I am a professional sailor, licensed
Captain, located in Connecticut at the moment. I have been sailing all my life and have about 40,000 sea miles offshore.
I prefer to sail at night, and take the night watches when offshore--mostly because I'm sailing so much, I have learned to avoid the sun--I hate it--I've been using this handle "Night Sailor" for many years.
I am knowledgeable on
electrical systems, navigation and radar, yacht plumbing, rigging,
fiberglass, diesel engines, and literally everything you can think of that is boat related. I know lots about Gelcoat and
fiberglass repair, and two part
painting systems, radio--I'm a licensed Ham, and electronics.
My big current project is a 46' sloop. I'll try to post some links to the work done on that boat. I've also restored a number of dinghies and a 30' keel boat and have detailed blogs on
fiberglass repair which show techniques that can be used on Egg's too! I grew up using my grandfather's well equipped wood shop and have built furniture and things like that... I guess you could say, I'm a handyman. Part of the reason I'm good at many things is because I see every person I meet as an opportunity to learn something new. I'm humble because arrogant people don't learn readily from others, and also because ocean will make you humble.
I became interested in egg campers, mostly because I've seen lots of worn out wooden plywood campers, and just like wooden boats--wood and plywood does not hold up to water. Boats are an incredible amount of work anyway--even the lowest maintenance glass boats. Fiberglass is a miracle--it lasts a long time and while it can be "itchie and scratchies" work, you can do marvelous things with fiberglass. Once done, you work is not immediately rotting away, and if neglected can be brought back to life as good as new. My 30' sloop sat for 18 years. Only a few pieces of teak were left. All the mahogany had rotted away to nothing. Much of the wooden core was damaged. I was able to make this boat better than new. So while, I've been thinking about building my own camper from scratch, but I don't have the time or resources for that. I need those for my boat. A fiberglass camper appeals to the boater in me. I know it makes more sense to buy a glass camper than a plywood one.
To save money I'm probably taking my big boat south this winter so I can keep on working on it as the cold weather comes in. In any case, labor and storage costs are much less down south, and I need to get this boat in service as quickly as possible.
So I've been looking at campers, because I won't be able to live on the boat while I'm doing dirty fiberglass work on it. My little water dog travels with me. She can't be exposed to the dirt and fiberglass dust. So, I need a cheap, comfortable, conditioned place to live in, near wherever I keep my big boat this winter. As a sailor, I'm used to living in confined spaces. A 11' to 13' Egg seem like an answer to me that suits my talents
So I bring something to the table here. I offer fiberglass repair advice to anyone seeking to modify their eggs.
My tow vehicle is a 4 cylinder Volvo 240 wagon rated to pull 3300 lbs. Even that seems like too much for my wagon. I need a
light egg that it can pull and still get good fuel economy. My best fuel economy is 32.4 mpg on the highway--I don't want to destroy that. The key is
light weight. So I'm looking for an older one that I can modify to suit my needs.
As a sailor, I like living off the grid, while my charter customers like to do the tourist things--go out to eat, getting drunk in island bars, on my own time, I explore where other people rarely go, which means bringing my own food and cooking aboard. I like hang time, the ability to stay off-grid for say, a month or longer. My goal for my boat is to have 6 months hang time or longer. For an Egg, I don't expect I'd use it longer than 3 months at a time. I'd welcome any advice in this area.
I will most likely will have bathroom facilities and electricity, wherever I keep my boat. So I don't need a bath room.
What I want in an Egg:
Light weight
A single bunk wide and long enough for me and my water dog pup--longer is better, I'm 6'4, and she is 32 lbs.
A small dinette or desk big enough for one person to eat, and for a laptop and a few other items like my Ham Radio. I need a very comfortable seat to work at a computer--a recliner with a laptop table might be the way to go.
Another less comfortable guest chair that would rarely be used and could be folded out of the way, or used outside. I already have one of these.
A
propane stove top and oven.
A bigger than average
refrigerator.
A
solar panel and maybe a wind
generator in case I need to my own power at some point--perhaps not right away.
Great insulation. I can do that better than anything on the market.
Heat and
air conditioning. I'd prefer to use a single fuel, so most likely it would be
propane heat and a Dickensen yacht type
propane heater. A couple of fans too.
If anyone knows of a small cheap Egg
for sale in the Northeast, please let me know.
I'm very curious as to how long a propane tank will last for heating, cooking, and refrigeration off grid. I'm hoping some of you Eggsperts can help me out with that.
Prairie Schooner
"The Eggstacy"
Boomerang
Linear Mode
