Diesel Duck Owners Share Offshore Passagemaking Experience and Upgrades
LOA: 48 feet, 5 inches • BEAM: 14 feet, 10 inches • POWER: single 150-hp John Deere 4045TFM diesel • SPEED: 6.5 knots cruise • RANGE: 6,825 nautical miles at 6.5 knots • TANKAGE: 2,000 gallons fuel, 250 gallons water • CONTACT: Seahorse Marine, Zhuhai, China, +86 (756) 550-1060. seahorseyachts.com
How did you first get into boating, and what’s your boating background? We both grew up on the West Coast of British Columbia and have been around boats since childhood. Diving has been a longstanding passion for us, so time on the water was a natural extension of that interest. Prior to owning this 48-foot Diesel Duck our largest boat was a 26-foot Glen-L Hercules trawler. We’ve also owned small runabouts and an aluminum landing craft. Volunteering with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary—now the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue—gave us valuable on-water experience and training in boat handling, seamanship, search and rescue procedures, and first aid. Those volunteer years were formative for our confidence and skills offshore.
What are the principal challenges you face on long-distance passages? For our cruising areas the biggest challenge is a combination of wind and swell. In the Philippines, for example, the northeast monsoon can be relentless; many of the passages we like are exposed to swells from the west or northwest. That combination creates uncomfortable, sometimes messy seas and makes crossings more demanding. Choosing to wait for better weather is not always a simple solution either—waiting often means wet dinghy rides to shore, rough anchorages, and periods of boredom. Managing comfort, safety and timing are constant trade-offs when planning passages.
Which seamanship skills have seen the greatest improvement? Over the past five years we’ve steadily improved across the board, but docking, mooring and anchoring are the skills we’ve sharpened most. Handling a heavy steel-hulled boat with a full keel and a single engine can be stressful when the wind is uncooperative. We practice docking without relying on the bow thruster so we aren’t caught off guard if it fails. Having reliable crew procedures, good fenders, properly sized dock lines and a practiced method for approaching a dock or mooring makes a big difference. We also carry a large triple hook attached to a length of line that makes it straightforward to grab mooring buoys when conditions are challenging.
What modifications and additional gear have you added to prepare the boat for extended offshore voyaging? When we purchased the Diesel Duck it was already equipped with several essentials for long-range cruising—Northern Lights generator, Village Marine watermaker and an ICOM IC-M802 HF marine transceiver. Since then our upgrades have focused on three priorities: increasing reliable energy generation, reducing onboard energy consumption, and building redundancy into critical systems.
For generation we added four solar panels producing a combined 800 watts controlled by an Outback charge controller, and an Eclectic Energy D-400 wind generator to provide power when the sun is down and breeze is up. To reduce consumption we converted halogen lights to energy-efficient LED fixtures and replaced the AC refrigerator with two Isotherm DC refrigerators. For redundancy we installed a second depth sounder and an additional VHF radio, upgraded to two Victron inverters, and maintain multiple navigation chartplotters so we have backup options for route planning and situational awareness.
Beyond power and navigation, we’ve focused on safety, security and comfort. We installed a Viking RescYou self-righting life raft and a FLIR infrared/thermal camera to aid night passages and low-visibility navigation. An alarm and dedicated lighting system help deter unwanted boardings, and a man-overboard pole with a strobe provides immediate visibility in an emergency. For firefighting we carry halogen fire extinguishers and follow a strict maintenance regimen.
To support diving and hull maintenance we replaced our original tender with a Bullfrog utility tender, added a dive compressor and installed a dive hookah system for easier hull cleaning and underwater tasks. Small, practical upgrades like a well-routed shore power system, secure storage for spare parts, and redundancy in bilge and pump systems all contribute to confidence at sea.
“Do your research. Check out lots of boats. Walk the docks at marinas to see how different boats are set up for cruising. Join groups, such as the Bluewater Cruising Association and Seven Seas Cruising Association. Go to boat shows and events such as TrawlerFest. Take some courses. Check out the many Facebook groups dedicated to sailing and cruising in your planned regions. Ask lots of questions.” — Chris and Sandra Tretick
Long-distance passagemaking rewards preparation: invest in training, choose equipment that provides redundancy, and optimize power and systems for long-term reliability. Staying flexible and patient with weather and sea state, while continuously practicing essential boat-handling skills, keeps each voyage safer and more enjoyable.
This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue.