S/V Merlin Dean 44' Catamaran - Homeport: Cape Town, South Africa

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All questions

3. Did you make modifications to the boat for your children? Any suggestions?

The boat was built specially by us for the trip, so we have what we wanted on our boat. During the building process we had three focus areas: first, an efficient sailing boat; second, an energy-efficient boat; and third, layout and storage that works for family cruising.

Gregory: Never too young to help! Lines lead back to the electric winch at the helm 1) I am a racing sailor at heart, so I wanted our cruising catamaran to sail at its best. Folding props were fitted which possibly make the biggest difference in speed. One electric winch at the steering position makes short-handed sailing a dream. Our kids can easily handle the spinnaker halyard, while I deal with the rest of the spinnaker stuff on the bow. All the main working ropes - such as both genoa sheets, the main halyard and the spinnaker halyard - lead back to this winch. We have no winches on the mast, so time out of the safety of the cockpit is reduced. Our spinnaker guys also lead back to the cockpit winches for easy control. Our main and spinnaker halyards have quality Harken blocks all the way, including at the top of the mast, as these are the two items that are pulled up a lot when cruising. The sails are of the best material available, which should result in the sails still having a perfect shape in 5 years time and being lighter to lift. Our symmetric and asymmetric spinnakers, with socks, are both used extensively. Our mast section is a little larger, allowing us to get rid of the inner forestay, which makes tacking much easier. Weight saving was always a focus, and weight was saved where possible. All our doors are made of the latest honeycomb cardboard construction that saves about 60% of the weight of a standard door. The inflatable has an aluminum hull made by AB which is one of the lightest for its size. 2) We wanted to charge with the motors as little as possible. To enable this we fitted 210-amp quality alternators on each motor and installed 760 watts of solar panels. We installed 760 watts of solar panels The Sanyo solar panels are 190 watts each and operate at 110 volts which the Outback regulator brings down to 12 volts. Every light in the boat including all navigation lights are LED lights, and in the saloon we have dimmers that when turned down only use 0.1 amp for 6 lights. So lights left on are not a stress for us. For water we went for the Spectra Newport 400 MKIV watermaker as this was the most efficient 12-volt unit on the market for the capacity we needed. The solar panels will cover the power draw of the watermaker, fridge, two freezers, autopilot and full sailing instruments, and have extra for charging the batteries. This combination results in us not needing to charge with the motor on some days even with a 125L freezer and a fridge running full time. 3) We built in extra storage space so that we would have a place for things like toys, tools, spares, food, etc. Living with a family on a boat and doing ocean passages is very different from doing a one-week charter. We feel that all these small changes make for an easier and more fun family sailing experience.

Suggestions

• We would recommend trying to find a spot in your boat for a washing machine (water and energy efficient). Don’t go for a marine washing machine as they are much more expensive, or a light-duty water-hungry top loader; front loaders are best.
  
  

• Oops! Our oven is big so we can bake 3 loaves and 1 pizza at the same time!

  As we have a catamaran, we have more space. In the galley, we have a normal house gas stove, which is great as our oven is really big, so we can bake 3 loaves of bread and 1 pizza at the same time!
  
  
• The features we love are the water maker, the solar panels, the fridge and the 2 deep freezers. On the entertainment side, we have a TV screen (plus a navigation screen inside) and a hard drive player for movies. The kids can operate these by themselves (great when we are doing long passages).
  
  
• To save some water we have a system which adds air in the water at the tap or shower head. It helps, but a foot pump on some taps would be a good idea with kids.
  
  
• We have an electric toilet, so there are no pump problems, especially with the younger kids…however they must not swallow fruit pips, as it can quickly turn the skipper’s mood at the sound of the rattling toilet.
  
  
• Our primary communication in the open ocean is our sat phone, but an SSB is key to keep in touch with other boats and for the kids to chat with their friends.
  
  

All questions

4. Anything you wish you had known before you got started? Any advice for families?

Things we wish we had known

Nothing in particular. Everybody finds his own cruising way of living. Advice is good but be yourselves.

Advice for families

Emmanuelle & Gregory

• GET OUT AND DO IT. It is important to realize your dream, and doing it with your kids is something really special. It can be for a year or for 10 years. The most important thing is to try, to face all the challenges, to be proud steering away, and to be out there as a close and united family.
  
  Get out there and enjoy the open ocean and new faces. Planning destinations, boat maintenance and exploring new places with the family will keep you busy enough; you won’t be bored even on the long passages.
  
  
• You don’t need the perfect boat to do it - as we have seen all kinds of boats out here. So just get the boat within your budget and go sailing.
  
  
• Take some toys: watermaker, washing machine, deep freezers, fridge and a kayak or two.
  But don’t take all the toys. We have on board 5 bikes, 3 kayaks and a sailing dinghy. It is nice to have all these, but we don’t use them as much as we thought.
  
  
• There will be some hard times, but you’ll remember only the best ones. It is not easy and happy every day. However, it is a strong experience as a family, so it is worth the daily effort. There are some fears, stresses, tensions and fights. Try to take a deep breath and re-evaluate the situation when there are problems. They are always manageable.

Victor (10)

Think of taking some card games, and from time to time it is nice to ask for your grandmother to come and play with you.

Félix (8)

Life on board is great. Think of taking your best toys …and some sun cream lotion!

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All questions

6. What are your kids' responsibilities aboard?

We try to ask the kids to be a little bit involved. Cléa can be a great mechanical assistant - The boys do the dishes and sweep the floors every morning and at lunch time. They have to tidy their cabins. They also help when it is time to clean the deck or even scrape the hulls. - On the sailing side, they help put the spinnaker up and down. Victor is now asking to do some watches, so he might do an hour per day on our next passage. - Victor helps from time to time with the fishing activities (getting the lines ready). - Cléa can be a great mechanical assistant to Gregory when he fixes something. She is really good with all the tool names. - Félix likes being involved in the galley.

Victor (10)

Felix: I go with a kayak to see if there are other kids around the anchorage.

• When we have porridge for breakfast, then I do the morning dishes, and I sweep the floor at lunch time.
  If it is cereal, I do the lunch dishes, and I sweep the floor in the morning.
  
  
• I must look after my brother and my sister when my parents leave us alone on the beach or on Merlin.
  
  
• I must check all the hatches before we go sailing.
  
  

Félix (8)

Cléa (4)

All questions

9. How do you handle: TASKS and CHORES?

Big clean-up in Panama.

Laundry

We have a washing machine (normal front-loader washing machine with a 9kg capacity) on board, and we are very happy to have it. This is a must for a family. We don't spend hours cleaning, rinsing or looking for a laundry place. It is not too greedy on water, and by reducing the amount of rinses (only 2 instead of 4) we use only 60 liters.

We do about one load per week. On long passages, we wear few clothes. On the boat the kids wear only their underwear, so we don't have too much to wash (weather permitting of course).

Clean-up and daily maintenance of the boat

Clean-up is done on a daily basis: a bit every day (floors, galley, heads), and from time to time we do a big clean-up (usually after a passage).

Feeding the family, nutrition and cooking

Baguettes and French cheese in Papeete(Tahiti).

Provisioning in Cape Town.

We eat 3 meals a day, and we don't skip meals. Often we might have one or even two snacks during the day. We try to have a healthy diet like we have ashore. It is not always easy to find everything, but we haven't been stuck without tins!

Because it is hot during the day and because of the school work in the morning, lunches are simple. Very often it is a salad (for example rice or pasta salad, or toasted sandwiches with raw veggies), fruit, or a yoghurt. The evening meals are more elaborate.

We bake our bread when we can't find fresh bread. We make our own yoghurt. We have a yoghurt machine (all it does is keep the right temperature) and are eating yoghurt nearly every day, which is a nice way to have some calcium. We use powdered milk for that.

We also like our sprouts. We use all kind of seeds (soy, beans and lentils). The kids are not fond of them, but we add them in the salads or in the sandwiches that they eat.

We have a blender and do “milkshakes” (smoothies) often, especially when the fruit is getting ripe too fast. All kind of recipes have been tried. A favorite one is mango, banana, honey and milk.

We always have the basics on board: tuna, corn, green beans, pasta, rice, flour, cheese, eggs. The kids' favorites are homemade pizzas and pancakes. It might be boring and repetitive from time to time, but we try to eat healthy and try the local products. (Ask the locals for their recipes.)

All questions

11. Why did you go cruising as a family? Has cruising changed your family?

Why did we go cruising as a family

We wanted to spend time together.

We do spend time together!

Sometimes too much time together and sometimes difficult times together.

But most of the time, we spend great times together exploring and discovering … we only remember these good times!

Has cruising changed our family

We find it is difficult to reply for oneself.

Gregory

Emmanuelle wants more simple things now.

Emmanuelle

Sailing is really Gregory's life. He is so happy to be on the water, work on the boat, and fiddle with the sails.

He is so much himself.