It’s a concept that’s commonly misunderstood, and one that seems counterintuitive; the lighter the load on your engine the greater the likelihood of developing problems.
A few years ago, the owner of a new trawler visited the boatyard I manage. He sat in my office and dictated a moderately long list
Cavitation erosion (and the related erosion or impingement corrosion) is an infrequently discussed yet frequently misunderstood phenomenon that can lead to metal damage and failure. It can afflict everything from engines and generators to plumbing systems and propellers. Cavitation is the formation of voids or bubbles in a liquid that are a result of forces that act upon the liquid. Its important, however, to distinguish these voids from common bubbles as the latter contain a gas, often air, while the former contain nothing. That is, they are vacuum bubbles. Interestingly, the formation of the cavitation void is tantamount to boiling because the boiling point of a liquid drops as the pressure drops. (Its why mountaineers use pressure cookers; at a high altitude and therefore lower atmospheric pressure, water boils at a temperature lower than 212°F.) Thus, cavitation bubbles are essentially a result of low temperature boiling induced by low pressure. Cavitation may occur as liquid moves swiftly around constrictions and through orifices, particularly when such orifices change shape from small to large, as in water moving past a gate valve, or worse, through a partially opened valve. These conditions create a Venturi effect and the rapid change in pressure is conducive to the formation of cavitation bubbles.
We can spend years planning for a bucket-list trip and then life gets in the way. Go now.
Splashing later this year.
Karly and Evan Nietzel—aka YouTube’s @Navigating Nietzels—tailored their careers for remote work after buying a trawler, moving onboard and completing the Great Loop. Along with their pup, Ripley, they’re just getting started.
This aluminum vessel’s throwback design belies its modern systems, all installed for a Great Loop cruise.
The three-stateroom, semidisplacement model has a range of power options and a low air draft.
A solar-power system on our classic trawler lets us spend time moored or anchored with more than enough juice to meet our energy needs.
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association has been helping boaters complete the ultimate voyage for a quarter century.
The steel-hull Nightfall, designed by William Garden, connects generations of this family through a love of cruising.
Larry Graf, the founder, designer and lead engineer of Aspen Power Catamarans, talks about Aspen’s proa hull designs and adventure cruising on his own creations from the Arctic to the Sea of Cortez.
With her vertical bow, reverse raked windshield and indoor-outdoor living space, the Galeon 430 EXP defies categorization.
