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How
to cross an ocean in a dinghy?
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to the ship's log
 First
let’s assume you have a dinghy; it would best if your Dinghy was
built for that purpose. In my case, Admiral Dingy, I built the
Cruise Ship Dingy with that purpose in mind, to
circumnavigate the world. The cost for this is not cheap. I
will have over $100,000 and 35 years when it reaches its
finished stage. That is not taking into consideration the labor
factor; in this case I did most of the labor myself. What has
evolved is an idea that came from my own thoughts. After making
that statement allow me to admit that’s a bald face lie. What I
have really done is plagiarized to the max, truth is, I have
stolen the thoughts and designs of the master boat builders from
the great age of sail. The lines of the hull are from that era.
They worked in wood and steel. I have chosen fiberglass as my
medium. To build the hull I have handlaid woven roven onto a
plug made of cardboard, this gave the hull the lines from the
old school. From that point on the style changes! She had to
have as much room inside as possible. So I utilized the entire
length and the breadth of the hull and just went up the sides
and over with one-eight inch laminated wood to create the super
structure. The wood I turned into plastic by coating it with
resin. On the inside I applied 3 layers; one cloth, one matt,
one cloth. The outside received 5 layers. One cloth, one matt,
one cloth. one matt. Over that on the sides and top only, I
applied 6 inches of closed cell foam. Capping that with 3 layers
of fiberglass, one cloth, one matt, and one cloth. Now the
cruise Ship Dingy is very much overbuilt and should
take a lot of abuse from Mother Nature. I have all the room
inside that is possible to achieve. On the outside it no longer
has the appearance of a traditionally built boat. It kind of
looks like a baby submarine! There is nothing like it in the
world, it’s truly a one of a kind experimental ship.
I am trained as dancer, actor, and entrepreneur in the motion
picture industry. Not as a craftsman! There has been much
frustration because of my lack of knowledge in shipbuilding.
Oftentimes I didn’t even know the questions. I had to learn from
my armchair status by reading and talking to people and applying
common sense. Oh! And don’t forget the failures! Now as the
Dingy nears it’s sailing date, to circumnavigate the
Gulf of Mexico
on its maiden
voyage, that will be its test run to improve all its abilities
and also give me the chance to learn my new craft.
Now
we know some of what the Cruise Ship Dingy is.
Let’s expound on how to cross an ocean. The Pacific Ocean
is the largest of all, so that will be the next challenge, all
the ways to Australia. This represents almost
10,000 miles. How can she carry enough food and water? The
answer is simple, she can’t. Once I came to this understanding
it put me onto a new tack. She and I together would have to
manufacture and collect food and water.
WATER! That’s the easiest. I have built into her, a means to
catch rainwater with an awning, it also provides shade, there’s
a hose attached to drain into the keel / tank, which holds 8
gallons of drinking water, this is also a ballast to hold the
dinghy upright and causes her to right herself when she rolls
over, and she will. The next is a watermaker, one that works
both manually and 12 volt electric; it turns salt water into
fresh water. Another system is a black ball that makes water
with the help of the sun through osmosis.
Food!
This is not so easy; we know that we can’t transport enough food
in such a small boat to handle the nutritional needs for one,
and what if we have a passenger? Now remember we are “Surviving
on the Savage Seas”, the rules change out there, and
guess what? no supermarkets!
Ranching! I do believe that it’s possible to raise Snails at
sea, along with the ability to feed and water them. What if I
built pens to corral them, I understand they are very prolific
breeders. Maggots, now there’s a good protein, but how do I get
the flies to lay the eggs to create the maggots? Bugs would be
nice, will have to do more research on that subject.
Farming! Got some possibilities here; let’s start out with
sprouting seeds, now there’s a real plus, very rich in vitamins
and minerals, in fact more nutrients then the vegetables
themselves. Seeds will be a big part of my diet! Oh yes and what
about dwarf plants? another strong point for farming.
Grains! Lots of good things to say about grains especially if
they are not overly milled and taken away most of there
nutrition. Good for cereals, baking, soups, etcetera. Herbs and
spices, more plants to grow, and oh what good taste they provide
for your meals. Nuts; Another array of food value and the many
dishes you can create with them. That’s just a few things in the
grain category that we can pull from for a healthy survival at
sea. I do believe this is eating better then fast food. Legumes;
here again is some wonderful food value to look forward to, they
can also be entertainment after one has eaten them.
Seaweed, wow! there is some marvelous plant life, rich in so
many ways and so very available, just reach over the side and
grab it, dry it and you are ready for some gourmet cooking
oriental style. What could be better?
Vitamins, Minerals, and Proteins; of course we have though about
taking along these in pill form, and liquid form, it is
unthinkable for us to do otherwise.
The
Cruise Ship Dingy is a beautiful ship, she has
lovely lines and she will swim very well. What she is not is a
racer, she’s a cruiser and her size is not going to allow her to
be fast. Knowing that fact will tell you that maybe she will
reach speeds of 2 or 3 knots per hour, not fast. OK, she is
slow, this means she will soon have her own ecosystem and pick
up underwater passengers, such as Dolphin fish, Mahi Mahi,
Dorado fish, all means the same fish just depends on what ocean
you are in. Other fish will gather along the way, hope not
really big ones like Great White Sharks, or Killer Whales that
decide to eat the Cruise Ship Dingy, that could be
a no funner. Ouch those nasty Barnacles got three choices here.
One, wait until they get to be eating size then go over the side
and harvest them. Two, go underneath the dinghy with a brush and
clean, because they will slow the ship down, that would be the
most logical. Three, do nothing at all because I’m too afraid to
dive in the open water. One thing I have working for me is that
there is a port in the bottom to look through; I call it
Voyage to see what’s on the Bottom. Obviously this is
going to be a big help in many ways. Knowing what is down there
will keep me appraised of the dangers that lurk in the deep.
Could also mean many hours of entertainment, and hey there’s
food, how am I going to catch that big thing?
Admiral Dingy
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