| The Boat |  | | The boat is especially designed for rowing across the Atlantic. She was built by Justin Adkin who is himself an Ocean Rower and the boat has already successfully crossed the Atlantic twice. Unlike the majority of ocean row boats, she is made of fibreglass and not marine ply so is both stronger and lighter. She is 23 feet long and 6 feet wide. Laden, she will weigh nearly one ton.She has large watertight compartments front and rear. The front compartment is for storage and the rear is my accommodation and houses the electrical equipment. Lockers along the inside of the hull are filled with containers of 100 litres of fresh water to act as ballast and to ensure she self rights in the event of capsize. I provide the propulsion and a simple rope attachment from my footplate to the rudder provides the steerage. |
| Water Maker | | To provide the water I will need on the crossing, the boat has an electric watermaker. This amazing piece of kit turns salt water into fresh water but does not come cheap. It also uses a lot of electricity. In case it breaks down, I have a spare hand powered water maker but this will require over an hour's pumping per day so is not plan A as I think I`ll be getting enough exercise with my 12 hours' rowing! |  |
| Para Anchor | | This life saving piece of kit is a massive 9ft wide parachute that you stream behind the boat at the end of a long line to slow your boat's progress when the wind is against you. It also holds your boat end on to the waves and stops you being turned side on and rolled over. Most importantly, if the monster wave appears, it should prevent your boat from pitch-polling (going end over end). Crashing down 23ft upside down in a wooden cabin is to be avoided. |  |
| EPIRBS | | Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons. I have 2 of these. A large one for the boat and a small one to clip to my life jacket. If your life is in imminent danger and you cannot see any way of self rescue, activating the EPIRB will alert the coastguard and provide them with your position. Help could still be 24 hours away if you are mid Atlantic but it's better than becoming a cast away. |  |
| Solar Panels | | The power for the water maker, VHF, Active Echo and Lights comes from 3 solar panels on the top of the 2 cabins and is stored in 2 batteries in the front cabin. Fingers crossed for some sunshine. |
| Active Echo | | This fantastic bit of kit picks up other ship's radar and send it back at them, hopefully alerting them to my presence and avoiding a collision. More importantly, it also beeps to wake me up so I can take some evasive action of my own. |  |
| Liferaft | | The boat itself is designed along the lines of an old fashioned lifeboat so should remain afloat in all but the worst of conditions. In case the worst does come to the worst, Norwest Marine have very kindly offered to provide me with a liferaft and lifejacket. As I learned from the RYA Sea Survival Course, getting into a liferaft on your own in rough seas is not easy, but it provides the best chance available as a last resort. |  |
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