demands for clothing, gifts and money to the point of them feeling uncomfortable. We had something simular happen when a pack of exercise books we were going to donate to the local school was noticed in our back pack by some kids playing in the street. In the matter of what seemed like seconds we were surrounded by dozens of children thinking we were giving books away, this was becoming a mob scene and we had to slip away quickly. So if you are headed to the local school to donate keep what you donating covered up on the way there. Bartering stuff - we traded exercise books and pencils with the children for we meet on our travels. Adults may bring fish, coconuts, bananas out to your boat so offer a fair price and negotiate a final price with them.

We have heard of people taking out of date medication to give away, why? if it’s not good enough for you why would you give it to someone else.  Be careful of what you’re giving away. If its medication take it to the hospital/town doctor don’t just hand it out. Most of the dosage instructions are in English so giving medication to people who don’t speak English is only asking for trouble. You may even find that during the check in process your medication will be checked, and out of date medication will be confiscated. Perhaps this was due to previous problems caused by cruisers thinking they were doing a good thing, but in reality we poisoning the local population.

Gifts for the children are better given to the school for distribution. Things like exercise books and pencils, eraser, sharpeners, tennis balls, soccer balls, volley balls, educational toys and games, if you giving away ball that needs a pump, supply the pump and show them how to use it, don’t ever ever give money.

Some of the things we learn:

Do not be confrontational, there is a code of saving face in Asia, so confrontation will not help any situation.

Change the menu at the restaurant at your own peril. Even though the waiter smiles and nods, in a lot of cases they have no idea what you just said and don't want appear unhelpful. They will possibly go back to the kitchen and say the lady at table wants some thing to do with spicy but I didn't understand.

Expect lost in translation moments, we ordered 6 cokes and was served 6 coconuts, turns out they didn't sell coke and we didn't read the menu fully. The coconuts were cool and delicious, and better for us than coke.

 

Keeping off the shore to stay away from fishing activity worked well for us on our journey. On our way to Tual we didn’t see any FADs (fish attracting device) until we got in the channel between the islands. So keeping to the centre of a channel or in deeper water can help, but it does require a good look out with a high powered spot light or torch regularly flashing it around to spot any upcoming hazards. During our run up between the Kia islands we kept on the two hundred metre contour and had a good run. We found a number of fishing huts are manned at night and when we approached, some would shine a powerful torch in our direction to get our attention then would flash the beam across the water over their net so we could steer away if necessary. Most of the time the nets would be laid from the platform/canoe/dingy/fishing boat to the shore and to make the end of the net float a little less visible to us they fly a black fag on the bamboo pole float.

A typical fisherman's hut built in the water

Small Indonesian fishing boat, coming close to have a look

Crew member taken on just before the start of an ocean passage wasn’t the smartest thing we could have done. While we have sailed together it was only short runs, if contemplating longer voyages have the candidate travel with you for a coastal leg to get sea legs. For us three hours on and three hours off during the evening was almost torture, once we went to two on and two off it went by in a flash and we seemed in better condition in the mornings.

The tide function on electronic charting apps (applications/programs) can be out by hours, while the app is showing it’s a rising tide in actual fact it may very well be a falling tide. Try and find a tide book or reference before moving into areas you need tidal information.

As strange as this may sound, relax, take in the sights and sounds, from our experience people coming to help you are not looking for handouts believe it or not they are just being friendly and helpful.

 
Stay away from the land. Yes we were either very lucky or got it right. We gave PNG a wide berth, fifty miles at all times. The incidence of long lines and drift nets is getting worse, it looks like the fishermen from a lot of different nations race into international waters and cause havoc as they don’t appear to follow any rules. Are they poachers, possibly but information of what you see needs to be reported to the authorities. 

The longer your painter the more tenders can use the one tie off point

Your going to need a long painter on your tender, yes the docks are small and there are usually a lot of tenders, this is a big dock, quarter the size of the dock and add another twenty tenders and you will get the idea.