# In case of apocalypse what sailboat and how to use it?



## PPPPPP42 (Mar 11, 2009)

I got to thinking after watching a history channel series life without people. If it was really life without MOST people, what would you do? Assume 90% of the earths population dissapears from a disease or something that doesn't involve massive fallout or destruction.

After thinking about it, all the gasoline will go to crap to the point of unburnability within a few years so land transportation will be reduced to horses and wagons and the like, and since I know nothing about horses, I got to thinking about the water. Theres no gasoline so obviously I would live on a sailboat and either fish from one coastal settlement or try coastal trading (or raiding? arrr matey  )

But what boat (or boats) to use and where to go? Eventually the useless Inboard motors and fuel tanks on most big boats would be removed and it would make a really nice cargo hold. Onboard water and electrical systems would be converted to hand pumps unless you play with solar or wind generation. How do you get a bigger keel boat out of the water without power? I don't see many hand crank lifts.

I also wonder about travel on the Mississipi since I live near it now. What would happen to the locks and dams and the river levels when they fail I don't know. Is it even possible to easily sail up the Mississipi as far as the lowest lock and dam assuming you have the whole river to use for tacking?
Maybe a different size boat for coastal work and a smaller one safely stored somewhere for river navigation.

I think I would hang around the lower Mississippi and the upper gulf, but where does one hide from hurricanes, up the river maybe? What if your too far away from it?

So much to consider.


----------



## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

If you want to ponder something, how much free time is too much?


----------



## degreeoff (Oct 25, 2009)

Enough to restore TOTALLY a 85 Catalina 30 in one winter....thats too much!


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Just because there will be no post-apocalyptic pretroleum production is no reason to assume there will be no fuel. It's not that hard to convert a diesel engine to run on bio, or veggie oil- the meth of fuels, because any idiot with a passing interest in cooking and science can make it at home.

Yes, it may very well be that in the end, the only thing that will survive will be cockroaches, keith richards and stinkfoot hippies running veggie fuel co-ops.


----------



## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

Yup the petrol will soon go but diesel keeps so all I need is a diesel dinghy and we are good to go. There is a guy puttering around Road Town with a diesel outboard as I write this. 

More seriously if you have a sailboat with a raincatcher system and a wood stove plus a sailing dink you are pretty self sufficient. Sure food might be a bit boring but cartridges last a looooong time so the odd goat should make it into the pot and iguana is supposed to taste like chicken. I am not sure what boat might be best but a small catamaran that could be easily scrubbed on the beach is worth thinking about. 

This could make a change from all the " Best bluewater boat threads ", how about what is the best "post apocalypse boat". How long before we would be back in dugout canoes?


----------



## PPPPPP42 (Mar 11, 2009)

Making bio diesel in sufficient quantities would be a full time occupation for someone, definitely a good post apocalyptic job. Also you would have to have fuel production and storage everywhere you go which is more complicated.

Fuel Degradation In Storage.
From what I read here modern diesel doesn't keep all that well either, though thats technically an ad so grain of salt and all that.

A catamaran would definetely have a huge advantage for versatility being able to be run up on a beach when not in use or for repairs, especially on rollers, over a keel boat.

EDIT: After looking up bio diesel production its WAY too complicated and relies on too many things being readily available.


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

But if you run up on the beach you risk getting eaten by zombies, so max payload capacity is important (more days you spend at sea = more days zombie-free, is my post-apocalyptic motto,) which is why cats are a weaker choice.

and trimarans are just zombie-bait, no matter what SD tries to tell you.


----------



## aquanta (Sep 15, 2005)

Ever see Waterworld?


----------



## 2Gringos (Jan 4, 2008)

We were way up north there in Orlando in Dec, and I made a special trip to Universal Studio to look at that boat again......

and the lady I asked said they moved it years ago. Its gone. Dang.

I hadda ride a bunch of rollercoasters and stuff to justify the cost of the tickets.


----------



## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

Okay fine I will participate in the silly thread too, why not.

Wood boat, you can fix it with natural materials, wood chisels, and some other simple tools. That's my vote. Just have to find you some coastline that has trees, pine tar, natural fibers, etc, that is zombie free.


----------



## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Oh Wind_Magic...where would we be without such silly threads. 

I'm presuming that we are not talking biblical apocolypse here ? Quite frankly once JC and the Fourhorseman come a calling I reckon the last thing I'll be thinking of is going sailing..me being an atheist and all that. 

Aquanta gets close to it though. Fast is wot u wont.....very fast indeed. Well armed might not be a bad idea either. 

Me I'd give a certain fuzzy rodent about ten to fifteen minutes at most. What chance do you reckon for an aging peacenik hippy who was a lousy shot at the best of times ? I was a dab hand with bow and arrow though.....back when I could actually see the target....


----------



## Architeuthis (Mar 3, 2008)

I find this somewhat interesting but I conclude that no boat is safe if there are other people around. Other than a warship of course. 

I also find it interesting that people always assume that when 99.99% of everybody dies, they are the one that doesn't. I think this is related to people thinking they will be the one to win the lottery and not the one to die in a very high risk activity. 

All very silly because I will be the only one left so you folks do not have to worry about such things....now to go check my lottery ticket.


----------



## chrisncate (Jan 29, 2010)

....


----------



## poopdeckpappy (Jul 25, 2006)

2Gringos, the tri from waterworld is here in SD, it went under the knife and a 2 yr/million dollar refit................it's still alive and sailing


----------



## malovich (Jun 24, 2008)

There is such a thing as wood-gas which is made from heating wood in an oxygen deprived environment, a gas engine can burn this. there are other forms of fuel to be made too, hydrogen can be made from water and electricity, both of which can be found on a boat or a hydroelectric dam. What about the natural gas wells, I can't imagine those won't be usable. maybe I'm being too optimistic in these ideas. If 99.99% of the population died then 669203.028 humans would still be alive


----------



## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

malovich said:


> There is such a thing as wood-gas which is made from heating wood in an oxygen deprived environment, a gas engine can burn this. there are other forms of fuel to be made too, hydrogen can be made from water and electricity, both of which can be found on a boat or a hydroelectric dam. What about the natural gas wells, I can't imagine those won't be usable. maybe I'm being too optimistic in these ideas. If 99.99% of the population died then 669203.028 humans would still be alive


I'm a firm believer in the idea that technology is not a one way street. The reason computers and cell phones exist isn't because we are any smarter than people were 10k years ago, it is simply because there are a lot more of us. If we lost 99.99% of the people on the earth I have no doubt we'd be out there with oxen pulling carts around again in a generation.


----------



## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

2Gringos said:


> We were way up north there in Orlando in Dec, and I made a special trip to Universal Studio to look at that boat again......
> 
> and the lady I asked said they moved it years ago. Its gone. Dang.
> 
> I hadda ride a bunch of rollercoasters and stuff to justify the cost of the tickets.


I saw it in San Diego. Looked like crap then (I would guess late 90's). I wonder if it is still floating?!??

Brian


----------



## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

poopdeckpappy said:


> 2Gringos, the tri from waterworld is here in SD, it went under the knife and a 2 yr/million dollar refit................it's still alive and sailing


Ahhh, Poopy already responded. I saw her probably over ten years ago, tied up to the end of some dock. I think it was SD... maybe close to Coronoado, but I might be thinking of Oxnard too. That sail is a bit of a blur now. However, she looked a wreck! Nice to know they kept her alive.

Brian


----------



## tager (Nov 21, 2008)

For some reason there is an idea that an "apocalypse" would be a bad thing. Really it would just solve our overpopulation problem.


----------



## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

well i look at it this way, i have enough ammo to get what ever boat i want. 

in reality we would all die, if its enough to kill off 99 % of the humans, what makes you think the animals will do any better. heck it takes people months sometimes to get a deer while hunting if there was only 1 % of the deer left how hard would it be.


----------



## Curm (Sep 3, 2009)

Well, if you wanted to survive you would want something fast and seaworthy-- a big catamaran would probably be best. You would want to get off the beaten track and establish a base on an uninhabited island, where you could grow food and make your own biodiesel. You would want plenty of weapons, fishing gear and medical supplies. You would also want at least one crew.

With those resources, you might, with luck, live out your normal life span.


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Read Genisis....It contains the dimensions for Noahs Ark..

Ark's dimensions were at least 135 meters long (300 cubits), 22.5 meters wide (50 cubits), and 13.5 meters high (30 cubits). That's 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high! It could have been larger, because several larger-sized cubits were used. (A cubit was the length of a man's arm from fingertips to elbow.)

Outfit it as a ketch


----------



## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

Nuclear Sub
Best option by far.
Plenty of firepower to get rid of that pesky 10%


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

USN at its finest. Taken coming back from Block Island at the Race ( obviously out of New Croton)...out of the fog appears......

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss161/chef2sail/IMG_1481.jpg


----------



## aquanta (Sep 15, 2005)

Global Armageddon? After watching 2012 and all the other doom and gloom movies, I think the question isn't how but where?

A sailboat is for sure the way to go with no need for fuel, a self sufficient boat can live off the grid for power and food can be obtained through trade and fishing. Volcanos = stay 100 miles away, earthquakes = not a big deal for boats, meteors = good luck with that!, food & famine = self reliance, global disease = independence/quarantine.

So the question is where? Where can you take your family afloat to evade these threats? Our biggest threat may be a tsunami and not having time to get so sea. Where can you go with enough inland blockage to survive a massive tide swing without being in the shadow of a volcano? Where can you still live off the sea and still get your staples from land? 

Gat'a Love those Death Doom and Destruction movies!


----------



## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

davidpm said:


> Nuclear Sub
> Best option by far.
> Plenty of firepower to get rid of that pesky 10%


then you get in to the food issue a 688 can only carry about 4 months of food, 5 if you really stretch it. and they dont have that much firepower, i would know that was my job ( TM ).

food will be the down fall, unless you build a under ground bunker with years of food.

has anyone here every tried to live off what they can catch, hunter or gather?

but back to the thread the lagoon down the street would be a good start, it has wind and solar.


----------



## poopdeckpappy (Jul 25, 2006)

Cruisingdad said:


> I think it was SD... maybe close to Coronoado,


Yes, Harbor Island, she is end tied at our old slip, a major PITA to nav around on a windy day, it is wider then the LOA of our boat, which is 42'

Very cool though


----------



## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

Architeuthis said:


> I find this somewhat interesting but I conclude that no boat is safe if there are other people around.


So, you're saying you'd want a boat that enables you to maximize your time in spent on the high seas, far from land. Makes sense 



> I also find it interesting that people always assume that when 99.99% of everybody dies, they are the one that doesn't. I think this is related to people thinking they will be the one to win the lottery and not the one to die in a very high risk activity.


I think it's an eminently wise assumption. If you make the assumption and you're wrong, no biggie. If you make the opposite assumption and you're wrong, things will probably suck for you for a while.


----------



## XTR (Feb 28, 2007)

*For all of those thinking Submarines...*

I'll take my chances with the apocalypse. After spending 4 yrs as a nuke on fast attacks (SSN's 684/639/688) I think I'd rather die.

Never again SSN!

Now that I got that out of the way.

If you were solo I think after seaworthiness anarchy and predatory types will be the biggest concern, fast is good. For extended work, probably a cat. Shallow draft, fast off of the wind, good storage.

Though if I run with this scenario I'd go back to my home at the coast in GA, you gotta be lazy and stupid to starve there, (fish/crab/shrimp/oysters) and since my family has been there since the mid 1700s I know a few people, odds are that even if only 1% were left there might be at least one that I'd like.


----------



## Waltthesalt (Sep 22, 2009)

I've got a friend who owns a boat that the original owner built for the situation you describe. I could put you in contact. We're in the Pacific Northwest.


----------



## ericread (Feb 23, 2009)

scottyt said:


> well i look at it this way, i have enough ammo to get what ever boat i want.
> 
> in reality we would all die, if its enough to kill off 99 % of the humans, what makes you think the animals will do any better. heck it takes people months sometimes to get a deer while hunting if there was only 1 % of the deer left how hard would it be.


Actually, it's pretty surprising how fast nature recovers when man is excluded from the area. Take a look at the no-dive zones off the NZ coast (I think it was NZ... maybe Australia). What was almost entirely dead from over-fishing is now abundant with an undersea ecosystem in just a few years.

If you get a chance, read the book "Earth Abides". A pretty interesting take on such a disaster written in 1949.


----------



## sharps4590 (Jan 14, 2010)

Being so far inland I doubt a seaworthy boat would be very high on my list of priorities for a while. That and I know so little about any of them I can't intelligently say anything.

However, I believe my wife and I would be about as well off as one could reasonably expect, if we were any of those who survived. Growing up and when we were first married we lived a great deal off what I killed or caught and what we raised in the garden and off the livestock we raised. We both know how to can, cold pack, dry and otherwise preserve food. We heat with wood now and both of us have about all the experience we want cooking on a wood stove. Just the way it was back then, we were no different than lots of others. 

Practical skills such as hunting, fishing, trapping, preserving foods, the ability to provide shelter, a source of potable water and the ability to protect ones self will determine the survivors. 

I would think a fast boat, with all the armament one could practically carry. Storage would be important, obviously, and a place to stay away from the nasty folks who are left. I belive that would be the biggest problem. Those few left would probably end up reverting to tribal societies for survival.

Vic


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Hell, you live in the ozarks. The apocalypse would be an improvement.


----------



## edakira (May 5, 2013)

Waltthesalt said:


> I've got a friend who owns a boat that the original owner built for the situation you describe. I could put you in contact. We're in the Pacific Northwest.


Hi Walt. I know its been a few years since you posted this, but I'd be very interested in knowing more about your friend and this boat you speak of. Thanks much --Ed


----------



## Selkie60 (Apr 24, 2009)

Whatever boat you use, make sure you have a sea anchor. According to the canon, zombies can climb anchor rodes.


----------



## Bowedtoothdoc (Mar 10, 2010)

aquanta said:


> Ever see Waterworld?


We just watched it again last night


----------

